masterofpuppets
10-30-2004, 11:15 AM
Well, if your new to linux, you are probably wondering what distribution to choose. Here's a quick guide.
Well, you've just switched from Windows. And are wondering about Linux. Linux is a version of Unix developed by Linus Torvalds. It's 100% free (unless you buy a commercial Linux distribution) and open source too. Meaning the source code is freely distributed. It has advanced networking, security and application features and can be used for anything from office work, to gaming, serving or even music editing. Now I will go over some popular distributions:
SuSE:
A very popular commercial distro. All new versions are commercial, although old versions can be downloaded for free. It's quite up to date, easy to use and setup, and is suitable for newbies and experts alike. I havent use SuSE since 8.2 (the latest is 9.2 or 9.3) so I'm not up to date on the newer versions, but I would recommend it to most people.
Fedora Core:
A free linux distro produced by the red hat team. Haven't used it, but I've heard its quite easy to use. But I have also heard bad things about it. So I would consult several people and try it before you make your mind up. The current release is v2 but v3 should be finished soon.
Mandrake:
A distro for newbies mainly, and not designed to be used as a server. But it has very new software and is on the cutting edge of desktop linux use. Featuring up to date kernels and desktops. I have heard some good things about it and I would give it a go.
Linspire:
An attempt to cross windows interface with Linux inner workings. I wouldnt recommend it as windows and linux users will laugh at you and you log in as root by default, making all of Linux's security features abotu as useless as a dollar would be if it were to be used in afghanistan. Stay 100 miles away from this!
Debian:
A powerful distro. Ok, so it isnt exactly up to date, but its very good none the less. With a new version released soon, I would wait a bit before diving into debian. It is also not a Linux for newbies. So if you want to try it, I would read the installation manual thoroughly and get a good Linux book out. Recommended only if you know what you are doing.
Slackware:
A Linux distro that tries to act like Unix. Some newbies can get to grips with it. Other can't. I would try it out to see if you like it before installing it permanently. It can be quite hard to use as well. So make sure you have some Unix knowledge. Other than that, great distro. Very recommended.
FreeBSD:
Ok, it isn't Linux, but it is a very good OS. Based on BSDLite Unix. It's great for servers and general use. But be warned, it's not for noobs or suitable for gaming (well, if you have an nvidia card it is). I would recommend it to those with moderate Unix knowledge.
NEW ENTRY! Knoppix:
Knoppix is a bootable version of Debian Linux which runs off of a single cd. It contains over 2gb of packages which are compressed and decompressed when opened making the Knoppix team able to fit lots of great packages on one disk. You can install it to HDD too. I am not sure if you can use the root account if you install it, because the live version doesnt have a root account. Still, if you need to use someone else's puter, or you want to try Linux for the first time, or you just want to experiment, this is great. Give it a try.
NEW ENTRY! MEPIS:
This is another live distribution that can be installed it you want to. It is the incredibly easy, Mepis. I haven't used this yet, but I have the ISO on my Linux Format cover disk, so I shall give this a try later. It contains quite alot of packages and is fairly up to date. It is very easy to install too. It uses the GRUB boot manager which will detect your other OSes with the config that comes with MEPIS. I will write more on this when I try it out.
I hope this little guide helped you in choosing a Linux distribution. There are several more distributions. But I will add those when I have something to write about them. Thanks for reading :)
Well, you've just switched from Windows. And are wondering about Linux. Linux is a version of Unix developed by Linus Torvalds. It's 100% free (unless you buy a commercial Linux distribution) and open source too. Meaning the source code is freely distributed. It has advanced networking, security and application features and can be used for anything from office work, to gaming, serving or even music editing. Now I will go over some popular distributions:
SuSE:
A very popular commercial distro. All new versions are commercial, although old versions can be downloaded for free. It's quite up to date, easy to use and setup, and is suitable for newbies and experts alike. I havent use SuSE since 8.2 (the latest is 9.2 or 9.3) so I'm not up to date on the newer versions, but I would recommend it to most people.
Fedora Core:
A free linux distro produced by the red hat team. Haven't used it, but I've heard its quite easy to use. But I have also heard bad things about it. So I would consult several people and try it before you make your mind up. The current release is v2 but v3 should be finished soon.
Mandrake:
A distro for newbies mainly, and not designed to be used as a server. But it has very new software and is on the cutting edge of desktop linux use. Featuring up to date kernels and desktops. I have heard some good things about it and I would give it a go.
Linspire:
An attempt to cross windows interface with Linux inner workings. I wouldnt recommend it as windows and linux users will laugh at you and you log in as root by default, making all of Linux's security features abotu as useless as a dollar would be if it were to be used in afghanistan. Stay 100 miles away from this!
Debian:
A powerful distro. Ok, so it isnt exactly up to date, but its very good none the less. With a new version released soon, I would wait a bit before diving into debian. It is also not a Linux for newbies. So if you want to try it, I would read the installation manual thoroughly and get a good Linux book out. Recommended only if you know what you are doing.
Slackware:
A Linux distro that tries to act like Unix. Some newbies can get to grips with it. Other can't. I would try it out to see if you like it before installing it permanently. It can be quite hard to use as well. So make sure you have some Unix knowledge. Other than that, great distro. Very recommended.
FreeBSD:
Ok, it isn't Linux, but it is a very good OS. Based on BSDLite Unix. It's great for servers and general use. But be warned, it's not for noobs or suitable for gaming (well, if you have an nvidia card it is). I would recommend it to those with moderate Unix knowledge.
NEW ENTRY! Knoppix:
Knoppix is a bootable version of Debian Linux which runs off of a single cd. It contains over 2gb of packages which are compressed and decompressed when opened making the Knoppix team able to fit lots of great packages on one disk. You can install it to HDD too. I am not sure if you can use the root account if you install it, because the live version doesnt have a root account. Still, if you need to use someone else's puter, or you want to try Linux for the first time, or you just want to experiment, this is great. Give it a try.
NEW ENTRY! MEPIS:
This is another live distribution that can be installed it you want to. It is the incredibly easy, Mepis. I haven't used this yet, but I have the ISO on my Linux Format cover disk, so I shall give this a try later. It contains quite alot of packages and is fairly up to date. It is very easy to install too. It uses the GRUB boot manager which will detect your other OSes with the config that comes with MEPIS. I will write more on this when I try it out.
I hope this little guide helped you in choosing a Linux distribution. There are several more distributions. But I will add those when I have something to write about them. Thanks for reading :)