LINUX distro question?

i guess it really depends on how technical you want to get and how familiar you are with a command-line interface. i found out that SuSE, Mandrake, and Fedora (not as much as the first 2) seem to be the most user-friendly according to some of the websites i checked. i've never used linux, but LTD switched some time ago, so you can ask him/look at his screenshots. also try to PM other users who post linux screenshots and GNOME/kde themes and ask them about what they would recommend for a beginner.

and i know this is overkill, but here's a link to info about a gazillion different distros:

http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributi
ons

yeah, i would go with those distros if your just starting out in linux. As for the window managers, it's depends on what you like. KDE has more of a windows feel to it and GNOME has a more of a mac feel to it. Im not a big fan of KDE, but GNOME is alittle better (I think). I use XFCE4 myself.

If you want some more help with the whole linux scene try going onto irc.freenode.net and visit channels such as #gentoo #justlinux #xfce #archlinux #E and for more channels ask people from those channels. All linux channels are on freenode.

~sbbath

As far as window managers go its all personal prefrence...im running slackware and fvwm or fluxbox depending on my mood .. so find one that you like and start there.. also dont depend on other peoples themes .. start to make your own :)

Since you seem to like Ubuntu, you should give it a shot.

As far as using Ubuntu or Kubuntu, why don't you try both of them? That way, you'll be able to figure out whether KDE or GNOME suits your needs.

Linux is about choice; while other people's opinions are worth referring to, don't let them shoehorn you into using one thing over another.

And the good thing about linux is that most of the bootable cds come with a bootloader that can install them to your hdd. its like a Try and Buy thing, only free.

"CSAE" - You know I'm a pixel whore

Just go to the ubuntu website and then order some cds, give it a shot and you might like it.

mmmm... i'll have to agree with openwound and sbbath. if you are starting with Linux, i'd recommend Mandrake (now called Mandriva), it's more user-friendly (it has many wizards). Ubuntu is great (i'm using it at the moment) but it requieres a little more knowledge. as for environments, dunno why, but i've always liked GNOME, and later Xfce.
you should also look for the community wisdom ;). there are lots of mailing lists, forums and others, and they usually have answers for most of the questions about Linux.

Ubuntu is largely good because of the massive community (I use Ubuntu made into Kubuntu w/ XFCE 4). Also, most of what can be found on the forums or ubuntuguide.org will work with most other Debian-derived distros, such as MEPIS. MEPIS, while put together very well, is much more of a power user kind of distro, giving you everything right at your fingertips, but requiring a bit more learning than some others. It feels very much like a polished Knoppix. If nothing else, jumping into Linux will get you more familiar with Google than ever before :).

Thank you very much for your comments and your help.

I've decided to try Fedora Core 4.Looks pretty slick. Doesnt look very complicated but I know is not to easy neither...

I have a question...
How do I make the windows recognize my NTFS partition, which is my windows?...and maybe...is there anyway I could see the Linux partitions while I am logged into windows?


so I'm goona take some time with it...and in the future I want to try some others distros too...Tonight I'm getting Kubuntu off the web...tommorow, Slackware, Mandriva, and then Suse.I found good help on neowin too.

kaymax149

aaa...so...I want to see the NTFS in Linux...and the LINUX while I am in Wndows?
ok...=)...bye =)

kaymax149

Time ago I've buyed Linux Suse 9.2.Is really GREAT!You don't have to handle too much with command line, like Slackware or Debian (based distros even)Also Mandrake is really user-friendly too.Could try a personalized version like Aurox(based on Fedora).Hope it could help...
;D cris

mycleo1 - no you can't because windows acts like there is no other partition, but you could get partition magic 8 and look at it that way, and in linux you could get qparted, it's like PM8.

~sbbath

debian all the way :)

To "map" linux drives in windows, use samba.
samba is a file server. with samba u can create 'shares' which can be viewed from windows. I'm using it myself. (This when using 2 different computers, so 1 windows comp and 1 linux comp in the same network)

NTFS is partially supported. You can safely read files on an NTFS partition, but writing them is basically more trouble than it is worth for now.

Voting for Ubuntu/Gentoo. Gentoo arguably has the most helpful community and its forum is one of the best linux forums on the net, as long as your problem is Gentoo related or otherwise non distro specific. You can often get helpful responses within minutes of asking for help, and in my experience if you're not getting a fix on there it probably means one doesn't exist; there's gurus on everything trawling those forums.

With most other distros (incl. Ubuntu) there are many situations where being on the development branch means being left with an unusable and often unrecoverable system, forcing you to format and start over. Gentoo doesn't suffer from this since nearly every showstopper bug or error can be recovered from, no matter how catastrophic it may be. I've had a Gentoo system running without a format for at least 6 months straight, with experimental releases on it the whole time. Admittedly you sometimes have to do a little more legwork with Gentoo than with other systems, and definitely have to during the initial install, having the latest stuff all the time is definitely gonna give you a lot more trouble on any other distro.

Ubuntu has its own good points, most notably a more vibrant art community. If you're on the development branch you'll often see features currently being tested by the gnome/xorg devs, though they are ones that more often than not reach other distros within a few weeks. Like I mentioned above, being on the dev branch is gonna hurt a lot more on Ubuntu than it would on Gentoo but sometimes it pays off, sometimes.

Either one is a good pick.

robooverflow - i don't think he would want gentoo as a first distro, it takes days to install. Ubuntu is good, but if he he wants to try gentoo he could use Vida-linux which is basiclly gentoo with the installer of fedora core.

~sbbath

Gentoo doesn't take days to install if you choose to do a Stage 3 installation, and updating those packages would be as simple as doing an "emerge --update system; emerge --update world" and letting it run overnight.

Additionally, 2005.1 has just been released, and the LiveCDs include a graphical installer for those that want to use it.

Gentoo can be installed in a few hours..Stage3 requires about 3 hours (and that's because 2 of the are while doing genkernel..



- http://kastt.deviantart.com

Nice to see that the gentoo myth of the 7 year install isn't as popular as it used to be. :)

I don't know why gentoo is seen as a bad first distro. I mean my first serious stab at learning linux, learning the basics, was on a slackware 8 install or two. Compared to slack gentoo is a walk in the park. Yeah it takes some work but there's good documentation for maybe 95% of the stuff you'd ever end up trying to do, be it provided by the official gentoo docs and handbook or contributed by users. It's hard to ever be in a situation that you can't easily rtfm.

As for picking an easier distro than gentoo, sure some people don't wanna do the work and don't think they should have to. That's totally understandable, but even now using a distro with simple gui wizards can only get you so far. This probably isn't gonna change for a long while. What happens when joe random has been using fedora for 2 months or so and suddenly wants something that's hard to set up, say LIRC IR remote control support. With windows or os x he'd probably have nice clean gui based installers and configuration panels that make everything easy. The user knows that'd be the case and probably expects the same on their linux distro of choice. Reasonable, no? I mean it has all the other bits and bobs in the control panel and all this other weird gui software available, why not the same for LIRC? After finding out it's not gonna be that easy joe might take a stab at reading the documentation and trying to work out what to do. If he doesn't get frustrated at that point he probably will after sitting in front of a text editor and unhelpful faq (for him at least) for an hour or so. Joe realizes that he's in over his head and gives up on linux, switching back to windows or something where he can clicky clicky and have everything set up properly.

My point here is that if you're gonna use linux these days you might as well go for a slightly harder distro over the one that holds your hand most of the way only to leave you helpless without a gui when you have something truly tough to deal with. It'll shorten the time it takes to work out if linux is really for you, and if it is you learn something in the process.

thanks again for your help guys...
mmm...Tofay I've got Kubuntu on 1 CD. I was surprised that it doesn't require more than 1 but hey...At this time I'm trying to download some software for it, some multimedia stuff like a burning software, media plater.
I heard about an EMULATION program that helps running WIN and MAD software on LINUX. I think that;s prettu cool...but I'd like to know what kind of programs you can run. Another question is how do I change from GNOME to KDE is Linux?I'm pretty bored with the available skins right now...I wanna customize the damn thing...

so I need...
1. something like icon packager
2. something like rainmeter
3....like rainlander
...or KONFABULATOR (can I run that on Linux...AND AVEDESK?)
4. a program with themes for the mouse coursor
5. very important: FIREFOX THEMES (for LINUX)
6...and OBJECT DOCK...Y'Z DOCK or RKLAUNCHER

....or maybe if I could run this with an EMULATOR...
wow...that would be great.

...anyway I'm keepinh the FEDORA CORE right now, play with it...

thank you guys
bye

kaymax149

sorry for the speeling...I'm bad for that...(hey...but I's still fast) =)

kaymax149

My advice: try searches at forums.gentoo.org. I'm 100% sure that trying something like "konfabulator" will pull up a hundred threads asking the same kind of question you're asking above. Why do the work when someone's already done it for you ;)

I forgot to mention that, among the distros that I installed, Gentoo was the one that pleased me the most while installing it, because, in some way, it makes you proud of what you acomplished..

- http://kastt.deviantart.com

all the widget things, docklets, things of that nature - gdesklets for GNOME.

emulators - WINE or crossover office

firefox themes - they all work except the ones that say for windows only.

for the different WM's to get gnome or kde

just look them up and follow the directions

~sbbath

Just wanted to add to sbbath's post:

For desktop widgets, you can also use SuperKaramba (with KDE) or aDesklets (with anything).

Another emulator is VMware, which works really well, but costs money.

An excellent window manager is Enlightenment DR17. It's still in beta, but it has lots of eyecandy, and it performs well. You should also give Openbox a shot for a fast, lightweight alternative.

If you're looking for something a little heavier than just a window manager, try XFCE.

Hands down the best wm is sawfish. Its bindings are nearly as flexible as openboxes or pekwm's, has the basic skinnability of enlightenment (and doesn't force font hinting like e does) and thanks to lisp it's extendable like you couldn't believe (think litestep++). It's also one of the only wms i've used that lets you override the click capturing of nautilus, meaning a stupid task bar isn't mandatory if you want icons on your desktop (don't even suggest rox filer or idesk). You can easily control where windows are positioned by default, how big they are, what workspace they appear on, how they focus, what type of border they use, and even what theme they use for their borders. The icing on the cake is that most settings are configurable via a control panel.

I'll never understand why the gnome devs chose that metacity piece of junk over it.

ps. fluxbox sux