Which version of Linux is best for newbie?

Addis

I've heard Mandrake is the easiest to install and configure. And also Redhat is good, but I'm not sure wether it would run smoothly on your system.

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Anti-Trend

Hey Yuchao719!

These days there are many excellent, user-friendly distributions of Linux out there. Personally I rather enjoy Mandrake Linux, which is very similar to Red Hat except it's compiled to be faster, has a much better software installation tool, and it comes with tons of cool software and multimedia codecs by default. I also really like Suse, which aims to take over the corperate desktop. I'd get a free version of one or both of those, either by downloading it from an FTP mirror or by paying a Linux CD distributor about $1 per CD for a nice, silk-screened copy. If you find you like a certain Linux distribution enough to use it exclusively, you might consider supporting that vendor by buying a boxed copy of the OS or signing up for a subscription for early releases of upcoming software.

While I believe Linux is by far the superior of Windows, I want to stress that Linux is not a 'better Windows' -- it's actually a 'better Unix' if anything, so it's very different. It's true that in some aspects Linux and Windows are very much alike. But in others, they are nearly polar opposites. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. A good thing because Linux is a much better design, and a bad thing because it's nothing like what you already know. I recommend literature which will help ease the transition, such as Marcel Gagne's excellent Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye!, which is an enjoyable and easy read. If you want more depth, you should check out Paul Sheer's LINUX: Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition, which is published for free as HTML (also available in PDF and as a single compressed archive). Rute covers everything from how binary works to how to set up & configure an Apache server, and everything inbetween. Read this book, and you'll know more than a gaggle of MCSEs!

If you need any specific help please post it here and I'll help you out ASAP.

All the best,
-AT

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Nic

Mandrake got along well with me when I first used Linux

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Yuchao719

Thanks for the replies. I'll go for a Mandrake copy from a friend and I'll get a bigger HD and maybe a small overclock since my cpu fan is good. How much space does the OS take up? about 5 GBs with most of the programs? And how is Linux better than windows? And does it require firewalls and antivirus and the whole lot? Most of all, is it easy to learn?

sorry 'bout the qs

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ninja fetus

mandrade=Very easy to set up. Just follow ion screen instructions, and choose what you want to do with your PC by choosing the packages. Usually takes 1-2GB depending on the packages you want.

Linux better than windows, in my favorite way;security. (it's free too)
`You dont' need a firewall, antivirus, anti spyware on linux.

Anti-Trend

Linux has much higher security by default than Windows, but it's not invincible either (especially if you're running special/beta services or only patch your system annually). For this reason, it's always nice to have a firewall, even on Linux. It has one included that is very flexible and strong, called "iptables". You can turn it on and configure it during the initial Mandrake installation. Make wise decisions, set decent passwords, and keep the thing up to date and you'll probably never have a problem with security. You shouldn't ever see spyware, viruses, malware, or trojans on a Linux system. I've been using it for years now, and I never have.

As far as the learning curve, it's just about as difficult as if you where using DOS or Windows for the first time. It's going to a be a new experience with new capabilities and difficulties. The payoff is more than worth it, you just have to stick with it through the initial discomfort of change.

I am a Microsoft trained network admin with years under my belt, so the transition was rocky for me. I worked exclusively with Windows systems for years, so it was tough for me to 'unlearn' the Microsoft-isms in order to make the crossover to Linux. But now I've fully migrated away from Windows, and run Linux exclusively on all servers I set up as well as on all of my home workstations. It's better than Windows in some big ways, and I don't think I could ever go back to life with Microsoft. Ask my wife and I think she'd tell you the same thing -- she's been using Linux exclusively for about a year.

If you take my advice and read the literature I've suggested, you'll have a much smoother, more pleasant initial experience with Linux than I did. I had no previous experience with Linux/Unix, so it was very foreign to me and therefore hard to break into. If I would have just read a good book or two on the subject right from the get-go, I'd be miles ahead of where I am now. The concepts are surprisingly easy to understand when they're explained in plain English; especially when you're actually using the system while you're studying it.

-AT

P.S. - Make sure the version of Mandrake you get from your buddy is up to date -- at least version 10.0 as of this writing, preferrably the 'Official' version.

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Big B

Mandrake is good as already mentioned. I've also found SuSe Linux to have a very slick installer and updating system.

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Yuchao719

Thanks guys. I've read the replies and will respond during Spring Break when I have time to study, install, and configure Linux. I'm definitely gonna dwell deeper into this OS.

Another few things:
- Is linux faster than Windows... say 98se or XP?
- Can windows programs run on Linux?
- Is there as much a variety of programs as Windows on Linux?(like many different programs?)
- And if Linux is good and as easy to use as windows, why isn't it bundled with the computer systems on store shelves?

thanks

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1=0, 1!=0, and 1<0, 1>0 all at the same time. Now THAT is the meaning of life.

ninja fetus

1) yes. when you compile a kernel yourself, it can be very much more beneficial than the windows kernel.

2)yes. Through emulation under Wine and games can be played with full directX9.0 support under Cedega.

3) Yes. They are generally same programs, just open source. Meaning they do the same things, look partially the same and are free.

4)No one would buy them if Linux was on them. Only because the general population can't turn on a computer that doesn't have a button labeled power. They fear change and make no attempt to stray away from their own understandings. I salute you for doing so

Anti-Trend

I'll answer your questions one at a time for simplicity:

"Is linux faster than Windows... say 98se or XP?"
Your question is more complicated than it seems. Windows is is more or less the way it is; there is very little flexibility, so its speed is determined by the raw power of the system on which it runs. Linux is a very modular operating system, so a large portion of its components are optional. As a result, it can be fine tuned, scaled down to run on very poor hardware, or scaled up to run on a 64-processor, 64GB-RAM behemoth. In other words, Linux can certainly be faster and generally perform better than any version of Windows, and it can be slower as well, depending on how it's configured. Most mainstream Linux distributions perform about the same as Windows in terms of GUI responsiveness right out of the box, but it doesn't take much work to get more performance out of them. All versions of Linux, in any configuration, multi-task much better than Windows.

"Can windows programs run on Linux?"
Yes and no. Linux is a very different system, so Windows software is written quite differently than Linux software. They are not compatible by default, unless specificly written in a cross-platform API, like JAVA or python. With WINE however, an API compatibility layer is provided to make programs 'think' they're running on Windows. This works with varying levels of success. Some programs work perfectly, some barely, some not at all. Cedega is a commercial version of WINE which specifically provides compatibility for games. Check out their massive supported game library. Still, the best way to run programs in Linux is when they're written for Linux in the first place. This isn't much of a problem though, because for instance Mandrake alone ships with 2,000 individual programs included!

"Is there as much a variety of programs as Windows on Linux?(like many different programs?)"
Like I mentioned above, there are tons. Not as many as on Windows, but a surprising amount. There are programs for every purpose, including games, multimedia and office software. And many programs you may be used to in Windows, like Mozilla Firefox, have Linux versions also. Until recently, the only program that existed in Windows that Linux had no equivilent for was Outlook's built-in network calendering software. Now though, the folks at Mozilla.org are working on Mozilla Sunbird, an open-source, cross-platform calendering program. There are also various other programs along these lines, such as KDE's 'Kontact'.

"And if Linux is good and as easy to use as windows, why isn't it bundled with the computer systems on store shelves?"
Another deceptively complicated question, but a good one. Most hardware vendors, for instance HP and Dell, have very restricive business deals which prohibit them from pre-installing Linux on their hardware. If they work closely with MS, they get the carrot (hint: $$$). If they install a competitor's OS on their hardware, they get the stick (no soup for you!). However, some larger companies realize that there is a profit to be made on Linux also, so they are beginning to sell Linux-preinstalled PCs and laptops. For instance, Wallmart and HP both have inexpensive Linux PCs and Laptops for sale now. And Dell is making tons of money from selling servers with Linux preinstalled.

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Yuchao719

Okay I get it now. I'll be back to ask more about the installation during Spring Break when I have loads of time. Thank you Anti-Trend.

Be back to bug u guys in a week or so

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ProcalX

Good Posts AT

I would also highly recommend Mandrake / SuSe Linux Distros - both very good.

I'm currently building myself my own install of Gentoo Linux, which is quite a steep learning curve.

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Yuchao719

After a tightly squeezed schedule (homework + activities in clubs and other stuff to do) and much delay, I have finally remembered my good ol' pc. I am back and finally got my hands on a website and downloaded a copy of Linux RedHat 9 Shrike and extracted the iso images onto my HD. Took a while. The smileys have changed.. ..different

Anyways, back to business.. I've decided to try to dual boot my Celery 466MHz w/256MB RAM and 19GB HD(my daytoday machine) with Windows 98SE currently on it with RH9 Shrike. Where do I start? Fdisk or some other linux partitioner? I've never partitioned a HD b4 and need some advice to start off.

And should I get a bigger HD? I'm not a HD space hogger and with windows 98 currently on, I'm only using like 4 gigs or so plus 2 gigs of my 2.4GB storage slave drive.

Thanks

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1=0, 1!=0, and 1<0, 1>0 all at the same time. Now THAT is the meaning of life.

andyahunt

I personally prefer fedora