Which Distro?

[fancypiper]

:D You define a good distro! :D

The fastest way to answer your question is get something like one of the packages that the cheap cd places have with a bunch of distros. Try them and tell us what makes a good distro!

[Wallex]

A challenge?
If it weren't because...
a. I haven't even finished installing my first distro
b. I don't have the cash to get a bunch of distros and try them out
c. even if b weren't a problem, if I had to spend a day or two installing each of the distros would steal what remains of my so called social life
d. I am too lazy for these kinda things.
e. How will I get the distros? I am in some remote South American country, Linux is pretty much unknown (I got it from probably one of the only persons who gives technical support to Linux users in this country), and internet connections leave much to be desired for, I can't spend weeks downloading the CD's I need to test distros out!
f. I am a newbie, why must I suffer through that? (might be good to get to learn Linux though).
Still, someday I'd like testing out all distros... by the way, if somehow by miracle I manage to get the installation cd's of some distros, how easy is it to install them? I know some distros do not like each other (won't allow coexistance in the same machine), but.. considering I've gone through the pain of configuring all hardware the first time, will I have to do that AGAIN for each distro? That wouldn't sound logical to me.
Plus, there's already a good bunch of people around here that have tried all sorts of distros... anyway... I'll narrow down my choices.. just tell me what are popular FREE distros around the place and I'll 'randomly' pick from those (I usually just go to their site and read the 'features' of the distro). Anyway.. for software installing and upgrading, which are the best distros? The ones that support RPM?

[fancypiper]

I have cds I will give away for a SASE and I am sure others do as well. See this thread (http://linuxnewbie.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55338)

[evulish]

A distro for advanced users is usually something less bubbly and pretty. Basically, Gnome and/or KDE aren't installed by default :) Debian and Slackware are the most popular "advanced" distro. You basically need a basic knowledge of the basic features of your basic linux. (Did I overuse "basic"?)

[total newbie]

I want to play around with linux but as i used a shared comp i cant install it to the hd

ive heard that there are a few distros that run striaght off a cd

does anyone know which 1 is the best to use?

probably going to try SUSE live-eval 8

[KageMurai]

I am running SuSE 8 at home and I have tried the SuSE Live CDs from 7.1 to 8.0. They definately are a good entrance to Linux, but sooner or later you should install Linux together with Windows. You can use a bootmanager to choose your Operating System at boot time. All you need is about 200 MB of disk space for the Live CDs (you don't have to change the partitioning data) or about 2 GB for the standard SuSE installation.

HTH

[total newbie]

thanks will try suse live 8

cant do the bootmanager thing cus its not MY PC

i will prob do a hd install of linux when i get my own pc!

[mdwatts]

There is also DemoLinux http://www.demolinux.org/

[KageMurai]

Originally posted by total newbie
cant do the bootmanager thing cus its not MY PC

Where's the problem with choosing the operating system at boot time? Even if the other computer users don't have _any_ clue about Linux they can choose "Windows" and press <ENTER> afterwards.

[total newbie]

i downloaded and burned suse live eval 8
i then made a boot floppy beacuse my bios isnt set to boot from cd.

when i try to boot with the boot floppy i get the suse live eval 8 screen

and after a few seconds i get a message come up saying cannot find initrd press any key to reboot.

:confused: IS it me or is the bootdisk just useless?

i wrote the file bootdisk to a floopy using rawwrite thats on the cd in the folder suse disks as the readme file said! :confused:

[demian]

knoppix (http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html) is quite a cool CD distro. It comes with KDE 2.2, xmms, gimp and even OpenOffice.org

[total newbie]

is there a small distro that includes x and a light window manager that i can use for my old 486?

under 200mb?

oh and im gonna try demolinux 3 on the other pc

[Timothy L. Miller]

Debian Potatoe. Still uses XF86 v3.xxx, so it should be able to run without tooo many problems. I believe a minimal installation of debian goes around 100 MB, you can have a fully X-capable (no gnome or kde though) still within your constraints. Of course, this is dependant upon how much RAM you have...the more the better. Preferrably at least 32, although I've heard of people running with 16. Less that 16 I doubt you'd get it working. Also, what type of video card?

[total newbie]

actully i only got 8mb ram and 512k vidram

and i did once get debian and x working on it

problem is none of the programs worked i just go messages saying they couldnt be found :confused:

amazing considering its only a 486 laptop 25mhz cpu 200mb hd and 8mb ram

and yeah it was slow so wot!

thats y im getting demo linux 4 the other box which is a p3 500

[sarah31]

peanut linux may be an option too.

[total newbie]

i used peanut linux on my destop once and liked it but had to delete it cus of the space! (i know it doest take much but the win98 drive is only a gig)

anyway to the point is there anyway to do a custom install of peanut i dont want the full 600mb:eek:

[sarah31]

well their claim is that one can install their distro with x under 200MB so i would assume that there is such an option.

i forgot to mention that there is a distro called tiny linux out there too that may do too.

[total newbie]

Originally posted by sarah31
well their claim is that one can install their distro with x under 200MB so i would assume that there is such an option.



is wot there site says its its a 220mb download and under 600mb unless u got an older version or something

(peanut)

[total newbie]

going to try tiny linux on the 486 ;) hope it wrks

[total newbie]

got tiny linux installed and can start x

but its only in 320x240 in 16 colours

i know that it will do 640x480 256 colours cus i managed to do it on debian

(i wiped debian because none of the packages installed properly)

i have wd 90c26 chipset anf got it to work as a wd90c24 in 640x480 on debain but cant seem to do the same in tiny

[mdwatts]

I see you have already started a new thread on this. I don't want to confuse the issue or waste time by duplicating what others have already posted in the other thread.

[total newbie]

how?

i dont know to to configure x aprat from running the xf86config

[total newbie]

started a new post about this in tech support anyway

[LoKe137]

I have a 340Mb HD...I am just starting with linux, and I want to install my first distro in this HD...do you have any sugestion to which distro should I use??

[sarah31]

tuniy linux, peanut linux, debian.

[LoKe137]

Debian 3.0???

[sarah31]

Originally posted by LoKe137
Debian 3.0???

Possibly the based install is not very big but x could be a challenge. Oh and forget KDE or GNome they are likely too big for the drive.

[bosox79]

I am a linux newbie and I was wondring what flavor of linux would be best for me just use I am a big into gaming and multimedia and web surfing and some programming including HTML and some C++

my system spec's are:

AMD PR 1800 processor

AMD ( ASUS A7V266 KT266

Motherboard)

PC 2100256 MB of DDR RAM

(IDE) 40GB IBM deskstar 60GXP 7200
rpm ata 100 hard drive (NTFS format)

9 GB Quatium fire ball 4500 rpm ata hard drive ( FAT 32 format)

Toshiba 16X DVD rom drive)

Plextor plexwriter CDR/RW drive 16X-10X-40X

nVidia Geforce 2 Titanium Ti 64 DDR (w/TVoutput )
Creative labs soundblaster audigy gammer

RCA cable modem model # DCM245R

300W ATX power supply

logitech wheel mouse optical usb

microsoft natural keybord

I am currently running windows XP home on my main drive, the 40GB, but I am going to install linux on the 9GB drive

thanks for all the help in advance

bosox79

[dmsantam]

my system is almost exactly the same as yours. and i can tell you that Mandrake 8.2 is definitely the way to go for you. Download it from www.linuxiso.org

hope that helps

[MadeInChina]

Slackware
http://www.slackware.org

It's pretty lightweight IMO.

[Gaxus]

:cool: http://coredistro.sourceforge.net :cool:

hmmmmmmm maybe not for your first distro....... but it will fit alright :)

[jglen490]

tuniy linux

:confused:

Let's see, "tuna", "tuneful", oh wait you mean Tiny Linux (http://tiny.seul.org/en/) !!:D

[miskatonic]

I hafta agree with dmsantam, Mandrake is prob'ly yer best bet. It's incredibly easy to install Linux on its own drive ( I just went thru this, only like 2 weeks ago). Mandrake is really n00b-friendly and walks ya thru the install, holdin' yer hand. Go with the GNOME desktop environment, it looks cooler.:D

[fancypiper]

The ones that don't run on Windows partitions, of course. :eek:

:D Pick one or several (http://www.elinux.com/articles/distros/). They are all the best 'cause they're Linux! :D

Discount Linux CDs (http://www.edmunds-enterprises.com/linux/)
Linux Central (http://linuxcentral.com/)
Cheapbytes (http://cart.cheapbytes.com/cgi-bin/cart)

[bosox79]

Thanks for all the help I will give mandrake a try :)

[Ziphnor]

I realize that the question of choosing a distribution must come up plenty of times a day, but i still feel compelled to ask.

Im a computer geek with a B.Sc. in Computer Science/Mathematics(and starting on a cand.it(Master degree i think youd call it) after the summer. I m a decent Java programmer, and am becoming a a-better-than-decent C++ programmer.
Im also a amateur game developer, hopelessly trying to make a 2D single player roleplaying game in C++.
It started out as Windows project, but later i decided i liked OpenGL better than Direct Graphics, and that caused me to jump on the SDL(Simple DirectMedia Layer) wagon, making the whole project portable. At the same time i was really disgusted by the M$ VC.NET compilers lacking compliancy with the C++ standard(can anyone say partial template specialization? M$ cant anyway)
I noticed that the newer versions of gcc seemed to work much better.

That combined with assorted recent Microsoft policies, like Palladium and Product activation etc. made me decide to go as much linux as i could!(i want to change all my programming

I have Mandrake 8.2 installed dual boot on my aging laptop, but never really got into using it seriously, so i know the basics of linux, partitioning, basic console stuff etc.
Im not used to using make and similar for building programs, ive always used visual IDE's like Visual Studio and JBuilder.

I have a few preferences to the style of distro:

1. Graphics config programs are nice(i prefer them to messing with config files directly), but only if they actually reflect the config file they work on, i hate editing a config file directly, only to
have it overwritten or overridden(in some cases ;) by the config program.(or even worse, you change the config file, and the GUI program just *thinks* the settings are still the same.

2. Im going to mess around *alot* with my installation, and since im a newbie, im going to screw up everything if i dont have some How-To's to follow. With the mandrake installation i had some problems with it not including some of the more standard programs that the How-To's refer to(i was trying to install true type fonts....), which was annoying. SO i would prefer a distro that has the "standard" stuff, as well as putting it in the "standard" locations.(again i dont know much about it, but someone mentioned that Mandrake puts the KDE stuff some weird places or something similar.)

So overall im not too keen on Mandrake(also because the Mosfet Liquid theme that looks so cool, is hard to get to work on mandrake). Basicly i really want to be able to install all the cool stuff available for linux, and actually being able to follow the instructions given!

Currently im considering Suse 8.0 or Redhat 7.3, but im open to suggestions.

Im also interested in a book/or online tutorial that has a basic introduction to development on the linux platform, ie, stuff like "where is my header files" "where are the libraries" "how to use dynamic loaded libraries in linux" etc etc, as well as explaining make and similar.

[Rui Alves]

we really are all different: I love my madrake :D

[Dun'kalis]

Libranet/Debian is nice. Apt-get rocks. Debian has a bunch of command line tools, and Libranet has GUI tools.

Any of the RPM distros are good, too: Caldera, Red Hat, SuSE, ad nauseaum.

Just avoid Lindows. Its a bastardized version of Debian that costs $99 to try the BETA, and $99 more to access their software.

[Ziphnor]

"we really are all different: I love my madrake"

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Mandrake, it just seemed that to me that it wasnt the best place to learn about linux.

[Choozo]

Originally posted by Ziphnor
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Mandrake, it just seemed that to me that it wasnt the best place to learn about linux.
Mandrake is a good place to start learning.
When you start learning to drive, you don't start with building your car ...... that comes later :D

Cheers :)

[Ziphnor]

When you start learning to drive, you don't start with building your car ...... that comes later

True, but it would be an annoyance starting to learn with a car where the steering wheel was in the wrong side of the car wouldnt it? *kidding*

Anyway, my point is that instructions usually seem to be written for Redhat or Suse(with an odd note for Debian)....

I might be completely wrong though. Anyway, i definetly want an distro that comes with KDE 3.0 installed and set up to look good ;)
And Mandrake 8.2 doesnt, and i dont want to wait for the next installment.

[fancypiper]

You make your car the way you want it to be and know how to fix it if you build it yourself. :D

When you get tired of driving the automatic shifting distros, you might want a sports car with a straight shift, or a pickup, or an ATV, or....

:D Gentoo :D My shiny new dragster. How do you like it? :cool:

Some good starting points for Linux, they should be in your bookmarks/favorites.

Linux Newbie Administrator Guide (http://sunsite.dk/linux-newbie/)

Linux without the technobabble (http://www.linuxnewbieguide.com/)

Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition (http://rute.sourceforge.net/)

[Gaxus]

Why not install whatever you want yourself? You will learn a lot more that way.... isn't that what you wanted?

As for distro wise- any will do- it is a matter of preference and generally comes down to user-control/automation but mostly automation.

Generally you tend to find the less automated the distro , the faster you learn because you are FORCED to learn.

One can learn to build a car and drive at the same time. Not only does this save time but it is also the fastest way to learn. :p

[Choozo]

Got Mandrake 8.2 running here now, and upped KDE to 3.0.x last night by RPMs. Had to get a few RPMs from www.rpmfind.net to solve some dependancies though, but otherwise it installed just fine.
Only annoyance now is that 'kicker' locks up on me every now and then. The solution is to kill that process and restart it.

$ ps -aef | grep kicker
rka 30229 1 0 22:04 pts/0 00:00:01 kicker
$ kill -9 30229
$ kicker&


On the other hand, RedHat 7.3 ships with KDE3.0.x

Cheers :)

[Rui Alves]

To be honest I think that a complete newbie will do much much better with a more automated distro (like mandrake). Why? Because it eases the frustration of not being able to get thinks done. This fustration sometimes even drives people out of linux.

You get things going and then (even at the same time) you try to understand how things were done (what config files were written? whith what?). You can ask questions around - in forums like this one - with the safety that 1) you have things working and 2) you are learning as long as you want to learn.

With time you will get the need to be more and more in control of your machine and then you move to a more customizable distro. By then that is not a problem anymore because you know what you are doing...

just my 2 cents

Rui Alves
php-db.com (http://php-db.com)

[Ziphnor]

Actually, i did install KDE 3 on my laptop with MDK 8.2 using rpm, it worked somewhat okay, but everytime i restarted i was asked for language and other settings again. There were also some problems with some apps not working; the default konsole program would lock up the taskbar for example.

What i want is a distro that is easy to install, but which allows me to still mess around with the configuration when i feel like it.
This is quite important, ive messed with Linux 3 times, once with redhat 6.2 then again with MDK 7.something and latest with MDK 8.2 on my laptop. Each time i thought, "Wow, cool", played around, but still went back to windows to work/play, because there were some things i couldnt get to work 100%, or i couldnt get it to look good :)

Btw, which distro currently has the newest gcc compiler?(preferably 3.1+).

Perhaps this time i should just wipe windows, and not re-install it until i have linux 100% setup like i want it? :)

Currently im pretty hot on Suse, its seems like a solid distro, and i havent heard mention of too many problems when installing things on it.[And they have specific information about installing truetype fonts on Suse on their website].
The only bummer, is that you can't get CD images, but have to install over the net or LAN(would a net install be painful over a 384/128 ADSL line? )

[aceracer24]

Point blank if your BIG into gaming..linux is not for you. DO NOT DELETE YOUR EXISTING WINDOWS. Awesome that you want to try linux and please do...but linux is not a gaming rig. There are porgrams such as wine and winex that are suppose to help this along. Mandrake includes the Sims and winex but most games as of yet will not run on linux. Quake has a linux ability and so do a few other games. I know from experience that with winex I can run Jedi Outcast but NONE of my other games will work. As for the other things you do linux will be great for it. But the games thing is a limiting factor for MOST people. I have not used Mandrake but I have both Suse 8.0 and RedHat 7.3. Suse 8.0 has everything that RedHat has but I think is better designed in that Suse makes it easier to get things working right off the bat then RedHat does. RedHat makes you work harder to get things working. Example...RedHat detects the Audigy soundcard but will not load the right drivers to make it work. So you have to locate the drivers and install them. After that the Audigy works great. My point is that if you want a very easy to use distro then Suse 8.0 IMHO is the best for newbies. I can't speak for Mandrake since I don't have it.

[Ziphnor]

I know bumping is bad(TM) :) But i really could use a little more feedback?

Btw, big *thank you* to fancypiper, those links are *exactly* the kind of information i was looking for!

[fancypiper]

You say "aging laptop", so your resources may be limited and you might want to try Redhat 6.2

It is really stable now, has a fairly easy install on all the boxes I have installed it on.

The one cd has all the tools to partition with using either dos tools or linux tools. It has the docs on the cd as well which is really handy.

Redhat 7.2, a 2 disk install, is stable now but feels sluggish compared to rh 6.2

Redhat 7.3 had a lot of my stuff I like to use either broken or dropped from their packages, so I went back to 7.2

I have always had bad luck with mandrake's install (first attempt 'drake 8.0, gave up on it at 8.2, so I have cds to give away :).

I think it would be a close call between Redhat 6.2 and 7.2, and getting Red Carpet to handle software until you get a handle on Linux.

Recommending something to a newbie is really hard because I have only succeeded in getting only 2 distros going, Redhat and Gentoo running. I did get mandrake on to an older computer with a small hard drive, but never could find the tools to configure my pci modem. (a missing device and no setserial command :eek: )

I do have Debian and SuSe and a Slackware here that I don't have a comp to try it on yet, so I can't comment on those.

Thats my $0.005 (inflation, you know) worth.

The idiot hath spaken!

[fancypiper]

:o Doh! <smack forehead> I got promoted to moron but I keep forgetting :mad: :o

[Jbstew32-2.0]

:cool: Debian :cool:

[Ziphnor]

Ooops, i forgot to make one thing clear.
I have 2 computers: an old PII-400/160MB ram laptop
with WinXP/MDK8.2 *and* my primary PC a 850Mhz TBird with 384MB ram and a geforce 2 64 MB video card :)

This distro was intended for my primary computer, but the suggestions for my laptop are also interesting :)

Sorry about the confusion.

[fancypiper]

Originally posted by Ziphnor
Ooops, i forgot to make one thing clear.
I have 2 computers: an old PII-400/160MB ram laptop
with WinXP/MDK8.2 *and* my primary PC a 850Mhz TBird with 384MB ram and a geforce 2 64 MB video card :)

This distro was intended for my primary computer, but the suggestions for my laptop are also interesting :)

Sorry about the confusion.

I'm a moron, I confuse very easily. Just wait until I reach imbicile. Then I'll know stuff gooder. :D

I would do a board search on your video card to see the driver experiences they are having and I have heard the drivers are easier in Gentoo than others, but they all will catch up. You will need a later kernel and the nvidia drivers, so Redhat 7.3 may make more sense although I have heard others say the vid config is easier on other distros.

If you are dual booting the main pc with anything that uses NTFS (nt/2000/xp), there are a few hoops to jump through because of that, so a board search for windows xp will turn up interesting reading that will guide you in your choice.

[Ziphnor]

I know a little of the NTFS issues already, from my laptop, here ended up changing the NTFS partition to FAT32, i will probably do the same with my "storage" partition on my primary PC.

As to video drivers, i was under the impression that nvidia was well supported, and had OpenGL hardware acceleration?

Ive also had MDK 8.2 installed at one point at my primary PC, but i couldnt get my (Microsoft!) USB mouse to work, so eventually i gave up. I hope this wont be a problem anymore, ive seen alot about "improved USB support" lately. Apart from that i think everything worked on my PC under MDK 8.2.
So id guess that Suse 8.0 or Redhat 7.3 could figure it out.
But if one of them auto-installed drivers with OGL hardware accel. then that would definetly be a good "selling" point.....

EDIT: Regarding the suggestions to use Debian:
Doesnt the latest stable version only use Kernel 2.2.20 as well as KDE 2? Doesnt sound to encouraging to me :)

[fancypiper]

Here is the page for nvidia Linux (http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=linux) so you can check the latest info. Some folks have been having a fit trying to do it and others have had a simple time getting them to work. :confused:

Redhat 7.2 had no trouble with my usb optical mouse. It picked a generic 3 button, but I selected it in the list during install and it had no problems after. Usb is starting to work OK now.

One of the reasons I chose Redhat as my first choice was that most of the bbs were discussing it, so I figured I could get more help with that than any other distro.

Hurry up and install something! Any distro except the ones that run on fat32 partitions, that is.

[Ziphnor]

I took a look at that nvidia page( ive seen it before actually) and it seems very simpl as long as you have Redhat/Suse/MDK.

Its sounds good regarding my USB mouse, i hope itll work :)

Are there any forums that specificly discuss Suse?
Mandrake has plenty of community stuff, filled with people that are pretty helpful, which is great. Given the popularity of the Redhat distro i assume they have some websites like that?

I dont think MDK 9 can make it in time for my install, so its got to be either Suse 8.0 or redhat 7.3 ... hmm...

[Drozen20]

I am buying a store bought copy of Linux tomorow instead of the one i downloaded.

What should i get?

I liked Red Hat since it has my Geforce4 drivers already.

I liked Mandrake because...uh... it has high recomendation from the cd download place hyperlinked from linux.com

I like turbolinux because it has the word turbo in it.

what should i get?

By the way i intended to make this post slightly silly so dont take me seriously but i do want to know what you think. :)

[JALU]

Slackware. :)

[Saptech]

Buy all the ones you like!:D O, and don't 4get Slack!

[fancypiper]

Don't make up your mind. Buy all three! :D

[Drozen20]

Nah.. no slakware for me its too advanced.
I'm going with redhat since i know best buy carries it.

If I see SuSE aka.. Suuuzaaaa... Ill get it instead.

I realized by looking at your Lovely little signature that I am asking a question that is a bit trite.

[Rui Alves]

I liked Mandrake because...uh... it has high recomendation from the cd download place hyperlinked from linux.com And high recomendation from me but...uh... is this worth anything:D?

[Okie]

I will say if you want a good and stable and mostly bug free distro that will install with little trouble and easy to configure stick with Redhat...

Don't forget to put a checkmark on KDE during install...

[Drozen20]

I ended up getting SuSE.

I like it and feel good knowing that I payed for a copy of LNO.

I realized that its the Kernel, Install, and Desktop Enviroment that really matter.

So I got SuSE since it has a DvD install disk. 3 manuals Basic / Applications / Refrence to look at so that I do not have to ask as manny questions that i can answer for myself.

On a sad note my DVD w/ SuSE on it had a scratch. I have to go back to Best Buy and see if they will solve this for me. Else i have to crack out my Disk Dr. which i dont want to do.

[Drozen20]

Originally posted by Rui Alves
And high recomendation from me but...uh... is this worth anything:D?

Shure your adivice is worthwile. I asked right?

[Timothy L. Miller]

If you want to contribute more, go to the libranet site and pick up a copy of their latest. What can be better than debian with utilities added to make it easy to configure??

:D :D DEBIAN :D :D

[fancypiper]

A lot of distros/projects have ways to donate to the cause at their websites and some cd suppliers donate a part of their profits to the cause as well, so poor people like me can order the cheap cds and donate what we can afford. I paid $15 to gentoo, but I think I'll let Redhat earn theirs since they sell service. Gentoo just provides the downloads and forums and web documentation and a fun distro.

I have more time than money, so I try to get more people to try it. Some do like it. :D

[Karl_Marx]

what Distro do you think is best?
and give reason to the answer Please:D

[Okie]

for newbies i allways reccomend Redhat for its ease of use and simplicity...

for a linux user that wants to know more of that "Under the hood" Linux kind of stuff i reccomend Slackware, but this may soon change to Debian when i get my Debian-3 Woody CDrom and give Debian a spin...

[l01yuk]

Well here goes another one.... I don't think you know what youve started Karl.



:D :cool: :D Debian :cool: :D :cool:

Well thought out, very stable, the best package manager, easy to control, it's not for slackers :) .

[mrBen]

I don't.

Why?

Because every user is different, and has different needs. Just like not everyone needs to drive a pickup, not everyone needs the features of some distros.

So there.

[z0mbix]

here we go again....Debian => reasons (http://www.debian.org/social_contract)

[nextbillgates]

Mandrake is a great distro for n00bs to start out, and is also the best choice for a day-to-day use distro.

Debian is great for servers, due to low amount of maintainence required.

I also like Gentoo, but it's too bleeding edge to be used on servers, and I don't have a spare machine to play on.

[liquidfx13]

i'd have to go with any distro......what's most important to me is the availability of customization if i want it. With any linux distro you know that you can do what you want when you want and how you want to do it.....that's what makes linux the best OS IMHO.....if i had to choose a distro right now it would be a toss up between Slack and Drake. I like the automation that Drake has (it's not too intrusive for me and what is i can easily change) and i like the learning curve that Slack gives me.

[kmj]

Rather than saying "the best", I'll tell you my favorite.

Debian

why? I'll just list a few reasons; there are more

1) APT rules; hands down, it is the best package management system I've seen. tars can't save you from dependency hell. RPM can't save you from dependency hell. APT can and does save me from dependecny hell. Example: Suppose I need an mpg player; I ask apt what's out there. Apt tells me what its got; in the form of a list of packages and their discriptions... I then ask apt to install a package; call it A. On it's own, it determines what other packages A depends on.. let's say B, C, D (i.e, I need to have packages B, C, D installed before I can use package A). Apt realizes that I have package C, but not B or D... so Apt takes care of B and D for me, going through the same process. It finds out B depends on E, which I have, and D depends on F and G, which I don't have. It then checks F and G, neither of which have any unmet dependencies. APT now gets G, F, B, D, and A for me, and installs them. When I had Mandrake, the previous process would have involved something like going to google, searching for "linux mpg player" or something, and hoping something comes up; then after navigating around and finding an rpm to download, I'd get it, and run rpm and find out that I had to go get more packages... lather, rinse, repeat; it was a pain in the *** that often ended up with me giving up in frustration.

2) APT rules, hands down. Did I already mention that?

3) Debian was no harder to install than mandrake. Not one bit. I had held of on installing Debian for quite a while, because I'm lazy and I knew I wouldn't want to invest too much time into it. Debian has a reputation for being for "hardcore" geeks, so I worried that it would be more effort than I wanted to put in. It wasn't. ... (oh, and mandrake was easy to install, fyi).

4) Debian feels much cleaner; partially because of APT, and also because you only have the applications on your system which you want. You could wade through the other distro's custom install, turning off all the silly things.. or you can do a debian minimal install and apt-get what you need when you need it. Gives you a much better "feel" for your system.

[Timothy L. Miller]

Yet another Debian lover. With a twist. I like Libranet, which is based on debian. It still has everything that makes debian debian, but it includes libranets utilities to make configuration SO much easier.

[mdwatts]

Caldera OpenLinux Workstation & Server 3.1.1 because I NEVER have problems.

You are advised to do your own research for what distro will support your particular hardware and has the features you are looking for.

No use asking us as you will be the one using it.

[baragon0]

You'd think that with the same Kernel they'd all offer the same stability.

The best is going to come out ahead, commercialize it's product and we'll have another microsoft on a smaller scale. Red Hat is doing it. They're like Microsoft, only instead of blowing billion on "combating piracy", they keep people happy with the illusion that it's free.

[ralph wiggum]

I started out with redhat 5.2, then went on to 7 and 7.2. I didnt like any of em. Everything had a redhat logo, and it just seemed to be the Microsoft of all the linuxs. In Xwindows there were all sorts of "Redhat" applets and programs. I just dont like that for some reason.

I tried debian 2.2R4 but couldnt get it installed :o disk was scratched, but it was like $2)

Now im using slackware 8 and I LOVE it.

1) you can install everything at the install, then remove each package with "removepkg" or even install packages you didnt install at the install (whew) with installpkg

very slick. I dont know if other distros are like that.

2) It just seems real. Nothing has a stupid logo on it. Nothing says "Slackware" on it like in Redhat

3) It works

I dl'ed gentoo 1.2 but have yet to try it.

[Okie]

Ralph, i agree with you about Redhat being microsoftish in their marketing and branding their OS, it is a peeve to me too, atleast you can still download Redhat ISOs free where SuSe only lets you ftp install online, i guess SuSe is afraid you might burn a CDrom and share it with somebody, i guess all those highly commercialized distros have their little ways of pissing people off, lol...

[nram]

Iam a debian lover... With 3.0, the install has improved dramatically. The pains assosiacted with confusing dselect package select optins are hidden. Most of my devices are auto configured... Very impressive. As mentioned before, apt-get is a wonderful package management tool

Mandrake 8.2 is the next best choice.Very clean install, good selection of packages, a very good control center.

-- nram

[SonicSnoop]

Well I dont know if you would consider it a Distro or not, but I like LFS (Linux From Scratch).. I normally used Mandrake before i found out about LFS.. and it has been a very good learning experience for me.. :)

[Dun'kalis]

Debian rocks. Very slick, very well organized, and easy to maintain.

[LiberalDoughboy]

There are so many choices out there, i thought i would get some opinions of the linux community. I am going to be putting linux on my box soon, but i want to make sure i dont overwhelm myself. Some of the distros i heard that are good for newbs is Mandrake, Suse, Lycoris, and ive heard somethings regarding libranet.

[Compuflyer]

Hello All. Approximately 2 or 3 months ago I was attempting to install Red Hat 7.3 and I ran into problems concerning my HighPoint Raid 372 controller. RedHat 7.3 would not recognize it. The help file concerning RAID controllers did not help in my case. I am concerning downloading Mandrake or perhaps Debian. Does anyone knopw which specific distro would support my RAID configuration ? I am getting a little bored with Windows though I need to keep it. I would like a dual boot situation Windows XP PRO and Linux .... Thanks...

[Bokkenka]

A quick search on Google says you can make it work by using a special bootdisk supplied by Abit. Unfortunately, I can't get to the site right at the moment to look. Check it out later.

Abit's home is << here >> (http://www.abit.com.tw/)

[Compuflyer]

Apparently that solution is only good for Red Hat 7.1. Does anyone know of any distro that will work with my setup ?

[UlTiMaTeHH]

ok i desided to throw away my windows cds and step completely over at linux unix based system im a 15 yr old boy and im wondering WICH version of linux is best 4 me and where i can download it because this is my first time and there are so many different linuxes i asked here please give me a tip

[mdwatts]

Caldera OpenLinux Workstation 3.1.1

[z0mbix]

Originally posted by mdwatts
Caldera OpenLinux Workstation 3.1.1

You've given in! It had to happen one day. It seems like this question will never stop getting asked! :)

[Ashmai]

im a new user to Linux, and have tried a couple diffrent versions. I found that RedHat was maybe not my FAVORITE, but still good, it was still pretty user friendly. and that counts for a first time install... you can download the 3 ISO images at www.redhat.com

but i recommend going here first....

http://www.redhat.com/download/howto_download.html


good luck!

-Ash

oh, I hope you have patients :) took me only 36 hours to get my NVIDIA drivers working... Those 3 CD's that you download, do not install any kernel headers.... have to manually install them off the CD after primary install ::)

[UlTiMaTeHH]

ok thx im gonna try redhead but i have an nvidia geforce 2 mx 400 so maybe u can also tell me how u got it to work?

[RonaldRaygun]

lol ok even though this question is asked 13 times a week, i am also 15 so i will answer. I started out using Red Hat 7.3. It is very good if you want to start learning. Go get the book Red hat 7.2 weekend crash course. The book is $20 US and it comes with the installation CD's. Now if you want to start with Red hat 7.3 the book is still great becasue hardly anything had changed. The book guides you through a lot of stuff and is very helpful. After you got the basics down, and feel comfortable with red hat you can move up to bigger and better things.


Stick with it, Linux is great.

P.S.- Buy red hat at the store, come on its only $50. I own stock in the company:D

[MagicalMagician]

I've been a newbie for 3 days, and in the last 3 days I have finally began to begin to begin to begin to begin to start to begin to begin to start to begin to get used to Linux! I am loving it so far tho!

I successfully installed MANDRAKE-LINUX 8.2

It's very nice and relatively easy :) I think you should try that one?

http://www.mandrake-linux.com is the web site i think, if it isn't, then search in Google for: "Mandrake".

[kmj]

The first issue is that there is only one linux. (though there are different kernels; that is to say, different releases of the same program).. There are many different distributions of linux. Please realize that they all use the same Linux. Which is best is not the right question. The right question is which is best for you. I don't know the answer to that question.

[UlTiMaTeHH]

ok now im confused again where or how do i find out wich is best for me???

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by cheeky_zombie


You've given in! It had to happen one day. It seems like this question will never stop getting asked! :)

Actually no.... I was just coming back to repost. Someone help me...

UlTiMaTeHH... There is no 'BEST' Linux distro.

It all depends on which distro will support your particular hardware without you having to manually configure everything yourself.

Some have easy graphical based installers, while others use text base and are known to be more difficult for the newbie to install with.

I always recommend that anyone thinking of taking the plunge into the world of Linux first do their research by visiting all the websites of the distributions they are considering and compare their hardware against the hardware compatibility lists.

Review the software and features included and also search Google for Linux to see if any of their hardware components have been known to have problems with the distro/version you are considering.

Take some time reading the previous posts here at LNO to see what you can expect with each distro.

[Syngin]

Originally posted by cheeky_zombie


You've given in! It had to happen one day. It seems like this question will never stop getting asked! :)

Hehe. I was a little surprised too. :p

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by UlTiMaTeHH
ok now im confused again where or how do i find out wich is best for me???

See what happens when you ask this type of question? :D

I always say... do your own research and then you decide which is best for YOU.

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by Syngin


Hehe. I was a little surprised too. :p

You might want to take that back. :D

[mdwatts]

Forget what everyone else suggests.

Just download and install

Caldera OpenLinux Workstation 3.1.1

[UlTiMaTeHH]

well then can u give me a few sites of versions like debian and what about lindows is that something worth??

[UlTiMaTeHH]

donow why i wanna try caldera where can i dl that version?

[UlTiMaTeHH]

woops typed the smae thing twice ,lol

[mdwatts]

What do you mean Debian or Lindows?

You asked which Linux is the best and I told you.

Caldera OpenLinux Workstation 3.1.1

Even the name is impressive.

:)

[UlTiMaTeHH]

i ment what are those 2 i just heard about it but im interested in carldera or something only cant find it

[mdwatts]

ftp://ftp.iso.caldera.com/pub/OpenLinux/3.1.1/Workstation

Get CD1 and CD1A

If you like Caldera, let me know and I'll tell you where to get the supplemental cd image which contains Gnome, Windowmaker and lots of other software.

[UlTiMaTeHH]

okay my system is

asus tusl-2 mainboard
intel pentium 3 933 Mhz
Geforce 2 mx400
sblive! 1024
creative scrw4832
pioneer dvdrom
32 bits fast ethernet adapter

does operna work on this?
or isnt there anything that worx here
??? i think my pc is very old so .

[shipzNIN]

Originally posted by UlTiMaTeHH
ok i desided to throw away my windows cds and step completely over at linux unix based system im a 15 yr old boy and im wondering WICH version of linux is best 4 me and where i can download it because this is my first time and there are so many different linuxes i asked here please give me a tip

If you're new to Linux like I am I suggest something like RedHat or Mandrake. If you already know quite a bit about the operating system itself, go with something like Slackware. :-P

LINUX R0XX0Rz J00R B0X0RZ!!! ;)

[UlTiMaTeHH]

k im gonna dl it now do you have msn or doesnt it work on linux?

[mdwatts]

CD2 is the source rpms etc. which you shouldn't need.

[UlTiMaTeHH]

k only cd1 and cd1a? right im dling them now

[UlTiMaTeHH]

darn im getting an error windows cannot acces this folder (i know why) its because windows SUX

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by UlTiMaTeHH
okay my system is

asus tusl-2 mainboard
intel pentium 3 933 Mhz
Geforce 2 mx400
sblive! 1024
creative scrw4832
pioneer dvdrom
32 bits fast ethernet adapter

does operna work on this?
or isnt there anything that worx here
??? i think my pc is very old so .

Your system specs should all work fine with Caldera.

Make sure you disable PnP in the bios before you install.

[UlTiMaTeHH]

pnp okay ill disable it but the dl aint working windows cant find it ow i must leave my pc now im back in 30min

[Syngin]

Originally posted by mdwatts


Your system specs should all work fine with Caldera.

Make sure you disable PnP in the bios before you install.

I swear MD must be getting kickbacks from Caldera. ;)

[mdwatts]

From the Caldera ftp servers?

If Windows cannot go directory the the ftp address I posted, start with

ftp://ftp.iso.caldera.com/pub

the click on OpenLinux, then 3.1.1 and then Workstation.

I have no problem with Linux.

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by Syngin


I swear MD must be getting kickbacks from Caldera. ;)

How often do I even suggest Caldera?

I usually just let everyone suffer with those other distros. :D

I did get a 13 CD set from Caldera with most of their products. With quite a few of the manuals also.

[UlTiMaTeHH]

where can i get that set???

[fancypiper]

:D From Caldera (http://www.caldera.com/) possibly?

For cheapskates:
Discount Linux CDs (http://www.edmunds-enterprises.com/linux/)
Linux Central (http://linuxcentral.com/)
Cheapbytes (http://cart.cheapbytes.com/cgi-bin/cart)

[Pvt. Kernel]

If you want a popularity contest go to Distrowatch (http://www.distrowatch.com/index.php). You'll get alot more objective info there than by posting on any board, no offense to my fellow posters.

Having said that, I prefer Libranet at the moment, but there are alot of distros I haven't tried. Gentoo is on my "must try" list, as is Slackware, and BSD (not a Linux distro, I know), but I doubt I'll get to it before the end of this year. My plate it pretty full.

As for dislikes, I don't like Red Hat, Mandrake and SuSE, but I may revisit SuSE later. I am not fond of RPM's though, so I don't expect that opinion to change much.

[MagicalMagician]

Go with either Mandrake-Linux 8.2, SuSE Linux or RedHat, because from what I know, they are the easiest to Install and Use :)

[The Gemini]

I just installed the one I found... looked and fell how it was and then took another....

now with suse 8.0 pro and happy about it....

great for beginners becouse of the easy intal and config,
for more explerianced users... no idea, I'm not yet there ;-)

[UlTiMaTeHH]

well on that site can i find there the linux that in need??
cant i do a test or something a question list and then at the end they will tell ya wich 1 is best 4 you??? does that excist?

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by UlTiMaTeHH
well on that site can i find there the linux that in need??


Huh?


cant i do a test or something a question list and then at the end they will tell ya wich 1 is best 4 you??? does that excist?


I've never seen one.

[UlTiMaTeHH]

well thats to bad because im dling 1 now but not sure thats the right 1 4 me

[PuppetMaster]

Well I'm a newbie too. I am just digging up dirt on Linux before I go installing it. But I believe Linux Mandrake 8.2 is a great Version for newbies. And if you download all 3 CDs you'll have a load of programs to fiddle with. This version seems pretty easy in set up especially if you don't know what it is you're doing. Good luck :cool:

[UlTiMaTeHH]

k i think im gonna download mandrake everyone says thats the best im already downloading caldera now so im gonna download mandrake as well u know the prob is that if i dl the wrong one i cant dl another within the same day this is at least gonna take 5 days

[MagicalMagician]

Originally posted by PuppetMaster
Well I'm a newbie too. I am just digging up dirt on Linux before I go installing it. But I believe Linux Mandrake 8.2 is a great Version for newbies. And if you download all 3 CDs you'll have a load of programs to fiddle with. This version seems pretty easy in set up especially if you don't know what it is you're doing. Good luck :cool:

THREE CD'S?!?!?!?

How come I downloaded a TWO CD version!? I never saw a THREE CD version!!!

?!?!?!?!?

[UlTiMaTeHH]

ok now i really made my choice im fully going for Lycoris only cant find the place to download it??? does any1 know this please tell me?

[MagicalMagician]

ftp://sunsite.dk/mirrors/lycoris

looks GOOD !!!!! :eek:

[UlTiMaTeHH]

jeah thank!!!!
i was already pissed off when i found out i couldnt find the file
thxthxthxthxthxthxthx

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by MagicalMagician


THREE CD'S?!?!?!?

How come I downloaded a TWO CD version!? I never saw a THREE CD version!!!

?!?!?!?!?

The 3rd cd is actually the installation cd. You would think they would switch that around by now, wouldn't you?

Just kidding... :p

[pcghost]

Hey Md, Caldera is on the phone. They want to know where you want the royalty check sent to?? :p JK

Hey where's annie???????????????? Nooooooooo

[UlTiMaTeHH]

now where making fun of him right well when im a pro linux user something in about the year 2022
i will help everyone with everything

[Karl_Marx]

why dont you try Libranet 2.0.
easy to install, lots of packages and its Debian based

[UlTiMaTeHH]

ok i heard about debian before im starting to wonder whats debian is that a pro version or something?

[kam]

What you need to do is just download one, anyone that you think sounds cool. Then use it. After you get more experience you will want to download others and try them out. But right now just worry about getting Linux, any one of em.

[UlTiMaTeHH]

well i dont need to worry about it because im on 5% 4% and 6% of the 3 cds of Lycoris so it wont take more than a day ow the 4% is 5 now lol my connexion rulez u know cable = good i suggest everyone who reads this to take cable

[lahook]

I recommend Mandrake 8.2. I've tried several and I always keep Mandrake installed. Other good choices are Red Hat 7.1 (7.2 never liked to be dual booted, 7.3 is good but I haven't tried to dual boot it), and SuSe.
www.linuxiso.org is a great place to download different distros.

[kam]

I want to suggest that you use punctuation in your posts. It can be quite annoying just having one long sentence.

[jamescovDTX]

RedHat 7.3 is my favorite distro, however, Caldera OpenLinux Workstation 3.1.1 is the eastest to install.

[Palin]

Ok you should probably listen to mdwatts he seems like the guru around these parts. as for me I started this time around with Red Hat 7.3 but my install discs turned out to not work (which ticked me off) I went to mandrake 8.2 which installed nicely although you will have to update your video drivers for xvideo but since you have an nvidia card its pretty simple to do just go to the nvidia site and get the appropriate files and modify the XF86Config-4 file. all of the instructions are on the Nvidia site.

[Bowtie]

I started off with RH 6.1 and went through 7.1 before switching over to Suse. I've used Slack for a while and I liked it, thinking about loading the new version on a machine. I've used Drake 8.0 and it was to "gui"fied". Kinda freaked me out. I never could get Debian to install (perhaps a bad CD??). My Caldera cd was cracked when I got it with a book and the publisher never replied to my complaint. I've got Solaris that I haven't had time to figure out yet. So far I would have to say my favorite is Suse (thanks for the suggestion Sensei!). Slack is #2 on my list. Red Hat is good for the beginner because it is the most well known linux distro (commercially). I cut my teeth on it and have moved on. I tinker with it from time to time to see what has changed. I think everyone should give them all a try and make up their own mind on what is best for them.

JJ

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by pcghost
Hey Md, Caldera is on the phone. They want to know where you want the royalty check sent to?? :p JK

Hey where's annie???????????????? Nooooooooo

Same address as always.

Gotta setup a direct deposit. ;)

Too many comments/complaints about my avatar and I came close a couple of times with Annie seeing what I had used her picture for.

[Artimus]

I'd recommend Mandrake 8.2 for newbies. I'm still using it. The Mandrake site is nice and simple too.

I want to try something more advanced. I'm tied between Slackware & Gentoo. I've heard a lot of good things about both. I've heard that Gentoo is heck to install though. I know Slack is difficult too though.

[dholms]

can't believe this has been going on for 4 pages! i haven't been
so entertained since i found my last back issue of 'johnny the
homicidal maniac',...and i mean that as a compliment!
i'm impressed with UlTiMaTeHH's tenacity,...only 15 and with
the attention span to keep at this!
i've actually culled some useful information from this
conversation and thanks 'mdwatts' for the caldera tip,...
i'm still very much a 'newbie' myself,...downloaded the
images for mandrake to begin with,...for both my pc and
my G4,...haven't had much luck loading the mac version yet,...
(must be why there's still only 4 total postings at the
mac forum) but, i loaded the pc version on the first attempt
at the end of a very long beer-soaked saturday,...
(kids, don't try this at home! UlTiMaTeHH, that means you!)
anyway,...i actually have a question,...linux is having
a problem detecting my modem,...it's not a winmodem, so
that's not the problem,...it's a zoom 56k faxmodem,...
i've read a couple of NHF's on the subject with regards to
ISP and modem configs,...could anyone shed some
additional light on the problem for me?
thanks.

[mdwatts]

dholms... I would suggest you start a new topic in Hardware for your modem problem.

Your question may not get much exposure since it's buried in a 'Best Distro' thread.

Just a suggestion...

[Šatan]

i have been running linux for a year(my 13th birthday)(the 12th of august) and my version is Mandrake 8.1 and i love it, i think you should try the few major ones.

Linus Torvalds is the Best (if you dont know who Linus Torvalds is then you are a real N00b, he is the creator of linux)

[BaVinic]

as you can see, there are a lot of opinions as to what is best. here is my 2 cents.

1: Do reseach ( as stated earlier)
find out which dist. will support the hardware that you have. there is nothing worse than trying to install an OS that requires a lot of manual configuration by the end user.

2:If you have high speed access, NEVER ever buy the cd's in the store ( unless you like paying for free software)

3: go with a named brand ( so to speak) RedHat, Mandrake ( which is a redhat makeover) Dobian, etc. this way you know if you do run into a problem, you can always find help here.

4: and this one is important, learn console mode ( text mode ) you are going to need this information in the even something happens to your Xwindows install. biggest mistake I made was not learning that first.

5: Remember, Linux ( no matter what Disto) is not windows, it never will be. it is a work-at-it operating system, that you are going to have to learn how to use ( thank God for this site too)

and last, but not lease, enjoy the expience. Leaarning Linux can be fun. don't let it get you down if it does not work the first time.

Ok, that was more like 50 cents worth

:-)

BaVinic

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by BaVinic

2:If you have high speed access, NEVER ever buy the cd's in the store ( unless you like paying for free software)


Sure most of the software is free, but who is paying for the packaging, research, beta testing, documentation etc. etc.?

Support your favorite distro and at least purchase a version once in a while.

[BaVinic]

You are so right, and I just realized how what I said in #2 sounded. I did not mean to give the impression that it was wrong to buy a distro. I should have been more clear and I wasn't.

Let me try here.

Until you find a distro that you like, you should not run out and just buy anytyhing off the shelf. although, once you find a Distro that you like, I would say buy it, if for not other reason, to help support the Company who is putting it together, as well as getting a spiffy bound manual.

I have purchase every copy of Redhat and Mandrake that I have ( except the first copies of each that I downloaded from the net)

I hope this sounded a little better, sorry about my wording above. it does give the wrong impression.

:-)

BaVinic

(Slowly pulling foor out of mouth , once again)

[Šatan]

i know this has nothing to do with the topic but BaVinic your sig should be



Windows another Wannabe Linux Distro


:-P

[roshern]

I'm very newbie myself and this is what I did:

I researched what the 3 most popular distributions were, and I went out and purchased all 3 of them. Yes, that's correct: I PURCHASED THEM (a "wholly shaitt!" is heard from the forum's demi gods). I purchased them because my not-so-cheapass thought of contributing atleast once and because I don't plan on buying another distribution ever again.

After installing Suse 8.0, Mandrake 8.2, and Red Hat 7.3 I came to find out that Red Hat 7.3 supported everything in my system and was the easiest installation (for me!). It was the easiest installation because it supported everything in my system (and by this time I had installed the other 2 versions atleast twice each, lol!). Now I can move on to bigger and better things like learning the system inside and out without loosing much of my system's functionality until "I find out how to fix it". In my case I could not loose much of my functionality for a long period of time because I work at home sometimes. I am thinking of moving to Debian 3.0 once I know how to download and compile my own kernels.

This is what I found out from trying "out of the box" distros:

Suse 8.0 (pro) is great for a newbie, itsinstallation is a breeze and configuring the system is also great if you use yast and www.suse.com. However it supports less hardware than mandrake and red hat do(atleast in my experience).

Mandrake 8.2 had the fastest installation by far. However, if you let its wizards perform the automatic installation it gets way too buggy in my experience. I installed it a second time as an "expert" (hehehe, yeah right!) and it went better because it allowed me to choose individual software packages and most importantly my bootloader. Use Grub, trust me! Lilo is buggy and harder to work with (in my opinion). Mandrake's wizards were too bloated and overly simplified after using suse8.0. I guess its the best newbie distro if it supports all your hardware and you are looking for a quick install. I only had one problem : configuring my DSL was a beeeeyatch. I had to download a pppoe client, etc.

Red Hat 7.3 is by far THE BEST DISTRO out of the three. It was a breeze of an install. It is easily configurable if you're a newbie and it comes with plenty of extra software packages.

(Some people were having problems with their graphical login after they upgraded their kernel through the red hat network. The first time I installed it I had the same problem. I did everything suggested in the forums; x86config, inittab's id:5:initdefault:, etc. Nothing worked and it still booted into the command line. After installing it for a second time in order to repartition my drive, I did the RHN kernel upgrade and I shut down my computer with "Halt" rather than rebooting it. After I turned it on again everything went fine. I don't know if the repartitioning of my drive took care of the problem or if it was the complete shut down. I didn't have any problems after that.)

I also have a nvidia geforce 2 mx 400 and it was supported by mandrake's and red hat's initial installation. Suse 8.0 required a patch that they most willingly provide over at www.suse.com.

I hope this is of some help. If you want to learn more about other distributions then visit this website: http://www.distrowatch.com

:D

[ScottyFL]

I have a Dell system with the NVIDIA MX 400 video card and I have to use Mandrake 8.2. I have SuSE on another pc and could not get it to install correctly on the Dell. I have downloaded Mandrake 9.0 beta 2 and it looks like it is gonna be good.

Any tips on how to install SuSe on my Dell???

[roshern]

What do you mean you couldn't get it to install correctly?
Did it not recognize your video card? did you have problems with the system freezing half way through the install?

... more info please

If you're talking about suse8.0 not recognizing your monitor properly after installation try this
http://sdb.suse.de/en/sdb/html/wessels_sax2-80.html
I had to update sax2 and I'm using the nvidia 2 MX 400

==============
"There's only 10 kinds of people... those who understand binary and those who don't" -ThinkGeek.com t-shirt

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by ScottyFL

Any tips on how to install SuSe on my Dell???

Follow the installation instructions that should be on SuSE's own website.

[Piix4]

Which Linux is best?

My personal favorites are Slackware and Gentoo.

[LinOverWin]

i like slackware, debian and redhat

MAYBE maybe maybe mandrake and suse

but ehh... those top 3 do it for me

best window system to start with KDE then: Fluxbox

[jymbo]

Slackware 8.1 + Fluxbox

better with:

AMD XP 1600
Geforce 2 GTS
Detonator 29.60
Quake 3 Arena

:cool:

[mdwatts]

Caldera OpenLinux Workstation 3.1.1 with SMP kernel better with dual AMD 1800 MP's, 1GB PC-2100 Registered/ECC, Geforce3, Promise Fastrak100 TX2, 1 x 80GB, 2 x 40GB etc. etc.

[gommans]

Hi there,

I have tried a few distro's in the past and am currently using ELX, everone's Linux. I think it is very newbie-friendly, with it's easy install and its windows-like desktop-enhancements.

Give it a try! (www.elxlinus.org)

Marcel :p

[mborrill]

Originally posted by mdwatts
Caldera OpenLinux Workstation 3.1.1 with SMP kernel better with dual AMD 1800 MP's, 1GB PC-2100 Registered/ECC, Geforce3, Promise Fastrak100 TX2, 1 x 80GB, 2 x 40GB etc. etc.

I think you could do with a little more Ram ;-)

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by mborrill


I think you could do with a little more Ram ;-)

I was wondering why my dually was running a little slugish lately.

My motherboard supports 4GB max. Should I just add another 1GB or go for the full 4?

:D

[Dawa13]

debian is very easy to use and reliable:D i am a proud user, i have had suse an mandrake b4

[mborrill]

Originally posted by mdwatts


I was wondering why my dually was running a little slugish lately.

My motherboard supports 4GB max. Should I just add another 1GB or go for the full 4?

:D

Your system must of cost a small fortune, I bet KDE3 doenst lag on your system.

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by mborrill


Your system must of cost a small fortune, I bet KDE3 doenst lag on your system.

Sure was a small fortune, bit I'm worth it. :D

OS390 doesn't even lag on it. :p

[rendy]

I use Linux Mandrake 8.2, and it was easy and fast to use.
And I love that distribution, and I think its good for beginners :D.
You can download the distribution of Linux that you want at:
www.linuxiso.org
I've heared that Gentoo Linux is good, but hard to install.
Good luck :D !
Bye, and see you later.

rendy

[3m00]

Its evil, I tell you. To get the "needed" lindows software, you must give out your cash like you were buying a pet cow. Or horse. Or something to that extent.
Let me just tell you though, mandrake 8.2 is REALLY easy if you know what your doing, the partitioning is the hardest part... pretty easy. Very nice intro to linux (Except for its slight bugginess, which owns to the fact that I somehow bought the beta(cooker) distribution).

(cheapbytes.com - cheap, and it took two days to get to my house!)

[jeswes]

hey i use redhat ive only had it for a few days but i really like it . it has SO many security features!! just becarful not to choose graphic install if you do choose redhat. it has too many choices. use the text install. and bewary of the mouse driver. be sure to use the right one. i had to reboot and completly start over install like 5 times before i got the mouse driver right. the pointer would just flicker and rush about uncontrollably in the upper left hand corner of the screen, so i couldnt click the back button. i used the keyboard but it didnt work so i had to reboot and use prosess of elimination to figure out wich driver. im not a hardware girl. my dad does the hardware and drivers most of the time.

[av8or]

Which distribution is the most reliable when it comes to internet services. i.e. web & email

Also, which is easiest to set up and most secure "out of the box."

[Radar]

Originally posted by av8or
Which distribution is the most reliable when it comes to internet services. i.e. web & email

Debian

Also, which is easiest to set up

Red Hat

most secure "out of the box."

Debian

[X_console]

It's not really the distribution you're looking for but the software that runs the services. In terms of web and email, I would say apache and postfix.

As easiest to setup, that can be argued. Slackers like to say ours is easy to setup, only that it doesn't look pretty like RedHat's. Still, how hard is it to move around a menu with arrow keys?

For most secure, I'd say any Linux box on a default install is an open hole waiting to be compromised. Any service that you don't want to use and is running is a potential problem. The only secure Linux box is one where you constantly monitor, and you should if you're planning on doing web/email servers.

[av8or]

So how would you monitor a web server? Log files? Is there a port scan monitor?

[X_console]

Yes, through logs. There are numerous logging programs available. Search for them at http://www.freshmeat.net
Here's one in particular: http://www.psionic.com/products/trisentry.html

[0ver_bi+e]

gentoo Linux 1.2. hands down.

(more for operability and customizability, than for ease of installation)

[mborrill]

Originally posted by mdwatts


Sure was a small fortune, bit I'm worth it. :D

OS390 doesn't even lag on it. :p

whats OS390 i have no idea could do a search i guess. Im dum i know ;-)

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by mborrill


whats OS390 i have no idea could do a search i guess. Im dum i know ;-)

Only meant to be a little joke. ;)

OS390 | MVS operating system for IBM Mainframes.

[smhardesty]

Although I tinkered with Linux for the past 5 years, I just recently went all Linux. I have Mandrake 8.1 installed and I really like it. I tried Redhat, SUSE, Debian, Lycoris, and Peanut. Mandrake works best for me.

I'm trying to decided whether to download 8.2 or just wait for the final 9.0 release. Any thoughts???

[3m00]

Just go for the 9.0, it has kde 3.0... 8.2 isn't all that special (kde 2.2)...

[smhardesty]

I was leaning toward waiting for 9.0 and KDE 3 was one of the reasons. Thanks, 3m00.

[WAR_CH|LD]

I love debian.
debian to me is the way the truth and the light.

I have used some others. Redhat and SuSe and I must admit I didnt give them much of a chance, becuase I heard about apt-get. even thou thier is clones now for red hat (which I know of) apt-get is awesome. Only problem is, that if tyou want to use debian you want to make sure you have @least bradband access otherwise dont bother..

also with debian it ahs the best intrinsic documentation I have seen so far for a linux flavour, but I must redhat and SuSe are getting thier.

but it all comes down to prefrence. I went throu two flavours until I got hooked onto debian and now carnt seem to move from which I tihnk is a bit ofa problem in its self becuase red hat is used more widly.

but give it a whirl and have some fun! :)

the *nix rule. :



:)

[l01yuk]

debian you want to make sure you have @least bradband Works ok on my little 56k connection. If you don't want to upgrade your whole distro over the net you'll be ok.

[PatrickRay007]

Im a newbie and about a month ago I installed red hat and the installation was a *****, so then i tried mandrake 8.2 and the installation was sooooo easy and it is a really smooth distro, and I use it for everything but music and games. By the way, does anyone know of a linux player that supports wma's?

[creatorem]

I think the best distro is the that satisfies you for every single thing, so why dont you build your own linux?

http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/ :D

[t123b456]

Hello,

I want to do some Linux development. Having tried all the major distros, they all seem to work fine for me, I want to install one for development use.

What is the Linux platform/disrto of choice? I have several max'ed machines, so I am not constrained with hardware.

I currently own copies of Red Hat, Mandrake and Suse. Downlaoded and installed Debian.

I would install on a blank hard disk and run just Linux.

tarpon

[furrycat]

Repeat after me: "It does not matter which distribution I use. They are Linux. If my program only works on one distribution it means my program is broken."

In my opinion the best distribution is Slackware. However when choosing distributions no-one's opinion matters but your own.

[fancypiper]

There was a thread yesterday about some statistics of developers and it mentioned most popular distro, de, and several other things. Try a board search for that.

[Dun'kalis]

I was looking at Caldera OpenLinux Workstation, and the amount of developer stuff that comes on the CDs beyond the standard stuff is mind-boggling. The major things that may interest you are Sun Forte, Borland JBuilder and Borland Kylix.

I was thinking of buying it, but then I remembered Caldera's UnitedLinux. I don't like their business practices. Reminds me of a monopoly we all know...

But it has so many nice toys!

Actually, all distros can do development you speak of. Some come packaged better, some run faster, etcetera. Try a few, see what you like.

PS. The most popular distro among open source developers is Debian. I think it was over 50%, with Red Hat and SuSE with around 13% each. I don't even think Caldera was on the survey results. I think the programmers like Debian's package manager from heaven...

[bwkaz]

I do development on LFS...

But then again, I do everything on LFS... ;)

[t123b456]

furrycat

I was hoping Linux was Linux. I think maybe I phrased the question wrong.

Try again ...
What is the best developer distro that has the most complete toolsset? I plan on working with C/C++ and perl.

I searched for the thread, but couldn't turn up anything of interest. Anyone have the URL? what to search on?

I have most of the popular distros, but it is tedious installing and poking around.

thanks ..tb

[ViMan]

I heard that gcc 2.9x under Redhat 7.x is broken and causes things such as segementation faults, etc. and other problems. Anyone want to enlighten us on this (is it true or not? etc...). I read this off a site: "Red Hat 7.1 contains many interesting advances but don't use it for development. The GCC 2.96 that comes with the 7.x distribution has serious flaws."

[conky]

I do not know if anbody suggested Suse 8.0 yet but that is a good one to go with for a first time user. It won some award in 2001 for best distro for ease of use I believe. Plus What I would do is go download them. Then find the one that you like the best and go buy it then. That way you support them and plus I find that if you buy it you get allot more stuff. Like software.

[meliothekid]

Mandrake all the way for me. I've been a newbie for about a month and a half now, and mandrake is the only distro I've ever used. I was amazed at how easy it was to install, and it's user friendliness. Plus I'm a game freak, and it has some of the best games already on it. I have been wondering about redhat though, I think that's the next distro for me.

[freis]

This is a good question addressed to all Linux new comers. It is the same as you ask to anyone what is the best Windows version (Windows 3.1 or XP??). We could point out a series of advantages for the XP. It is the same I would like to know about your choice. WhY? Thank you. I would also like to trow away my Windows CDs, but it is impossible at this moment: my UMAX 2100U scanner was not recognized by my Linux SUSE 8.0 installation as well as my Digital Camera RCA CDS1005. If you go to the helpers, they use a language still unknown to you...so you get a little lot in this ocean of Kernels, distributions, slackwares, etc I really compare this phase I am with the begining of the knowldge on Windows platform, with a lot of frustrations on everydays work.
OK, forgive me the time I took from you, but it is about time to begin to talk with ex-Windows experts to better understand LINUX.
By
Flavioreisfreis@netscape.net

[bwkaz]

If you try to compile MPlayer with the GCC that came with RH7.1 (and Mandrake 8.1, incidentally, too), it will segfault when run.

There has been much fingerpointing between the MPlayer developers and RedHat on the issue (RH says the broken inline assembly instructions should never be used anyway, MPlayer people say performance is noticeably better when they use it, and every other GCC works with it).

I don't know about 7.2 or 7.3, but I do know that I downgrade GCC to 2.95.3 every time I install Mandrake (mostly so I'm sure the kernel compiles correctly -- that's why I don't use GCC 3.x; it isn't tested with the kernel fully yet).

But I do very few distro installs anymore, since I found LFS...

I would think that something like LFS (it, Gentoo, perhaps Slackware, depending) would have the "fullest" set of development utilities, because you need them all to compile the system software. But then again, none of them (by default -- you can compile and install anything you want) would have IDE's...

Ahh, I don't know.

[fancypiper]

I found the article and most developers are running Debian.

I am about to install Debian, but did you check out Gentoo (http://www.gentoo.org/)?

From their "about" page:

Gentoo Linux is a versatile and fast, completely free Linux distribution for x86, PowerPC, Sparc and Sparc64 that's geared towards Linux power users. Unlike other distros, Gentoo Linux has an advanced package management system called Portage. Portage is a true ports system in the tradition of BSD ports, but is Python-based and sports a number of advanced features including dependencies, fine-grained package management, "fake" (OpenBSD-style) installs, path sandboxing, safe unmerging, system profiles, virtual packages, config file management, and more.

[goodboy.001]

ive tried corel :(
ive tried redhat: :)
ive tried suse: :)

by far mandrake 8 picked up most of the hardware especially etho and the isa modem. it evan picked up a winmodem but was buggy. with mandrake i was installed and high speed connected with within 1 hour (1 failed install).

my thinking is install, play ,download usefull progs to seperate partion. try several differant distro's.

i learn more when they dont work

[Timothy L. Miller]

I've used:
Red Hat
Caldera
Mandrake
Libranet
Slackware
Icepack
Gentoo
Lycoris
ELX
Turbolinux
regular old Debian

So far, Libranet is BY FAR my favorite. I've been playing with Mandrake 9 betas, and so far it looks promising, but the betas (as of beta3, at least) are still buggy, and I can't recommend them. Slack sucked, I couldn't stand it. Caldera was ok, but I've fallen out of favor with KDE, and didn't feel like setting up Gnome or Fluxbox on it. I just didn't like Red Hat. I don't know why, it just didn't appeal to me. Icepack was nice, but the download version (2.0.1) is quite out of date, and they have yet to release 2.5 for download (except as an RPM pack). Lycoris didn't impress. ELX was impressive, but toooo dumbed down, and not customizable. Turbolinux wouldn't comlete the install, never could figure out why. FINALLY got Gentoo to install, still deciding on it. Regular old debian required too much manual configuration for me. There's my $.02...although it was probably a little bit more than just 2! :)

[Massive Attack]

Originally posted by goodboy.001
i learn more when they dont work

Repeat...also I would recommend going with Mandrake and then working your way up from there. And if I were you I would probably not just toss all your Windows CDs because you might need to reinstall it for whatever reason, like if your modem or network card won't work in Linux.

[PatrickRay007]

so what would you recommend as a step up from mandrake?

[conky]

For me I went with Suse 8.0 because.

1. Whenever I use mandrake 8.2 to see a list of my installed hardware it would always freeze up. That is I heard it was because of my gainward G3 ti200.

2. Sound blaster would not install at all.

With Suse 8.0 no problems with my V card. It did install my sound blater Audigy but I still have to figure out why I do not get my 5.1 sound. I found that Suse was easier for me to use. Plus like I said in my other post go and find the one you like then go out and buy it. That way you support them and with the retail ones if I am right you get allot more software
. That is if I am correct on that one.

[jamiebarry]

Originally posted by creatorem
I think the best distro is the that satisfies you for every single thing, so why dont you build your own linux?

http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/ :D

Thanks for the link, but did you build your own?? :)

[creatorem]

Originally posted by jamiebarry


Thanks for the link, but did you build your own?? :)

Im building them... in progress... :) the book is quite straight forward and easy to follow... and i learn as i go... its fun :D

[Sebastianj]

Phat linux(www.phatlinux.org) is quite good for newbies since you doesn't have to format your harddrive to install it, you can run it from dos, perfect if you want to try linux.
It works with geforce 2.

[Ludootje]

Originally posted by cheeky_zombie


You've given in! It had to happen one day. It seems like this question will never stop getting asked! :)
heh I was thinking just the same when I saw his post :)

[Ludootje]

Originally posted by mdwatts
Forget what everyone else suggests.

Just download and install

Caldera OpenLinux Workstation 3.1.1
Of course, therefore it has to load the installator, which, with caldera openlinux workstation, isn't always possible, is it? ;)

[Ludootje]

Originally posted by mdwatts


How often do I even suggest Caldera?

I usually just let everyone suffer with those other distros. :D

I did get a 13 CD set from Caldera with most of their products. With quite a few of the manuals also.
You suggest it quite a bit;)

Why did you get a 13 CD set? For betatesting?

BTW, I don't think you still need manuals:)

[Icarus]

I just wanted to post a poll ;)

I'm looking to get a general list of what everyone likes using, uses most. This should give the newbies a good idea of how deverse we are and what the majority favors. Then next time they ask we can point them to this :D

[arashi]

I haven't been using linux long enough to have a fave distro, but I'll answer Mandrake because it's what I'm using now and I'm happy with it. In future I might try Debian Slackware or SuSE though...:)

[Icarus]

I've been using Red Hat for the last year-and-a-half, but I also have Debian on my old laptop and Gentoo on another desktop at home. I prefer Red Hat because it has an easy install and 99% of the time detects all my hardware and sets it up properly.

Still waiting for Red Hat to get something like apt-get or emerge (without 3rd party tools)

[jaygee432]

Some will probably object to FreeBSD being included as a "distro", but I was glad to see it anyhow.

[z911]

Suse8.0. I like its functionality for desktops. have already worked on various versions of redhat. might try Mandrake in the future.

[Timothy L. Miller]

LIBRANET!! Yeah, someone remembered it was a distro!!

[Icarus]

Just trying to be fair, these are the top 9 that are out there ;)

I was debating having Yellow Dog on the list, but that's not very common as the Mac users are very happy with OSX...and I don't blame them :D

[NecroLin]

For now RedHat, I've been using it for a little over a year & it just works great.

I'll be trying out FreeBSD & Debian as soon as I put my new computer together. I ran out of money & need to wait till pay day to buy the CPU...:( :( :( (I've got everything else).

[Icarus]

Whoops, just noticed Caldera changed thier name :(

Could a mod add "(SCO Group)" to that?
Or "SCO Group (formally Caldera)"

[TacKat]

LFS (http://www.linuxfromscratch.org). Mmmm good. :)

[sharth]

Red Hat worked to quickly for me, was no fun :) So I switched over to debian, and thats been fun. I never tried anything else but im considering corel since the library has it. I might download suse or soemthing but im just awsting too much space on the hard drive. oh well

[tankinan]

I've got debian installed right now, but it isn't working right so I'm forced to say Redhat 7.3.

[x-windows guy]

Red Hat 7.2 is my current favorite. I tried the Pico BSD, but I couldn't ever get it to do anything.

[windsorjax]

Arch Linux. Pacman is great. Arch is an i686 distro with binary packages compiled for i686 it can be a barebones server or fully functional workstation, you make it the way you want it to be. I have found it to be as fast as Gentoo without the long compile times.

http://www.archlinux.org

[bwkaz]

Originally posted by TacKat
LFS (http://www.linuxfromscratch.org). Mmmm good. :) Agreed. LFS is the way to go (of course, if you don't like it taking a day or two to install a system, then it's probably not for you... whatever :rolleyes: ;) ).

[Dun'kalis]

LFS is cool. Once I get it tweaked to the max, I'll probably remove Debian and replace it with LFS.

<plug>If you use LFS, check out my sig. Feel free to absolutely rip apart my code</plug>

[Icarus]

I forgot about Linux From Scratch...but that does fall well under the "Other" ;)
I have thought about trying that one, but have never gotten to it. I hear that it is great (if you have the 2 days to install it ;)), very simular to Gentoo but without any custom packages

[sharth]

I was scrolling through here and felt i should give out an anwer. Personally, if you want to waste some time and not get it up and running perfectly imedietly, then go for debian. I'm having fun with it.

For an easy install, I'd say go with Red Hat, my only complaint was that I was playing Tux racer on it (which I can't anymore becuase of 3d acceleration that I haven't gotten around to yet:)) kinda crashed the computer.

And the other reason I would suggest Debian is because although it says 7 cd's, all you need to start is the first, and then just download whatever you want using apt / dselect.

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by Ludootje

Of course, therefore it has to load the installator, which, with caldera openlinux workstation, isn't always possible, is it? ;)

Huh? Caldera is the one that first started the gui installer.

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by Ludootje

You suggest it quite a bit;)

Why did you get a 13 CD set? For betatesting?

BTW, I don't think you still need manuals:)

OpenUnix8 Data Center/Enterprise/Departmental etc. versions, the Linux Kernel Personality for OpenUnix (runs Linux apps), OpenLinux rpms, OU Development KIT, Caldera Skunkware, Volution Manager, Volution Messagin Server, Borland Software for Unix/Linux, Novel NDS eDirectory, OpenLinux Server 3.1.1 etc. etc.

[Ludootje]

Originally posted by mdwatts


OpenUnix8 Data Center/Enterprise/Departmental etc. versions, the Linux Kernel Personality for OpenUnix (runs Linux apps), OpenLinux rpms, OU Development KIT, Caldera Skunkware, Volution Manager, Volution Messagin Server, Borland Software for Unix/Linux, Novel NDS eDirectory, OpenLinux Server 3.1.1 etc. etc.
huh? I don't get it... is that the list of cd's you got? Anyway, I asked why they gave you those cds ;)

As for the installer: apparently you don't remember, but I once tried caldera because you said it was so good, and the installer never worked, no matter in what mode :)

[mdwatts]

I remember it didn't work either due to you not burning the cd's correctly or your hardware is a piece of <cake>. :)

How come Caldera always installs on everything I give it including Compaq's?

All the cd's I received from Caldera are for testing (not beta) as suitable replacements for some of our infrastructure.

[Elijah]

hmmm, maybe next summer I'll try to download that caldera thingy, gotta follow the guru's footsteps :)

[jamit82]

My choice is Mandrake! For a new user it is a very good as it is more user friendly than red hat.

[psyte]

I recently purchaced a pretty old computer and was wondering if anyone knows which distro would function best on an outdated system (I would also like to be able to use KDE or Gnome). Here are the system specs:

133mHz (I think)
1G hard drive
48M ram
Graphics card: S3 Trio64V+
Sound card: Sound Blaster 16
Monitor resolution: 800x600 max

Thanks.

[Icarus]

Still haven't heard mdwatts take on the whole Caldera change...curious to hear what he says about his fav :)

[jason walding]

I had almost that exact machine. I ran Mandrake 7.2 on it. I recall that I did the workstation install on it to proof it, then I customized it.
My Compaq had a built in modem which as it turned out was a controller based modem and worked fine with linux. Check your modem carefully to see what it may be.

Mandrake likes 64 meg memory though I have used less.

[l01yuk]

Linux is generally not secure out of the box. Distro's like debian, gentoo let you install just the base system and then install the packages you want. This is the most secure method since you could just install the base system, a firewall (i.e. iptables) and the server packages you want. Try to avoid X on your server machine and any other servers you don't need. That is the only way to be secure.

[kam]

I'm pretty sure you will NOT be able to run KDE or Gnome. Way too little RAM, and its slow anyway. If you want to use X at all, you should probably go with blackbox, fluxbox, icewm, or some other fast window manager.

As for the distro, you need to get one that is definitely not bloated. Which means no Red Hat or Mandrake. I recommend Slackware or LFS simply from what I heard on these forums. I don't have personal experience with either (but I will :) ).

[baragon0]

You could get Red hat and Mandrake, just trim down the installation selections manually.

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by mahdi
Still haven't heard mdwatts take on the whole Caldera change...curious to hear what he says about his fav :)

I did post something about it in another thread.

I'll be downloading the OpenLinux 4 Beta (based on UnitedLinux) today.

All I know so far is about the name change. I haven't been reading the Caldera userlist emails for a few days.

[Ludootje]

Originally posted by bwkaz
If you try to compile MPlayer with the GCC that came with RH7.1 (and Mandrake 8.1, incidentally, too), it will segfault when run.
What do you mean by 'it will segfault'? What's a segfault?

[bwkaz]

After you compile MPlayer, when you try to run it, the code either jumps off into data somewhere and tries to execute it as code (which eventually causes it to try to access memory that it doesn't own), or the code directly tries to access memory that it doesn't own. In Unix, this results in a segmentation violation, a SIGSEGV being sent to your process, and (almost always) your process dying. It's called a segfault for short.

[l01yuk]

Basically all the distro's give you the same set of tools to develop with. Software that runs on one distro will mostly run on the others. I would use gcc 2.95 for the moment though since I think that distros' are only just starting to re-compile everything with gcc 3.something and as mentioned above the slightly later ones may have problems.

What you are asking is the wrong question really, you need to be asking which package to install for development. A lot of people seem to use kdevelop which is apparently a good IDE, or there are smaller editors like latte (Lazy hAcker's exTensible
Text Editor - which I quite like) or you can just use an editor like vi or nedit is very good.

[Ludootje]

Originally posted by bwkaz
After you compile MPlayer, when you try to run it, the code either jumps off into data somewhere and tries to execute it as code (which eventually causes it to try to access memory that it doesn't own), or the code directly tries to access memory that it doesn't own. In Unix, this results in a segmentation violation, a SIGSEGV being sent to your process, and (almost always) your process dying. It's called a segfault for short.
now I get it :) thanks for explaining bwkaz

[Ludootje]

Originally posted by l01yuk
... editors like latte (Lazy hAcker's exTensible
Text Editor - which I quite like) ...
wow thanks man! just tried out latte (which is now called glimmer - glimmer.sf.net) and it's great, if not perfect. It beats kate, jedit, vim and all those other programming-editors hands down.

[rioguia]

i think you can do fine with that box if you use a small but capable distro like peanut or vector linux. They are both full, featured distrobutions and use similar console-based installs to save space. I'd still be using Peanut Linux on my old laptop with similarly meager resources except for pcmcia issues. Sure you can try to trim down the larger distros but that's essentially what these distros have done for you. And my old laptop? I'm running redhat 6.2 and it works great. It even supports open office and is certainly no slower than window$/Orafice.

http://www.ibiblio.org/peanut/

http://www.ibiblio.org/vectorlinux/

[Ludootje]

Originally posted by mdwatts
I remember it didn't work either due to you not burning the cd's correctly or your hardware is a piece of <cake>. :)

How come Caldera always installs on everything I give it including Compaq's?

All the cd's I received from Caldera are for testing (not beta) as suitable replacements for some of our infrastructure.
my hardware = good
and i know how to burn an iso ;)
anyway i'll give it another try one day... after gentoo, fbsd, debian and all the others from my mental 'to-try' list :D

[Ludootje]

Originally posted by Elijah
gotta follow the guru's footsteps :)
actually, mdwatts isn't a guru at all. he's an AI perl bot, designed by Caldera Inc. to spam on linux forums. soon you'll see him trolling about UnitedLinux, right mdwatts? :p

[t123b456]

l01yuk

Thanks for steering me straight. I am re-installing now.

That latte editor looks good. I will start with kdesktop as well.

tb

[WeeBo]

I still can't believe no body mentioned slackware.:eek:
If they did, i might not have noticed, come on, I believe Slackware is hands down, one of the best Linux distros out there.

[psyte]

thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'll try out slackware first (as i've heard some good things about it). But I'm not too firmiliar with the other types of X (blackbox, fluxbox, etc.) and I'm pretty new with Linux. Any advice on which to use and how I would go about getting it and installing it?