good newbie distro?

[pnord]

I'm looking for a good newbie distro. I'm fairly technically savvy and have built my own pc's, partitioned hard drives etc. However, I know nothing about linux beyond what I'm reading online, and am not a programmer. I want to simply replace WinXP on my current desktop - web surfing, scanning, printing, photo editing, ripping and burnnig music cds. I use mostly open source apps - open office, gimp, blender 3d. I'd eventually like to learn some of the nuts and bolts of linux, but for now I just want an OS that works without too much trouble shooting and is not windows. Don't care if it's free or not.

[JoeC0180]

I'd say go with Mepis if your just looking for a nice newbie friendly distro. I can't think of an easier distro to install and use. It's based on Debian so apt-get makes it quick and easy to install almost any piece of software you want.

-Joe

[ehawk]

Nice because it has Qtparted as a graphical partitioning tool. If your computer will only be using MEPIS, it takes about 4 mouse clicks to accept the default suggestions and install.

[blackbelt_jones]

Mepis is nice. I used to reccomend debian for newbies. It's a great sold distro with a proud history, but the main reason was because Debian Sarge is the easiest distro to set up apt-get, because (at least with a net install) Debian is all set up for apt-get immediately. But I can tell you how to set up apt-get for Mepis

So, have you heard about apt-get? Apt-get is how you manage your packages in debian-based distros, including mepis. There's also a version for RPM that's not too shabby. Nobody told me about apt-get for the longest time, and whenever I wanted to install something I would try to hunt down the .deb files, or the .rpm files, and then I would try to fnd the dependancies necessary to install those packages, one by one. Usually, I would just give up. It wasn't a lot of fun... and then I learned how to use apt-get, and all of a sudden those applications were just jumping onto my hard drive, dependancies and all, with one simple command. It was a great day.

You may already know about how to get apt-get for mepis, so I don't want to go into the whole song-and-dance unless you need the information, so let me know.

[blackbelt_jones]

PS... If you have an nVidia graphics card, mepis has a built in nVidia driver which installs with just one click. Watch for it!

[bgunn]

I am sure that a quick search will find many threads on this topic. Personally, two distros come to mind. One is "OpenSuSE". I have been using OpenSuSE 10 RC1 on my laptop for the last two months or so. It is a very nice distribution, with Yast (a system configuration tool) being very easy to use. Traditionally being a RedHat/Fedora user, I use these distros on my workstation and server. However, for my laptop I wanted something that just worked with minimal amount of tinkering. Open SuSE turned out to fit the bill nicely.

Another distro that comes to mind is Ubuntu. While I have no personal experience with this distro, I have read enough articles and heard enough people talking about it to suggest you have a look into it.

No doubt you will get many different answers to your question, as there are so many distros out there. To put my recommendations into perspective here is a list of the distros I have used in the past:

RedHat
Fedora
CentOS
SuSE
Redflag
Knoppix

Hope this helps.

Beng

[Calipso]

Might wanna take a look at Xandros.
This is a seriously newbie/user-friendly distro.

[blackbelt_jones]

Feeling confused yet? I still think Mepis is a pretty good call, or maybe debian, and I really do think that the important thing is that you know how to use apt-get.

[psych-major]

I installed Slackware asa a n00bie. The hardest part is partitioning the drive, which you indicated you're OK with, so it might be worth a look for you.

Otherwise, SimplyMepis, OpenSuSE and Zen Linux are all excellent choices.

[seldomseen]

I would definitely say Mepis. In addition to the advantages some of the others mentioned, how 'bout this: Just about everything works from the get-go. Don't have to mess with a lot of configuring to just get all your computer goodies functioning. And if you're stuck with one of those cheesy internal winmodems (rip it out and replace it ASAP), there's a decent chance Mepis will make it work.

[Chess007]

I've tried Mandrake, suse, redhat, debian, knoppix and Ubuntu. My favorite is Ubuntu hands down. That is the one I recommend :). There is also a step by step web site http://www.ubuntuguide.org that will answer a lot of your questions.

[mrBen]

I concur with those who suggest Ubuntu.

[blackbelt_jones]

I installed Slackware asa a n00bie. The hardest part is partitioning the drive, which you indicated you're OK with, so it might be worth a look for you.

Otherwise, SimplyMepis, OpenSuSE and Zen Linux are all excellent choices.

This man is not your friend. I didn't have a problem with partitioning slackware, but I never actually managed to get onlne with my DSL connection. :rolleyes:

I always wind up feeling sorry for anybody who asks this question, cause they wind up getting it from all sides. It's not that big a decision, cause you're not married to it. Try Mepis or Slackware or whatever, and if you don't like it, try something else. The idea is to learn, and whatever you choose, you're going to learn something.

I notice that you haven't posted again since you opened, and that might mean that you're ignoring us. That would probably be a good idea.

[tlyons]

He only posted yesterday evening. Not replying yet probably means he's got better things to do than troll around here 12 times a day.

Unlike us. :)

[blackbelt_jones]

Really. I have no life... and I'm glad, cause that would only interfere.

[ehawk]

If you choose MEPIS, you can use synaptic, which is a graphical front end for apt-get. You can look at the repositories it accesses by default. It includes the standard debian sites. Synaptic appears as one of the little icons which appears on your taskbar by default.

[lnx_nu_b]

Mandrake 7.2-10.1, RH8.0, Fedora Core 3, Debian Woody, Slackware (can't remember number but I think 9.xx) and Ubuntu.

Ubuntu was by far the easiest to install/run out of the box. Fedora Core 3 would be 2nd. Hated RH8.0 so it was on the box for a couple of hours, couldn't get X to work at any sort of resolution above 800x600, and was completely lost with Slackware.

I LOVE apt-get. I've also tried, Phlak, simply mephis, knoppix, slax, LIVE CD's and simply mephis was probably the best of the Live CD's.

Ubuntu right now gets my vote, but I'll probably get Mandriva 2k6, Ubuntu Breezy Badger, Slack10.2 and anything else that might be new and do the rounds again.

Good luck!!