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Jkusuda
06-09-2005, 07:21 PM
I know this topic has been posted before but I wanted to see what the current opinion was on which version of Linux to try for a first time install. Possibility of a linux conversion corporately is being discussed and wanted to have some knowledge about it before the discussions get any more serious.

Thanks for the help!!!!

:cheers:

rsbriggs
06-09-2005, 07:43 PM
Mandrake (Mandriva) is one of the better beginner installs, and is quite full featured.

Corporate would probably want to go with RedHat for support.

Gentoo for home hackers.

New Debian is out, which is what nearly all the other distros are based on.

Cut yourself a current Knoppix Live CD if you want to just check out Linux without installing it.

It's difficult to point to any distro that isn't good in some particular way.

Scoofy12
06-09-2005, 08:24 PM
don't forget Novell/SuSe for the corporate world. i've heard good things about that distro.

QIbHom
06-10-2005, 11:33 AM
Really, there isn't a *bad* distro out there these days. It depends on what you need. Server installs are very different from desktop installs.

For general "getting a sense of", I recommend burning a few Knoppix CDs, and going to town.

If you've got the time and the inclination, head over to www.distrowatch.com, read some reviews and download a few to play with.

Scoofy12
06-18-2005, 11:29 PM
slashdot had a good link today: beginner's guide to linux distros: http://www.tipmonkies.com/2005/06/16/linux-distros/

Chinasaur
06-18-2005, 11:45 PM
Libranet Debian.

It will "hold your hand" AND give you the goodness of apt-get.

It's a desert topping AND a floor wax!

"Mmmmmm.....That's good Bass!!!"

:cheers:

QIbHom
06-19-2005, 01:45 AM
Of course, Libranet. Unless he wants a server, in which case, he doesn't want a GUI.

I was trying not to let my bias show (disclaimer - I'm a Libranet beta tester). But, Libranet lets you do things the Libranet way, the Debian way, the Linux way or the GUI way, all easily, which is more balanced than any other distro I'm aware of. It also has a very friendly user community, which is a great help if you don't have neighbours who are also geeks.

Some folks are put off by the price, but you can download the last version for free, use it as long as you wish, get support from the forum or from the Libranet list (just not from Tal and Daniel directly) and apt-get it up to current status.