Best free Linux distro
- Thread starter Sureshot324
- Start date
The ones that cost money are also available for free download (if you have a CD burner and a fast connection - or lots of patience with a good download manager).
If you're new to Linux (just guessing), try RedHat or Mandrake (my preference is RedHat, but they're both good for beginners). Stay away from Gentoo, Debian, and Slackware, because they're really hard to get installed if you don't know what you're doing, and you'll get discouraged easily. Start with RedHat or Mandrake, and once you get used to the GUI (it will be somewhat different than Windows), start dabbling in the Command Line. Once you get comfortable with the command line, compiling programs and kernels, and the way Linux handles devices and partitions, then - and only then - is the time to try installing Debian or Gentoo.
If you're new to Linux (just guessing), try RedHat or Mandrake (my preference is RedHat, but they're both good for beginners). Stay away from Gentoo, Debian, and Slackware, because they're really hard to get installed if you don't know what you're doing, and you'll get discouraged easily. Start with RedHat or Mandrake, and once you get used to the GUI (it will be somewhat different than Windows), start dabbling in the Command Line. Once you get comfortable with the command line, compiling programs and kernels, and the way Linux handles devices and partitions, then - and only then - is the time to try installing Debian or Gentoo.
DannyBoy
Diamond Member
Debian in my opinion is the best distro for web serving purposes, but then so is Redhat.
Each distro has its good and bad points, but like josh said, start with a more user friendly one so you can understand the different ways in which linux works
Each distro has its good and bad points, but like josh said, start with a more user friendly one so you can understand the different ways in which linux works
AnonymouseUser
Diamond Member
- May 14, 2003
- 9,943
- 107
- 106
Almost all are free via download, though some retail packs include more software and drivers.
That depends on several things:
Do you feel the developers deserve some financial reward for the work they do?
Do you need technical support? The internet is full of places to get free help (like here), but it may be easier to use the distro's customer support.
Do you need the additional software or drivers without the hassle of finding and downloading them from the net?
If you want to pay for it, it's a good idea.
You get technical support, plus the commercial linux distros have software that they distribute that isn't opern source or free. So there are a lot of things you get, that you don't get from a free download.
So try out a few free download. After a few months you find out a distro you realy realy like and plan to stick with for a long time then I would purchase it.
Even if you get a free distro like debian there are plenty of ways to help out. You can donate money to them, or if you get profictiant you can donate time. It doesn't always mean programming, but it also means providing technical documentation like howtos or man files, linux advocacy(tell people why linux is a better choice for what you do and stuff, personal experiance more then linux Rulz DoOd!), spend time in forums, IRC, and mailing lists providing tech help and support for others etc etc.
So if you want to repay the work others have done for you, there are plenty of ways. Of course companies like Redhat hire developers full time and they are a like any other company and wants to make a profit.
You get technical support, plus the commercial linux distros have software that they distribute that isn't opern source or free. So there are a lot of things you get, that you don't get from a free download.
So try out a few free download. After a few months you find out a distro you realy realy like and plan to stick with for a long time then I would purchase it.
Even if you get a free distro like debian there are plenty of ways to help out. You can donate money to them, or if you get profictiant you can donate time. It doesn't always mean programming, but it also means providing technical documentation like howtos or man files, linux advocacy(tell people why linux is a better choice for what you do and stuff, personal experiance more then linux Rulz DoOd!), spend time in forums, IRC, and mailing lists providing tech help and support for others etc etc.
So if you want to repay the work others have done for you, there are plenty of ways. Of course companies like Redhat hire developers full time and they are a like any other company and wants to make a profit.
mandrake and knoppix are great for starters, i keep a copy of knoppix with some other software i have on hand
i use mandrake as the second os on this rig, very easy to install and get started with
i use mandrake as the second os on this rig, very easy to install and get started with
For noobs, Redhat, SuSE, and Mandrake are easy to use.
For advanced users, Debian and Gentoo are more configurable and flexible.
For advanced users, Debian and Gentoo are more configurable and flexible.
Originally posted by: Kylixen
I would recommend SuSE. It's my favorite
go soos. even has a gui for dual monitor config.
Ok, im a noob with no clue for linux, so i gotta start somewhere. Gonna try Mandrake. Ok, heres the noob part. Which one to download, im thinking i586, because of the x86 instructions on the pc CPU. Is the ppc for mac? what is it?
final noob question, how can i get linux games! for like Q3, HL/counterstrike, and Bf1942?
EDIT: do i need all 3 CD's?
final noob question, how can i get linux games! for like Q3, HL/counterstrike, and Bf1942?
EDIT: do i need all 3 CD's?
You're probably on x86 (AMD/Intel/Via/etc.).
PPC=Power PC=Mac.
Most windows games are not on Linux. I know Q3A was ported. Check out
Loki Games. BF1942 and HL/CS are not available for Linux.
First person shooters that I know have been ported to Linux include Doom/Q1/Q2/Q3. UT2003 has linux support, as does the upcomming UT2004. If you have a windows version for any of these games you can download installers to make them work in linux, since they have support from the manufactures. UT2003 I beleive has a installer for linux hidden on the cd.
Their are a few other games like The Sims which have ports to linux. Also lots of indie game manufactures support Linux, since it's easy to develop for. A good example is garage games. They have many games that run on linux. Including the nice Orbz game, which is a cute ball game that is challeging for experianced first-person gamers, but friendly enough for most everyboy to enjoy. You just aim and shoot the ball with the mouse. Plus it's VERY kid-friendly. Like disney-friendly, but without the satanic/evil/disney-0wNz-your-mind overtones.
The big catch is that, well, lots of Games are directX-based games. Which is windows-only and will NEVER EVER have any compatable system in Linux. MS designed it so that people who develop games for Windows using directx makes it impossible to get them to work in any other OS. Good thing is that Linux has good OpenGL support, so porting games that use OpenGL is not terrificly hard. Plus since directx is only usefull in Windows, it means that it is only usefull for creating games. Any sort of 3-d imagining/design programs will always use OpenGL compared to DirectX, simply because then you could make it run in Mac's and Unix, which are usually first choices for high-end stuff.
Other thing to look at are winex. This provides functionality for windows-only directx games.
Any game which uses Directx your going to get a performance hit. Maybe 20-40% depending on the games. This is because of the extra layers of programming to create compatability.
However, lots of games use directx, but don't realy use it to run 3-d gaming stuff. They do that in OpenGL, but they use it in the menus and the splash screen and stuff. "Black and White" is a good example (from what I understand, but don't quote me) of this. With games like these the performance hit is smaller, like 5-15% since WineX tries to run OpenGL as natively as possible.
Halflife and BF1942 are directx games that run in linux using WineX. They both have 4 stars compatability with WineX, which means that they will probably work well, but maybe with some visual artifacts occasionally or something like that. 5 stars means that it is as good as it gets. CounterStrike mod, however has only 2 stars, which basicly means that it sometimes run well enough to pull off a couple screenshots, but that is about it. Check out the compatability lists for on the WineX site for details.
If you like that sort of game you could check out Urban Terror and Truecombat mods for Quake3. They run natively in Linux and are very challenging. Most counterstrike people get spanked for the first few times they play these mods, especially truecombat.
However, truth be known, if you use your PC only to play games, then unfortunately linux still leaves a lot to be desired.
Their are a few other games like The Sims which have ports to linux. Also lots of indie game manufactures support Linux, since it's easy to develop for. A good example is garage games. They have many games that run on linux. Including the nice Orbz game, which is a cute ball game that is challeging for experianced first-person gamers, but friendly enough for most everyboy to enjoy. You just aim and shoot the ball with the mouse.
Plus it's VERY kid-friendly. Like disney-friendly, but without the satanic/evil/disney-0wNz-your-mind overtones.The big catch is that, well, lots of Games are directX-based games. Which is windows-only and will NEVER EVER have any compatable system in Linux. MS designed it so that people who develop games for Windows using directx makes it impossible to get them to work in any other OS. Good thing is that Linux has good OpenGL support, so porting games that use OpenGL is not terrificly hard. Plus since directx is only usefull in Windows, it means that it is only usefull for creating games. Any sort of 3-d imagining/design programs will always use OpenGL compared to DirectX, simply because then you could make it run in Mac's and Unix, which are usually first choices for high-end stuff.
Other thing to look at are winex. This provides functionality for windows-only directx games.
Any game which uses Directx your going to get a performance hit. Maybe 20-40% depending on the games. This is because of the extra layers of programming to create compatability.
However, lots of games use directx, but don't realy use it to run 3-d gaming stuff. They do that in OpenGL, but they use it in the menus and the splash screen and stuff. "Black and White" is a good example (from what I understand, but don't quote me) of this. With games like these the performance hit is smaller, like 5-15% since WineX tries to run OpenGL as natively as possible.
Halflife and BF1942 are directx games that run in linux using WineX. They both have 4 stars compatability with WineX, which means that they will probably work well, but maybe with some visual artifacts occasionally or something like that. 5 stars means that it is as good as it gets. CounterStrike mod, however has only 2 stars, which basicly means that it sometimes run well enough to pull off a couple screenshots, but that is about it. Check out the compatability lists for on the WineX site for details.
If you like that sort of game you could check out Urban Terror and Truecombat mods for Quake3. They run natively in Linux and are very challenging. Most counterstrike people get spanked for the first few times they play these mods, especially truecombat.
However, truth be known, if you use your PC only to play games, then unfortunately linux still leaves a lot to be desired.
OMG, you guys are great. So nice and pleasent. Your comments are interesting and pleasing to the eyes. What a big diffenence from the windoz guys!! i might have to switch just because of that!! lol
thanks for the help, much appreciated! will try the links, if i have any more question ill definitly let you know.... still downloading linux extras now!! cant wait to install it!
oh, you guys should also mention that peopel that do download the stuff, they are gonna need CD-burning software that handles cd-images, thought it was an .exe file till i saw the .iso!!! luckally i got blindwrite
EDIT:spelling
lolthanks for the help, much appreciated! will try the links, if i have any more question ill definitly let you know.... still downloading linux extras now!! cant wait to install it!
oh, you guys should also mention that peopel that do download the stuff, they are gonna need CD-burning software that handles cd-images, thought it was an .exe file till i saw the .iso!!!
luckally i got blindwrite EDIT:spelling
you can use a couple floppies to install instead, or do a loadlin(.exe) install (if you have DOS...)
Below are some of the distro that I have tried.
Easy HDD install - Mandrake, RedHat, SUSE, Ark & ELX
Some work to install on HDD - Debian (IMHO, da best distro), Slackware, LFS, Haven't try but heard great things about it (Gentoo) & dysfunction (Caldera/SCO).
Easy HDD install or run from live CD ? Knoppix (IMHO, da second best distro evar), Damn Small Linux, Morphix, Gnoppix, SUSE.
Personally I haven?t done a Debian HDD install in about 1.5 year, but have uses Knoppix as the default install then uses apt-get to add packets from the web like Debian. The best so far that I have tried HDD install from a live mini live distro is DSL for mini distro similar to the initial Debian net-install, but with a few more nicely pre loaded packages. Morphix is a direct variant from the Debian desktop/net-install pool which is really nice for the people that want play with new toys (maybe better to try Gentoo for this purpose), but I had some trouble with some unstable packages because it pushes too far into the Alpha stage.
Easy HDD install - Mandrake, RedHat, SUSE, Ark & ELX
Some work to install on HDD - Debian (IMHO, da best distro), Slackware, LFS, Haven't try but heard great things about it (Gentoo) & dysfunction (Caldera/SCO).
Easy HDD install or run from live CD ? Knoppix (IMHO, da second best distro evar), Damn Small Linux, Morphix, Gnoppix, SUSE.
Personally I haven?t done a Debian HDD install in about 1.5 year, but have uses Knoppix as the default install then uses apt-get to add packets from the web like Debian. The best so far that I have tried HDD install from a live mini live distro is DSL for mini distro similar to the initial Debian net-install, but with a few more nicely pre loaded packages. Morphix is a direct variant from the Debian desktop/net-install pool which is really nice for the people that want play with new toys (maybe better to try Gentoo for this purpose), but I had some trouble with some unstable packages because it pushes too far into the Alpha stage.
Am posting this running Mandrake 9.1
Installed it just yesterday and I have all that I absolutely need working now, including Samba, FTP server and the standard host of office and internet apps. I know a bit of linux but still am a pretty raw beginner, for almost every second thing I am consulting various websites on how to actually get something to work the way I want it to. All in all though I am really enjoying myself and find this challenge very rewarding.
I treid RedHat before Mandrake and like Mandrake better, it seems to have the edge in included software packages if you are a home user.
Installed it just yesterday and I have all that I absolutely need working now, including Samba, FTP server and the standard host of office and internet apps. I know a bit of linux but still am a pretty raw beginner, for almost every second thing I am consulting various websites on how to actually get something to work the way I want it to. All in all though I am really enjoying myself and find this challenge very rewarding.
I treid RedHat before Mandrake and like Mandrake better, it seems to have the edge in included software packages if you are a home user.
Get used to looking at those websites; even as an advanced user you'll occasionally have to do some digging. :beer:
:beer:I really LOLed when I read this.
Or if you prefer the Unreal engine, there's the going to be released in the next couple days Frag Ops, which I am anticipating droolingly.
It is good to see the industry willing to port their stuff though, considering how easy it could be for them to just say to hell with it and just use MS stuff only. Epic and Id are hopefully trendsetters enough that other companies will begin to write games in a portable fashion. I wanna see blizzard games released for linux, and then gaming on linux will be won IMO.
Well, maybe for you. I'm still waiting for MS to port age of empiresI wanna see blizzard games released for linux, and then gaming on linux will be won IMO.
AOE is great, but there is such thing as FreeCiv. It is not as nice as Civ III, but play able.Originally posted by: Spyro
Well, maybe for you. I'm still waiting for MS to port age of empiresI wanna see blizzard games released for linux, and then gaming on linux will be won IMO.
Freeciv is a great *turn-based* game (see sig), which makes it kind of hard to compare Freeciv and AOE. I never really was a Civ fan but I used to enjoy the ocassional game of Freeciv. This is what annoys me about Freeciv. I don't play pyDDR thoughOriginally posted by: lowtech
AOE is great, but there is such thing as FreeCiv. It is not as nice as Civ III, but play able.Originally posted by: Spyro
Well, maybe for you. I'm still waiting for MS to port age of empiresI wanna see blizzard games released for linux, and then gaming on linux will be won IMO.
, and I still like freeciv. It's third place in my lise of favorite OSS games. Excluding my insignificant portion of the www, they are listed in my sig in order of popularity.Originally posted by: civad
Of course
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