Learning Red-Hat Linux, whats a good version?

[RatedR]

Ok, I'm trying to get as many opinions on this as possible before I commit. I have decided to go with RedHat as my first Linux distro and would like to know what version you recommend to start off with. I was told that version 5.2 is a good one, because it doesn't use a GUI. But I am kinda leaning towards 7.3 just because its new.

Keep in mind that I am new to Linux in general, not just RedHat. Also, if you have any good recommendations on literature that would help me learn Linux, I would greatly appreciate that as well. Thanks gang!

 

[cleverhandle]

RH 7.3 should be fine - I've generally heard good things about it. It's always nice to have the most recent hardware support and bug fixes. The only times I would get an older version would be if the newest is *very* new and you want to wait for more reviews, or maybe if you have very old hardware and are looking for the least possible program bloat. Even for the latter, you can trim down any newer distro with a bit of effort.

 

[bubba]

Any distro you go with you almost always want to get the latest version. Security problems arise too fast and linux itself evolves too fast to use an old version.

 

[RatedR]

Very good points, thanks for clearing that up. Any recommendations on literature or should I just pick up a "Linux for Dummies" book

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: RatedR
Very good points, thanks for clearing that up. Any recommendations on literature or should I just pick up a "Linux for Dummies" book

linuxdoc.org