More Linux Questions - Help a Newbie!

[Superwormy]

Aight, so I've read up a little, but watn some opinions on the following:

Computer with only a 700mb hard drive, will be used to connect to internet and act as a Router, possibly file server (if I add another hard drive later) file server for 2x WinNT Workstaiton computers and a Win2k Prof. computer.

What is the best distro. of Linux to use to get easy connectivity with Windows and Router functions???

KDE or Gnome? Which one to use???

Lastly, is anyone willing to download and burn me a CD with a distro. on it? I'm poor and don't know if I will use it permenantly so I don't want to buy it, and I only have a regular old SLOOOOOW phone line connection... :-( I am sure I could find a way to repay you in hardware or software if someone could do this for me!!!

Thank you!

 

[Platypus]

The distribution is dependent on your linux knowledge. I suggest Mandrake if you are starting out, because its easy to set up, and it does a lot of the work for you. I would use KDE personally, but people say GNOME is easier. I dont see their point, its more a preference thing. And where do you live. I might be able to send you the cds... its a big doubt, but if you are close, perhaps.

 

[cirrus1]

I would also recommend to use MDK as this is very easy to set up. RedHat is also good especially when it comes to command line utilites. If the machine is dedicated as a server i might be advisable to skip the GUI and keep it lean and mean ( KISS comes to my mind . It's limited what you can fit on that 700 mb drive.

If you are to have X on the thing, I would recommend you to use KDE. It's easier and more "friendly" to use IMHO than Gnome. Personally I like Gnome for it's tweakability.

 

[unixmandan]

If your computer is so old (basing that on the 700meg HD), why use a window manager at all? The command line is extremely efficient and fast.

When I had a small bsd box that I used as a firewall, I just ran netwatch and left it there. I didn't need a window manager.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< If your computer is so old (basing that on the 700meg HD), why use a window manager at all? The command line is extremely efficient and fast.

When I had a small bsd box that I used as a firewall, I just ran netwatch and left it there. I didn't need a window manager. >>



I agree. No X windows is best. And Slack or Debian should be fine for that.

 

[Koeppster]

Unfortunately, asking "KDE or Gnome?" will often get you nowhere fast. The camps on each side are firmly entrenched.

In a nutshell, KDE is more mature and better integrated, but some people find Gnome to be prettier. You are just going to have to try both and decide for yourself.

Better yet, don't use either of them.