So I'm ready to take the leap to Linux and wonder what a good distro is.. I'm not a total noob but would still rather have a straight forward install and not have to worry about too many quirks and such... Has installling apps become easier under linux? I remember trying it a few years back and the whole process was done on the command line.. I understand that this gives you a lot of control but I'm a GUI kinda guy... Thanks for any advice!
Most user friendly Linux distro?
- Thread starter slackerinabox
- Start date
umm...some things are still better off in the command prompt- though I too would like a complete switch to gui *dodges rabid linux fans attacks*
but Mandrake....defintely.
I'm Fedora-ing it up and i'm definitely learning (IE: using YUm, compiling, etc. etc.) and I'm going to stay this way...but with mandrake you'll get most of the niceties included w/o extra effort like MP3, DIVX/XVID Player, etc. etc.
but Mandrake....defintely.
I'm Fedora-ing it up and i'm definitely learning (IE: using YUm, compiling, etc. etc.) and I'm going to stay this way...but with mandrake you'll get most of the niceties included w/o extra effort like MP3, DIVX/XVID Player, etc. etc.
Correction: <slow chant>Mandrake(no LG)..... Mandrake(no LG)..... Mandrake(no LG)......</slow chant>
The biggest problem with alomost all of the Linux distros is the partitioning. I have not found anywhere a guide that tells you step by step. If you are not interested in labor intensive learning you end up going around in circles while trying to partition your drive.
If linux is ever going to become attractive to the average window user the partitioning scheme is going to have be automated for those persons.
Mandrake is my choice also.
Bleep
If linux is ever going to become attractive to the average window user the partitioning scheme is going to have be automated for those persons.
Mandrake is my choice also.
Bleep
Okay, gotch
<slow chant>Mandrake(no LG)..... Mandrake(no LG)..... Mandrake(no LG)......</slow chant>
It isn't really that hard. Just make a swap, root, and home partition. Or if you really don't want to be bothered, then just let mandrake do it for you (be careful if you want to keep windows too).
Things has changed dramatically in the Linux landscape in the past 2-3 years. Many distro give you the GUI option during boot/install to create multi or single partition (no need for swap partition).
GUI ladden distros - Mandrake, Redhat, SUSE, ARK, Libranet, Lycoris, Yoper, and Xandros & Lindows (the last 2 distro I haven't try it out yet).
CD base distro that can also be install - Knoppix, Damn Small, Morphix, Gnoppix & Dynebolix.
huh? I never knew what it meant to partition before I tried Mandrake on my pc and I figured it out just by staring @ it for a while...
Try JAMD Linux (do a google search). I was an avid Mandrake user, but I tried this, and it is soooooo much faster than mandrake, but it looks just like redhat (which is like mandrake). This is definetly the best distro out there, IMO. BTW, it uses the apt-get packaging system, so installing programs is very easy.
What about Lindows?
Just kidding, any Linux distro that has root as the main user account is something I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Unless it was running the NSA's SE-Linux stuff.
But I bet ya didn't know that it is almost based entirely on Debian? Just rebadged open source stuff, mostly. Like the Web Browser = Mozilla-1.5, and the File Desktop Manager and Web Browser = konquerer.
Fully functional apt-get system, too. (but Lindows has their own $-based point'n'click package management stuff, has commercial OSes aviable in it, though. Don't know if it is based on apt-get.)
Just kidding, any Linux distro that has root as the main user account is something I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Unless it was running the NSA's SE-Linux stuff.
But I bet ya didn't know that it is almost based entirely on Debian? Just rebadged open source stuff, mostly. Like the Web Browser = Mozilla-1.5, and the File Desktop Manager and Web Browser = konquerer.
Fully functional apt-get system, too. (but Lindows has their own $-based point'n'click package management stuff, has commercial OSes aviable in it, though. Don't know if it is based on apt-get.)
I had hardware issue with the last 2 JAMD revisions.....it is a bit faster than the main distros and is quite similar to Yopers.
Try Damn Small Linux if ease of use & speed is what you seek.
Well taking the little flack I got for my post I humbly downloaded the new version of Mandrake 9.1 and what a great distro. puts my old version to shame, this is as easy a install as I have seen for any OS. This install is what is needed for the less than geekiest among us.
Bleep
Bleep
Very true this is a good guide but print it out and give it to your smartest neighbor and see if he/she can make heads or tails out of it.
I am only speaking to the problems that a common computer user has when he/she has when trying to understand the scheme for partitioning. That is, someone that just uses the internet plays a few low intensity games and some word processing. The Mandrake and Red Hat install fits the bill good in this respect.
Bleep
I learned how to use Dos's fdisk long ago, and using the disk druid or fdisk or cfdisk never posed much of a problem.
Partitioning is cake. Nowadays you don't even have to know how to do it, you just let the OS do it.
The only thing people have trouble with is when they try to dual boot. In order to do that you have to know and understand the naming convention of 2 different OSes and understand the boot up proccess, which may be confusing for a person thats only previous experiance was using a restore disk. That's when people get into trouble.
That's why I recommend having a second harddrive and just install linux into that. You can unplug the old drive to keep your windows stuff safe and then you don't have to worry about it. It's by far the easiest way of doing it. You just have to be carefull not to mess around with the primary/secondary/slave/master relationships so that non of the drive devices change. If that happens then you'd have to edit the /etc/fstab file to fix it and that may be to hard for a first-timer.
The price of a extra hd isn't that great if you get a older one, maybe 40-50 bucks and if Linux doesn't work out you have the extra space for all your buggy windows warez crap. Win-win situation.
Partitioning is cake. Nowadays you don't even have to know how to do it, you just let the OS do it.
The only thing people have trouble with is when they try to dual boot. In order to do that you have to know and understand the naming convention of 2 different OSes and understand the boot up proccess, which may be confusing for a person thats only previous experiance was using a restore disk. That's when people get into trouble.
That's why I recommend having a second harddrive and just install linux into that. You can unplug the old drive to keep your windows stuff safe and then you don't have to worry about it. It's by far the easiest way of doing it. You just have to be carefull not to mess around with the primary/secondary/slave/master relationships so that non of the drive devices change. If that happens then you'd have to edit the /etc/fstab file to fix it and that may be to hard for a first-timer.
The price of a extra hd isn't that great if you get a older one, maybe 40-50 bucks and if Linux doesn't work out you have the extra space for all your buggy windows warez crap. Win-win situation.
very simple your hard drive contains a very small partition that keeps the boot sectors in it its called a Master Boot Record (MBR).
when u install linux most of time it installs Grub i think, or Lilo in that table (MBR) depends what you want this permites you to choose wha tyou want to load. otherwise that is a problem. if you load dos in windows do not do "c:\ mbr /clear or some command forget getting old but it dumps the mbr and you will lose your linux Grub boot program.
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