UnOfficial "Which Linux Distro for me?" thread

[FacelessNobody]

A few months before this thread got rolling, I decided to jump headfirst into the Linux world. It's something I should've done a long time ago (DOS/Windows user since 1987), but I think mounting hostility towards the MPAA/RIAA/strict licensing control types coupled with the desire to learn more about computer software (I'm an ex-gamer, I know hardware) pushed me over the edge.

So far, I've tried (in the following order) Slackware 9.1 (it was a miracle that I got this working), Mandrake 10 Community, Knoppix 3.4, Xandros Open-Circulation Edition, and Slackware 10.0. For those of us who are new to Linux, both Xandros and Mandrake are extremely easy to set up. Xandros was especially good at properly configuring my hardware, and is the only distro so far to play well with my wireless Intellimouse Explorer. Depending on what you're gonna do, here's what I think new people should do:

If you want to try Linux without installing it, get Knoppix. In fact, get Knoppix anyway. You never know when you'll need it.
If you want to install Linux to try it, go for Xandros.
If you want to install Linux to use it regularly, get an rpm based distro (Mandrake, Fedora, SuSE).
If you want to install Linux, use it regularly, learn a lot about it, and possibly modify it, then go for Debian, Gentoo, or Slackware.

 

[erichbf]

For an easy to install and easy to maintain linux distro, I would urge newbies to check out Conectiva. Version 10 is out for some time now, it is very easy to install via download of iso images, and the synaptic package manager makes install and update of new packages easy. The download for version 10 RC 3 is here. Despite being a rc, it really works well, has complete multimedia, (unlike Fedora, say which can't play mp3's.)

http://espelhos.edugraf.ufsc.br/conectiva/10/iso/

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: erichbf
For an easy to install and easy to maintain linux distro, I would urge newbies to check out Conectiva. Version 10 is out for some time now, it is very easy to install via download of iso images, and the synaptic package manager makes install and update of new packages easy. The download for version 10 RC 3 is here. Despite being a rc, it really works well, has complete multimedia, (unlike Fedora, say which can't play mp3's.)

http://espelhos.edugraf.ufsc.br/conectiva/10/iso/

There should be no issues playing mp3s in Fedora. I've heard good things about Connectiva though, but I only speak English.

 

[FrustratedUser]

XCool

 

[lowpost]

In order for Fedora to play mp3's you will need to install the xmms-mp3 package as outlined in this FAQ:

Fedora FAQ

 

[erichbf]

No, Fedora as supplied, WILLNOT play mp3's. Conectiva or ASP or SuSe though all will. I think the RIAA got to Red Hat. Now there are some software you can download that others have developed, but my point is:

Why make a newbie go throuhg that--the distro's should all play mp3's off the shelf. There is no excuse for not being able to play mp3 and mpeg's out of the box.

 

[erichbf]

Fedora, as supplied from Fedora.org, will NOT play mp3's. The Fedora team deliberately excluding the libraries that enable such applications as xmms to play mp3's from their distribution. You can dowload additional software, add a couple of libraries to customize your set-up, etc. etc. but why go through the trouble when so many other great distros support multimedia?

Also, there is no need to speak any other language but English to setup and use Conectiva. The first install screen, you click a radio button for english, and presto--the whole install works flawlessly, in English. i have done a number of conectiva install, and the last portegues dialogue bowx I have seen was back in version 8 I believe. Kind of reminds of SuSE 5.2 when all of sudden German dialogue would pop up.... I have also had good experience with aurox linux (www.aurox.org) you just type in "selectlang" at the first boot prompt, and it is all in English. Same goes for ASPlinux (www.asplinux.ru), where you get to chose your language in the first screen, and ten from then on every thing works.

Unfortunately due to the law suit happy legal climate the US is, our distros have been falling behind those of the rest of the world. I am curious what the effect of Novell's ownership will have on SuSE?

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: erichbf
Fedora, as supplied from Fedora.org, will NOT play mp3's. The Fedora team deliberately excluding the libraries that enable such applications as xmms to play mp3's from their distribution. You can dowload additional software, add a couple of libraries to customize your set-up, etc. etc. but why go through the trouble when so many other great distros support multimedia?

Tmp3 format is not free. Supporting mp3s is not a surprise.

Also, there is no need to speak any other language but English to setup and use Conectiva. The first install screen, you click a radio button for english, and presto--the whole install works flawlessly, in English. i have done a number of conectiva install, and the last portegues dialogue bowx I have seen was back in version 8 I believe. Kind of reminds of SuSE 5.2 when all of sudden German dialogue would pop up.... I have also had good experience with aurox linux (www.aurox.org) you just type in "selectlang" at the first boot prompt, and it is all in English. Same goes for ASPlinux (www.asplinux.ru), where you get to chose your language in the first screen, and ten from then on every thing works.

Connectiva, IIRC, is primarily marketed towards Central and South America.

Unfortunately due to the law suit happy legal climate the US is, our distros have been falling behind those of the rest of the world. I am curious what the effect of Novell's ownership will have on SuSE?

That's how it is through out the tech sector. The US has been falling behind for years now, especially in cryptography.

 

[MonstaThrilla]

ArchLinux

It targets the same userbase as Debian, Gentoo, or Slackware. Its basically Gentoo without the long compilation wait times. All its packages are optimized for i686 and ONLY i686 (basically Pentium 3 and AMD Athlon and newer). The package management is handled by a tool called pacman that does dependency checking and the like. The distro stays on the bleeding edge of just about everything. For example, the new gcc was released late last week and today its pacman package is up in the "current" repository. Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird packages are released almost the same day as the source. For those who want to compile their own programs, a tool called ABS (Arch Build System) provides Gentoo-like capabilities.

 

[Klixxer]

Originally posted by: MonstaThrilla
ArchLinux

It targets the same userbase as Debian, Gentoo, or Slackware. Its basically Gentoo without the long compilation wait times. All its packages are optimized for i686 and ONLY i686 (basically Pentium 3 and AMD Athlon and newer). The package management is handled by a tool called pacman that does dependency checking and the like. The distro stays on the bleeding edge of just about everything. For example, the new gcc was released late last week and today its pacman package is up in the "current" repository. Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird packages are released almost the same day as the source. For those who want to compile their own programs, a tool called ABS (Arch Build System) provides Gentoo-like capabilities.

You know, i have been using Linux since the first public distro came out, i have been using that distro ever since, but let me tell you, Arch ROCKS, i tried it after reading your post and posting from Firefox in Arch right now while pacman'ing openoffice.

Arch might just have converted this slackhead.

(still like the bsd like setup in Slack better though)

 

[lucrioual]

nice job
fedora is amazing

 

[OffTopic1]

Originally posted by: Klixxer

Originally posted by: MonstaThrilla
ArchLinux

It targets the same userbase as Debian, Gentoo, or Slackware. Its basically Gentoo without the long compilation wait times. All its packages are optimized for i686 and ONLY i686 (basically Pentium 3 and AMD Athlon and newer). The package management is handled by a tool called pacman that does dependency checking and the like. The distro stays on the bleeding edge of just about everything. For example, the new gcc was released late last week and today its pacman package is up in the "current" repository. Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird packages are released almost the same day as the source. For those who want to compile their own programs, a tool called ABS (Arch Build System) provides Gentoo-like capabilities.

You know, i have been using Linux since the first public distro came out, i have been using that distro ever since, but let me tell you, Arch ROCKS, i tried it after reading your post and posting from Firefox in Arch right now while pacman'ing openoffice.

Arch might just have converted this slackhead.

(still like the bsd like setup in Slack better though)

I tried Arch about a year ago & it had alot of bugs, howerver I like to try Arch again soon after your positive post.

 

[Klixxer]

Originally posted by: OffTopic

Originally posted by: Klixxer

Originally posted by: MonstaThrilla
ArchLinux

It targets the same userbase as Debian, Gentoo, or Slackware. Its basically Gentoo without the long compilation wait times. All its packages are optimized for i686 and ONLY i686 (basically Pentium 3 and AMD Athlon and newer). The package management is handled by a tool called pacman that does dependency checking and the like. The distro stays on the bleeding edge of just about everything. For example, the new gcc was released late last week and today its pacman package is up in the "current" repository. Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird packages are released almost the same day as the source. For those who want to compile their own programs, a tool called ABS (Arch Build System) provides Gentoo-like capabilities.

You know, i have been using Linux since the first public distro came out, i have been using that distro ever since, but let me tell you, Arch ROCKS, i tried it after reading your post and posting from Firefox in Arch right now while pacman'ing openoffice.

Arch might just have converted this slackhead.

(still like the bsd like setup in Slack better though)

I tried Arch about a year ago & it had alot of bugs, howerver I like to try Arch again soon after your positive post.

It get's even better though, the abs is fvcking genious, like a ports system, you like gentoo? you like Debian? You like FreeBSD? you like Slackware? Well, this distro does it ALL!

And here's the best thing, you don't have a package that you like? you build it with abs and get upgrades for your packages if you do it smart.

So basically, if you cannot find it in /current or /extra or /unstable, you can compile it once and upgrade it forever.

And check out the userweb, the forums and the wiki, you want to migrate to udev? These guys know how AND their packs will do it for you if you like it.

I'm trying to find out something that ISN'T good with Arch. but that ain't easy.

I am submitting my version of mondo to Arch.

 

[MonstaThrilla]

Glad to see you like Arch, Klixxer. :beer:

 

[DavLucMac]

bump... for *nix
dav

 

[Klixxer]

Originally posted by: MonstaThrilla
Glad to see you like Arch, Klixxer. :beer:

Yeah, this thing ROCKS, the hardest was the trasition of the init scripts, but that wasn't too hard to figure out either, just add your daemons to the rc.conf and you're good to go (doesn't work like that in slack).

It took me about 15 minutes to get a system up that worked with my inet connection and an additional two minutes to configure sqiud and iptables, it is VERY similar to Slack once you know where to find the conf and setup files, pretty much the same except you got no rc. in front of the daemons in rc.d. (i just don't use the tools, i am used to the "edit your fvcking files moron" strategy"

And the only proggie i wanted in Arch that i couldn't just pacman down was mondo, and it was a breeze to PKGBUILD it and add it to updates with a cvs-update script (request to add it to TUR's).

I am keeping my Slack until i feel entirely comfortable with this (yeah, i am anal about stability, it takes a while to convince me) but it nothing messes up i will make it my main disto OS, actually, i find myself loggin into it more often than Slack so... well, we'll see. Again, thanx for a great tip.


To anyone who hasn't tried Arch, if you feel at home with doing your own thing, this is a great distro, you will get what you ask for, nothing more, nothing less.

Pacman -Syu

 

[Basie]

I like the looks of Mandrake10 and Fedora Core 2. Both very easy to install and if you have a Windows OS Mandrake will include it automatically in the Grub bootloader. FC2 didn't do that.
I also tried a free version of Xandros. That is very simple and beautiful. Like Einsteins equation. I
would recommend it as a good linux starter if you can still find it. It's been over a month since I
downloaded the ISO.

 

[Ryoga]

Wolf.

 

[Insomnium]

Originally posted by: MonstaThrilla
ArchLinux

It targets the same userbase as Debian, Gentoo, or Slackware. Its basically Gentoo without the long compilation wait times. All its packages are optimized for i686 and ONLY i686 (basically Pentium 3 and AMD Athlon and newer). The package management is handled by a tool called pacman that does dependency checking and the like. The distro stays on the bleeding edge of just about everything. For example, the new gcc was released late last week and today its pacman package is up in the "current" repository. Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird packages are released almost the same day as the source. For those who want to compile their own programs, a tool called ABS (Arch Build System) provides Gentoo-like capabilities.

I thought Gentoo already had precompiled, preoptimized versions available for download via a stage 3 install.

Damn, I'm looking to install Linux on one of my boxes and was deciding between Slackware, Debian-testing, and Gentoo. I guess I should throw Arch into the mix now too. Thanks for complicating my decision

 

[lowpost]

Gentoo does have precompiled packages. The livecd's contain the packages and the install guide explains how to use them.

 

[coolred]

Okay, I am wanting to try out linux, well more then just try, I want to use it and really get to know and understand it. I will take the advice and try several distro's. Heres what I am thinking so far.

I will get Knoppix for the fact that it doesn't need to be installed, so that will make it easy.
I may try Xandros as my next jump, for something a little more robust, but still not too complicated.
Then will work my way into Gentoo, Slackware or maybe this Arch Linux, which you recently started to talk about.

Anything wrong with my thinking? I will be using these in dual boot with WinXP Pro on a dual opteron system, if that helps any.

 

[n0cmonkey]

The best way to learn Linux is to use it. Use it for a week without booting into Windows.

 

[MonstaThrilla]

Originally posted by: coolred
Okay, I am wanting to try out linux, well more then just try, I want to use it and really get to know and understand it. I will take the advice and try several distro's. Heres what I am thinking so far.

I will get Knoppix for the fact that it doesn't need to be installed, so that will make it easy.
I may try Xandros as my next jump, for something a little more robust, but still not too complicated.
Then will work my way into Gentoo, Slackware or maybe this Arch Linux, which you recently started to talk about.

Anything wrong with my thinking? I will be using these in dual boot with WinXP Pro on a dual opteron system, if that helps any.

I would recommend just installing Knoppix on your hard disk instead of moving to Xandros. Both are Debian-based, and Knoppix of course is free.

 

[syconub]

for my new rig im going to use linux, but it will be my first time. (ive used it at a lan party on someone else's comp) and it seemed pretty different, but i think with some practice i could get used to it. How long did it take for you guys to learn the ways of linux?

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: syconub
for my new rig im going to use linux, but it will be my first time. (ive used it at a lan party on someone else's comp) and it seemed pretty different, but i think with some practice i could get used to it. How long did it take for you guys to learn the ways of linux?

Going on somewhere between 6 and 8 years so far. To get comfortable, it shouldn't take more than 6 months, IMO. Depending on how much effort you put into it.