want to use linux

[Snakexor]

im putting together a machine with a few old parts, and ordering a few new ones or gettin em off fs/ft...

specs:

athlon 1600+
512 mem
80gb hdd
k7n2gm mobo

and a few others....now i want to learn how to use linux on this machine as it will be a server/downloader/rendering rig....any tutorials or points in the right direction?? where do i start, what version of linux do i use etc...

 

[BlueWeasel]

Download Ubuntu, burn to CD, and boot from it.

 

[Basie]

You could also try Vida Linux which is Gentoo based, Blag which is based on Fedora and
Simply Mepis which is a Debian based distro. You can get them all for free for download
at www.distrowatch.com. I like them all and they are just one CD.

 

[sourceninja]

i'd stick with ubuntu for a good intro into linux.

Dont forget about ubuntuforums.org and ubuntuguide.org

 

[pcthuglife]

wow its like someone asks this question every day.
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=34&threadid=1655474&enterthread=y
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=34&threadid=1656876&enterthread=y
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=34&threadid=1657633&enterthread=y
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=34&threadid=1655216&enterthread=y
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=34&threadid=1652205&enterthread=y
etc etc

try Ubuntu or Kubuntu. ubuntu has a good forum and I personally frequent www.linuxquestions.org

 

[sourceninja]

I'm actually starting to think this is all a plot by the linux community (without telling me no less) to get people to think there is a mass migration to linux

 

[nweaver]

lol. We need to sticky a post with non MS OS choices.

 

[TGS]

Sticky this guy

Along with Slipstreaming and doing a recovery on a windows box.

 

[TonyRic]

This was stickied a year ago. what happened to it?

 

[drag]

Because the answer is easy now. If your a new user Ubuntu is a good place to start.

after you get used a bit to how things run then you can make a much better choice about what is good for youself. Choose something else, or stick with Ubuntu. (big big fan of Debian myself)

Just be sure to read the FAQs and any avaible stuff on Ubuntu's website. It's very usefull and will show you how to get dvd playing working well and other restricted formats working (such as window media video 9) and such.

 

[TonyRic]

Drag, I agree that Ubuntu is a very good distro, and a good place to start, I feel that other distros actually make things easier and provide a more inviting experience to a new user. Yet still promoting an indepth learning experience.

I am a fan of debian and believe that apt (and synaptic as a gui front end) are probably the best package management combination out there, there are other distros that work just as well for a new user.

 

[patsfan33]

Try Simply Mepis

http://www.mepis.org/

 

[Brazen]

I personally like Fedora Core. I've tried other distros, but always come back to Fedora Core. As far as Ubuntu goes, I think it is probably good for a novice who doesn't care about the nuts and bolts of Linux, but just want a working desktop machine. I myself like tweaking and using linux as a server, so I favor distros like Debian and Fedora.

Fedora has an excellent community around it (as does Debian, I hear). You can check out http://www.fedoraforums.org and http://www.fedorafaqs.org

 

[drag]

Strictly speaking Ubuntu is Debian. So pretty much everything you learn in one is directly applicable to the other one. The major difference is that Ubuntu focuses and tunes for a desktop install while Debian is generic purpose OS.

For instance KDE in Ubuntu isn't very nice, which is why they made Kubuntu.. but in Debian KDE is as well supported as Gnome or any other software that they provide.