What Linux Distro To learn on?

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Anubis

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,712
427
126
tbqhwy.com
this is OT dont kill it

Im a Linux Noob. but wanna teach myself to use it. what distro woudl you recmend? i plan to RTFM.
just wounderin what you think would be teh best to start with to get the best intro/general usage basis for it
 
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MercenaryForHire

Lifer
Jan 31, 2002
40,819
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Mandrake 9.1 = Linux for n00bs

Good place to start, and actually not as bad as all the "hardcore" unshowering masses make it out to be.

- M4H
 
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yoda291

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
5,079
0
0
Originally posted by: wixt0r
Learn the manly way and go Gentoo :D
Click to expand...

I think the goal is not to spook him.

Besides, if you wanted complicated, go slak...if you want REALLY complicated, go LFS.
 
edro

edro

Lifer
Apr 5, 2002
24,326
68
91
Linux is really easy once you start learning a few commands. I would go with Mandrake 9.1 as well. That's what I have used, since 7.0. It has a ton of applications installed on it and is nice looking as well (with KDE).
 
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dighn

Lifer
Aug 12, 2001
22,820
4
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i started with slackware. fine distro. stay away from the noobish ones b/c they are bloated and they shield u from too much stuff

gentoo is also good but it might be a little frustrating to install b/c it recompiles everything and that could potentionally take a long item
 
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Nemesis77

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2001
7,329
0
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Originally posted by: wixt0r
Learn the manly way and go Gentoo :D
Click to expand...

Words of wisdom. Yes, the installation can be intimidating. You do everything by hand, there is no fancy GUI to hold your hand. OTOH, the instructions are very good and the forums are kick-ass (I'm a regural there) with lots of people willing to help you out. When you install and configure Mandrake (for example) you don't really learn that much. But when you install and configure Gentoo, you lear ALOT.

Besides, Gentoo is a kick-ass distro :D!
 
D

dighn

Lifer
Aug 12, 2001
22,820
4
81
Originally posted by: TheEvil1
personally id liek a distro that has a GUI but we shall see
Click to expand...

All distros can have GUIs. That's the thing about linux, everything is the way you want it. You can choose to have an all text environment or a GUI that's much fancier than Windows.

But not all distros have GUI for the install interface. Mandrake does but you should stay away from it. Stick with a basic, text-based install distro like Slackware/gentoo then add the GUI stuff yourself. You'll learn much more that way and it will be a much more rewarding (potentially frustrating) experience.
 
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Nemesis77

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2001
7,329
0
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Originally posted by: TheEvil1
personally id liek a distro that has a GUI but we shall see
Click to expand...

Gentoo has GUI. Gnome, KDE, Fluxbox etc. etc. It's all there. The installation is text-based however. But once you are done installing, you can install a GUI just fine.

FYI: Gentoo is not for everyone. All software that you installed is compiled for your system. That way you get binaries that are optimized for your system (read: better performance), but the actual installation can take a long time. If you install whole KDE for example, be prepared for a long install (8-10 hours on a fast machine). The actual installation of software is really easy though. KDE (for example) is installed by typing "emerge KDE", that's it. OTOH, broadband is a must.
 
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brtspears2

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2000
8,659
1
81
Personally I started using RedHat 6 back in the day... learn some basics, read a few webpages on getting the network card set, ifconfig, xconfig, how to install, how root works.

Then tackle security.
 
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DAM

Diamond Member
Jan 10, 2000
6,102
1
76
knoppix dude, you will need nothing else and nothing more. take it from a 4 year noob, knoppix was the nicest easiest thing when it comes to linux.


dam()
 
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Derango

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2002
3,113
1
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I'd go with Red Hat 9 or Mandrake. Easier install = less time trying to figure out how to set up your hardware while learning the OS and more time learning how to use the OS :)

Its a hell of a lot less frustrating if everything works to start off with and you can take your time learning about the OS at your own pace.
 
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Nemesis77

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2001
7,329
0
0
If you want easy to install distro, why not SuSE? It really is kick-ass in that respect. Of course, the ultimate easy-to-install distro is Knoppix :D

EDIT: In short, it depends on how you want to learn Linux. Basically, you have two possibilities:

a) Easy install. Learn by running the machine
b) Difficult install. Learn by immersing yourself in to it

If you like a) more, then get Knoppix. It doesn't get any easier than that. If b) appeals to you (although it's not that difficult to install, the docs are really good) then get Gentoo. Red Hat, Mandrake etc. etc. are somewhere between those two, and they don't offer anything that you couldn't get from those two. But if you want more traditional distro, I would recommend either SuSE (has LOTS of stuff with the distro, you don't necessarily need to download anything) or Mandrake.
 
M

mpitts

Lifer
Jun 9, 2000
14,732
1
81
I started with Mandrake 7 and quickly transistioned to Redhat.

I would recommend Redhat.
 
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