What Linux to use?

[b4u]

Hi,

I'm new to Linux OS, and so I would like to ask a few basic questions ...

What are the most important (good) versions around?

What are their prices? (I believe some are not free)

Which one do you recommend? I'm going to install Linux on one machine, to give it a try and learn a bit about the OS. My main objective is to learn some experience with the software.

I'm also interested in putting up a PC with fixed IP and web connection 24/7, to host a web site. So since I believe Linux is a robust and more secure OS than Windows (and alot cheaper), my secondary objective is to try putting up a web test environment on a Linux machine and learn from it.

The "distributions" I heard most about are "Red Hat", "Suse" and even "Mandrake" ... what are the diferences between those versions? What would make me choose one over the other?

As I've said before, I never tried a Linux OS, so any opinion counts alot.


Thank you.

 

[drag]

Well the 'best' Linux OS in my opinion is Debian. It's great.
The next best one is Fedora. Latest version is Core3. That's great too.

However they may not be the best for you.
You have 2 groups of Linux distros. You have RPM using Distros and you have everybody else.
RPM is a program package created by Redhat. Redhat is the most popular commercial OS out their, and their free version is now called Fedora.

Other rpm-using distros are decendants of a early version of Redhat Linux that branched off years ago.
Redhat, Fedora, Suse, Mandrake are all fairly similar and are fairly commercial being created by for-profit companies. (except Fedora). They have versions you can buy that offer some closed source software and support benifits.
Mandrake is widely regarded as the easiest version to use and install. I still prefer Fedora personally.

Debian Linux is great because it's completely based off of free software with options to handle contributed-not-normally-free and shareware type software. It has a intellegent package managment software called apt-get that most other distros have incorporated similar functionality into their OSes. Either thru porting apt-get or creating their own solution. Using apt-get you can search, download, and instlal software automaticly over the internet. Also resolves dependancies automaticly which is a nice thing, dependancies end up being a major pain sometimes. What sets Debian apart from others is the massive amounts of software that is easily installable on it and how it supports multiple archetectures. (not just PC computers)

Other popular ones are Gentoo and Slackware.

Knoppix is often nice to try out since you don't have to install it on your computer to run it. It's entirely cdrom based and very slick.

Ubuntu is another one you should look at. It's debian based but is geared towards desktop usage rather then just being a general purpose distro like Debian.

Usually it takes a few tries to find a distro that suites you the best. Each one has a slightly different personality and have different objectives. Also keep in mind that it's important to use the latest version of whatever distro you choose.

linux iso is a place to find links to download cdrom install images.
distrowatch is a place to read about the different versions.

(also see my sig. Those guides are usefull irregardless which distro you choose for the most part.)

 

[alm4rr]

from the hype im currently trying xandros
theres a couple reviews as www.osnews.com

 

[uOpt]

Originally posted by: b4u

What are the most important (good) versions around?

There are no bad versions in wide distribution. That's one of the neat things about OpenSource, you just don't continue what is bad and use the other branch.

if a commercial vendor decides to wreck a product and doesn't plit it then you will have to use the wrecked version or never update.

Which one do you recommend? I'm going to install Linux on one machine, to give it a try and learn a bit about the OS. My main objective is to learn some experience with the software.

Fedora Core. If you are willing to learn and fiddle a little is is about right. It is very aggressive to ship with the newest bells and whistles which is good for you in that case.

I'm also interested in putting up a PC with fixed IP and web connection 24/7, to host a web site. So since I believe Linux is a robust and more secure OS than Windows (and alot cheaper), my secondary objective is to try putting up a web test environment on a Linux machine and learn from it.

Sure, check out PHP and mysql or whatever you like.

But note that your Linux box is only more secure than Windoze if you update it when security problems are discovered.

The "distributions" I heard most about are "Red Hat", "Suse" and even "Mandrake" ... what are the diferences between those versions? What would make me choose one over the other?

Gotta read their mission statements.