Subj : Re: Linux for a Beginner To : comp.os.linux From : Crashdamage Date : Fri Jul 02 2004 01:15 pm On 1 Jul 2004 22:44:02 -0700, David R wrote: > I'm a Windows person who grew up from DOS to Windows 3.0 and now > Windows XP. Now I want to try Linux but there are so many > distrabutions (I don't know the proper term). Is there one > distribution that stands out for beginners over the others? Should I > buy with support or download? Mandrake is probably the most popular noobie-friendly distro, for good reason. It's available for free by download or you can get boxed copies if you want printed manuals or are on dial-up. Has the best software installation tools of any commercial distro and a huge choice of software, more than Suse or even RedHat's Fedora, and is very up-to-date with the latest versions of most software available. Like other distros, support from Mandrake is included if you buy instead of get tne freebie download, but buying support for any distro is a waste of money. Excellent support is available from the Mandrake user community. For polite, noob-friendly but knowledgable help try here: http://www.mandrakeusers.org/ For somewhat less polite (it's Usenet, try not to say anything stupid) but still very knowledgeable help: Alt.os.linux.mandrake Mandrake is a very fast, kinda cutting-edge distro. Many people like it because even though it has plenty of noobie-friendly GUI tools, it can still keep even experienced hardcore command-line users satisfied. If you try it, once you get a little comfortable with using commands in a terminal, be sure to learn about urpmi, the amazing Mandrake software installer that sets it apart from all other rpm-based distros. Google for 'easy'urpmi' and ask some questions. There are other fine distros, like Suse, Fedora, Xandros, Gentoo, etc etc. Lindows is the most Windoze-like of all, but doesn't that kinda defeat part of the purpose of making the switch? Some are easier than others, and everyone can give valid reasons for why they choose the one they use. I just feel that overall Mandrake is the best choice for Windows refugees who want a powerful-but-easy distro they can stay with long-term. You also might want to try one or two of the run-direct-from-CD distros like pcLinuxOS or Knoppix. Dowload and burn the CD, then just boot from the CD and it will load a fully-functional Linux distro, including borwser, office software, etc without changing anything on your system. Just remove the CD and reboot and your machine is back to Windoze XP, unharmed. These are somewhat limited of course, but let you get your feet wet and see if your hardware causes any trouble. -- Registered Linux user #266531 .