Subj : Re: Linux for a Beginner
To   : comp.os.linux
From : drietow
Date : Fri Jul 02 2004 04:03 pm

THANKS EVERYONE but don't stop here.  Keep all this good information
flowing!
CRASHDAMAGE that web site http://www.mandrakeusers.org/ is great!  I'm
very impressed with its easy to understand information.


Crashdamage <03z1krd7@nospam.invalid> wrote in message news:<f7aa0871f003ceb5895be4a22bd56e40@news.teranews.com>...
> On 1 Jul 2004 22:44:02 -0700, David R <drietow@hotmail.com> 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.

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