Want to try Linux...which version?

[vicjan88]

Hey guys, first off Happy New Year.

Out of curiosity, I want to try Linux for myself and see what the hype is all about.
On http://www.linux.com/download_linux there are tons of different versions. I'm not a developer, just a Linux-newbie looking to explore around to see what's up. I don't plan on replacing my current OS with it, just run it at the same time and play around with it.

So, which Linux distribution would be best for me? And can I use something like Vmware Player to boot it?

edit: Forgot to mention

Using a Dell Inspiron E1505 running Windows Vista Home Premium.

Anything else you need to know? Ask.

[liamhere]

good place to start IMO

good luck and have fun :)

and a happy new year to you in la la land

p.s...always use a live cd...this way your see if it works ok with your dell before installing

Ubuntu lets you install inside windows....and its so easy...my mom could install it :)

so you keep vista and have Ubuntu....then just choose which one you want to use on boot up

[DaveShaw]

I used this site : http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

I need openSUSE 11.1, apparantly. :)

Ta
Dave

[liamhere]

never seen that before

its told me

Fedora, Mandriva, OpenSuSE or Ubuntu....so i was right...well for me any how :rolleyes:

[DaveShaw]

never seen that before

its told me

Fedora, Mandriva, OpenSuSE or Ubuntu....so i was right...well for me any how :rolleyes:

I wanted a new linux distro to throw on my old machine instead of smoothwall, so I just google "linux distro chooser" or something similar and found it :)

I've downloaded and burnt it to DVD, I just need time to set it up :eek:

Dave

[onioneater36]

Hey guys, first off Happy New Year.

Out of curiosity, I want to try Linux for myself and see what the hype is all about.
On http://www.linux.com/download_linux there are tons of different versions. I'm not a developer, just a Linux-newbie looking to explore around to see what's up. I don't plan on replacing my current OS with it, just run it at the same time and play around with it.

So, which Linux distribution would be best for me? And can I use something like Vmware Player to boot it?

edit: Forgot to mention

Using a Dell Inspiron E1505 running Windows Vista Home Premium.

Anything else you need to know? Ask.


UBUNTU is very popular an the community provides great support. Personally, I really like a distro that is a fork off of the UBUNTU distro called LINUX MINT. MINT is setup where many of the multimedia formats that don't work in UBUNTU by default because of licensing issues will work anyway. Decreases startup time.

[sp3dev]

Hello, vicjan88
Well, Ubuntu is nice, but actually teaches you to do things the windows-way. Yeah, it's so. It's a sort of a good place to start, but then you should move on to something more serious and.. less buggy. If you are just a small bit aware of what MBR is and have an idea of how to better partition your drives - i advise you to chose either fedora core or mandriva. They are a good place to start (my first distro was some old red hat,and it was nice). The thing about a distro for a beginner is that it should have good graphical or pseudo-graphical interface to configure everything - so that one can at least make his linux box feel working as good as windows. Experience comes from practice, so when you become quite familiar with your first distro, the rest will go just fine. Actually it is a good idea to start with Debian. But choose the testing version. Neither unstable, nor stable - they have certain problems. Or, ArchLinux. It is a nice distro, but the problem is that there is few software compiled for it, but the wiki and forums are just perfect. Anyhow, write back when you install some distro. Have fun!

[Ather]

coose Ubuntu, the newer editions lets you install "inside windows" its a feature called wubi

so you dont need any knowledge on partitioning or anything else :)

[DaveShaw]

I think the best thing about linux is, it's not windows, it's different and, to a M$ fanboy like me, it's something new to learn. No point using Linux, if you're going to use it like Windows :)

@Ather, I've de-creased your post count. :p

Ta
Dave

[l3v5y]

Ubuntu is very similar to XP in many ways and is a nice, intuitive way into Linux.

[DfenZ]

Kubuntu if you want it to look more like win.

[Kraize]

NUU! Go with

openSUSE or Ubuntu Ultimate. I personally have the following OS's on my pc;

openSUSE
Ubuntu Ultimate
BackTrack
Win XP

[DaveTheTytnIIGuy]

Ubuntu is nice if you are starting out with Linux. You might even find another distro which you like more. I use Ubuntu as a virtual machine if I need it, and standalone on my older machine. I also like having BackTrack 3 on my USB flash drive if I need it.

Dave

[_fm]

ubuntu is great,. i have ever used it once,. :D

[hidden_hunter]

I've always been partial to openSUSE, but the recent release of 11 was somewhat dissapointing for me (perticularly with KDE4) as it seemed a bit half hearted. Ubuntu isn't bad and is certainatly popular and Kubuntu is good if you prefer KDE to GNOME (which I personally do)

[Kraize]

I prefer KDE, thats's why I've decided to use openSUSE more.

I just installed new OS's yesterday

newest openSUSE
Ubuntu Ultimate Gamers Edition v2.0
Windows 7 Ultimate
Windows XP SP3

[N1c0_ds]

Pick Ubuntu. It's the most user-friendly version out there and that's the one I've always used. It works on all my computers from the old 300mhz P3 to the 1.6ghz dual-core laptop. There are also different versions of Ubuntu with different desktop environnements. Consider Kubuntu (KDE), Xubuntu (XFCE) and the rest.

If you want to put it on a laptop, be ready for a challenge. While everything will work out of the box for desktops, Wi-Fi hardware is a pain in the butt to set up. Once you're done with that, however, there's no going back, Linux is awesome!