I was looking at doing a Duel Boot between my XP and a Linux O/S. The only problem is that there are so many choice to choose from. So I was wondering what ones are really the stand out performers and what you would recommend someone using...

Knoppix ~ I like the screens that I have seen of this in work.

Ubuntu ~ Everyone seems to recommend this one for beginners...

Linux Mint ~ Not sure about this one. Someone mention this one in passing and I took a look at it. I like the screens that I have seen of this one as well.

Or are there other good ones out there?

 

You should try Gentoo from a Stage 1 tarball.



...



(Don't do that. Knoppix, Ubuntu, Fedora, SuSE are all pretty good choices for n00bs)

 

Kubuntu is about as easy as Ubuntu and it's purty.

Fedora is good for newbies too.

I'd stick to the 'buntus though. They have a damn easy command line structure.

 

Linux Mint is Ubuntu based, so its a nice choice for beginners as well. You could also try Damn Small Linux, or OpenSuse.

Personally, I prefer Debian-based systems like Debian and Ubuntu

 

Debian has huge repositories. The 'buntus especially. That makes them super-easy for even COMPUTER newbs to use.

OpenSUSE has a fircken' HORRIBLE repository system... such a bitch to learn compared to Debian based stuff.

 

Fedora. The Top Dog uses it and so should you.

 

I'd suggest any 'buntu-based system. Though Debian is what the 'buntus are based on, so it could be good too.

When I broke the shit out of my laptop (dunno how, but /boot wasn't /boot anymore...>.>), I downloaded KNOPPIX to fix it. It was more of an advanced-Linux user flavor than anything else.

I'm going to be trying Linux Mint here soon on my extra desktop (that just so happens to have been put through the ringer on as many flavors as I wanted it to). I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

Also, Vash uses Linux Mint. (I think he told me so once in the Screenies thread. Can't be assed to get the link though.)

 

Thanks for the recommendations. I have gone with Linux Mint for the time being. Though I do have one other question...

When I logged back into XP, my SATA Hard Drives are reading as SCSI. Honestly as long as it doesn't affect my systems performance. I can't be fucked to fix it.

Is there a way to fix it, if it does cause my performance to go down?

 

This is excellent for really old computers.


/sarcasm

 

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS

 

Just make sure you read up on compiling programs from source (./configure, make, make install)...a lot of packages don't come in easily installable .deb's, and it took me forever to figure this stuff out with a lot of fruitless googling.

Also, try out Compiz. It's pretty neat.

 

SUSE or Fedora are probably the best for Linux Starters I reckon.

 

Really. it depends on what you want. Linux distros generally have a target audience in mind. Take a look at distrowatch and decide what you want based on your needs and your ability.
Regards,
Maidros

I don't know what exactly you needed to compile from source, but Debian has the largest number of packaages available in binary form, I think. And if you are complaining about having to compile from source in Debian, you should wait until you are on OpenSolaris, where you need to be even more compile-savvy just to use it.
Regards,
Maidros

 

SUSE sucks balls, plain and simple. And no, it's not for beginners. YaST is the worst package manager in the universe. People say it's just like Windows, but no: that's KDE. You can install KDE on almost ANY Linux flavor, if it didn't already come installed. Fedora is close to the edge of intermediate-user-dom, but easy enough I guess.

Any Debian (more computer literacy needed) or Ubuntu based (yes, I know Ubuntu is based on Debian BUT it has it's own little branches too) is the best for a new user. There is a GUI for anything that anyone new to Linux would need, plus the command line is easier to learn than most other flavors (sure, they're pretty much all the same, but installing things from command line is so easy, it makes Jesus cry in relief). Trust me, I know. I'm a convert.

 

Come on...the only 'real' distro is LFS. If you are too much of a wimp for that...Slackware.

 

Thanks for the rec's all. Now I have another question

Within the next day or two, I'll be receiving a laptop that one of my teachers don't want anymore. He told me that it only had 64MB of ram in it, maxed out. At this time, it supposedly has as working Win 98 installed.

All that I am going to be using it for is to write assignments and rarely surf the internet.

Would I be better off keeping the installed 98 or going with a linux distro?

If I do go with a linux distro, what would you recommend running with only 64MB ram?

 

I am not sure he will be able to use any recent desktop environment with that set of specs. KDE, GNOME, and even XFCE might be a little too much for his machine. Add to that the problem that firefox, and OpenOffice have a fairly large memory footprint, that is going to be another problem.

He might be stuck with IceWM with abiword and dillo for the GUI, text editor and net surfing respectively.

Regards,
Maidros