Linux OS

[g-smooth2k]

What do you think is a good Linux OS?

[wonderboy2005]

ive used both redhat and mandrake, and i like them both. there isnt much difference. those two seem to be the most popular, and userfriendly.

[isamoor]

I say Slackware all the way!

Maybe not for newbie's though.

For a newbie, if you're willing to pay, then Xandros would be the best. If not, then go and get Knoppix. You can play with it on the CD, and then install it on the hard drive if you like it.

I voted for Suse actually, because it's my favorite of the ones you listed. Mandrake is nice, but they haven't released a bug-free version in too long. And Redhat is still meant for servers in my opinion.

Later,

Isamoor

[QuickSurfer]

personally I like mandrake the best. To me its the most user friendly for newbies and if you an expert you stil have all the advanced features you would need. SuSe and RedHat are good to though. My only peice of advice is to pick a rpm based distro.....it just makes things alot easier

[d-koolest]

I haven't heard much about them, what are the advantages of Xandros or Knoppix?

[nasrules]

Knoppix is run from the CD - you don't have to install it. Just boot from the CD.

I'd say RedHat. I haven't used any Linux distro's yet, but it's the one I've heard the most good things about.

[isus]

i like mandrake and red hat.

[cpugeniusmv]

I myself have only used Mandrake, and recently got a job installing Mandrake on computers I built. It's definately easy to set up, and easy to get started.

[hawkburn]

Well my new ATI Radeon isnt compatible with Mandrake, so I think I would have to say Red Hat.

Afterall, when you say Linux, most Non-advanced people think of Red Hat.

[.::BeatFactory::.]

/me is currently using Debian

[isamoor]

Xandros is a commercial OS based on Debian. It does cost money though, but it's one of the best put together distros out there. When version 2 comes out later this year sometime, I bet it will be really cool.

Knoppix is still my recommendation for any newbie. You just put the cd in your drive and reboot. It runs completely from your cd and doesn't touch your hard-drive. It also has just about anything you could ever want on a linux distro. If you like it and what to try it on your hard-drive, there's a pretty easy to follow install script included to help you. Oh, and knoppix is also based on debian.

And I would say stay away from rpm distros personally. They may be easy to install, but getting any extra software on them can be a pain. If you do use Mandrake, go look up the PLF (penguin liberation front), they help out a lot for linux p2p apps. For Red Hat, go track down freshrpms. They provide all the multimedia apps for redhat. Suse is pretty good about providing most things already. That's why I still prefer them.


Just to show you how cool debian is though. If you opened up a terminal and typed "apt-get install mozilla" it would automatically go out and download and then install mozilla and anything it depended on. There's even some gui's to make it easier.


I personally run Slackware though. It's not really for newbies. I pretty much compile all my apps from source, it just works out better for me. Slackware is also just about the fastest linux you can get. Gentoo has it beat out, but not by much. Slackware is just so slim and streamlined.

Gentoo is a special case though. It has a command similar to apt for Debian, but it's called portage. The big difference is that portage actually downloads the source and then compiles it for you. Making it a little faster than slackware. It is not fast to install apps though. Compiling can take awhile.

Gentoo is not for the faint of heart to install either. They have excellent FAQs on their site, but it's still not easy.

Debian is much easier to install, but I would still just recommend installing Knoppix and using that as debian.

Later,

Isamoor

[strestout1]

this question is so hard to answer...for noobs I'd say RH9 because that's what i'm using, though i've heard Mandrake is great as well...the more advanced users seem to use Slackware or Debian. I guess it's whatever tickels your pickle really, but RH9 tickles mine.

[PowerMan57two]

WOw there had been so many posts about Linux and it's OS's lately. I think it's finally coming up in the world. I have never seen so many threads about it at the same time.

[Sockfulloflove]

i have mandrake, and it's the only one i've tried.

[strestout1]

ur right PowerMan...linux is here, and it's goooooooooooooodd...hehe, i think i'm turning into a damn zealot.