would like to start using linux...


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hello people,

i have a 500mhz,95 ram... pc sitting around collecting dust and i would like to install linux on it,for like getting into the experiece and such.

any recomendations on what type of linux to use(please no lindows or any other linux that is not free)

and some llinks to ghuides and download pages

-thanks in advance :D

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If you want an "easy distro":

  • Fedora
  • Mandrake

Although these two are harder in some ways than most of the ones below due to a lack of package management. They use RPMs which you either love or hate (most people hate). RPMs have the dependency hell. You can get some programs to do package management for you though.

Learner's distros:

  • Slackware
    • Binary
    • Runs very quickly for a binary distribution
    • One of the oldest and most tested distributions
    • Good teaching distribution

    [*]Debian

    • Binary Distribution
    • Good package manager

    [*]Gentoo

    • Compiles from Source
    • Very long install time as the whole system is built up from the ground
    • Optimized
    • Oustanding package manager
    • Good teaching distribution

    [*]LFS

    • Compiles from source
    • No package manager, except you
    • Get to experience the hell that is dependencies
    • Teaches the most
    • Takes longer than Gentoo to install since you have to be there, although you could script yourself an installer

Edited by kjordan2001
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If you want an "easy distro": Fedora or Mandrake

Learner's distros:

  • Slackware
    • Binary
    • Runs very quickly for a binary distribution
    • One of the oldest and most tested distributions

    [*]Gentoo

    [*]Debian

    [*]LFS

Those are all good choices to choose from.

The more time you want to devote to start-up learning, the lower you go down the list.

You can still learn with the top distros, but they will do quite a bit of the setup for you (and you will have to take it on your own if you want to dig in deeper).

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I recomend this for a beginner. Install Fedora Core 1 http://fedora.redhat.com (or if you wait 3 weeks Fedora Core 2) and then install xfce4 http://www.xfce.org since it is a very light weight interface but also is rich in features. I personally use fedora because its quick and easy to install and I don't have to waste any time configuring anything, however my server runs debian since i feel it is a better server distro and I do spend the time to configure that.

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kjordan2001: err. mandrake got urpmi, and fedora got yum to avoid this so called depency hell :)

urpmi and yum help out but it still isn't elegant.

The best package management is apt-get but Debian can be difficult to install.

I'd recommend that he install Knoppix. It uses Debian's apt-get system and it is a lot easier to install onto the hard drive than Debian (there is a HD install script from the LiveCD). It also comes with XFce and Fluxbox preinstalled.

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Personally, I'm in the same boat. I really have fallen in love with Ark Linux H2O. SuSE is good to learn from, but I'd stick with Mandrake, Ark, or a new distro called Cobind.

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kjordan2001: err. mandrake got urpmi, and fedora got yum to avoid this so called depency hell :)

That's why I said

You can get some programs to do package management for you though.
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