DEFINITIVE: Which Linux Distro? (poll)

[malcolm]

I like ubuntu too.

[phedot]

Using Debian 2004.3 :happy:

[jack_canada]

SuSE!

[mleonc]

Slackware 10 on all of my systems :happy:

[Colin-uk Veteran]

i think i might try gentoo sometime this year :)

[Joseph B]

Among the free versions of Linux, which should I give a go? I now have another spare system lying around, and I was wondering, which do you think you all would be best? I've looked at Fedora, but i'm not sure.

[markwolfe Veteran]

Short answer: any of them, really. Try one and see for yourself.

Let me move this into the Definitive Which Linux Distro thread...

[uniacid]

You can try any version you want, if your a total newb then try Fedora first to learn the basics then I'd recommend trying gentoo :D

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

I said redhat, but only cause im used to it

Im to lazy to get gentoo, or debian. :D

Edited January 20, 2005 by The_Decryptor

[Scraggles]

I just recently switched to Suse after using Mandrake for a bit. I like Suse more. I ATTEMPTED to install Gentoo, but, nuh uh. It ain't happenin. That distro took up for hours of my time and then it didn't even install properly. There was no way I was spending another 4 hours installing it, instead, I spend 20 minutes downloading and burnning suse, then another 15 minutes installing it.

[pouringsky]

Mepis.

[g-n-t]

where is yoper?

[markwolfe Veteran]

where is yoper?

585335851[/snapback]

Didn't make the list for this year, because there wasn't any mention of it in the 2004 thread.

If Yoper becomes suddenly popular, it will be added to the list, and some less popular distros removed. (this is what happened with Ubuntu and BSD, which were mentioned several times in the previous thread)

[g-n-t]

oh yeah, forgot there was a poll limit.

[beh]

Gentoo for me, and Gentoo for newbies, the best and easiest way to learn Linux :)

Gentoo's documentation rules all for new guys :)

Jan

585209808[/snapback]

He speaks the truth! and portage rules.

[Hankyone]

unbutu impressed me :yes: best distro ever

[Aeonandromere]

Gentoo for me, and Gentoo for newbies, the best and easiest way to learn Linux :)

Gentoo's documentation rules all for new guys :)

Jan

Its all true.

[DaSwissDude]

That's right. There is a script so you can install Knoppix on your hard drive, I just dono where :ninja:

585259045[/snapback]

To install type in "sudo knoppix-installer" into the Console under Root.

I cant decide :rofl:

Ive used Mandrake, and its nice and easy, but you need to pay to get extra software, like Abiword (what i was looking for as I was using it on an older machine, and took like 10mins to load openoffice.org)

I love lsack, nice and quick, (I can even run KDE on a 64MB RAM machine without much lag), but it wont get my Xircom Cardbus Network Card to work, which worked fine under Mandrake. Sugestions BTW i already made a thread ;) Xircom Network Cardbus Card Problem Thread

Gues ill Null then :D and just see the results

This time im gonna install Linux on ym "Faster" desktop, but dunno which one. I think ill start with the one with the most piacks, Fedora Core, but I heard it has no MP3 support is this true? Any "Easy" (For Windows Users) do add suport?

Edited January 24, 2005 by The Napster

[markwolfe Veteran]

I think ill start with the one with the most piacks, Fedora Core, but I heard it has no MP3 support is this true? Any "Easy" (For Windows Users) do add suport?

585350230[/snapback]

It is absolutely true that Fedora does not include the ability to play MP3 files. The algorithm for that is a 'licensed' technology, and due to the patent issues surrounding it, they elect to not include support. It is, however, easy enough to add. (as a side note, it appears in very recent news that REAL has paid for licensing, and releasing it for free in their player - so it is "free beer" and legal)

Also, Fedora does not include the ability to read NTFS for very similar patent infringement issues. This is a non-issue to everyone except dual-booters who have Windows NTFS partitions.

[DaSwissDude]

Also, Fedora does not include the ability to read NTFS for very similar patent infringement issues.  This is a non-issue to everyone except dual-booters who have Windows NTFS partitions.

585350533[/snapback]

D'oh :pinch:

And i am a dual-booter. Gues ill start with Knoppix thean as i already have a Live-CD.

Knoppix has MP3 support right? I know it reads NTFS.

Thanks once more Mark :D

BTW whats this new SuSE novell? Whats the differences to Suse? Whats New? Features?

Edited January 24, 2005 by The Napster

[_R2D2]

My first experience with Linux was with the Slax cd. It is a great distro for starters, and it is a live-cd, so you don't need to install it.

I was using it for a few months, from the cd due to some earlier boot-loader problems.

Then I read about fedora core, and I was going here to see any opinions about it. I only had one cd, a cd-rw, so fedora wouldn't work until I got more cd's.

I read about Ubuntu, I tried the live cd. I loved it, so I got the install version. It was easy to install and very easy to use. I simply love it. It is powerful, yet easy to use. I love apt-get and the gui (I have been using kde before).

Vote: Ubuntu.

But the best starter distro is SLAX.

[markwolfe Veteran]

D'oh  :pinch:

And i am a dual-booter. Gues ill start with Knoppix thean as i already have a Live-CD.

Knoppix has MP3 support right? I know it reads NTFS.

Thanks once more Mark  :D

BTW whats this new SuSE novell? Whats the differences to Suse? Whats New? Features?

585350620[/snapback]

I should have been more clear... Fedora does not include NTFS support, but it can be very easily added.

Your choice for a Knoppix hard drive install is a good one, too. I am nearly 100% positive it will play MP3s without any problem.

And, right now, I think Novell is just packing up SUSE into corporate "server" and "desktop" editions. I don't think that there is anything earth-shattering going on, change-wise.

[Bzabza]

I've tried Ubuntu, Mandrake and Fedora. Ended up with Fedora, mostly because this was the distro which gave me the least amount of bugs during installation and normal usage.

[wicker_man]

It is absolutely true that Fedora does not include the ability to play MP3 files.  The algorithm for that is a 'licensed' technology, and due to the patent issues surrounding it, they elect to not include support.  It is, however, easy enough to add.  (as a side note, it appears in very recent news that REAL has paid for licensing, and releasing it for free in their player - so it is "free beer" and legal)

Also, Fedora does not include the ability to read NTFS for very similar patent infringement issues.  This is a non-issue to everyone except dual-booters who have Windows NTFS partitions.

585350533[/snapback]

Strange, I am using a FC3 box over a DHCP on a Win2000 server, and am able to read/write to NTFS shares without a single problem. Maybe I just should stop doing this and be good then? :D

[cr3at0r]

ive tried almost all the above linux distr. and well Suse Pro 9.2 is the best by far...Fedora Core 3 was good

*btw something i didnt like about Fedora Core 3 was the update system

-too slow (up2date)

- i then added new faster servers to the list bla bla

- kept crashing

- crashed almost everytime i run another application

- yum is just not good for updating a new system

- i reinstalled it and still had the same problems

- sometimes it got stuck at "Resolving dependencies" or something like that

Suse has YaST which is simply perfect

Edited January 26, 2005 by cr3at0r