Whats the best Disto to learn Linux?

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Thread: Whats the best Disto to learn Linux?

  1. #1
    Tiger Shark BobTheSlob's Avatar
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    Post Whats the best Disto to learn Linux?

    According to Amazon reviews, they say Mandrake. Then, the one for SlackWare sounded good. It mentioned learn by trying everything. But thats doesnt seem like a good idea to a person who doesnt know the difference between Unix and Linux.

    So, without the rambling, what is the best Distro for an absolute newbie. Thanks ahead.

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  2. #2
    Hammerhead Shark
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    Question

    This is the same post I was going to put up so..... If any one could help us it would be great! and if you know of a good download site for it as well. Thanks!
    "Hardware, The parts of a computer system that can be kicked."

  3. #3
    Hammerhead Shark
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    just get an "idiots" or "unleashed" or "dummies" book - they cost around 20 bucks and include full current distributions. why currnet - look at the web pages first note the release number, then go to a bookstore and note the release numbers on the free CD's inside the book!. If you buy the RedHat(or whatever) box it will cost about 60 bucks. i paid 19 bucks two years ago for the current Caldara openlinux with the "idoits" book and KDE tutorial as well as a good book overall. - check supported hardware! first.

  4. #4
    Hammerhead Shark
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    if your real cheap just buy a "linux journel", "maximun linux", or "linux format" for 5-bucks at magazine stand (many have free CD dist. in them). linux format is an excellent british mag. - can be found only at Barnes&noble or Borders in U.S.A.

  5. #5
    Expensive Sushi
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    As a relative Linux newbie myself, I experimented with a few distro's.

    I tried Mandrake 6, Redhat 6, Calddera 2.3 and finally Mandrake 7.0 and 7.1

    I REALLY like Mandrake 7.0 and higher. It is a dream to set up, it comes with all utils you can possibly need and it looks great.

    In less than a week of playing with it, I came very close to replacing Windows forever.
    The only thing that keeps me tied to WinME, is gaming support and ease of use in installing updated drivers.

    I would recommend Mandrake 7.0 and up, which can be downloaded for free as an ISO image, and definitely buy a starter book on Linux.

  6. #6
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    Originally posted by pvanosta:
    As a relative Linux newbie myself, I experimented with a few distro's.

    I tried Mandrake 6, Redhat 6, Calddera 2.3 and finally Mandrake 7.0 and 7.1

    I REALLY like Mandrake 7.0 and higher. It is a dream to set up, it comes with all utils you can possibly need and it looks great.

    In less than a week of playing with it, I came very close to replacing Windows forever.
    The only thing that keeps me tied to WinME, is gaming support and ease of use in installing updated drivers.

    I would recommend Mandrake 7.0 and up, which can be downloaded for free as an ISO image, and definitely buy a starter book on Linux.

    Be careful if you have a GeForce-based video card with Mandrake 7.1. It is not a simple thing to setup if you want X or KDE. I just read that RedHat 7.0 is out as well.



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  7. #7
    Expensive Sushi
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    I had a Geforce 1 DDR and now a Geforce 2 GTS64. The issues only begin if you want to get 3D acceleration (games), which I mentioned in my reply above.
    It can all be done, but it requires some "surgery", which may seem unfamiliar at first. Fortunately, there are plenty of NHF's on this and other subjects (Newbie-ized Help File).
    Check out www.linuxnewbie.org for their NHF and their great forums.

  8. #8
    Expensive Sushi
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    Talking

    I just got Mandrake 7.1 and set it up as a complete Linux newbie on my system and it runs like a dream! The installation program is very simple for anyone to get accustomed to, especially if you're used to the one-click installation of Windows.

    And if you run into trouble, like previous posters have noted, there are plenty of places to look for help, particularly www.linuxnewbie.org, which walked me through the most troubling problems with ease.

    --Q

  9. #9
    Tiger Shark
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    If you wanna truely learn linux I recommend slackware. It doesn't do all the gui stuff like linuxconf on RedHat or Mandrake. It is linux in its purist, editing configurations through text editors and command line calls. If you can use slackware then you can use any linux in my opinion.

    Originally posted by BobTheSlob:
    According to Amazon reviews, they say Mandrake. Then, the one for SlackWare sounded good. It mentioned learn by trying everything. But thats doesnt seem like a good idea to a person who doesnt know the difference between Unix and Linux.

    So, without the rambling, what is the best Distro for an absolute newbie. Thanks ahead.


  10. #10
    Mako Shark blppt's Avatar
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    I'm going to have to go with Mandrake for the first timer...it includes a lot of graphical system configurators that Red Hat 6.2 lacked, and it has had USB support for a while now.

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