Okay, I know there are various Linux verisons out there.
But how do I find the right one for me?


I'm after.
Security.
Multi-Chat, (such as Trillian)
And something that can support a torrenting program.
I use those instead of direct downloads.


More efficent in my case.
And also I'm after Media.
Something that has the K-lite Codec pack built in,.
So I can use all my media I recorded at home via camera family event's and such.
Advice?

the choice is nearly endless - but it can be narrowed down a bit,

ubuntu - http://www.ubuntu.com/
probably the most used desktop linux

mandriva - http://www2.mandriva.com/linux/one/
the linux version i use

pclinuxos - http://www.pclinuxos.com/
my daughter uses this - she's six

all the above are called live cd's, you can use them without installing, they can run in your memory only,
so its 'try before install'


there is also this http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/ it chooses a linux distribution to fit your knowledge,

security ? - no antispyware or antivirus needed as there a very few to nil nasties for linux,
plus the root folder (roughly the windows folder in xp) is protected by a password that only you know, without the password nothing can write to your root,

multi-chat - there are loads, amsn, kopete, pidgin, kmerlin, etc

torrent - due to the nature of torrent programs, this cannot be discussed, but there are 'built in' torrent programs,

my pc runs mandriva linux - its a multi-media system, i can do anything i want with media files (audio, video, photo, etc)
record, play, transcode, burn to disk, rip home disks, record webcam, photo manipulation - anything

there is no klite codec pack for linux, this is a windows program,
but there are the win32 codecs, which may (depending on the distribution) have to be enabled in software management,

all software you will need is in the repositories of the chosen distribution, all free - its just a matter of knowing what you need and what its called in linux,

eg.
AC-3 (dolby) codec in windows = A52 codec in linux
winamp media player in windows = xmms media player in linux
etc,

anything else then just ask

All of what you want is in pretty much any of the distros. You just need to find the one that meets your needs and wants.

I prefer Debian based distros. SimplyMepis 8.0.10 is my current distro of choice. It use a KDE 3.5.10 Desktop Environment and has everything I've needed other than a few specialized programs that had to be compiled. For some media packages (w32codecs, libdvdcss) you have to enable the multimedia.debian.org repository in synaptic.

I hear good things about Linux Mint. It should have everything you need to start with.


I always recommend download and test a lot of Live CDs to find one that works for you.

just curious, what type of computer specs are you intending to install the linux onto since that might also figure in you decision here

P5QL Pro.
ATI 2600HD Video Card.
8 gigs of Ram.
*yay*

Intel Dual Core Processor.
=3

wow, I am on Mint mostly, but with those specs even a live CD should be fast, but once installed on the harddrive amazingly fast since, even now, I am running quicker than windows XP with only 512mg ram

This post has been edited by fleamailman: Sep 15 2009, 04:43 PM

I just got Mint 7 Gloria.
Installed it but it wouldn't boot up.

=/
Just keeps bringing me back to windows.
Tried burning the ISO in UltraISO, but didn't get me anywhere accept 2 wasted discs.

And no boots so far from the flash drive attempt.
Am I doing something wrong?

Yea spent all night.
Doesn't boot from USB.
Doesn't install thru Windows.
CD and or DVD won't boot.

=/
I'm at a loss here.
Any recommendations?

you don't install linux through windows, its a totally independent operating system,

you need to put the cd in and reboot your system, if cd/dvd is set as first boot device in your bios then you will have no problems (unless the version of linux you are trying doesn't like your hardware)

The install menu gives me a opition to install thru windows.
But even then afterwards it doesnt want to boot from the CD / DVD

just checked this out as the mint linux i have does not have that option,
i believe you have to download mint4win.exe and locate it in the same directory as the mint iso and then it should install,

it would probably be simpler to dual boot as 2 separate operating systems,

i wrote a small guide here

another thing would be to use re-writable disks, saves making coasters

I was planning on making mint linux my main OS for video's and web stuff.
And Windows 7 was just going to be my game platform.

Know any good multi chat clients for linux?
Such as Trillian?

Pidgin is excellent and available in most distro repositories. It's also available for Windows.

dual booting mint and w7 is just as easy,

pidgin

Honestly if you just want Linux for "video's and web stuff" I would suggest you download and install VirtualBox. Then install the latest version of Ubuntu (I prefer Debian based distros). Also make sure you install the guest additions once Ubuntu is installed, feel free to ask me for help. With the amount of memory that you have and processing power, your computer will do just fine booting into windows and then opening up the Ubuntu VM. That way you don't have to reboot when you want to play a game.