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What Linux distro to choose?

Started by mpfeif101 , Jun 21 2005 05:50 PM

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#1
mpfeif101
Posted 21 June 2005 - 05:50 PM

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If you're new to Linux, want to try it out, and need to know the "best distribution", this is the place ;)

Couple of things to keep in mind:
  • If you have no idea what Linux is and don't even know what a distro (distribution for short) is, check out http://www.linux.org/ or Google any specific questions.
  • There is no such thing as the "best distro", its just personal preference.
  • It isn't very difficult to dual boot with Windows, so you can have Linux and Windows run side by side.
The ultimate site for all distribution reviews, downloads, etc is http://distrowatch.com. They also mantain an excellent "Top 10" list located here.

The four most popular Linux Distros here at GeeksToGo that are good for beginning users are:All these are available free and are relatively easy to use and install.

If you are looking for a Linux distro that can run on an old or not-so-good computer, check out Slackware Linux.

If you don't want to actually install Linux, but want to test it out and see how it works, download a Live CD which allows you to run Linux directly from the CD. The most popular Live CD is Knoppix, however many other distros such as SuSe make Live CD's as well.

If you have any specific questions, don't be afraid to ask :tazz:

Edited by mpfeif101, 05 November 2006 - 09:15 PM.

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#2
Sungbob
Posted 13 July 2005 - 07:24 AM

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How bout gentoo, I think alot of Linux goobers are into gentoo for its configurability and most of speed..

Bobo
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#3
mpfeif101
Posted 13 July 2005 - 11:01 AM

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Hi there,

Gentoo is a good distro but a bit hard for beginners to Linux to install and understand, thus it is not listed here.
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#4
Guest_crapwheresmycrowbar_*
Posted 20 July 2005 - 04:51 AM

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I am a windows user...so this may sound stupid? Is Linspire a seperate distro or is it just another name for Linux as a whole?
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#5
mpfeif101
Posted 20 July 2005 - 12:04 PM

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Linspire is a distro of Linux designed to act and feel like Windows.
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#6
UV_Power
Posted 24 July 2005 - 10:41 AM

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How about running Windows based games (City of Heroes, Guild Wars, BF1942, etc) on Linux? Which distro would be the best for that?
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#7
SoccerDad
Posted 24 July 2005 - 11:14 AM

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How about running Windows based games (City of Heroes, Guild Wars, BF1942, etc) on Linux?  Which distro would be the best for that?

View Post

Not trying to be a smarta$$ here, but Windows is the best distro for those types of games. Unless the game(s) you are playing has a Linux version, keep your Windows for this purpose. Most, if not all linux distros will install either Lilo or GRUB as a bootloader which allows you to boot whatever OS's are on your machine. For my gaming clients, I always recommend to keep both on the machine. With hard disks becoming almost a commodity, it's fairly cheap to have large installs of Windows and Linux on the same machine.


Hope this helps!
Be well, SD
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#8
UV_Power
Posted 24 July 2005 - 10:44 PM

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Windows is the best distro for those types of games.

Yeah, you're right. Best to leave well enough alone. I have no problems with Windows anyways.
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#9
EMCguy
Posted 25 July 2005 - 12:07 AM

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No problem with Windows ???? ;) :help: :yeah: :beer: :tazz: :help: :yeah: :help: :beer: ;) ;) ;) :tazz:

I gotta get my modem checked. ;) :)
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#10
UV_Power
Posted 25 July 2005 - 02:53 PM

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Well, allow me to elaborate. In terms of installing and playing all the games I want, Windows has not let me down. I consider myself lucky though. I have heard many issues with Windows losing stuff and corrupting games during the install process and other horror stories.

Which Linux would you suggest, EMCguy?
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#11
mpfeif101
Posted 25 July 2005 - 03:08 PM

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You can use Wine (a Linux app) to emulate some Windows games.
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#12
dsenette
Posted 25 July 2005 - 03:20 PM

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if you have the cash get a drive for each distro of linux you can get your hands on and get a removable hard drive bay and have fun with all of them
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#13
SoccerDad
Posted 25 July 2005 - 03:32 PM

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You can use Wine (a Linux app) to emulate some Windows games.

View Post

For someone new to Linux however, Wine can be a real bear to setup properly. Better to look a Crossover Office, but it is commercial product...

cya, SD
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#14
EMCguy
Posted 25 July 2005 - 07:10 PM

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Which Linux would you suggest, EMCguy?

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;) I'm completely clueless on Linux. I have ordered an Unbuntu distro CD, but I'm not sure its ever going to arrive, and my allegedly broadband DSL ISP would never let me download 700+ MB.

The guys from Redmond are just my favorite whipping boys. :tazz:

EMCguy
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#15
tenbroya
Posted 30 July 2005 - 06:33 AM

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I am fairly new to Linux, but I found a cool distro called 'Flash Linux' this is a gentoo based distro and is small enough to be run off a fairly large USB Pen/Flash Drive. (256MB and upwards).

This is the one i use to restore my computer if it really F*cks up with a virus or something else retarded. It is very useful just to keep one lying around just in case.

Tenbroya
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