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Gentoo vs Fedora


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#1
Paul Bennett

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Im considering taking my old Win 98 box and playing with it; trying to install some sort of Linux system. Ive been looking around, but cant really decide for myself which one is best. So I ask your advice.

This is just to play around with. Nothing important, not for a server.

What would you recommend for a complete linux noob to start with?

Thanks!
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#2
Thebinaryman

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well, i would always recommend live cds for a very first. but if you're willing to reformat your hard drive numerous times testing distros, then you should install a few so you can do more advanced installing/configuring of software.

so with that said:

http://shipit.ubuntu.com

they will mail you free of charge ubuntu linux. (however many copies you want). ubuntu is a very friendly operating system, but i found it difficult to install aditional software that requires gnu make, or gcc, because ubuntu doesnt have it. but still try ubuntu

suse is very nice, beautiful operating system. but i have only used live cds of it.

fedora core 4 is my favorite yet. very feature filled (takes 4 cds or 1 dvd) runs fast, and easy to install any software (from rpm or build from source). i would say its the most compatable of all linux distros, (software wise, has plug and play, was able to share windows printers, installed nvidia drivers in a snap... etc) havent encountered any problems yet. this is my favorite os of all time. there are many guides for it on the internet also.

so my vote: fedora, i guarantee you will like it over win98!
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#3
john000

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Choose Debian or Ubuntu.If you are willing to pay,choose Linspire.
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#4
warriorscot

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Fedora is the distro that most serious programers/unis/research institutions use as well for the same reasons thebinaryman mentioned, also its a very flexible and easy to modify to suit your needs apparently.
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#5
maclach

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Gentoo vs. Fedora? The choice will depend on both the amount of learning you want to do and the hardware resources you have available. On older machines Fedora can seem sluggish and Gentoo can take a long time to build. I have been running Gentoo for a couple of years now and have built it on some very old machines (i.e., a 166Mhz Pentium). The documention for building a gentoo system is very good you will learn alot by building a running system. Gentoo requires a fair bit of disk space to hold the source packages and for temporary space during the compiles.

VMWare has released a free Virutal Machine player and virtual machines for Fedora, Ubuntu and others are available. Virtual machines are handy for trying out a new distro. If you have a relatively new Windows box, performance is acceptable - I am writing this from within a virtual Ubuntu machine running on an early amd64 machine running XP.
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#6
-=blaster=-

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Having installed a bunch of Linux ditros in the last few years, I have settled on Fedora. It is very easy to install and, with the addition of yum, it is easy to update, install, or remove packages. Which, for me, is the biggest selling point.

Simply open a shell as root and type in yum update|install|remove packagename.

With the additional repositories from Livna.org and others, it is possible to customize Fedora to your specific needs.

And, last time I checked, live CD's were available for Ubuntu, Knoppix, and Suse. You can download an "evaluation" copy of Suse Linux Enterprise Server from Novell. Registration is required though.

:tazz:
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#7
Thebinaryman

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i really really really love fedora, but one day i want to try suse 10 oss, cause i'm hearing nice things about it. sad thing is i got a 20giger in my fedora box, so not much space for large games, i'm sticking with the demo versions of lots of games due to lack of space.
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