which linux to use for el?

[Burfoot]

being a xp user i hate it.. decided to try a linux os on older comp thinking that there was on 2-3 different os's out there i didn't think it would be a prob picking one...

slax

Kanotix

pclinuxos

knoppix

goblinX

Ubuntu

gentoo

fedora

Mint

Just a sample list of what i found...

Soo what linux Os do you use -and what works best and is easy to use? ty

[The_Piper]

SuSE Linux 10.1 works fine for me.

 

Piper

[Light Lan]

I use gentoo, but it is not suitable for a beginner with linux.

 

I'd suggest suse also.

[bluap]

In the interest of balance, I'd recommend Ubuntu or Debian. The thing is, the difference between most modern distros is quite small. Some use older versions of programs and are considered very stable if lacking the neat new stuff, others are packed with neat new stuff but may be a bit rough in places. If you look at the poll I did on providing packages for Linux, Ubuntu is way ahead of the rest with EL players (if you can trust polls). What ever you choose, it's going to be great!

[Mortek]

Ubuntu 8.04 works nice on athlon 1.6 and 256 mb ram even with 2 clienst on, firefox and communicator program.

[Marr]

i suggest a ubuntu/debian based system, suse is ok but too many non- standard things on this system so it sux if you try something else in future...

 

there is a nice overview on distrowatch: http://distrowatch.com/

 

this might be useful too: http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php?lang=en

[shamara]

I use Linux Mepis because it works well with my Nvidia graphics and was easy for my newb level Linux ability.

[larrystorch]

I use Slackware on my desktop, but started to use Ubuntu on my laptop since it is a low usage machine and I didnt want to have to spend too much time getting it "Just right".

 

For a newbie to linux, I would suggest Ubuntu. They have the distro nailed down to working right out of the box so to speak and it would give you a good foundation to learn from.

[SinS]

I would have to agree with most here and say Ubuntu, works well out of the box and setting up the graphics card is the easiest with this distro IMO. Depending on how old the machine is though, you might want to take a look at Vector linux, breaths new life into old machines

[popeye]

I like Ubuntu, KDE version. The standard download/install for Ubuntu is gnome. It is very user friendly. I run the cvs version of Eternal Lands.

[Ignoble]

Sabayon Linux here.

 

Basically Gentoo, but without the hassle of it's installation. Works "straight out of the box", and you have the choice of using both source or binary versions of software.

[korrode]

I'm also going to suggest Ubuntu.

 

Although, i wish i knew more about Linux Mint. I know it's Ubuntu based, but comes out of the box with propriety/non-free software up and running (such as DVD playback, amongst other things). If it can use Ubuntu packages and repositories, it really sounds like THE distribution for someone who wants an easy, ready-to-go Linux.

 

EDIT:

Oh, and i second what SinS said about Vector Linux, it runs extremely well with old hardware.

A while back i was trying to determined the best GUI oriented Linux distro for an older laptop i had lying around, Vector proved to be much faster than Xubuntu (Xubuntu = Ubuntu with XFCE environment).

Edited June 27, 2008 by Korrode

[eagleprince]

Zenwalk

The entire distro is around 400 MB and almost anything works with it. That what both me and my wonderful 8-year-old daughter use - The wife still uses XP

 

It's particularly good for older systems.

[ThegreatLord]

I use Ubuntu and have no Problems with it.

[LIGHTspeed]

I've used openSUSE, Sabayon, Ubuntu, and Dream Linux (As well as tested the live CDs for a dozen others). I would suggest either openSUSE or Ubuntu at the moment, but a new release of Sabayon is coming out that looks great, as long as they get the bugs worked out. Eternal lands is even in their new package manager! (Which happens to be named Entropy. )

 

Note: After reading what you said again, I see you have an older computer, so Sabayon is probably not the best Distro for that... It likes a lot of Ram.

 

Although, i wish i knew more about Linux Mint. I know it's Ubuntu based, but comes out of the box with propriety/non-free software up and running (such as DVD playback, amongst other things). If it can use Ubuntu packages and repositories, it really sounds like THE distribution for someone who wants an easy, ready-to-go Linux.

It can and does.

 

Another edit: Linux Mint IS pretty good, and I see they recently came out with a new release, so that might be something to look into.

Edited June 27, 2008 by LIGHTspeed

[Kalix]

Before i got my new computer I used Ubuntu. Now i am currently running windows.

[Torg]

I'm a big fan of Debian, but for a newbie I would definitely say Ubuntu for its initial installed state (very user-friendly with loads of useful software pre-installed) and support. There is also a massive amount of software available for it and it uses Debian's packaging system which makes installing new software very, very easy.

 

Ubuntu has a huge amount of community support designed for people without much experience with Linux/Unix systems. They have wiki's with topics about almost anything you want to do with your system and very active forums for any problems you have. There are also EL packages courtesy of Bluap so you don't need to worry about having to compile it from scratch. ;-)

 

 

/PS: No, I'm not biased at all... here at home I am currently only running 5 Debian machines: main machine (lenny/testing), laptop (lenny/testing), dev box (etch/stable) and 2 servers (sarge and etch). On top of those, I am also running an externally hosted Ubuntu server and will probably add another Debian server to the list for home shortly.

[popeye]

Before i got my new computer I used Ubuntu. Now i am currently running windows.

^^^^^^^^^ Poor guy. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Burfoot]

ubuntu doesnt like my comp first downlaoded and copied to cd it didn't work.

then installed with wubi no problemsduring 8 hr downlaod and install - i get the message: instalation complete system will reboot - and reboot it did... over and over and over..

 

So i'm downloading musix http://musix.org.ar/en/index.html It looks it fits me the best -- hope it will run el - here we go again

[Marr]

ubuntu doesnt like my comp first downlaoded and copied to cd it didn't work.

 

after downloading you should always verify the file using the md5 or sha1 checksum, also after booting where is usually a way to perform a "media check" a old cdrom drive and some dust will make your install fail

 

then installed with wubi no problemsduring 8 hr downlaod and install - i get the message: instalation complete system will reboot - and reboot it did... over and over and over..

 

was there any errormessage? if so it may happen with other distributions as well, just post errors here, maybe the solution is simple. sometimes you have to pass some extra parameters to the kernel, turning off acpi (passing acpi=off to the kernel at boot) for example could fix such things.

just ask and don't give up

[Vormavius]

Its all about personal taste

 

I <3 Fedora

[kl4Uz]

If you downloaded the ubuntu iso and burned it on a CD, then you automatically have an Ubuntu LIVE CD. Meaning once you insert it in your PC and reboot, it will automatically boot Ubuntu from that CD (after you selected that option in the bootmanager). This is the best way to see if the OS actually works on your PC.

 

Once you are on the Ubuntu Desktop click on the "Install" Icon. A window will pop up straight on your desktop guiding you through the installation process. It will only take several minutes and is even less complicated than installing Windows XP!

 

That said I believe you should definately try Ubuntu. I used OpenSuse before and while it is a great OS with an easy installation, Ubuntu is even easier to install. However for an end-user the actual differences are mariginal.

[Kurok]

I use Kubuntu wich is basicaly ubuntu and the game runs great everything works.