Coldgunner Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 whats the best distro for the beginners, I'm very used to windows and I'd like something easy to use and straightforward as I have no experience with unix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binkgle Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 ubuntu 5.04 "hoary" ubuntulinux.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwolfe Veteran Posted May 15, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 15, 2005 It depends on what kind of "beginner" you are. Do you want to jump in and learn Linux? Or do you want to use it and never see or use a command prompt? This thread https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=314058 may help with some general comments and preferences Neowin users have already expressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted May 15, 2005 Author Share Posted May 15, 2005 I wanna use it for gaming and to be like windows, but I want the option to use the prompt when I get a little more into it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenPirate Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 While you can play some games on Linux distros, Linux isn't for gaming. Try Xandros 3.0 OCE, it's easy to install, easy to use, and a lot like Windows. OCE is free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyro Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 gentoo.org. .... :p kidding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fotix Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 Quoting myself: I tend to think ofBeginners users' distros (not marketed toward upgrade-aholics who need the latest and greatest Xorg, the newest KDE the minute the developers finish it, or the newest kernel): Xandros Linspire Intermediate users' distros: Ubuntu Mandrake Fedora Suse ...a whole bunch of others... Advanced users' distros: Slackware Gentoo This is just one man's opinion. :book: And before you make a committment to anything, you might want to check out some Live CDs where you can boot into Linux running off of the CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subpt Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 I disagree when you say gentoo is an advanced user's ditro. Sure, its a living hell to get it running, but the handbook is an exceptional guide! It makes it look kinda easy! I must confess, after using Fedora Core 3 for a while (and i rely a bit on the prompt) i confess i learned more on 2 or 3 gentoo installs (failed or not) than on the time I used fedora. Still, you gotta want to get it running, or you'll give up when X.org gets installed :D I'd say gentoo is for the mid-user that wants to learn the hard way :ninja: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.calibre Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 I jumped straight in with Gentoo a few months ago, glad I did too... The best way to learn :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subpt Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 I jumped straight in with Gentoo a few months ago, glad I did too... The best way to learn :yes: 585924744[/snapback] Yeah, you either learn or learn (.. or go back to windows :laugh: ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwolfe Veteran Posted May 16, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 16, 2005 I disagree when you say gentoo is an advanced user's ditro. Sure, its a living hell to get it running, but the handbook is an exceptional guide! It makes it look kinda easy! I must confess, after using Fedora Core 3 for a while (and i rely a bit on the prompt) i confess i learned more on 2 or 3 gentoo installs (failed or not) than on the time I used fedora. Still, you gotta want to get it running, or you'll give up when X.org gets installed :DI'd say gentoo is for the mid-user that wants to learn the hard way :ninja: 585924480[/snapback] While some people may learn best this way, this particular thread starter wants it to be as "Windows-like" as possible, so later he can play with the command prompt. Gentoo is not the proper distro for this person. :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binkgle Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 i almost never have long periods of free time to fiddle with my computer in, but does the gentoo installer have to be done all at once? once i have used ubuntu for a while i might look into it, but it'd take me many a 1/2 - 1 hour session to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subpt Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 i almost never have long periods of free time to fiddle with my computer in, but does the gentoo installer have to be done all at once? once i have used ubuntu for a while i might look into it, but it'd take me many a 1/2 - 1 hour session to do it. 585925090[/snapback] nope,after having the system installed you can shutdown and continue anytime because the part that takes most time (compiling Xorg and a window manager) can be done whenever you wish but it takes a big while (as the handbook says: "Go pick the books your mother gave you and u've never read"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binkgle Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 about how long is this "long" compile? i have an a64 3000, 512 mb ram, a 10k rpm hd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toastyone Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 gentoo.org. ....:p kidding. 585924331[/snapback] :rofl: :rofl: That was one of the first distros I tried.....I spent an hour trying to figure out what the commands were before I realized there was a guide online :argh: IMO, and I am a linux n00b the ones I have found to be the easiest to set up and get running are Ubuntu, and Mandrake....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thechitowncubs Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Ubuntu BY FAR. My sister uses it, enough said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowlan Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I second that. For you, ubuntu will do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaKeY Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I'll put a vote in for Mepis. Great installer, includes nvidia/ati drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lasker Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 SUSE 9.3 :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skybl4ck Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 ;) ubuntu or fedora Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon 5 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Xandros is definately a good beginner distro. No one can deny that. I used it as my first distro and loved it. It was what caused me to swtich to Linux full time. It setup all my movie and music codecs so I didn't have to fool with them (which was good since I didn't know Linux that well). Since then I have moved on to Kubuntu which is the KDE version of Ubuntu. But be warned of Kubuntu as it has a lot of bugs and 5.04 was its first release. I would have chosen (the less buggy) Ubuntu but I got used to KDE from using Xandros and so I chose Kubuntu. I have also tried Suse 9.2 and it was ok but it wasn't great I guess. And neither is Ubuntu/Kubuntu except for they have a huge following the and ubuntu forums are wonderfull. They provide all the answers you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebflipper Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Tomorra I am gonna format my laptop (as its full of crap again) and just have Ubuntu on it, just to see how long I can last without Counterstrike :laugh: which will probably be about an hour or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MateoGWJ Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Tomorra I am gonna format my laptop (as its full of crap again) and just have Ubuntu on it, just to see how long I can last without Counterstrike :laugh: which will probably be about an hour or two. 585935272[/snapback] That's no excuse. Cedega runs both HL, Hl2, CS, CS:S......now, whether or not you can get it running on your system, that is a different story. :pinch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sp0rk Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 VidaLinux is a good distro for someone new to Linux. It's a very easy install, and having Portage is a very convienent thing for someone new to Linux. You can also learn a lot of things in the VidaLinux environment if you choose to do so, becuase they don't cripple it as bad as some other newbie distros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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