Easy to Use / Install Linux

Ok guys, following everyone's lead and finally jumping on the Linux bandwagon, i'll be making the jump this weekend (sort of - I got a spare pc)

But i need some quick info on the Best Free Linux at the moment.

Requirements

* User friendly
* easy to install
* out of box multimedia (DVD + AVI)
* Networking support (LAN, WiFi, Remote Desktop)
* Gaming (Support Ati 9200, Creative 5.1)
* CD/DVD Burning
* Im going to run OpenOffice, FFox, Thunderbird
* Support External USB SATA HDs
* Antivirus / Spyware scanner

That's it... please give any advice on each topic. Once a set of apps has been chosen, i'll get the download links too :D

Cheers all :D

In your case I would get PC Linux Big Daddy.I have that distro on one of my HD's and have Avast free security suite.It supports usb 2.0 cd dvd roms.I believe it offers a special version for Nvidia and ATI cards.My Nvidia 6600GT set up just fine and I upgraded from the suppositories to the latest drivers from the manufacturer.Auto update even fixed a problem I was having with Firefox not being able to play real content.Oh and it comes with openoffice.org.:D

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Originally Posted by zipp51

I upgraded from the suppositories

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Did you now...does that make it easier to sit in front of your computer? :rolleyes:






:D

Thanks for the info guys, its a great help... Efc gave me some great pointers for the Xandrox software - im definitely impressed by it and will eventually head in that direction... but since im just starting out, i would like to experiment still...

The SuperGamer PCLinuxOS looks great - but i cant download that much just as yet... what is the smallest package to download?


Update: Ok, i think its coming down to suse10.2 and PCLinux2007 ... they have a great Desktop Environment and some cool features.

What are the main pro / cons for each?

Download links

Any distro (version) you choose is gonna take some getting used to. Don't think of this as a "new OS version" or a "new version of Windows"...Go at it like this is a new version of "I don't know what the hell I am doing but know what I want to do"!

Ease into it with any distro that will run as a Live cd. Get a feel for what is there and what things are listed as. All the OS's have esentially the same info but it's labeled differently or maybe just in a different place.

The Linux Mint that FG mentioned has some of the same things as Windows and called by the same names so you might want to start there. 98% of the distros are available as a free download and most of those will run "Live".

Just pick one. I have run M A N Y!! It will take some time for you to get a feel for what you like and where to find things, but once you get the hang of it I'm sure You will love the adventure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rik

Did you now...does that make it easier to sit in front of your computer? :rolleyes:








:D

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Actually a new chair would be better.:D

Great advice Rik, thx buddy.

I've started downloading PCLinux2007 LiveCD. Was only 700mb single cd, compared to Suse10.2 with 5/6 CDs :eek: I really want to try it out over the weekend.

I do have that mindset of knowing what to do, but not where to looketh... so it's going to be frustrating but also exciting...

i found the http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php site, which has good info.

PS. Where did FG's post go with the different links?? BB must be lurking and pruning ;)

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PS. Where did FG's post go with the different links?? BB must be lurking and pruning

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:eek: :confused:

I was messing around and by accident............:o

PCLOS 2007 should work pretty good on your system but remember its a test release, the final should be out in a week or so.

If you need help I'm here and there, try here first ;)

You should also get Linux Mint so you can see what GNOME is like, PCLOS is KDE. See which desktop is best for you.

DistroWatch has all the links.

Thanks FG...

I just finished downloading PCLOS, from the screenies it looks pretty flash, and with rotating screens :) I checked out Linux Mint after Rik suggested it as well... and damn, it looks good too!! No wonder Gnome and KDE are competing, very impressive. I liked LMint too, as it was only a 690mb download. But with only the third release 'Bianca' i dont know the reliability, perhaps when it gets more mature... what are your thoughts?

I'm about to try to boot into PCLOS LiveCD... cross my fingers (i'll let you know how it goes)

Im reading through the wiki guide as well... i think the big help will be needed when i go to try and install to the HD!

Cheers

ah yes....another one bites the dust....lmao:D

yeah i know Piper.. but if Vista is what M$ has got to offer.. then i think lots of people will be jumping ship ;)

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I liked LMint too, as it was only a 690mb download. But with only the third release 'Bianca' i dont know the reliability, perhaps when it gets more mature... what are your thoughts?

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It should be reliable, its basically a modified version of Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy. I think its the nicest Gnome distro ....just that I like KDE better. They have a KDE version coming out.

PCLinuxOS is the distro hopper stopper :)

:whs:

OK, after playing with PCLinuxOS LiveCD for a couple days, i must say its pretty impressive. Nice GUI, good features built right-in.. LOL, its now time to actually work out what i want to do and see which apps are best to use :D

I'll give LMint a look, just so i can wage in the debate on Gnome and KDE :p

Thanks for all the help... any more info is greatly appreciated. Especially with networking and AV/spyware stuff on linux. And Wifi support?

cheers guys, keep up the good work!

Networking is easy as pie, go into PCLOS control center and push buttons. Wifi support is the bane of Linunx, its getting much better but you either have supported hardware or you don't......but I'm not a Wifi expert....:p

"AV/spyware" what the heck is that ??? re-training is needed, you don't need those things in Linux. There's plenty of free Linux AV's incase you feel the need to protect Windows on the network, I let the Windows AV do that.

lol, thanks FG. Does PCLOS have a compatibility list? my card is DLINK DWL-G510 if that helps.

Cool that we dont have to worry about spyware stuff. :D

The good> there's no reports that Wifi card isn't working in PCLOS

The bad> DLINK uses different chipsets within the same model #....

Did the Live CD detect your Wifi ?

Here's a Linux Wifi list http://linux-wless.passys.nl/query_alles.php?

Yeah no spyware stuff in Linux :D

Thanks for the wifi list, I need to find the exact chipset...

When i ran the liveCD the wifi card wasn't installed. But the time is nearing for a the HD installation of PCLOS :D

Suse has a Live CD as well (Fedora too, Ubuntu too, etc)
Usually multiple CDs or a DVD are the instalation distro (Live CD runs from the CD).
I think that instalation are all easy now a days. Actually I think Installing Linux is a lot easier than Windows. My brother tried Debian thought and he had quite some trouble installing, but loved it once it was running.
I have Installed Suse, Fedora and Red Hat. All are a breeze to install. If you want to get a feeling of the interface you can download vmware player and download some appliances
http://www.vmware.com/products/player/
http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/cat/45
That is the list of Operative System appliances, but there is a long list of appliances built to fit a solution. The Ubuntu and Fedora 5 that I used even come configure with online software instalation, so if you want to install an extra package you just have to select and it will download and install automatically.
I used Fedora 5 to set up a hobbit server at work.

Thanks dehc for the VMWare tip... i will give that a go for other Distro's im looking at.

I like the LiveCD idea, as its a good way to test run the O/S without HD installing and making partitions etc etc.... Are there features not used in LiveCD tho? i.e. CD burning not allowed - thus forcing you to do a complete HD isntallation?

Yes a Live CD is somewhat limited. Best thing to do is spin one up and check it out!

Also don't forget about Klik as an alternative option for installing different apps.

thanks Rik :) I'll be definitely asking the Hard questions when it comes time to upgrading the apps... Hopefully some apps have built-in update utility.

In the LiveCD you have to remember that the main limitation is space and memory, and that not all apps are installed in order to achieve this. Generally the liveCD was meant to be used as a recovery system, but it has evolved quite a lot thanks to the modular structure of linux. If you want to test the powerhouse of linux as in network tools you use knoppix (or some knoppix spin off), if you want to test Suse, you use the Suse LiveCD, for Fedora the FedoraLiveCD and etc.
The vmare in the other hand, will also let you install more apps, so suppouse you want to test the dvd burner using Fedora 5 for example. Just go to the add/remove programs, make sure the packages are installed (if not install them) and you have it ready to go.
My Fedora 5 vmware was originally 3GB (1.5GB in a rar file) but I installed enought things to make it 5GB. That is a huge advantage over the LiveCD.
To truly enjoy vmware though you need a good amount of RAM and enought hard drive. The LiveCD since it does not need a host can run almost on any PC, including an old door stopper Pentium II

Another thing that I would add, is that every live CD that I have tried have been extreemely slow to load. That might give a false impression as to how long is takes a fully installed Linux OS to start. My Xandros takes only a few seconds longer than xp.

Good points Dehc and Efc. But with the VMware... i thought the guest O/S used vmware drivers that emulated the hardware... i.e. it only saw the cd-drive not that it was a burner? How do you configure it properly? can the same technique be used to enable hardware access to the video card??

I don't know the answer to the vmware questions since I never had any problem with it, or any reason to modify it, but if I had to guess I would say that you could try using vmware server (also free) which will give you more control on the configuration

thanks Dehc, I'll have to check it out soon ;)