curious about linux or unix

[Dude5722]

Interested in getting into Linux or Unix. Can anybody recommend a decent flavor of linux? When I say decent I mean relatively easy, user friendly, smooth install, wide variety of software, gui, etc.

[phishhead]

mandrake last I heard has the easiest learning curve to windows. check outlinuxiso.org for all your linux flavors.

[SupaStar]

mandrake last I heard has the easiest learning curve to windows. check outlinuxiso.org for all your linux flavors.

I'd recommend Mandrake also as I have installed it and found it to be easy to install and setup, but also packed with features.

I've heard great things recently about Fedora Core 2. Might be worth a go!

[efc]

I am using Mandrake 10.1.

[tarun]

I am using Mandrake 10.1.

What software suites do u use on it? Openoffice, mozilla, etc ? Are linux game versions hard to find?
I have XP and I'm considering dual booting wid a Linux OS.

[carloc]

I'm agree. Linux Mandrake is best distro for a newbie.
You can download it from here (three ISO CDs or one ISO DVD) using BitTorrent.

What software suites do u use on it? Openoffice, mozilla, etc ?
Are linux game versions hard to find?

There are thousands of good applications for Linux, except games

I have XP and I'm considering dual booting wid a Linux OS.

You can set up a dual boot very easily during the Linux installation, but remember that Linux can access to NTFS partions only in read-mode so if you need to share files between the two OSs I suggest you to create another FAT32 partition.

[efc]

What software suites do u use on it? Openoffice, mozilla, etc ? Are linux game versions hard to find?
I have XP and I'm considering dual booting wid a Linux OS.

I don't want to overstate my use of linux. I am in the learning phase. I try to remember to boot to Linux one time in four. Most of those times, include learning something new. My setup is a separate computer for Linux. I have settled on the single OS so that it is an easy decision for me to re-format and start over

Mandrake 10.1 installs programs to do most functions. Open Office is a rich program that covers Word Processing, Spreadsheet, Presentations and provides a Draw module. There are numerous other programs, including:

Program Type Number of programs
Publishing............................ 2
Task Manager...................... 1
Time Manager...................... 4
Fax.................................... 2
Phone ................................ 1
PDA.................................... 3
Address Manager................... 1
Remote Access..................... 2
Browsers.............................. 4 (I have added Firefox)
Mail..................................... 3
Instant Messenger.................. 1
Video Confereencing................ 1
File Xfer................................ 1
Web editor............................. 3
Sound................................... 6
Video.................................... 2
Graphics................................ 4
Text Editors........................... 6
Finance................................. 1

[tarun]

thanks guys. I guess ill put off that linux installation until my next holidays, and I'll use the time to educate myself summore...
thanks again.

[tarun]

remember that Linux can access to NTFS partions only in read-mode so if you need to share files between the two OSs I suggest you to create another FAT32 partition.

u talking abt this particular distro (mandrake), or every distro ?

[carloc]

u talking abt this particular distro (mandrake), or every distro ?

I was talking about every distro because the FileSystem management is made by the Linux kernel.

[SupaStar]

There are thousands of good applications for Linux, except games

I wish there was more support for games under linux. I swear I'd do away with my Windows system for good!

[Dude5722]

Hey dudes, thanks for all the great info. I'm definintely going to check out Mandrake. I heard from others that it's really good. I've also heard that redhat is good. Redhat could be worth looking into.

[carloc]

I've also heard that redhat is good. Redhat could be worth looking into.

RedHat is enterprise oriented. For "standard" user you should refer to Fedora Core, sponsored by RedHat.

[phishhead]

I've tried redhat back in the version 6 days and let me tell you it was a bitch but with the new flavors could be easier now.

[petard]

Both RedHat and Fedora have come along way. The open source development effort with Fedora is stronger than ever. Fedora is a good choice for a free linux if you've got some good hardware. They're starting to stray from the Pentium II series.