New Linux user.

[riddellcomp]

I want to give Linux a go and would like to have it look like this desktop here.

http://www.gentoo.org/images/shots/edon-tux.png

Its Gentoo Linux with a gnome desktop but none of that means anything to me.
I would like to download gentoo linux and then install the gnome desktop but then how do I actually get my desktop to look like the above? Is it some sort of theme and if so where would I find it?
Also would Gentoo be okay for me to use as a begginer.
Thanks.

[noone]

I want to give Linux a go and would like to have it look like this desktop here.

http://www.gentoo.org/images/shots/edon-tux.png

Its Gentoo Linux with a gnome desktop but none of that means anything to me.
I would like to download gentoo linux and then install the gnome desktop but then how do I actually get my desktop to look like the above? Is it some sort of theme and if so where would I find it?
Also would Gentoo be okay for me to use as a begginer.
Thanks.

If you have two computers, and are comfortable following directions, then Gentoo can be a good way to learn linux. I think the installation documentation is really good, but it helps to be able to view it while your setting things up.

As for gnome, it's a window manager. Linux, by it self, is the core code of the operating system. A 'shell' usually refers to a text interface, like old DOS 5. Above that, you have a windowing system, called 'X' or Xfree. To make that usable, you have a window manager that determines how you see the windows and what you can change about them. Unlike running DOS 5 and Win3.1 and a theme program, you don't suffer as big a performance hit, and can run the window manager without the shell. (okay, not technically true, but really, does anyone notice the performance hit of starting X from a shell vs starting it at boot?)

Basicly, no Gentoo is not the most user friendly, it might detect certain hardware or you might have to figure it out yourself (my onboard sound took a little tweaking, learning to load modules and finding the autoload file), and it's fairly complex to install. But, if you want to learn linux from the ground up, it has great documentation that steps you through and explains alot. And the 'emerge' tool makes installing most software a breeze. If you would rather learn it from the top down, starting at the windows mode and working down through all the layers, I recomend something with better autodetection of hardware, Mandrake or some Debian variety.

No matter which 'disto' you choose, you can run Gnome on it, and get it looking like that easily, minus the emerge tool that is a staple of Gentoo.

[jwhart]

You could try Knoppix Linux. It will boot directly from the CD into XWindows desktop and it won't affect your other OS. That way you could play around and get a feel for Linux without commiting to it fully. Then you'd have a better understanding of what might be involved.

[+Daemon+]

the desktop is using the latest gnome desktop. Just get the icons and the wall paper and you got the desktop :)

you can use any distro with gnome installed :)

[Gollo]

the desktop is using the latest gnome desktop. Just get the icons and the wall paper and you got the desktop :)

you can use any distro with gnome installed :)
What he said. I would check out fedora, suse or mandrake if you have no experiance with linux. Gentoo I think would be a little to involved for somebody that doesn't know basic commands.

[Sckott]

[QUOTE=Gollo]You could try Knoppix Linux. It will boot directly from the CD into XWindows desktop and it won't affect your other OS.QUOTE]

This is a great idea. Knoppix takes a little while to boot from the CD, but it provides the user a non-destructive way of exploring Linux.

[riddellcomp]

Well as luck would have it this months copy of APC had a knoppix disc in its free cd-rom package.
I have started to play around with that.