Not sure which Linux to use

[digi]

I was looking into linux and found many different OS. I am interested in the business environment as well as home users. Which system is the correct one? SUSE ~ Linux red hat enterprise ~ Fedora ~ Etc. I'm confused !

[Jeff316]

I was looking into linux and found many different OS. I am interested in the business environment as well as home users. Which system is the correct one? SUSE ~ Linux red hat enterprise ~ Fedora ~ Etc. I'm confused !

Nice thing about Linux is there are so many choices - here are some thoughts:

1. If you want a full featured workstation: Look a Xandros(not free) includes apps (cross over office) that make it possible to work with MS Office documents. IIRC it is not the most secure out of the box though...

2. If you want to learn Unix: Slackware (it is what I use at work). They don't really make it easy for you - you'll learn all about vi though.

3. If you want to put it on your resume: Hed Rat (sorry I mean red hat). The current consumer oriented version is called Fedrora but most folks I know are sticking with regular old red hat for now - it's probably the closest thing to an industry standard and PHBs & HR drones may not recognize some of the other distros by name.

There are a lot of folks here a lot more knowledgeable than me - hopefully they'll respond soon - also keep in mind some distros may be better suited/easier for your hardware or your specific needs (sandbox, development, security, entertainment, etc).

[nekur0]

I was looking into linux and found many different OS. I am interested in the business environment as well as home users. Which system is the correct one? SUSE ~ Linux red hat enterprise ~ Fedora ~ Etc. I'm confused !

Red Hat Enterprise is good for the work place. But, to get automatic updates you have to pay. Also if you want support you have to pay. But, these may be options that you want to concider when making the switch.

I run Fedora on my workstation amd Enterprice 3 on our servers that were just migrated from W2K.The full Fedora install comes loaded with lots of little tools that made sticking with Fedora an easy choice. It includes free automatci updates. At home I run Mandrake for my server. it was simple to get running and keep secure.

I haven't used Slackware but its also quite popular. But for a start, I would reccomend that you take a look at Fedora first. Its easy to install.

[Sp0cK]

I was looking into linux and found many different OS. I am interested in the business environment as well as home users. Which system is the correct one? SUSE ~ Linux red hat enterprise ~ Fedora ~ Etc. I'm confused !


I have tested many different distros and I found SUSE 9.1 and Xandros to be the easiet to setup and to use if you are not familar w/ linux.

I have not tested red hot... (soon...)

I would personal download SUSE 9.1 and give that a try, I know it's 3 CDs but when you install it, you can pick from a LARGE selection of software you may need or want. The default software 8 of 10 times is enough for the newbie..

If you need more indepth information just contact me..
I was trying to keep my opinion short...

* Suse 9.1 - (loaded for the desktop user and business user)
(purchase M$ emulator later AKA Crossover office))
* Xandros - (M$ emulator, so you can install office.. works OK)
* Linspire - (Lindows) is really easy to use but it cost money...
(installing software cost money also, but very easy compared to other....

[TripleRLtd]

Good input people.
Keep it up. Yeah there are many here who are Linux gurus, and your input is most welcome. To tell the truth, I myself am going to check out a Linus distro soon, so, keep up with the input and ideas. Remember, even us Windows gurus could use a bit of advice.

btw: where is Gollo?

[Cyphrr]

What do you guys think about Mandrake? I have played with it before, and liked it, but I am no Linux wizzard. I have been an M$ assimulated Borg, however, I would like to be free and learn about the Linux Ferderation. :thumbs2:

[ShadowWynd]

I throw my vote in on Mandrake as well. I have had trouble with the installers for several of the distros, but Mandrake has run great for me so far. I am having an easier/more enjoyable time on Mandrake than I have had on any of the other distros.

[TripleRLtd]

Alright. So, in you linux pro's XP, what big difference is there between the setup, config, and use (as a tech, not a regular user!!!) of a linux distro compared to a windoze one?
In other words, what does one need to learn and/or look at differently when it comes to supporting and running linux v windows? How much learning and how much time will it take. And, I ask so I can be prepared. I have had different versions of Linux in boxes and shrink wrapped, but, I have never installed any of them. I mean, just keeping up with all the incarnations of windows and ALL the freaking programs is a part time job for me. So, I chose to go with what everyone uses, and I MUST support.
But, Windows, and all it's programs and problems is getting sooooo old. So, that is where my decision finally comes from.
Well...any advice, or observations? After all, my questions and their answers will also help out the thread, right? So, don't say this is a hijack.

[kpataska]

I was looking into linux and found many different OS. I am interested in the business environment as well as home users. Which system is the correct one? SUSE ~ Linux red hat enterprise ~ Fedora ~ Etc. I'm confused !

Try a live Linux on CD OS like Knoppix. While I work on Linux (Slackware) servers rather than Linux workstations, Knoppix boots damn near every machine I've ever tried it on. You can lease an IP address, launch a browser, and do a lot of things you can under your "other" OS.

It's a great way to get your feet wet without making ANY changes to the machine you're using. I keep a CDRW with the latest Knoppix in my toolbox for testing. If Knoppix boots and can get on the 'net - the hardware is working and must be another problem.

Hope this helps!!!

Kenny P.
Visualize Whirled P.'s

[jimmm33]

Another vote for Xandros. It installs very easy and has great hardware support. It also has Xandros Network for installing software, making the process much easier than many others. It Debian based so there is lots of support at various websites as well.

Knoppix is great too. It can be installed to a hard drive.

[digi]

Lots more info than i expected to recieve ! Alothough still a little confusing I have more to work with! I agree with triple R and in that I must support "M" but I have a couple of cpu's to play with at the house and want ot set up a linux environment because it will soon be THE major player...in my opinion! I guess I need to pick a couple of them and just play! Thanks again for all the great input! I'm sure I will be back to ask many more questions as I get started!

[Archer]

Plenty to try before you install:
List of Linux live Cds (http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php)

[Titchski]

Speaking as a hopelessly biased Slackware user, if you want to learn the ins and outs of the command line, then Slackware is the way to go. However, Slack isn't really "corporate desktop" material, so you might want to to try SUSE (now that Novell owns it) and/or Red Hat.

In fact, as you have a couple of PC's to "play" with, why not try a setup with Red Hat configured as a workstation and slackware acting as a file/print/database/web (whatever) server? You'll definitely learn the best of both worlds this way.

Cheers :thumbs:

[+Daemon+]

slackware and gentoo are awsome, there more involved but you can do more. But for desktop only id go suse

[noone]

Alright. So, in you linux pro's XP, what big difference is there between the setup, config, and use (as a tech, not a regular user!!!) of a linux distro compared to a windoze one?
In other words, what does one need to learn and/or look at differently when it comes to supporting and running linux v windows? How much learning and how much time will it take.

The biggest difference is that, when installing, you may or may not have a nice GUI interface for all the configuations you are expected to change, so you will need basic knowledge of a text editor and the patience to read documentation and figure things out. Linux still boots, for the most part, in a command line style, so you are dealing with scripts and variables.

In an ideal situation, all hardware supported and running something like Mandrake, you can pop in a CD and just walk through the installer configuration and leave with a fully functional system. However, one piece of hardware that's not fully supported, or even a little tempermental, and you will be reading documentation and searching google looking for one person who got it working and shared their knowledge.

Commands to know: cd, ls, cat, man, grep, and some CLI text editor, like ed, nano, or anything else simple that's included on your install CD.

Supporting a linux distro varies by what tools you use. Apt-get with Debian systems, emerge/portage with Gentoo, and Slackware has it's own too. In Gentoo, I can type 'emerge -pvu world' and get a print out of what would be updated. (-pvu in this case is pretend, verbose, update) Each tool has it's own set of commandline switches, documentation, and idiosyncracies.

[craigmodius]

I'd give my vote to Fedora/Red-Hat. Reason being is it seems the lion's share of documentation, both in the book stores and on the web is Fedora/Red Hat based.

I got tired of running Mandrake and having a problem and not finding any answers or documentation to fix it. So I ended up back on Fedora/Red-Hat a few months ago and no complaints :)

[TripleRLtd]

The biggest difference is that, when installing, you may or may not have a nice GUI interface for all the configuations you are expected to change, so you will need basic knowledge of a text editor and the patience to read documentation and figure things out. Linux still boots, for the most part, in a command line style, so you are dealing with scripts and variables.

In an ideal situation, all hardware supported and running something like Mandrake, you can pop in a CD and just walk through the installer configuration and leave with a fully functional system. However, one piece of hardware that's not fully supported, or even a little tempermental, and you will be reading documentation and searching google looking for one person who got it working and shared their knowledge.

Commands to know: cd, ls, cat, man, grep, and some CLI text editor, like ed, nano, or anything else simple that's included on your install CD.

Supporting a linux distro varies by what tools you use. Apt-get with Debian systems, emerge/portage with Gentoo, and Slackware has it's own too. In Gentoo, I can type 'emerge -pvu world' and get a print out of what would be updated. (-pvu in this case is pretend, verbose, update) Each tool has it's own set of commandline switches, documentation, and idiosyncracies.Cool, command lines and syntax. I kind of miss dos. ;-) It looks like I'll have to spend a weekend down at my mate Titchski's now.
Thanks, btw.

[gizmo1_1]

I have used about 30 different linux distros over the past 10 years. My favorite has beed Mandrake, but they are all similar in the way that they operate.

If you want to avoid a downloadOSdisc.com (http://www.osdisc.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi/index.html)

Has a great selection for 3 to 10 $US each. They are a very reputable company wiich I have dealt with for a few years now. Fast Service.

As for the Best of course I am going to say mandrake, due to the fact that you get the best of both worlds. Easy setup for beginners, and Much more advanced initial setup options for the experienced.

You will find many resources on the internet about using Linux, and There are thousands of forums for finding help with any software that you want to install.

[houseisland]

Hi,

I have a minimal grasp of Linux. My experience has been with Windows and Netware. So my observations here are those of a frustrated learner.

I have found all Linux distros I have played with perversely difficult, mostly because the documentation is poorly written. It all presents an overwhelming flood of undigested and unfocused information. The authors cannot put themselves in the mindset of a learner and miss critical steps in their instructions and explanations because it all seems so obvious to them. Almost none of the documentation is task oriented -- as in "to set up a DNS server, follow these steps in this order and let's not get side tracked with a lot of stuff you either don't need to know or won't understand "at this point" on your path to becoming a Linux guru."

Another and less frequent Linux documentation crime is empty superficiality -- this crime perpetrated by the "Instant Linux Learning for Cretins" genre of books.

I recall trying to find out how to change the system time on a laptop where the CMOS battery had failed -- no way to change the time in the BIOS. Eventually I just gave up and booted to a DOS floppy to do what should have been a relatively simple task from within any operating system. None of the Linux documentation I could find explained the syntax well enough that I could actually set the time from within a Linux session.

Linux is also difficult because, like Netware, most of what is important seems to be command line based. Netware, however, has good documentation. With Windows you can learn by exploration of the GUI and trial and error and error -- this is only partially so with Linux.

So to the point: I have found that Red Hat and Suse are the easiest to install and that their documentation is the least painful. One could do far worse than starting here.

[noone]

At various times I installed Red Hat, Mandrake, Slackware, Debian, even Caldera (before you know who). Universally, I found it was easy to report bugs, slightly harder to find legitimate bugs, and somewhere near impossible to find real documentation on what files affect what system settings. This was, admitedly, many moons ago.

http://www.tldp.org/ was the main resource I used for finding out what to change and what options were available. It contains documenation for just about everything. The reason, I think that each distro doesn't keep a clone of this, is because it really doesn't change much if you choose one over the other.

The one distro that seems to have, imnsho, the best documentation, is gentoo. http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/index.xml contains guides to various platforms, full start to finish install guides, and the forums contain so many FAQs that it's easy to get lost.