Best Linux Distribution?

[Piglet]

Right, so as a pillar of the community I thought I'd better start the first sensible topic :P

So, what do you think is the best distribution, I'm currently in limbo, my Red Hat's b0rked because it doesn't like windows and they argue over the first 2gb :rolleyes: so I'm gonna get another harddrive for linux. My brother uses Debian and i think that is very impressive. I intend to try Caldera eDesktop.

So what do you use/think ??

I am glad this forum is up, good luck people :)

Piglet.....

[Godin]

hmm, for a starter distro I'd definitely reccommend Mandrake Linux 7.2, its got a ded easy to use installer and its made to be user friendly all through, and as you move on you can customise it easily enough to turn it into the powerhouse distro we all eventually want :)

[Ghost Trayn]

Right, so as a pillar of the community...


lol, when did that happen piglet ol'bean!?!

[Skunk]

There's no "Best" distibution, it depends on what you're looking for. I've not got much experience but here's what I know based on recommendations from other people, stuff I've read etc.

Red Hat - this is the version "officially supported" at work so I'm having to install it now. It's a bit dodgy at the moment due to a non standard C compiler which has got quite a lot of the open source community up in a huff. Reliable, easy to use and well supported though.

SuSE - this is the first linux I tried ant the only one I've really played with. I bought the retail version which comes on 6 CDs and includes virtually every bit of open source software under the sun - I clicked "Install Everything" and it came to 8 GB! It seems great if you want to play with loads of different software without having to install stuff yourself (the install utility does it for you).

Debian - this is the one I want, for two reasons. Firstly it's the only big "non commercial" distro left - Red Hat, SuSE, Mandrake etc are all commercial outfits now (they sell their distros on CD, though you can still download them for free off the net if you want). Debian is "grass roots" in that it's still developed by geeks in their spare time.

Debian also has what sounds to me like the best "package management" system (package management systems allow you to isntall software very easily, without having to compile it first). The Debian manager lets you tell it the name of the package you want and it'll automatically find an FTP server, download it and install it without you having to do anything - great if you've got dedicated net access.

I recommend SuSE for linux beginners (not that I've really tried anything else) as it's well supported, easy to isntall and comes with absolutely everything you need. It also has excellent searchable documentation in the form of the "SuSE support Database" which is installed onto your PC so you don't have to be online to use it. Plus it's a european distro, and most of the others are American. Finally I've called the SuSE support people a couple of times (I bought it so I get 60 days free 'phone support) and they're fantastic.

[Deathwish2000]

I installed Red hat 6.0 as my first Linux OS, but that was down to the fact that it came with Linux Answers on there first magazine :) I then upgraded to Mandrake 7.2 curtosy of WildWayz :)

I dont' know much about Linux yet but I managed to install ICQ etc... ;)

[Piglet]

Originally posted by Ghost Trayn

Right, so as a pillar of the community...


lol, when did that happen piglet ol'bean!?!


Bah, you young'uns have no respect for your elders :P

/me fwaps Ghost Trayn :E

Piglet....

[Gwil Da Skank Of TA]

Mandrake 7.2 or, like Skunkeh says SuSe for your first / initial distro (s)

The, i would say Debian after that - it prety much owns with apt get :)

avoid - red hat, corel :)