Which distro? And more

[-[Raven]-]

Hey ho, etc etc.

Right, I've decided to finally take the plunge and get linux, on a dual boot with Win98 (grr, really hard to *ahem* get hold of 2k). I know all about open source, and all that free shananigans, etc.

I've been nosing around http://www.linuxemporium.co.uk/ a bit, and just wanted to know if anybody knew of better sites, or could recommend what I should get (I'm pretty certain I want RH7.*, though I would settle for mandrake).

Mostly just to nose around, learn the ropes, and also for all the nice free power apps you can grab.

So, erm.

:z

[Skunk]

If you've got a broadband connection and a CD burner you can just download whatever distro you want and burn it to CD. If you're going to buy one then linuxemporium is probably the best site to do it from.

Are you sure you want to go with Red Hat? It's a decent enough distro but it's a bit unfashionable these days thanks to it's b0rked C compiler and other bits and pieces. Mandrake is the distro favoured by the people on this forum (great for getting technical support) although I'm personally rather partial to SuSE - for a first install I'd go for Mandrake simply because you'll be able to get help off all the mandrake users on here.

If you want to be l33t you should go for Debian as it's the only big non-commercial distro (it's still put together by bearded hackers in their bedrooms) and it's got some very nice features, including a superb package management system. From what I've heard it's not the best option for beginners though and it's not too hot on detecting hardware either.

Enough rambling: Get Mandrake unless you want to be professional but un-cool and go for Red Hat.

[aef]

I can recommend The Linux Emporium, I've been buying stuff from them for >3 years. You should find RH or Mandrake in their "Cheap CDs" section for minimal cost.

AEF

[aef]

Originally posted by Skunk

If you want to be l33t you should go for Debian as it's the only big non-commercial distro


I think that the rather minimalist Slackware is popular enough to be considered 'big'. And that 'l33t' had better be ironic...

AEF

[Skunk]

Only semi-ironic - this is a gaming forum after all ;)

[Ironheart]

Mandrake 8.0 is the daddy :wink:

[aef]

Bah - Debian /crushes/ Mandrake... :)

AEF

[Slime]

Anyone tried Libranet ? I'm downloading it now as it's had some very good reviews.

Otherwise Mandrake 8.0 is very good. Actually Mandrake server was (in some ways) even better (if you want a server).

Cheers
Slime

[-[Raven]-]

/me hugs everyone :D

Mandrake it is then.

Is there anything at all I really really desperately need from aforementioned site, that I really really can't live without (utils, admin tools, etc?).

[aef]

You should be fine with a standard distrobution ("Linux Mandrake 8.0 Download" is probably what you want).

You /can/ get extra CDs with software on, to save download times, but this software may not be in RPM form, so you're probably better off just downloading whatever packages you need.

AEF

[Wazzoo]

if u really want red hat...go for Redhat 6...or wait for next relase of 7...as skunk says their C compiler is orrible as they decided to implement a new one. Your best bet is to go with mandrake...oh wait a min..you are! :P

[Ironheart]

Mandrake is a Redhat derivative, and is compatible with Redhat files (RPMs). You can always have a go at Redhat later once you've picked up the basics with Mandrake.

[Ferg]

Apparently the redhat C comilper has already been fixed in the present release waz :)