Hi, what do you reckon is the best version of linux to get (free if possible (i.e. downloadable)) for someone whos only used Redhat at uni (barely) and whos a programmer? Redhat? I''m sure this question has prolly been asked a few million times before, but one more time won''t hurt Cheers

Everyone''s opinions will vary for different reasons. Try them out (they don''t cost anything other than time), but be sure to try Mandrake and Red Hat 8.0.

Great, thanks!

My favorite distribution of Linux is SuSE. To me they seem like a pretty profesional company. The system is pretty easy to install but it dosn''t quite walk you through everything the way that RedHat does. For example, when you start up a system with RedHat it will auto detect when you have installed a new video card or stuff like that, whereas with SuSE you will have to tell it that you have installed something new. This might make startup faster, but I don''t know for sure as I have never like timed it or anything like that. I think that SuSE is a very configurable system that is good for development and such.

I do have a friend who swears by Slackware though. He claims that the installation process it is extreamly configureable which he likes because he can install only the stuff that he wants. He has told me that it won''t do very much for you though and if you don''t quite know what you''re doing then you might forget to install things ''cause you didn''t think about them during installation. Also just about everything is textbased for installing and tweakin'' your setup.

As someone who programs and just fools around with stuff as a hobby I would recomend the SuSE Linux distribution. However SuSE is not free though you can download it if you are very knowedgeable since there is no documentation that tells you what you want to download from this big hugh mess of directories and files from an ftp server. SuSE costs about 80 dollars or so for the professional version. I think that the personal version is around 40 dollars.

- be pround to be out of your mind

Thanks for the replies, i'm downloading Redhat 8.0 just now (2hrs 48mins left of CD1...), I'll certainly check out the other distros tho.

Edit: I can't spell



[edited by - Evil Bill on November 27, 2002 3:41:15 PM]

As a beginner, I''d say Mandrake is your best bet. They have the best install I''ve seen. It''s very easy and smooth compared to other linux distrobutions.

Also, when speaking of different linuxes, you refer to them as "distrobutions". You asked which version was good for a beginner. A version is linux kernel 2.4 (or whatever). Distrobutions are Mandrake, RedHat, Debian, SuSe, etc. Just FYI.

Like Russell said most people start out with Mandrake. It’s pretty cut and dry. As far as my opinion goes, I started out with SuSE (6.2 I think?) and I found it easy to install and use.

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Original post by Russell
Also, when speaking of different linuxes, you refer to them as "distrobutions".

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That''s "distributions"; "distro" is merely shorthand.

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You asked which version was good for a beginner. A version is linux kernel 2.4 (or whatever). Distrobutions are Mandrake, RedHat, Debian, SuSe, etc. Just FYI.

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Yeah, yeah. You got his point, didn''t you? Language exists for people to use to communicate; where there is reasonable laxity (like with a Linux newbie), why not give the benefit of the doubt? If this was a technical dicussion, your attention to detail would be spot on, but as it isn''t, it isn''t.

We do Linux more harm this way. He''d have found out the difference eventually through observation.

That seems a bit closed minded to me. The reason I pointed it out to him was for his own good, because I learned the hardway what the difference was. When I first started using linux, I asked someone "what is your favorite version of linux?" and one person responded "my favorite is 2.4.2" (or whatever). I, being a newbie, said something in response such as "No...I mean what is your favorite version, like RedHat, Mandrake, etc." Much laughing and flaming followed. I wasn''t making the distinction just because I like typing.

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That''s "distributions"; "distro" is merely shorthand.

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Speaking of typing for the sake of typing...what happened to your rant about "Language exists for people to use to communicate"? Obviously you were able to figure out what I meant. I gave my reason for being anal retentive. What''s yours?

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Original post by Russell
The reason I pointed it out to him was for his own good, because I learned the hardway what the difference was. When I first started using linux, I asked someone "what is your favorite version of linux?" ... Much laughing and flaming followed.

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We do not need to emulate the stupidity of elitists, nor tolerate it. They were wrong to laugh and flame; they should have politely educated.

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That''s "distributions"; "distro" is merely shorthand.

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Speaking of typing for the sake of typing...what happened to your rant about "Language exists for people to use to communicate"? Obviously you were able to figure out what I meant. I gave my reason for being anal retentive. What''s yours?
"If you''re going to chide someone else, you better be on point yourself." Satisfied? And I wasn''t ranting by a long shot.