Im noticing theres alot of different linux verions to get, from Red had to debian, now which one is best for hacks, or just regular use. Im a newbie to linux, after the installing and having problems years ago, i gave up, now i want to come back to it and check it out, which type should i use and why? im very comfused with this right now. But im a newbie to linux, and i would like what you all would consider the best linux to get. Thank you

Complexstatement, [could you get a shorter username ???]

This is the site that most Linux gurus recommend.

http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

Personally, I like Mandrake [9.0 or 10.0] if you have been a way from Linux a while, you will find this to be "most Windows-like".

Debian is thought of as one of the most stable distributions... but that also makes it a little behind in upgrades. Unless you decide to follow the "testing branch" or the "unstable branch" which is updated more often.

I myself would run the stable branch on a 24/7 server and "testing" on a desktop compuer. And then I would run testing or maye unstable on my home computer since I know how to fix things...

AND "testing" is regarded at least as stable as Mandrakes distribution... ;-) Debian Stable is for those who want a rocksolid distribution... and BTW we will soon get a new stable... the current "testing" branch will be considered stable when it's been tesed enough.


If you just want to play with Linux I'd recomend KNOPPIX and you can actually use that to install Debian... quite a bit easier than the debian installer I guess... but once you have installed Debian you don't really have to do it again... My Debian installation on this computer is probably about 4 years old. But it has been upgraded over time... but I haven't formated my drives and started over. But I have moved my installation between drives when I have upgraded to bigger harddrives...


There are also several debianbased distributions that are easier to install. This is the last one I heard of: http://www.ubuntulinux.org/
But there are several others...


/LinuxSam

Thanks. Im going to look more further into the websites and see the pros and cons of each system and try to make my decision. But thanks for the help, it helped me sum it down a bit.

QUOTE (Complexstatement @ Oct 16 2004, 07:26 PM)

Im noticing theres alot of different linux verions to get, from Red had to debian, now which one is best for hacks, or just regular use. Im a newbie to linux, after the installing and having problems years ago, i gave up, now i want to come back to it and check it out, which type should i use and why? im very comfused with this right now. But im a newbie to linux, and i would like what you all would consider the best linux to get. Thank you

For newbie's regular use, I always recommend Mandrake Linux.

Debian Sarge ..

It's not that hard.. if you bother to do some reading if you havta..


Well anyway.. Debian

Try the live version of SLAX http://slax.linux-live.org/

" SLAX is a small bootable CD containing the Linux operating system. It runs Linux directly from the CD (or USB) without installing."

Have fun !

Get Debian Sarge... Even a retard like me can run it

( Tho i usually havta ask uncle Linuxsam for advice )

Most things are quite easy.. if you take the time to RTFM and stuff..

My current favorite is Xandros 3.0 another Debian distro.

http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=9848

Another one you might consider is Mepis. It is Debian based, and has both a 'live' install and a hard drive install. It has excellent hardware detection. I've been using it for 8 months and for me it's head and shoulders above the 7 other major distros I've tried. Latest stable version is 3.3. Good luck. javascript:emoticon(':wav')

if your new to linux you should just get one of the live cd's most distro's have one available. You can run it right off the cd without touching your hd, javascript:emoticon(':tred')
smilie

All Brazilian reviews are recommending Ubuntu (Info/PC Magazine, etc...)

cain171562,

Ubuntu has BOTH "live" and "install" CDs. Try the live version, if you like what you see it is very easy to install.