The Brand New UltraMegaSuper "Which Distro" Thread

Originally Posted by Chinaman And since Slackware Linux is the oldest Linux distribution, it just goes without saying (so I won't) that all other distros are cheap imitations of The Real Thing (TM).

Actually Slack is then just a cheap imitation of Unix (yeah! FLAME!) and since we don't like cheap things, why not just grab your ass and carry it out of here.

chola3:

I do believe these are the questions most technically inclined newbies would like to know. I doubt the "Install distro X. It will be a breeze" is what we are really looking for. I hope the seniors would clarify.

If by "technically inclined," you mean proficient with Windows, don't assume that proficiency will be of much help with Linux. A lot of would-be Linux users make that mistake, and find only frustration. There is a very steep initial learning curve no matter which distro you choose.

I have just installed Ubuntu Dapper on a second machine I have. I have already got another with Suse 10 on it.

What I like with both of these is the GUI config tools: Suse's yast2 and Dapper's synaptic (and other tools). I just chose to try Ubuntu because of the quick rise to fame it has had.
As far as applications and support for hardware goes, it is usually available on all if it is on one. You might have to compile and make, but it is not often that has been a problem (usually it's just 3 commands, ./configure, make, make install).
Also if you do want to tweak, all distros use the config text files underneath. Yast2 hides some of them, but I still have to go into command lines some times. E.g. for wireless. I am using the windows drivers and linuxant on my Suse machine for wireless.

I agree that as far as applications are concerned, any distro should be ok. I would continue to look at things like config tools provided. One would maybe also look at what sort of application are installed by the distros install scripts. For stability you want few and trusted ones. While e.g. if you haven't got a good access to the internet, you might want one with plenty of applications so you don't have to download and install so many afterwards yourself (Suse's dual layer DVD is a candidate then, and it is reasonably stable as well).

I am quiet happy with Suse and Ubuntu. Although Ubuntu was a pain on my Sata raid-0, dual boot system (I have posted my experience with that in a different thread). Not a lot of distros support dual boot sata raid-0 in the setup scripts though (I have heared one or two might support this).

Hardware support by the install scripts would then be another area to consider. Wireless and TV cards e.g. can be added later (I have just added my Nebula DigiTV to my Suse box :-).

I have an old computer:
Cpu – pIIIe 500mHz
Ram – 128mb
Hdd – 30 GB
And I need to use it mostly for cd, mp3 etc listening and maybe office…
So some time ago I putted UBUNTU 6.06, but computer, off course, is too slow for it (with that nice desktop environment etc…)
So I wanted to know, is it will be better with UBUNTU 5.0, or wath?
An, off course, I need a free and fast distr…..

Already saying thanks, Theo

slackware and fluxbox

yeah, fluxbox looks great, but i am so new to linux (ok, i have run on freeBSD, xandros, ubuntu, and some live os)but I think, that i am not enough smart, to instal something on os...
ps. sorry for my bad english!

Try PuppyLinux or Damn Small Linux - they are small, lightweight distrodesigned for older hardware and are fully featured.

Puppy is a live cd with the ability to install to disk.

Moved to Distro forum for the merge with the mega-thread...

wussamatta - your thread has now been merged with this one - you should find some generally helpful comments here.

Originally Posted by rickh chola3: If by "technically inclined," you mean proficient with Windows, don't assume that proficiency will be of much help with Linux. A lot of would-be Linux users make that mistake, and find only frustration. There is a very steep initial learning curve no matter which distro you choose.

"Technically inclined" would mean proficient with Windows, but the reverse might not be true. I am talking of people attracted to learn technical stuff.

OTOH, I am aware that my proficiency in Windows is actually a hindrance to learning Linux. I had an even bigger problem learning Python after being in VB for years.
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Back to topic,
I think the best would be to install both Gentoo and Slackware and see what I really want. I am not in a hurry anyway.

Ubuntu has been very successful and attractive just for that. Very nice to install. When the soundcard was not working, or the inability to play MP3, I hunted around for tips all over the internet. Managed to fix things. However, I realised I didn't really learn anything in a systematic manner. Not really different from Windows.

I really don't know why many ask the 'newbies' to go for all these easy install things where there is severe lack of documentation for increasing one's knowledge. I feel it is better to stick with Windows XP - quite good with some precautionary measures. I go through all the hassles of losing Windows (drivers, software) and 'just running' Ubuntu/SuSE does not compensate. In any case, I will never become a part of the community but a parasite at best since I won't know the system.

Some talk about how distro X will auto-detect all hardware. I get excited and try it out. Invariably, it won't detect something in some computer. I might sound rude but my experience is, all these 'easy' distros being recommended are similar to recommending Visual Basic. Easy but starts you with a bad habit. I still suffer from having learnt VB and am paranoid about making a similar mistake again.

Of course, I still have copies of some live-cds and also think those distros specialised for older computers are really worthwhile if you need them.

Originally Posted by XavierP Any "Which Distro" question asked outside of this thread from now on will either be closed or merged here.

Does this, or can this, include all the "which distro" polls too? There's quite a few laying around these forums.

Originally Posted by Arow Does this, or can this, include all the "which distro" polls too? There's quite a few laying around these forums.

I second that motion.

I am new to linux and have recently tried damn small linux on an old pentium board with 200Mhz CPU, 48MB RAM, 8gig hdd and it was stable just very slow. At the moment this is my main computer can anyone help me find another distro that is small and wlil work on old clunkers.

Cheers,
Clarence

I would advise to stay with DSL. Sure it may be slighty slow (though I thought it was fast enough when I tried it on my much-smalleer-spec laptop); but unless there's the dream-small-distro out there I never heard about, DSL is still the best small distro you'll get, that is:
- still current, and active,
- expandable with Debian packages, and that means a lot of packages!

Yves.

maybe you need to optimise it? ie. cut off every non essential service, use lighter programs (especially the WM)