A Digital Age Deserves A Digital Leader

Linux

Linux

Postby Edmond Dantes » Thu Feb 25, 2010 12:27 pm

Hi, im wondering what the best version of linux would be for me to use?
I basically just want an OS that is easy to use and i will actually be able to find drivers for, main use would be; games, music and basic website coding.
Ive been suggested knoppix, just thought i would see if anyone had a good idea about linux and other UNIX OS's, as i have no idea about any of them, never having used them before.
:)
Thanks
Give a man a match, and he'll be warm for a minute, but set him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. - Unknown

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. - Bertrand Russel

Only the dead have seen the end of war. - Plato

www.thinq.co.uk <- My father's new site :)
PRO New Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:30 am

Re: Linux

Postby jbullard » Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:26 pm

Edmond,

I actually prefer Ubuntu. I think out of most linux systems it is the one making the most headway. I could be wrong as I am not that in-tuned with the linux community; however, for software development, driver support, and other main features that I needed it was the best choice. The only thing that I have found out with all linux distro's is that there is no support for Blu-Ray playback. Hopefully, this will change so if you need anything like that, the only method of playback is to currently burn that BD-ROM to your HDD and then use a program to convert it to an MP4/MKV file. Obviously, this can take some time and most people just want to watch the movie. :lol:

No matter which linux distro you choose, just remember that there is a certain leraning curve associated with them. You will need to learn about software packages and the different types of sources available to install software. For instance, I wanted to get some themes installed and had to follow a tutorial in order to get them installed. I had to open up the sources.list file and add some custom links so they would properly install. The tutorial walked me through everything but this is just an example of how you may have to learn the difference between what you are used to and what Linux offers. :yesnod:

Jason
VP - Software
User avatar
Posts: 3653
Joined: Sun Jun 06, 2004 10:17 pm
Location: Utah
Real Name: Jason Bullard

Re: Linux

Postby Edmond Dantes » Fri Feb 26, 2010 10:14 am

Thanks for the reply :)
I think I will try Ubuntu. Are there any linux dedicated help sites you can recommend?
:)
Give a man a match, and he'll be warm for a minute, but set him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. - Unknown

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. - Bertrand Russel

Only the dead have seen the end of war. - Plato

www.thinq.co.uk <- My father's new site :)
PRO New Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:30 am

Re: Linux

Postby jbullard » Fri Feb 26, 2010 3:14 pm

Not a problem. We also have a support area for non-windows based operating systems. There are a plenty of people on here that are very familiar with Linux that can help if you have any problems. Other than that, Ubuntu has a very great website that also provides a free community forum. They also have a wiki that provides tutorials on how to perform certain things. Aside from that, most of your linux distros are going to have their own support areas which are mostly free. You also have places like Linux.org, Linux.com, and a whole lot of others. Just do a Google search for Linux. :yesnod:
VP - Software
User avatar
Posts: 3653
Joined: Sun Jun 06, 2004 10:17 pm
Location: Utah
Real Name: Jason Bullard

Re: Linux

Postby Edmond Dantes » Fri Feb 26, 2010 3:22 pm

Thanks a lot, you're a real help :)
Give a man a match, and he'll be warm for a minute, but set him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. - Unknown

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. - Bertrand Russel

Only the dead have seen the end of war. - Plato

www.thinq.co.uk <- My father's new site :)
PRO New Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:30 am

Re: Linux

Postby Malhovic » Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:49 pm

I have to agree with JB that Ubuntu is a great distro on Linux. I was running it for quite awhile and it has a lot of pre-builtin features that will make your life a lot easier than other distro's that are out there. Another option, if you find that you don't like the Gnome desktop would be to try Kubuntu (which is what I run) as it has the KDE desktop instead of Gnome and I feel it is easier to navigate and a lot faster.

As for other distro's to look out for, I would say Red Hat (Fedora Core) is a good one. I am running Red Hat on my laptop as it seems to manage the processes better on older hardware; however, if you have a "newer" PC to run Ubuntu or Kubuntu, I would go with them.

Like JB also mentioned, there is a learning curve for each. One thing you will notice is that when you are going to download things from the internet, they come in "Package" form. Red Hat, Ubuntu and Debian are the most common packages that are made available. All three of these distro's have a package distribution system that is specific to them so if you try out different ones this will be the first thing you should look at. Most of them are made available through the menu's under Software Maintenance or Software Install. Head to this area after setting up your network as these software install programs include a LOT of programs by default for you to use.

I hope this answered some questions. I am by no means a linux guru, but I have found my way around them quite often. Other than the sites JB listed, another great support site (the best I have come accross) is LinuxQuestions.org. They not only have support forums for each specific distribution with their own support experts, they also have reviews on the different distro's and the links on where to download them.

Good Luck!

Image

PROfessional Member
User avatar
Posts: 2216
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:23 pm
Location: New York, USA
Real Name: Terry Hashley

Return to Other Operating Systems

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests