Your favorite Linux distro' and why?

[Matt Jason H]

As title, what's you favorite GNU/Linux distribution and why?

 

[nickc]

I used to use SUSE but had problems with 8.2. I'm now using Mandrake 10 and very good it is too.

Nick

 

[floppybootstomp]

I've only ever tried Mandrake and Red Hat. I preferred Mandrake simply because it's more user friendly, although purists would argue that Mandrake is a somewhat bastardised version of Linux. But that don't bother me, I'm a noob, can't compile a kernel or anything yet, I just happy if a distro works for me

I also have Slackware 9.1 on a couple of CD's I burnt from downloaded ISO's, might give that a try.

I'm currently putting together a machine mostly for Linux Distros, it has one of those hard disk caddies that I can swap HDD's in and out of. I have two 40Gb HDD's atm, going to load Win 98 (for old games and DOS) on one and Mandrake 10 on the other.

 

[Matt Jason H]

I'm currently putting together a machine mostly for Linux Distros, it has one of those hard disk caddies that I can swap HDD's in and out of. I have two 40Gb HDD's atm, going to load Win 98 (for old games and DOS) on one and Mandrake 10 on the other.

<cough>grouptest<cough>article<cough>

 

[floppybootstomp]

<cough>grouptest<cough>article<cough>

Maybe Matt, maybe, but it's not exactly ground breaking stuff is it?

I have three of those HDD caddies I bought from a computer fair three of four years ago, figured I'd make use of them. Instead of having a multi boot system I figured I'd just swap OS's in and out.

It's a fairly risk free way of messing about with distros, imo. I could also put a hard disk in there for storage as well, divided into two partitions perhaps, FAT 32 and ext2, for data storage.

I have at last finally gathered all the parts to build this machine, I'm using an Asus A7V8X-X motherboard, as the Abit KR7A-R board I was going to use was going a bit wobbly, was throwing up all kinds of errors, so I'm discarding it.

The Asus was a good compromise between cheap and good, I thought, it cost £35.00. Via chipset I know, but I'm doing this thing on the cheap.

As for an article, do you really think people would be interested? Hard disk caddies were all the rage three or four years ago, but one hardly hears them mentioned now. Or were you thinking more of the 'Noob tries several Linux Distros simultaneously' angle?

 

[Techy]

A7N8X-X is prob a better choice, similar price and nforce 2 chipset.

J

 

[Matt Jason H]

As for an article, do you really think people would be interested? Hard disk caddies were all the rage three or four years ago, but one hardly hears them mentioned now. Or were you thinking more of the 'Noob tries several Linux Distros simultaneously' angle?

I think they'd (particularly newcomers) be interested in a breif roundup of the strengths and weaknesses of alot of them so they could decide which distro' is for them, granted it would probably be SuSe for most of them.

 

[Techy]

just installed redhat 9, anyone know of any websites with good tutorials, can even get internet setup.

i'm definately a windows freak! but want to broaden my horizons.

Cheers
J

 

[floppybootstomp]

A7N8X-X is prob a better choice, similar price and nforce 2 chipset.

J

Agreed, it's a better board, but it costs another tenner, and a tenner on top of a product costing only £35.00 is some considerable increase. I've already spent more on this thing than I intended, but isn't that always the way?

Matt:

I seriously doubt if I'd be qualified to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of different Linux distros as I really am quite a noob. I remember the first time I managed to get on line using Mandrake, using my network/external ADSL Modem, it was like, wow! I managed it! It really was quite a buzz. Even managed to configure e-mail as well, I was quite chuffed about that. So that's the level I'm at

Tell ya what though, I'll keep a diary, make notes and observations, log problems and (hopefully) solutions and if I see an article forming from those notes, I'll write one.

 

[Techy]

know what you mean flop, but i'd say it's worth the extra tenner! (actually £7.18)

 

[Spooky Mouse]

Ive never Used Linux Before.. To be Truthfull Ive Never Even Seen It Before Either !

Is It True That It Originated In Finland?.. And That Its Called "Rebel Code"...??

 

[test0r]

Running Slackware 10.0 next to XP.
Been a slackware fan since 3.6
Slackware is so much easier compared to Redhat, or Suse.
Everyone thinks you are better off with them graphical interfaces and stuff, but when it comes to remote configuration, graphical stuff is sheet. You dont even know what it changes underneath, cause you can't see what it's doing, just like Windows sometimes.
You need to have plain ass text files, where you can adjust things.
Slack is like that. Not much eyecandy, but theres enough to install, it also comes with KDE/Gnome, just like any other Linux Distro (Redhat, Debian, Suse, etc).
Its fast, quick, and easy and logically configurable.
I've got me slack usually faster online then windows.
Put in the dvd -> select software packages -> press enter -> eat lots of pizza -> configure your DHCP settings, users and X windows. -> shazam. Online after 20 minutes.

(and no BSOD's )
Return to castle wolfenstein and Enemy Territory run like a charm,
hell, why am I even posting this while typing in XP ?

 

[Quadophile]

This weekend I experimented a lot and managed to set up a rig exclusivelly for Linux. I have two hard drives which were spare so used one to install Mandrake 10 with Gnome Desktop and the other one I dual booted with Windows 2K and Mandrake 10 but with KDE desktop.

I configured the external modem and in no time was online, boy this things has a totally different feel to it. After using it on the net I thought I had stepped out of a volkswagen and into a Ferrari. The speed is amazing on just dial up.

I like the KDE desktop better than Gnome for some reason and the best part of Linux was the bundled software and drivers all in just three CD's unlike Windows where you need zillions of CD's just to be able to install the OS, drivers for practically everything on board and not forgetting software. On top of that the dreaded REBOOT procedure after anything is installed.

Mandrake 10 comes with everything including, Photoshop alternative in The Gimp, DVD and CD Burner software, Open Office in place of M$ Office. Linux version of AutoCad called qcad and various other goodies. The whole excercise of selection and instalation took about half an hour from an empty HD to being online. ALL OF THIS FOR FREE! This too on a Dell GX150 PIII 800 MHz machine with 384 MB SD Ram. Not bad at all.

I wonder what speed would be like if I actually decide to ditch Windows in favour of the cute Penguin and go for Linux on my main rig which is a P4 with lots of goodies in terms of hardware installed. My son thinks the Penguin to be cool so with his encouragement I just might ditch windows altogether.

 

[Spooky Mouse]

Quad.. that would be a big step... to ditch MS Windows alltogether... but new frontiers and such like...

Question... Would it be possible to have have 2 machines one lynux and the other Windows on a wireless network in the home?

Are there plenty of features with lynux.. there seems so many different versions... but i suppose the same can be said of windows..

One good point is.. MS Windows £ Lots!... Lynux £ Free!

Quad were there any bad points with your trial run of Mandrake 10?

 

[floppybootstomp]

I'm using Mandrake 10 atm as well - it's good.

I'm still having probs if I get a prob (if you know what I mean) but it's really stable, fast and I found it easier to configure than Win 98.

I've been using a fairly low brow system built mainly from spare parts with swappable hard disk caddies.

So far have installed MD10 and Win 98 on two hard disks (Maxtor 40Gb & IBM 20Gb) and have discovered that my third hard disk, an IBM 20Gb dating from around '99, is in fact knackered. So, I need a replacement for that third option, then will probably try Slackware.

System is basically an Asus A7V8X-X Via chipset board, Duron 1.4Ghz and 256Mb Crucial PC2100. But it works well.

 

[Shorty]

Fedora Core2 for A64 (when it wants to install itself)

 

[Quadophile]

Quad.. that would be a big step... to ditch MS Windows alltogether... but new frontiers and such like...

Yes that would certainly require willpower, if I may say so. I would urge you to give it a try and you never know what decision you may take!

Question... Would it be possible to have have 2 machines one lynux and the other Windows on a wireless network in the home?

Yes I think so, if Windows is used as a server and Linux as a client, however, this question can best be answered by those who know not only about networking, but both OS's inside out. I guess some dedicated Linux forums where there are many hard core memebers whould know the answer to your question.

Are there plenty of features with lynux.. there seems so many different versions... but i suppose the same can be said of windows..

I don't think Linux is like that, infact if my understanding is correct Linux is based on the kernal which is regualrly updated and the distros are clothes which are used to cover the same body, on the inside the system is same. I have been frequently visiting and reading lots of posts lately on a few Linux forums where I have registered and I it seems that the general concensus is that Mandrake 10 is for a complete newbie who want's to have a feel of Linux. It is by far very similar to how one uses Windows with GUI. There is no harm in using a distro which you feel comfortable with.

One good point is.. MS Windows £ Lots!... Lynux £ Free!

Is this not enough for convincing oneself to switch? I sure think so!

Quad were there any bad points with your trial run of Mandrake 10?

Well you better believe it, I installed the entire thing in just one go, no problems at all, every piece of hardware was correctly detected and worked when I got on the desktop, be it mouse (MX 700), keyboard (wireless), Audio, Video, Plextor CD Writer etc etc.. I guess I am one of the lucky ones to say the least. I had played around a bit with Red Hat 9 last year and this version was a piece of cake so to say. I think anyone who has installed the Windows OS can install this also. In fact with less things to do in the entire process.

Go for it in your spare time with a spare computer if you have one and enjoy the ride. Why get left behind!

 

[Spooky Mouse]

Thanks Quad.. for a very good indepth answer..

I would like to try lynux on this machine... After it has become a secondary computer confined to the spare room on a wireless network..

I can keep my primary machine (The intended self build one) as the main computer

The 2nd machine i would use to test new stuff, use as a platform for multi-player games (Maybe) and generally trial software with it... keeping the main one free of ever expanding junk written to the hard drive.. or forgotton files from deleted programs..

Yep i would like to try lynux i think.. Mandrake10 as the begginers version.. so this the version that i should try first?

Thanks Quad for a fantastic reply...

 

[floppybootstomp]

Tis true what Quad says. Last Mandrake distro I briefly tinkered with was V9.2, it didn't see onboard sound or LAN.

Mandrake 10 saw the lot, no probs, and configured them.

Getting online was easy as well.

Only problem I have is that it won't see other Windows machines on the Network, which means I can't use any printers I have unless I attach one directly to the Linux box.

There's probably a way round that, but I have not a clue how to do it.

I won't be ditching Microsoft for a whiles yet, I feel kinda comfortable with Windows, I can use it, but, given time, if a Linux Distro becomes that user friendly, I probably would. Like I said before, it sure is stable. And Mandrake 10 is a step in the right direction, as far as I'm concerned, even though some Linux users who only use text commands may disagree with me.

But I say what's the point in being elitist? If a GUI based Linux system works for you and you find it easy to use, what's the point in being high-brow in insisting that only true Linux buffs would use a Text Command/Console based OS?

Only real prob is Gaming, I would just have to keep at least one box with Microsoft on to play games. What can we play on Linux that's new atm? As far as I know, only UT2004, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Quadophile]

Spooky, first of all correct yourself when you spell "LYNUX" Its Linux.

Now to your question: Yes, absolutely go for Mandrake 10 if you are going for it in the next few weeks or so. After that who know there may be Mandrake 10.1 or 10.2. The best thing to do is to look for some PC magazines which come with free disks and I believe there is currently one with Mandrake 10 on it in the DVd form. I am afraid I cannot help you find one since I am not in the UK but I know something is out there as I happen to read about it somewhere on one of the Linux forums.

Please share your experience with us if you do decide to go for it.

I for one will be anxiously witing for your feedback on this very forum!