Guest InFeKtioN Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Hey there ! I am thinking on putting together a Linux Box, and I have absolutely no experience with it. So I have seeking out witch Distro I would want to use. I think I have narrowed it down to (for no particular reasons) either Gentoo or one of the Ubuntu versions. But not that I would not use others. I seen the totally awesome thread on Gentoo that likewhoa started .... Not that I understand any of it. Here are some of the things that will will want to do with it. Email, Internet, maybe some DVD ripping (for PSP). And possible a file server for my home network. I would also like to fool around with a FTP and Web Server if I could ever figure it out. lol Would a desktop version do, or would I have to use a server version. I want to learn some of the language, just to do it I guess. So if anyone can head me off in the right direction, I would appreciate it. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazypoloc Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Gentoo or Ubuntu would both be viable options for what you are wanting to do. I would also consider SUSE or openSUSE. You shouldn't need the server versions of any of these to do what you had listed. Also I would stay away from 64 bit versions if you plan on using this machine for a desktop. As there are a few things that don't work quite right in x64. Browser flash videos for one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_v Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 I'd use Ubuntu. I used openSuse and it seemed to be a bit more bloated. A few years ago I installed Gentoo, and the install was far more complex than either of the previous two. If you want to do folding@home using multi-core, I believe you need a 64-bit version. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 try as many as you can and then pick the one you like most....I took a small hard drive (7gig) and loaded several flavors of Linux to it at different times to try them all... so far I am stuck with PC linux 2007.... there are several Linux distros catered to each taste you like....there is a Server guide at Bit-net I liked so i went that route when I 1st tried Linux... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest InFeKtioN Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 try as many as you can and then pick the one you like most....I took a small hard drive (7gig) and loaded several flavors of Linux to it at different times to try them all... yeah ..... I'm sure thats what I will end up doing, I just want to see what others have to say about what they are using. I guess the problem that I have is, even though I start installing these different flavors (desktop styles) I can play with them and see what they have to offer on the surface.... but really have know Idea what they can do underneath.... As I have no experience with Linux, I really need to start reading I guess ! Start with the basics and possible move on from there. Any decent links on this would be helpful. Hopefully I will be able to utilize resources we have available on the forum and Internet to do what I want to do, without having to spend any money on books and what not. Also .... Whats the difference between Gnome and KDE, and/or any others ? Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SuppA-SnipA Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 ubuntu 7.10 is nice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazypoloc Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 yeah ..... I'm sure thats what I will end up doing, I just want to see what others have to say about what they are using. I guess the problem that I have is, even though I start installing these different flavors (desktop styles) I can play with them and see what they have to offer on the surface.... but really have know Idea what they can do underneath.... As I have no experience with Linux, I really need to start reading I guess ! Start with the basics and possible move on from there. Any decent links on this would be helpful. Hopefully I will be able to utilize resources we have available on the forum and Internet to do what I want to do, without having to spend any money on books and what not. Also .... Whats the difference between Gnome and KDE, and/or any others ? Thanks I suggested SUSE because it has YAST. IMO the easiest tool for package management and overall hardware/software configuration. Pretty much a dream come true for a novice Linux user. http://freshmeat.net/ http://www.linux.org/ http://sourceforge.net/ As far as KDE and Gnome go, they are just different desktop GUI, but have quite a bit of difference as far as functionality goes. I prefer KDE, but you can install both at the same time if you chose and just play with them till you find the one you like. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shatteredsteel Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 I like fedora because the package management is easy to use and with the livna repository you can get moded drivers that often times work better than the original closed source ones. They now have a live cd version of their operating system so you can try it out. As far as kde and gnome go that is all personal preference, for me kde is easier configure and to add items that you want to run on startup, but I also use my linux box more for editing perl scripts and websites. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest InFeKtioN Posted February 3, 2008 Posted February 3, 2008 Ive been playing with Ubuntu for a couple of days now .... nice ! I am downloading the Fedora to mess with. I am going to try SimplyMEPIS next. Anyone try this ? Her are some screenies ..... They have a decent "how to" video series on youtube about it. 01 thru 40 link here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejamesvolta Posted February 7, 2008 Posted February 7, 2008 My vote for Ubuntu or Kubuntu. I would definitely stay away from Gentoo if I were you. Not exactly user-friendly Ubuntu and Kubuntu both have a very user friendly interface, and awesome package managers, making it very user-friendly. If you are new to the world of Unix, start simple and work your way up, or else you will get frustrated. Another great part about the Ubuntu community is there are lots of users, so there is a lot of support for the product. Don't get a 64 bit version with whatever distro you decide on. You will have quite a few compatibility issues. Just my opinion. Welcome to Unix! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest culinist Posted February 7, 2008 Posted February 7, 2008 http://www.linuxcommand.org/ http://tldp.org/guides.html http://www.linux.org/ http://www.google.com/linux Here's a few places for general Linux info. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest InFeKtioN Posted February 9, 2008 Posted February 9, 2008 My vote for Ubuntu or Kubuntu. I would definitely stay away from Gentoo if I were you. Not exactly user-friendly Ubuntu and Kubuntu both have a very user friendly interface, and awesome package managers, making it very user-friendly. If you are new to the world of Unix, start simple and work your way up, or else you will get frustrated. Another great part about the Ubuntu community is there are lots of users, so there is a lot of support for the product. Don't get a 64 bit version with whatever distro you decide on. You will have quite a few compatibility issues. Just my opinion. Welcome to Unix! Thanks .... I have been exploring Ubuntu and SimplyMEPIS for now .... I like them both. Still exploring .... ya know ! http://www.linuxcommand.org/http://tldp.org/guides.html http://www.linux.org/ http://www.google.com/linux Here's a few places for general Linux info. Thanks Man ! Great info on here. I feel like I did when I was learning DOS ..... lol Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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