want to try linux but don't know where the hell to start?

[cka]

www.ubuntulinux.org

I've been playing with this for awhile now, it's basically Debian with a friendly installer/frontend. You'll actually be hard-pressed to not understand how this works from the get-go as it's been designed as a desktop-centric release, so everything you'll need to administer it is right there. It's pretty stable and has some nice features that make it quite a bit different from other versions of Linux. HOWEVER, keep in mind this is STILL Linux -- you'll still need to install 50,000 dependancies to get one program running and stuff can happen out of the blue for no apparent reason. It's [Linux] still not worth being a desktop OS, but it's really coming along.

Pros: Easy to get setup and running, familiar interfaces, Synaptic Package Manager for installing just about any software you'll need, many different hardware version releases (386, PPC, AMD64, LiveCD if you're interested in just testing it out, etc.)

Cons: Still Linux, so it's still got Linux's problems when it comes to being a normal PC Operating System
---

I will post screenshots of my Ubuntu setup if anybody so desires.

[LOL]

Anyone new should also try Knoppix if they're afraid of fucking up. It's Linux that boots from a burned CD, so you can just play around with it and not worry about it doing anything permanent or having to repartition.

[Calliander]

Both Ubu and Knoppix are great pieces of software. Don't forget that the most friendly Unix version is OS X (Darwin). And I'm not saying that from the Mac side of the fence. OS X is really a great way to get acquainted with the Unix shell since you can use it to achieve so many things that the SysPrefs don't let you do. Most of the regular to high-end users I know have picked up some basic commands, at the least.

[cka]

Anyone new should also try Knoppix if they're afraid of fucking up. It's Linux that boots from a burned CD, so you can just play around with it and not worry about it doing anything permanent or having to repartition.

Yes, lots of Linux distributions come on Live CDs now (Ubuntu has a Live CD release that runs totally off the CD as well) so if you're too much of a chicken to cut that partition table up, grab the Live CD iso and take 'er out for a spin.

[Error]

I recently installed a version of linux I had lying around on my machine that i've been having problems with in another thread. The thing seems to be running stably enough, but for the life of me i have no idea how to install any programs. I did a search on linux in here and this would be the thread that seemed the closest to my needs. The version of linux is Mandrake 10.1

It seems like a decent enough OS but I have to have more than what the install disk came with. Are there any sites out there that kind to linux newbs or am I just barking up the wrong tree?

[kedawa]

RTFM n00b
j/k
I'm not sure what type of package manager Mandrake uses, but I'm sure the official site will have something useful.
If you're going to do some research, keep in mind that the official name is no longer Mandrake, it's Mandriva.

[Error]

Since I just resurrected that old PC I talk about in the post above, I'll also resurrect this thread.

I did as the man said and installed Ubuntu, Feisty Fawn or whatever. The thing is practically Windows. I still can't get DVD codecs installed, but otherwise there is nothing I would normally do in Windows that I can't do in Linux. Aside from play games of course. I'm actually quite amazed at how far Linux has come in terms of usability.

[torgo]

ubuntu is fantastic. It's the only OS that's given OSX a run for its money IMO.

[Mikhal]

Yeah. I've been running Feisty since it's release and i like it a lot. I installed it on my nephew's computer after we couldn't find the Windows drivers for his computer and it's been fine for him since he doesn't do gaming.

You try this for your DVD playback, Error?

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:F...ack_capability

[cka]

funny this thread is active as I installed ubuntu the other day (have to run some disk-intensive apps that vmware just can't do) and in doing so completely fucked my xp MFT over partitioning

oh well it gave me a excuse to install vista in xp's place, but I still gotta fix my mbr

lesson for today: be fucking CAREFUL when partitioning if you want to dual boot