Linux???

Whats the best version/type? Why?

By version I assume you mean distribution.

Distribution == Red Hat, Debian, Suse, Slackware, Mandrake

Version == 1.0, 2.0, 2,2, 2.4

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Most people have a favourite distro, sometimes it is because they like it, sometimes it is because it is l33t to be using it.

I use, support and teach RedHat, but will happily admit that Debian's apt package system is superior. If I were to choose between RedHat and Debian it would be RedHat because Debian's 'stable' revisions take too bloody long to appear. Don't flame me about using 'unstable' please [Blocked image]

Mandrake and Suse use the same package system as RedHat and packages are often interchangable. Mandrake is usually a re-hash of RedHat but often contains more up-to-date packages than an off the shelf RedHat.

Suse is sufficiently different in how it is put together, and it comes on about 6 CDs so contains just about everything you could ever want which might save you some hassle.

Lots of script kiddies and hacker wannabees use Debian because it is l33t and h4rdc0r3. But it is a very good system so long as you are prepared to make the effort to bring and keep your system up to date - if you are using bleeding edge unstable then be prepared to have an (very) occasional mishap [Blocked image] But fortunately Debian's package system makes it very easy to stay current.

Debian can also give you a much more lightweight install than RedHat ever will which can help you get a tighter system going.

In the end it really comes down to personal taste. Pick one, use it, if you don't like it, try something else.

cth

redhat has a pretty slick installation procedure, which is probably what most new comers need. my first experience was with slackware some 7-odd years ago, trying to install it on a 420mb hdd that already had os/2 and win95 on it. oh, and at the time, linux didnt have drivers for my cdrom, what fun that was. honestly, if you want to play with linux, it means you want to get your hands dirty, which probably means you dont really care what flavour/distribution/version you use, so use whichever one is easiest to get hold of.

hehe the 1st distro I installed/used was slack too..

Damn thats a wild ride of a learning curve innit..

If your new to Unix/Linux get Mandrake or Redhat.

Mandrake really is all warm and fuzzy, its does just about everything for U. Its more Wonkydoze like than any other distro..

[ 21 January 2002: Message edited by: Sly_Fox ]</p>

Probably why I'm "Butchering' my Mandrake install ATM.

Replacing OS components one part at a time, already d\l'ed, compiled and installed:

Kernel 2.4.18
ALSA 0.9.0rc1

Got XFree 4.2.0 ready and will set that up in the near future. KDE 3.0 will follow. Also plan to do an LFS install at some point in time (Linux from scratch - Prepare and install all components - will be a learning experience).

mandrake is cool....:)

what is the best GUI?

i chose GNOME because i had no idea what else to pick....hehe

Assuming it is a reasonably recent release of linux, try KDE2..

Or better yet if U wanna really play try Enlightenment. :)

KDE and GNOME are the two main ones

TWM is there as a fall-back option

IceBox, Sawfish and the like are very different. Gonna have another look at them but last time I tried I couldn't find anything.

Enlightenment is a GUI that is designed to be very eye pleasing. However KDE is very themable.

In the end its personal preference. I use KDE and plan to have a go at skinning it in the near future. GNOME is similar, less theming capabilities TTBOMK but still nice to use.

Lets clear this up right now:

KDE and GNOME are DESKTOP ENVIRONMENTS

Enlightenment, Sawfish, WindowMaker, Afterstep, FVWM, TWM, OLWM etc are Window Managers.

KDE and GNOME depend on one of the above (or other unmentioned) Window Managers to function.

KDE and GNOME are there to provide a consistent look and feel across apps designed within their structure, ie, menus are in the same place, toolbars look similar.

The Window Manager is responsible for drawing the windows, handling multiple desktops, etc. Its perfectly legitimate to run GNOME using enlightenment as your window manager, or anything else really.

In fact, i suggest looking at www.themes.org, finding a theme you like, and then using the window manager that it was designed for.

(if anyone cares, i run enlightenment without GNOME or other desktop environment stuff)

more on linux...

when i load into Mandrake 8.2 (which i just installed...i'm so happy :D) there is an error message that occurs, can't remember details...

anyways i click close and the menu/start bar (if i can call it that) disappears...

weird...and it happens no matter what... :(

very sad... :cry:

Hmmm...

Telling us what the error is would be helpful.

sorry can't cos now it isn't doing it anymore...

very odd thing to get used to this Linux....:|

if i get the error again i'll post about it...

....strange....

That is unusual... I wonder what it was.

segmentation fault i believe, i've seen the same sort of error before (gnome 'taskbar' dies when you enter X). usually happened to me when i tried to start doing stuff before it had fully loaded.

Never had that, but them I use KDE.

One of the great strengths of Linux is the amount of choice you have. You can replace most programs with an alternative.