Linux?

[craigtrap]

Hello?

I am wanting Linux on my laptop, but really have no idea which Linux is good/the best?

So what good Linux do people use? or have found to be good?

I want a good one for my laptop!

Thanks
Craig.

[usxhe190]

unfortunately, there is no best one...sort of like internet browsers!

for me, i would recommend ubuntu, lots of support, user friendly, etc

go to their website and grab a cd off them and put a live cd into your drive and check it out before installing it!

other hexus guys might pick others though

[RECOiL™]

Yes, i would also recommend ubuntu... I run unbuntu on my vm at work, its lovely.

ubuntu = winxp
debian = win2003

Lol

[peterb]

I've got fedora core 6 on my laptop.

[aidanjt]

OpenSUSE is the easiest to install and maintain, Ubuntu has the bigger fan fair and thus community support, Debian is among the oldest and 'wisest' of the distros, Gentoo allows near infinite flexibility.

And that's just scratching the surface, so you see, we can't really recommend what's right for you, it's something you sorta need to find out for yourself through trial and error. 'Good' is an especially ambiguous requirement which can mean anything for anybody.

[derchris]

When it comes to "Desktop" use I would recommend Ubuntu or Debian.

[speardane]

I found (k)ubuntu a particularly easy install because of its wifi support & config

[Giraffe]

On the 18th. (next Thursday), the full release of (K)Ubuntu 'Gutsy Gibbon' will be out.
IIRC, it concentrated on compatibility with hardware.

Next April should see v8.04, 'Hardy Heron', which will have long-term support and KDE4.

Peter.

[peterb]

When it comes to "Desktop" use I would recommend Ubuntu or Debian.

Neither Debian nor Ubuntu are desktops, they are both distributions containing the Linux Kernel. Both (afik) are shipped with the two popular Guis (desktops), Gnome and KDE. There are other desktop environments out there which will also run on the Linux kernel, whichever distribution you choose. KDE I think is the preferred Gui for Ubuntu.

[directhex]

KDE I think is the preferred Gui for Ubuntu.

you're mistaken. ubuntu is gnome based. derivatives are not, but the main distro is gnome

the recommended format for tools for ubuntu is gtk2-python, so it's a pretty fundamental choice

[aidanjt]

I found (k)ubuntu a particularly easy install because of its wifi support & config

And what happens when you change hardware?.. Great install scripts are pointless if they don't help you post install, to that end, I'd recommend OpenSUSE over *Ubuntu any day for someone who is new to Linux.

[David66]

I prefer FreeBSD and as peterb said you can choose whatever x(gui) you want. The thing about Linux, actually UNIX based systems, is to always keep them up-to-date with patches and fixes. This way you will have the best "Linux"

[aidanjt]

the recommended format for tools for ubuntu is gtk2-python, so it's a pretty fundamental choice

I couldn't think of a worse combination of toolkit and language :/

[Splash]

Neither Debian nor Ubuntu are desktops, they are both distributions containing the Linux Kernel. Both (afik) are shipped with the two popular Guis (desktops), Gnome and KDE. There are other desktop environments out there which will also run on the Linux kernel, whichever distribution you choose. KDE I think is the preferred Gui for Ubuntu.

Unless I'm much mistaken Kubuntu is the KDE flavour of Ubuntu, with vanilla Ubuntu being Gnome based. Obviously once installed there should be nothign to stop you switching and using Gnome on Kubuntu, or vice versa.

Linux is (to me at least) all about choice, however sometimes the amount of choice available can be confusing.

[aidanjt]

Linux is (to me at least) all about choice, however sometimes the amount of choice available can be confusing.

Agreed, especially since there's about 500 different distros, at least 15 Window Managers, and 3 Desktop Environments that I know of, not to mention the tens of thousands of other programs available. Sometimes I feel the fragmentation of *NIX software is a bit of a hindrance, more could be done if people worked together with common themes.

[vinnyT]

Have a look at distrowatch, it has quite alot of news and linux help, but for the most part, it has most (if not all) of the links to the different distros to download.

http://distrowatch.com/



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