Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Linux ? point me in the right direction!

Jun 2, 2005 6:12PM PDT

OK, here?s the deal, I am not new to the CNET forums and usually hang around the XP forum (see my profile) - as you will see I am no ?newbie? in general ? however, I know next to nothing about Linux operating systems.
I woke up this morning and decided, using a spare hard disk I have (4Gigs), I would set up a Linux OS with just open sourse apps. I have a stand alone computer and use a dialup connection - To the OS, I initially intend adding a basic suite of applications such as mozilla and Open Office.
My question is this, which ?distribution? would be best suited to my needs. I suppose I am looking for a basic distribution, one that I can tinker with and learn, and yet one that is not too complex ? The distribution should perhaps be a smaller clone of some of the larger versions so an upgrade or expansion would be a natural progression.
Any recommendations, links, or leads would be much appreciated.
Regards,
Peter

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Link...
Jun 17, 2005 9:13PM PDT
- Collapse -
Fedora Core 4 here
Jun 17, 2005 9:22PM PDT

I have been using Fedora Core 3 for awhile now and just this week switched to Fedora Core 4. You might give it some thought. Your hardware may become an issue, but since you did not post the specs of your machine I can't answer. In the past I have also used Mandrake and Knoppix too. Either way there are plenty of Linux distros out there to assist you in just about any of your needs. All free, open source, and secure. Basically the only cost I have ever endured was the burning of iso cd/dvd's and books. Heck there is alot of free reading on the net too. Enjoy the power, security, and share your newly learned Linux wisdom with others.....thats what open source is all about.

- Collapse -
Mepsis is definitely worth a try
Jun 17, 2005 10:40PM PDT

Hey Aussiepete,
G'day from another Aussie transplant from the USA. Give Mepsis a try. It was on the APC magazine DVD a couple months ago and you might find a back issue somewhere. The DVD is free with the mag. It runs live from a DVD but its slow that way. You can install it and its very fast. Its much more point and click like Windows but its still Linux and works like a charm.

I've been playing around with it and really like it. I've tried Mandrake, Redhat which is now Fedora I think and also Suse. They all have a pretty steep learning curve if you are coming from Windows and unfamiliar with Linux.

I Installed it on a Win98 box I had around and it installed perfectly and recognized all my hardware no problems. The stability of Linux is incredible once you are up and running.

Good luck.

- Collapse -
I too am new to linux and found a great distribution
Jun 17, 2005 11:00PM PDT

I took the fedora core linux package and installed it on a PC that I had purchased for my son(he liked my pc better). I am delighted with the robustness, and the total of the software that came with it. It is stand alone until I can get it connected to the net, as my son's machine is in the basement about 100 feet from the router, but through walls, etc, about 200 feet away and one flow below.

I tried to find out which wireless card would install with linux, but sadly, most of what I read was too full of jargon to have meaning to me, and there was no recommended card. None of the big three card manufacturers indicated linux support.

I would love a ''big brother'' approach to those who want to start in linux. And to those who need help to select some hardware or software to enable additional functionality.

By the way, support for the conventional network card is there, and it works just fine. Plug and play, as well as usb stuff also works just fine, for what I own.

So, anyone out there want to be my ''Linux big brother? I can use the help''.

- Collapse -
I am fairly new too - FC4
Jun 18, 2005 1:36PM PDT

Well I am NO newbie to the world of computers in gneral and can trace my roots back to the VIC20. Nonetheless, I have made the leap, nah hop, to the Tux and have installed Linux on my girlfriend's old notebook (an old P3 650) recently upgraded to Fedora Core 4 from 3 and also as a dual boot on my desktop system just last week.

It is a great distro off the web, with a bootable DVD and has ALL the basics. i just need to figure out how to install more features using yum and yumex. Also to find and configure custom drivers for some of my hardware which work OK minus some of their special features such as the dual monitor with my Radeon 9550 or clear video with my ATI TV Wonder Pro.

Overall, a great way to go, highly recommended to me by a friend of mine who was involved in FC4 testing and kept me abreast of the updates as they happened.

- Collapse -
Penquin N00b
Jun 19, 2005 1:55PM PDT

Try Ubuntu. They'll send you a free set of disks. 1 Install CD and 1 LIVE CD. Very useful and uncomplicated.
If you would Like something That will support 3D video cards like Nvidia then I'd say go with RedHat 9.