linux

i am thinking about switching to linux and was looking for the for the best distro, linux, fedora, suse. i am just looking for the closest replacement to windows vista, so i was hoping that someone could provide some real good insight. please help me

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Permalink Reply by Jeff on June 28, 2009 at 8:26pm: its really personal preference, best thing to do is download several of them and try them out till you find your flavor

and for a windows type of look check out the kde desktop environment since, to me at least, it looks somewhat similar

some distros I have tried and like are:
ubuntu with gnome interface since it has such a large helpful community
open suse with the kde
fedora

one that I have yet to try out is linux mint which is based on ubuntu but has things pre installed and pre configured to make it even easier; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Howard on June 28, 2009 at 8:30pm: what is your opinion of fedora, that is the one im looking at now. i tried ubuntu jackrabbit but didnt know that opera could run on it so i may give it another try; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dilyn Corner on June 28, 2009 at 8:55pm: Fedora is what Ubuntu is based off of, but Ubuntu is more user friendly.

I'd say you start with Kubuntu or Ubuntu running KDE, because it resembles Vista most in its gliss look and feel.

I'd definitely say use Ubuntu if you're just starting out. It has really been helpful to me as a transition. I went from XP to Ubuntu and it was the easiest thing ever.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dust on June 29, 2009 at 6:34am: ubuntu based on fedora???wtf
are 2 completely different thing, there a huge difference, fedora, is based on red hat, ubuntu on debian, 2 completely different philosophy.

linux is not an OS is just a kernel, now on this kernel there are various distro (OS) based on different package and settings, kde,gnome,xfce are just interface.(kde is more "windows like")

aniway to make this simple, and answer to your question, there are alot of this distro that are considered user friendly, but prolly if you have no experience, you want that all stuff is built in the OS or almost.
for this i suggest distro like:
gOS,Sabayon(you can find this with gnome or kde), linux mint too,or open Suse, you can try all of this without even install them.

if you have more patience to learn, and google on how to install, third part codec, driver and stuff, go with ubuntu,fedora, or suse, ubuntu in particular have the most easy package manager i know(for install new sw).

try before install, and use google to find solutions, there are alot of tutorials about anything; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dilyn Corner on June 29, 2009 at 8:45am: Oh, SORRY. :(

I get what Ubuntu is based off of wrong all the time... You'd think I'd learn by now.

Thanks for setting it straight :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Howard on July 7, 2009 at 9:14pm: i tried linux mint and found it was very laggy on my system, other wise i liked it the best, i am entertaining the idea of kubuntu. never looked at opensuse, how does it run? also is there a performance between gnome, kde, gtk.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Maxime J on July 7, 2009 at 9:53pm: GTK is Gnome ToolKit .. it's what people use to make applications for Gnome.. so roughly GTK=Gnome

KDE used to be heavier to run back in time but now I guess it's more a matter of settings in Compiz/Beryl and these visual effect managers.

When you tried Linux Mint, there are good chances that Compiz was turned on and that was slowing your system. Personally, I have a quite good laptop, but I turn them off anyway. The system is a bit more responsive, but that's a matter of preference.

Happy to hear you liked Mint.. It's my favorite PC distribution. :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Howard on July 7, 2009 at 9:15pm: how about an ultimate linux guide, ya know a place where all the distros are reviewed and compared??; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Maxime J on July 7, 2009 at 9:53pm: http://distrowatch.com/

It's the main reference.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by BOB Schell on June 28, 2009 at 10:07pm: Ubuntu; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by TyphoidKitten on June 28, 2009 at 11:00pm: ubuntu ftw. easy and trust me shit that's easy in linux is always a huge plus. The hardest part of getting my machine set up was getting youtube running... surprisingly hard. Though I'm sure there are plenty of other adventures that take more time. It's basicly all there at the start and if you need anything google it.

The only real problem I have so far is actually finding the new app i just installed. Still getting used to that...

oh ya, learn to love the terminal.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dust on June 29, 2009 at 6:36am: try to install gnomedo, is a easy launcher for ubuntu application, you can launch it, type the name of applications and press enter ;); ▶ Reply to This