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Linux for a newb

M

mokkapoop

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
1,155
Guys. I finally have a machine that I can put Linux on and start using, testing, learning, and creating enviroments in. My question is this, what Linux should I use?
 
My opinion would be to start with Ubuntu. Its a boot-able live CD so try before you install.

This probably needs to be moved under the Linux sub-forum.
 
If you want to feel pretty and happy using linux: Ubuntu
If you want to learn something about linux: Slackware or Gentoo IMO

Either way I'd recommend you do some reading about GRUB/LILO configuration so you can boot to multiple kernels/distros
 
For someone new, go with first option. You'll have enough difficulties to face as it is.
 
I started off trying Mepis, Linspire, Mandriva, Gentoo, and Kubuntu (Ubuntu + KDE). I settled on Kubuntu, it's unquestionably the best beginner distro. After I got familiar with how things worked, I switched to Gentoo, and it's great.
 
I consider myself to be an intermediate-advanced Linux user, and I still prefer Ubuntu on my desktops.
 
Just remember if you choose Kubuntu, then in some cases when you find answers that pertain to Ubuntu that they won't be relevant to you. The 'joy' of desktop choice.
 
I would suggest PCLinux. Pretty simple, more so than Ubuntu, maybe even to simple. The wife likes it. Its a single CD, and worked out of the box with everything. With Ubuntu I couldn't get the sound to work, I would install the driver, setup ALSA, and it would work until I rebooted again. Seems to be common with the ATISB450/HDA-Intel chipset/drivers.

On my Laptop I am booting Ubuntu/Edgy, PCLinuxOS, and Vista Ultimate.

If you have Vista, don't resize your windows partition. I have made this mistake twice, and both times it freezes loading "crcdisk.sys". Then I end up reinstalling everything.
 
Ubuntu runs from a CD before you install, so if you have obvious and immediate issues such as the monitor, mouse, keyboard and internet not working, you can find this out before you install. It was quite kewl for me to pop in a CD and surprise, surprise, a few minutes later, there is was!

From a newbie perspective, here is what was easy and what was a challenge and what pearls of wisdom I would hand down.

32-bit Ubuntu, AMD Duron 800, .784gig of RAM

Video/media plugins:

  1. Mplayer as a web plugin and Xine as a video player works best for me.
  2. Amarok is a decent enough iTunes clone. Flash was easy to install.
  3. Use the Java JRE listed in the Synaptic Package Manager instead of the "latest" JRE on the Java website.
  4. Don't bother with RealPlayer. Seems to conflict with the apps you'd rather use. Haven't seen an .rm file in ages myself.
  5. Getting WMV to work is a challenge. Finding the DLL's is not easy and the instructions offered by other users are typically vague. The best tip I got was to simply copy the necessary .dlls from your licensed copy of Windows, to the appropriate directory in Ubuntu Linux.

Whenever possible, use the sudo apt-get install command to install your software. It solves your dependancies automatically, or at least faster and more reliably than even the package managers.

.DEB packages are sweet when you can find them. Learn to use Alien. I turned an .RPM file (common and easy to find) into a .DEB file (less common) and installed it with a double-click like a Windows file.

Hardware

Monitor, keyboard, mouse and eth01, sound card, CD-ROM and CD-RW were automatic for me (your results may vary) In general, if your hardware is common and a few years old, it will be smooth sailing.

  1. Installing my HP 940c was a cakewalk.
  2. Installing the Epson scanner was a little more difficult, but not quite nightmarish
  3. Getting my Palm Pilot to work smoothly with J-Pilot was a little tricky
  4. Getting the iPod to work smoothly with Amarok? (It's my wife's iPod and if I screw it up, no spank and tickle for me) I did get the files on the iPod onto my desktop, but I dared not tread further. It's not my iPod.
  5. Haven't done wireless yet, but I will. I hear WEP is relatively easy to set up
  6. Processor is too slow to play DVDs, but this is another quasi-legal area and so those who know how are a little coy about offering specific line by line instructions and the URL of various sites that offer the elusive DLL move around.

But once you have it going, it is very nice. It will run at least 2x faster than Windoze on 1/2 as much PC and the software is free (as in beer, whatever that expression means?)
 
Personally, I'd recommend trying Fedora as well. I run it on my laptop and desktops, and it's always worked perfectly for me.
Mainly it's what you're comfy with. Fedora and Ubuntu both have fairly large communities, and both distros have a wide variety of extra packages after you add a repository or two. The main difference is Fedora is based off Redhat, and Ubuntu comes from Debian; they use different package types (.rpm vs .deb), and they store their configuration files in slightly different places (for when you start digging into the system a little more).

EDIT: Wireless can be a slightly larger pain to setup in Fedora currently; this is supposed to be fixed in Fedora 7 though.

Charlie
 
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