Hi guys, to make things easier for Linux noobies, I have decided to post a guide to help you choose what Linux distro to get.

Linux Distro Choosing Guide

Welcome to Linux, my friend! The Linux os' in general are very alike, and different than Microsoft. Many people have decided to move to Linux because it is more stable, and open-source. Unlike MS, Linux has many different distributions (or distros). Each distro has it's '+'s and '-'s. Here I will try to cover as many different distros as I can.

Red Hat

Red Hat Linux is a very popular distro of Linux. It comes packaged with many different free applications for you to use, such as the Mozilla browser and Open Office (Linux alternative to the MS Office package). It also comes with a fairly easy to install system that lets you install KDE or Gnome (depending on your choice).

Pros:
-Popular
-Fairly easy for the novice
-Comes with loads of Linux software

Cons:
-Sometimes gets too easy for the Linux guru
-Lacks a bit in mp3 and dvd media


Red Hat interface



Gentoo

Gentoo Linux is a lot harder for the noobie Linux person and is more focused on the guru group. I do not recommend this distro for noobies.

Current version:

Pros:
-- Completely customizable distributions
-- Programs compiled optimized for your hardware
-- Excellent support from the Gentoo forums
-- Portage, my personal favorite method for managing dependencies in any distro
-- Free, as in both
-- Untainted desktop environments. You get GNOME and KDE the way they were meant to look and behave


Cons:
-- One of the more difficult installations of any distro I've used
-- Long compile times, especially on slower machines
-- Lots of downloading. Broadband is more or less a necessity
-- No "true" tech support


Gentoo screen



Slackware

Current version:
-Slackware 9.1
-Gnome 2.4
-KDE 3.1.4

Slackware is a pretty good distro, coming with the installations to install Gnome 2.4.0, or KDE 3.1.4. If you want you can easily install the 2.6.xx kernel if you like beta kernels. The installation is text-based, so some users may find it a bit hard, but if you've used FreeBSD or Debian Linux then you should be fine. Overall, it's a pretty solid Linux distro to use.


Interface of Slackware 9.1 Gnome



Mandrake

Current version:
-Mandrake Linux 9.2

Mandrake is an excellent distro to get started with. It has an easy installation method and is graphical. The interfaces while using Mandrake makes a Windows user comfortable. It also comes installed with many different Linux things to use, wich makes it really nice.

Pros:
-Easy installation for new users
-Comes pre-loaded with great software

Cons:
-Easy for the Linux guru
-Some of the stuff installed you don't really need


Mandrake interface



Suse

-To start us off, Suse comes in two different types, professional and personal. Personal is free while professional comes with a cost. Suse pro is more business-oriented while the home edition is geared to home users. The installation is graphical, and fairly easy to do. Suse also has excellent detection rates for scanners, cameras and any external devices. It uses KDE 3.1 wich is pretty nice. It is really easy for the novice Linux person, while still challenging for gurus. Suse is probably a good distro to choose if you're totally new to Linux.

Pros:
-Great ease-of-use
-Easy install
-Good software

Cons:
-Not a ton of new features since 8.2


Suse interface



Debian

-Debian Linux is great and a very stable linux os, but definitely not for the Linux newbie. Debian was developed 100% by volunteers and not just one company, like Suse or Red Hat. It can be sometimes very hard to use but in the end it's excellent for the Linux guru.

Pros:
-One of the most stable Linux distros
-Made entirely by volunteers

Cons:
-For the guru only
-Sometimes extremely frustrating


Debian interface


Fedora Project

What is Fedora you ask? Well, Fedora is a distro of Linux sponsored by Red Hat that is said to be made to make a complete os built entirely from free software. Here is a small quote from the fedora site:

Overall, Fedora looks quite promising for a venturer in the Linux field and looks like a good challenge for the guru.

Pros:
-Going to be a full os system

Cons:
-Still in beta
-A few problems that come up during install and first boot that need to be fixed


Interface screen of Fedora



[SIZE=3]
KDE interface on FreeBSD


**this guide was written 100% by bulio and there is no copy-and-paste whatsoever.**


Lynx - Edited some screwed up links

OK, what's the source?

Written by me 100% and I ain't lying

Nice job

Nice job [/b][/quote]
thx, but it ain't quite done yet, I gotta add a couple more distros

Now it's done

Coming from a Linux noob (more or less) it looks good. Glad to see it did not degrade into some windows bashing post like I seen in some other guide. Anyways why not also just go into a bit more detail. Pretend you are trying to sell me a Linux Distro. Well maybe not....


Off topic.. Anyone here find the Mac OS is the complete opposite of Linux and Windows is somewhere in the middle.

What about Lindows? I downloaded a copy from them for free. I typed in coupon code ImaNVUfan or something like that and let me download the developer's edition free. I haven't bothered to install it yet, as the PC I was going to try it on doesn't have the specs to run it. Is it any good or should I just go grab a copy of Mandrake? Also what's Mandrake need for Specs? I've got a 350 MHz PII with 320 MBs of ram and an 80 GB hard drive running Windows XP Pro (legal OEM version I got for free before most of the public ) smoothly. That 80 GBs isn't being used, could I partition it and install Mandrake on it? Are there any good tools for partitioning some space for Mandrake?

BTW, Ariel, it seems to me that MacOS is the opposite of Windows and Linux is in the middle. Seems like Linux might be the healthy blend a lot of us are looking for. I won't be installing Linux on my primary computer though, seing how it is a heavy gaming machine with one purpose: games. And the occasional music or one of my 328 (all) Simpsons episodes .

http://www.apple.com/macosx/architecture/






@bulio -- Great Guide

@DWells55 -- Lindows no longer has the free coupon codes available I don't think, so since you took the time to download it go ahead and give it a try. Your specs are pretty minimal but Linux handles memory and processing speed a lot better than Windows so you should be ok. Juts don't give that pc more than it can handle.

If that does not work to your liking then just keep trying distros until you find one that is right for you.

My bad.

BTW, how'd you edit without leaving watermarks?