Which distro should I use????

[obdata]

Hello, I'm fairly new to Linux, I've tried Ubuntu 7.10 and openSUSE 10.3. I was quite impressed by Ubuntu, and openSUSE wasn't bad, but maybe I haven't found the best yet.

I took a distro quiz and it told me:
Ubuntu
Mandriva
openSUSE
Kubuntu

I am also very interested in Linux Mint.

What I want from my distro:
Speed - As fast as possible, I know all of them take a long time to boot, but I'd like one that takes as little as possible, and fast operation is a must
Reliability - I want something very stable and reliable, not needing reboots often
Ease of setup - Would prefer a GUI installer
Ease of use - Should be easy to use and configure, not needing a whole lot of the Terminal
Maintenance - I don't want something that your downloading updates and fixes every other day, something that you basically setup and be done, not always needing to tweak stuff like I have to in XP Pro

My computer:
Acer Travelmate 4021WLCi
Pentium M, 1.6 Ghz, 400 Mhz FSB, 2 MB L2
40 GB HDD
2 GB DDR2 RAM
802.11 b/g WLAN
DVD/CD-RW Combo
15.4 WXGA wide TFT LCD
Graphics: Mobile Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express Chipset Family

It would be nice if whatever distro I use would recognize my hardware automatically, but if it doesn't I can probably make something work.

On a scale of 1 - 10, with 1 a beginner and 10 a guru, I would rank my computer skill at 4 - 5.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

-Jason

[lespaul_rentals]

Wolvix Cub 1.1

[imT]

if you're a beginner, by far, ubuntu....
after u get use to linux u can experience other distro's but for now is for your own good to stick with ubuntu - the community and the simplicity would be the main reason, not to mention the nice theme :)

[DrMega]

I use Ubuntu 7.10 (surprise surprise). I've installed the Xubuntu-desktop package so I can easily switch between Gnome and Xfce (Gnome is feature rich/Xfce is fast).

The LiveCD takes an age to boot, but once installed it is quite quick (certainly quicker than Windows).

I've installed Ubuntu on several machines, ranging from fairly new to very old, and hardware detection has always worked flawlessly for me.

The installer is one of the most intuitive I've ever seen, and doesn't have you waiting around to answer questions every few minutes like Windows.

I've never known Ubuntu crash on either of machines (except once when I had a bad graphics card).

There is an update manager in Ubuntu that tells you when updates are available, and if you let it, it will download and install them for you (not unlike the one in Windows - except that it doesn't do it without you knowing).

I tried several distros before switching to Ubuntu. I've never looked back since.

[sandysandy]

if you're a beginner, by far, ubuntu....
after u get use to linux u can experience other distro's but for now is for your own good to stick with ubuntu - the community and the simplicity would be the main reason, not to mention the nice theme :)

second that. ubuntu is cool.

btw obdata there are various derivatives of Ubuntu like MINT, Geubuntu etc.

regards

[keykero]

I would have to agree and say Ubuntu. I've used them all (that is, daily use) and Ubuntu is a real star on the desktop. Fedora isn't bad either, though.

[mivo]

I'd stick with Ubuntu, unless there are any real problems you have. The reason is that Ubuntu offers by far the largest and most active community, and there is a huge amount of resources. No matter what problem you run into or question you may have, you'll get help hre or find an already existing solution. No other distro offers you the same. All distros will be fast on your system if you go with the right deskop environment, though boot-up times differ often (but you don't reboot often anyway).

It's good and educating to distro-shop a little, though it can increase one's confusion. :) Just try out some live CDs and see what's out there. I think Ubuntu is your best choice for every day use, though. It's hard to beat, becaue of its wonderful and responsive community.

[lespaul_rentals]

If you all read the thread you will see that he has already tried Ubuntu.

I've tried Ubuntu 7.10 and openSUSE 10.3. I was quite impressed by Ubuntu...but maybe I haven't found the best yet.

Also, why would you recommend Ubuntu when he says:

Speed - As fast as possible, I know all of them take a long time to boot, but I'd like one that takes as little as possible, and fast operation is a must

Sorry, but Ubuntu with its bloated Gnome desktop is less than perfect when you look in the performance/benchmark department. If you want a lightweight yet full-fledged desktop enviroment, try going with Xubuntu or another Xfce-based distro. Dreamlinux 2.2 is a good one, too.

Also, just a tip...if you want fast boot times go with reiserFS for your / partition. It decreased my boot time by about 10 seconds.

[mivo]

Sorry, but Ubuntu with its bloated Gnome desktop is less than perfect when you look in the performance/benchmark department.

Look at his hardware. Sure, you can find faster distros if you spend time on tweaking them, and you may get better benchmarks, but the question is: Are the speed advantages of practical relevance? Can you feel them? I doubt it.

Ubuntu can be tweaked too, you can turn off daemons and processes you don't want or need, and get the same benefits like with more bare-bone distros. I run Arch on another box, and it is very optimized, and while I love it to bits, the speed advantages are of no practical relevance. I know it's faster, but nobody else would notice it. It took a lot of time to set it up this way, too, and unless you are a tinkerer, it's simply not worth it (unless for educational purposes or if you run performance-critical applications, which most people don't do).

What you call bloated is really just full-featured. Turn off what you don't want or need, and you get the same results as with a distro where you have to turn on what you want or need. It's just a different approach, with nearly identical results.

[obdata]

Thanks for the quick responses, now I know I can get help fast if I should have any problems!

Anyway, it looks like Ubuntu (or Xubuntu) might be the thing. How do Ubuntu and Mint compare? I guess it should be similar since Mint is based on Ubuntu? I read several places that Mint is very fast, that's why I was attracted to it.

[keykero]

If you all read the thread you will see that he has already tried Ubuntu.

Yes, we can all read, but still recommend Ubuntu as it is the best you can get. But thanks for your help. And "bloat" is highly, highly subjective -- so much so that it's not even relevant to any discussion.

[SunnyRabbiera]

Well personally I can vouch for Mandriva for beginners, Mandriva boots fairly fast and has a decent track record of being a pioneer for the desktop.
Mint is also a good beginners distro, its got a lot of stuff loaded by default.
I will also recommend Mepis Linux, if its a distro that got me into linux and is among one of my favorite distros it is Mepis. Its easy to use, easy to manage and great for beginners.

[obdata]

Okay, can I get a Live CD for Mint? I'll probably try Mandriva too.

I should add that I don't need any games, entertainment, etc. This is more of a work and research computer. Also, I liked how Ubuntu has the three menus at the top of the screen, instead of just one menu, and having to go thru so many layers to get anywhere (Win XP).

BTW: I know I said I had tried Ubuntu, but that doesn't mean I've written it off, I just thought I should ask for recommendations, instead of having to try all of the distros myself.

[rosegarden78]

Use them all come up with best solution here's what I did with a standard Ubuntu Gutsy installation:

1) add the following packages: kde xfce blackbox fluxbox
2) select xfce as default session on login
3) press alt-f2 or type in a terminal: nautilus

Actually I added nautilus to Autostarted Program as well as a shell script for gamma correction. For Blackbox users use Xterm to launch nautilus then launch kicker from a konsole. Regardless if you can't activate default wifi run nm-applet at the terminal even if you lack a system dock it'll load.

[imT]

Use them all come up with best solution here's what I did with a standard Ubuntu Gutsy installation:

1) add the following packages: kde xfce blackbox fluxbox
2) select xfce as default session on login
3) press alt-f2 or type in a terminal: nautilus

Actually I added nautilus to Autostarted Program as well as a shell script for gamma correction. For Blackbox users use Xterm to launch nautilus then launch kicker from a konsole. Regardless if you can't activate default wifi run nm-applet at the terminal even if you lack a system dock it'll load.
@rosegarden78
don't forget he-s a newbie and what you say it requires some non GUI skills :popcorn:

[obdata]

@rosegarden78
don't forget he-s a newbie and what you say it requires some non GUI skills :popcorn:

Yes, I'm new to Linux, but I have a bit of experience on computers, and I'm not scared of the terminal, I'll use it if neccessary and if I have detailed instructions of what to do, its just that I'd like that to be minimal.

[darrelljon]

Try Puppy Linux.

[EnergySamus]

Hello!
So you have an Acer too! Acer rules!:lolflag:

Anyway, I was a beginner 2 months ago, and I found Ubuntu to be the best. It is fast and reliable. I would also recommend Dual-Booting. This can help with choosing a distro.

Good Luck
EnergySamus

[Drakx]

Hello!
So you have an Acer too! Acer rules!:lolflag:

Anyway, I was a beginner 2 months ago, and I found Ubuntu to be the best. It is fast and reliable. I would also recommend Dual-Booting. This can help with choosing a distro.

Good Luck
EnergySamus


I noticed in your sig that you have the same laptop as my dad also with vista basic, tell me how often are you in vista reason i ask and i know this is off topic i find it takes far too long to do any thing! the simplets of tasks can take upto a 1min todo, so i pitty you also how does it run with ubuntu i may end up tell my dad hes having ubuntu on his as i hate it when he asks me to help in vista basic and the pure slowness of that laptop

BTW this is not meant as an insult i just wanna know what you think of with with ubuntu and vista?

[obdata]

Thanks to all for their suggestions. What I am thinking now is to install Ubuntu and use it enough to get a little aquainted with it, then I'll maybe look at some others as I should have a better idea of what I would like to have, if there is anything.

As I understand, I can download xfce and choose which I want on boot (gnome or xfce). Would that be the same as dual-booting with Xubuntu?

Also, two more questions:
1. No one has answered my question on Mint yet. What exactly is the difference/advantage over Ubuntu?
2. I was looking at Mandriva a little(website), but haven't tried it yet. From screenshots etc. it looks quite similar to Ubuntu. What are the differences?

[EnergySamus]

Hello!
I use Vista more because of the apps. But Ubuntu is much better! I didn't take that as an insult! The dual-boot is great!

Thanks for the question!
EnergySamus

[new2*buntu]

I would say Debian Stable. It would be faster and more stable than Ubuntu. Also, it doesn't require much (if any) terminal work to get it configured. If you want a graphical installer, type "installgui" at the CD boot prompt. Good Luck, whichever you may choose!

[obdata]

Thanks, I'll check Debian too.

[smartboyathome]

Thanks to all for their suggestions. What I am thinking now is to install Ubuntu and use it enough to get a little aquainted with it, then I'll maybe look at some others as I should have a better idea of what I would like to have, if there is anything.

As I understand, I can download xfce and choose which I want on boot (gnome or xfce). Would that be the same as dual-booting with Xubuntu?

It isn't, as if you install Xubuntu, you get Xubuntu's programs AND Gnome's programs all on one system.

Also, two more questions:
1. No one has answered my question on Mint yet. What exactly is the difference/advantage over Ubuntu?
2. I was looking at Mandriva a little(website), but haven't tried it yet. From screenshots etc. it looks quite similar to Ubuntu. What are the differences?

1. The difference between Mint and Ubuntu is that Mint has codecs preinstalled, as well as a few different GUIs.
2. I can't answer that, as I have never used it.

[p_quarles]

2. I was looking at Mandriva a little(website), but haven't tried it yet. From screenshots etc. it looks quite similar to Ubuntu. What are the differences?
It's not that different. Like Ubuntu, it strives to make it very easy for the user to install and set up. It's very easy to use, and it's one of the better KDE-centric distros available.

The most substantial differences are 1) Mandriva enables the root account by default, and does not use sudo (you can still set it up to do so); 2) Package management. I can't remember the name of the graphical package manager, but it's a front end for RPM, which handles program installation differently from APT. In their current states, however, they're both very easy to use.

[jerrylamos]

As far as I can tell from the literature, Debian is install only. No live CD. Try Gutsy 7..10 live CD first. If it runs O.K., then install.

BTW, I like to try different linux's, so I usually have at least 3 partitions - one 10G that boots whichever is the most stable, like Gutsy, a separate 20G or more /home, and a 10G partition to try boot something new. Both boot partitions use the same /home so it's easier to get going.

I've also noticed, see some of my past bugs on Launchpad, Ubuntu will be running fine, they will stick in a bunch of Debian code, and something breaks. Big time. For months.

Cheers, Jerry

[SunnyRabbiera]

It's not that different. Like Ubuntu, it strives to make it very easy for the user to install and set up. It's very easy to use, and it's one of the better KDE-centric distros available.

The most substantial differences are 1) Mandriva enables the root account by default, and does not use sudo (you can still set it up to do so); 2) Package management. I can't remember the name of the graphical package manager, but it's a front end for RPM, which handles program installation differently from APT. In their current states, however, they're both very easy to use.

uh huh.
the main package management tool is urpmi and its gui counterpart is rpmdrake, very similar to apt synaptic in nature.
you can also use smart package manager too if you dont like rpmdrake.

[rosegarden78]

When you say minimal do you mean hard drive space,
Or rather minimal elements on the desktop?

For smallest space straight Xubuntu, but if you have
unlimited space use all three: Ubuntu + kde xfce fluxbox blackbox
but inside an Xfce session on startup running Nautilus.

[rosegarden78]

Yes, I'm new to Linux, but I have a bit of experience on computers, and I'm not scared of the terminal, I'll use it if neccessary and if I have detailed instructions of what to do, its just that I'd like that to be minimal.

If you mean minimal in space install straight Xubuntu. If you mean minimal appearance with maximum performance use Ubuntu + kde xfce fluxbox blackbox. Boot into Xfce session and run nautilus. Blackbox user run nautilus then run kicker.