any other distros i should try?

[mamamia88]

im relatively new to linux and since i'm gonna wipe my harddrive in a month to get a fresh start with 9.04 anyway are there any other distros you would reccomend that i can try for a month or so until 9.04?

[scottuss]

If you want a quick easy install and easy you could try Mandriva, Fedora, OpenSuse or PCLinuxOS. If you're feeling particularly brave (or just curious!) try Arch.

[fissionmailed]

Debian or Arch.

[mamamia88]

yeah i think ill give fedora a go just backing up my stuff now i already have the cd

[super.rad]

Depends on how confident you are on linux & what you want to use your computer for.
If you want bleeding edge then try Fedora
Bleeding edge & rolling release then give Arch a go (is harder than most linux to install but follow the beginners guide and it's fine)
If you want stability then give Debian a go

[CJ Master]

Linux Mint, an easier Ubuntu with great programs and codecs preinstalled. :)

http://www.linuxmint.com/

[So Tough]

I would say to try chakra before Arch as you are new

[scottuss]

Yeah I would say Fedora is probably the best for you actually. Although, if you read the beginners guide on the Arch website you will see that getting a fully functioning (and super fast, lean awesome) Linux installation isn't actually that hard

[mamamia88]

i have both debian and fedora lived cds both run gnome so i think ill give fedora the go for a month to see if i like rpm better than deb

[mamamia88]

so is arch as easy to use as ubuntu once i get everything installed? if its faster and as stable as ubuntu id be willing to give it a go even if the initial setup is a little hard

[scottuss]

so is arch as easy to use as ubuntu once i get everything installed? if its faster and as stable as ubuntu id be willing to give it a go even if the initial setup is a little hard

Once it's setup and running (using Gnome) then yes it's very similar to Ubuntu in many ways. It's also very stable ALTHOUGH updates are on a rolling release system (they are available near enough as soon as the developers have released them) so things CAN break sometimes. But it's never a major issue, and the Arch forum is very helpful.

[CJ Master]

General user experiance is that it's faster and stabler. I tried it before, and it ran as slow as a cow for me, but thats my computer.

If you basically want Gnome-in-a-box, try foresight linux.

[scottuss]

General user experiance is that it's faster and stabler. I tried it before, and it ran as slow as a cow for me, but thats my computer.

If you basically want Gnome-in-a-box, try foresight linux.

Arch ran slow? Jeez, what spec machine did you have!!? lol.

[mamamia88]

ok im installing fedora now i chose the option to schrink larger partition and install on free space hopefully both operating systems show up in grub

[pastalavista]

#!crunchbang-linux (http://crunchbanglinux.org/)

[B4RR13N705]

It seems that Arch is pretty nice, maybe ill give it a try sometime! :guitar:

[scottuss]

#!crunchbang-linux (http://crunchbang.org/wiki/)

I tried CrunchBang thinking it might be a slicker version of Ubuntu. I like openbox but CrunchBang wasn't as good as I expected. It's as sluggish as Ubuntu in many respects (boot time particularly)

[bhishan]

I would recommend OpenSUSE.

[pastalavista]

I tried CrunchBang thinking it might be a slicker version of Ubuntu. I like openbox but CrunchBang wasn't as good as I expected. It's as sluggish as Ubuntu in many respects (boot time particularly)
I was suggesting to the OP who, after all, was the one asking. It might be less of a culture shock. I still prefer Ubuntu myself.

[Twitch6000]

4 distros that always come to mind in this kind of topic are

Fedora
PClinuxOS
Linux Mint
OpenSuse

All four of those have their own thing that make you go wow :D.

[scottuss]

I was suggesting to the OP who, after all, was the one asking. It might be less of a culture shock. I still prefer Ubuntu myself.

Very true. May as well try something totally different whilst he has a blank canvas though ;)

[ajgreeny]

i have both debian and fedora lived cds both run gnome so i think ill give fedora the go for a month to see if i like rpm better than deb
I have tried many different distros with both rpm and deb packages and I still find nothing to com[are with the deb system of Debian, Ubuntu, and Mint (and others). Fedora 10 was not to my taste at all, and the package management and updating horrendously slow on my system, as was Open Suse 11, so again I come back to Ubuntu. I also find these forums (fora?) better than any I have ever used previously, and now find myself answering questions rather than putting them.

Find what works for you and stick with it for a while to learn it well, then change again if you feel the need to. Enjoy the choice!

[kk0sse54]

im relatively new to linux and since i'm gonna wipe my harddrive in a month to get a fresh start with 9.04 anyway are there any other distros you would reccomend that i can try for a month or so until 9.04?

Slackware

[lancest]

I think the ideal is to use both Arch and Ubuntu. I don't dual boot but rather evaluate which system is best per machine. On this machine I run Arch 64 and I'm quite happy with it. Today I needed to make a live usb system so I use Ubuntu to do that. Running both systems meets my needs in many ways. Both systems are great. I enjoy telling people about Linux and Ubuntu is definately for that.

[.Maleficus.]

Arch
Gentoo
Debian
Slackware

All of those should get a "new" Linux user up to speed relatively quickly. If you're curious about what's beyond the Linux world of *nixs, you could try a BSD or Solaris too. I definitely recommend Arch though - it's fantastic and now my main OS (used to be Ubuntu).

[the8thstar]

#!crunchbang-linux (http://crunchbanglinux.org/)

I second this. CrunchBang Linux is the new black.

[dragos240]

arch, and perhaps debian, arch is a customizable linux distribution made from scratch built with simplicity in mind (simple as in barebones, not simple as in easy.) Make sure you have the following things first, a stable ethernet based connection (wireless is tricky for me), and prepare yourself for installing everything, you will have to install everything via pacman package manager including X and alsa, so make sure you know what your doing, i reccomend the begginners guide in the arch wiki. And debian, a new version has been released recently on the name lenny, it is a very stable distro, and the same distro ubuntu is made on!

[antiloop]

If you have time, Slackware. It's easy but stuff takes time to config. When you are done with the basics it runs like a dream. ;)

[kk0sse54]

If you have time, Slackware. It's easy but stuff takes time to config. When you are done with the basics it runs like a dream. ;)

Depends on how minimal of a base you start out with. A standard install and post configuration for me is generally a lot shorter than what the equivalent in Arch would be.

[kidux]

Slackware
Probably because I cut my teeth in Linux with it, but this is my recommendation as well. Great distro, extremely stable, and works like a dream once installed and configured.

[cardinals_fan]

Fedora is my overall recommendation. It has many of the advantages of Ubuntu but focuses more on bleeding-edge software and enterprise usability.

Vector will give you an introduction to Slackware, but is more usable out-of-the-box than vanilla Slack. If you are feeling brave, nothing will teach you more than installing and configuring Slackware - and you get a great system as a bonus.

Arch is a good distro if you want something more manual and customizable but don't want to go all-out with Slackware. Assuming that your internet access is relatively easy to configure, Arch is really quite simple to set up. Read the Beginner's Guide (http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners_Guide) and you should do fine.

SliTaz is a very fun little distro that I am now using alongside NetBSD (my #1). I recommend it if you either have simple, web based needs or enjoy tweaking an elegant system to do what you want.

DesktopBSD would give you an intro to the world of BSD. It is FreeBSD with a graphical environment by default, so you could just try the original if you are willing to face a steep learning curve. NetBSD is my personal favorite, but it takes a somewhat different mindset (if you like Slack, you'll probably love it). I would strongly recommend starting with DesktopBSD first if you go this route.

[CJ Master]

Arch ran slow? Jeez, what spec machine did you have!!? lol.

Good specs. Win7 and Ubuntu/Linux Mint run very smooth. Arch doesn't like to play.