Looking for a secondary Linux distro

[MrStill]

I have recently thrown out my Windows partition. As is, I have expanded my Ubuntu partition to fill in the gap. But, I was thinking about setting up a 10 or 15 GB partition to try another distro.

I have been reading websites for various open source operating systems; namely, Suse, Gentoo, and Open Solaris. I get good information about what philosophies are involved with each and the systems should do if they work properly. -- I have also read plenty of forums posts on frustrated Gentoo users who go back to Windows.

Basically, I want to know if anyone has any suggestions on Linux (or Unix like) systems that have good functionality and could be set up by someone with only one year of Linux experience - not saying it can't be a learning experience though. Or any reasons not to try Suse.

Thanks

[whoop]

If you want a learning experience try arch:
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners_Guide

[syntr]

ReactOS is always fun to play with.

[whoop]

ReactOS is always fun to play with.

It's not really linux, though.

[NoaHall]

Fedora(some will say Arch, and I agree, but you probably won't like arch)

And personally, I don't like suse. It's a bit... weird.

[Greg]

Arch, FreeBSD, Salix (Slackware 13 compatible) are all good choices.

[Tmi]

I'd recommend Arch or some other "DIY"-distro. Since you already have Ubuntu it seems a bit too similar to choose something like fedora. Use the testing-partition to really try stuff out without fear of breaking it and learn alot about linux in the process.

[Zoot7]

I can understand the frustration of Gentoo, I got tired of having to compile stuff for pretty much negligible gain.

You could give Debian a try. It's about as stable as they come, and it's very like Ubuntu (Ubuntu being a fork of Debian and all..).
Mepis is another one I've heard great things about but never got around to try.
Mandriva is a nice distro too (I always liked it's implementation of KDE) not sure what the current versions are like though.
Also, if you haven't tried it out already, Fedora is worth a look.

Good site for reference:
http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

[wulfgang]

You should try slackware. Difficult though.

[MrStill]

Use the testing-partition to really try stuff out without fear of breaking it and learn alot about linux in the process.

That was my thought behind trying Gentoo Linux. But, I have read so many frustrated posts.

As for Fedora, I have tried 4 Fedora distros (4, 5, 9, 10) only to go back to Windows each time. Mostly due to a lack of networking know how.

[beastrace91]

I'd like to recommend "Sabayon Linux (http://sabayonlinux.org/)". It is based on Gentoo (and thusly fully supports portage which is an adventure in itself) and is a fairly solid distro. Over the past year I've tried just about every distro under the sun and while I always fine myself coming back to Ubuntu (cause well - its the best) Sabayon is a close second for me.

~Jeff

[snowpine]

I'd recommend using Virtualbox (or similar) to try out several distros. Only when you've found one you like should you set up the dual-boot.

I am a big fan of dual booting two different Linux distros (actually, the computer I'm typing from has 4 Linuxes and Windows XP! maybe a little excessive...)

I like to choose a second distro that "scratches a different itch." For example, I might have Ubuntu 9.04 because it "just works" for me with zero headaches, then on another partition, I'd install Sidux because I don't know much about KDE and I'd have the very latest applications. Or, maybe I'd install BrowserPuppy so I'd have a super-fast option for surfing the web.

But, since you are looking for a specific suggestion.... Arch. No question about it. It is the number one distro that Ubuntu users love to hate to love.

[MrStill]

I'd recommend using Virtualbox (or similar) to try out several distros. Only when you've found one you like should you set up the dual-boot.

For some reason, I hadn't thought about doing that. I have one, possibly stupid, question about the process. I would like to know about how the system behaves in terms of hardware compatibility. For example, my first Linux learning experience was making Ubuntu do wireless networking. Will the system I am running virtually show these types of issues; or, will they piggy back off of Ubuntu's hardware compatibility? I assume the later but want to ask all the same.

[RedSquirrel]

That was my thought behind trying Gentoo Linux. But, I have read so many frustrated posts.

Every distribution has its share of frustrated users. ;)

If you think you'd like to try Gentoo, then give it a try and see if you find it frustrating.

Gentoo is my main OS. I like to try out other ones to see what they're up to but I keep coming back to Gentoo.

It takes some time to get used to it. It will definitely be a learning experience, but the documentation is usually very good.

[snowpine]

For some reason, I hadn't thought about doing that. I have one, possibly stupid, question about the process. I would like to know about how the system behaves in terms of hardware compatibility. For example, my first Linux learning experience was making Ubuntu do wireless networking. Will the system I am running virtually show these types of issues; or, will they piggy back off of Ubuntu's hardware compatibility? I assume the later but want to ask all the same.

Virtualbox will teach you nothing about hardware compatibility, it's true. :)

[TetonsGulf]

VirtualBox allows for the network to piggyback so any wireless concerns should be minimal. It's a great way to test the "feel" of an OS.

I use it to play with the other window managers on an Ub base, i.e., Kubuntu and Xubuntu. I love Mint as well.

[chucky chuckaluck]

arch's documetation makes it pretty easy, though detailed. i used it for a year and just went back to it recently. i'm pretty much an end user, so it is doable.

[quickdraw]

I've recently switched to Crunchbang linux, and have been PLEASANTLY surprised with it.

But to be fair, it is Ubuntu based. So if you are looking for something completely different ... I'd go with some of the other distros. Me personally, I like the ubuntu-based ones since they tend to work better out of the box.

[MrStill]

This question might be good for RedSquirrel,

Is the compilation process for Gentoo fairly straight forward, providing I have some experience with C, C++, and intermediate level experience with Java (Java for the oop concepts; not expecting source code to be written in Java)?

I know the idea of compiling the kernel is for performance and would expect to do some modifications.

[Greg]

Compilation is easy- you just set whatever USE flags you want, and then ask portage to download and compile- it does it automatically.

[RedSquirrel]

Is the compilation process for Gentoo fairly straight forward, providing I have some experience with C, C++, and intermediate level experience with Java (Java for the oop concepts; not expecting source code to be written in Java)?

Yes, it's fairly straightforward. You won't need programming experience to install software. As Greg wrote above, Portage (the Gentoo software management system) handles the downloading and compiling; you just have to set the options you wish to use.

The Gentoo Handbook (http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/) discusses Portage as part of the installation steps and in greater detail in subsequent sections. (If you install Gentoo, the man pages for emerge and portage are worth reading as well.)

You'll learn some of the basics of Gentoo while you're working your way through the installation process:

http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/where.xml

Selecting a profile is one of the installation steps in the Gentoo Handbook. If you're planning to setup a desktop system, you might want to use the desktop profile. This will provide settings for a typical desktop system. You can always change settings later on at the expense of rebuilding any affected programs/libraries. It isn't necessary to reinstall Gentoo to make these changes.

Note: Portage often prints out messages when it has finished installing software. It is very important to read these messages. In some cases, it is necessary to perform additional steps. These messages will tell you what you have to do.



I know the idea of compiling the kernel is for performance and would expect to do some modifications.

Configuring and compiling the kernel is part of the installation. You have a few options:



Configure it by hand. (The basics are covered in the Handbook.)
Use genkernel (Also in the Handbook.)
Start the configuration with a kernel seed (http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-707499.html). (An unofficial method.)


I've never used #2 or #3, but they might get you up & running more quickly than #1. You can always configure and compile a more customized kernel later on.

Compiling a heavily customized kernel may make some difference or none at all. I mainly do it for fun. :)

[MrStill]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I have spent the past few days looking over distro websites and I have burned a good amount of live cd/dvds including Kubuntu (different yet still familiar), suse, gentoo, crunchbang, sabayon, ... I found so far that I like KDE a lot more than gnome.

I am also surprised that my wifi card works with a lot of these (as opposed to Ubuntu 8.04 which took me some time to set up).