Best Linux GUI For NewB

[spaceman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welly Wu Why are you trying Linux? Have you considered other alternative operating systems such as FreeBSD? Would you consider renting or purchasing a book about the specific operating system you are trying to install on that computer to help you learn?

I have an extra pc here at the house and thought I would try something different, a sort of self-imposed new learning experience. I've always used Windows machines, and thought I would give Linux a shot. I'm anal about researching, so no problems here when it comes to reading up on a particular subject.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spaceman I have an extra pc here at the house and thought I would try something different, a sort of self-imposed new learning experience. I've always used Windows machines, and thought I would give Linux a shot. I'm anal about researching, so no problems here when it comes to reading up on a particular subject.

Just purchase some book (I have running linux i.e.) that talks about all aspects of Linux (bash, ksch, etc), and try suse or ubuntu or something like that, it's more important imho that you can figure out how to get around Linux then it is for you to choose teh perfect distrubution.

 

[spaceman]

thanks for the input everyone......off to get a book!

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spaceman thanks for the input everyone......off to get a book!

BTW, that was my opinion, a lot of people disagree with it, and a lot say there is good stuff on the internet. I personally might not have internet acess in Linux in install or whatever, so I like a book, I hate printing stuff off. Check your local bookstore, tones of Linux books, I like my Running Linux O'reiley, but it is a bit advanced.

 

[star882]

I suggest starting off with something simple like Fedora Core or even Knoppix. And yes, do start with a book.
If you need to download ISOs, use Bittorrent as it's faster and puts much less load on their servers. Then leave it seeding for a while to help others download (it's OK to use the images as they're seeding).

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by star882 I suggest starting off with something simple like Fedora Core or even Knoppix. And yes, do start with a book. If you need to download ISOs, use Bittorrent as it's faster and puts much less load on their servers. Then leave it seeding for a while to help others download (it's OK to use the images as they're seeding).

I ditto the bittorent part. Even before I fixed my problems with bittorent (i.e. port forwarding and throttling from isp), I would still get amazing speeds.

 

[CaptSnuffy]

I'd say first fix the newb bit by using linux gui-less for a while and THEN choose something easy and enjoyable to use. Or if that's a bit inconvenient/annoying (which it definitely is) you could switch off for when you really need to get something done.

 

[Aman]

You should use a distribution of Linux that will actually teach you how to use Linux.

SuSE and Ubuntu, for example, have such terrible design flaws and security holes that the Linux newbie who wishes to use it has their primary operating system will be stuck when it comes time to use a REAL distro!

Take Ubuntu as the famous example - guess how one enters root mode on an install? Simply by typing 'su' without any root password required. This is outrageous, and it does not at all teach the proper ways of Linux. SuSE is a particularly slow and proprietary distribution, which is also outrageous because the entire point of Open Source is to possess exactly the opposite.

Use Debian. That is an easy-to-use, powerful version of Linux that doesn't hold your hand nearly as much. The user community is EXTREMELY active and helpful - the only better community out there is Gentoo's. I personally learned on Slackware. I tried different versions of Mandrake (now called Mandriva), Red Hat (open source version now called Fedora), and SuSE, only to conclude that Linux was a waste of time. But once I got my first GOOD distro, which ran quickly and was customizable up the hizzy, I changed my mind instantly.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aman You should use a distribution of Linux that will actually teach you how to use Linux. SuSE and Ubuntu, for example, have such terrible design flaws and security holes that the Linux newbie who wishes to use it has their primary operating system will be stuck when it comes time to use a REAL distro! Take Ubuntu as the famous example - guess how one enters root mode on an install? Simply by typing 'su' without any root password required. This is outrageous, and it does not at all teach the proper ways of Linux. SuSE is a particularly slow and proprietary distribution, which is also outrageous because the entire point of Open Source is to possess exactly the opposite. Use Debian. That is an easy-to-use, powerful version of Linux that doesn't hold your hand nearly as much. The user community is EXTREMELY active and helpful - the only better community out there is Gentoo's. I personally learned on Slackware. I tried different versions of Mandrake (now called Mandriva), Red Hat (open source version now called Fedora), and SuSE, only to conclude that Linux was a waste of time. But once I got my first GOOD distro, which ran quickly and was customizable up the hizzy, I changed my mind instantly.

I also found that if you could get used to bash, and could figure out the kernel of linux, your good to go. Gentoo is fun to install, but even that now has it's own installer.

 

[003]

I think KDE is the best.