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I am curious. Does a "newbie" actually buy a book on a linux distribution? I would assume that plenty of online guides are much easier, cheaper and are (arguably) a better choice.

For example:
http://gagme.com/greg/linux/fc6-tips.php
http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/mjm-fedora-fc6.h tml
http://stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_5_installati on_notes.html

If I'm pessimistic about the "free" part about Linux, would I spend $30 on a book? Additionally, so much changes in a given 6 month period for something like Fedora. Is is really beneficial to recommend a book to someone when any given chapter could be totally outdated for the next release?

then trying to get Flash and Java plug-ins to work.

Maybe you should try Fedora Core? There is an excellent guide to installing Fedora Core 5 at stanton-finley.net that discuss, among others, the installation of Flash and Java. It does not cover Fedora Core 6, but most instructions can be applied successfully anyway.

Ahh, I see. I always recommend people that want to install Fedora Core to take a look at Stanton Finley's excellent installation guide, where all these topics are covered.

From TFA: "Acquiring Nvidia drivers seldom entails more than consulting a package repository for your Linux distribution of choice, and instructing local package management facilities to fetch, build, and install all required files and dependencies."

Well, support for Nvidia isn't supported on FC5 because it is non-free, so you won't find it in the standard repositories using yum... if you add livna you can do "yum install kmod-nvidia -y" which will handle it all... but it is important not to use the Nvidia ones because they overwrite sections of your X and can cause problems, especially if you change you card later. More info can be found here; http://stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_5_installati on_notes.html#nVidia... just wanted to get the message out there to protect the penguins

Actually much of the length of http://stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_5_installati on_notes.html is dedicated to the installation of a web server, ftp server, etc. which the normal user will probably not want to install. In addition these steps can be easily automated with the use of a shell script. See http://easylinux.info/wiki/Fedora_frog for a sophisticated working example of such a script.

If you're using Fedora Core:
http://www.stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_5_instal lation_notes.html
This is an excellent suppliment to the installation process. Why? As Fedora has stated they're avoiding licensing issues with certain things like mp3s, etc. Install as normal, run through this installation sheet, and you're fine. I wouldn't give anyone Fedora Core without giving them a link to fedoraforums and this page.
The instructions are very clear, and you can even copy and paste half of it if you want.

Or joe normal user could come across Fedora Core installation notes just as I did.
http://www.stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_5_instal lation_notes.html

Most things are covered in that. I used it to install FC5 on my laptop. Wireless worked in about 3 minutes as it includes the latest drivers for my wireless adapter, just needed the firmware (which is clearly detailed on fedoraforums if youc an operate a search box, or post and someone will link you)

Yep, I use linux for PHP/Apache/mysql developments. I also write some shell scripts. All of this is under Gentoo. When it comes to media however, I'm lost. I can't burn a CD/DVD, I can't wathch video, hell, I've never even gotten the audio to work.

I've run into the same problem. I recently set up a Windows machine for someone else, and a Fedora Core 5 machine for myself. The windows machine was 1 CD for the OS, 2 CDs for Office, and a half dozen downloads for video driver, firewall, anti-virus, web browser etc...

FC5 on the other hand was 5 CDs for install, a couple dozen package downloads from all over, and a good bit of configuration file editing. Now of course after this install the FC5 machine had capabilities the WinXP box didn't - I added quite a bit of development software, a minimal install would take mabye 2 CDs. However to show the gap in whats required to get FC5 to the same level as WinXP check out this page: Fedora Core 5 Installation Notes

Its a fantastic writeup about how to get the multimedia working, however look at the length of that page. Its an incredible amount of post installation stuff to do, and if that guy didn't take the time to write it up I probably never would have figured it out. Other distros may be better, but FC5 isn't even close as an easy to use drop in replacement.

Personally, I think Linux is already almost completely user friendly. Have you checked out the new Fedora Core 5 installation, or any installation using anaconda or something similar. I have to say setting it up was a breeze, and with tools like yum and guides like these (http://www.stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_5_insta llation_notes.html) I find it surprising that people find it difficult. Plus, I haven't tried it myself, but we've all heard of how great Ubuntu is. Linux has come a long way.

There's not much of a need for ZDNet's Fedora Core 5 install photos.. For all of my RH/Fedora installations, including Fedora Core 5 (over a month ago), I used Stanton Finley's site... His site is much more informative: http://www.stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_5_instal lation_notes.html

They don't ship mp3 due to concern over copyright issues. The same reason they don't ship ntfs support. They have a wiki somewhere that addresses various packages and why they aren't shipped with the distro. That being said someone has put together a nice page called "Fedora Core installation notes" that addresses many common things a desktop user would like including step-by-step instructions on how to install each item:
http://stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_4_installati on_notes.html

I've had no particular issue setting up java, flash, quicktime, etc. The only thing I believe I've had issue with is Shockwave, but I hear thats a linux wide issue.

Honestly its also kind of fun setting that stuff up too.

This review seems to be nothing but a set of screenshots that illustrate the OS in one moment or another, meaning that it is just one of the many similar ones out there.

"Thanks to the Gnome Theme Manager it is also very easy to change and modify your desktop theme." As if this was some sort of a new boombastic feature :-)

I am still waiting for a review which can explain a non-Linux person [such as myself] why the GUI is so slow. My guess is that the video card's hardware acceleration is not used. Other reviews [ http://www.stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_5_instal lation_notes.html ] were more helpful, and explained that this distro is not shipped with nVidia's or ATI's drivers. Moreover [taken from the above mentioned link]:

"The kernel that ships with the Fedora Core 5 release iso images is not compatible with third party 3D graphics acceleration drivers."

How is THAT supposed to NOT anti-attract a newbie?
Is there somebody who can explain things in a simple way?

Sheesh, what else?

An enormous amount of work has gone into it, and it is being given away for free. There might be some issues to get thru, but they WILL be fixed, and the updates made (again) freely available.

The mind boggles that people exist who not only look the gift horse in the mouth, but also denigrate it.

Use the stanton finley install notes here if you want detailed instructions on core 5 setup.

http://stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_5_installati on_notes.html

There are some pages: installation guide, installation notes which should be valuable starting points.

Interesting. Perhaps someday OS X will catch up with Synaptic (based on apt) package manager for Linux, where all you have to do is click a checkbox for the program you want, and click "Apply".

All deps are taken care of, the program is downloaded and installed automagically.

Updating your system is even easier: "Mark All Updates", and "Apply"

To set all this up on a Fedora system, refer to the Stanton Finley guide.

More on topic, the Apple desktop is no threat to Linux, and never will be. Apple provides a turn-key solution which some people find appealing. Linux provides more power, flexibility, runs on a wider choice of hardware, and comes with better support at a lower cost.

A common error in economics.

Your time is only worth something if someone is PAYING you for it.

Unless you have other paying work you could or want to be doing instead of building a computer, the time you spend on the computer is worth exactly zero in money terms.

Oh, and if you use Fedora Core 3, and follow Stanton Finley's setup guide, you end up with a great OS, that was both free and Free, (you don't have to steal it.)

Use the setup guide to install apt and Synaptic, and you will have a system which is insanely easy to update and install software on.