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What's A Good Starter Linux distro?
alen writes "I've been working with NT for a year now, and I'm getting really tired of it. So I finally decided to learn Linux, after a year of putting it off. I've got an old P2 266 that I'm going to use. Now the next question is what distro do I get?
What's a good starter version? I'm just looking to get the feel of it and to play around a little. " This question gets asked periodically - it's always good to hear have a lively discussion about it - I love my Debian but have heard that Mandrake is a good starter distro.
I know you're joking, but define "real". If by "real" you mean "hardcore by means of text-based shell", then sure. If Windows isn't real, what is it? A fake operating system? A virus maybe?
Windows is a real operating system in the same way that a Hyundai is a real car. And Windows 2000 is like a Hyundai Excel with leather seats and air conditioning.
Unsophisticated, unrefined, but solid as nails and powerful like my 1976 Dodge Ram, I like a base install, text-only, of a mature UNIX. It's the raw unbridled power of a 400 cubic inch (6.6L) V8 bolted to a couple of frame rails while some joker in a Hyundai with tinted windows pulls up beside you and revs his oil-burning 1.6L chainsaw engine. Running FreeBSD is great for that, it gives me exactly the same feeling of unrefined raw no-bullspit power.
In comparison, I see most Linux distros as being like a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Solid, reliable, comfortable and versatile. It's a great first step when you're learning how to drive something other than an oil-burning Excel.
For refinement, I like the Mac all the way along. Macs through the years have been like Jaguars. Pretty, refined, sexy but frequently broken or unstable. Until recently - now they apparently work quite well.
And then there's Windows. Maybe with XP, Microsoft will upgrade it to the operating system equivalent of a Hyundai Accent. Of course, it will have air conditioning, leather seats, plush carpets and S-rated tires, but it's still a Hyundai.
That's what I meant.
That aside, I know exactly what you mean. There's always WinVi, which IMO is an excellent Vi clone for Windows (acts like Vi and NotePad).Doesn't have the 32k Notepad filesize limit either. :)
But you're right, Windows does seem chunky... Makes me wonder how much time M$ spent on optimization...Intel does that for Microsoft.
I still swear that there's a conspiracy between those two.
Fire and Meat. Yummy.
I'm going to take heat for this, I know, but I'm really kind of tired of the "I'm just starting with Linux, what distro should I use?" questions that Slashdot gets.
I don't want to rain on anyone's parade here, but I'm a Win2K guy. I don't really choose to be one, so much as that's where my company makes its money, and I don't really have a choice, unless I want to get another job, which I don't.
I'm not down on Linux. I love it, but it seems to me this site is more about "Yeah, yeah, Linux" than "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters." Yeah, we get a bunch of articles that fall under the banner, but we also get a lot of this stuff, which, I'm sorry, just doesn't interest me.
I've made my points in the past about the failings of Linux. I don't want to put it down, but this site seems to be better suited for more "nerd" info than just Linux, and sometimes it seems like it's too much about Linux and not enough about "News for Nerds." Maybe I'm wrong. Shoot me. I just get tired of this kind of stuff, personally.
my first ever!