The Best Linux Distro for a New User?

GhostCypher asks: "I've been a Mac user for nigh on 12 years, and recently made the reverse-switch (yes, Mac to PC) due to an unfortunate accident to my PowerBook. Now that I have this spiffy new HP laptop, I want to run Linux or Unix of some flavor on it, but I don't know the best one to run. I've been considering FreeBSD and OpenBSD, as well as SuSE Linux, Fedora, and Mandrake. Could the wisened Linux gurus here offer some insight as to the best package for a former Mac user to introduce him to the greater world of Linux without major headaches in setting it all up?"

Comments

Fedora

[FedeTXF]

Fedora, but adding apt-rpm and a sources.list pointing to where the mp3 and flash suport is.

OS X on x86

[4of12]

Could the wisened Linux gurus here offer some insight as to the best package for a former Mac user to introduce him to the greater world of Linux without major headaches in setting it all up?

Well, I love and advocate Linux use all I can, but know more than a few Linux desktop users that lean hard on their MacOS X Powerbooks. They're "UNIX", they have Word, Powerpoint and the usual Mac "it just works" stuff.

But if you have some influence with Apple, mebbe you could suggest an x86 port of OS X...:)

Realistically, any modern Linux distro is reasonable, but will lack a lot of the multimedia niceties that come out of the box with your Mac.

Maybe if you get CrossOver Office or Lindows it would help ease the pain of your loss.

You gave the answer in your question

[Rick the Red]

Free BSD. I don't recommend OpenBSD for a Unix beginner, unless you're building a firewall.

As for Linux, well, you did ask for ease of use. I've tried several Linux distros, and they all failed in one way or another. RedHat was the worst -- the installer got into a nice graphics mode just fine, but somehow couldn't tell XFree86 what settings it used, and subsequently XWindows was a pain in the ass. Perhaps Fedora is better, but somehow I doubt it. Mandrake couldn't recognize my network card to save it's ass (but RedHat could, so a driver is available). SuSE wouldn't let me try without buy (no ISO), so forget them. I wouldn't touch Debian with a 20 foot pole because 1) they're so damn political, and I don't need that crap I just need an OS; 2) they're way behind on the kernel releases; and 3) they're so damn political.

Basically, I'd stay away from any distro that calls itself "GNU/Linux" because their political statement is their #1 priority, and you want the distro to be their #1 priority.

Let the flamewar ensue...

[rmohr02]

I can't compare any of the BSDs with each other or with Linux, but I would personally recommend Debian or one of it's derivatives (Libranet, Xandros, Knoppix, etc.), but there are bigger issues than that, IMO.

If you have a friend that's a Linux/BSD guru, pick the same distro as him so that it's easier for him to help you when you have a problem. If not, then start looking at the advice presented here.

Disclaimer: I recommended some distros, but my recommendations are not necessarily right nor wrong. Don't flame me for my own opinions.

As always, it depends...

[dmayle]

Why do you want to switch to Linux?

• Is it because you want to be able to tell other people that you use Linux? Try Xandros.
• Is it because you're just sick and tired of Windows, and you're sure there is something better? Try Mandrake
• Is it because you want to be sure that there is no closed source software on your system? Try Debian
• Is it because you want to put something on your CV (resume) for a potential employer to see? Try RedHat/Fedora Core
• Is it because you wish to learn all the deep internals of Unix systems? Try Gentoo

It really depends on your needs. Though I personally recommend Gentoo to all (yep, I'm a zealot :), because of it's great documentation, strong system control, and ease with which it teaches you Unix systems in general

Re:As always, it depends...

[E_elven]

I don't see a point in starting with an 'easy' distro. It'll just get you in trouble when you need to do something under the hood.

First, if you haven't used Linux (properly, more than a few hours), I suggest you download either Knoppix or the Gentoo LiveCD and play around with it, get used to the CLI (and you can load a GUI as well.) You should get one of these anyway, preferrably in two copies, in case something goes wrong at any time.

For a permanent installation I second Gentoo -it's simple enough to get started with the manual and Portage (the software package manager) is better than any of the alternatives.

If Linux isn't really what you want, go with FreeBSD.

Whatever distro you get...

[kenthorvath]

...make sure it makes use of an apt repository. For a newbie or anyone for that matter, there is nothing easier than typing "apt-get install INSERT_PACKAGE_NAME_HERE" when you need a certain piece of software. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Fedora has an rpm based apt solution, but I still think that debian is the best distro, once you figure out how to install it with the options you want.

My advice, start out with Mandrake, and after you screw it up or it screws you up, switch over to debian - with a little patience you will never want to use anything else.

Scale up

[Apreche]

When I first started with linux I used whichever Red Hat was out 6 years ago. After a year I switched up to Mandrake. Mandrake had newer packages and supported my hardware better. As I used linux more and more I learned more and more about it. About 6 months ago I switched up to Gentoo. I wouldn't reccomend going to Gentoo or Debian right away unless you are particularly adventurous. But if you are the kind of user who really wont settle for less they are the only distros that give you "real unadulterated linux".

So what you want to do is use Knoppix Mandrake Suse, etc. And learn as much as you can from those. Eventually you will reach a point where you aren't learning anything new. You'll also start getting frustrated because things wont work, and you wont be able to change certain things. RPMs are easy, but overall fickle and confining. When you reach this point, set aside a weekend and print the gentoo installation handbook and get a livecd. Or go the debian way, either is good. Anything harder core than those two distros is more difficulty with little reward for it. Lunar Linux is about as far as you want to go.

Anyway the point is if you want to be a real linux guy and get the full experience and whatnot, start small and work your way up.

Re:hmmm can we say flamebait?

[alienw]

Whatever. Mandrake has about 10x more packaged software for it than redhat. Download all 4 CDs + add contribs + add PLF, and you will have a hard time finding a program that isn't packaged. Plus, you won't have to hunt down RPMs -- just do "urpmi " and it will download and install it automagically. That includes things like MPlayer and DeCSS.

My own suggestions

[Dr.Dubious DDQ]

Echoing some of the other posts here: It depends what you want to get out of Linux.

If you "just want to use it" (i.e. you just want a nice desktop system that isn't proprietary, or just want to try out some Linux programs) I'd recommend (roughly in order of preference):

1. Knoppix - don't even need to 'install' to try it out
2. SuSe (Or is it SuSE? Or Suse? I can never keep it straight). They've always seemed like a reasonably decent distribution, and now with Novell's apparently-earnest-and-sincere backing, I tend to think of them as "the new Red Hat" (in that they'll be a 'default' distribution in the near future and thus useful to be familiar with).
3. Mandrake - I personally didn't much care for what I saw of Mandrake, but many people do, and this one is often suggested for "newbies".

If, on the other hand, you actually want to learn Linux:

1. Slackware - my personal favorite. It seems to be the most "generic-Unix-like" in general style. I think that although it's fairly "manual" in terms of setup, it's not difficult. But that's my opinion. It's probably the easiest-to-install-and-configure "nerd" distribution.
2. Gentoo - takes forever to install initially, because it actually compiles (most) of itself directly from source. You can configure it for the best compiler optimizations for your hardware and have, theoretically, the fastest-possible system. Maybe a bit of a steep learning curve to start with though - although if you're up for it, it may be worth it.
3. Debian - Possibly one of the most obtuse installation procedures (at least, last time I tried it), but once installed it's amazingly easy to maintain. ("apt-get" really is as cool as they say it is). Debian's one of the "big" famous distributions also, so if you find yourself working with a wide variety of Linux boxen, it's good to be at least a little familiar with it. Debian's other downside (apart from the initial install procedure) from my perspective is that by default their software versions tend to be quite old, though you can get around this by reconfiguring your system to pull updates from the "unstable" and "testing" branches.

Those would be my suggestions, anyway.

Re:Don't fear the command line

[Dr.Dubious DDQ]

I tell people not to think of it as the "command line" - I think it's more like "keyboard shortcuts" for the core system...

And by extension, a system with no CLI is like a program with no keyboard shortcuts: You shouldn't be FORCED to use them, but some things are always quicker and easier that way.

Slackware

[antizeus]

I tends to be more secure out of the box than other distros. It has a superior package system that doesn't break your system or install lots of unnecessary crap. It has superior BSD style init scripts that are easier to manage (no need to wrestle with multiple levels of scripts and symbolic links). It puts files where software developers intend them to be instead of second-guessing them. It doesn't try to tie you in to nonstandard admin tools. These last two points make finding answers on the internet a lot more productive, since you have to spend less effort trying to adjust the information to your machine.

I recommend a book actually.

[jeblucas]

I'm also a Mac user that dabbles in Linux.

Personally I went with Fedora Core 1 and installed from the CD in Red Hat and Fedora Core Unleashed. (Amazon. ) I got mine at the library.

The book walks you through some trouble spots you might encounter and nudges you towards some options that may not be obvious from the Fedora literature, like having yum look at freshrpms.net instead of Red Hat (for packages that Red Hat might regard with disdain.) It even walks through installs of the UT2004 Demo and Enemy Territory.

Re:Cygwin

[damium]

Better than this would be Cooperative Linux. With coLinux you can run a full distro under windows. Add VNC and you can even get GUI apps to work.

This of course is assuming that you are not going to go through with setting up a dual-boot system or such. Personally I run Linux 90% of the time and only run windows to get to the very few apps that I need that don't run in wine or have a linux equiv.

For a linux distro I reccomend Mandrake for laptops because they have a somewhat cleaner support for odd hotplug hardware that is common use with laptops. (WiFi cards for example)