Shifting to Linux OS?

[s@qib]

I have been using Microsoft products for quite some time now. I have used Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 2000 and XP, ofcourse got some taste of Long Horn too. I am fed up of windows OS. Now I have made up my mind to shift to Linux. The prob is that I dont know anything abt it cuz I haven't used Linux. An article in @internet and netmag magazines inspired me to try Linux. Can anybody guide me through this? cuz I dont know where to start. Linux or Windows? Which one is better for me?

[Whiteknight]

if you get a nice distro, with a nice GUI, the transition shouldnt be too hard at all. For your first attempt at the linux would I would recommend that you go for a popular distro like redhat, or even debian.

if you only want a demo, to see what linux is like before you go through the hassle of installing it on any of your machines, i suggest you try Knoppix (http://www.knoppix.org), which is a very nice demo version of linux, that boots off a CD, and doesnt alter your file structure at all.

keep in mind though: 9 times out of 10 with linux, you dont have the tech support of windows, and there will be some delay getting drivers for your new electronics, like cutting-edge sound/video cards, digital cameras, scanners, and other new devices.

good luck

[stuka]

IMHO, Linux is the best choice for anyone who isn't locked into Windows for some reason beyond their control (work typically), and who has a modicum of technical ability. While newer distributions working on slightly less than cutting edge hardware often provide a great user experience, there are times and/or devices that can require a bit of digging into. Fortunately there are a large number of helpful sites and/or people on the 'net, and often you can find out exactly how to do what you want.

If, however, it's important for your machine to 'just work' with little to no effort (except for reinstalling Windows when it breaks :) ), then Windows may be a better choice for you.

[s@qib]

Thanku for advice.

[kryptech.net]

of course you could write your own drivers...

[sicarius]

If you are a total linux newbie and have about $80 to spare try getting the latest commercial version of SuSE Profesional. It is RedHat based and has great hardware detection. The online update feature is also great.

If you have the time to put into it though, and want to learn more about linux internals, you can try installing Gentoo from a stage1 tar ball. Or, if you are really brave you can make your own linux distro following the rules of LFS (linux from scratch).

[bdl]

It is RedHat based


Other than the fact that SuSE uses RPM and has SYS V init, I don't believe this statement is accurate. It is a very good distro for someone just starting out to work with, though.

[mmills]

here is a suggestion for switching to linux, If you have more than one hard drive, get partition magic and partition the spare drives as linux ext2 and ext3, go with a easy to navigate distro like www.mandrakelinux.com, www.suse.com or go to www.linuxiso.org and burn the cd's from there, I will have suse 9.0 pro online soon, free of charge, as I am working on my ftp server, it should be up in 2-3 days. tops, amke sure you set up your video properly durring the install, working with the video after when the resolution is to light, can make things killer!

[valan]

Originally posted by sicarius
If you are a total linux newbie and have about $80 to spare try getting the latest commercial version of SuSE Profesional. It is RedHat based and has great hardware detection. The online update feature is also great.

No, Suse is not Red Hat based. They are both fine distros for a newbie though. But eventually you'll realize that distros suck anyway and you need to build your own linux to know what it's all about. Gentoo and Linux from Scratch help out a lot with this.

[darelf]

Yes, if you are serious about Linux, then you must do Linux From Scratch. Later on, switch to some distro that you like... Gentoo is a good one. But LFS will give you detailed knowledge of how Linux works so that you can do more/fix things.

I found that it was my single greatest learning experience with Linux.