What Linux On Pc ?

[streak]

Hi

Whay linux distro for PC would you recommend [ and why ].

Im looking a distro wich:
- look similiar to windows / beos / haiku
- could use gp2x dev sdk on it
- could use wireless internet
- could use delphi-like tools [ kylix maybe? ]

and which shell is better in your opinion GNOME / KDE ?

Thanks in advance.

StreaK

 

[fishybawb]

Debian-based is good for Linux noobs, Ubuntu is very popular and has decent wireless support (depends on the chipset, runs my Atheros based PCI and PCMCIA cards out of the box, other chipsets may need ndiswrapper which uses the Windows drivers and generally works pretty well), as well as a nice packaging system that makes installing/removing apps very easy.

It uses Gnome, but you can also get a KDE based version called Kubuntu. Out of the two I prefer Gnome personally (but use Openbox instead!), although KDE seems to be very popular with people migrating from Windows. Try 'em both and see which you prefer

 

[Parkydr]

KDE is the nearest to Windows look and feel, you can theme it and configure the mouse etc to be like Windows too.

I prefer KDE but I've configured it to less like Windows

 

[pkostrze]

I've always been a fan of Redhat based Mandriva (used to be Mandrake) and prefer KDE over GNOME.

 

[Sphinxter]

Gentoo, because I like to have it my way.

 

[GernotFrisch]

I've been trying a lot of distributions in the last 4 years, and yes, I've been a neewbie back then and linux changed a lot since.
I tried Redhat and Suse, but found that the debian apt package system seems to be working better.
I tried Knoppix/Kanotix, but Ubuntu beat them all. It's a work-out-of-the-box distribution that never, (for 2 years or so) ever corrupted something with any update.
I prefer Gnome over KDE after I saw the Ubuntu Gnome desktop. It's slim, well cleaned up and has all the functionality I need. I don't like the konqueror file browser (KDE) as it seems much too complicated for me.

 

[woogal]

It's difficult to tell you which is best, because you haven't said what you want linux for.

 

[senquack]

Do what ya like, it don't matta

 

[kevcal]

I use Mandriva Spring 2007 with KDE and it's fine..
Don't have anything else to say... Guess some people prefer one over another.
You can try mandriva without installing it - just run from CD/DVD - probably all of them let you do that though.
I develop under linux all (bloody) day and Mandriva's been fine - then again I use a lot of terminal windows, makefile and vim for editing - so I'm not the most cutting edge

 

[Magic Sam]

I've been trying a lot of distributions in the last 4 years, and yes, I've been a neewbie back then and linux changed a lot since.
I tried Redhat and Suse, but found that the debian apt package system seems to be working better.
I tried Knoppix/Kanotix, but Ubuntu beat them all. It's a work-out-of-the-box distribution that never, (for 2 years or so) ever corrupted something with any update.
I prefer Gnome over KDE after I saw the Ubuntu Gnome desktop. It's slim, well cleaned up and has all the functionality I need. I don't like the konqueror file browser (KDE) as it seems much too complicated for me.

Hi,

I feel just the same. I'm interested in Linux since 1997 so I tried a lot of distros in 11 years (Kheops, Redhat, Mandrake, Slackware, etc). I've been using Ubuntu for more than 3 years now and I must admit it's my favourite Linux distro ever It's one of the few that you can use for work purposes without too much problems. I'm not a dev so I can't tell if it's proficient when it comes to coding. My wireless card (Broadcom) doesn't work, at least out of the box. And I tried Haiku under VM (wonderful) so I think you'll prefer GNOME over KDE

Bye, Magic Sam

 

[fishybawb]

I develop under linux all (bloody) day and Mandriva's been fine - then again I use a lot of terminal windows, makefile and vim for editing - so I'm not the most cutting edge

Sorry to stray off-topic, but have you tried the editor called Geany? I used to use vim at work, but remembering all those bloody commands drove me mad(der). Geany has tabs, projects, automatic syntax highlighting, built-in gcc support, and is very lightweight. It's like a really stripped down IDE. If there's any Linux based devvers out there, I highly recommend it

 

[Blah]

Well my favorite so far is Ubuntu, I'm gonna try out Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Edubuntu (I'm trying to learn about thin clients) also I'd like to see what BSD's like. Don't use RPM, it's brain damaged. The worst thing though is that I can't keep up with the updates (I have shitty internet service and there's nothing I can do about it for about 6 months, that's why I'm so pathetic), but at least I can get the CDs for free.

Basically any of the desktop managers can be configured to look like Windows (depending on your skill with theme package editing), but KDE is setup to look sort of like Windows as default, and comes with a theme "Redmond" to make it look even more so if you like (I find it quite ugly). Also KDE has a few neat ways you can waste your CPU cycles with nice graphics (like a certain OS I recall).

If you want a more efficient setup you might want to look into lighter WMs like XFCE.

As for hardware, for a workstation or server you should be covered whatever you choose. With laptops, its not so easy. Ubuntu is one of the best for laptops, but you still should look up whatever you can about your hardware and base the decision on that. My laptop (a 1 year old Toshiba that's falling apart) works fairly well on it, with the exception of power management, which is not supported well at all (I haven't tried Gutsy yet).

Don't forget to download the latest version of WINE, it can be very useful for some Windows programs. If you're made of money you could look into products like VMware, Cedega, and Crossover. Or if you're an uber-geek there's QEMU which is free (but not easy to use).

You should set up your machine to dual boot, otherwise you'll go crazy during the transition. I've been using linux for a long time, and I'm pretty experienced now in shell scripting and setting up servers and system stuff (and other stuff you won't need to know unless you really get into it), but I still use Windows a lot, actually I switch between the two depending on my mood and what I'm doing. At least whenever MS finally does something to really piss me off (or if they go bust, yeah right), I'll be ready to jump ship, before it sinks.

Regarding editors, use whatever you like, I don't want to start an editor war . Vim (and workalikes) can increase productivity a lot if you get used to it, but its not for everyone.

 

[nickspoon]

You should set up your machine to dual boot, otherwise you'll go crazy during the transition. I've been using linux for a long time, and I'm pretty experienced now in shell scripting and setting up servers and system stuff (and other stuff you won't need to know unless you really get into it), but I still use Windows a lot, actually I switch between the two depending on my mood and what I'm doing. At least whenever MS finally does something to really piss me off (or if they go bust, yeah right), I'll be ready to jump ship, before it sinks.

I didn't have enough space to dual-boot when I first installed. I made the jump fully, never regretted it. I do now dual-boot Windows but I hate it and only ever boot it for Windows Mobile development.

 

[Parkydr]

A virtual machine is probably easiest VirtualBox and VMWare server are both free.

 

[b._.o._.b]

In your case I'd go for Kubuntu. I like the fact it is debian based, well documented and almost every question has been answered once (on the ubuntu forums)
If you want a very Windows-like environment and a very user-friendly installation and gui OpenSuse is great. Hardware detection on OpenSuse is probably best of all distro's.

If you want speed, go for Puppy Linux.

If you want to have fun, install them all.

 

[yaustar]

I always found Ubuntu to be the easiest to use but always had my eye on Sabayon mainly because it Gentoo based and still looked relatively easy to use.

 

[kevcal]

Sorry to stray off-topic, but have you tried the editor called Geany? I used to use vim at work, but remembering all those bloody commands drove me mad(der). Geany has tabs, projects, automatic syntax highlighting, built-in gcc support, and is very lightweight. It's like a really stripped down IDE. If there's any Linux based devvers out there, I highly recommend it
Thanks for the recommendation... but I've been using vi for 25+ years now and don't intend changing! Shit - I feel old!

EDIT:QUOTE
..but I've been using vi for 25+ years now..
..and still haven't figured out how to quit editing.

 

[Lineus]

I would full-heartedly recommend Fedora, if it wasn't for the RPM. Other than that, it's a great distro. I prefer GNOME myself, but I usually use fluxbox or enlightenment on my main boxes.



Also, as was said before, Puppy is fast, incredible, and powerful. Also, take look at Vector Linux if lightweight stuff is your thing... I have it running on a P2 400mHz, and it FLYS - cmparedto a (sometimes) sluggish WinXP install on a 1.3GHz Celeron. But, it;s really your call. To each his/her own.

~Lineus