Best distribution for a newbie

Hey all...

I've been thinking of getting started with Linux but I have a few questions which I hope you experts can help my with.

1. Which Linux distribution will be best for a newbie like me ? I've been thinking of "openSuse", "Mint" and "Kubuntu"...

2. I will install the distribution on my primary notebook (see specs. in my signature). Will I feel any difference between 32 and 64-bit (if available in the different distributions) regarding boot time etc. ?

Regards,
Jakob Laursen

 

Ubuntu seems to be the most popular Linux distribution for those new to Linux. The key support environment for new users, is user community support, and Ubuntu has a great user forum environment, which includes user forum support in native language for many countries.

DISCLAIMER: I've only ever installed Ubuntu once. All other Linux installs, (a dozen laptops and a couple of desktop/servers), have been Gentoo. I happen to think it's the perfect distro for those new to Linux, who are interested in learning how Linux works. Nothing else comes close. But it is definitely NOT for someone who wants to get Linux up quickly, and for someone who is nervous about issuing commands from the command line.

The question as to whether to install 32 bit or 64 bit Linux is a moving target. The general consensus is that there is a marginal speed gain from moving to 64 bit Linux, unless you are doing things like 3d rendering, and multimedia encoding. The average computer use probably won't see much performance improvement by moving to 64 bit Linux today. The one nice benefit everyone gets from 64 bit OSes today, is the ability to correctly address memory higher than 3gb, so if you have a 4gb equipped laptop , that may be useful.

The downside to going the 64 bit route, is that it may take more fiddling to get everything working correctly, although that's changing too. You can check out this post from the Ubuntu forums to read much more in depth about it. My advice is that if you are very new to Linux, try it as 32 bit today. Later as you gain more expertise, you can do a subsequent installation as 64 bit.

Good Luck..

 

Since you are new to Linux I would check out Ubuntu or Kubuntu. Ubuntu uses Gnome and Kubuntu uses KDE. Check out there home pages/screenshots here to get an idea of what they look like(though they can be customized later): GNOME
KDE 3.x

They both basically do the same thing but some people prefer one interface over another. Thats the great thing about Linux, you can choose what you want. I am using Kubuntu x64 8.04 right now on my thinkpad T61p and it is real nice. As was mentioned before, the 64 bit takes a little more fiddling to work, but 99.999% of everything works fine with my machine out of the box, plus I have 4GB of ram so I wanted to use it. I have been using Kubuntu x32 on my desktop for the last 3 years and it is awesome, very stable and can do everything I need. Once you feel comfortable with Kubuntu(or whatever) you can always try another distro if you want.

 

Hi,

If you are a newbie asking for a distro everybody here and there would yell "Ubuntu FTW!!! Ubuntu!!!". 3 times I tried Ubuntu (Breezy, Hardy, Shmardy, etc) and I didn't find it that attractive even for a new user (I'm not newb thou). Kubuntu sucks big time along with it.

But honestly go for openSUSE 11, it's user-friendly, everything works "out of the box", YaST is the best tool to take control over your system I've ever come across with. I'm not a SUSE or Novell fan, it just works, that's it.

Now, which one would it be? KDE or GNOME???

The answer is KDE!.
Because it's kind of similar to Windows environment so it will be easier for you to find your way around.

My 2 cents worth
Good luck

 

I agree with LoMaster. It's Ubuntu is just a popular version of OpenSuse, though Ubuntu is just over rated. I've used OpenSuse, and though, under GNOME, the general naviagation is a bit tedious in comparison to Ubuntu, IMO, BUT, I do see OpenSuse as good as Ubuntu. Fedora is also good, and Redhat has been recommended a lot for first timers.
Personally, I like GNOME over KDE, but that's just me. The constant black-ness gets sickly after a while for me.
EMZ=]

 

I've tried many distros. I recommend Ubuntu, not just for a newbie, but for anybody who isn't a distro snob. Ubuntu is most likely to work properly out of the box with everything you have, especially if it's a laptop. Keep in mind that this can include very simple things like your touchpad working properly, your wireless connection, etc. As for Kubuntu vs Xubuntu vs whatever, it makes no difference on any computer from the past couple of years. My recommendation is to avoid screwing around and just install the full Ubuntu desktop. Linux is unlike Windows in that you can work with it any way you want once you've got it up and running. Once you've got Ubuntu running, then you can experiment as much as you want, and you can run Linux fully from the command line if that's something you want to do (this gets old very quickly, trust me).You can also run a different window manager than Ubuntu's if that's what you want to do (although I'm very happy with Gnome myself, having tried all the popular ones). I really don't see any reason for people not to actually use the memory and graphics horsepower they have.

Nobody needs to be an operating system expert to do work. If you want to be one, try Gentoo or maybe "Linux from Scratch", and then come back a few weeks from now.

64 bit vs i386? Unless you need to use more than 4 gigs of ram, no difference whatsoever. If you don't believe me, just try them both. I guarantee that you will not notice any difference, except that a few essentials may not work in 64, at least not out of the box without some complicated workarounds, like Adobe Flash for example. I would just stick with the 386 version. It's nice to know that you're actually using that useless 64bit capability, but it doesn't actually do anything. Maybe sometime in the future, on some future computer.

If you are new to this, you can learn a lot and gain a lot of practical knowledge and experience by installing whatever Linux you want, and any number of distros in a virtual machine on Windows -- before you actually go live with a separate booting Linux installation. This can be done with MS Virtual PC 2007 SP1 (free download), or Virtualbox.

 

If you want a distro that just works, go for Kubuntu (as KDE > GNOME). I used Kubuntu for about 2 years before moving to Gentoo. I haven't tried openSUSE, but it might be OK. However, it does use RPMs, and my experience with RPMs in Fedora was one of unusable lag during installation of packages.

 

Take a look at Fedora Core as well, noob.

 

sigh... can everyone not say things like 'as KDE > GNOME' cuz really its all about preference... im a gnome guy but i will be looking into kde4 when it becomes more stable.

i would also suggest ubuntu, and while i agree with jas on that gentoo is the best for learning and messing around with, i would never say for anyone who isnt familiar with a terminal/command line and has only used windows to even try.

 

I'd say Mint too. Mint is basically Ubuntu, but has a lot of restricted drivers/plugins enabled out of the box and Ubuntu doesn't, and it has a windows-like gnome default UI.

 

No need to misguide him. go for ubuntu

 

I don't see why advising Mint Elyssa to a linux newbie is misguided advice.
It is basically Ubuntu, it has restricted drivers and audio and video codecs already installed/available and it has a Windows like UI...
It's almost ideal for a newbie. I know it was for me...

Cheers.

 

He's an Ubuntu worshipper, I guess.

 

Burn a LiveCD of each (or just about any distro which might interest you) and try them both. Install whichever yanks your chain the hardest.

 

I would start with Ubuntu. Install it and then get it up and running by working through this guide:

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Hardy

Once you understand how that works, try out some of the other distros. I keep coming back to ubuntu because of the convenient way it manages software packages.

 

For someone who's just interested in getting started, I would recommend Ubuntu since I had a good experience with it while I was still starting out. I had a bad experience with openSuSE and Fedora, so I can't recommend them as readily as some other users here. Again, it's largely subjective, but you can't deny that Ubuntu has the largest, most comprehensive community support base, which is a tremendous advantage.

However, if your interested in getting under the hood and seeing how it all works at a deeper level, you should consider Arch Linux. It's not as hardcore as Gentoo, but it's simpler and has a solid, easy-to-use package management system. It also has an excellent Beginner's Guide, which you might want to read anyway, along with the Slackbook.

In any case, if you're not satisfied with your first distro, just do what I did: distro hop until you find the right one.

 

Beat me to it.

The best way is to download and burn several LiveCD distros. Try any/all of the *buntu family, or Mint, or Mandriva, or OpenSUSE, or Knoppix, etc. See what looks good to you. Just remember that some will work better with some hardware than will others. Not Linux's fault, it's just the vendors being reluctant to share - but it's getting better .

 

+1.
If you are interested in Linux, the link to the Arch beginners guide will give you an in-depth vission of the belly of a Linux installation.
You will learn more in 2/3 days than with Mint in a year (or two).
(I'd recommend printing the Arch beginners guide).
Cheers.

 

When choosing a distro to actually use as opposed to fooling around with, keep in mind that just like you depend on MS when you use Windows, you depend on whoever makes the distro you have. There are lots of different distros, but they pretty much all end up doing the same thing. But you do depend on the distro guys to keep going and you don't necessarily want to end up with an orphaned distro.

The easiest distros to work with, in my opinion, at least nowadays, are the debian-based ones, like Ubuntu (and all the ones based on Ubuntu as well). I say this because the apt-get, aptitude and Synaptic methods of getting updates and additional software are much simpler and faster to use than the rpm method some distros use (like Fedora). You also get more stability, because Debian itself is extremely stable. If you want absolute cutting edge latest version of kernels and software, the price you pay is instability and just things that don't work.

The KDE vs Gnome issue is a matter of taste, really. For all intents and purposes, there are 3 desktop environments to choose from: KDE, Gnome and XFCE. Just using a very broad, very loose comparison, KDE is a bit more Windows-like in overall style while Gnome is more like Mac. XFCE is lighter, but not quite as comprehensive. By comprehensive, I mean that when you first log into that new installation, the desktop environment has already taken care of configuring everything to work and it needs very little more attention from you to get things to work on your computer. You can do almost anything you need, but it can get complicated if it doesn't run properly out of the box. Your best bet is to install a full desktop environment (either Gnome or KDE), and then once you have everything up and running, you can try any of various window managers besides the stock ones that come with KDE, Gnome or XFCE.

There is no such thing as a distro for "newbies" from which you must upgrade later on when you're no longer a noob. Linux is linux. Later on, you can always take your full Ubuntu or whatever desktop you have and make it as user unfriendly as you want.

 

I recently found this site (and forum) and I have to say. I kind of like Kubuntu for a first timer. I've never used any linux before yesterday and I'm running a LiveCD on a Gateway laptop as I type this. I'm extremely impressed by the fact that I can run it and use it without skipping a beat. It booted right from the CD and loaded all necessary drivers and my wireless N adapter (Intel 4965) works flawlessly! If some of these other distros are this easy then I have just one questions, "Why aren't more people using Linux??!!"

I'm going to try the LiveCD versions of some of the other popular distros before making my final decision, but I am extremely impressed with Kubuntu for a Linux newbie!

Thanks for a great forum, guys.

Jeremy

 

I agree with your assessment of the educational dimension of the Arch experience but I still think that a complete noob ought to get a distribution like PC Linux OS, Ubuntu or Mint up and running first. That process alone is confusing enough for someone who has never left windows before. Once they have that up and running, understand package management and the hardware/software issues unique to their computer, they can give Arch a shot.

I would also like to recommend Mandriva and Sabayon as worth trying. Here are some good places to read up:

www.distrowatch.com

http://adventuresinopensource.blogspot.com/

 

You're right v1k1ng1001,
I've started with Mint myself and I've posted here why I think it's a great newbie distro.
Arch will be too overwhelming for most beginners I guess, it certainly was for me.
It's just that the Arch guide is so incredibly detailed and like you said, a profound educational tool.
Cheers.

 

Let's not ignore the Slackbook, guys. Just like the Arch Beginner's Guide, it's a very effective learning tool since Slackware is a very non-assumptive distro as well. It's bigger, but more indepth than the ABG in certain topics, like terminal proficiency.

My personal opinion is that all new linux users should at some point read both documents. I started out with Ubuntu, and it did an admirable job of taking care of me, but then I read these documents and got adventurous. Linux can be easy and a lot of fun, it just needs a good introduction.

 

Slackware makes arch look like Gentoo,
I don't need no guide lol.

 

Hello Laursen,

I would go with a 'Live' distro.
You can try several that can be downloaded, and read about from http://distrowatch.com
One of my first 'Live' distro's was Knoppix.
Ubuntu is a current favorite, though you can try several 'flavors' of Ubuntu.
Download, burn...
Set BIOS to boot from cdrom, then hd.
Because you can just insert the 'Live' disc, and tryout the distro without having to mess with partitions & grub.
Many distro's have their own forums to seek help and guidance.
Just to mention a few... Kubuntu, Ubuntu, Debian, Sabayon, or Knoppix.
Oh, packages are important. i.e. Debian GNU/Linux - comes with over 18733.