Linux Distribution Guide for the Newbie

Due to an increasing interest in Linux I have put together a little guide on the Linux OS’ currently available. Before you read this guide I would highly recommend that you look at the following link. If you are unsure whether Linux is for you, perhaps the article can help. http://www.reallylinux.com/docs/linuxworks.shtml For a nice test to find out which Linux OS is good for you try this: http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/ There is also a nice little Linux documentary by CNET hear: http://reviews.cnet.com/Try_a_free_operating_system/4660-10165_7-6639061.html

Linux is a FREE operating system built under the GPL (General Public License). There are many different Linux distributions available, so the following list is designed to be a starting point. It is advisable, if you are new to Linux, that you look first into Ubuntu, as it is by far the easiest Linux distribution to learn on.

The following scores are based on an “average” of responses I have received. If you have a problem with the scores PLEASE PM me and I will update the guide as often as I can.
Below the scores is a summery of the most popular Linux OS’. Many thanks to the NBR forum members and friends, who provided a major portion of the links, reviews, and comments, you see below. For more detailed reviews of Linux Distributions go to the following links.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/reviews/index.php?cat=2
http://distrowatch.com/


Arch Linux
On a scale of 1-10
(1) Ease of use – 4/10
(2) Ease of setup – 5/10
(3) Hardware support – 8/10
(4) Stability – 9/10
(5) Community support available – 8/10
(6) Overall appearance – 8/10
(7) Appearance customizability – 10/10
(8) Is there a free LiveCD version: Free Download, or $4.99 for a LiveCD.
(9) Arch Linux has excellent WIFI support, with articles on how to set up multiple chipsets. For people new to computers, this may not be for you Arch Linux is best left to those with a little experience in downloading Linux Distributions. For those looking at a sleek system without the compiling times of Gentoo are invited to give Arch a try!
(10) For download go to www.archlinux.org
(12) For Support go to http://bbs.archlinux.org/ or http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Main_Page both are great places to get help
(13) The IRC community is a knowledgeable and a friendly one and the Arch forums are very active. If a new user understands a little about their hardware, and follows the detailed install guide featured on the Arch website, they should be okay.


Fedora Core 6
On a scale of 1-10
(1) Ease of use – 5/10
(2) Ease of setup – 5/10
(3) Hardware support – 6/10
(4) Stability – 9/10
(5) Community – 9/10
(6) Overall appearance – 7/10
(7) Appearance customizability – 9/10
(8) Is there a free LiveCD version: Free Download, $4.99 for LiveCD
(9) RedHat, the manufacturer of Fedora Core 6, once made one of the best OS’ available. However, RedHat’s desktop OS has become more of a testing ground for their professional line of OS’ and servers. That being the case it is probably best to leave this distribution to developers and Linux power users.
(10) For download go to http://fedora.redhat.com/Download/
(11) For burning the LiveCD go to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Distribution/Download
(12) For Support go to http://forums.fedoraforum.org/
(13) Fedora Core has a very difficult download setup, its appearance is bland and its hardware support is fairly lacking. Overall though, Fedora core is a good OS for corporate and businesses that want a very secure operating system, its just not so good for personal or multimedia uses.


Gentoo
on a scale of 1-10
(1) Ease of use – 2/10
(2) Ease of setup – 3/10
(3) Hardware support – 8/10
(4) Stability – 8/10
(5) Community support available – 8/10
(6) Overall appearance – 8/10
(7) Appearance customizability – 10/10
(8) Is there a free LiveCD version: Free Download
(9) Gentoo is a distribution that compiles everything from source code. This means that to install Gentoo can take much longer than installing another Linux distribution. It is definitely not for those who want a fast install to a GUI desktop. However, if you plan on gaming in your Linux OS, Gentoo is probably one of the best choices out there.
(10) For download go to - http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/where.xml
(11) For instructions on burning the LiveCD go to - http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/2006.1/index.xml and then pick your CPU architecture. (For most it will be X86) BUT the burning instructions are for Linux applications only. So if you're currently running another OS, burn the LiveCD ISO file using applications on your OS, then boot the CD.
(12) For Support go to - http://forums.gentoo.org/
(13) Additional recommendations - Read up on the installation docs. Check out all of the documentation at; http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/index.xml?catid=install and don't forget the Gentoo Wiki for additional reading at http://gentoo-wiki.com/Main_Page
Install on a computer that is NOT critical to you so if you need to, you can delete and start over. Have another computer handy with an Internet connection and follow up with any questions by visiting the Gentoo forums and searching for the problem. If you don't like the forum search function, try searching with Google. If you don't find an answer, then ask on the Gentoo forums.


Mandriva 2007
Ease of use – 8/10
(2) Ease of setup – 7/10
(3) Hardware support – 7/10
(4) Stability 8/10
(5) Community support available – 7/10
(6) Overall appearance – 9/10
(7) Appearance customizability – 9/10
(8) Is there a free LiveCD version: Free Download or $4.99 for the DVD version
(9) Mandriva is a very nice Linux OS that has an integrated XGL desktop (if you do not know what XGL is go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8mhwwYWuUc to find out) there are a variety of Mandriva downloads, ranging from basic one CD installs to more advanced four CD installs. If you are new to Linux stick to the one CD option, though the four CD install is supposed to have slightly better driver support.
(10) For download go to http://www.mandriva.com/download
(11) For instructions on burning the LiveCD go to http://www.pclinuxonline.com/wiki/BurningNero Note: Do to the fact that I could not find any clear instructions on burning the Mandriva ISO, these instructions are for PCLinuxOS. However, the principles for downloading the ISO are the same for Mandriva as they are for PCLinuxOS, so there should be no trouble. If you can find some clear instructions on Burning the Mandriva ISO please PM it to me.
(12) Support http://mandrivausers.org/ or http://forum.club.mandriva.com/index.php?op=En
(13) Though a little difficult for the beginner, Mandriva is a cool OS with a beautiful Desktop. There is a great step-by-step guide for installing and setting up Mandriva, with very detailed instructions hear,
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Mandriva-Linux-2007-Installation-Guide-37819.shtml



OpenSUSE
(1) Ease of Use – 8/10
(2) Ease of Setup – 5/10
(3) Hardware Support – 7/10
(4) Stability – 9/10
(5) Community and Support – 7/10
(6) Overall Appearance – 8/10
(7) Appearance Customization – 7/10
(8) Free LiveCD? Free Download or $4.99 for a Live CD
(9) SUSE is a well-known distribution, and up until recently, was generally well respected by the Linux Community. Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is common for large businesses, and thus openSUSE is a viable alternative to a well-developed distribution. However, I find it to be nowhere near as user-friendly as Ubuntu. The install process is long and reminds me a lot of Windows, except more complicated. It's software package manager, YaST, is nowhere near the fit and finish of Ubuntu's Synaptic Package Manager. It is also reported on the openSUSE website that YaST is typically non-operational on most computers... major strike. Installing nVidia drivers in SUSE is so bad that it requires it's own set of instructions, as seen www.nvidia.com/object/linux_display_ia32_1.0-4496.html. The Gnome Desktop in SUSE is set up to resemble KDE's desktop rather than the standard Genome appearance, and for some reason, I had problems getting themes from www.gnome-look.com to work correctly.
(10) For download go to http://en.opensuse.org/Download
(11) For instructions on burning the DVD and installing, go to http://en.opensuse.org/Download_Instructions
(12) For support, go to http://en.opensuse.org
(13) Do a lot of reading before installing. I do not recommend SUSE to beginners for two reasons. One, in my experiences, it has been very difficult to get setup. And two, it is a derivative of Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise product, and Novell's recent grouping with Microsoft goes against the foundations of Free and Open Source Software (you can find the details hear http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=88416). My advice: stay away from this. And if you must use it, be prepared to read a lot and have to search for hours for answers to your problems.


PCLinuxOS 93a
(1) Ease of use – 7/10
(2) Ease of setup – 8/10
(3) Hardware support – 8/10
(4) Stability – 9/10
(5) Community support available – 8/10
(6) Overall appearance – 9/10
(7) Appearance customizability – 8/10
(8) Is there a free LiveCD? Free Download, or $4.99 for LiveCD
(9) PCLinuxOS has a nice Vista like interface and is Right up there with Ubuntu in ease of the install. PCLinuxOS is a unique distribution as it comes with a version specifically made for gamers. The Gamer version has many of the necessary drivers and a few decent demos (including, but not limited to, Quake4 and Doom3) already installed. For more information on the Gamer version go to http://www.tuxmachines.org/node/6136
Tux machines provides a nice review of the Gamer PCLinuxOS.
(10) For downloading the regular version go to http://www.pclinuxos.com/index.php?option=com_ionfiles&Itemid=28
For the Gamer version http://www.tlm-project.org/public/distributions/pclinuxos/live-cd/
and select the “suppergamer.torrent file”.
(11) How to burn the LiveCD go to http://www.pclinuxonline.com/wiki/BurningNero
(12) For Support go to http://www.pclinuxonline.com/wiki/HomePage
(13) PCLinuxOS is loosely based on Mandriva (another nice Linux OS) and comes with a great user interface. I would highly recommend it to anyone coming from Windows, who wants to give Linux a try. PCLinuxOS is a very user friendly Linux OS and is one of the most polished available.


(K)UBUNTU 6.10/6.06/7.04
(1) Ease of use – 8/10
(2) Ease of setup – 7\10
(3) Hardware support – 8\10
(4) Stability – 9\10
(5) Community support available – 9\10
(6) Overall appearance – 7/10
(7) Appearance customizability – 9/10
(8) Is there a free LiveCD? Free Download and Free LiveCD
(9) Ubuntu is one of the best Linux distributions for someone new to Linux. It offers superb stability, in its 6.06 LTS version, and is one of the easiest Linux distributions to install. Hardware support is very good, and is even better in the 6.10 version.
(10) For download go to http://www.ubuntu.com/products/GetUbuntu/download#lts
(11) For instructions on burning the LiveCD go to https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto
(12) For Support go here http://www.ubuntu.com/support The Ubuntu forums: link and even www.notebookreview.com are great places to get help.
(13) If you are new to Linux please use the instructions as closely as possible. For example you may have CD burning software already but it would be best to use the software they use in the instruction in order to avoid confusion.
Linux Mint
Is Basically Ubuntu 6.10 with video and audio codecs included, It also seems to have slightly better hardware support than 6.10.
http://lt.k1011.nutime.de/index.html
I found a nice review and some good sugestions on running LinuxMint hear:
http://slashroot.blogspot.com/2006/11/linux-mint-review.html


Slackware
(1) Ease of use 7/10
(2) Ease of setup 7\10
(3) Hardware support 8\10
(4) Stability 9\10
(5) Community support available 10\10 - Slackware has some seriously fanatical people using the system that can do things in three lines of text that would take the average user an hour in a GUI. It's like all linux help sources, though. You have to find a good one. IRC has been my best experience.
(6) Overall appearance 8/10 - I still think this is more a rating on the window manager more than anything else. Should be a scale then, I guess...fwm being a 5 to Enlightenment being a 9.
(7) Appearance customizability 10/10
(8) Is there a free LiveCD version: Yes http://www.slax.org/
(9)Slackware is stable, solid, and simple. I can't say more about it. It needs to be looked into if you're considering a *nix install.


*******************************************************
Alternatives and lookalikes to Linux

FreeBSD/PC-BSD
(1) Ease of use 7/10
(2) Ease of setup 7\10
(3) Hardware support 8\10
(4) Stability 9.5\10
(5) Community support available 10\10 - like always, it's where you look, but there are some downright freakishly smart people using BSD.
(6) Overall appearance 8/10 - I don't really get this one considering there are so many window managers that all work with Xorg, but I'll give a guess at 8/10
(7) Appearance customizability 10/10 - same reason as above, it's all customizable.
(8) Is there a free LiveCD version: Yes http://livecd.sourceforge.net/
(9) BSD is one of the "true to unix" systems you can run, for free, on your computer. The ports tree and package system is one of the easiest to use, imo, once you understand how it works. I'll stop there, but BSD is not a *nix version to glance over.


I plan to add the following distros, Knoppix, MEPIS, Freespire, PuppyDog, ****SmallLinux, Solaris and Xandros to the guide as soon as I receive enough info detailed in the Linux fact.
Hope this is helpful,

Cheers!!


Linux chart
The distro's name
based on a scale of 1-10 how would you rate
(1) Ease of use
(2) Ease of setup
(3) Hardware support
(4) Stability
(5) Community support available
(6) Overall appearance
(7) Appearance customizability
(8) Is there a free LiveCD version:
(9) Your comments on the distribution, Please avoid abbreviations (like “distro” so as not to confuse newbies)
(10) For download go to
(11) For instructions on burning the LiveCD go to
(12) For Support go hear to
(13) Additional recommendations


I would also like to have links to video guides on the installation of specific distros. if you can make a video (perhaps on YouTube) and then provide a link that would be a great help.

 

That is great. I use Fedora Core 6 at school all the time, and use to use some older form of unix. At home I have been using Windows for a long time, but have been toying with the idea of installing some form of Linux for fun, and becuase I like some features of it. I think over my winter break it may be one of my goals. Thanks for the guide. It will be most helpful!

 

By the way, if you find any links that do not work PM me and I will fix them as fast as I can.

 

I didn't realize FreeBSD had a LiveCD. I'm kind of interested in trying it out. Just looking for something different than Linux. I've tested pretty much everything else; Windows (all versions including Vista), DOS, Linux, UNIX, Mac OS X. FreeBSD is pretty much all I have left to try at this point.

 

you might try PCBSD first... it's a little bit more oriented towards the desktop, AFAIK

http://www.pcbsd.org/

But if you're looking for the "real" experience, definitely go for FreeBSD.

 

So BSD is a Unix not a linux? Or I should say were as linux is based on or an extension of Unix BSD is the pure unadulterated original?
hey that sounded kinda good, LOL. any way is that correct while I understand that linux is Unix while being different(something I am still trying to understand)
Is BSD a true original Unix? without being called a Linux.

 

Thanks for the link! I think I'll try that out.

 

Basically, yes. FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD are all Unixes (BSD = Berkley Standard Distribution), and run on a different kernel than Linux. Linux is just a kernel.

That being said, both operating systems use the GNU chain of tools, such as GCC, and all the little text utilities and such you see in a shell.

It's not so much as it's "unadulterated", but it's based on the original kernel, and is a slightly different approach to a system. It's very stable (sometimes more so than Linux), but it doesn't support as much hardware, nor as much software as Linux.

The other major difference is the licensing. The BSD license is completely free. You can take the source code and do anything you like with it, including put it in a commercial product and hiding your changes to the code. This is anathema to most Linux developers, and partially why Linux has gotten much more common and more press than BSD in a much shorter time frame of existence.

 

This is exactly why no BSD should be included in a list of Linux distros. It's not Linux, but they're similar enough to confuse people. Linux is a UNIX-like operating system which was written from scratch, whereas all BSD Unices were developed from older Unices. On the surface they may look similar, but underneath they're quite different. So unless we're ready to include IRIX, Solaris and whatever else (so, who wants to write a section on Xenix ), no BSD should be included in a document entitled "A Linux Guide for the Newbie".

 

Hmm, maybe you are right, but I hate to take it out when there seems to be an interest in BSD. I see were you are coming from and perhaps the title should be changed to "a nix guide for the newbie". I will try and make some modifications to the guide so as to make it clear that BSD is not a Linux.

 

I thought this was interesting. Xterasys seems to have good driver support for Linux, I was browsing their wireless driver page and there were actually drivers for Linux. I must admit though that there has been no problems in getting the wireless to work in Ubuntu 6.06LTS so I do not need them but it is interesting all the same.

http://www.xterasys.com/drivers.htm

 

Where is the thread from where the responses were collated by distro ?

 

Not all of the responses were posted in a thread (some were PM to me) but the initial thread is hear: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=88719

 

i heard ubuntu has a dual booting agent...is that correct?

 

Ubuntu (like most distros) will install a new bootloader, GRUB or LILO, to take care of any dual booting. It should automatically detect any previous installations of Linux or Windows and add them to the bootloader.

 

ok, so i dont have to get any software to make a partition? this will be my first time doing a partition and dual booting

 

I'm going to reformat my HD tommorow and I wanted to know if anyone could give me a step-by-step guide to installing ubuntu and making my HD dual booting so that I can have both WinXPpro and Ubuntu on my HD. I have what I think is the Live CD. Is there anything else I should have? What do I need to know before installing?

I'm totally new to the linux/ubuntu scene so I need all the help I can get.

 

http://www.debianadmin.com/kubuntu-610-edgy-eft-step-by-step-installation-with-screenshots.html

 

OK that tells me how to install it. but what's the deal with "Make sure to allocate space for a root partition ("/"), with a minimum size of 2GB and a swap partition of at least 256MB".
Also I may have missed it, but How Do I set up my computer to dual-boot?

 

Basically, you want to make a new partition with enough room to install the OS. Linux likes to divide its stuff up into its own partitions... the root partition is where all the system files go (like the Windows folder for Windows), the swap partition is like Window's cache. You'll also have a Home folder, which is like the Windows My Documents folder.

That being said, you just need to allocate space for the new OS; I suggest at least 10GB, more if you want to install a bunch of apps. Ubuntu will install into the partition and create all the partitions it needs. Also, Ubuntu will also set itself up for a dual-boot situation by installing the GRUB bootloader.

 

Basically the root partition is where the OS is stored and the swap is the cache (a very basic form of ram) 10GB for the root is a good suggestion and 1GB for the swap, If you have 2GB of ram you probably will not need the swap partition.

I suggest that you install XP first and during the installation you should be given the option to partition the HD. That will also let you make the 10GB and 1GB partitions for Linux. If you install XP first Ubuntu will take care of the dual booting when its installed.

 

I partitioned my 160gb HDD into 5 parts using partition magic:
35GB for windows (NTFS)
100gb for sharing media between Linux and Windows (NFTS..I heard there is a driver allowing Linux to read and write NTFS)
6gb for home (ext3)
512mb for swap (ext3)
and 10gb for root (ext)

When I'm trying to install Ubuntu from the cd, I set the partitions for linux respectively, but when I hit forward, it says that there is not root file system chosen. Why doesn't it recognize that I selected the 10GB partition for "/" or root?

 

First off I'd use ext3 because ext is old and may not be properly supported as a root partition. Secondly it's usually better (especially if you're new to linux) to just use partition magic to resize and create your NTFS partitions (although you can also use GParted instead). Then I would just leave the remaining area blank for linux. Allow the distro to configure the space (even if you select the partitions manually.) Also you might want to re-think your choice for a swap drive, first off swap is it's own format instead of ext3, second I'd recommend equaling your installed ram. I'm guessing if you have a 160G HD you've got a newer computer with at least a gig of ram. If you do only have 512 you might want to consider 1 gig anyway.

Hope this helps you out, good luck I'm still trying to get my MSI 16332 running at 100% (wireless is almost there and sound is the next hurdle) I recommend staying away from distros like opensuse and ubuntu that are all about pure open source you'll find them missing alot of key drivers needed for laptops. Check out Mint and Sabayon they seem to contain a good collection of wireless drivers and firmwares which many other distros leave out on account of their "grey market status" and non-oss compliance.

 

What Linux OS is being used by most companies in their work environments? I'm interested in developing my system admin skills so I want to use a a linux OS partnered with centOS. I assume RHEL workstation is a popular choice since FC is not that stable.

thanks.

 

hey, thanks for the reply. Where can I download ubuntu mint?

 

From the Linux Mint Site

http://linuxmint.com/

 

Well, I wouldn't really shun him away from Ubuntu. While Ubuntu is completely free and the kernel is open, it still contains proprietary drivers (such as for wireless) and allows other proprietary driver (such as graphics drivers) to be installed easily. In fact, installing both of these drivers on my laptop is easier in Ubuntu 7.04 than any other OS I've ever used. Ubuntu just warns you that you are using non-free drivers that they cannot support, but it tells you that they're vital for the system to run.

I would say that Novell SuSE Linux is the most widely used commercial Linux out there, simply because several companies will load it by default on their servers and HP even offers it as a choice on some of their business desktops/laptops. This is likely to continue now that Microsoft and Novell have buddied up and agreed to provide support for each other's OS. But Red Hat is not far behind.

 

hi
well im new to ubuntu to tell you the truth i was just wondering if its possible to do a dual boot without reinstalling xp that i already have and does it lso provide the ssame features as xp i did that test and the test told me kubuntu or ubuntu whats the acctual difference and what do you say is best?
please do tel me about driver support
well ive been with windows all my life was just thinking of switching any help if possible please

 

I believe with PartitionMagic or gParted, you can shrink an existing NTFS or FAT32 partition to make room for a Linux install without formatting Windows.

But remember the golden rule of partitioning: Make backups first!

 

hm.....backups any software you say is good?
my c is NTFS so what about drivers for ubuntu.....
and as a user what is your say lysander?

 

I just used explorer to burn all my music and pictures to disk, just incase.

Ubuntu, and other varieties of Linux, generally require less driver installs than Windows XP. If you tell us what wireless card and graphics card you have, we can point you in the right direction.

Don't take my word for it, try it out for yourself. Use a LiveCD to test your hardware and see what it's like without even touching the harddrive.

But, I can say that I like Ubuntu (and Linux) enough to volunteer my time into testing, submitting bug reports and promoting it. Anybody who knows how lazy I am also knows how much I have to like something to be this committed to it.

Good luck on your future Linux endeavours!

 

aah well guess ill just burn all that i need into a dvd i guess well i started downloading ubuntu itll take some time to download as i have a slow connection 256kbits
well ill try using live cd as you suggested and ill see if ill lik it from the screenshots and what other around the forums have told me i might just develop a knack for it ill let you know how it goes lysander
cheers

 

NBR team linux people - and others - what do you think about rewriting this guide including new distros and taking a neutral stance on what's better or not?

 

Because this site is mainly about notebooks, it would be nice to direct the newbies to howto install a distro on their machines, and I find that tuxmobile is one of the first places to look at.
http://tuxmobil.org/mylaptops.html

 

Including new distros is always a great idea, and maybe some of the more biased comments could be removed, but I firmly believe that any changes should be run by and approved by RefinedPower first. This is still his thread and his idea, and a good part of this thread is that they are actual user impressions.

I recommend this site quite often, as it can be quite invaluable.

 

Hey fellows sorry for the long absence (full time job and full time school kinda do that ) But hopefully I can check in a little more. Also If any of the comments are bothersome don't hesitate to PM (or just post the comments for the benefit of all to see) me and I will get right on it soon as I can. And if you think there is something that you would like to be added to the guide just give the link and perhaps a small explanation and I will add that as well.
Hope this answers a few questions.



ahhhhhhhhhhhh good to be back. And its great to see how the Linux forum has grown since I was hear last.

 

I wasn't thinking of stripping the credit from RefinedPower at all. In fact, I was hoping he could do all the work.

I was hoping that you could add in a few more popular distros and edit out the rating systems...distros change pretty quickly, so I don't know how valuable opinions on certain aspects are. It's your move though.

 

The rating system was just meant to be a preliminary helper for very newbies... obviously as you get a little more advanced it is useless. If you would like to suggest something more useful I would definitely be open to it though. Also I will post a blank Linux fact so folks can start PM me their opinions again on some of the popular new distros and updated older ones.

Talk soon

 

Actually I have to agree with previous posts about (K)(X)Ubuntu 7.04. I'm using it now and it's the first distro I've found that the sound works on my MSI 16332 (even with some using newer kernels and versions of ALSA than found in 7.04)

Don't know why, don't know how but it works.

And yes, I do have to agree that installing support for "gray" market software is ALOT better. Out of the box it already adds the universe repository and adding multiverse is relatively simple. Now if they could just improve automatic disk mounting and RW NTFS access (I know NTFS-3G is out there but it's definitely stable enough to be included in the distro.)

Also a note for those of you trying to dual-boot. I've had a few people get their Vista NTFS partitions goofed up by Gparted. I am avoiding vista like the plauge so I don't know if they just goofed up something or if somethings wrong. But I do also know the ones that got hosed were readable and had been installed from the factory with vista.

 

A great resource for comparing distibutions and finding reviews is http://distrowatch.com/

 

I Think Debian Linux Is The Best For Home Users Because You Dont Need To Download Any Packages . And If You Had A Speedy Internet Ubuntu Is The Best After All

 

I use computer for internet only but my ISP sucks,my internet connection is always limited or not connectivity,In Windows I can use 3rd app from my Laptop distributor for easy fix.If not succeed,i can configure Ip by myself or reset modem ADSL manually

I reconsider that any programs like that in Linux, or are the same solution can be useful in Ubuntu

 

im downloading linux mint right now last time i tried downloading Kubuntu something came up and i had to abort the dowload so this time im going for mint
anything pointers on what i should know before and after i copy the ISO file into a CD

 

The only thing I will say is that Linux Mint is older than the current (K)Ubuntu release (based on 6.10 not 7.04) and therefore is not going to have the same hardware detection or features. It does have some nice features of its own though, and I particularly like the Menu (and it would be nice if Ubuntu would adopt something like this to be honest).

The only advice I can give is that you will have problems if you don't have the Intel wifi card, since I know HP likes to use Broadcom cards a lot. You will thus likely have to resort to ndiswrapper. Just let us know if you need help. Also, be prepared to do a little work to get the nVidia drivers installed.

 

theres a new ubuntu release out, 7.04 Feisty Fawn , and another place for support if you wanted to add is ubuntuforums.org i go there all the time and so far they have been able to help with all of my problems.

 

This sucker needs to be updated

 

Very badly......

 

I agree. I think it should be a community maintained list too.

 

Maybe a blog on it?

 

No, but it should be updated, and updated by us (the users).