Please Help make a linux guide

The following is a Linux fact LIST I have designed for the purpose of rating Linux distros. I intend to make a linux guide for people interested in trying out Linux but, do to the fact that I do not have the time to try out all of the distros available I would greatly appreciate anyone who has used the distros listed below to fill out the LIST and PM it to me, thanks. By the way if your favorite distro is not listed below feel free to fill a LIST of that distro and PM it to me.
The most recent stable release of the following are needed. This list is hardly an exhaustive list, so please fill out any other distros you would recommend.
feel free to make any comments, additions, changes or recommendation you can think of in this thread. Thanks,

SUSE
Fedora Core
Linspire
Debian
Gentoo
Knoppix
Slackware
DamnSmallLinux
MEPIS
PuppyDog
Redhat
Mandriva 2007

The Following is an example. The LIST is provided below the example.

UBUNTU 6.06 LTS
(1) Ease of use 9/10
(2) Ease of setup 8\10
(3) Hardware support 8\10
(4) Stability 9\10
(5) Community support available 8\10
(6) Overall appearance 7/10
(7) Appearance customizability 9/10
(8) Is there a free LiveCD version: Yes
(9) Ubuntu is one of the best Linux distributions for some one new to Linux. It offers superb stability, in its 6.06 LTS version, and is one of the easiest Linux distributions to install.
(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 hear http://www.ubuntu.com/support The Ubuntu forums 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.


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.

 

It is your first impression of a distro I am looking for, since it will probably be first timers using the guide, your first impression is what they will experience. So if you are totally new to linux, any distro you have installed yourself will be useful info for the guide. comments are not just limited to expert linux users. if you are a beginner or an expert please fill out a LIST and PM it to me. Thanks, any help is appreciated.

 

http://www.linuxquestions.org/reviews/index.php?cat=2
http://distrowatch.com/

 

Thanks for the links I will include them in the guide.

 

Gentoo - http://www.gentoo.org/
On a scale of 1-10
(1) Ease of use - 2 - not easy, but once you learn it, worthwhile.
(2) Ease of setup - 2 - the same comment as with 2.
(3) Hardware support - 8 - There are versions for Intel X86, AMD64, PPC, SPARC, and others. Rarely do I have to compile drivers "outside" of gentoo.
(4) Stability - 8 - once configured correctly, very stable.
(5) Community support available - 8 - very good at http://forums.gentoo.org/
(6) Overall appearance - Gentoo is a highly configurable linux distribution. It doesn't install a default desktop manager, like Gnome or KDE. Once you install your favorite, the overall appearance can be as you like it.
(7) Appearance customizability - the same comments as with 6.
(8) Is there a free LiveCD version: Yes
(9) Your comments on the distribution - 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.
(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 you do NOT need immediate access to. Install can take several hours before you have a GUI desktop you can browse the web from, and 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.

And oh by the way.. I love this distrbution. I have used it on Apple PPC, Toshiba, and Asus, laptops.

 

Thanks Jas, This is great!!!

 

I currently need the LIST filled out for the following distros. If anyone would be willing to fill out a LIST for the these distros, that would be great.


PuppyDog
Freespire
Slackware
DamnSmallLinux

 

I would suggest having a review for Freesprie instead of Linsprie. I don't think anyone wants to pay for Linspire.

 

Thanks for the suggestion I updated. I have been getting some really great responses, Thanks for every ones help. Almost done with the initial guide. Keep up the good work!!!!

 

Well, I just downloaded Freespire, so I can give you a LIST for that as soon as possible. I would go for Slackware, but I just don't have the time right now. I might get around to DSL or Puppy Dog, but finals are coming up, so my time is gonna be pretty occupied before long.

 

Thanks, whatever you can do is appreciated. I will post the guide some time tomorrow and just add distros as I get them.

 

FreeBSD
(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.

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.

 

Thanks, I suppose I meant the overall look of the Distro out of the box but I suppose it could include the window manager. I will copy this to guide right away

 

Here are a couple more distros:
Linux Mint ( http://lt.k1011.nutime.de/index.html) based on Ubuntu 6.10
Elive ( http://www.elivecd.org) Debian based Elightenment distro


Alex

 

Thanks I will include them in the guide.

 

What linux can use a dual core processor?

 

Any of them. You just have to make sure you've installed the proper kernel.

 

Elive and Linux Mint use the core duo fine (Asus A8JS)