which distro?

[yourgod17]

Hi. Im pretty new to linux. I've tried both Mandrake 8 and Red hat 7.1 and didnt really like either of them. So, what other distros would you recommend? thanx

[KarlOldman]

Try SuSe, I think it comes with quite a bit of software. http://www.suselinux.com

[danrees]

What didn't you like about them? This might help people suggest another distribution.

The main ones suitable for newbies are:
RedHat Mandrake SuSE Caldera

You are really better sticking to one of these until you have a bit of experience behind you (doesn't necessarily have to be a lot, but just a familiarility with Linux). Then you might consider Debian or Slackware, but these can be quite tricky for newbies to setup initially.

Bear in mind that you can configure your Linux system in whichever way you please. If you don't like the default KDE desktop, try GNOME - I much prefer it, and I know others do (KDE can get bloated at times). There's also Window Maker, IceWM, FVWM etc.

[bdg1983]

I've been using Caldera for a couple of years now and I'm very impressed with their new OpenLinux Workstation 3.1 which comes with the 2.4.2 kernel, X4.03 and KDE 2.1.

Since then, I've upgrade to 2.4.9, X4.1 and KDE 2.2.

Of course it all depends on the individual's taste and their hardware. Someone could suggest Mandrake 8.0 as it works great on THEIR pc with all hardware being detected and everything working after the initial install.

You go and try Mandrake 8 and have nothing but problem after problem trying to get it installed and working properly.

I would suggest you take a note of all the hardware you have which you want to get working in Linux and sit down in front of your browser and do some research at the distros websites looking at the HCL and included software and versions.

Don't just stop there. Use the search engines or visit user groups to see what problems you can expect with others that have similar hardware as yours.

Did you also want to know what color of car I think you should get next? ;) ;) ;)

[yourgod17]

yeah I wanted to try suse, but there isnt a place to download it, is there? (not the evaluation thing (which I wasted a CD-R on) but a real version of it)

[bdg1983]

From what I've heard, you either have to purchase the retail package of SuSE or download the individual files and build your system from them.

This only applies to the Intel (i386 etc.) versions of SuSE.

If you like SuSE and you can find the retail package or order it, then why not do so. I always try to purchase the distro I use as we all have to do what we can to keep all the Linux distrobution companies in business. Still a lot cheaper than Windows and look at all the software that's included plus what else you can download and install yourself.

To get all the included software for a Windows based system, it would cost you thousands of dollars.

[inktoast]

try progeny debian, its debian with a graphical instalation. Its a peice of cake to install and set up with the power of debian. not shure if you can download it but you proably can i just bought the cd's from linuxcentral.com....