There is no perfect distribution, which is why we have so much choice.
What works for one person will not do for another. We are all
different which is a good thing and have different hardware and
different needs. If there was just one distribution then we would
likely be complaining even more than we do.
SuSE is a good distribution, but not for newbies, IMO. It tries to be,
but it can become very unstable if you install many packages and don't
know what you are doing, due to the way Yast handles dependency
conflicts. It asks, do you want this or that, which is okay as long as
you know what this or that is and how it will affect your system.
Newbies should stick with Ubuntu, Mint, PCLinuxOS, Mandriva or
SimplyMEPIS and once they learn then they can branch out to use
openSuSE or Fedora and even more basic ones like Arch or Gentoo.
Roy
Using Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, 64-bit
Location: Canada
On 25 October 2010 00:22, Ray Drouillard <ray-lists@quixnet.net> wrote:
> I think the thread was starting to get into the 'holy war' area. It's
> the whole 'Ford vs. Chevy' thing in the Linux world. Most of the
> discussion is going somewhat over my head. I understand the concepts
> well enough, but I'm not familiar with the specific programs and all
> their quirks.
>
> As a long time programmer who has started to delve into the Linux world
> about three years ago, all I can really recommend is that you download
> or order the live CD version of whatever distros interest you, and try
> them. Install the one you like. If you like more than one, install
> several. You can keep your Windows installation if you like.
>
> I'm somewhat of a purist by nature, but I have become much more
> pragmatic in my old age. I like my solutions to be elegant inside and
> out, and I like to know what's under the hood. Pragmatically, though, I
> was happy to pop a Linux Mint 5 Elyssa live CD into my computer three
> years ago and let it install itself along side the Windows 98 OS I had
> been using for years. I found it easier to get used to than the Win XP
> system that my brother gave to me a couple years later.
>
> It bugged me that I didn't know how to use the command line interface
> (terminal,) but I didn't let it slow me down because I have had very
> little need to use the MS DOS command line interface in Windows in the
> past few years. I doubt if more than a few percent of the Windows users
> in the world can use the command line interface, and it's OK if most of
> the Linux users are the same way.
>
> Please don't be intimidated by all the discussion of the 'pure' distros.
> I'm glad that they're there, and I'm glad that there are thousands of
> users out there who really like to get under the hood, but there's a lot
> to be said for being to just be able to turn the key and drive.
>
> The two distros that were recommended the most to me as a former non
> Linux user were Suse and Mint. I found out about Ubuntu later. I
> heartily recommend that you try those three and decide what you like. If
> you have an older machine, you might want to try Puppy Linux. My son
> likes using it on an old 500 MHz machine.
>
> By the way, I use Linux Mint (I just upgraded to v. 10 Julia) for almost
> everything, and I have Ubuntu ArtistX installed so that I can try a
> whole bunch of different video editing software. I have played with
> Suse, but not long enough to get familiar with it.
>
>
> Ray Drouillard
>
>
>
> On 10/24/2010 08:48 AM, papasmurf wrote:
>>
>> HI FOLKS:
>> Am TOTAL Newbie/long-retired senior. Shopping around for good used
>> desktop I can afford, so wife can do her photo files of kids/
>> grandkids/surf net and I can install Linux on other and expand my
>> horizons[had XP for yrs; comfortable with...no surprises, have good
>> security program]. HATE IE 7 with a Passion! NOT interested in Windows
>> 7, as MS is rich and greedy enough; has been for years and am sure the
>> Good Lord will some day level the playing field.
>> Linux intrigues me, so started reading and learning more about it.
>> Followed this Top Five Mistakes thread closly. Found it interesting,
>> even though, most of the time, your're talking WAY over my head. One
>> thing I did notice: No mention was made of Mepis-Linux; Good or Bad.
>> Stumbled upon their website awhile back; am considering this as my
>> desktop choice, when ready to 'make the plunge'.
>> NOT intending to start another 'flame war' here; just expressing my
>> own personal opinion....which I notice just about EVERY Linux user
>> does very often[Exercising Free Will and Opinions are like butts:
>> Everybody HAS one, ROFL!]. TTFN.....Old Tom aka papasmurf in NH
>>
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> To unsubscribe from this list, please email LINUX_Newbies-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com & you will be removed.Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
No comments:
Post a Comment