Want to try Linux!- Look here!

[firestorm]

Hey,
Alot of people are turning toward Linux nowadays and I thought I would start this thread to get people up on their feet with Linux. There are ton's of distros out there(different versions...aka-flavors) and you just have to choose which one suits your needs.

Live CD's-
Gentoo, Puppy, and DSL are all live cd's I believe meaning you can use them in your windows section and not even have Linux "touch" your harddrive.

The Big Dogs-
Fedora
Debian
Ubuntu
and others...

If you want to start out with any distro or need help partitioning your HD, installing the OS, or just want to ask some more questions regarding Linux, just ask away!

-firestorm

*will add links to each distro soon as well as adding more*

[dr911]

Hey firestorm.

read this thread: Why not Linux ?

I really do wnat to learn (hands on) about Linux !!

[firestorm]

Hey Dr911,
I've read that post, I figured this thread could be more on questions regarding Linux and actually getting started rather than just discussing. That thread is what got this one started .
Do you have a distro picked out yet or your HD partitioned?

[dr911]

Yea Firestorm......I got "Ubuntu".....the "Live" CD & "Install" CD. No I haven't partitioned my HD yet !!

[firestorm]

I haven't tried Ubuntu but will probly go along for the ride with ya just to see what the hype is about it. Do you have an old IDE drive you can use or are you going to have to partition your only HD. Make sure you back up everything!

[dr911]

Originally Posted by firestorm

I haven't tried Ubuntu but will probly go along for the ride with ya just to see what the hype is about it. Do you have an old IDE drive you can use or are you going to have to partition your only HD. Make sure you back up everything!

Yea.....when I get the nerve to install Linux....I will back up everything.......time to get another HD (external) . I'll PM you firestrom when I do.

I'll PM you firestorm....when I do.

[firestorm]

internals are cheaper but my external is very handy. . I downloaded the iso's for ubuntu last night and also ordered some of the cd's just to see hwo fast they would get here. Might load it up this weekend. If you don't want to deal with the hassle of partitioning yet, do like I did first. I bought a cheap 80 gig IDE HD for like 60 bucks from bestbuy I think and just swapped it out whenever I needed to get back on Windows again. Lot of swapping at first, then i decided to dual boot.

[dr911]

Firestone,
I ordered some CD's too...took 7 weeks for them to arrive. I live in the US !!:eek:

[Lyte]

Howdy!

So, if someone wanted to use Linux and had blank harddrive and no experience... how would you direct them to proceed?? Which "flavor" would you recommend?? Is there one fairly plug and play?

And... where does one go to get a copy of it?? Not a download... but a CD/DVD version.

Thanks!

Lyte

[dr911]

Ok...Lyte & ohter Linux users,
Here is a web site that you can get free CD's of Linux-Ubuntu .No postage.....free !!

Ubuntu is a complete Linux-based operating system, freely available with both community and professional support.

The Ubuntu Distribution aims to produce a single-CD installable operating system that includes everything needed to run a typical desktop or server machine, anywhere in the world. We emphasise three things:

1. Free of Charge. Ubuntu is absolutely free of charge, and will remain that way.

2. Licence Freedom. Ubuntu includes only Free Software applications. You are free to modify or change any aspect of your Ubuntu system.

3. Ease of Use. We aim to make Ubuntu the easiest version of Linux to install and use immediately. We put a lot of effort into making sure that the default configuration is comprehensive but sane, so that you will find your new desktop familiar but not overwhelming.

Ubuntu also includes more software than any other operating system, on its network of software repositories. Once your system is installed you can simply call up a list of all the existing tools out there and choose any of them for immediate installation over the internet.

Link: https://launchpad.net


Also Tonight (3-20-06) on Computer America Radio & chat room (I got this e-mail from them)

Carey is off tonight.

Hour one and two: It's a Linux night with Linux expert and Computer America correspondent Marcel Gagne! Up for discussion tonight in the first hour is what "Free" means in the sense of a free OS. Even when something is free, there are the costs of downloading, the time it takes to install, and so on. However, as Marcel puts it, in the Linux and open
source, people make a point of talking about "free/gratis" vs"free/libre". The whole "free as in beer" vs "free as in freedom" thing. Closely related to the second (free/libre) is the whole Linux and Open Source movement.

Beyond just zealotry, the FOSS movement believes that open standards and open source are vitally important, not just from a moral/ethical reasons, but vital for innovation and for business. The FOSS movement contends that free software can help people who can't afford to pay for expensive hardware (the $100 notebook that Bill Gates mocked last week),
but it can also help business that is currently floundering trying to make money. Linux success stories include Google who runs their entire search technology on Linux clusters (and they've made a tidy sum),Amazon.com (whose clusters also run Linux), and IBM (who just reported$16 billion in Linux business last year).

Linux program....too cool.....check it out !!

Just visit: http://www.computeramerica.com

[firestorm]

Hey lyte,
Dr made a good point on the "free aspect". If downloading a big file is a problem, there are some OS's like Damn Small Linux that can boot from floppies(60 though lol).
To just plug and play, Gentoo and Puppy Linux are both good. They are what are called "live cd's" and don't require any space and run infront of Windows metaphorically.
Personally, if I were going to start out again and had a blank hd, I wouldn't change what I did. You don't want to experiment with every linux distro out there b/c you will only get confused in the long run and the differences come along in the more advanced region.
Get a blank HD, download the cd iso's(4) or the DVD iso(1) of fedora. I use Fedora Core 3 right now, because I am just going to wait until FC5 comes out(this year, betas arealready out). FC4 is good and stable now as well. Load it up and play with it. When ever you run into trouble, right down the problem, swap hd's and ask on a forum(here works ).

As for Ubuntu, I went ahead and downloaded the iso. Will load it up this week when I have time, kinda short on that with baseball this dark everyday. It looks like a very beginner friendly OS and might be a good one for you all to start out on. I still like Fedora though and can't wait to get MythTV up and going!(TiVO for Linux).