Best Linux for beginners
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Steven_Rosenber Jun 18, 2009 8:58 PM EDT |
I thought this was a nice reasonable post. Briefly, the guy says the easiest is Mint, followed by Ubuntu. In the comments, somebody suggested Puppy, and I would second that, if only because its a distro that is designed to be used as a live CD, can save your Linux files in the pup_save file on an ntfs partition, and other than dropping that save file won't do anything to your Windows installation. I cut my Linux teeth, as it were, with Puppy, and while I don't use it as much today (I prefer a "big-kid" distro like Ubuntu, Debian, OpenBSD, Slackware, Fedora, etc.), it's still a great way to get acquainted with a FOSS environment and many of the applications you'll find across the FOSS spectrum. That said, if you're ready to do a full install (and have a machine on which to do it), I do recommend Ubuntu, both for the free support available from the community as well as the relative plethora of books available that show desktop users how to get things done in the distro. |
| tracyanne Jun 18, 2009 9:28 PM EDT |
You should probably put Mandriva and PCLinuxOS in there, either very close to Ubuntu or at the same level. My only issue with Mandriva is KDE4, I've tried it with GNOME and it's still the ame old Mandriva, the only reason for not going back is that there seems no point in replacing Ubuntu, after gointo the trouble of installing it. |
| Steven_Rosenber Jun 18, 2009 9:36 PM EDT |
tracyanne, I agree with you on both of those. I had a very good experience back when I ran PCLinuxOS 2007. My hardware at the time liked it very much ... |
| azerthoth Jun 18, 2009 11:33 PM EDT |
I would put Mandriva ahead of *buntus by leaps and bounds as the easiest new user distro. I also tend to have an issue with best new user distros (plural) that only review variations of the same distro, like somehow a new DE or a handful of customizations can some how make a horse into unicorn. |
| caitlyn Jun 18, 2009 11:40 PM EDT |
Yep. It takes a horn implant and white dye to make a unicorn |
| caitlyn Jun 18, 2009 11:46 PM EDT |
The problem I have right now is the fact that all the leading edge (bleeding edge?) distros are using the new X.org with crappy Intel drivers that are half baked and problems with other chipsets (mainly older ones) as well. Normally Mandriva would be my first chocie too but this last release had too many weird little bugs and all the video issues on top of it. Ubuntu Jaunty out of the virtual box is not better and neither is Fedora 11. Newcomers are going to get frustrated for sure. I have no clue what I'd recommend right now. If Wolvix 2.0 final ends up as easy to use as 1.1 was that may end up being my choice for now as strange as that seems. |
| Steven_Rosenber Jun 19, 2009 12:34 AM EDT |
@caitlyn Xorg is indeed screwing my Intel chipsets. I went from perfect X in OpenBSD 4.4 with no xorg.conf to config hell followed by segmentation faults in 4.5. I had to abandon the OS on my main laptop. And yes, Theo, he of OpenBSD guru fame, has acknowledged that Xorg is trouble with a capital X. The whole issue is prompting me to hang onto Ubuntu 8.04, which has perfect X with two Intel-based laptops ... And I can't wait for Wolvix 2 -- I'm a huge Wolvix 1.1.0 fan. |
| jdixon Jun 19, 2009 12:41 AM EDT |
> You should probably put Mandriva and PCLinuxOS in there Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, and Mepis. |
| caitlyn Jun 19, 2009 12:56 AM EDT |
LTS works well. So does Debris Linux 1.70, which is cut down 8.04 without the cruft. It's a nice base to build on. ...but yeah, the Slackware based distros are still at X.org 1.4.2 to avoid all the Intel/nVidia/ATI/SiS nonsense in the more recent versions. Smart move. I don't know if they've managed to backport any support for leading edge graphics chipsets, though. CentOS/Red Hat also still use the older X.org |
| bigg Jun 19, 2009 6:43 AM EDT |
I just recently set up a computer for my mother and put Mint on it, so for her, Mint is apparently my choice as a best distro for beginners. If I were to be the one doing maintenance, I'd use Slackware, as it has fewer bugs than anything else I've tried (as noted, for example, conservative decisions about adopting new technologies). I did consider that for my mother and then doing maintenance myself remotely, but she didn't have broadband at that time, and may get rid of it in the future so I went with Mint. Why Ubuntu and Mandriva try to be cutting edge is beyond me, if they want to be suitable for new users. |
| Erlik Jun 19, 2009 9:26 AM EDT |
Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, and Mepis could indeed have been included in the list, but they were not for several reasons. The first was that I didn't want to confuse the users by presenting distribution that had different roots. Don't get me wrong, I love the variety of Linux distributions available out there, but for a new user this can be disconcerting, so I choose to limit the scope to Distribution based on a Debian root. The second reason is that I wanted to limit the choice to 2 or at most 3 distributions. Again for users out of the Windows world where you have the choice between Home or Professional too many options are probably not a good idea, it will confuse people. There will be time later when the user is converted to Linux to tell them about all the other great distros. Finally what I wanted to present was one distro that was more community based and one that was backed by a relatively large corporation. In the Debian world Mint and Ubuntu seemed to fit the bill well. One of the main assets of Linux is diversity: a lot of distributions, a lot of freedom, a lot of choices. This means that it is very easy for users out of the Windows world to get lost amongst all those choices, so I have the difficult task of first limiting the options to which the new users are exposed. In a second phase when the user is comfortable with Linux it will be time to show him all the possibilities of Linux. |
| jdixon Jun 19, 2009 9:37 AM EDT |
> so I choose to limit the scope to Distribution based on a Debian root. Mepis IS based on Debian. |
| Bob_Robertson Jun 19, 2009 11:22 AM EDT |
Is there a reason, if it must be Debian based, to not just install Debian Lenny? If the automagical install doesn't get it all correct, then it's easy to just use something else. |
| helios Jun 19, 2009 11:22 AM EDT |
I don't know folks...I am running 9.04 on 3 machines and every one of them have stopped responding to ctl alt del and ctl alt bsp. They have all been upgraded to the present stable state so I am guessing the last upgrade broke something. Also, I have lost any right click menus in Gmail but I cannot hang that on Ubuntu, it's more than appearing to be a firefox problem. I keep my new users in the debian camp when at all possible and I have to say, I have had the least trouble by far with Mepis. Rock solid and as responsive as the day I installed it. Today, with the advances in the Kernel, I am getting close to saying they are all about the same, but after 3 and 6 month check-backs with my kids, it is the Mepis installs that are completely problem-free. that says a lot for Warren and his efforts...and the community has been far nicer to my kids than any other. This is all emperical stuff folks, I'm not making any personal preference statements here. Just data based on performance over a 6 month period. h |
| rijelkentaurus Jun 19, 2009 11:42 AM EDT |
Didn't the latest Ubuntu & Mandriva disable CTL-ALT-BACKSPACE? You have to manually reenable it. |
| Sander_Marechal Jun 19, 2009 11:44 AM EDT |
I believe rijelkentaurus is right. The three finger salute for X has been disabled by default. Too many new users hitting it by accident. |
| Bob_Robertson Jun 19, 2009 11:47 AM EDT |
Helios, Debian-users mailing list is saying the same thing, the Unstable branch seems to have lost c-a-bs, didn't know about c-a-d. Re-enabling in xorg.conf hasn't been successful either. Something is up with the more recent Xorg and/or 2.6.30. At least, interesting times. |
| helios Jun 19, 2009 1:39 PM EDT |
Yeah, that's the first thing I tried was re-enabling it in xorg but no joy there...I dunno...the latest Xorg has been the org from he** h |
| caitlyn Jun 19, 2009 2:15 PM EDT |
Quoting:I am running 9.04 on 3 machines and every one of them have stopped responding to ctl alt del and ctl alt bsp. That's a "feature" of the latest X.org. Personally I am really beginning to believe that cutting edge distros (Mandriva, Fedora, Ubuntu) are not the best option for newcomers or really anyone else. The latest X.org is part of the reason but it is a feeling I've had for a long time. I don't necessarily believe that Debian-based is best for newcomers either. Before the latest X fiasco I would definitley have put Mandriva ahead. |
| nicsmr Jun 19, 2009 4:01 PM EDT |
Tried n true for me... Simply Mepis all the way. But when Mepis went with Ubuntu as a base, I used Debian (net install) but by then I was a slightly more experienced user. |
| hkwint Jun 19, 2009 6:51 PM EDT |
MEPIS was not bad probably, but the first thing I wanted to do was installing VMWare workstation. In Gentoo, 1 simple command, manual download (true: Bit hard to find) + wizzard (hitting enter a few times). In MEPIS, I had to follow a whole freakin' tutorial ('it's not in the default-repository' excuse - lame) and edit config files by hand (HowToForge assumed vi): http://www.howtoforge.com/debian_etch_vmware_server_howto I truly hope that's the anecdotal exception. But they could learn from Gentoo and BSD when it comes to the usage of ports for painless installing of non-free software (VMPlayer not a problem it seems) though. |
| nicsmr Jun 19, 2009 7:07 PM EDT |
@hkwint... Funny I had no problems installing VMware. Now intalling flash was a hair puller (almost as good as kids). |
| hkwint Jun 19, 2009 7:10 PM EDT |
Depends what VMWare you install I guess: Workstation and server are quite problematic on Gentoo too, though simpler than on almost anything Debian based. Player is easy, and what I use nowadays after I created my virtual machine with the Workstation. Probably the conclusion is that installing Free Software is easier than installing Proprietary software; but ports-like systems make it easier to install the latter than apt-like systems. |
| gus3 Jun 19, 2009 8:04 PM EDT |
I cut my teeth on Slackware, near the end of the 1.2 kernel days. My teeth are now fangs. Slackware is a beginner's distro, if the beginner is a masochist. Like me. |
| jdixon Jun 19, 2009 8:13 PM EDT |
> Slackware is a beginner's distro, if the beginner is a masochist. Cheerfully stolen. :) |
| caitlyn Jun 19, 2009 8:26 PM EDT |
Quoting:Slackware is a beginner's distro, if the beginner is a masochist. Like me. I've seen the same said about Arch Linux. |
| gus3 Jun 19, 2009 9:29 PM EDT |
@jdixon: I request that you somehow include the point about teeth cut on Slackware becoming fangs. As the saying goes: When you learn Red Hat, you know Red Hat. When you learn Slackware, you know Unix. |
| caitlyn Jun 19, 2009 9:31 PM EDT |
Quoting:When you learn Red Hat, you know Red Hat. When you learn Slackware, you know Unix. Slackware fans say that, yes. It simply isn't true. First, Slackware isn't UNIX. Second, if you go through Red Hat certification to the RHCE level and work with it professionally on a daily basis you will certainly learn how Linux works under the hood. I have read a lot of what I would call Slackware elitism or snobbery. Your statement is a prime example. |
| hkwint Jun 19, 2009 10:33 PM EDT |
Quoting:First, Slackware isn't UNIX. Slackware was the first Linux I used IIRC, after I came from BSD. Had lots of troubles finding my way around, everything was at another place. Not to speak of the useless mess that /etc/rc.conf was (could have been Gentoo as well, not sure). I ditched Slack after a day and went 'happily' back to FreeBSD, trying to compile OOo from scratch. |
| nicsmr Jun 19, 2009 11:28 PM EDT |
@hkwint... Sorry but I made a mistake. It was VIRTUALBOX that installed with no problems and easily. Flash was a bu**er to get going. Also I was the first to install Slackware at work. 25 disks worth. A heck of an ordeal. Also had to recompile for token ring network. |
| gus3 Jun 20, 2009 8:56 AM EDT |
Quoting:I have read a lot of what I would call Slackware elitism or snobbery. Your statement is a prime example.They say the best humor is based on truth, and I am laughing. Still, I do see that the steep learning curve of Slackware prepared me better for other *n?x admin tasks than I would have had from other Linux systems of the time, that is, twelve years ago. The RHCE program was begun later. Things do change over time, so it isn't difficult to grant your point. @hkwint: Huh? Slackware has never had /etc/rc.conf. Perhaps you mean /etc/rc.d/ ? |
| hkwint Jun 20, 2009 10:53 AM EDT |
Quoting:Huh? Slackware has never had /etc/rc.conf Here, that's exactly why if you worked with BSD (UNIX maybe too?) you have problems using Linux - like Slackware. |
| gus3 Jun 20, 2009 11:18 AM EDT |
@hkwint: It can't be a "useless mess" (your description) if it doesn't exist. |
| TxtEdMacs Jun 20, 2009 11:57 AM EDT |
Answer: "Slackware!!! What's the question? Answer: Anything that ails you. YBT |
| hkwint Jun 20, 2009 5:04 PM EDT |
Quoting:It can't be a "useless mess" (your description) if it doesn't exist. True. Still it can be a bit of a problem when migrating. But those who migrate to Linux from BSD are probably not what's being referred to when asking 'Best Linux for beginners' anyway. |
| donadony3 Jun 20, 2009 5:29 PM EDT |
Within my experience with Linux, the most simple Linux distribution for beginners is Mandriva or PClinux , with these 2 no need to the terminal at alll, for linuxMint is good one but still early to say that is good for beginners for Ubuntu i think that after 2 or 3 moths with Mandriva a person can switch because will be a little bit familiar with linux. For that post of better linux distribution for beginners was not reasonable at all |
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