Which Linux?

Squonk

Which Linux?

I want to start getting to grips with Linux. Where should I start?

Openesuse, Fedora, Ubuntu etc.

Not from a "recording" angle either, just want to learn something new.

joealien22

I would recommend either Ubuntu or CentOS. I started with Ubuntu and found it quite an easy introduction to Linux.

Ubuntu more as a personal computer operating system I would say.

Warren

Ubuntu is still probably the easiest and slickest to get going with. Fedora is a personal favourite of mine, and you can also try out Puppy Linux for something really tiny and fun to play around with. ?

Warren

By the way, you can also try out a distro called Ubuntu Studio, which is a version that comes with everything bundled to do some recording! Never tried it myself, but looks like a good way to combine some hobbies. 8)

ezietsman

+1 on Ubuntu. You can even try it without installing it, it will boot into ubuntu from the CD (and this doesn't do anything to your computer).

aja

I agree with Ubuntu, but also try Mint - it is ubuntu with all codecs and so on already installed!
http://linuxmint.com/

If you do use ubuntu, go to the software centre and install the restricted extras package - that will give you most of the codecs you need.

A good place to look around is http://distrowatch.com/

The thing I have against Ubuntu is that they are becoming the microsoft of the opensource world. Just keep in mind that the unity interface is not really in line with the general linux experience. Most desktops (like gnome or xfce or cinnamon etc) enhance the overall computing experience, whereas unity is trying to cover many bases such as computing on your TV and smartphone, while using a common interface.

So, if you do not like the interface, try another one! KDE is awesome too...

Almost any Ubuntu or Debian based distro will have awesome software repositories that make it a pleasure to use.

ActionArnie

Got a soft spot for Fedora myself. Not a whole lot of experience with Linux mind you, more of a NetBSD man ?

aja

ActionArnie wrote Got a soft spot for Fedora myself. Not a whole lot of experience with Linux mind you, more of a NetBSD man ?

Oooo your name should be Darth ActionArnie

G-Man

aja wrote I agree with Ubuntu, but also try Mint - it is ubuntu with all codecs and so on already installed!
http://linuxmint.com/

+1 on Mint . I have been using Elyssa as my main office/admin PC for over 3 years and it's a breeze use. (Used to be a huge Suse fan, I use it as the back end on a few of our networks) Don't be afraid of the command line either as it can really save you time especially while updating and installing software. Printers and most hardware get's identified chop chop and you are on your way.

Squonk

Thanks

Quite a hectic thing this Linux. So much to choose from and even the small Linux packages have various versions available, e.g. Puppy.
I like the look of Mint so far, Ubuntu Studio also looks interesting.

NorioDS

I definitely recommend Ubuntu. It's a great and very stable Desktop distro. For servers, Debian stable is brilliant and easy to maintain.