On 2/9/06, Zak Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Well, I don't really need Linux for any classes (except for the 235 > auto-grader) right now. So it isn't like I can't do my homework or anything, > I just want to learn how to use it. From what I have seen I really like it > and there seems to be a TON more to discover. I am planning on taking 240 in > the summer and from what I have heard it would do me good to know Linux well > when I do, so here I am trying to figure it out. Well, before I wipe > everything clean, I'll ask if anyone else has an opinion on whether I should > try a new distro, if so which? Or if I should stick with FC4, I am pretty > easy to mold right now so if anyone wants to sway me their way or something > this is a good chance.
Well, If you are pretty ambitious, and you want to learn a LOT about how the guts of Linux works, you could try Gentoo. I wouldn't consider myself anywhere close to an advanced Linux user, and I made it through the install instructions okay, and I've learned a lot about how some things work that I didn't know before. If you aren't that ambitious, I think that Ubuntu is a pretty good distro to start on. I had a really good experience with Ubuntu, and never had any real problems. It detected my hardware well, and was extremely stable. Or if you favor KDE over Gnome, Kubuntu is supposed to be pretty nice (since it's basically just normal Ubuntu but with KDE defaults). Suse is supposed to be nice as well. I used a few versions ago and wasn't crazy about some little quirks it had, but they are probably fixed by now. Of the three, Suse or Ubuntu are probably much less of an investment, as they install really fast (especially Ubuntu), while Gentoo doesn't so much. Still, having my computer work overnight compiling stuff, I had a fully functional Gentoo box with X, fluxbox, firefox, gvim, openoffice, and everything I need for my classes (java, ssh/sftp, and so forth) over a weekend. So there you have my tuppence. Whatever you do, good luck and keep us posted... -- Alex Esplin -------------------- BYU Unix Users Group http://uug.byu.edu/ The opinions expressed in this message are the responsibility of their author. They are not endorsed by BYU, the BYU CS Department or BYU-UUG. ___________________________________________________________________ List Info: http://uug.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/newbies
