Questions from somebody who has never used Linux 7480

On Sun, 12 Nov 2006 06:22:10 -0800, Steve

The question of which distro to use is a FAQ, for which I have written this in the past:

Your question fine tunes the question, by asking which will make it easier for the novice to get started. If you were only wanting a brief introduction, then a LiveCD such as Knoppix is good for that. You might want to try using a LiveCD for a while, but since you have an empty hardware platform ready to accept Linux, then you could skip the intro.

Getting beyond the intro, requires some homework your part. You should pick a distribution from a short list of candidates which you think will meet your needs-goals. Pick a distro based the actual system features, how you intend to use the system, how much homework you want to do, how the project's political philosophy aligns with yours, and how much hand holding you expect. I think it is always a worthy goal to obtain more experience and to emerge more knowledgable than when you began. The definition of "weak," that you alluded to, may refer to the fact that with a lot of distro's the user doesn't gain much "strength," and has no idea of how to fix things when they are broken. I think it is better to understand the fundamentals from the outset, and not skip over them in the name of expediency.

The installation process requires that users have some fundamental knowledge of disks and disk parbreastioning, etc. Perhaps, only enough knowledge to say, "My disk is empty...give me the default setup, please."

Some distributions have fancy setup programs which, when directed, will hide the "nitty-gritty" details from novice users. These are designed to keep them from taking one look and running from GNU-Linux as fast as possible ;-). I guess these interfaces have their place, especially for the newbie, but I prefer to "cut through all the bullpoo" and setup the system the way I like it. One frustration I have found with these "pretty faces", is that they often make it more difficult to find specific setup options that I want. When I need a wrench, just hand me the wrench. I'll do the rest, thanks.

This thread shows how I like to proceed with a new system (there are multiple messages in the thread):

(The above thread discusses Suse. Do to recent events, I would select another distribution for personal political reasons.)

I don't think it is especially wise to select a GNU-Linux distribution based on any one factor, especially a feature like "setup" which if it works right may only be run once per system.

It always helps if you have someone to help you along the way, and who you can ask simple questions. You have found this newsgroup, which is a good resource. Is there a local GNU-Linux user group in your area?

-- If the laborer gets no more than the wages which his employer pays him, he is cheated, he cheats himself. H.D. Thoreau, Life Without Principle