I haven't been able to make the move from Windows to Linux on my desktop. Which distro would it be easiest to make the move on? I hear a lot about unbuntu, but I have never tried it. I liked to write PHP, so I need an application similar to Dreamweaver. So, which distro has these features?: 1) Really nice looking GUI by default (Gnome/kDE...doesnt matter) 2) Supports wireless without major configuration. Thanks
Personally, I think for the desktop Ubuntu (GNOME), Kubuntu (KDE) or Xubuntu (Xfce4) is a good choice. For a server i prefer Debian Sarge.
What do you need Dreamweaver for for writing PHP??? As desktop I also recommend Ubuntu... I think it has the best hardware recognition... Fedora Core is also nice but I prefere Ubuntu...
I don't really "NEED" Dreamweaver for PHP, it just makes it a lot easier. I was never really satisfied with NVU. I want to put Ubunut on my laptop for school, but I am afraid I won't be able to get the wireless to work. I had a terrible time trying to get it to work on Gentoo, how easy is it to setup after a basic install of Ubuntu?
I didn't have any problems using my wifi pcmcia card with ubuntu... it recognized it straight from the beginning. However it didn't activate and set is as primary (default nic) in the beginning. On windows I first have to install additional software and drivers to get it work... If you want to operate a desktop, download the desktop version
Personally i think Fedora was the best way to go when i first started off, it was fast, not too big and most important, it was reliable.
I'm Debian fan, so I will vote for Ubuntu even I hate its rootsudo An alternative for Nvu is bluefish
For a desktop OS, I'd recommend going with Ubuntu. It's got reasonable features, provides great functionality out-of-the-box and is especially designed for new users to the linux platform. Support is also quite good (for a free OS) Cheers, CGM
Have you looked at PCLinuxOS? Ubuntu is a fine distro, no doubt, but I find PCLinuxOS very easy to install, has an excellent liveCD, and has excellent support on their forums. I would recommend downloading a couple of distros to see how they work on your system and what the interface looks like before installing. Another excellent distro, and debian based, is MEPIS. Again, they have an excellent liveCD to try before you install. It's all good, and getting better!
After being away from the desktop linux scene a few years, and hearing a lot of good things about Ubuntu, I thought I would give it a try. After having problems due to a badly burned CD, the install went pretty flawlessly. Wireless worked (on a Thinkpad T23) right out of the box - which is more than I can say for Windows Vista pre-RC. All of the included packages work great, and synaptics is a great way to install new ones - as long as they are included. My main critique of Ubuntu, along with all of the other linux desktop systems, is that as soon as you move away from the "comfortable" software packages that are included in the distribution, you quickly need to have advanced linux knowledge. In my mind, this is the same problem we had 5 years ago. For advanced users, Ubuntu is a great choice and the best from what I can tell of Desktop linux OSes. A lot of the OS has been "Gui-fied" but as soon as there is an issue you revert back to command line and need to have linux knowledge. As long as you are comfortable with that - Ubuntu is a great OS option.
I use three distributions, Ubuntu at home, Suse 10.1 on my laptop, and SUSE SLED on my company Workstation. They are all good, but at the moment I really like the Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop. I agree with an earlier poster about the Ubuntu sudo root, it does irritate me.
Mepis Linux Yesterday,I've tried Mepis a Linux distro, which is also based on Debian. I was really surprised about Mepis. I want you to know that this is a excellent Linux for the desktop! Mepis comes out with just the software you need, not too much, not too less, just good. You can use the CD as a live cd and if you like it, you can install it as well. Very nice distro, at least as good as (K)ubuntu. I would say, give it a try! Mepis linux is recommended. For more information: http://www.mepis.org/
Personally I like Keep-It-Simple-Stupi-. Distros such as CRUX, archLinux and ive taken a liking to Gentoo. A very good distro to use is openBSD, but then again its my choice and preferences, ive always just liked distros that are secure,simple, customizable and fast. But for the absolute beginner, Ubuntu (or its derivatives) are perfectly fine and getting a copy is a snitch as http://shipit.ubuntu.com will give you disks for free.
I agree, If you like a fast desktop linux with Xfce you can try DreamLinux too. It is based on Morphix/Debian and looks a little like the Apple's GUI. There is even an Apt-get (ICON in the desktop menu, which l like). I've installed it on an old IBM PII and it was really fast! One disadvantage: it is only available in English or Portuguese.
Why dont you just go download a bunch of different Live CD's, burn em, and try it out and see which one you like best? Fedora and SuSe are straightforward...and as far as linux goes...KDE or Gnome will look just about the same on all of them.
