If you want to know what distro is best for you, click here

[ArcticFox]

It'd be great if the mods made this a sticky.....

Many a thread has been started about what Linux distro to use. And the answer will usually be the same: Mandrake. Everyone has their favourites though, but Mandrake seems to be the most popular.

I like RedHat myself, even though I don't use Linux at the moment, but then again I'm a dork and like it when distros find all my hardware automatically and include cool screensavers.

If you want to know the best place to get ISO's, www.linuxiso.org can help. Also, check the homepage if the distro in question.

Recap of most common distributions:
---------------

Knoppix: Runs soley from the CD and you can't save documents.
Mandrake: Extremely popular, easy to use, comes with lots of software
RedHat: Now costs money, meant for corporate users and servers
The Fedora Project: Started by ex-RedHat employees. Similar to RH, but free
Debian: A lot of CD's, good reliability (I've never used it though)
Slackware: Not the best for newbies, many things are done through the CLI.
SuSE: Another great, easy-to-use distro. Downloading process is strange
--------------

Browse around LinuxISO.org and take a peek at what you might like. If you are just starting out, Mandrake is the way to go. You can find it at www.mandrake-linux.com . Just remember, Linux is free so try them all out, it only takes time (and CD-Rs). http://www.justlinux.com/ has a forum where you can get help, but so does TechIMO.

I'll be adding more things to this thread when they come up.
Hope it helps!

[krohnjw]

Ok, well I have to contest a bit of the information you have posted


1.) Knoppix can save to the Hard drive along with be installed on a hard drive.

2.) Debian does not need any more than one CD to isntall, the rest is gathered via apt. It can also be installed via a netinstall requiring less than an 80mb initial download. Or you can download about 8 CDs for every package known to man.

3.) Slackware is not an ignored distro, it is a very secure and stable distro, similar to the standard debian (now woody) install. It does however lack a web based package updater, making keeping the system current a task requiring staying current and manually downloading packages. It also lacks the neat little GUI tools and scripts for doing system administration. Requiring more of a knowledge of the file system and structure, roughly the same for Debian.

4.) Suse has an ftp download process as ISO's of Suse are not free, they require purchase.

Suse, Mandrake, and Fedora will all come with GUI tools and scripts to help you make system changes and configure your system. Red Hat is now only offering Enterprise solutions and is no longer targeting the Home desktop, discontinuing all errata support for desktop users.

All of these distros will "come with lots of software". The extra Debian CD's contain more packages aside from the many that come on the full CD, and apt provides easy access to any more.

Almost all of these distros also offer Live Eval CD's (ala knoppix) Knoppix is debian based, Mandrake now has a Mandrake Live Eval CD, Suse has a eval CD, and so does Slackware.

[ArcticFox]

Good points - I do like that about Linux that it includes most everything you need to get stuff done. I was just pointing out that Debian comes with a lot of extra extras.

And Slackware - not everyone likes it, as it isn't as easy to use when compared to Mandrake, even the installer isn't as pretty. I downloaded it and tried to install it on a PC a while back, but I don't remember it working (it was an eMachines though, so ignore that).

[willy_ph]

If you want to be different, but not board the Linux bandwagon, you could always try the BSD family, a Unix derivative. I'm a big fan of FreeBSD. The install process is similar to the Slack and Debian installations and in some regards, easier.

Unlike linux, FreeBSD uses slices instead of partitions. Slicing a drive is easy and straight-forward. (IMO)

Additionally, many of the programs available for linux have been ported to the Unix platform. One nice thing about FreeBSD is the extensive ports tree. Installing programs is as simple as navigating to the directory of the program you want to install and typing "Make Install Clean" The ported collection includes web browsers, servers, networking utilities, desktop managers and more.

Finally, FreeBSD has one of the most extensive documentation sources I've seen. The FreeBSD handbook explains many of the associated commands, as well as provides a number of walkthroughs to guide the new user.

[ArcticFox]

Interesting, I'll probably give it a shot if I find myself with an extra machine (as I should, I think it's now 7 junkers that are stacked around my room).

[crouse]

Here are the results of a poll on USALUG on :

"What is your favorite distro?"

http://usalug.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1602

Mandrake 19%
Slackware 19%
SuSE 15%
Fedora 15%
Debian 11%
Gentoo 7%
Redhat 3%
Knoppix 3%
Other 3%

Not super scientific or anything, but like krohnjw said, alot of people use slackware.

[omalleytrading]

Interesting poll results, thought not very scientific. 26 responses hardly make a good population set.

[Messiah89]

I run RedHat 9 on my secondary PC.
Not a bad OS.

[DanGrease]

Redhat only got 3%? That's not usual, since its one of the best known Linux distro around, and many people like it. Infact its my favorite distro. Mandrake in first place, that didnt surprise me at all, very nice distro too. Interesting poll though.

dan

[jman01pa]

That poll is not very good. It only has 26 votes.