Which Linux Should I Use??

[jaguar291]

Okay, I've been using Windows for the last five years and now am interested in Linux. Problem is that I've hardly used Linux and don't have much $ to dish out and buy some expensive version. I have a AMD-K6 PIII (300 Mhz) box with 94 MB of RAM, I have 4.0 GB of disk space and am running Windows 98 on it.

Questions-

1. What version of Linux should I get?
2. Can I get free version of Linux that is any good?
3. Should I dual-boot or just have Linux?
4. I have M$ Office and other programs designed for Windows, can I get them for Linux without spending lots of $?


All advice will be helpful!

[avdven]

1) For someone new to Linux, I suggest either Red Hat or Mandrake (I prefer Red Hat)

2) Yes, almost all Linux distributions are free, so if you get a mainstream one, you'll be fine

3) It's up to you... if you only have one computer, I'd recommend dual booting until you are familiar enought with it to be able to do everything you need on Linux.

4) MS Office will run fine with Wine (a program for Linux). If you don't want to buy it, check out Sun StarOffice 5 (still free for download, thought 6 costs money) or openoffice.org

AJ

[gabriel_c]

you can use Slackware or Suse Linux and theirs some programs like Star Office is like office but for Linux and o ther M$ utilities and progs.

[Suspect]

you can download a free copy here www.linuxiso.org or you can go to www.mandrake.com then go to
download section.

[carbonlifeform]

A further question to this:

How well does M$ Office work through Wine? Last
time I checked(a year ago?), Star Office didn't have
all the functions I needed and my Excel-files didn't
translate correctly...

[avdven]

MS Office 2000 works terrific with Wine. I haven't tried XP, though. I actually had some of the same problems (both with StarOffice and OpenOffice) though only with my spreadsheets. And even then, it read nearly all of my spreadsheets except for my gradebooks, which were apparently too complicated for it.

AJ

[smirc]

Okay, I've been using Windows for the last five years and now am interested in Linux. Problem is that I've hardly used Linux and don't have much $ to dish out and buy some expensive version.

Repeat after me, "Linux is free!" Sure you can buy it but why would you want to when you can just download it for free? OK, I concede that some people just can't be bothered downloading the ISOs. Most commercial releases of Linux also include a certain amount of technical support as well as other cool extras that don't come standard with the base install.

I have a AMD-K6 PIII (300 Mhz) box with 94 MB of RAM, I have 4.0 GB of disk space and am running Windows 98 on it.

You are good to go. AMD is not Intel but it's close enough when you're talking about installing Linux. I'm not aware of any major problems with AMD installs though someone with more experience with more AMD/Linux might tell you otherwise.

1. What version of Linux should I get?

Don't get confused between distribution and version. A distribution is something like Redhat, Slackware, Debian, Mandrake or SuSe. There's no best distro. Try a few of them and find one that you like. That's what I did.

When people talk about versions of Linux they usually are talking about the kernel version. You want the latest version of the kernel that you can get to take advantage of any cool new feature and security releases.

2. Can I get free version of Linux that is any good?

Hell yes! You can get all the distro's I mentioned above for free. Google is your friend.

3. Should I dual-boot or just have Linux?

It depends what you want to do. If you're into programming/networking, you've gotta have *nix. If you're into gaming, Windows still offers the most possibilities. If you can't live without either, you want dual boot. At least, that's the way I look at it.

4. I have M$ Office and other programs designed for Windows, can I get them for Linux without spending lots of $?

Hell yes! There are heaps of cool programs from Windows that have been ported to Linux. If you're willing to invest some time, you can find all the software you need (for free).

[preacherman481]

Originally posted here by gabriel_c
you can use Slackware or Suse Linux and theirs some programs like Star Office is like office but for Linux and o ther M$ utilities and progs.

If you are an out and out Linux newbie I would recommend either Mandrake or redhat, and preferably Mandrake. Mandrake 8.2 will automatically partition your drive (but it you are dual booting you will hve to create some free space for it) and configure X Windows and printing. I really wouldn't recommend Slackware as your first distro. With Slackware you would have to configure X windows by yourself, and you may have to recompile the kernel (like I just got through doing) for sound support and some other things. Of course, I've also learned a lot doing it too. As far as dual booting, if you've only got a 4Gig drive, that doesn't sound like much. How much is Windows taking up now?

[fourdc]

Ok, you're new to linux, you'll have lots of questions. Go to half.com and order Redhat Linux unleashed. You'll get a very thick book which will save you having to interpret man pages and you'll know exactly how to install the software which is included in the price of the book.

If you want to buy it new ... amazon.com

Yeah it's "free" but depending on your time "free" might be more expensive.

[digitalgadfly]

1. Distro: I agree that you need Mandrake or RedHat, both great learning distros. but be sure to check the compatibility issues for your box.

2. All free

3. Dual boot for now, even though you are on limited space for a full install with 4 gigs. It is more of a safty net to see if it is what you are looking for and to make sure all the applications you need to run will.

Good luck to you, *nix is a great learning expierence and a well documented one, so research before hand. ~