I would like to try Linux

Hi all,
It's not that I'm not happy with OS X, in fact I love it. But, curiosity has gotten the best of me and I think I would like to sample Linux, as perhaps a virtualization or maybe even boot camp (if boot camp is compatible with it) but I think virtualization is the way I want to run.

Herein lies my problem, Google shows numerous versions available and truthfully I have no idea which one would be the best for a *beginner* to play with.

Belive me, I do not want to start any sort of flame war over which Linux is better or why OS X is better or anything like that, I only want to know which Linux distro would be the best to play around with.

Thanks,


Shawn

If you mean all the different Linux Distros, Ubuntu is great for first time and even seasoned Linux people. Very easy to install and get going. Usually works right out of the install. Open Suse is another distro that has done well by me.

Ubuntu is great to start out with. There are a few I like better, but Ubuntu is a great way to get one's feet wet. Download Virtual Box and Ubuntu ISOs and you should be running Linux by the day's end. Have fun and good luck.

Ubuntu has been really easy to deal with and configure. It uses the Apt package management system from debian so it is much easier to get programs installed. Plus it seems most of the help out on the web is for the Ubuntu. I've switched to it after using RPM based distros and find the install of software much easier. I had tried straight debian but Ubuntu puts a nice shell around it all.

Secondly - if you want to see what is out there - a lot of Free Open Source Software is available for the Mac. I use macports to get a lot of stuff.
The MacPorts Project -- Home
It is another way to dip your toe in the water without having to deal with an entire OS. You will need to install the Xcode tools and X11 to take advantage.

Plus one for Ubuntu, and also for installing it in a virtual machine. Very efficient on memory, ideal for a VM. VirtualBox is free also (have not used it for Ubuntu personally however, I use Fusion). But the free/free combo is pretty hard to beat. I think that the Ubuntu interface is pretty easy and won't require as much time on the command line as some other flavors, so I agree it's a great starting point. I really like it personally. Comes with a lot of software (including OpenOffice and media player) as well. You can download the ISO (warning: long file, can take over an hour even with a reasonably high speed connection) or order the free installation disk. If you download, given the size and length be advised that occasionally if there are any glitches in the connection, the ISO can get corrupted and the install may fail. I had to download it a couple times to get a clean ISO but the installation itself was a breeze. Idiot-proof, really.

Have fun!

SammySlim said:

I think that the Ubuntu interface is pretty easy and won't require as much time on the command line as some other flavors, so I agree it's a great starting point.

Click to expand...

It uses the same desktop as the default in Fedora, openSUSE (if you get the GNOME version) and Debian so there is considerable consistency across distributions in terms of interface. There are of course differences but for the most part, they are all quite similar. You can avoid the command line in all of the aforementioned if you wanted to do so as well.

Although I think Ubuntu is a great choice, I'm going to throw my support behind openSUSE. It's easy to setup and extraordinarily easy to configure (some may call YaST bloated but it's fantastic). Your best bet though is to just try a few since they are generally free. If you want a good sense of the popular ones, take a the "Page Hit Ranking" on DistroWatch. It is not scientific in terms of determining popularity but it will give you a good sense of what generates the most interest.

I am with Van on Open Suse. Great distro and I also love Yast.

One way to test Linux distros is get the Live CD and try it on your machine. That way you don't need to format or install but can see if all your hardware works with a given distro out of the box.

Open Suse though is usually my first choice except for my strange Compaq AMD 64 Notebook with strange Windows Only Broadcom WiFi chipset that people could not get to work even with an NDIS wrapper. Ubuntu asks to download and install a new driver that works great and finally gives me WiFi. Am looking for the driver for Open Suse though and will go back to it when I find it.

Give a few Live CD's a try and see which works for you.

What I do with my Intel Macs is just insert the Live CD and reboot holding down the C key. It will boot right into the CD and you can test drive it.

dtravis7 said:

What I do with my Intel Macs is just insert the Live CD and reboot holding down the C key. It will boot right into the CD and you can test drive it.

Click to expand...

You can event test live cds in a VM if you so choose. This saves you from having to reboot but it will be slower.

vansmith said:

It uses the same desktop as the default in Fedora, openSUSE (if you get the GNOME version) and Debian so there is considerable consistency across distributions in terms of interface. There are of course differences but for the most part, they are all quite similar. You can avoid the command line in all of the aforementioned if you wanted to do so as well.

Although I think Ubuntu is a great choice, I'm going to throw my support behind openSUSE. It's easy to setup and extraordinarily easy to configure (some may call YaST bloated but it's fantastic). Your best bet though is to just try a few since they are generally free. If you want a good sense of the popular ones, take a the "Page Hit Ranking" on DistroWatch. It is not scientific in terms of determining popularity but it will give you a good sense of what generates the most interest.

Click to expand...

OpenSUSE and Ubuntu are great.

I've also tried DSL (**** Small Linux) for my netbook, but for virtualization, Ubuntu and OpenSUSE are great.

(They also make great alternatives to Windows, but I won't say that for Mac OS X anytime soon! )

SammySlim said:

(warning: long file, can take over an hour even with a reasonably high speed connection)

Click to expand...

Haha, I figured that out, it's been downloading since the second person recommended it, that was yesterday, when I left for work this morning it was at around 70%

I'm in Afghanistan and the internet is SLLLLOOOOWWW

Shawn

Great question and even better info. Cheers fellas!

[I'm in Afghanistan and the internet is SLLLLOOOOWWW

Shawn[/QUOTE]

Shawn, brother, take care of yourself over there and stay safe. All of us here in the States really appreciate what you're doing over there. I assume you're in or connected with the US military or other government service. Thanks for putting yourself on the line for the rest of us. Glad we could help you find some enjoyment with your Mac and a new OS! It's not much but glad we could do something for you.

And if you're not in the service, stay safe anyway!

Cheers

Depending in the distribution you get, yes, the image can be quite large if you have a slow connection. One thing to consider as well is that if you get an "older" distribution such as Ubuntu 10.04 (the next version comes out on the 10th of October I believe), there may be quite a few updates so you'll be spending quite some time getting those as well.

Consider checking out debian then. Their installer is 40mb.
Debian -- Network install from a minimal CD
It takes more work but then you only download what you need. So if you want to try it grab the bare minimum, then install as necessary.

As suggested DSL is also my favorite for a small usable install.
http://www.****smalllinux.org/
replace the stars with the censored version of darn