[NTLUG:Discuss] What is the Best Linux & Why?

[Cameron, Thomas]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: discuss-bounces at ntlug.org [mailto:discuss-bounces at ntlug.org]On
> Behalf Of Ralph Miller
> Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2004 11:18 AM
> To: discuss at ntlug.org
> Subject: [NTLUG:Discuss] What is the Best Linux & Why?
> 
> 
> For over five years, I have used several versions of Red Hat 
> Linux and now have 9.0.  I have installed them many times 
> only for myself as a single user and now feel quite 
> comfortable doing so.  Still I do almost nothing useful such 
> as compiling C programs I have written, but am getting close. 
>  Do use X graphics for documents and spreadsheets for routine 
> things.  Never contact Red Hat for help.  Occasionally update.
>  
> At the NTLUG meetings, I hear lots of opinions about which 
> release they prefer.  There seems to be some (or a lot of) 
> emotion involved - "My way is best!"  I hear a lot of Red Hat 
> put down, but mine seems to do what I want it to.  I may be a 
> perpetual Newbie.
>  
> Still, with the changes at Red Hat, I wonder what to do next, 
> if anything.  I am not sure how Debian or Suse or others 
> would work and appear on my screen compared with RH9.  Would 
> I have months of learning another version?  Clearly most in 
> NTLUG are far ahead of me.  I am retired, so being competent 
> in Linux is not as important as it is to you who make a 
> living with it.  I would like to do more, though.
>  
> It seems I have spent years beginning to use Linux, so go 
> back to Win98, or now WinXP, to do things that must be done.  
> Surely I am not the only one like this.  That beginning 
> hurdle never seems to go away.
>  
> Please comment on this if you have an opinion.  Do please 
> keep the responses to a few short paragraphs.
>  
> Thank you,
>  
> Ralph M

Obviously, I use Red Hat in my business and I enjoy it tremendously.

However, I started on Slackware and I absolutely love it for its simplicity.  I think Slackware is easier to learn as the initialization scripts are more linear than Red Hat and its derivatives.  

For keeping up with the latest and greatest versions of software (like your office suite and graphics card support), Fedora is very cool and it has a huge community from which you can ask for help.

If you are a true-blue Free Software person, the Debian project is built from 100% Free Software.  Debian makes keeping your software up to date incredibly easy using apt (although Fedora can use apt as well).

I am afraid I am ignorant of SUSE - I have never had the opportunity to use it.  I know several die-hard SUSE fans and the thing I hear most about it is that it is a stereotypical "German engineered product."  In other words, it is solid as a rock and well designed and implemented.

Since you are retired and presumably have the luxury of plenty of free time, I would suggest you install several distros and see what you like the best.  One of the coolest things about our community is that we have lots of choices and it really doesn't cost anything but your time to test different versions.

Let us know what you find, and what you decide.

--
Thomas Cameron, RHCE, CNE, MCSE, MCT
Assistant Vice President
Linux Design and Engineering
Bank of America
(972) 997-9641

The opinions expressed in this message are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of my employer, Bank of America.