Not looking for one that apes Windows. Quite willing to learn to work in a new desktop environment (though you’ve lost me at “command line…”) In fact non-Windowsness is appealing. Basically, what I’d like to know is whether a GNOME or KDE distro would be better suited to my hardware (details below). I like to personalise things, and work with options, etc. I also like a bit of bling! So I was leaning towards KDE. But above all, I prize stability…
My laptop:
Toshiba Satellite A210
AMD Turion 64×2 TL-60, 2 GHz
2GB RAM
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600, memory amount : 512 MB dedicated VRAM
Currently runs Vista Home Premium. Fed up with the slowness and clunkiness of Vista, as well as little glitches, like Windows Explorer shutting down every so often.
I’m not technical – never going to learn to work with code or anything like that. But I am intuitive, can figure things out, not a complete idiot!
I’ve downloaded Ubuntu to a Live CD, and have been giving that a go. Enjoying it – seems nice and clear. Will do the same with Kubuntu soon.
But my question is, regardless of which I prefer on an aesthetic or organizational level, which one would be more stable on my hardware?
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit
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I thoroughly recommend Linux Mint 7 Main Edition which is built upon Ubuntu 9.04 Its easy to install and easy to use plus it comes with much of the software you are likely to need preinstalled
Linux Mint 7 Download
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=38
Linux Mint 7 User Guide
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15884753/Linux-Mint-7-Gloria-User-Guide
The Perfect Desktop – Linux Mint 7 (Gloria)
http://www.howtoforge.com/the-perfect-desktop-linux-mint-7-gloria
You download the ISO. image of Linux Mint 7 then you need to create a Bootable LiveCD for installation
Linux Mint 7 can also be run direct from the LiveCD from Booting up without touching your Hard Drive
INSTALL LINUX WITHIN WINDOWS
Linux Mint has a feature called mint4win based on the Wubi installer (Ubuntu) http://wubi-installer.org/ which enables you to install Linux Mint within windows (Windows 7 run mint4win in vista compatability mode)
You keep Windows as it is, mint4win only adds an extra option to boot into Linux Mint. mint4win does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader, and does not install special drivers. It works just like any other application.
mint4win like Wubi keeps most of the files in one folder, and if you do not like it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.
Boot in to windows insert the LiveCD you have just created and you will offered the option of installing inside windows which is where mint4win comes in, you will be asked how many gigabytes you wish to allocate to Linux Mint (I recommend 8gb) then you set a password for your installation then click install and thats it.
Once Linux Mint is fully installed upon starting your PC you will be given a choice of which operating system you want to use Windows or Linux Mint.
CURRENT SESSION
Linux Mint 6 custom LiveDVD with switchable Compiz 0.7.2* and Beryl 0.2.1**
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=31
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryl_%28window_manager%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiz_Fusion
*Compiz 0.7.2 sourced from Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Alpha 5) repositories
**Beryl 0.2.1 sourced from Ubuntu 7.04 repositories
LUg.
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Try Ubuntu 9.10.
It will be released today.
Ubuntu is one of the easiest Linux distros to learn to use.
You can have both GNOME and KDE installed.
I prefer KDE.
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Because you have an ATI Radeon video card you will have to choose a more recent Linux distro that updates regularly (like Fedora, Ubuntu (and family), Linux Mint, or SUSE). You have the ability to do some REALLY cool things on both KDE and Gnome (you just need to install Compiz).
I have 2 suggestions for you:
* Run the following quiz to get a list of all the Linux distros that meet your needs ( http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/index.php?firsttime=true ). It will give you links to all the distros that are best for you.
* If you stick with Ubuntu but don’t know which environment is best for you, just install Ubuntu and then in Synaptic Package Manager (found in the system settings), download all the other Ubuntu family desktops (ie Kubuntu-desktop, Xubuntu-desktop, Ubuntustudio-desktop, Mythbuntu-desktop). Its a lot easier to check out these desktops then having to dual boot 3 or 4 different Ubuntu systems (and switching environments is done by login out, not rebooting (ie A LOT quicker)).
* If you haven’t deleted Vista yet, I strongly recommend you install VMWare Server ( http://www.vmware.com/products/server/ ) as this can load iso images as CDs and can give you an idea of the different Linux distros without the need to burn off a CD first.
Note:
What ever distro you choose, you should always check out it’s corresponding forum. This is the best first place to look at if you are having any computer issues.
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Ubuntu is as good a place to start as any. No one is ever committed to a distro but most people change distros often. Ubuntu is based on debian (which is generally recognized as one of the most stable distros, some say boring) but is more customizable than debian. Ubuntu is easier for a newbie to install, run and maintain. Your hardware is more than adequate for any linux distro.
You do not have to make a choice between kde and gnome. With the ubuntu cd you can install both kde and gnome and when you log in you select which to use. Kubuntu is simply ubuntu with kde as the default desktop.
The linux terminal is not that hard. It is simply a matter of knowing which commands to use, and they are a much faster and more powerful than using the gui.
To learn about ubuntu your best course is to read the documentation. See the links below.
In order to have a stable system you need to follow good computing practices (even in windows): only install software from known reputable sources, have a current backup of your files, if you are going to change some configuration files be sure you know what you are doing and how to reverse anything that you change, keep your system up to date and patched, read and follow the documentation for your OS.
Have fun
https://help.ubuntu.com/9.04/index.html
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall
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Ubuntu is as good a place to start as any. No one is ever committed to a distro but most people change distros often. Ubuntu is based on debian (which is generally recognized as one of the most stable distros, some say boring) but is more customizable than debian. Ubuntu is easier for a newbie to install, run and maintain. Your hardware is more than adequate for any linux distro.
You do not have to make a choice between kde and gnome. With the ubuntu cd you can install both kde and gnome and when you log in you select which to use. Kubuntu is simply ubuntu with kde as the default desktop.
The linux terminal is not that hard. It is simply a matter of knowing which commands to use, and they are a much faster and more powerful than using the gui.
To learn about ubuntu your best course is to read the documentation. See the links below.
In order to have a stable system you need to follow good computing practices (even in windows): only install software from known reputable sources, have a current backup of your files, if you are going to change some configuration files be sure you know what you are doing and how to reverse anything that you change, keep your system up to date and patched, read and follow the documentation for your OS.
Have fun
https://help.ubuntu.com/9.04/index.html
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall
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Go with a distro that uses GNOME or a similarly smaller desktop environment. KDE is a little bit of a resource hog compared to the others.
https://help.ubuntu.com/9.04/index.html
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall
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Huh? The best? The hype says that Linux is the perfect operating system–none better. Utter and total perfection. They all use the same kernel–produced and managed by that genius Linus Torvalds–so there can be no best. That is, unless the hype is, in fact, a pack of lies. (Which, by the way, it is.)
Bottom line: Experiment, try a few. You’ll find they’re all pretty much the same. That is, average.
https://help.ubuntu.com/9.04/index.html
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall
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