Choosing the perfect Distro

[Zspitfire04]

First of all, I would just like to say a nice big HELLO to everyone and introduce myself as this is my first of hopefully many posts to come.

I'm having a tough choice when it comes to picking the best distro for me to begin using Linux on. Now I posted here because I figured this was the best place for me, but please move this post if it's incorrectly located.

Now I am looking for a Distro that would be perfect for me. I haven't made the jump yet to Linux as I haven't found the right Distro yet so I can't even really consider myself a Linux newbie. I asked around before and a friend told me that Ubuntu's Feisty Fawn was my best bet. After booting from the cd, the main problem I has was that I couldn't access the internet as my router's (Linksys WMP54G) driver didn't seem supported.
The distro would have to be something not tooo major of a difference from windows as I've been a resident of Windows for about 8 or so years now, so GUI based with the minimum amount of CLI would be the best. Also, I enjoy online gaming and what not, but from what I've seen that shouldn't be a problem. ANYWAYS... what's the best recommendation for me in your opinion?

[Tutku]

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/lin...ead-first.html

here is the answer

[oz]

Welcome to the forums!

Take a look at the link in my signature for lots of good information on getting started with Linux. There are some distro quizzes there that will help with picking a distro, too.

Have fun with Linux...

[Thrillhouse]

Hi Zspitfire04. Welcome to the forums.

Most Linux distributions don't work with wireless cards right out of the box. A few of them do but most require you to install the drivers for your card, yourself. This isn't too difficult (especially on Ubuntu) but would be more easily achieved if you had a wired connection you could use initially to install the drivers and software you may need.

As for your other question, if you're looking for a GUI based distribution that will do a lot of this kind of stuff for you, I would recommend a distro like Linux Mint. It's based on Ubuntu but includes support for many proprietary formats (mp3, flash, java, etc.) along with pretty good support for wireless cards. My laptop's wireless worked right out of the box with it. Good luck.

[Zspitfire04]

Thank you all very much, I feel welcomed
Yeah, I see that I atleast wasn't the first person to ask, but I did take one of the tests and they suggested Mandriva, Open Suse, and Freespire. I will check out Mint as soon as I can, the .mp3 support would be one of the biggest factors as well.


Edit: Seems like the Linux Mint site is down as of right now
=/

[Zirconium]

Yo, yeah I've tried Xubuntu, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Mandriva (program installation problems is what I got with all those), Fedora(Internet problem I think), PCLinuxOS(Screen res prolem for me), Mint (can't remember), Zenwalk(couldn't install), Slackware(couldn't install), but then I tried Freespire, and BOO-YAH!!!! It lived to what has been promised in most distros, "It just works", plus I was able to get on the net with no problems, but you may have better or worse luck then me, how well it works depends on how the installation goes

also I must warn you, you will run into problems, but they're normally easy to fix, just need to know what to do, and how to do it, you only need to ask for help

[oz]

Thank you all very much, I feel welcomed
Yeah, I see that I atleast wasn't the first person to ask, but I did take one of the tests and they suggested Mandriva, Open Suse, and Freespire. I will check out Mint as soon as I can, the .mp3 support would be one of the biggest factors as well.


Edit: Seems like the Linux Mint site is down as of right now
=/

I've never tried Linux Mint, but the more I read about it, the more it seems that it might be a good option for new Linux users. As for the "perfect distro", it clearly doesn't exist, or we'd all be using it.

Do let us know how it goes with your venture into the world of Linux Mint.