Choosing a version of Linux

[Techcow]

Hey all. I am looking into switching over to Linux because I am tried of dealing with Windows and the time and cost involved. Unfotunately I do not know much about Linux at the moment and I am trying to decide what version would be best for me.

I was working off a link on another site that referenced a Linux Chooser test that walked you through some of the stuff involved. The article mentioned several different versions of Linux, and I was wondering about the differences in each?

What Version of Linux is Right for Me? - PseudoRant - Your Online Guide to Computers and Technology

It lists Ubuntu, Kubuntu, OpenSuSE, Freespire, and Mandriva. I have heard alot about Ubuntu and have heard people mention Suse in the past. I was wondering since the chooser covers most of the considerations what the difference were in these versions?

Are they mainly graphical differences in this versions, or is there more that needs to be considered. I am looking for something that will be easy to learn but will still be a good choice to run, once I start learning more about Linux. Any advice is appreciated!

[techieMoe]

Hey all. I am looking into switching over to Linux because I am tried of dealing with Windows and the time and cost involved. Unfotunately I do not know much about Linux at the moment and I am trying to decide what version would be best for me.

That's the first step. Welcome.

I was working off a link on another site that referenced a Linux Chooser test that walked you through some of the stuff involved. The article mentioned several different versions of Linux, and I was wondering about the differences in each?

...

It lists Ubuntu, Kubuntu, OpenSuSE, Freespire, and Mandriva. I have heard alot about Ubuntu and have heard people mention Suse in the past. I was wondering since the chooser covers most of the considerations what the difference were in these versions?

Are they mainly graphical differences in this versions, or is there more that needs to be considered. I am looking for something that will be easy to learn but will still be a good choice to run, once I start learning more about Linux. Any advice is appreciated!

The look and feel of each is probably its main difference. There's significantly less difference between Ubuntu and Kubuntu because they're the exact same distribution just with a different default GUI. Ubuntu uses GNOME, Kubuntu uses KDE. You can install either and get the other later if you want.

Every version of Linux uses the same kernel (just a newer or older version of it). The underlying utilities and environment are mostly identical as well. Some Linux distributions use different mechanisms to install/uninstall software, but they all have about the same capabilities.

It's mostly up to a matter of personal preference. I'd recommend taking a look at our introductory thread here as well:

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

[oz]

Welcome to the forums!

It's kind of like buying a car. You really need to test drive them before you know which one you want. I'd recommend downloading two or three distros, then giving them a test drive so that you can make up your own mind.

Hope you'll find something you like and have fun with it.

[Hansophobia]

What Ozar said, but also, I would suggest giving a hard look at the distros community. I use Ubuntu, so my community is rather large, which would make it useful for asking questions, a must for a first time user.

Also, I like ubuntu because it is wicked simple. Much easier, and nicer than XP, VISTA, or OSX. I would suggest it.

By the way, 8.04, Hardy Heron, is working great for me, so why bother trying out 7.10 first?