Windows is finished

[omni]

hello, everyone. Currently, I am using Windows Vista on my laptop and I would like to switch to Linux. Since there is such a wide range of Linux OSes, I need help in deciding which one to get. Right now, I've downloaded Fedora, and will install it in a Virtual PC to see how I like it.

I'm a student/lab technician and I use my laptop for:
-word processing, PDF and DOC.
-PDF viewing
-doing calculations for research (I wll run Linux-compatible software for this)
-making 3D diagrams for research (Blender files)
-making drawings, etc. with photoshop (will settle with GIMP)
-Internet, for homework and research and what not.
-chatting (AIM)
My laptop specs are:
-2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo
-2 gb of RAM
-128 mb video card

I wish to use an OS that will allow me to utilize my PC to its fullest (or near fullest). Also, Im looking for one that is graphically customizable through themes, etc. I'm looking to getting that Mac OS-like launch/application tray like feature that you see on the bottom of the desktop.


I will use my Linux for productivity, while still keeping the crap Vista on the other partition, just in case.

[MikeTbob]

Fedora is an excellent choice for new Linux users. Distro's are like pretty cars, the one you like might not appeal to us at all. It's all about personal preferences.
Check out this awesome Distro quiz, it is very good at picking the right distro just for you.
zegenie Studios Linux Distribution Chooser

[L4Linux]

For the MAC OS-like dock bar you can use AWN. To install it in Fedora:

sudo yum install awn

or

su 
yum install awn

Or you can use add/remove programs.

[omni]

Hey, thank you for all your support so far, guys. Right now, I'm installing Fedora on my virtual PC.
(I was trying to install it for the past hour, but then I realized that I needed the i386 version, lol)
Anyways, I want to have a MultiBoot system going with Vista and Fedora, so please stand by for questions, haha.

[Eurysilas]

Well, I have good news for you. For what you do, their are many distros that would suffice. Never the less, until you get more familiar with Linux, you're wise to stay in the "core" distribution arena, of which Red Hat/Fedora is a part (along with ones such as Debian, Ubuntu, SUSE, etc). After you get more familiar with Linux, I hear Arch or Gentoo is pretty cool, so you might want to try those, if tinkering with your OS is your kind of thing. The ultimate prize, is, of course, Linux From Scratch (LFS), where you customize Linux from the ground up. But I've not gotten beyond Ubuntu yet. One day, though!

PS: You might be disappointed by AWN. I hear it's pretty buggy....

[omni]

Hey, thanks!
Right now, I'm trying to install Fedora on my virtual PC. This is the 3rd or 4th time I'm installing it. each time before, I keep getting errors. Turns out that the check sum numbers didn't match, so I'm downloading the .iso again.

right now, I'm wondering if I should just run Fedora from a virtual PC or go through the hassle of creating a dual boot with Vista.

[Chris_C]

You might also consider Ubuntu which is rather newbie friendly
and quite nicely put together

but MikeTbob is dead right its like cars - what appeals to me may well not appeal to you!

The beauty of linux is its flexibility theres many many different distros to choose
from

I'd recommend you look at the 5 most popular on distrowatch d/load them and
try them all in a VM!

[Eurysilas]

Well, it all depends, really. Do you know for certain that Fedora is capable of doing most stuff you need it to? If your first post was any indication, then it sounds like it is, and you should just take the plunge and dual boot. Otherwise, try it in a VM first to test it out.

[omni]

hey, thanks for all the suggestions!
I'm installing Fedora on my VM right now and I will take it for a test drive to see how I like it.
My desires for making it dual boot are pretty strong, but there are some questions I have.

This is what my current setup is:
C Drive (Vista) 75 GB
D Drive (Fedora) 68 GB

I've emptied out the D drive and formatted it. One thing that is confusing me is what option do I choose when it comes to the hardware partitioning part. I want to keep my Vista drive, but at the same time, I want to use all of my D drive for fedora.

[yancek]

You're talking about "C drive" and "D drive" but those are odd sizes. Are you actually talking about partitions or do you have two physical hard drives? What exactly about the hard drive partitioning is the question?