Sorry to post another 'Help me choose a distro thread', but...

[A_DC]

I have been doing research over the last two or three days now, and while I have learned quite a bit about Linux in general, and of several different distros, I am no closer to a choice than when I first started. Also, with all respect to the sticky in regard to distro choosing topics, I have no interest in learning how to use IRC just to answer this question.

Basically, I know what I want from a Linux distro, and am not looking for a 'perfect' match, just something to get me started. However, some aspects are a must: a distro must be compatible with my hardware, for example. Though I am willing to do the legwork to a certain extent, with regards to this specific subject as well as others, I do not want to install and work with a distro only to find that it is inherently incompatible with my goals.

With that in mind, Vista came preloaded on my laptop, and I am looking to remove the virus as quickly as possible. I would like to replace it with a minimalist, performance-based distro as I use this computer for only a small number of functions. I have already downloaded and tried Ubuntu and, to be blunt, I am completely unimpressed – it seems to me like a simple Linux based replacement for Vista with all the flashy graphics and necessary pre-loaded software that does little more than take up hard drive space and eat away at my RAM. In fact, by trimming down the start up functions from both operating systems, I was actually able to get Vista to run faster than Ubuntu. I do not mention this merely to complain or be critical, but to make the reader aware that I am not interested in Ubuntu or any distro that makes the user feel like he never left Windows to begin with.

With all that said, I am looking for a distro that is sleek and fast, that is compatible with my hardware (make, model and specs of my system are posted below), and able to do the small number of things I demand of it (also posted below). On my part, back in the day I taught myself how to use DOS, and a great deal about networking, with no prior technical knowledge, so learning to use what might be considered an 'advanced' distro is not a problem if it is the only choice to reach my goals. However, if I only have to sacrifice a small amount of performance, for instance, I would rather go with a simpler solution.

Thank you, in advance, to anyone who takes the time to help me with my selection


Everything, quite literally, I use this laptop for is as follows:

- Wireless web browsing, and related functions (i.e. web based multimedia)
- Word processing (I already use openoffice, so I doubt this will be an issue)
- Running Rosetta stone (which I believe is compatible with Wine)
- P2P file sharing
- Porting music to my MP3 player (Creative Labs Zen) as well as other media to external devices (docs to flash drives, etc.)
- Playing multimedia
- Burning CDs and DVDs

Specs:
Toshiba L305-S5955
2GB RAM
160GB Harddrive
Supermulti drive (DVD)
10/100 ethernet LAN
Realtek 802.11 b/g wireless
3 USB
1 PC Expresscard slot (I actually never use this, if compatibitiy is an issue)
Headphone/microphone jack

[robertdaleweir]

Hi A_DC
I read your story and I can give you what my experience with several distros has been. First, as with yourself, I am not a Win fan. I have used Unix for many years and liked the Power and flexibilty.
Over the last several years I have been installing many distros and trying them for my needs. OpenSUSE, Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, VectorLinux,etc.. being some of them. I have two basic needs which I like out of the box. One is to be able to play DVDs and the other to play Music. I tend to rip my own music into a .flac format and most distros will play it quite well.
On the DVD side I must say that my experience has been frustrating to say the least. Recently I was able to install a distro, which after a simple script download and run, I am able to play dvds very well.
This breakthrough has only come, IMHO, in the last few months. Your hardware seems fairly new and probably would work fine. The Wireless issue was up until now a hateful and unpleasant experience as well. Now it works out of the box.
I am talking about Fedora 11. If you decide to get it and try it there is one URL that you must visit and download a script which, using a check box system, will allow you to install all the MP3 goodies, DVD codecs etc.
autoten
For fedora 11


* Open a terminal and copy paste below one line at a time pressing enter after each line. (root password will be required)

su
rpm -Uvh http://dnmouse.org/autoten-4.1-6.fc11.noarch.rpm

* Here is the signing key
su
rpm --import http://dnmouse.org/RPM-GPG-KEY-dnmouse

It runs interactive and reports on its progress.

The above section, down halfway on the page, is required to get the script and running it is a snap. With this script run there is only one other thing to do and that is use VLC to play DVDs.

Become Root ie $su -
#yum install *vlc* (asterics are wildcards) (answer a few questions and you are done).
And then use VLC instead of the standard Movie Player, to play DVDs. I love this distro and am getting many converts from the Win ranks as we approach the birth of another virus (win7).
Sorry my story is long but I appreciate that your needs are specific and this is my experience. Good luck on your 'distro search'. Cheers...
Robert

[MikeTbob]

Try the distro quiz, it's pretty gosh darn good.
zegenie Studios Linux Distribution Chooser

[elija]

If I may, I'd like to correct a couple of mis-impressions that you seem to have.

Ubuntu eats away at your memory.
Actually, this is Linux doing that and it is because it has a different memory management model to Windows. Linux appears to use more memory for a given task as it allocates more and more ram as caches and buffers to speed up operation. Should the memory be required for something else that will be sorted out for you.

It is only in the Windows world where you need to keep memory free. Ask yourself what use the memory is. You may as well pull it out of your PC and put it on your desk. At least you'd have something pretty to look at

So, this eating of your memory is a good thing and all Linux distributions will do the same. I believe that Windows 7 uses a similar memory management model.

Ubuntu is bloated
Only in the default configuration. How slim you can go with Ubuntu depends on how far you want to go. Unlike Vista (and for all I know Windows 7), the fancy graphics do not have an impact on performance as the screen rendering is handled by the GPU and not the CPU. Again, this is not specific to Ubuntu as it is handled by the Window Manager, which for the 3D stuff is usually Compiz.

The lightest pre-made Ubuntu environment is CrunchBang - at least as far as I know. Of course you could try and go lighter by getting the Minimal CD and building things from the ground up.

And finally
Coming from a Windows world you will be used to a monolithic operating system that handles everything. Whereas a Linux distribution is made up of Linux (the core of the system) and a whole wheelbarrow load of other bits of software all working together, each doing one thing well and each replaceable by a variety of alternatives.

OK, really finally
I have already given a couple of links to lightweight ubuntu's so here are a few alternatives. This list is in no way comprehensive. That would take way too long

Antix
Vector
Zenwalk
Slackware

And of course there is alway Debian

Finally - And this time I mean it
This isn't meant as a rant but I did slightly go off on one - sorry

[A_DC]

First off, thanks for your responses!

More than anything, I was looking to narrow the myriad Linux options to few that fit my needs, something I could start with. With the number of distros out there, I was hardly expecting a comprehensive list .

Unfortunately, the distro quiz didn't seem to have many questions on what I was looking for in a distro, rather it was geared toward what distro would be most compatible with my level of experience, which didn't yield the responses I needed. But thank you for the suggestion.

It looks like I have a few good options to start with, however, and in a number than is not entirely overwhelming. From here, I think I will be alright with looking over each one and finding what seems to best suit my needs.

Once again, thank you for the help!

[KenJackson]

I trust you've visited DistroWatch, the unofficial tabulator of Linux distro popularity.

[Bemk]

My advice is try as many distro's as possible (including Linux From Scratch, if you are willing to learn a lot about the system).
I can't really say, hey, this is the right one for you, as you must decide that your self.

[coopstah13]

None of these things should be a problem with any current distro, except for rosetta stone. I've tried running it with wine and had very little success, but since it is wine it is hit or miss so you might have more luck. Also, ubuntu is pretty easy to build from the ground up and have it lightweight with only what you need installed. I have some VM's with ubuntu on them taking up < 64m memory with a full GUI (fvwm-crystal).

[engless]

Keep it simple:

Try the Linux Lives until you find one that fits then install.

ie. PCLinuxOS, Knoppix, etc, etc