Need advice, finally deciding to switch

[varaonaid]

Hi there,

With the advent of Vista and all the new DRM implementation as well as uber restrictive licensing, I think I've finally been pushed over the edge to switch over to Linux. I've realized that the MS road has a dead end and the only long term solution is another OS. So that's why I'm here.

I understand that it will be a process to switch over and I'm OK with that but I'd like it to be as easy as possible. I'm one of those people who don't particularly like W1nd0ws but it's what I know and as used to using. So a distro that's similarly easy to use would be important. My husband is also wanting to switch and is less technologically comfortable than I am.

A couple of years ago, we used the free Xandros on a couple of old computers that were given to our school. I installed the software without problem and the students used them for basic internet surfing and OO.o documents etc. I found the file structure to be confusing and never was able to understand it (though to be fair, I didn't spend oodles of time learning it). That is my total experience with Linux.

So, I'd like advice for which distro. I'm looking at SimplyMEPIS, PClinuxOS, Xandros, Linspire (anything similar). I'm really concerned about hardware compatibility. We both are currently running laptops that are a few years old but we plan to upgrade within the next few months. It's likely that we'll switch to a 64-bit processor, if that has any bearing on anything. I don't think that DH could switch distros very easily after he gets comfortable with a new OS so I'd like one that can move with us when we upgrade. I read a review of SimplyMepis at Knolinux (http://knolinux.com/2006/08/17/simpl...hat-works.aspx) and was very worried about all the commands that he had to do in order to get his wireless card working. I have no idea how to do what he did. I do have some concerns about the proprietary nature (and recurring fees) that are associated with Xandros and Linspire but maybe the ease of use makes it worth it? I just don't know if I'd find them overly restrictive (but then again, I'm not a command-line-kinda-girl right now). I have to admit, I'm sad that the open free version of Xandros no longer seems to be available or if that should make me nervous of the company. Will Evolution work with any of these? Is there a fee for Evolution or is it free? I like the LiveCD thing and plan to try that out (do all of these distros offer that?) and I read that one of these (maybe it was SimplyMepis, can't remember for sure) allows you to back a backup "snapshot" of your docs, bookmarks, settings, etc and burn them to a CD for a quick backup solution. Sounds really cool. Also, I like the idea that I read about where I can use the LiveCD somehow on other computers and save all my docs, settings etc and take them with me anywhere. Maybe this is common to all Linux distros, I don't know. As far as KDE vs Gnome goes, I'm really not stuck on either one. I just want what will be the easiest transition and still be stable. If there is a distro that easy to transition to that's not in the above list, please let me know. (I read of a "Mint" flavor distro, for example.)

I don't know if this is distro dependent but one thing I will need is the ability to sync Pocket PC with Linux. I think I read that Evolution can do this but I thought I'd put it out there. We also use digital cameras, printers (older ones those), and MP3 players (not ipod). I think that covers most of our peripherals.

I figure I'll work on what software products I'll need to switch to after I settle on a distro (unless you tell me that's a stupid way to go about it). However, I should add that there maybe a few W1nd0ws based programs that I have to run crossover for awhile (MS Photodraw and Adobe Pagemaker, unless you know of a program that can read and edit these files). So that might offset the cost of a program like Xandros Premium if I'd need to buy Crossover Office anyway. Perhaps WINE is better, I just don't know. Again, something that "just works" is important to me. I'd like to keep the cost to switch lower if possible but that doesn't mean that I'm not willing to pay at all. I'm very confused by the whole yearly subscriptions things that Xandros and Linspire use. I don't understand if those are necessary or not. I'd really appreciate your advice and opinions.

Thanks so much in advance. Please be patient with me as I try to learn this new "language". I'll do my best to be a good student!

[Roxoff]

If you're a beginner, then you need Slackware...



Only kidding... Dont do it.

Really the only person who can decide on the best distribution for you is you. It'd be like me telling you what your favourite colour should be. Take the list of four you gave in your original post, download them, and try them out. Remember, you dont have to buy anything, and there is no licensing fee - all it'll cost you a bit of online time for the download and few blank CD's or DVD's.

Oh, and it's red. Your favourite colour is red.

[netstrider]

Yes, no one can tell you which you will like best but I can try and list a couple that *might* (and should) be sufficient for your needs.

>> Not all distributions have LiveCD versions
>> Don't go for 64bit distributions as of yet, there are 32-to-64 bit compatibility issues

Some distros that I think could work for you, in order of preference according to your needs (note this is just my personal view):

PCLinuxOS
>> Has applications to sync your phone/mobile-device to your computer with bluetooth.
>> Has digital camera software/features (and might I add I have tried it before and it worked)
>> Has a LiveCD version and is installable, very easy to use
>> Synaptic to download and install software for you automatically.
>> Good hardware detection (as far as I can tell - it's based on Mandriva)

Ubuntu
>> Very good package system via apt-get to download + install over 16000 packages for you automatically if you want and it resolves dependencies.
>> Easy to use in general.
>> Has a LiveCD version + installer
>> Good hardware detection
>> Quite good documentation (wiki's) and a very large and helpful community

SuSE
>> Easy to use and comes pre-built with several gigs of packages and has very good hardware detection.
>> Got a nice package management system
>> There is a SuSELive edition or something of the sort

Problem about these are, they need at least 256 MB ram, but I'd recommend more...so I don't know how they would run on your current hardware but they will work very fine on any comp bought in the last 2-3 years (especially if you have 512MB ram or more) The GUI's make things a bit heaver that's about it but you can use lighter ones such as XFCE (Xubuntu, which is practically Ubuntu with the XFCE desktop) and lots of others..

Hope this helps, for more information you might like to check wikipedia and google for more information about these (and other) distributions, also check their own websites and Distrowatch

[varaonaid]

Hi!

Thanks for the replies so far. I understand your point about which distro is right for me and I appreciate not being made to feel "forced" into a "this is the only right version to use!".

So having said that, let me rephrase my questions somewhat. Of the distros I mentioned, which have you had the best experience with in terms of ease of use, compatibility etc (even if it ultimately isn't what you chose because you wanted something more advanced). Secondly, how do you feel about proprietary software (I guess that's what you'd call it)/paid versions such as Linspire and Xandros? Am I ultimately giving up something in the long run that I'd need?

I've looked at Ubuntu and love the active community and frequent updates but it seems less user friendly to me. I like the idea of being able to play my MP3s & DVDs without tons of downloading and tweaking. That's why I was drawn to SimplyMEPIS, since I read it was 99% Ubuntu under the hood with more media and hardware support out of the box.

I also probably should have given the basic specs of our laptops. #1 1.3 GHz Centrino, 512mb RAM, DVD burner (single layer, dvd-r format), currently running WinXP Home. #2 AMD Athlon XP-M 2000+ (I want to say somewhere around 1.6GHz speed), 512mb RAM, CD Burner/DVD-Rom combo drive, WinXp Home.

When you mentioned avoiding the 64-bit versions for now, I'm assuming you meant trying to run the 64-bit versions on our current systems, correct? I never meant to do that. I was just hoping for a distro that would allow me to "move up" to a 64-bit version of the same software when we upgrade machines. I thought that SimplyMEPIS had this potential.

I'll do some more exploring. I've been reading up on Wikipedia even more you mentioned it but I'll try to dig a little deeper. Thanks for the other links.

BTW, funny you would mented my favorite color. I really *IS* red!!! I guess maybe you *could* recommend a distro to me after all, LOL!!!

[netstrider]

how do you feel about proprietary software (I guess that's what you'd call it)/paid versions such as Linspire and Xandros? Am I ultimately giving up something in the long run that I'd need?

Unfortunately I cannot help you with that question, never tried enterprise/proprietary Linux versions etc. However I'll try to help (direct) you with what I can .

Of the distros I mentioned, which have you had the best experience with in terms of ease of use, compatibility etc

SimplyMepis didn't work for me, it might be because I tried an older version. PCLinuxOS has MP3 playback by default and so does Suse. Ubuntu requires you to download the w32codecs,
'sudo apt-get install w32codecs' or go to Synaptic and install it from the list (GUI mode).

With all of them you'll need to download libdvdcss to play DVD's (Not sure about Xandros, SimplyMepis etc.)

On PCLinuxOS you can download that via synaptic (repositories)
The same goes for Ubuntu or you could sudo apt-get install libdvdcss
On suse I'm not sure if there is libdvdcss in some repository but you can just install it via a package in .rpm format easily

When you mentioned avoiding the 64-bit versions for now, I'm assuming you meant trying to run the 64-bit versions on our current systems, correct?

Wrong, I meant that 64-bit (on 64bit) computers is not so developed yet, meaning not all packages are 64 bit yet and only some 32bit packages work on 64bit operating systems.

Both your laptops should run any of these distributions without problems.