Best Linux Version

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audiovoodoo
For a novice I'd say something like Mint or Ubuntu would be as good as any. Most of what you will learn is fairly generic accross a number of distributions. Commands like ls, mount etc are the same on almost all versions of linux. With the GUI side Gnome and KDE are the two big ones, learn how to configure KDE on one distro and you've got it for all of them.

There are subtle differences with different distributions and the way they do things. Good example is Debian based systems tend to use aptitude as the package manager to install software. On Ubuntu for example you can type:

dpkg -i package_file.deb

On fedora they use YUM as the package manager, it does the same job but in a slightly different way. They use .rpm files to install...
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From https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Linux

"A distribution is largely driven by its developer and user communities. Some vendors develop and fund their distributions on a volunteer basis, Debian being a well-known example. Others maintain a community version of their commercial distributions, as Red Hat does with Fedora and Novell does with openSUSE."

For largely (but not totally) the facts stated and alluded to above, a Debian-based linux distro like antiX has been my choice for use on laptop and desktop both. I prefer not to associate myself with commercial enterprise in a couple important aspects of my life and being a Linux user is one of them. I like certain characteristics of both Fedora and openSUSE but choose not to use them. Neither can I be an insurance agent nor a miner for similar reasons having to do with personal philosophy and creed. On the other end of the spectrum, I admire Richard Stallman for his convictions but cannot be totally Free and Open Source in all I do and use because it is not workable for me.

AntiX has a great community. Being a true Debian distro, it avails itself to a broad choice of options via extensive repositories and useful scripts such as both smxi and that used in another like distro I find appealing, CrunchBang. Too, I found aptosid (formerly sidux) a good learning experience when I used it for a season.

Lately, however, I loaded a Slackware-based distro, Salix, onto my desktop. I am using it now, to write this response to your question, jale1966. The reason? It is hard to define if it is not inherently a part of a person. Nonetheless, it has to do with freedom to do as you wish and having the freedom to choose how the goal desired is to be accomplished. The devs are very helpful but will not spoon-feed newbies. This is as it should be.*

amdfangirl, bless her overachieving heart, does not speak for everyone here and I did not weigh in on that last discussion for which she provided the link, so here you have my contribution to the discussion. Thank you for asking.

_______________________________________
*Let those desiring such go with ubuntu
 
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I've been a Slackware user for a long time. I like the rawness. There is no package manager (actually there is one but noone uses it as seriously as apt).

What i really like is most software's are available from slackbuilds.org, for the rest i compile them from source.

Tried the awesome window manager a while ago and loved it. All configurations are done via a programming language (lua).

Make sure you try slackware at least once. If you like it i bet you wont switch to another 🙂
 
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No disrespect, but that is one of the most pointless comments I've heard in a while :)

I also enjoy the purist feel of Slack, but sometimes I just want to have something handle (most of the time correctly 😉) dependencies when I'm looking to install something (and make it easier to keep my system updated)
 
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While I don't use it anymore I'm going to make the case that Knopix is my favourite. The current trend of LiveCD environments would not have been possible without the work done for this project. Of all the Linux flavours I've made more coppies, booted it on more PC's and generally made more people think with Knopix than anything else.

As for switching, done that a few times, as have most others here. I've personally run:

Knopix
Slax
Puppy
DSL
Ubuntu
Fedora - (Non GUI SETI cruncher)
Mint
Lbuntu
Mint Debian

That list ignores anything that didn't get at least a week of primary usage.
 
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I like the Debian derivatives with Gnome for the most part. I like a little flashiness on my desktop. Never have been able to stomach KDE, though there are things I'd like Gnome to port from KDE. For something lighter to be used on a utility computer (file server) puppy JeOS. I can manage the command prompt but would prefer to have the gui of some sort. Solaris
 
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As a relativity new user last time I used it I was using a version that was called Lindows but think they were ordered to change the name and not heard what ever happen to it or what it is even called or around anymore. I use Ubuntu to learn it and I know there are many books and flavors of Linux, I am also learning the terminal which is new to me, so maybe I should ask this instead for a beginner which one would be the best to learn on?
 
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For a novice I'd say something like Mint or Ubuntu would be as good as any. Most of what you will learn is fairly generic accross a number of distributions. Commands like ls, mount etc are the same on almost all versions of linux. With the GUI side Gnome and KDE are the two big ones, learn how to configure KDE on one distro and you've got it for all of them.

There are subtle differences with different distributions and the way they do things. Good example is Debian based systems tend to use aptitude as the package manager to install software. On Ubuntu for example you can type:

dpkg -i package_file.deb

On fedora they use YUM as the package manager, it does the same job but in a slightly different way. They use .rpm files to install packages. It's not that different but enough to confuse if you're not aware of it:

rpm -i some-package.rpm

That's just high level, once you try to do more round package installs you'd find more differences.


Now if you're an IT Geek and of a technical disposition then you can go for the more hardcore learning experience and build your own. Linux from Scratch and Gentoo offer you the chance to compile from code, modify the components of certain programs and optimise the system for your specific machine. Despite a lot of years in IT it's still one that I've yet to achieve and it's the steep side of the learning curve.

My advice is to not worry to much, learn one and then maybe ask us for an alternative to try that does things differently so you can learn where differences are. A lot of people only ever use one flavour of Linux, just becuase you've an Ubuntu power user don't expect to do everything on Fedora, but know that you've got 90% of what you need and enough knowledge to search for answers when you hit issues.

 
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Solution
That sums it up. There are more flavors of linux than there are of ice cream. A good place to browse what is available is http://distrowatch.com/ . There are literally 700 (ok, 698) distros listed on the dropdown menu.
 
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bmouring --
While what you say may have been true in the past, it is no more. Take Salix64-lxde-13.37 for a test-drive on a suitable machine, check out gslapt and sourcery see if you are not impressed by the dependency-resolution capabillities of salix as a whole. This Slackware-based distro has improved immensely since its intro.

Best of holiday ("Holy Day?") wishes to all! :sol:
 
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