DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Linux Question

As of late, I have been looking in to installing a Linux distro on my laptop. I will use OpenOffice, media players, and of course the internet, maybe if I get used to it--Wine.

Do any of you use a Linux distro? If so, what would you recommend to a user, like myself? I usually build my own computers--I get a kick out of it--though I am no power user or nowhere near an IT guy's knowledge.

I am looking at Ubuntu, maybe OpenSuse, or Mint, or Mythbuntu . . . something easy to start out with?

thanks

i would recommend Mint. its much like ubuntu though it already installs the media codecs for you. another one ive had great success with has been sayabon. now if you really want a challenge and actually learn maybe try debian which ubuntu is based from. also you may want to play around with the live disc and see how well each plays with your laptop. laptops can be more finicky when coming to installing linux. good luck and have fun.

I'm a big fan of Ubuntu....which I use on my workstation. Never had any problems setting up the machine, and have been getting amazing stability (1 crash of X in about 5 months of use -- and about half time at full load)

that being said...most distros are fairly similar once everything is set up...the main tradeoff is difficulty of install vs. customization and speed differences. Usually you won't notice the difference in speed, so I'd just go with Ubuntu/Mint, and ignore the more complicated renditions, especially for your first time.

~Lyuokdea

another thing you might want to check out is VirtualBox from SUN.. it will allow you to virtually run windows (you still need a copy) while running Linux.. it's how I watch Netflix..