diff. between distro's

[Dswissmiss]

I have been using mandrake for a few weeks, so I'm new at all this. I was wondering what the difference of ease of use is between mandrake, which is always recomended to the beginner and say gentoo or slackware, which from what I understand, is reccomended to advanced users. So why the emphasis on user level, when you can run the same window managers on all distro's?

Thank you
Dswissmiss

ps. ok, just figured out that gentoo is lfs, so I can understand why it's much harder...what about slackware though, if it infact is harder to use,

[mmiller9]

Being reasonably new to linux myself and having experimented with a handful of distros the big differences that I have noticed are in three areas, 1. Amount of skill and knowledge required at install. Some make it super easy to install giving a person few choices while others require a greater knowlege of your computer, and what you want to install on it. I fit into the first category at this time hope soon to improve. 2. Although Linux is Linux each distro puts their own spin on presentation and helpful programs. It even goes down to the desktop enviroment that they support in principle, some gnome, some kde, and some use thier favorite wm. 3. Although this probably fits into #2 I feel that it stands on its own, how each handles packages, some rpm, some apt, some tar each has good points about it. Currently I am using a Debian based distro and I really like the apt package management it is a little easier than rpm to me but hey its your world, use what you like. That is the true beauty of linux there are enough choices out there to have a great computer system and they are all tailored to fit a niche of varying skill levels. Just my 2 cents

[pbharris]

Hello,
If you read the install docs - all the distros are pretty darn easy, now i know many people do not have the time to read all the docs and it is noce to be walked though and luckily most the ditros do that too. There are a few distros i would stay away from - namely those that try to be like MS windows.

[Schotty]

In reality the only real differences are

1) Type of install. Slack does a ncurses text GUI. Redhat, Mandrake, SuSE do a perty X11 GUI.

2) Package managment. redhat created the rpm, and suse mandrake and a few lesser knows use it as well. Slack uses slack packs (tarballs with extra info). Debian uses debs. Others dont use any, and you compile or intstall from a script.

3) This is the main one -- Types of configuration tools. There are different tools depending on the distro, for setting up your LAN, printer, modem, video card, sound, usb, etc. RedHat, SuSE and Mandrake are probably the most renowned for having great GUI tools for easily changing settings. Others make you do it by hand. So here is where a user that can install something like, Gentoo, may have an issue due to lack of experience.

All in all, most major distros (Slack, RedHat, SuSE, Mandrake, Debian) will all work the same, but have a different default look and toolset.

The best thing to say, is ask around detailing your tastes, and try the one that is reccomended. If you dont like -- Mandrake, lets say -- SuSE or redHat may be more to your liking. Or vice versa. redhat may piss you off, and Mandrake blows your whistle.

As previously mentioned, Linux is all about empowering the user to choice. You have the choice in how your computer is to operate. Different distros is proof of that. From default DE, to default wordprocessors and spreadsheets, to different default email clients. If you have cable/dsl, grab a few and check them out. eventually you will find one you like. Last count had 40 different ditros. Each tailoring to a certain taste or crowd.

[rick420]

Dont forget that drake is just better than all distros, it shouldnt even be called a distro, just call Linux = Mandrake

bah to that rick420. :

[Schotty]

Come on, it was a joke ;D I laughed nice and hard. They dont even have clothing like oh ... RED FEDORAS 8)

[kornp]

Everyone says that Slackware is a distro for more advanced users, but really I have to disagree. It may not have quite as many GUI control panel's, but it's the first distro I've really used at home (I used debian on a 68k mac but that doesn't count). I have found it fairly easy and haven't really had any problems. The main reason that I decided to use it was because I wanted to really learn how to use linux, and was told that Slack was a good way to do so. I use KDE and probably wouldn't have to go to command line very often if I didn't want to, but sometimes on my older system it's a bit faster.

As for installing, sure it's a little harder that say...redhat (Redhat's dead easy), but I managed without prior experience. I think that you can use just about any distro you want and be fine, as long as you have a little bit of patience, and some great support systems (eg. this website )

my 2c

[rick420]

Go with drake 9 or RH8, especially to start off.... DOnt listen to this hold your hand $hit, if you are new to linux you dont wanna look at a command prompt al day, I PROMISE. Get somethuign like Drake or Redhat and it will let you get into linux. Remember all distros still are linux underneath all the GUI tools, you can still open a console and do everything.

Personally I dont use many GUI tools anymore and yes I use Mandrake/KDE3. Once you get an idea of how everything works alot of things can be done differently and faster via CLI. But if you dont have some nice GUI tools at first you'll be back to windoze in no time....