[guitar]

i've had a little look at dsl and quite like it but as i'm new to linux would it be easier to go for something similar to windows

pclinuxos-2007 is what i'm downloading atm its my first look at useing linux and it is supposed to be similar to xp which i currently use is this a good choice for a linux newbie or suggestions for another thanks

[CouchMaster]

PCLinux2007 is an excellent choice, as is MintLinux...
They are two of my favorites, and I also use EliveGem, The newest Mepis, and DreamLinux2.2 - and you really can't go wrong with Ubuntu, it has the biggest support forum that I've ever seen.

[saikee]

PCLinuxOS is the current No. 1 in term of popularity is DustroWatch.com.

This means more people download this distro than any other Linux. The No. 1 position was held by Ubuntu for the last few years.

PCLinuxOS came from Mandrake which is one of the main stream Linux families. The official successor to Mandrake is Mandriva currently rank 9th in term of popularity.

[guitar]

ok thanks i'll continue my download just wanted to know as it takes a while on dialup

[Het Irv]

I run Ubuntu at home and I like it much better than Windows. The Fourms are the best I have seen anywhere (see link in sig). I have had a few compatiblity issues but they can quickly be solved. I'm glad to see that more people are taking Linux seriously. Just remember that it will be a little frustration when you first start. Good Luck

[ManiDhillon]

Yeah Go for Ubuntu or Kubuntu. Both are easiest to use for home and development work.
They can ship it to your home for free.
Check out. [url]http://shipit.kubuntu.org[/ul]

[guitar]

thanks for the link manidhillon but they're updating presently so i'll ask for a shipment cd when they're done, i'm in australia do they ship it here? thanks again

[briealeida]

They ship from the Isle of Man (off the coast of the UK, I believe) and I've received the CDs here in the States so . . . I think so.

Also, if you're interested, there are distro 'quizzes' that ask you about your preferences and skill levels and based upon the results, recommend a few distros to you. I tend to get my favorites:

http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/
http://polishlinux.org/choose/quiz/

[ManiDhillon]

Originally Posted by guitar

thanks for the link manidhillon but they're updating presently so i'll ask for a shipment cd when they're done, i'm in australia do they ship it here? thanks again

Yeah they ShipIt to everywhere and free of cost. I have got one in India.
And you should request Kubuntu Feisty Fawn 7.04 its a stable release available. Gusty Gibbon which is in process will take some time to launch and still has got some bugs, so it is advisable that you request a cd of feisty Fawn.

[phatfred]

Personally I wouldn't go for Ubuntu if you just starting out. When i started with linux i tried out a few distros and eventually settled with Mandriva. I found this far easier to use than Ubuntu partially because the KDE desktop environment is very similar to windows amongst other things. I admit though that Ubuntu does have an astounding support network and i always end up with ubuntu results when i search Google.

Also, if you're just starting out, i highly reccomend this book. It introduces you to working in bash and has helped me a great deal.

In addition, make sure you make a note of every piece of hardwre on your system as windows describes it (I assume you're running windows at the mo). It's a lot easier to troubleshoot unrecognised hardware when you know what it is supposed to be.