[Andersson1]

Hi everybody, I have been researching some of the linux os'es and I must admit I'm not really that much into Linux, just wondered which one is the best?

If we look at...
Fewest bugs
Easiest installation
Most secure
etc.

Read that Ubuntu, Mandriva and SUSE is the 3 most popular. But can I hear some opinions on which one is the topgun?

Oh yeah, and what's the difference between Linux and BSD?

As I said, I'm not into Linux, just exploring

[brendandonhu]

Mostly the same bugs and security depends on what you do with it.
Easiest installations are probably Mandriva and Ubuntu, depending on your hardware.

BSD is a different OS kernel.

[Andersson1]

I've got a laptop, with pre-installed drivers and xp-home, was just wondering, if I should change my OS some day... There's so many Linux os'es, it's difficult to compare them, but I'm just curious... Is SUSE difficult to install? Think the Interface is nice, and Alinux also nice is it a pain to install those 2?

[brendandonhu]

Suse should not be hard to install, I'm not sure about Alinux.

[lynch]

Originally Posted by Andersson1

. But can I hear some opinions on which one is the topgun?
As I said, I'm not into Linux, just exploring

There is no real "Top Gun". There doesnt have to be because they all run the Linux kernel with the ability to make it do what ever you want. There are no choices made by the vendor that can't be changed by the end-user. With Linux, sales figures dont indicate supremacy over any of the others.Look at Ubuntu; they send you 5, 10 even 20 copies for free, and Ubuntu is a very popular distro.
lynch

[mixx941]

Originally Posted by Andersson1

Oh yeah, and what's the difference between Linux and BSD?

There's a great article about BSD vs Linux here. Even if you're not using either, it's still interesting to read.

-Mark

[JStergis]

I liked Debian when I had it...never crashed...not too painful to install...had trouble getting myself in after I installed it, since Admin must log on at command line, not GUI. Quite a good Distro.

[HenryVI]

IMO, the easiest to install is Fedora Core

[jiml8]

Originally Posted by HenryVI

IMO, the easiest to install is Fedora Core

A couple of weeks ago I spent hours trying to get Fedora installed on a HP laptop. When I ran out of time, it was installed and would run, but X wouldn't start.

I think Mandriva, SUSE, and Ubuntu are all easier to install than Fedora.

Of course, a lot of it depends on the hardware.

[Andersson1]

Just ran a test on:
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

and It turned out that Mandriva would suit my needs the best. Unfortunately it didn't use "one-click-install programs" But does this mean that it hasn't got any program installers like Windows, or what is "one-click install" ?

[lynch]

You use either the Software installer/package manager in Mandriva Control Center or urpmi. Most of the programs you will want come on the DVD or CD set.
lynch

[brendandonhu]

As lynch said, Mandriva has a Software Management Control Panel that looks like this:
http://www.mandrake.tips.4.free.fr/s...management.png

Its just a front-end for urpmi (the command-line tool to install packages.)

[jiml8]

And urpmi is pretty easy to use.

[beginnertech]

Check this disto out. http://www.blagblagblag.org/ Its Fedora Core 3 based but has some of the Debian based "install" packages like apt-get and synaptic. The website has full documentation,repository, Wilki and Forum which has a bunch of very expirenced people who will help you out for nothing. The OS itself it totaly free too. Just download the ISO, burn it and try it out. It's much more friendly to install then Ubuntu and much easier to set up then Mandrake. You just need some free unpartitioned space and it will do the rest.

[Andersson1]

Blag maybe easy to use, but from the screenshots I've seen, I'd say Mandriva is candy for my eye, while Blag is not so pretty, but of course that's a matter of taste...
Is it really true that Mandriva fits 3 CD's?! No wonder it's eyecandy...