Linux - which version

will69

will69

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Neil
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I am considering trying a copy of the Linux operating system on my PC. Has anyone any experience of Linux and which distribution (what Linux call versions) would you recommend?

Anyone run CS2 or Lightroom on Linux?
 
Ubuntu is probably the best version for a beginner I think, there are windows emulators you can install that will let you run cs2. Linux is not an easy thing to get to grips with mind you, it can be very different to windows even if it's made to look like windows.
 
I have read enough recently to decide not to run PS and lightroom with Linux, but I have two home PCs and I would like to try one of them on Linux. I will stick with Vista on the other which I can use for PS and lightroom.
 
I've been a linux user for about 10 years and a linux developer for a couple of those.

I'd agree with Steep, "Ubuntu" is a good starting point as is something called "Mint" which is basically ubuntu with a lot of this bits you'll want added in at the start.

To answer your question about CS2 - you can run it in both cross-over-office and wine.

Why are you looking to switch to Linux? There may be other versions that you might be interested in.

If your interested in open source then perhaps start playing with Gimp and F-Spot which can be used in lieu of Photoshop and Lightroom to great effect (y)
 
I witnessed a pair of 10-year-olds make the decision to, and then install Xubuntu recently. They were then a bit like someone getting Meccano or an Airfix kit before they could handle it, but F-Spot was what was needed to accomplish their first task.

You might like to try the Grafpup Live-CD.
 
Great thread guys - when contemplating a new PC/iMac I was considering a self build but the cost of windows was prohibitive so I was looking at going the Linux route.

I'm currently reading up and completing a few newbie tutorials on Introduction to Linux so any more recommendations for beginner friendly versions would be appreciated
 
Ubuntu has to be the most straightforward, and easy distro to install - I'm not at the point of using it as an everyday OS, but I do run the Netbook-Remix version of Ubuntu on my Netbook...
 
I have used various flavours of Linux over the years, would have to agree Ubuntu or one of it's many variants is a good place to start

Here is a good place to check out the different distros

http://distrowatch.com/ (y)
 
Another vote for Ubuntu.

I like alot of different distro's, but in terms of installation, ease of use, support, available software, etc - Ubuntu is definitely a leader. Check out the forums at http://ubuntuforums.org/

Mint is nice too.

You may want to check out Sun's VirtualBox to install Ubuntu in a virtual machine

Alternatively, you could use Wubi - Which makes the install process even easier, and just carves itself a chunk of your hard disk (you specify the size, up to 30GB) and automatically add's an entry to your boot options, so when you power on, you can select ubuntu or windows.

You will probably see Xubuntu and Kubuntu when doing your homework...these are essentially the same but with different desktop environments. I'll not bore you with the details but IMO Ubuntu uses the best one (and certainly the most newbie friendly) so just stick with that.
 
I hear very good things about Linux Mint. I read Micro Mart and they recently did a bit of a round-up (in fact, I think it's this weeks issue). It scored very highly!
 
Ubuntu is probably thought of as the most friendly beginner version of Linux and its quite easy to use. You can dual boot a PC so that it asks if you want Windows or Linux to load up, saves paying for 2 PC's.

I'd say that you should look for Live CDs for which ever distro you want and go from there :D
 
Mint for me chaps got rid of XP 6 months ago havnt looked back (y)
 
I tried ubuntu and found it was ok after a bit of fiddling, but found if you have an issue there are some really complicated solutions. Now i've built my own computer which i admit isnt much of a feat, certainly not compared to knowing what your doing in linux lol.

I think the best option is just to set up a dual boot (very easy, just install it on another partition and windows/linux will sort out a little boot menu for you automatically) and try it out.

But for me it was more of an experiment because i couldn't do anything that windows couldn't but it lacked gaming ability.
 
Well... I'm an Arch Linux user - I have Windows XP, Arch, FreeBSD and OpenSolaris installed, but I only use Windows XP and Arch, the BSD and Solaris are there just for learning purposes.
I have tried... too many distributions before, such as SUSE, RedHat (before Fedora was born), Fedora, Mandrake/Mandriva, Linspire (when it was called Lindows), Xandros, Mepis, Debian, Slackware, Ubuntu, Yoper (very interesting one) and a few more.
The most newbie friendly for someone who doesn't want to tinker with it but to use it, Mandriva seems to be the one. Ubuntu/Mint wasn't bad either, nor was Fedora, but if you want to get it installed and working fast, get Mandriva or Mint (both come with most codecs preinstalled, Mandriva should have some proprietary drivers included as well).
If you want one with long term support, install CentOS.
 
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