Linux help!!!

[Potatoman]

Hi all - Im gonna have a pop at Linux to see how i get on - my question is there are millions of different verisons! What should i get, and do i need antivirus, firewall and spyware software? Thanks, PM.

[fo3nix]

First of all it's GNU/Linux and not just Linux, but this is a mistake lots and lots of people make (Linux is the name of the kernel).

You can choose which one you want, but one of the easiest to set up (and thus ideal for those giving GNU/Linux a try) is Ubuntu:
http://www.ubuntu.com/

As for anti-virus etc. well you can install if you like, but it's much less susceptable to viruses than Windows is.

[rojash]

Just don't go for red-hat - it can easily work out more expensive than Windows! Plus they offer you all these extra services at extra cost with no real explanation of what you're getting for your money, or whether you really need them!

[fo3nix]

Also remember the philosophy behind the GNU system, and thus GNU/Linux. The whole point of it is that it's free software (free as in freedom, not price).

Many companies now have seen how popular the name "Linux" is becoming and are jumping on the band wagon (such as red hat perhaps, can't remember), and supply some form of GNU/Linux with proprietary software which is non-free (again, as in freedom).

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

[boobesque]

my boyfriend uses linux and has tried quite a few, his preferred choice is one called Fedora Core 4, its quite hard to get used to he said, but is a very good one

[fo3nix]

Yea FC4 is a pretty good distro. Uses KDE as the GUI though, which is more windows-like, but can also be more complex than really required.

One of the greatest things about Ubuntu is the Syanptic package manager. Basically, it makes it really easy to add and remove programs. Works very well.

[tomd]

Start with the Knoppix Live CD, and then Ubuntu is the easiest to install, or Debian with KDE GUI is the most common geek install, but it's pretty tricky to get working.

Antivirus and antispyware mostly don't exist, because most virus are written to target as many people as possible, so they design them to target Windows users. A firewall might still be a good idea though, although the risk will again be greatly reduced.

Other notable distibuitons are FeatherLinux (full OS in under 50mb), and BeOS is a good alternative media-based operating system - some hardware (like the Tascam MX2424 hard disk multi-track recorder) still uses this.