Which Linux?

So... You know what Linux is and why it is cool, but exactly what distro is the best one to use? This question is asked frequently, and it doesn't really have a correct answer. Truth is, there isn't a distro that is 'the best'. Every distro is different, and each one has things that appeal to different people. Not everyone uses their operating system the same way, and each user has different needs and wants. So with that said, how do you know which distro is best for you? Well, to answer that, you're going to want to try a few out and see which you like. So before you embark on your distro search, I'll go ahead and run through a few different distros and explain their features and what makes them unique.

There are two main distros that define today's definition and history of Linux: Debian and Slackware. Those from Debian include distros like Ubuntu and Linux Mint, while on the other hand, distros like openSUSE and Fedora come from Slackware. Distros from Debian tend to be more user friendly than those from Slackware, and tend to have less problems that need fixing. However, by using distros derived from Slackware (Arch as well, especially!), you'll learn more about Linux itself, and will tend to be more farmilliar with the internal system, for Slackware distros don't do as much for you, making it more natural to look things up and explore your operating system. When tinkering around, don't be afraid to break things. Linux is very quick and easy to install, so even if you kill your entire system, you can just install it again in no time. The average Linux install takes about 30 minutes! (Be sure to be backing up your files though.)

No matter what distro you use, when ever you run into any problem, always Google it! Looking up solutions to problems that you and probably other users are having will make you an independent learner, and you will end up learning much more by sticking with it than by just giving up and choosing a different distro. Unless you're on a quest to find a distro that will run smoothly on your 10 year old Dell Dimension, spend time on each distro you find, and really try to learn what makes each different. And even if you are on that quest, still take the time to learn what make that distro different, and really try to get something out of each experience you have trying distros.

Now to review some distros. But before I do, I'm not going to go into complete detail, because I feel it would be a waste of time. You'll learn a whole lot more from actually trying the distros out yourself. I will, however, try to lead you in the right direction based on what you are looking for in a distro.

Lets cover a few factors of a distro that will help you find the distro that's right for you...

Interface
Do you like a clean interface that is simple and clean? Or do you like it to look a little more flashy? Or maybe you don't care about looks altogether, and would rather focus on functionality. Distros with a clean visual feel make your desktop feel more tidy, while flashy designs make a strong appeal as eye candy.

Visual interaction/functionality
Do you like your desktop to simply do what you need to do, or do you want it to have a lot of toys; things to play and tinker with? A simple interface is nice because it isn't cluttered, but on the other hand, some people just can't go without their widgets and interactivity.

Inner Core
This consideration is probably one of the most important factors for choosing a distro. However, if you are new to Linux, it's typically not a good place to start. So if you haven't looked around, do so, and find what look and feel (Desktop Environment) you like. And then, later, figure out what distro's core you like best. What package manager do you like best? Is the distro compatible with .deb files? What are its repositories like? Does the distro come with a good knowledgeable community that can answer your questions? After a while, these become important questions.

The first two qualities will help you determine which Desktop Environment you like, While the third one will help you find the distro with the inner core you want. The inner core is very important, and after you know what you like as far as look and feel, the inner workings of the distro will be what you will continue to use, and it's importaint to explore a few different cores so you don't just stick with one. You may just find that you like another one better. You don't have to stick with ubuntu your whole life.

Alas, the distros...

Here are some beginner friendly distros:

Ubuntu - The base distro is Ubuntu, and typically comes with gnome/unity, but other versions of Ubuntu are available with different desktops; Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Linux Mint, etc. Any Ubuntu based distro will use Apt-Get as a package manager with the Synaptic Package Manager being the GUI interface for managing programs. Great gui for this, but the command line interface is a little lacking.

Kubuntu - Ubuntu with KDE. Kde has a very nice look to it. Widgets and customizability make KDE a very nice desktop for users who like eye candy and ways to mess around with the interface. It has a Windows-like application menu (comparable to Windows start menu).

Xubuntu - Ubuntu with Xfce. Xfce is very lightweight, very powerful desktop with a nice clean simple look, while still ranking with full desktops like Gnome and KDE. Xubuntu does a nice job of incoorperating Xfce into Ubuntu.

Linux Mint - Ubuntu with MATE. Very unique. Mate is a desktop that is a lot like gnome, and like KDE, it also has a Windows-like Menu. This is a an easy interface to get used to if you're coming straight from windows.


Here are some distros that are a little more intricate, some being a little more 'hard core' than others:

Bodhi Linux. Ubuntu with Enlightenment. Enlightenment defiantly has a learning curve to it, but once it's broken into, it has an amazing feel, and seemingly limitless customization. Very lightweight as well and comes with no junkware like, well, all the above distros. Full desktop distros try to ship their product with all the software that anyone who uses it will use. While this is good for beginners, other users don't tend to want to take up the unnecessary space, and just want the software they need installed.

Debian - This is what Ubuntu is based off of. It is typically used for older computers that need older hardware drivers. It's somewhat lightweight, but it does come with all the typical software. It uses the same repositories as Ubuntu, which means if it's for ubuntu, it will be for debian.

OpenSUSE - Based off of Slackware Linux. Can be installed Gnome, KDE, and some other desktops. Don't pass this one by because of the typical desktops it's shipped with though. It's got a lot to offer, so don't judge it because it looks like all the other distros. This one is very different. Although it can at times take a bit of configuration to get things working, OpenSUSE has a great inner core, and a very nice package manager, both gui and command line. It even has a command line version of the gui package manager that runs in a shell prompt. That impressed me a lot.

CrunchBang - Debian with the open OpenBox window manager. Very minimal (seriously. Minimal.), and very powerful. But it is made from debian, which is more problem-prone while configuring and installing. A good choice for completing that ten year old dimension quest.


Arch Linux - Independent Distro. Author of 'hard core'. The concept of arch is that you start out with bare minimal (shell prompt with no gui) and you build your own system, including choosing the Desktop Environment or window manager, display manager (what brand of log-in screen), and even the bootloader. The drawback is that you have a lot of maintenance to hold. But, the benifit is complete freedom yielding the exact system you want.


And that should do it for a list of distros to get new linux users an idea of what they want, and to hopefully give more experienced users a couple more distros to try out. So what are you waiting for? Go try out some distros!

Why Linux?

Why is Linux so cool? Why do your friends who are geekier than you keep on bugging and bugging you to install it? Why are people putting Linux on their Xbox or Wii? Well, as for installing it on the Xbox or the Wii, because we can, and it's fun!

But seriously. Why Linux?

Linux is awesome for a number of reasons. Lets go over them.

It's free!

Linux is completely free, as well as nearly everything you can put on it. With Linux, there are no free trials, nor strings attached. Linux is free, so when you install Linux, not only will you never have to ever enter a product key, but you won't keep having to spend money on software.

It's easy to Install

Installing Linux is very easy. You'll be prompted for basic install information such as your timezone in order for Linux to correctly set your clock, and you'll set up the main account by specifying a username and password to log in. It also takes very little time to Install. On average, Linux takes 20-30 minutes to install. Just order a pizza and start a Linux install at the same time. You'll be amazed.

It's fast and lightweight

Linux has a faster boot up, shut down, and log in time than Windows, and a more consistent performance, meaning if your system is running smoothly, it will generally stay that way. From my personal experience, Linux has managed it's memory far better than Windows, and although it has a slightly slower gaming performance, there are fewer surprise lags, they are less severe, and they generally go away. Linux crashes very rarely. Linux is also very lightweight, and typically takes up around 3 gigabytes of space on your hard drive, in comparison to other operating systems (Windows 7 at 15GB and OSX11 at 10.8 GB)


It's secure

No operating system is ever truly immune to viruses, but systems that are not used as much will be less targeted. I remember a conversation I had with a friend. He told me there were three piggy banks: One that had a lot of money in, and two that had very little in it. He asked that if I was a robber, which one I would steal from. He said that the piggy bank with more money was like Windows. Because more people use it, more people are going to make viruses for it. Linux is sparsely heard of, so it is targeted less.

Now with this said, Linux is not secure just because it is less targeted, but also  because of the people using Linux. One reason I love using Linux, is because the members of the Linux community are generally very respectful. Linux users tend to be smart, and most of the community is made up of programmers. Although they can easily make a virus, they don't want viruses being made for them. Therefore, they choose to respect other Linux users.

It's what you make it

True Linux is made for the user. One way this is brought about is by enabling options. Linux is easy and fun to customize. Users are always looking for ways to make their interface personal, and because so many Linux users contribute to the community, many themes and graphical enhancements are available to download.

Package managers!

Linux organizes the software you use into packages. In a typical case, each piece of software, like Firefox or Dropbox, makes up one package. Programs called package managers can be used to install a package by simply clicking a check box. By selecting software you want to install and applying the changes, the package manager goes through the list of programs it knows (Repositories) and if a box is checked, it will seek the internet to download and install the program for you. This can also be done via command line. Even when you don't see the program you're looking for in the package manager, there's always Google. Just remember, that for every viable Windows program, there is a Linux alternative.

Linux is awesome; it's free, secure, and you can customize it however you want. It's easy to install, and it takes up less space than other operating systems.

About Linux

I remember well the first time I tried to install Linux. It didn't last long, and I just didn't know what I was doing. I ended up switching back to Windows because it was what I was familiar with, and looking back, I was simply trying to do things that I just didn't understand.

If you are interested in Linux but just don't know where to start, you are in the right place. In this post, I will give an in-depth, but simple explanation about Linux and some basic Linux concepts, and tell you what makes it different from the other operating systems.

To start, I will explain what Linux is. Linux is by definition: A third party open source operating system. Paraphrasing, Linux is an operating system that is free to use, and rights for editing it are open. This means that any developer that thinks that something about Linux should be different takes a shot at it, and creates his own unique version of Linux. This unique rendition of what was formerly just Linux is now a 'distribution', or distro, of Linux.

There are many distros of Linux, and each distro has many things about it that are different from each other. There are two distros though, that had a big impact on the early history of the evolution of Linux. In 1992, Peter MacDonald created a distro of Linux called SLS (Softlanding Linux System) that had more additions packaged with it than many other Linux distros at that time. Once SLS started becoming big, many modifications and fixes were made to it, and it soon developed into what is now known as Slackware Linux. Simultaneously, Ian Murdock became impatient with SLS, and decided to begin development of the now popular distro, Debian. From Debian came perhaps the most well known and most used distro today: Ubuntu. And I'm bound to say you've probably heard of it.

If you were to take a look at the original Linux that all these distros are building off of, odds are, you wouldn’t see much. And out of all that you saw, you probably wouldn’t find much of it very useful. You see, all these distros have several parts to them, with only one of those parts being linux. Linux itself is very bare, and contains only the necessary processes that a computer needs to run. For the average computer user, this environment is not very ideal.

The structure of the average Linux distro goes something like this:

The concept of a GUI is simple. A GUI (graphical user interface) is everything you can click on. Any movement of you mouse, the selecting of windows, and any open program you see is all part of the GUI.

To give you an idea of what a GUI isn’t, open a terminal on a linux machine or even a mac, or open a command prompt in windows. Text, and space to type more text. And when you press enter, it gives you even more text. This is called a shell environment. You type a command and the computer does exactly what you tell it to, and sometimes, it even reports back to you, and tells you what it did. This is the heart of Linux, and as you get more used to using Linux, you will probably get a little more familiar with this environment as you journey deeper. But for now, we’ll keep things simple.

Because desktop environments (a common name for GUIs) are separate from the heart of the operating system, many distros come with variations that simply have a different a desktop environment. And just like distros, every desktop environment has a different feel. As you may have gathered, in the world of Linux, there isn’t a default distro, or a default desktop environment. There are much more options than that to choose from. Being able to choose what distro and desktop environment you use on your computer gives you more control than any other non-Linux operating system. Customizability and control are reasons many people prefer Linux. While other operating systems like most control to be kept within the operating system, Linux likes control to be given to the user.

And there you have it; a simple explanation of what Linux is, a brief history of distros, and what makes it unique from all the other operating systems out there. I hope the information covered will help you get started as you venture in this curious world we call Linux. May your adventure rock!