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Which is best Free Linux Project to Install and Learn

 
Sajan Patel
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Hi All,

I am planning to install Linux on My PC and would like to use it as developing JAVA. I would like to know which are Best GUI version of Free Linux project (e.g. Fedora, Suse, Red Hat).

Thanks in Advance.

Sajan Patel
 
Peter Rooke
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Depends on what you want to do... I personally like Fedoria, but have not looked at the other products for a while.

Heres a web link: DistroWatch
Looks like the most popular is Ubuntu Linux, I've never used it. Is anyone using this?
 
Gerardo Tasistro
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Sajan we use Mandriva Linux at work for our workstations it is easy to setup and cheap. Yet if you're new and just want to test get Mepis or Knoppix Live CDs and check them out. You can run them without even touching your install so you can get a feel of it.
 
Stefan Wagner
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@Sajan: How do you define 'best Gui'?

Every flavour seems to be best for those, who are using it.
 
Tim Holloway
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"Best" is a word frequently misused by the ignorant. Which is "best", apples or oranges? Depends on your tastes, needs and even allergies.

In this case, there's also a number of other factors. Linux doesn't actually have a GUI. Linux is the kernel, and if you say "Linux", meaning "gui" without saying "gnu", Richard Stallman will come and batter you about the head and shoulders.

Linux GUIs are based on a windowing system (almost invariably MIT's "X" window system) and made fit for human consumption by the addition of a desktop. Most distros default to either KDE or Gnome, though there are literally dozens of other desktops that have been developed for X. For the big name distros, like Red Hat, you generally can either select which desktop you wish to run under and/or can switch to a different desktop via a simple user command.

A lot of the config utilities and such have gui wrappers. These are programs, often in Python (Red Hat likes Python for this stuff). All they do is present dialogs, take the data and invoke the command-line config utility . Historically, these apps would use curses to make a character-mode gui (using "curses") if you weren't running X, otherwise they'd present a gui dialog(s).

With all those options, the word "best" seems to be a little feeble, I think.

The reality is, pick whatever makes you comfortable. Generally, that means whatever people around you like, since that way you'll have more local support. In the US, Red Hat (Fedora, if you want "bleeding-edge" stuff) and SuSe are preferred for business due to their vendor support, Debian and its spinoffs (including Knoppix and Ubuntu) are popular with home users. Other countries often have their own preferences, as there are many regionalized variants.

Java's not all that picky. Almost any Linux will run Java, as long as the hardware's up to it.
 
James Swan
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I would recommend Ubuntu linux as an introduction.
You can try out a "live" version on your PC which doesn't install anything, but lets you see how Ubuntu would run.

Not sure of your hardware setup, but for me I have an IBM THinkpad laptop with a funky ATI video card, wireless network adapter etc. Ubuntu managed to recognise all of the hardware on the laptop, so the installation was a breeze.
 
Dipankar Murao
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I would personally recommend ubuntu.It is the one of the best "NON COMMERCIAL" Linux distros available today.Also they will ship free cds to you.
 
Gonzalo Nadal
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The choose of a distro is the neverending subject in the linux forums.
The best? Choose one, play whith it and if dont like it, try with another

Mandrake always has been known as easy.
Ubuntu is fighting to obtain this place.
The "true free distribution" is Debian but is a little hard to begin with it.

Ups! i forgot Gentoo in the group of "true free distribution" but is harder than Debian for a noob
 
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