Recommend me a distro

[rabbitweed]

So my harddrives are getting pretty darn old and I am migrating to a newer one before my computer gets fucked

I am a semi-noob. I am comfortable with the command line and can write a few basic scripts. I am comfortable using a text based installer. I am not, however, very good at sorting out drivers or compiling from source.

Ok, so what I want in a distro is basically this.

- Excellent hardware detection! I find it a little frustrating that my sound is worse in linux than it is in windows.
- Something that has a large software channel. All my attempts at compiling from source have failed (I get to make then nothing happens, I try and edit the makefile but I have no idea what I'm doing.) So support for .deb or .rpm, unless there's something else I'm missing.
- Something that tells me what dependencies I'll need when I get an app See above
- Something that doesn't come out with a new version constantly. I have a shitty internet connection. I don't mind downloading patches or rolling releases but 'having' to redo my whole operating system every 6 months just to stay up to date is a bit annoying
- A smallish distro, ie not so big it won't ship with a CD-ROM. I know what apps I like by now.
- A friendly community and some good documentation Sometimes I just want the machine to work and don't have hours to fix a problem. Not too much into elitism either.

So what do you recommend, and why?

[Prometheum]

Ubuntu.

It's worth mentioning that all GNU/Linux distros will have about the same hardware detection, depending on how up-to-date their packages are. Its also worth mentioning that very few distros natively support both Debian packages and RPM's. Use the alien tool on Ubuntu to install RPMs. Also, any distro with a package manager should handle dependancies for you.

You might also want to try Fedora, its basically the same thing, but replace Debian packages with RPM's. I don't know how to install dpkg's on Fedora, but I'm sure there's a way to do it.

[rabbitweed]

I wasn't impressed with Fedora, I have the dvd of 6 and I struggled to figure out what took up all those gigabytes.

I'm not a gnome fan. might try fluxbuntu though, some fluxbox rigs look awesome but I am too lazy to spend the effort to make them look good.

Originally Posted by rabbitweed

I wasn't impressed with Fedora, I have the dvd of 6 and I struggled to figure out what took up all those gigabytes.

I'm not a gnome fan. might try fluxbuntu though, some fluxbox rigs look awesome but I am too lazy to spend the effort to make them look good.

Well i think you can get Fedora 9 that comes with kde live media.

I'm pretty much the same as you on level of experience, i have been using ubuntu for a few weeks and have found it to be tremendously easy to install apps and get it up and running. The whole apt-get thing is a walk in the park. Ubuntu detected my hardware perfectly and never had no probz with it.

However, as i speak i'm currently downloading Fedora 9 media DVD. I've heard some nice things about this distro, so i'm going to give it ago. I've never got one of those dvds before, i've always settled for the live media, however looking forward to all the niceys that come with it.

I guess you can't help about a new version of the current distro being released every six months. I think it's a good thing really as things are improving and getting better, plus six months is quite a long time as well.