What is the best Linux version?

[sweetheart]

I'm taking the plunge, and am overwhelmed by the number of linux
versions and releases... something i used to call "linux" turns out
to be a gazillion different things.

I am looking for a version that will not overwhelm a pentium 400
as this old box is the internet machine, and does little else
besides browse and get re-built after virus attacks. That said,
if it has gnu c++ i won't complain, mysql sounds fun, and generally
i've no objections to a full unix build.

Even better if it includes openoffice, or have i to get this separately? Is there a linux "visio"?

Do you use firewall products with linux or are they redundant?

I would like to spend less than 100 bucks, but i notice the builds
from mandrake cost up to 200 euro's... and i can't tell the difference between all these versions.

Also, an excellent book like an "o'reilly" guide if you know a good
general getting in to linux book i can get with the build i purchase.

Keep in mind, i'm taking delivery in the scottish highlands, and
cannot download due to speed. I really don't want to pay an extra
17,5% vat on an import package from the USA. Is redhat any good
or Sosu(sp?).

Thanks in advance for y'alls' pearles of wisdom.

[MSgt213]

1. Redhat you have to pay for Fedora is the free offering from them now

you can find that here. http://fedora.redhat.com/
Lycrois http://www.lycoris.com/ is very easy to use for newbies so is lindows now linspire http://linspire.com/ There are numerous others but those are the ones I recommend. You can check out some more here. http://www.linux.org/ Hope this helps.

[gottaB]

2. Since switching to Debian I haven't kept up with other distros

You could start here:

http://www.distrowatch.com

I don't know what you want exactly, or whether you need an official distro with manuals and everything. To save money you can just by from a cd burner.

I really enjoyed using SuSe and thought it worth every penny. They have the best manuals and courteous tech help. That was a long time ago though. YMMV

[ret5hd]

3. FIY...none of the distros will overload a P400 (that i'm aware of)...

unless you start editing large photos using GIMP (photoshop-like pgm) or maybe playing some of the games that have recently come out (i never have, so i dont know)

also, at least redhat (probably all) have a "built-in" firewall, so probably no need to buy one.

linux is very lightweight.

[Frederic Bastiat]

4. SuSe bar none n/t

[Kellanved]

6. SuSe: I agree 100 %

Get the pro version - it is worth it. And wait for 9.1 - it should be published soon.

As for Sweetheart's wish list:
- No Linux version itself will overwhelm a 400 MHz machine. However some features of the newer windowmanagers / Desktops might.
- THE GNU Compiler Collection is an essential part of Linux.
- Openoffice and KOffice are included
- Kvivio and Umbrello UML are Open Source Visio -like tools. Umbrello is a pretty decent UML tool, I'm not so happy about KVivio
- The SuSe manual is pretty good; the O'reilly nutshell book is always worth having. There is a huge number of How-Tos for basically anything Linux-related on the Internet.
- SuSe comes with a firewall.
- I'd order over amazon or something similar.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. I strongly suggest...

You consider Mandrake 10.0 Official. Either buy it now(I would recommend one of the Powerpacks...) or wait for it to be released in the 3 CD free version, in about a week or so.

I run it here, and it is fantastic. They have really nailed it with this release.

http://www.mandrakelinux.com

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

7. One more thing, as regards Firewalls:

Rather than rely on a firewall on the machine you are running, I would suggest, especially if you have some form of broadband/baseband high-speed connection, that you try Smoothwall 2.0.

Smoothie requires you to grab an old computer(I am running it on a PII here, with 128 megs of ram and a small HDD), a CDROM and two cheap NICs. Read the instructions and start the beast with the CD in the drive, it will boot from the CD and take you into the installation process.

Smoothie is really good stuff, peeps. It is incredibly robust, has tons of features, the admin webpages are incredibly informative and easy to use(not to mention putting tons of powerful features at your fingertips) and it is free. As in beer.

With Smoothie, you will have some of the highest levels of protection going and you can, with a hub/switch, network the whole goddamn house. You just cannot beat Smoothie. It is best-of-breed.

http://www.smoothwall.org

[Pobeka]

8. Ditto. If at all possible run a firewall on a different machine.

You can probably pick up a surplus pentium box for $50 that will do just fine. 100 Mhz is more than enough for a firewall, so anything over that speed is just gravy :-). With 2 network cards you'll be set. That may set you back another $10.

There are solid technical reasons for running a firewall on a separate machine. I don't have time to go into it right now but you should at least consider it.

I'm running Redhat and Fedora right now. I have tried Mandrake, and it wasn't so clean for me (that was a couple of years ago.) The plug I would make for redhat/fedora is that the OS upgrades have always been painless.

[sweetheart]

9. Thanks to all of your replies... this is exciting!

I've ordered mandrake-10 4 cd version from a discount CD burner and the "O'reilly" book on linux.

For putting the firewall on a separate machine.. hmmm. I've gotta
buy an old box... all i gots are old laptops, that don't take cards..
and this connection is ISDN.

If i don't like mandrake, i'll order sesu, as its on amazon, and
reasonable. I knew too many of the folks who managed redhat UK to
be inspired about them, as much as i love opensource... business
familiarity leaves me looking elsewhere.
Fedora would take 27 hours to download... no.

I'm really excited about this. I have written a fair amount of
code on Solaris, and have always loved UNIX. That the GNU
compiler, Apache, and an sql system really top it off... geez that
would cost a fortune on microsoft. ha! I hope they have vi. Its
an old addiction... Heck, if it proves a stable development
platform, i'll never touch microcrap again.

I'm curious how it works with the USB keys and cameras we have
around the house. If it works a charm, i'll dump microsoft
on my primary computer as well. It always really burned me to pay
them money for rotting out my profession... and i'd much rather
have nothing to do with them.... how awesome.

I'll look in to this old-box firewall concept.