[Linux-Discussion] Re: looking for good/easy Linux download
- From: Curt Binder <binder@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: linux-discussion@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 08:32:10 -0500
On Sunday 17 March 2002 02:38, you wrote:
> Thanks Robert. I know what partitioning is, but I was hoping that the
> setup program would walk me through that. I'm getting discouraged from the
> downloading option for two reasons:
>
> 1. The download.com "download now" for Red Hat takes me to a list of links
> and each link takes me to an FTP directory tree. I don't know what to
> download. It's taking time trying to figure that out.
When browsing the FTP directory trees, you will want to look for a directory
called 'ISOS' or something similar. They are complete CD's of the OS.
Usually they are labeled something like 'OS-version-install' or
'OS-version-extras'. You get the idea.
>
> 2. I have a 56K modem. This could be painful, right?
>
OUCH. This will definitely hurt when downloading any distro. The ISO's are
usually upward 500+ megs per image. Keep in mind, each image is an entired
CD. Your best bet would be to goto a store and drop the 30-40$ to get the
distro of your choice. When you do that, you will get all of the CD's for
that distro plus a nice little book that goes along with them. This is what
I did when I got started with Slackware and let me tell you, it was well
worth the 40$ I spent. The book was a simple book that walked me through
some of the general stuff about linux.
> The ftp tree for for Slackware looks reasonably easy to follow and the
> README file looks helpful. This might be a good reason to try this
> distribution. I'm not so interested in a fancy GUI -- I get that with
> Windows. I want a simple but powerful Linux implementation for two main
> purposes.
>
> 1. Run a specific application written for Linux to take advantage of dual
> processors
> (I'm getting a machine with 2 Athalon 1900+ processors)
> 2. Compile Fortran programs with OpenGL
>
Sounds to me like you want to go with Slackware. By far, it is the most
secure/stable linux distro out of the box. It can be easily setup to be just
a 'command line' or 'gui'. I would suggest going with Slackware. I bet
several others, including this lists' manger John, will agree with me.
> If the download/setup is not as simple as I wanted, I hope I can at least
> find a step by step procedure telling which SPECIFIC files to download and
> then what to do with them. If I must partition manually, that's okay. I
> just would like specific instructions on when to do it and how.
>
The setup is simple and straight forward. The only draw-back for you would
be that you have to partition your hard drive before you start the install.
This would be a good time for you to get a second hard drive and keep linux
on it. It makes things easier if you are just starting out. When you start
to install it, just ask all the questions you want on here cause all these
guys are more than willing to help out. Plus, we have all been there before
and can offer lots of pointers and helpful tips.
Best of luck in choosing a linux distro.
Curt
--
# Curt Binder <binder@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
# ICQ: 3132781 AOL: cbinder69
# Linux ... because Penguins Rule =)
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