I just bought a new comp from cyberpowerinc and got dual 80 gig drives with it. I am planning to run dual OSs. I am going to use Win2kPro on one drive and Linux on the other. However, I don't know squat about Linux and I want your opinions on which Linux is the easiest to learn. (Corel, FreeBSD, Mandrake, Redhat, etc..) Please, no Linux bashing, I'm just trying to learn a new OS. And, please, back your answers with a reason why. Thanks.

Hello,
I got my start with Linux by installing RedHat 7.2 which I still use and enjoy. I then experimented with Mandrake, SuSe, ELX, and RedHat 7.3, all of which are very easy to install and worked well for me on my old P200 Computer. The only real difference between them was the selection of bundled programs and how they automated the process of mounting drives, and handled the process of setting up Linux...i.e. firewall config. etc.

You can purchase Linux CD's with these distributions at: http://www.cheapbytes.com/ and http://www.edmunds-enterprises.com/linux/comments.php for $.99/CD + S&H, if you don't have a broadband connection which would allow you to download them directly for free from each Distro's homepage.

From what I have read and personally experienced SuSe and Mandrake ease the learning curve the most and get you up and running with the least amount of grief but RedHat seemed more full featured in some ways. The new versions of RedHat and Mandrake have been released and SuSe is due out soon and all are reported to have made progress in smoothing the transition to Linux for first time users. Sometimes you can get retail boxed copies of the outdated versions at places like Office Depot at substanial discounts and the included manuals make first time installs easier. I would recommend getting the latest release of any of the distributions unless you have an older computer that might not be able to run them fast enough to be enjoyable. The only warning I can give from my experience is that unless you have a hardware modem rather than a WinModem you may have a hard time getting connected to the internet because many WinModems do not have equivalent Linux Drivers. The money saved on the OS over a copy of Windows more than pays for a new modem anyway and Linux is so much more satisfying to use...you can let it run for days and come back to it and it will run perfectly: no crashes, lock-up's or unpleasant behavior.

I hope you enjoy exploring Linux.

Regards
CB

I'd recommend Redhat because if you need to find any help or tips on the web there are plenty as its one of the most popular distros (if not the most popular).

I'd also recommend getting a good book on all the ins and outs. I got one called Redhat Linux Unleashed and it pretty much covers everything.

I like redhat because its easy to use and its easy to find help on it.