OK, Noob question re Linux.

[Noohbee]

Forgive the monumental noobness... Please be gentle

Recently purchased an emachines T3516 PC from TigerDirect- 120 GB HD, Celeron D 3.2 Ghz processor, 512 MB DDR Ram- nothing super-spectacular, but it is OK for my needs.

My best friend runs Linux on all of his machines, and from the way he talks about it, it is the best thing since naked girls.
Free software for any concievable utility, super efficient over Windows, easy to use, etc.

My computing needs are threefold.

1) Your basic stuff (web browsing, DL'ing music, word processing, watching videos, stuff like that)

2) I want to get some animation software to start doing my own cartoons.

3) Some very basic and beginner graphic photo editing/shopping.

Knowing what machine I have to work with and what my needs are, would you say that Linux is an OK fit for me?
And if so, what Linux program would you suggest?
I will have to wipe a preinstalled XP home edition off the drive of my new PC- to me, this is a big step since Windows is all i've ever used and this will be my first jump into Linux.

Thanks for any help.

Landon

 

[macdude425]

1) No problem.
http://mozilla.com
http://openoffice.org
http://videolan.org/vlc

2) Using what program?

3) No problem.
http://gimp.org

I recommend Ubuntu

 

[Noohbee]

2) I'm not sure. I'm looking to do something maybe a bit more advanced than South Park, but nowhere near Shrek. Something in the Simpsons/Family Guy range...

Does anyone know if there is Linux-OK animation software that might fit in this range of capability?

 

[jakec]

for No 1. Check the links Macdude has provided all very good programs

What Linux is O.K for you, may I suggest Using a live CD first before you install anything, it can be installed later if you wish

Kubuntu
http://www.kubuntu.org/


Mandriva
http://www.mandriva.com/community/mandrivaone


PCLinuxOS .92
http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/metalab/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/live-cd/english/preview/
ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/metalab/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/live-cd/english/preview/

This is the distro I use and recommend, Why because it works right out of the box. No need to configure Everything, everything just works. It also comes as a 1 CD install that is a live CD that you can install later if you wish.

Mephis
http://www.mepis.org/

if you want more of an Idea, try these Distro choosers

http://eedok.voidofmind.com/linux/chooser.html
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

as for your Cartoon question Blender is probably suited to you:
http://www.blender.org/

hope this Helps,

Jake