A few Linux Noob Questions...

[þÄ®âÐÖx]

For a beginner, I'd probably suggest Mandrake.. it seems to have the friendliest installer, and it seems to run quite well overall. As for disk space, it all depends on what you're installing. I would probably reccommend at least 4gb, and if you're planning on installing many programs/games, i'd up it to 6gb. As for Gnome vs. KDE, it all comes down to personal preference.. I prefer Gnome, but it's strictly an opinion. Both are extremely stable and fast, and they each have their benefits.

As for devices, you're probably already aware that driver support is one of Linux's shortcomings.. I'm not sure about USB modems, but I know that I couldn't get my USB Wireless card working in Mandrake or Slackware. Maybe just try poking around on Google and Google Groups for your particular brand/model and see if anyone has experiences to share.

Game-wise, it's getting better, but it still sucks. Your best bet is to look into Wine-X at http://www.transgaming.com/ because in my experience that's the best/easiest way to get games working under Linux.

 

[GerkSide]

I just installed mandrake it comes with gnome and kmd some others too,it had no problems finding all my hardware nice
easy setup.

 

[GerkSide]

i dont know about games i'm just learning the file system first.

 

[þÄ®âÐÖx]

Currently Moh:AA doesn't run under Linux.. this is exactly the type of game where the thing to do is email the company and express your dissatisfaction with their lack of a Linux port.. the game is based on the Quake3 engine, so it would probably take them no more than a week to port, but they don't bother. IMO the only way to change this is get more users complaining about it, otherwise it looks like nobody cares.

 

[shan]

1) Which version seems to be the best, RedHat, Mandrake, SUSE?
I really like the RedHat Distrabution, but like paradox said, Mandrake is much more friendly to set up for the new user. But they are all Linux, so once you got one down, you can always upgrade to a different version.

2) How much diskspace would be appropriate?
7 GIGS will get plenty of room the the OS and anything you download, or install. 5 GIGS would still give you about 2.5 GIGS of free space on the drive.

3) Gnome or KDE?
BlackBox!!! No really I use both gnome and KDE, i like them both, it's all about your preferences and stuff. You could install both, play around with them, and the one that you don't like, just uninstall.

4) What about peripherals?, like my USB modem that i use at the
moment to connect to the net. Can i still use it in Linux?
Check with the manufacturers of the devices, to their websites and see if they provide Linux drivers for the products, or they might even be on the installation cd that it came with. If that doesn't work go to www.sourceforge.com or www.google.com and to a serch for Linux Drivers...and see if you can come up with anything. (if they aren't already bundled in the version of Linux )
5) What about games? - Are there Windows & Linux versions?
It's kinda schetchy, some work, some don't. It's all kinda dependent on if they can get it to run in Wine. (Wine emulates the window's api's and a lot of software titles can run under Linux, but alot can't. It's kinda hit and miss in that subject.) Eventually they will start producing games for both systems, when Linux becomes for known.

Hope this helps

 

[shan]

Sweet! Good luck !!!

 

[b.dave]

mandrake seems to be the most user friendly so i think that would be the way to go if you have only used windows, in the past, but for the more advanced among ius i would recommmend red hat, that seems to be the best of them all at the moment and definately the one to be catching up with windows everyday especially as there are always new pieces of soeftware coming out

 

[Ecniv]

I use mandrake at home and love it. Chances are, yo wont be able to find linux drivers for a USB cable modem though.

What model is it? i can take a look around for ya.