I've heard so many good things about Linux OS. Specially about the far superior safety compared to any Windows. Please advise on where to get it, what version is the best, is it free?, etc.
Pinguino
Favorite Answer
By far, Mandriva Linux is still the best for new users; Ubuntu *will be* in a year or so. *Or* try Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu, with small but important further feature; Mandriva One free edition came with official driver for graphic card and other goods like firmware for ADSL modems, etc; Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu are similar aout installation; compared to Mandriva One, they don't support 3D desktop (you can add it by following instructions, later, but that's not a good welcome for a beginner...), some minor issue (my HP scanner/printer was ready to works on Mandriva, I had to do nothing, while on Ubuntu I had to choose "Add printer" after the installation) and no closed source driver or firmware (you can install later, if needed). Linux Mint compared to Ubuntu and Mandriva came with multimedia codecs (again, you can install later on the other two) and, more important, offer you a Control Center (based on OpenSuSE one): Mandriva Control Center is the best, very useful and easy to use; Ubuntu still miss a Control Center, that's very bad for newbies...
Mandriva 2007 free on one dvd or four cd is like Mandriva One but no official driver, firmware and 3D ready desktop.
Mandriva One, Ubuntu, Mint are "live cd", meaning they will work without installing them on the hard disk (if your ram is enough, I suggest at least 256 mb), you can try them (of course they'll be slower) and if you like, click on "install" option, which is almost full automatic.
Mandriva free dvd or four cd and Ubuntu cd labeled as "alternate" are not live, they must be installed the old way: when your pc boot, you'll see the installer: this way, Mandriva is way easier then Ubuntu.
Just one link, with a lot of link: http://www.distrowatch.org
Mortis
Most Linux distributions are free; some, like Red Hat, are now Enterprise Editions that you have to purchase. A large number of distributions can be obtained from http://www.linux.org. As to which one is better that is a matter of opinion and what you are looking for in Linux. To start of with go with a Live CD version, it runs off the CD and does not write anything to your hard drive. It will run slower then an installed version due to having to unpack the files to run but it will give you a sense of what to expect with a full install. Knoppix and Ubuntu are two of the more common Live CDs. One of the best things I like about Linux is that from one set of CDs you get everything you need to set up a Server, Desktop, Firewall, ThinClient, etc., plus it also comes with an office suite built in.
drakshug
A few weeks ago I'd have said try ubuntu. However after a day when the net was down I bunged in my pclinuxOS live cd. It impressed me so much that xp and ubuntu have been ditched in favour of Pclinux.
Why?
Everything worked right away including the net (when the isp got round to fixing their cable). In ubuntu I'd always had a rather hit or miss net connection.
I configured everything outside the Konsole. It is a very easy setup for people weaned on microsoft - especially the control panel.
The backup and community support is better than ubuntu too and the KDE desktop looks better than gnome (IMO)
It is totally free. Based on Mandriva (mandrake). Has a good repository of progs and there is even a gamer version and another version with a virtual machine built in.
pclinuxos http://www.pclinuxos.com/page.php?6
pclinux with vmware http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/565
unfortunately the gamer version seems to be not free
http://www.cheeplinux.com/product_info.php?products_id=446
PLaYer 1
I'd say
go for UBUNTU this one is free, they even deliver to your door step no mater where you are and you wont have to pay a penny
Or
you can try linux Mint
this one is basically derived frm UBUNTU,
it adds certain small changes like the ability to play dvd,mp3 on installation itself
check here
www.ubuntu.com
the downside is they dont deliver like UBUNTU does
you can find the torrent for the download on thier site
www.linuxmint.com
m.trojahn
For a starter I'd advise Ubuntu... My favorite distro is Gentoo tho coz I basically only work with internet servers...
On my personal computer I still use Windows... I basically only play games at my home computer and, unfortunatelly, Windows is FAR superior on that matter...