Linux variations?

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Hi all,
I'm about to investigate Linux for the first time to see what all the fuss is about (MS fan boy at heart). There are so many different variations of Linux that I've seen (Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian, etc...) that I'm a little unsure which one to select. Is is a case to try each and settle on which one you like? Are they all fundamentally the same? Are certain versions better at doing different things?

Thanks.

 

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yes, yes, and yes.

Everyone likes different versions of Linux, and even different version for different tasks. What someone would use for a webserver may not be the same as what they would use for their desktop. Get some live cds for various version, and try them out. Ubuntu is supposed to be excellent for beginning users.

When you get down into the kernel - they are all the same thing.

Each implements things slightly differently, although a lot of the core things are about the same.

And yes, different distros are geared towards different things. They all have advantages and disadvantages. Some are aimed more towards being ultrasecure, others (like Ubuntu) aim to be as user friendly as possible.

 

Here's a great article that will get you started.

 

Nice one guys, thanks for the info. I'm going to try Ubuntu on a VM this afternoon and see how I get on. Thanks again.

 

Linux "variations" are actually called "distros" (distributions). The story at the link posted by TG mentions DistroWatch which is an excellent site to get the latest news on the different "linuxes" around.

Ubuntu is a great distro to start out with for the desktop. Let us know how you get on.

 

Dont bother trying to use linux on virtual pc, you will need vmware for that. dont know if its a fault or by design, but I've always had terrible trouble getting linux gui to work with virtual pc.