Overview
one of the problems with linux is finding a distribution that is stable, meaning it is going to work and install. sound driver support is usually minimal - there are no mixers such as on windows except for one specific chipset.
Operating Systems(OS)
ubuntu 10.10 [CD](live/install)
This makes a nice installable desktop OS.
I have done some of my own testing on my test machines, and found ubuntu 10.10 to be stable, although there is a bug (I submitted a bug report and it's hopefully fixed in 10.10) related to shutdown if you had a pre-ACPI machine. It would not present a "please turn off the computer now" message but instead would leave 4 dots with a nice background - but you could hear the disks turn off, so you knew the machine was safe to turn off. on old slow 98 boxes the software installer's install button must be pressed 10 times and you must login at least once every application.
other than that, it's easy to use, and people prefer this version of ubuntu to previous versions. it is available from the ftp area.
updates
I have had to repair the filesystem using the media and gparted to check the partition and "apply" after the first few updates, but all was fine after that. I use gparted a lot on XP.
software
There is loads of software available for ubuntu. it runs both KDE and gnome apps, so there's a plethora of linux apps in the install list you can use, including
- development environments
- educational
- utilities
- office apps (gnumeric is a tremendously compatible spreadsheet available on many platforms)
- media apps
- more
live media
the installation media also works as live media and you can test drive it before you install.
puppy linux(live)
this was recommended to me for older machines, and as being stable by someone at my Do Life Computers group.
it is somewhat useful and you can access disks and get on the internet with it, but I don't recommend using purely a livecd since it means wearing out many dvd drives.
live media
puppy linux is live media only. It's supposed to come on a CD or DVD ISO, but the only thing I can find is this 132MB ISO. there is a puppylinux.com (the better front face) and a puppylinux.org and both are the same thing.
using live media means that you can write to a hard disk partition, but you may have to use command-line mount and umount commands to mount the partition correctly.
fedora [DVD](live)
this was recommended to me as being stable by someone at my Do Life Computers group when I had it. Requires 486 with 384MB of RAM. so the proc is not a problem, but the RAM will definitely be a problem on older 98 boxes, since most of them can't go above 256MB of ram.
I have tested this distribution. installation media is simple and straightforward. it does tests to see if you have the required RAM.
I recommend the desktop live/install media.
desktop live/install media
the desktop live/install media has a nice look to it.
using live media means that you can write to a hard disk partition, but you may have to use command-line mount and umount commands to mount the partition correctly.
on an old windows 98 box with 256MB of RAM doesn't work.
the live desktop media has the option of installing itself to the hard disk. which I tried on a machine wwith more RAM. the DVD, for all its size, has only a 694MB maximum-size filesystem on it!
in the end, I had to do a zero wipe with the disk wipe program I wrote so I could test my freedos installations later.
they are essentially using the DVD as if it were a couple of alternate installation cd's.
I want one big full package DVD with a minimal amount loaded into memory if it's a livecd, and lots of commonly useful apps.
System Requirements
minimum 512MB ram, 1GB for best performance. 400MHz+ or faster processor 10GB+ hard disk space
OpenSUSE
you get a choice of either gnome or KDE desktops. Unlike ubuntu, it doesn't merge the two. so you get less apps. Your favorite Office application (OpenOffice.org) may not be available with gnome. default is KDE.
System Requirements
minimum 256MB ram, 512GB recommended. Pentium processor 500MB-3GB hard disk space
old boxen
this distribution runs on old boxen, but you should manually set your swap file to soemthing like 4GB however you can - I am not good at this at all, I can't stand the partitioner in linux. I like gparted much better, so it may be better to partition with gparted first.
uses YAST for its software install/remove and printer setup/configuration and this stinks, because it's impossible to do anything except driver updates.
Knoppix
Bootable livecd only. COmes in 8GB DVD and 2GB cd (uses compression)
System Requirements
minimum 256MB ram, 512GB recommended. Pentium processor 500MB-3GB hard disk space
old boxen
this distribution runs on old boxen, but you should manually set your swap file to soemthing like 4GB however you can - I am not good at this at all, I can't stand the partitioner in linux. I like gparted much better, so it may be better to partition with gparted first.
uses YAST for its software install/remove and printer setup/configuration and this stinks, because it's impossible to do anything except driver updates.
Just Use Linux
justuselinux.com or , download for free, donate,or purchase media... suoport available
looks like XP, but the core is going to be debian to eliminate bugs based on the idea of ubuntu-likeness (software center, features).