On Sun, 26 Aug 2007 10:44:31 +0200, .... www.FocusOnPanama.com .... wrote:

> I was a Linux freak for many years until some 4 years ago that, kind of
> out of necessity, I defected to the Microsoft camp lured by XP and
> Microsoft .NET and having grown tired of the feeling of having to
> assemble the car part by part before I could start driving. Sure there
> is Mono, the .NET alternative for Unix/Linux but why would I settle for
> an incomplete framework (at the time) when I could have the real thing
> and a wonderful IDE right away? that is why I migrated to "the other
> side"
>
> I haven't used Linux since, specially after a couple of GRUB disasters
> that rendered my whole PC useless until I managed some wizardry to
> recover my stuff (IMHO good olé LILO was the best).
>
> [big snip]
>
> Anyway, let me know which distro you think it is the best at this moment
> based on my comments (which might be experienced as harsh by current-day
> linux fanatics).

"Best" is more a matter of opinion than something quantifiable. "Better"
would be a more appropriate term anyway. Which Linux would be better for
a server or which Linux would be better for general use on old hardware,
etc?

Linux has changed a lot, since you left, so much so, that you would
basically be starting from zero. So, for that reason, I'm going to
recommend a few distros that I would recommend for the newbie. These are
"Live" CD or DVDs, so you can use them without installing them on your
hard drive. They boot and run in RAM, if you have enough, or in RAM and
off the disk, if you don't. "Enough" is at least 2 GB. Great for just
feeling your way. In no particular order:

PCLinuxOS 2007
Knoppix
Kubuntu
SimplyMepis
Fedora 7 Live

That should get you started.

Go here --- http://www.distrowatch.com/ -- for info on the other 300 or
so Linux distributions.

Stef