On Sat, 2 Jun 2001, Curtis Matthiesen wrote:
> Can someone recommend to me a good version of Linux that is very easy to use
> and that has a GUI similar to Windows (oops I said the dreaded W word ;))?
Any modern full distribution contains either the GNOME or
KDE desktop environments, complete with all the bloatware
which makes Windows so popular.
For ease of installation, most people go with Mandrake.
IIRC, this distribution requires 1 GB HD space and a minimum
of 32MB RAM, though with KDE or GNOME, you'll probably want
at least 64MB.
> Also, one that has many device drivers available for it so that I'd be able
> to run all my devices (video card, network card, etc.)
Device drivers, though included, are largely independent
of distribution.
For the latest on what hardware is supported under Linux,
see http://www.ibiblio.org/mdw/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO/
> Also, would there be a way to dual boot my Windows 98 machine so that I
> could either load Windows or Linux at startup?
Yup. People do it all the time. LILO (Linux Loader)
is standard with all distributions and allows booting
multiple OS's. You'll want to install Windows first,
and then Linux, otherwise Win' will overwrite your
MBR, assuming that's where you boot from.
- Steve
