If I do end up getting the N900 perhaps it's worth learning Linux in order to be able to really utilise it's capabilities. It did cross my mind to change my home computers to Linux as well.

I am totally new to Linux, and I have only ever been a user of Windows based machines. I know what command line is, but I never bothered with it, and appreciate the ease of Windows.

I got a book only yesterday that introduces Linux. I understand the advantages and appreciate the possibilities of a great community, lower cost and not getting bloatware that slows down the system with time. I appreciate that Linux works differently from Windows and Mac when it comes to multi-tasking etc. Through the book I also understand Linux is more complex to handle than MacOS or Windows, and I realize I won't have Word, Powerpoint and such, but that is less sensitive in my home environment.

The question is, to make it as easy as possible to learn, and make the threshold low, which distribution should I get. Ubuntu?

For compatibility should I get a Debian based one? If I do get Debian, which should I get?

I'd like to be able to run both PC solutions and possibly a server with time.

Id recommend Ubuntu

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Download the CD and boot off it and you get the option to try it without actually installing it - its a good way to get into it without trashing your existing set up..

+1 for Ubuntu. Don't be put off by all that "Linux is for geeks" stuff. Times have changed. As a professional Windows installer/maintainer/supporter, I run Ubuntu Linux at home. My Mom runs Ubuntu Linux too.

It is probably harder for experts to switch to Ubuntu than regular users. Regular users will just see a windows-like system that's easy to install and comes with thousands of free applications. Experts will be frustrated by not knowing how to do some technical thing that they know how to do in Windows, but can't find under a different OS, and, well, yeah, that's really, really frustrating at times. But, once you get past that bit, there's no going back. Ubuntu is awesome.

David...

P.S. as a hint, unless you're a FOSS purist, after you install Ubuntu, use the Application center to install the "Ubuntu restricted extras" That will give you mp3 support etc... No, it doesn't cost anything, that's not what they mean by "non-free."

Ubuntu is a great distro for beginners with the one exception of support for ATi video cards. This used to work fine but later distros have stopped working properly with cards of a few years ago. If you get scrambled video display try using Google for the quick fixes, failing that there are some great other Distros that might be good for you. Check out your local newsagent for magazines too, some of them are very good and often have tutorials for newbies as well.

fixerdave:>> "No, it doesn't cost anything, that's not what they mean by "non-free."<<

That maybe one of the key points. In Linux its "free as in freedom". So free stuff is allowed to use and to share. You should be a little bit attracted to this attitude as this also defines some of Linux limits. So is high protected content like games or HD multimedia ... "different" in Linux.

Knowing this limits you should check how well your hardware is supported. Use a common live-cd like Knoppix, Opensuse or (K)Ubuntu. For a newbie I would recommend OpenSuse as it has a strong system manager and shows you more than one incarnation of a Desktop Linux (unlike Ubuntu).
Yes, there are different ways in Linux to present you a Desktop system.

Bye

Thorsten

I'd also suggest to start with either Ubuntu or Kubuntu. Support on those distributions is phenomonal, and are both very easy to install and work with. The difference being that Ubuntu uses the Gnome Desktop interface while Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop interface. (really just comes down to a different look and feel, and the development library and services available to developers)

Maemo is based of a Debian based Linux, which both Ubuntu and Kubuntu are as well. This means that those distributions will be organized the same way on your n900 as on your pc. Also, interesting to know that Maemo is currently using a variant of Gnome for it's desktop. They plan to move to Qt (the library that KDE is based on) desktop when they release Maemo 6.

I am using Kubuntu on a cheap Toshiba L305 duo core laptop. Love it. As seems to be the norm for any distribution I've tried, most of the drivers work great out of the box. I did have to tweak the power management software on it as it wasn't recognizing when the battery was being charged or not. A quick search on Google resolved that issue. One great feature is that the install cd also allows you to try the distribution without installing or changing anything on your pc. It just runs off the cd and is slow but is a great way to see if you like it and whether you are going to have any driver issues.

Ubuntu, since it's a full-fledged Linux distro but still "just works".

Another nice distro you can try is Puppy Linux, which is tiny and quick. I've used it in alternative to Ubuntu on not-so-recent computers and it lacked nothing.


You can run it from an USB stick, and you can run it also from a CD, either R or RW, and all your files and changes will be written on it each time!

There's also a derivative I made up, with several added packages, but nowadays they're quite outdated (though could be fun to play with).

You could also install Virtualbox or VmWare server (free) on your current Windows system and run/install Ubuntu in it. That is good way to familiarise to Linux without dangering current OS.

You could also download the ready package that has Maemo development enviroment installed. Its ubuntu based virtual image, and you can test SDK too.

There are many ways to test Linux
I would also suggest trying out Crunchbang distribution, its sexy, sleek and light Ubuntu based Linux.

Exactly the same position as you about 2 months ago, having never used Linux! I would definatly agree with the guys on here that Ubuntu is the way forward.

It has been really simple to use and has an excellent home forum which has LOADS of useful pages from installing software to more complicated stuff.

I am using Ubuntu 9.10 and have had no problems at all. It takes a bit of getting used to because some things are very different, but if your an average to experienced user of windows then you shouldn't have any problem crossing over.

I installed Ubuntu on an external hard drive and ran it from there while I was getting used to it (so I always had windows to fall back on), but I am seriously considering getting rid of XP all together now.... (by the way, running it off a Dell Latitude D620 - and didn't have any issues with drivers etc was an install and away you go situation - which was great!)

This community/free/open way of doing things is way better as well, plus an answer to question is never far away! Hope you have fun!