How to Get a Linux Distribution

FRIDGE

If An Old Dead Poet Wrote a Linux Book

I like to get Linux at the store in a box.
I like to get Linux with some brand new socks.
I like to buy Linux from a Web site.
Then the nice people ship the CDs to my house.
Uh-oh, that didn't rhymewhich makes this also not rhyme.

I like to download Linux from Web sites.
I like to not think about the fact that we are all covered in dust mites.
I like to get Linux in many different ways.
I like to pretend I am Willie Mays.
Well, I don't really like to pretend to be a dead man,
But it rhymed better than pretending to be Gilligan.

Was that in iambic pentameter? Don't ever show that to my high school English teacher. Remember, you are propagating the rumor that I'm a genius. Pretend you liked that poem, and move on.

Walk into your local software store, and you're going to see a lot of copies of Windows. Walk by all of that. You will then see boxes of software that runs only on Windows. Keep walking. Linux is a little harder to get hold of than other operating systems simply because of its status as an underdog. The store isn't your only option. Linux is used by a computer-savvy group of people, they have savvy ways to distribute Linux to you.

Go to the Store

So you're in the software store, and you walked by all of those boxes with the Windows symbol on them. Somewhere in the store are probably some boxed copies of Linux. Linux isn't a big seller in stores yet, so you might have a hard time finding it. Look back by those copies of the encyclopedia programs or the cemetery-planning software. Linux is there somewhere. Many stores carry copies of popular distributions such as Mandrake and SUSE. Red Hat used to be among those easy to find in stores, but that changed when the company switched to releasing its enterprise edition for companies and leaving the home version to the new Fedora distribution. Wal-Mart has also started selling PCs preloaded with Linspire Linux. Boxed distributions average between $50 and $150 in price, with choices of different levels of editions. When you buy a boxed distribution, you get much more than just an OS for your money; you get most of the programs you need as well.

Why bother to buy Linux in a box? You get handy manuals with colorful logos plastered all over them. Who wouldn't want that? If you feel lost with this whole Linux thing or don't consider yourself to be technically inclined, buying a packaged distribution that includes manuals might be helpful. The manuals explain very basic concepts, such as using menus and moving windows. They then move on to talk about how to perform certain tasks. You will inevitably need to go beyond the manual and its limitations, but that's why you are reading this book. Another great reason to buy the boxed distribution is that you get to financially contribute to the software that you are using and to the companies that put everything together for you. If you cannot contribute to the open source software community by programming, buying a distribution is an easy way to give back.

Buy Online

If you go to the Web sites of many Linux distributions, you will see links so that you can purchase copies online. Just as with buying a packaged set of disks and manuals in the store, buying a Linux distro online gives you the chance to financially contribute to your favorite distribution and to open source software. Most of the time with purchasing online, you will have the boxed set sent to you by mail. This method works if you don't need instant gratification.

Download CD Images

Did I mention that Linux is free? Let me say it again. Linux is free. You can get your copy of Linux by downloading it off the Internet. Unless you are into self-torture, you will want to have a broadband connection to download any distro. Although there is a possibility of doing a network install, that can be another form of self-torture. Your best bet is to download CD images, called ISOs. A great Web site to visit for any distribution that you want is http://www.distrowatch.com. Distro Watch has descriptions and links to most of the distributions available, a top 10 list of the major distributions, and pricing so you know which ones are free and which are commercial distros. The information pages for each distribution also list which versions of popular programs are included.

UNDER THE HOOD

JOIN A TORRENT

Many people don't know about it, but BitTorrent is a great way to download Linux ISOs for many distributions. BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file-sharing program. To download files, you use a search engine to find a torrent file, download that pointer file, and use the BitTorrent software to open that file. BitTorrent finds other users sharingwhat you want and downloads the file in small bits. While downloading, you are also sharing. The download is a bit slow, but you relieve the traffic burden on many universities and volunteers running mirror sites by using BitTorrent.

Use the CD in This Book

Go look in the back flap of the book. What's there? Linux! There are a few Linux distributions that run off a bootable CD, a live CD distro. Knoppix and Gnoppix are among the most popular live CD versions. Mandrake also has a live CD distro called MandrakeMove. Most people use these distros so that they can easily boot into Linux from any PC. I have used Knoppix before to get quickly online after rendering my computer unable to boot by doing something way too smart to admit to. I just put in Knoppix, rebooted, and got online to look up how to fix the computer. You can use this distro to try out many of the programs and tools in this book. If you are still deciding whether to run Linux on your desktop, use this CD to test-drive a few features.

The caveat to using a live CD distribution is that what you get on the CD is what you get, no changing desktop environments or installing software. The best use of a live CD is for a little exploring. After exploring, go ahead and take the plunge to installing a full Linux distribution.

Accost the Nearest Geeky-Looking Man or Woman Wearing Some Piece of Clothing with a Penguin on It, Steal Their Laptop, and Run Really Fast

Umm, no, actually don't do that. I think you might get arrested or something.