After years of using Windows, I have decided to "throw off the chains of corporate oppression" and switch to Linux. My main question is this: which free (key word) distro would be best suited for a person used to working in Windows, and enjoys gaming?

This post has been edited by microscopic^earthling: Aug 9 2005, 10:40 AM

Hmmm... nevermind. I have found a distro which suits me just fine: Damn Small Linux. I've got it on my Jumpdrive now. This has potential to be a very fun little project.

Well if you want a full fledged distro i would recomend Ubuntu

DSL is good ..but its primary aim is to be small and not provide with the best possible free softwares ..not to mention skipping alot of stuff

I agree with hatim. Ubuntu was regarded as the Best Linux Distribution of 2005 by PCWorld.
But be prepared for the troubles coming during the first days of your Linux life. It's different from Windows and not that easy to use. And if you plan to play your Windows games under Linux, you will need a Windows emulator and quite some Linux skills.
By the way, most Linux distros are free for downloading.

You can find a pretty large overview over current Linux distrobutions here:
http://www.distrowatch.com/ They have little summarys about what the focus of each distro is.

GreetingZ

Hey try ubuntu. I think you can still order a free CD. I just recived my 5 copies for me and my friends. I didn't manage to try it jet, but I will soon. I have tried that boot CD with preinstalled ubuntu on, and it works very well, and with sound on also..
I think you will find it under www.ubuntu.com

Ubuntu, eh? Sounds interesting... I haven't heard much of it.

In the way of windows emulators... are their any that are free? Given that I'm still only in high school and therefore have little to no budget for this sort of thing, I ask.

From me, I don't like Ubuntu, pretty primitive with it's configuration utilities suck; with SuSE, configuration is easy and you can actually dig in and fix things without the GUI. Ubuntu's utilities resets it back to whatever it sets up. This happened to my LCD monitor, it annoyed me so much that I ditched it.

SuSE for me is the better way to go. There's no such thing as the best distro. It's a subjective matter.

xboxrulz

The distros I have ever tried are:
Mandrake 9.1, Mandrake 9.2, Mandrake 10.0, Mandrake 10.1, Slackware 10.1, Ubuntoo, Gentoo, Debian Woody 3.0

I'm a bit experienced. As for the TOTAL beginner I advise Mandrake 10.1 because it's extremely easy to install, and most things you can do in graphical IDLE. Although compiling different things from the source might be ( and is) troublesome in that distro.

After 2-3 months I advise you to change to Slackware. It's very useful, fast and there are no problems with compiling, buggy hardware, etc.

After another 6 months I advise you to reinstall Slackware and install Gentoo. That's what i've got to say

Slackware is the greatest. Been using it for almost a year now and I've got to say, it's great. I would go with Waco's idea as it coincides exactly with mine.

Mandrake for the noob,
Slackware for the experienced,
Gentoo for the brave !

( Not my own, but something I read somewhere on the net, LinuxQuestions I guess.

I'm still not up to using gentoo. It's a little too much trouble than I would care for. Like come on... 2 days for installing an OS? Not for me .