Hi, i have a few questions on the O/S, LINUX. 1)Im planning to buy Linux next week. Which one is the good for beginers who want to host an apache? For example: Is Xandros better than Mandrake? 2)Will hosting an apache effect my bandwidth? 3)Will it cost any money to host an apache.(Unincluding the O/S CD) www3.telus.net/scmaps -The site for stepmania and starcraft downloads-

1) I just started wiht Linux, so I'm not too much help onthis one. But, I set up my Linux server using Debian using the tutorial at this site: Michael J

1) Don't "buy" Linux. There are plenty of distributions that can be freely downloaded. For a beginner, I would recommend SuSE. You can even get Xandros for free. Which disribution is "better" depends largely on you - what your skill level and aptitude are, what you intend to use the system for, etc. The best thing you can do is try several different distributions until you find one you like. 2) Yes. How much depends on how much traffic your website(s) get. Hosting a website doesn't use any bandwidth by itself. Bandwidth gets used when people view the site. Lots of page views means lots of bandwidth. 3) Mostly no. You will have to buy a computer (obviously) and some kind of Internet connection (obviously). Linux is free and Apache is free. Unless you plan on paying for co-located hosting, for example, hosting a website shouldn't cost you anything beyond what you're already paying for your Internet connection.

Thanks a lot guys. That was great info for a beginner like me. :) www3.telus.net/scmaps -The site for stepmania and starcraft downloads-

For a beginner I would suggest buying a boxed distro of GNU/Linux to start with as they generally come with some good documentation and books to get you started. The last time I purchased SuSE for example it came with a couple of good books and also a DVD containing all the installation CDs (saves having to keep swapping them during setup). You can always download others for free later. Any of the main distros like Mandrake, SuSE, Fedora etc will do, as iamc says it comes to personal choice. For a round up of what's available check out www.distrowatch.com

If you are just interested in setting up a webserver on Linux then Freesco (a linux Router on a floppy) can be a good option. Freesco requires minimum resources (even a 486 will do) as only the necessary services are loaded. The down side is that you wont have a nice GUI but why would you wanna work on a 486 anyway. Let it serve your website to the world. Freesco Official website http://www.freesco.org/ A Visual Tutorial on how to jump start Freesco http://www.viperlair.com/articles/soft_guide/networking/lnx_fw_1.shtml all Virture destorys itself as soon as it ceases to be Longing and Humility. Harut! Marut!