hi everyone,
i have never used linux before in my entire life.ever. a friend has offered me an old 486 for free, and since i already have 2 computers anyway, i thought i might see what linux is about, although i swore i'd never use it. i don't know, i might hate it. but i try to be as open minded as possible, and anyway, my real question is what version of linux should i use? there are 100's of different versions out there and i was wondering which is the easiest\best suited for beginners (and 486 computers!) anyway i look forward to a helpful reply regarding this matter.
have a good one,
bob

Take a look at http://www.linuxiso.org and
decide it for yourself. It's hard to tell
which version is the best since it really
depends on who you ask. Personally, I use
RedHat Linux although I first started out
using Slackware (and did use SuSE for a few
months).

Lawrence

Id do some reading. If you do a full graphical install on a 486, it might be a little sluggish, but it will still perform 20x better than any version of Win on the same system.

Lawrence gave you a good place to start (linuxiso.org). I'd also second the RedHat choice. It is one of the easier distro's to get assistance for (and software packages) because it's widely used. Look at ELX as well for ease of use. Stay away from Mandrake (it's pentium optimized...no good for a 486)

ok, guys, i'll check it out. thanks heaps for your input!
bob

I would use Red Hat. I installed Red Hat on a IBM 350. You may not want to use the graphical install. When I did it I had some problems. The menu will give you an option for a text based install, it will ask you all the same questions just in a non graphical interface. I am new to Linux as well my advice to you is being repeated by advice given by a friend who is a RHCE.