hey guys, i wa sjust thinking about what OS to install, Im thinking on using either Debian, or Fedora core 1, im looking for security, 100% customizable, and for a great moderate to advanced linux experience, but i dont want 200 packages i dont need, my goal is to start with a good secure minimal boot, and work my way up to what i need, and then to make my own personal distro from that. I've used red hat and some other distro's for about a year now, ive got a good base of general knowledge about linux but i wanna really get in to the powerfull possibilities that linux offers, could anyone give me suggestions? (really not affraid of a terminal or to read)

Well since you have already tried Red Hat the Fedora wont be of much use to you since Fedora was orginally supposed to be Red Hat 10. If you really want a slim and trim system without any fat applications then I would suggest Slackware. Its installation though can be a bit tricky for a newbie who doesnt know how to partition a hard drive. The beauty of this distro is that whole system comes on just one CD which you can download from net. If you want a user friendly system with tailor made applications for ease of use then you may try Mandrake or SuSE distros. Hope that helps Rohin

ok thx, yea i dont think the disk things will be trouble... im noob (as in not a computer engineer,) but i have all those Nuggets RHCE training vids, and all the keystone RHCE series, and some quirky linux + andmastering RH linux vids also.... so i can still work alot of stuff out, heh...exept this. slackware u say? i'll try it...but what is ur opinion on debian...? (i dont mind lengthy installs) btw i bought that "45 major linux distro's cd of linuxiso.org so i have them all handy on cd)

Debian is really nice if you want a system which "just works". You should try the "testing" version, which is normally pretty secure. You may find the installation a bit difficult, since it lets you customize everything, but once installed its really easy to upgrade and maintain the system. Debian is good if you're "on a mission"/ want to actually use it to do some real work/ you don't really enjoy spending too much time upgrading your system etc... If you just want to play around/ do everything yourself/ have no real work to do on it/ are patient, then either install slackware or build your own system from source. There are 10 kinds of people, those who count in binary and those who don't.

IF you want to use debian and your are a linux noob, due to the tedious text-based installation, I would go with Mepis Linux. Its almost exactly like Debain but with a grapghical installer. You would love it.

Take a look at gentoo, its definatelly 100% customizable.

You might want to take a look at VectorLinux. It's based on Slackware, but is supposed to be fairly easy to install. Phil "Beware the barrenness of a busy life." - Socrates