I've played with different distros of linux and I was like most Linux newbies..I didn't know the first thing about installing new programs into Linux. It would tick me off to where i would wipe the harddrive and go back to WinXP. To make a long story even longer...for all you other newbies wanting to try linux without having to learn all those confusing commands, download BLAG linux. Its based on RedHat 9.0 but includes all the media stuff RedHat didnt include and it only used one install disk. Hope this helps

http://www.blagblagblag.org

That would be putting aside one of Linux's greatest ( & most powerfull ) features.

I absolutely agree. What is the point of installing Linux if you don't want to learn new things? You might as well wait for the next Windows version or service pack if you just want to install new things but stick to the stuff you know.

IMHO...Linux is like re-inventing the hammer. While there are those of you who want to tweak the hammer for maximum performance and figure out new uses for it, many of us simply want to drive a nail.

If you can get Linux to do everything you want it to do from the console, bless you, you are a Linux god.

I was just trying to help my fellow newbies with some information, not get into a "MY way of Linux is better than YOUR way of Linux" debate.

Why would you bother with BLAG anyways? If you don't want to try something new, stick to Windows. If you want to run Linux, do it right and use a real Linux. I would suggest Fedora Core 1 for any newbies. It has the GNOME desktop. If you want to install Fedora Core, use the Linux Installation Guide in the Linux section of the forums.

I forgot...BLAG is based on Red Hat, which is the same (pretty much) as Fedora Core. All they did is include a whole bunch of junk to the disk.

BLAG is good for techies and newbies alike.

Why BLAG over rh9?

The BLAG CD has the applications most users want "out-of-the-box" without all sorts of bloat.

It includes video players (mplayer, xine, vlc), xmms that can actually play mp3s (unlike redhat), dvd ripper. Peer-to-peer software. Servers. Internet radio for listening, serving, and/or djing streams.

It has all sorts of drivers if you have wireless gear.

The list goes on...kickstart automajick installs, etc...

If users want to add more applications, synaptic (apt-get) is available to add anything. It is pre-configured to work with the main repositories (DAG, freshrpms, macromedia, etc.).

Check out the website to see what it has instead of just saying "junk" thrown in. It also has extra crypto and tools admins like.

A developers DVD is available. It has all redhat, all blag, source code, and extra bits.

I would certainly call BLAG a "real linux". If you see any real shortcomings, please let me know.

BLAG Resources
==============
http://www.blagblagblag.org BLAG Website
http://www.blagblagblag.org/docs BLAG Documentation
http://wiki.blagblagblag.org BLAG Wiki
http://www.blagblagblag.org/mailinglist BLAG mailing list
http://ldp.blagblagblag.org BLAG Linux Docs Project
http://bugzilla.blagblagblag.org BLAG Bugzilla

hmm, looks like spam, smells like spam, I refuse to taste it but...

Sure, it's great if you're too lazy to install the files yourself, but practice does make perfect. You'll still have to know how to do everything, it just makes getting some basic software easier. IMO, it's not worth it. I'd rather just get RH of Fedora.

If you want to try Linux for the first time, then try Red Hat, or at least Mandrake. That is what the majority of people start out on. The installation is painless and is literally point and click (unless you want to install without the GUI). Lots of Linux distro's do not use a GUI which are not for beginners. Red Hat is going to be the easiest for you to install and begin to learn on.

And always since you have Internet access you are going to have to read up. Linux is something you are going to have to go at pretty much alone. Anyone that uses Linux will tell you that you are going to be doing a lot of reading. It's the truth.

Or if you just want to download one cd instead of 3 or 4 required by rh/mandrake, you can get blag and have the best of both worlds.

Everything you "expect" from a desktop and easy to add new apps.

BLAG install uses RedHat's installer, but it is tweaked to do "automajick" (kickstart) installs which make it easy for new users and handy for admins that do lots of installs.

Basically its like a redhat box that has been tweaked with multimedia and other apps so you don't have to sit around and compile a bunch of stuff just to get going.

Granted, some people like to set around and compile libdvbpsi, but other people just want it "working", especially if you are new or installing on lots & lots of boxes.