Recommended Distros For Beginners That Have Live Environments?

ryanmichaelmcclure · 2012-11-13 03:09:51

I am going to be presenting for my Fundamentals Of Speech class in a few weeks a presentation on how Linux can be a great alternative operating system for most students at my school. After I present, I am planning on giving away CDs of various Linux distros for them to try and see for themselves if they would like to use a Linux-based operating system. I want to come up with some that are able to fit on a CD, preferably, but a DVD would also work if needed. I have a large spindle of CDs but no DVDs, so spending $0 would be nice.

I was thinking about Ubuntu 12.04 and variants, but I don't know about other good distros for beginners. What do you all think?

Perfect Gentleman · 2012-11-13 03:14:56

- Linux Mint
- CinnArch
- Manjaro
- Mageia

andjeng · 2012-11-13 03:53:32

i think ubuntu shall be deleted from your list. because its last version require dvd.
my sugestion = BlankOn. --> indonesian debian based distro that has alot of cute thing. (at least in its developer point of view)

WonderWoofy · 2012-11-13 03:59:52

I think that the least shocking of a change would be with Linux Mint. Its menu positioning kind of mimicks the windows environment. The last time I tried Ubuntu (11,04 I think), I kind of remember there being a cd and a dvd, where the dvd simply had all the non-free stuffs that is available as a download anyway while installing. This was a while ago, and I am not sure that it is how it is now... in fact andjeng says otherwise.

dolby · 2012-11-13 10:59:22

opensuse and/or mageia for desktop
system rescue cd which could be used to demonstrate that linux is perfect for specialized tasks like this
maybe other specialized distributions like the ones that provide anonymity out of the box

Šaran · 2012-11-13 11:19:17

Something KDE based. OpenSUSE maybe.

Inxsible · 2012-11-13 16:36:58

I would say it depends on your target audience. If they are adept at using computers, they wouldn't mind an Openbox based distro either. It also depends on what quality/feature you want to impress them with when they first use it. If speed, performance & customizability are important, then use a light desktop or WM. If look n feel and "cool factor" then use a DE like Gnome or KDE.

hadrons123 · 2012-11-13 17:19:27

Did anyone try scientific linux live CD?

I would certainly vote for that before Mint or fedora live CD.

bgc1954 · 2012-11-13 18:21:15

I would recommend Mepis lInux. The newest release is DVD-sized but some of their older releases are on CD. A very polished looking live KDE desktop environment. If you're looking for eye-candy then Bohdi Linux is quite good. It combines enlightenment on an ubuntu base. That is available on a CD-size.

2ManyDogs · 2012-11-13 18:34:36

Any LXDE or Xfce distro will most likely still fit on a CD, and both DEs are a little bit like Windows XP (they have panels, start buttons, and desktop icons). Lubuntu. Xubuntu, Debian LXDE, WattOS, Bridge (Xfce or LXDE), Porteus LXDE. Lots of choices.

Iranon · 2012-11-13 21:12:53

I'd pick a selection so there's something for everyone.

Ubuntu (consumer-friendly rather than just user-friendly, shows off the most innovative mainstream UI. 12.04 LTS if fitting on a CD matters.)
Archbang (nice preview to the more technical side without being scary)
OpenSuse KDE (Very professional, should appeal to Windows power users)
Puppy 5.4.1 (lightweight, focus on being useful as a live medium)

speedyx · 2012-11-18 03:42:54

for my wife's and my mother-in-law's laptops I installed the OpenSUSE kde Tumbleweed. I enabled. ssh and vnc control. No worries for me, because it's a distribution so simple to upgrade... no admin intervention required in the lasts months.

Last edited by speedyx (2012-11-18 03:44:19)

16bitkernel · 2012-12-13 20:11:05

hadrons123 wrote:

Did anyone try scientific linux live CD?
I would certainly vote for that before Mint or fedora live CD.

I used SL for 2 years , it was easier than Ubuntu , media codecs support, gnome 2, RHEL clone (rock solid)

White girl · 2012-12-26 06:14:32

I would recommend Xubuntu, XFCE is great.

Arch Linux

#1 2012-11-13 03:09:51

Recommended Distros For Beginners That Have Live Environments?

#2 2012-11-13 03:14:56

Re: Recommended Distros For Beginners That Have Live Environments?

#3 2012-11-13 03:53:32

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#4 2012-11-13 03:59:52

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#5 2012-11-13 10:59:22

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#7 2012-11-13 16:36:58

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#8 2012-11-13 17:19:27

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#9 2012-11-13 18:21:15

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#10 2012-11-13 18:34:36

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#11 2012-11-13 21:12:53

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#12 2012-11-18 03:42:54

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#13 2012-12-13 20:11:05

Re: Recommended Distros For Beginners That Have Live Environments?

#14 2012-12-26 06:14:32

Re: Recommended Distros For Beginners That Have Live Environments?

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