Free or Commercial Distro

[Gaijin]

Well I love Linux, mainly because it is always under development by it's users.
Now I have tried few free ones, and they are same in few ways.
I was thinking to buy Red Hat, because I've heard only good stuff about it.

So my first question is, what are the differences between free and commercial distros?
And the second is, which would you recommend me?

[g4143]

Before committing to a distro($$$) try it out for a while...i.e. Try Fedora before you go out and purchase Red Hat....

And the differences - well a purchased distro is basically a subscription to maintenance plan. i.e. someone to call when something goes south

[Codine]

I personally would stick to the free distros, but this is your choice.. I too have heard some good things about Red Hat, and if you've got the money i'd say go for it.. Go buy it and enjoy it. But if your poor like me, i'd stick to the free distros.

[Gaijin]

Before committing to a distro($$$) try it out for a while...i.e. Try Fedora before you go out and purchase Red Hat....

And the differences - well a purchased distro is basically a subscription to maintenance plan. i.e. someone to call when something goes south

Ahhh ok, Thanks for the Fedora tip, I will check it out.
So basically, paying for linux gives me only a pro to help out when needed.
Or are ther any features that Free ones don't have?

I personally would stick to the free distros, but this is your choice.. I too have heard some good things about Red Hat, and if you've got the money i'd say go for it.. Go buy it and enjoy it. But if your poor like me, i'd stick to the free distros.

lol... Well no not really but it's christmas soon!

[manipulate]

You can grab CentOS which is redhat without the branding; redhat only costs because of the support which is bundled with it.

[Gaijin]

You can grab CentOS which is redhat without the branding; redhat only costs because of the support which is bundled with it.

OK Thanks! I'm gonna look at centOS after Fedora

So basically paying for Linux doesn't grant you any "new" features.

[manipulate]

OK Thanks! I'm gonna look at centOS after Fedora

So basically paying for Linux doesn't grant you any "new" features.

Most of the time.

[nevets04]

I think redhat may have a trial, so maybe you try it first.

[DAMINK™]

I like Mandriva myself. Personal choice. Now my mate also likes Mandriva. He went out and purchased the paid version and at the end of the day got nothing he did not already except a few priority drivers were already installed.
So he did largely pay for nothing. He justifies it as well im helping the developers and i have to agree. But the difference was so small that its not worth it unless you want to simply donate to the cause.

[Gaijin]

I think redhat may have a trial, so maybe you try it first.

Yes it has, and I already downloaded it.

I like Mandriva myself. Personal choice. Now my mate also likes Mandriva. He went out and purchased the paid version and at the end of the day got nothing he did not already except a few priority drivers were already installed.
So he did largely pay for nothing. He justifies it as well im helping the developers and i have to agree. But the difference was so small that its not worth it unless you want to simply donate to the cause.

Mandriva is on the list to check, Thank you!
Well I don't mind donating to the cause, but if there are not so many differences between Free and Paid ones, I'll just go with the free ones.
But I'm still looking into RedHat and I would pay for it, without a tought!