Resolved New 500 gb HDD... Linux Partition?

[KUguardgrl13]

I just got my mid-2009 13" MBP back from the Apple Store with a new 500 gb HDD. Other specs are a 2.26 ghz core 2 duo and 2 gb RAM and running OS X 10.6.8. Sometime soon I plan to upgrade the RAM to 8 gb and download Mountain Lion. Anyway, my original HDD was 160 gb, and I was using about 140 gb. With this new, bigger drive I've been thinking about adding a Linux partition. Unfortunately I know very little about Linux or dual booting. I do have several computer science friends who could probably help me out, but they don't know macs or OS X. So I thought I'd ask you guys here. Any suggestions on a Linux system for a beginner? Also, how should I go about dual booting as I understand there are several methods. Finally, is this even a good idea? This is my sole computer for college, and i'd hate for something to go wrong since this is my third hard drive. I definitely won't load windows. Haven't used it since XP anyway. Thanks!

 

[justperry]

Ubuntu would probably the better one.

As for the procedure, open Disk Utility when booted into OS X, make an extra partition, it will resize the partitions on the fly, then download Ubuntu and restore it to a USB stick, restart, hold the Option key while doing so, this will get you into the boot manager, choose the USB stick, it will boot from it, be careful choosing the right partition (Look at size) otherwise it will wipe OS X.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Ubuntu would probably the better one.

As for the procedure, open Disk Utility when booted into OS X, make an extra partition, it will resize the partitions on the fly, then download Ubuntu and restore it to a USB stick, restart, hold the Option key while doing so, this will get you into the boot manager, choose the USB stick, it will boot from it, be careful choosing the right partition (Look at size) otherwise it will wipe OS X.

I understand enough about Linux to know that Ubuntu is like Linux For Dummies. I have a friend who runs Fedora on his MBP. I also understand that Debian is more for programmers and people with know how. Red Hat isn't free, so I'm not considering it. Any others out there I'm missing?

 

[Hrhnick]

I understand enough about Linux to know that Ubuntu is like Linux For Dummies. I have a friend who runs Fedora on his MBP. I also understand that Debian is more for programmers and people with know how. Red Hat isn't free, so I'm not considering it. Any others out there I'm missing?

Theres a lot more to understand

Ubuntu is actually based on Debian...
Red Hat is based on Fedora...
CentOS is Red Hat without the branding...

Red Hat costs money because its enterprise level, and people pretty much buy the updates and support and not the OS which is why CentOS is able to distribute an unbranded version. Red Hat/CentOS is always the last to get features due to the required enterprise security/reliability factor. Fedora is sponsored by Red Hat and is basically a testbed for security/reliability.

Ubuntu is far from Linux for Dummies tho, and is pretty much the bleeding edge of the consumer linux desktop, rolling out new apps and features on a fast track.

I would use Ubuntu for sure, or a variant called Elementary OS, which focuses on a more simple and elegant user experience; http://elementaryos.org/