On Fri, 28 Dec 2012, John R Pierce wrote: > On 12/28/2012 3:21 PM, James Freer wrote: >> You mean the bin DVD. Thing is with the DVD they are big for broadband >> download. I think i'd buy one. But i appreciate your advice. > > unless your broadband is metered, or really slow (and then should it be > called broadband?), 4GB or whatever is really not that big of a deal. a > few hours, perhaps. > >> >> One thing i did learn with linux when i first started is that it's >> essential to have a spare PC to test a distro on first - then one can... > > or install it as a VM under VirtualBox or whatever. Thats certainly > how *I* test stuff, and indeed, I put 16GB ram into my latest desktop PC > just so I can run several substantial VMs as needed. In the UK most broadband providers offer 10GB. After a distro CD, several clips on Youtube, probably a fair bit of "surfing" - i find myself qualifying for a reminder on broadband usage! I've got two spare PCs so i've never looked at VM and certainly never had a PC capable of taking 16GB RAM. Current PC is only about 18 months old so i think i need to shop more carefully next time. many thanks - i'm off to explore Centos again. james