Taking the Linux plunge

Okay, I'm diving into Linux. I've got a new desktop coming and I'm going to set it up for dual boot with Linux and Windows. I've found some info on setting up the dual boot, but any suggestions are welcome. More importantly which version (distribution) of Linux should I use? This is very confusing for the newbie. I take it that most folks in Indonesia use RedHat, but I've been told the install procedure isn't too friendly. So, do I go with Corel, Mandrake, or something else? Are the desktop UI different on all of these? So many questions.

11:33:33 AM     

Uptime/Downtime

Understanding "5 9s"

The term 5 9s is really, really simple but misleading if you never saw the math.  All it means (and if I have this wrong, I know someone will let me know) is that if your service, whatever it is, is "5 9s" then it's online and usable for 99.999% of the year.  So I made a little spreadsheet that looks at a full year's time and what this means in terms of uptime.

# 9s	%age that Means	Days Per Year	Hours Per Year	%of that Time You are Up in Hours	Amount of Time You Are Down in Hours	Time You Are Down in Days	Time You Are Down in Minutes
2 9s	99.0000%	365	9125	9034	91.2500	3.8021	5475
3 9s	99.9000%	365	9125	9116	9.1250	0.3802	547.5
4 9s	99.9900%	365	9125	9124	0.9125	0.0380	54.75
5 9s	99.9990%	365	9125	9125	0.0912	0.0038	5.475
6 9s	99.9999%	365	9125	9125	0.0091	0.0004	0.5475

So if you are only 99% reliable that actually is exactly the same thing as saying "Mr. CEO Sir?  We're going to turn the web site off for 3.8 days".  That's not a good thing.  I know that my stuff will probably never by 5 9s but why not try?  Quality.  It's a good thing.  [The FuzzyBlog!]

This is pretty powerful stuff from Mr. Fuzzy. So, what's acceptable for my purposes? Some where after 2 9s. Over the course of a year somewhere between 1 hour and 1 day.

7:42:37 AM