Newbie question

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spiderman

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If I'm new to Linux and I want to try it, what Linux version would you recommend? I've heard like uBuntu and Fedora and etc. Which one is more user friendly or at least easier to navigate.

I am definitely reading some guides here and I'm starting to like Linux a lot.

TIA
 


The best Linux distro to begin with would be Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Make a choice from either one, i'd also suggest puppylinux cause its small and portable in a USB drive.

Ubuntu has some interface changes in it's recent 11th edition which i didn't like a lot, but it's still more user friendly and smooth.
 
At this moment Ubuntu should be the most easy and beginner friendly distro. It has a Live CD feature that lets you test it the moment you boot from it so that's pretty cool. Another distro (and this is what I recommend you) is Linux Mint, not just because it is based on Ubuntu but it has a lot of useful software pre-installed so you won't have to install everything like on Ubuntu.

In the end it's just a matter of personal preference. Choose what you think it's best for you or try more distros and see which one you like.
 
I'll suggest you to download Xubuntu, because it's easiest version to install and use. I'm also currently using Xubuntu. It's best linux in my opinion.
 
I would definitely have to suggest xubuntu as well. I'll be installing it later today and am very excited! It looks to be the easiest transition if you're coming from either Mac or PC. I personally am coming from PC and will be glad to get rid of it ^_^. If I understand correctly there are also a large variety of programs that you can use with xubuntu as well, and as an added bonus most of those are free! What more could you possibly ask for? Let us know how it goes and what you decide, it will be interesting to see someone else's point of view on something i'm doing as well. Good luck!
 
I think I would go for the Live CD first. I would love to dual boot my Win 7 with uBuntu and I think this live CD is going to help a lot with my introduction to Linux. I will also check that Puppylinux since it's very portable.

I appreciate the reply guys!
 
I agree with what has been said above. I can recommend Linux Mint, it is very user friendly, more so than other distros I have seen, you can download it as a live CD and use it. I would recommend a dual boot situation, if you are a newbie so you can easily revert back to windows if Linux isn't for you.

When making a dual boot, don't worry to much about the size of your linux partition as it can read, write, and access you windows partition, so you can store there. To install as a dual boot, you want to select "Install Along With Windows" on your live cd.
 
I would have to say that my recommendations would be between Xubuntu 11.10 or Linux Mint 12. I find that both offer their advantages and your final choice is going to depend on what you are looking for when it comes to "out of the box" as well as system performance.

I was running Linux Mint 12 as the only system on a desktop computer and, reluctantly, made the switch to Xubuntu. For the most part, I could not be happier with this choice. Xubuntu navigates a lot like Windows when it comes to the "start menu" look that is on a Windows-based system. Your programs are categorized and easier to find when compared to Windows navigation. All of your media programs are in one area, your Internet programs in another, and so on. Xubuntu is great when it comes to performance. The speed is incredible and, speaking from personal use now, my computer's idle ram usage sits at an extremely low 250mb or so. I find that to be quite amazing when it comes to Linux distributions, unless you compare it to something as tiny as Puppy!

On the other hand, Linux Mint is just as easy to navigate, in my opinion. The layout is quite lovely and easy to get used to. I do believe that Linux Mint requires slightly more ram/cpu and processor requirements, though these requirements are nothing compared to Ubuntu 11+. If I am remembering correctly, Mint does offer more programs upon installation when compared to Xubuntu, which you may find better suited. I say to do as much research as possible - watch videos on YouTube to get a little more of a hands on approach. Good luck to you!
 
I know this is kind of a late reply, but I myself would recommend using Ubuntu. Ubuntu was the first Linux operating system that I used (and the only one so far). It was so easy to get used to it as a user with no exposure to Linux at all (it is incredibly user friendly).
 
I agree. Ubuntu is user friendly and easy to setup. I haven't tried Linux Mint yet (maybe I'll try it one of these days). But I highly recommend Ubuntu for beginners. Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Lubuntu, and Kubuntu are just derivatives (flavors) of Ubuntu. You could also try them if you want.

Xubuntu is just Ubuntu with the XFCE desktop environment while Kubuntu is using the K Desktop environment. Lubuntu uses LXDE while Edubuntu is for education. Ubuntu uses the GNOME shell by default.
 
I whole heartedly recommend Mint. As I have said in other threads, I find it more stable than Ubuntu. I have had several issues with Ubuntu in the past, but Mint always seems to come through for me! Essentially they are based on the same thing, and you can add as many different things to them as you want once you get it installed. But I think Mint is a good place to start as it comes with a lot of preinstalled programs you will likely need and use, and like I have said, it is fairly stable, and is well supported with updates.
 
It's hard to make a choice now since everyone has different suggestions and can really make a selling point. I guess I should read a lot more in this forum to finally make a good choice.
 
After trying Linux Mint I can say that I prefer Ubuntu better because it feels like Mint is quite bloated with pre-installed software which I rarely use. If I want to have more control over the programs installed then I would go for the Ubuntu CD installer and I'll just add the programs that I need afterwards.

Furthermore, it seems that Ubuntu has better anti-aliasing which makes fonts look better. I don't know if it's just my graphics card or simply a Mint issue. I've tried hard to improve the font quality in Linux Mint but I'm not satisfied with its looks. If you're particular with the display of fonts, I would recommend you to try Ubuntu.
 
I agree with what has been said above. I can recommend Linux Mint, it is very user friendly, more so than other distros I have seen, you can download it as a live CD and use it. I would recommend a dual boot situation, if you are a newbie so you can easily revert back to windows if Linux isn't for you.

When making a dual boot, don't worry to much about the size of your linux partition as it can read, write, and access you windows partition, so you can store there. To install as a dual boot, you want to select "Install Along With Windows" on your live cd.




Thanks. This helps a lot. I need a program that is the most user-friendly because I don't know much about it yet. Also thanks for the bolded tip -- this helps a lot!
 
Ubuntu is the most user friendly, and easiest to set up. Its the only version I currently use of Linux and I love it.
 
These are all good suggestions. However, I would recommend not diving straight into Ubuntu for the simple reason that Unity has a bit of a learning curve unlike many other distros. Anything with Gnome3, such as Fedora, I would also caution against until you've gotten your feet wet a little.

I used to recommend Mint to first time users because it is close enough to Windows that Windows users pick it up very quickly. However, in my experience, Mint always has a lot of bugs and this can turn a new user off.

Recently, I started recommending Zorin OS to new users to try. It is based on Ubuntu, but the default desktop looks and feels very much like Windows 7. There is a lite version for computers that have low specs or that can not boot from a DVD or USB but can boot from a CD. This version has a default desktop that is very similar to Windows 2000.

But the best thing about Zorin OS is that it is very easy to switch themes using the Theme Looker (I think that is what they call it). You cam make the desktop theme Win7, Vista, XP, Win 2k, and even Mac OS X just by downloading a new theme. Once you have downloaded the theme, you can switch back and forth very easily to others. And, once you feel comfortable with the OS, you can try out a real Linux like theme. I can't remember if it is based on Xfce or LXDE, but either way, once your play with it and get used to it, you should have no trouble finding your way around other Linux desktops.

There are free versions and paid versions. The only difference between them is the paid version comes with a lot more software built in. However, if you choose the free version, you will have more than enough software to keep you busy for a while and anything you are lacking, you can download for free from their software center.

The forums tell me I can't post a link because I do not have 5 posts yet. If you want to check it out, just google Zorin OS and it should be the first link.
 
I have to admit Mint is probably the most user friendly of them for a beginner. I'm a newbie myself and found mint much easier. People are going to give you mixed reviews so I guess it's just a matter of opinion. Why not try both?
 
Mint is fantastic, and I have a friend whose dad works for Mint, but I have to go with Arch all the way.
 
If you want a work out of the box experience go with Pinguy. Before finding PinGuy I tried Mint12 and Sabayon, both of which I found to be unstable at times. Although not for everybody Pinguy comes with a lot of included apps as well. It really boils down to personal preference at the end of the day. The beauty of Linux is you can try as many as you want from live cd, good luck whichever way you go. Plus there is so much support for Linux too, you can always find an answer.
 
I highly recommend Linux Mint Debian Edition or LMDE with the xfce desktop.

I am not saying that you will fall in love with the distribution. But I believe that it required the least amount of effort in installing.

Once you install the distro, from there you can learn how to install and remove software either from the Synaptic Package Manager or via the Command Line.

Using the command line may seem like a big deal. But once you do it successfully several times, it is like riding a bicycle, you never forget.

From there you can test software and desktop environments and learn to customize to meet your individual needs.
 

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