Which Linux distribution for a beginner

[rootsrat]

I always wanted to try Linux, but somehow never got it... I even have a partition ready for it on my hard drive, it's been there for over a year now :)

 

I am a complete beginner, I've never used Linux before and I know there are lots of different incarnations of that OS. Any experienced users here that can recommend a beginner friendly and modern distribution?

 

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[WilliamImm]

Ubuntu is the defacto beginning distribution. I've heard that the latest release is actually very good.

 

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[MontyMM]

Zorin is quite nice for a beginner - it's Ubuntu, but customized to be extremely familiar for windows users. https://zorin-os.com/

[Aiyen]

Yeah ubuntu hands down...Its easy and unless you have some weird hardware then it also gets the drivers mostly right without any fuss!

 

Also I know that ubuntu does this, but I am sure other distro´s do it as well and let you trial out the OS from their disk before you install it. Its a nice feature.

[mothergoose729]

Linux mint is supposed to an out of box ready OS based on ubuntu. That means it comes standard with bits like open office and media players and the rest. I want to say its based on kde? This is a desktop environment somewhat similar to windows.

 

A bit of advice; try and go full linus whatever you do. It can be tempting to try and force your most familar software to run through wine. You would be better of using native linux programs for as many applications as you can though, for a variety of reasons.

[phazer11]

Arch Linux.

It's an advanced Distro but it's how I learned and I have to say I'm glad my friend (we met at an anime forum when I was 9 or 10; he's a bit older) had me start with Arch.

 

I'll recommend it for the following reasons.

1. It'll teach you how to use Live CD's to repartition and wipe HDD's, as well as manage a bootloader (manually)

2. You're required to set everything up manually so doing security maintenance and general use becomes a breeze/second nature (and you can change whatever you don't like. Knowing how to change you window manager quickly is an awesome way to liven the look of you computer up)

3. The default package manager is a great practice for using -(insert abbreviation here) commands, not to mention how familiar you get with general command line functions. When you're comfortable you can install yaourt pacman and it'll streamline things a bit as well as allow access to pre-built packages from the AUR (Arch's Unofficial software repository)

4. It's probably the smallest Linux Distro I know of (including Gentoo believe it or not) and SUPER light on resources (amazing battery life at least 2x as long as Windows)

 

If you wish to take the cowards way out and not learn as much about the OS family you're using... then might as well go with Ubuntu or Linux Mint.

 

My preferences for Distros after Distro hopping to just about every one, is.

1. Arch

2. Sabayon

3. Mint

4. Ubuntu

5. Gentoo (because it takes at least a week for me to setup properly)

 

Two of the major distros I never tried out was Red Hat and CentOS. I'm on the ropes about Fedora but it's a contender for 3rd if not 2nd (didn't use it very long).

 

Oh also useful to just about every Linux user is Arch's wiki which is one of the most detailed collections of gathered technical knowledge I've ever seen. The beginner topics and such are easy to understand to beginners and they even have a Dummy's guide to installation (of Arch). Then the topics get gradually more technical which is nice once you get comfortable with the terms.

[TechAngel85]

Sorry, but Ubuntu is not the "cowards way out". It's quite good for a beginner and non-beginners, alike. Not everyone wants to jump right in and learn all the commands and advanced stuff from the get-go as you suggest. Most want something that they can easily transition themselves into. Only users that enjoy such things should jump straight into the advanced stuff on Linux. For the vast majority, it's best to transition users gradually and Ubuntu is a "no-fuss" distro that is very easy to learn on.

 

Personally, for beginners I would recommend Ubunto and from there, you can branch out once you get more use to how Linux works. Zorin OS looks like it's meant to be a Windows replacer since it's desktop has a familiar Windows feel. This would also be good for beginners to transition to Linux.

 

Good advice on just using Linux software rather than bothering with Wine, Mothergoose. There is undoubtedly replacement software for just about every Windows program out there and most are free and most are just as good; some are even better.

[rootsrat]

Thanks for your advice all!

 

I presumed Ubuntu would be recommended by most, I just wanted to confirm that it is the right one to start. I don't really want something to replace Windows - I don't mind having something different. I would love to start learning more advanced stuff, but I'm pretty sure lack of free time won't allow me for this...

 

Phazer, when you say "You're required to set everything up manually" - do you mean manually entered commands, which forces you to learn the commands, all the parameters and all that jazz, rather than using menus etc.?

[phazer11]

Yeah root you use the command line to set everything up. Why don't you give the guide a read. Even if you don't use Arch it'll be informative. I also recommend using Virtualbox or VMWare to do a test run (I think it works, it used to for Arch anyways. I know Ubuntu does).

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners%27_Guide

It's a long guide but most of it is explanations of what the commands do and why you're doing them.

[mothergoose729]

The biggest complaints I have heard about ubuntu is that its not as configurable and it doesn't give the user as much control as some people would like. It is by far the best maintained distro out there though, so if you value stability, reliability, and support, I think ubuntu is definitely the way to go.

 

EDIT: another tiny bit, I recommend using chrome in linux over firefox, which comes standard. Last time I checked chrome has been optimized quite a bit for the linux environment (ala android) but firefox has not, so you will get much better performance, and perhaps, better stability.

[Aiyen]

Also you are not going to get rid of learning some basic command lines. It just makes certain tasks much easier. Even when drivers are involved!

[rootsrat]

Yeah, I'm not dismissing the inner workings of the OS, quite keen on learning the 'proper' Linux ;), and I'm aware not all can be done by simple config - but I'm just aware of how little free time I have.

[MontyMM]

All in all, then, I would say Mint is your best choice. It takes the high quality core of Ubuntu, and smooths some of the rough edges and weird design decicisions.

 

The standard Ubuntu desktop system is called Unity, and it has several problems. Firstly, it sends your local search requests back to Canonical, so they can serve you with Amazon adverts in your search results. That's an epic deal breaker for me. Also, they have forked the new display server 'Wayland', and turned it into something called Mir. This is going to create inconsistency with the rest of the Linux world, which is committed to proper Wayland. Thirdly, the Unity desktop is buggy and pants, and should go away. :D

[mothergoose729]

You can disable unity and go back to a simple gnome desktop. That is definitely what I prefer.

 

Been using arch myself lately. Not for to many good reasons though, just because it is what is running on my schools server and because it uses bash shell by default.

[WilliamImm]

Or, and this is what I prefer, I would use Cinnamon (Mint's custom UI for Gnome).

 

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