Recommended Distro to switch from windows to Linux

Hello i am using windows vista sp1 in my laptop

However i hate vista,very poor performance.So i format my pc and now i am looking to install a distro that suits for my following needs:

1)Msn or something like that 2)Listening music 3)Good performance and security 4)Suitable for java aplications 5)Suitable for java and some other language developing 6)Good looking

I dont have problem with the download size and ect...

An advice will be helpfulll... Thx in advance

Get the Ubuntu LiveCD and check it out. If you have some time, also get Kubuntu and Xubuntu. Realize that because these are running from the CD, the performance will be slow on some operations. Once you find which one you like best, install it!

If you don't have a lot of time, just get Ubuntu.

try Xubuntu, I work in Eclipse Java + Oracle + ... . In Xubuntu there are no glamor - just pretty windows like in WinXP. To choose what you like - down load all 3 - Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Kubuntu - and try them all in LiveCD mode - It will takes less then 30 min to choose.

thx guys after some tests i decide to install ubuntu 8.10 64 bits.

Seems to rock.....

Thx a lot

It's good, especially on a more powerful machine. I have become an Xubuntu fan myself though and use that on higher end machines. Noticeably quicker, if that's what your into, and you can load all the packages you like, including Ubuntu desktop later and make a blend. :)

I just happened to be at PC World looking at their post about Linux distros. Although they are reviewing V8.04, it is a good explanation and review of ubuntu. It can be found at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/146400/desktop_linux_faceoff_ubuntu_804_vs_fedora_9.html

EzEraL said: thx guys after some tests i decide to install ubuntu 8.10 64 bits.

Seems to rock.....

Thx a lot

Sweet! Lets mark this as solved.

64 bit rocks!

Bucky Ball said: It's good, especially on a more powerful machine. I have become an Xubuntu fan myself though and use that on higher end machines. Noticeably quicker, if that's what your into, and you can load all the packages you like, including Ubuntu desktop later and make a blend. :)

I love Xubuntu too --- but having come from WinXP not too long ago and --- after almost a year of fooling with about 15 distros --- I wouldn't recommend it as a first distro. It's just a bit too different and spartan.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Xubuntu. I love it's combination of looks and power. l run it on my old Dell 4100 and may run it on the family's old Micron as a file sharing server hub thingy. My 14 year-old daughter runs Mint XFCE on her old thinkpad (X/Ubuntu 8.04 couldn't find/use her wireless dongle) and adores the "mousy."

It's not that Windows doesn't have it's own quirks and an attendant learning curve, but users from Windows are accustomed, I think, to a lot of hand-holding from the OS. It's a very see-point-click kind of relationship and a Linux OS will be more favored, I think, by a former WinUser if it, too, offers as an intuitive see-point-click GUI as possible.

(I've yet to figure out how to access the other drive partitions using Thunar, for example ... but with Ubuntu's Nautilus they just show up. I can see 'em, point at 'em, and click on 'em. I imagine that it's very possible to make Thunar display the other drive partitions ... but, because of my particular blend of idiocy and ignorance, it's just not as readily apparent as to how, I'm afraid.)

The longer a new WinUser can be kept from the terminal, the better, I believe.

I made the same decision as EzEral. I chose Ubuntu 8.10 for my Dell laptop and have been happy so far. In addition to Ubuntu 8.10, the other two distros I might recommend to someone wanting to try out the Linux waters would be Simply Mepis and PCLOS 2007. Indeed, I used the PCLOS 2007 Live disk to access the files on my old, crashed XP hard drive that I plug in through the USB port (X/Ubuntu balk and return "Error org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NoReply) before I discovered Kubuntu 8.10 could as well. I'm sure this could be fixed, but I'd rather get on with other things, and I can get around it with a see-point-click fix. Yay!

pgibson said: I love Xubuntu too --- but having come from WinXP not too long ago and --- after almost a year of fooling with about 15 distros --- I wouldn't recommend it as a first distro. It's just a bit too different and spartan.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Xubuntu. I love it's combination of looks and power. l run it on my old Dell 4100 and may run it on the family's old Micron as a file sharing server hub thingy. My 14 year-old daughter runs Mint XFCE on her old thinkpad (X/Ubuntu 8.04 couldn't find/use her wireless dongle) and adores the "mousy."

It's not that Windows doesn't have it's own quirks and an attendant learning curve, but users from Windows are accustomed, I think, to a lot of hand-holding from the OS. It's a very see-point-click kind of relationship and a Linux OS will be more favored, I think, by a former WinUser if it, too, offers as an intuitive see-point-click GUI as possible.

(I've yet to figure out how to access the other drive partitions using Thunar, for example ... but with Ubuntu's Nautilus they just show up. I can see 'em, point at 'em, and click on 'em. I imagine that it's very possible to make Thunar display the other drive partitions ... but, because of my particular blend of idiocy and ignorance, it's just not as readily apparent as to how, I'm afraid.)

The longer a new WinUser can be kept from the terminal, the better, I believe.

I made the same decision as EzEral. I chose Ubuntu 8.10 for my Dell laptop and have been happy so far. In addition to Ubuntu 8.10, the other two distros I might recommend to someone wanting to try out the Linux waters would be Simply Mepis and PCLOS 2007. Indeed, I used the PCLOS 2007 Live disk to access the files on my old, crashed XP hard drive that I plug in through the USB port (X/Ubuntu balk and return "Error org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NoReply) before I discovered Kubuntu 8.10 could as well. I'm sure this could be fixed, but I'd rather get on with other things, and I can get around it with a see-point-click fix. Yay!

In Xubuntu you have to manually mount the partitions you want. I haven't testing adding a shortcut to the panel like nautilus has.

If I manually mount a partition somewhere other than /media/disk in Ubuntu, nautilus won't have the shortcut. So maybe try mounting there?

Well now i finish prepare my desktop.I install all programs i wanted and seems to work as well

Now the last two things.What im client you suggest me to install?Something like msn.I heard about amsn.DO you suggest me to test it?And finally i want to add the osx doc as i see in some other distros or even in ubuntu.Please give me a guide to do that....

THx in advance

For msn etc. just use Pidgin IM to login to everything at once :D

For docks, check out Cairo Dock and Avant Window Navigator, and see if either fit your fancy. :)

smartboyathome said: For docks, check out Cairo Dock and Avant Window Navigator, and see if either fit your fancy. :)

thx you very much

Edit:I add the cairo dock and ater some customizing suits my needs... Also i am planning to install gentoo to see why all people say that this is almost the most powerfull distro but it is for advanced users

EzEraL said: Also i am planning to install gentoo to see why all people say that this is almost the most powerfull distro but it is for advanced users

Wait. Use Ubuntu for a while first, get comfortable with the basics, and then try others. Gentoo, they way it was designed to be installed, is definitely not for new users, even with the Gentoo Handbook.

Also, IMO, one version (distribution) of Linux is just as powerful as another at the end of the day. The difference is how easy it is for users to access that power in a ways that work for them.

Good luck. Cheers!

Ubuntu or openSUSE.

EzEraL said: What im client you suggest me to install?Something like msn.I heard about amsn.

Try either Pidgin or Emesene (msn clone for linux, faster than amsn).

Why don't you try Pidgin?

aMSN has webcam support and is probably the best if you need that. I believe Kopete does but that will have a load of KDE dependencies

With Xubuntu/XFCE, is there much that it can't do that gnome can?

Not really, KDE and XFCE are more lightweight than GNOME but if your computer is alright and not ancient you should run all desktop enviroments just fine, after that it's mostly a matter of what you prefer

Fzang said: Not really, KDE and XFCE are more lightweight than GNOME...

Hmm, I didn't know that KDE is lighter than GNOME. Is it? :?

EzEraL said: Hello i am using windows vista sp1 in my laptop

However i hate vista,very poor performance.So i format my pc and now i am looking to install a distro that suits for my following needs:

1)Msn or something like that 2)Listening music 3)Good performance and security 4)Suitable for java aplications 5)Suitable for java and some other language developing 6)Good looking

I dont have problem with the download size and ect...

An advice will be helpfulll... Thx in advance

Debian Lenny

I have been recommending Linux mint with KDE for new users over Ubuntu lately due to it being already installed with flash and java and the codecs most used.

Linux Mint 6 seems to meet your needs and as you are coming from widows the mint menu will be easier for you to use.

With all the Mint tools and such I think you would enjoy Mint.

Another Distro you might like is PClinuxOS2008 gnome edition.

creek23 said: Hmm, I didn't know that KDE is lighter than GNOME. Is it? :?

Yes, it is. KDE is very efficient when it comes to RAM usage if you stick with KDE applications.