Which distribution of Linux is the most user friendly, I won't to start of slow and then build up gradually. I am running Mandrake right now and I am not really happy with it. It is too much work to do even the simplest of things done, like installing software, or even downloading the software. I want to be able to use linux much like I used to use windows or close to it.

Thanx,

Twiggz

Mandrake, Redhat and SUSE are recognised as the most new user friendly, you may also want to look into JAMD linux - all of these distros are RedHat/rpm based.

This question has been asked numerous times on this forum - do a search. Also you could try www.distrowatch.com - or even the distribution review part of this forum.

You say it's too hard/takes too long to install software - have you tried urpmi <package name> that downloads, resolves dependencies and install for you - that seems to me to be the easiest way possible.

Basides JAMD, you also might want to try Ark, MEPIS, or Lycoris.

Or Lindows

I use Mandrake 9.1. I think it is quite user-friendly. I love it!! You just have to play with it and then you will see how wonderful it is. And soon you will realize that you can play mp3s, video files, write documents, excels, etc. And if u are unsure how to use a command type, e.g., 'man urpmi' or 'man ls.' Additionally, you can have a secure server installed on your pc in case you want to venture into the Internet and have your own domain. And if u are unsure about how to do something then just ask. There are thousands of ppl who have no problem in helping newbies and fellow pros out. (Even someone who has used a Windows pc for the first time wishes it was more user-friendly. But after a while, they realize that it just takes some time to get used to.) Good luck with everything....

Thanks guys, so would you say Red Hat or Mandrake for a beginner?

Either or. I use RedHat and find it pretty easy for a newbie, but I have also tried Mandrake and found that easy. Cut them both to cd and give them a try - it really is a personal thing.

Mandrake 9.1 rocks. It's so easy to use like setting up printers, tv cards, media files, etc. But can someone explain the new RedHat registering process or something. Do I have to register to use RedHat?

i'm a linux newbie on mdk 9.1 and i've installed it in 15 minutes (if that's not user friendly, what is?)
it's got everything ready for you - no need for downloading codecs and stuff (the things that have to be downloading if you're using windows...) and, for a newbi, the 3-cd package should contain every app you need...if you forgot to install it in the beginning, it's extremly simple to install it from your cd - madrake install "wizard". maybe you want some special theme or stuff like that, just search for rpm's (even though i prefer tarballs)...
and kde desktop is better looking than windows

Mandrake was not only easy too install, but it setup it's own partition for a dual boot with windows no problem, and I am also a big newbie. Just go download it and give it a try.

I'll second greyweather for JAMD.

trinity

Actually XavierP suggested it first.

I'd recomed redhat for a beginner. That's what i started on. It's very user friendly, but i eventually found it lacking for what i wanted. So just recently i switched to Slackware. But you should definitely go to distrowatch and take a look at all the distros. You should download and burn a couple and give them each a couple of weeks for a test run and then decide. And if you have any problems always, always, ALWAYS, come here!

could you tell my what is it that you've found lacking on red hat and had with slackware. i'd just like to see what's the difference (REAL difference, not stuff like 'more stable', 'easy to install')

It's hard to say EXACTLY what i found lacking in red hat. One thing i didn't like was the RPM system, I just thought it was a little messy. The main reason I moved on from red hat was that i just wanted to try something different. One of the reasons i switched from windows to linux is the variety. I've tried several distros in the last couple of months. I ran red hat the longest, tried gentoo (couldn't get it installed right, i think my copy may have been bad), ran suse for about a week, and then switched to Slackware. It's all about finding what's right for you.

Why do i like slackware the best?? Hard to say. The install was easy (about 40 min). The website is extrememly helpfull. The Slackware forum on this site is awsome. But as for features, you have to compile everything yourself, which is slower, but everything runs faster than if you used rpm. It's package manager swaret is super useful for keeping your system up to date, you wanna update gnome type swaret --upgrade gnome and all the gnome packages are updated. A lot of people say that slackware is difficult to use, but i don't think it is. Sure there is a bit of a learning curve, but in the few days that i've had slackware, i've learned more about linux than i learned in the months i ran red hat.

So give slackware a try if you like, but i recommend shopping around, see what's out there. That way you know the distro you has is the right one for you.