Thanks, all.

Of course, I am interested in subjective opinions, since prettiness, as you say, is very subjective. So I'm looking for opinions to get me closer to my own opinion - does that make sense?

I have used Ubuntu and Xubuntu a couple of years ago, and I found them ok easy to use, but not very "pretty". I think Kubuntu is a bit prettier, but I haven't tried a lot. And back then, I didn't have much luck comfiguring Compiz. So I'm looking for something that is rather pretty out-of-the-box. And, of course, easy to use.

Well Kubuntu these days uses kde 4.x which by default uses kwin window manager, which is a great way to get desktop effects working pre-configured and fast. No need for compiz. I love kde, you just might too.

OK, I will try that :-)

Ubuntu is pretty nice. It's all about the taste ;)

http://bodhilinux.com/gallerydotw.php & http://www.bodhilinux.com/gallerysystem.php both configured and out of the box.

This might be what you're looking for.
Yukk! :D

Thanks, that certainly seems interesting, also because it is built on Ubuntu.

This is designed as a Netbook OS but I have installed it on a laptop as a primary operating system for a school teacher and she liked it - but I remember it was quite 'pretty' - Easy Peasy OS

If you like Windows or Mac, you'll love Linux. You have a variety of DEs to choose from, and each are configurable to suit your taste. Go here for a glimpse at what can be done...

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...creenshots-94/

What about Mandriva? It certainly looks good, but is it any good? Is it very heavy on the hardware, or what?

Why don't you just try it and see if it works for you?

Can you perhaps post a screenshot of that Mandriva desktop that caught your eye?
Mandriva 2011 uses the KDE desktop. KDE is the most Windows-like desktop environment on linux and KDE also sports the most eye candy and features. See this review of Mandriva 2011 on distrowatch:
http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?is...110829#feature
Also see this desktop screenshot of Mandriva 2011: http://distrowatch.com/images/screen...11-desktop.png
As far as Mandriva being any good, I have used it off and on over the past several years and I have found that it is very beginner friendly and works well enough.
However, my personal recomendataion for a beginner would be to start with either Ubuntu or Mint (Mint is based on Ubuntu) since there is a huge amount of tutorials and documentation on the net for beginners starting out with Ubuntu. Also, it has been my experience that Ubuntu has fewer problems than Mandriva.

Kubuntu is the Ubuntu version with the KDE desktop. So if you like KDE you can go with Kubuntu. The Ubuntu family works very well and there is a ton of beginner friendly tutorials around the net for Ubuntu. Here is one of the best: http://psychocats.net/ubuntu/index.php
It has been my experience that the more beginner friendly distros (Ubuntu, Mint, Mandriva, Suse) are more bloated and resource intensive than the more 'hard core' distros like Slackware or Debian. Recent versions of Ubuntu are about as resource intensive as recent versions of Windows:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...s_part1&num=11

One of the great things about linux is that linux is all about choice. For example, there are lighter implimentations of Ubuntu available like Lubuntu (which I use) which uses the light weight LXDE desktop: http://lubuntu.net/
And it is possible to install a light and fast minimalist Ubuntu like this: http://psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal
Write back if you need more help.

For the most part you can assume that the more pretty (i.e., fancy graphics and effects) a linux desktop is the more resource intensive that linux desktop will be.

Ubuntu LXDE looks stylish. I also like Openbox look. But my personal favourite is IceWM with Warp theme.

I recommend Linux Mint. It feels polished.

It was a long time since I tried KDE, but I found the menus messy and overcomplicated.

KDE 3 on Mandriva
 

Mandriva/Mageia with KDE is the most eye pleasing combo I have used ,Holiday style decorations year round. I have only had KDE 3 booted though. Mandriva is basically a polished and prettier version of Redhat in my opinion. Redhat derived distros are more reliable in my experience ,Fedora etcetera. KDE on Fedora is barf ugly. If your going to look at something with everything else being equal why not choose the more attractive one unless it is actually distracting. Ask yourself , "does it have to be that ugly ,or, what purpose does this ugliness serve"?