im thinking about switching to linux but im not sure yet, can someone add me on google talk so we can discuss this? thatmayh3mguy@gmail.com

Why not just post your thoughts here :P more people will see it ?

How much experience with Linux ?

What type of machine will you install it on ?

Whats going to be its' main purpose ?

Why are you interested in Linux ?

...........Will get people started

well first off the only exp i have with linux is my android
i have a custom built pc and i dont have all my specs written down atm (had my buddy build it)
currently this is what i do on my pc (alot)
music via wmp or google music
torrents...shhhhh >_<
i watch alot of movies/tv on my pc
light graphic design with gimp
ALOT of surfing on goolge chrome
the occasional emu like n64 ect
various mods for my rooted htc thunderbolt

my buddy told me i should try it on a dedicated box but i dont have one so i will have to use this, i really want to learn linux and take my place in the real nerd circle id like to learn how to code and do more GD, id like to do more indepth mods on android, possibly dev an app later in life my true loves in life are smartphones, neerdcore music and gaming, so can you help?

If you google "distro choosers" (there's lots) it can help you pick a distribution and maybe give you an idea. Theres also distrowatch.com that has all the linux distributions for you to browse through.

You seem like a pretty good candidate for Linux Mint though Its easy to use, and provides the apt-get package management system. (Easy to use and resolves dependencies for you) I've never watched TV on any Linux distrubution though so i cant help you with that. But with torrets, Mint will be fine, you'll be able to download rtorrent, transmission etc ete etc. You can also install it alongside your Windows box without breaking it.

If you really want to know Linux, read the Linux System Administrators Guide. (google it, its a free PDF document) Learn the basic commands and once your fairly comfortable with the basics, you can start to move onto Debian, Slack, Arch.

Programming.... well.... theres lots and lots of threads on this forum about which language to learn for newbies, but its really up to you. Have a search around, i wont recommend one for you as it normally starts programming flame wars !! but i learnt C first

Well hope i have helped a little bit. But yeah, Linux Mint would be my pick for you.

ahh one more thing. You'll miss Itunes, for you iphone or ipad if you have one You can install WINE, which lets you run windows programs through Linux, but i've always found it buggy. Hence i have 3 computers running Slackware and one old xp box sitting in the corner, who has a sole purpose of iphone maintenance :P

my buddy suggested slackware 13.37 if i wanted to learn pure linux, what don you think aboth that

I use Slackware 13.1

It would be intense for a newbie though, everything is left up to you. You have to watch your dependencies, configure everything and its basically raw text files (sometimes). Yeah they say 'once you go slack you never go back' and 'give a man red-hat he'll learn red-hat, give a man slackware he'll learn linux'. It may be okay if you have your mate give you a hand, but if your just by yourself, it'll be pretty tough.

When you first start with it, it does seem complicated, however once you know your way around, you realize how simple it is.

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so i should prolly tart of with a more simple one like mint? what are your thoughts on ubuntu? what kind of major sacrifices will i have to go through switching to linux? ive heard linux cant use netflix ect

You don't have to switch you know. I started with both Windows and Linux and gradually stopped using Windows. At first it can be irritating not to have the thing you are used to.

Dual boot: that is install Debian, say, further up the disk. If the Windows installation is conventional the installer will probably do this almost automatically: this happened when I installed Ubuntu from a CD burned from an internet download recently. Ubuntu is dull on the eye candy front.

Install a software computer such as virtual box into Windows and then put a Linux distribution inside the virtual computer. This has the advantage of avoiding rebooting when you need to switch to the other operating system, OS, and the disadvantage of some loss of speed and funtionality.

There's alot of programs that Linux cant have. Microsoft Powerpoint, is a big one for me being at university. Actually the whole Office suite would be nice. Again, i've never watched TV on Linux, but i doubt it having a quick look at there homepage. I didnt mind Ubuntu until 11.04 came out. Alot of people switched to Mint, hence why i recommend Mint over Ubuntu.

Look, id recommended Slackware over ANYTHING, but that's me. Theres no such thing as the 'best distribution' there are so many distributions because there are alot of smart people who see the need for different distributions for different things, whether it be recovery (knoppix) or pentesting (pentoo) or servers (red hat, debian, slack, gentoo).

If you need more answers jump on IRC(internet relay chat if you didnt know

network freenode
channel #slackware
omen's obviously my username

we wont have to clutter up the newbie threads then


Cheers.

Open Office has a power point type thing, I think. http://www.openoffice.org/product/impress.html

I watch TV on linux the whole time. Just check your TV card is linux compatible, it probably will be.

Linux's traditional problem is games. They are trying to sort this out, don't know how far they've got. As a rule of thumb Linux does everything else, usually better.

Live cd's are a good way to test. See distrowatch.com maybe.