I've been using android alot and wanting to get into linux, I've experience in coding with pascal,vb php,mysql back in the day and know a bit of android file structure etc.

anyway after watching windows 8 metro and realising how much it sucks and i prefer customisability I'm wanting to start using linux on my pc and work my way up from there,

also wanting to get into a bit of coding/compiling/customizing software for myself

should i start off with ubuntu

Welcome to the forums!

My suggestion is to create a "persistent live USB" of one (or more) distros and use it for a week or two. That way you can experience whether Linux is right for you! If you can make it through a couple of weeks performing your essential work/school/play tasks, using your favorite applications (or acceptable open-source alternatives), sharing documents with your friends, using all of your hardware devices, and anything else that is important to you, all without rebooting into Windows, then you'll know the answer!

Ubuntu is a fine choice for beginners (it was my first distro) and here are instructions to make a persistent USB install from Windows: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/help/...ick-on-windows

Here are a few other distros you might consider: http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

Have a look at the top 10 or so at www.distrowatch.com.
(skip Gentoo, LFS, Arch as they are build it yourself distros)
Ubuntu & Mint are often recommended to newbies, but at least partly because they resemble MSWin a lot; you may prefer something more Linux-y.
Some have a Live CD version, which runs purely from your CD/DVD drive and allows you yo test before installing.

Useful links
http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm
http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz
http://tldp.org/LDP/Bash-Beginners-G...tml/index.html
http://www.tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/
http://gcc.gnu.org/

Ubuntu kind of does their own thing, like Apple. i recommend Linux Mint 13 for a beginner.

I whole heartedly agree with the above posts. Every distribution has different options associated with it. As chrism01 mentioned above unless you are ready for an extreme adventure and ready to lose your hair (i'm bald) stay away from Gentoo, LXF, Arch and in my opinion Fedora Core unless you have fully supported hardware (they are catching up though). I started with Red Hat 8 then 9, and after that i moved to Fedora Core up until release 14. After that i migrated to Ubuntu 10.10 which I found to be really easy to setup and administer. But now I'm looking for another distribution that is a little more in-depth. The problem I am running into is there are soo many distributions out now its really hard to decide which one to use.

A lot of Distributions are releasing Live CD's or DVD's that you can run directly from the drive. This is an excellent way to test each because every distribution is slightly different. whether its the color scheme, software collection, or tools included. I did as stated in the posts above and went to the disto watch webpage but everyone is different and just because someone says Ubuntu is great you may not quite like it. take some time to read the reviews then try each of them out for yourself.

A common question I saw last night which is getting a lot of people in forums REALLY upset is this question: What is the best distribution for security? Linux is Linux and although each distribution make look different they all operate off of the Linux command structure (please correct me if I'm wrong). My suggestion is find the distribution you like the most and then set it up how you want it. Also, search google for quick answers to questions you may have or use the forums! I promise you that you will not find a better support community than the Linux support community.

As I have been using Linux since 2001 I am in no way a guru and consider myself a beginner. I felt I would post to this thread because I want to switch to a different distribution that will get me more into the weeds so to speak to learn more about Linux and am in the same boat as you (which one to pick).

Anyways thank you for letting me put my two cents in.

I think it's better to use a simple and user friendly distro link mint or kubuntu. and then switch to more advanced distro like debian for daily use.
try to install them on usb (> 8GB) or live from cd/dvd.

which distro, mate, cinnamon or kde? what is the difference and why are there so many choices, this is what seriously puts me off linux sometimes

Mate, cinnamon and kde are desktop environments or "skins." You choose the interface that works best for your workflow/preferences. You can even install multiple desktop environments and switch between them depending on your mood that day. It is the same operating system underneath.

ahh right so its basically like a different explorer.exe? am i right in sayin that? iwas told some apps are only compatible on certain desktop environments, why is that? i thought everything should be compatible with each other

Agree with above posts...try it out first!!
Sometimes it is tricky to get things working. It feels great when you get it working but then again you need to have time to do that.

Also if you are looking for netflix etc..you will have to do many tricks etc.

I will suggest CentOS as it is very close to RedHat

Hope this helps.

At some point, you have to just pick one and dive in.....

I do know what you mean by the choices...there's no way out of it other than just focussing on what works for you. The best setup (for you) might just be the last one you try.

I strongly suggest you try Mint first. While many distros these days will have great hardware support, Mint was awesome. I installed it on my "old" (4 year old) Sony Vaio laptop and I was sure half the stuff wouldn't work - ie SD Card reader, webcam, function keys.... To my surprise everything but a couple of buttons on the top and the finger print reader don't work out of the box (I bet if I actually tried to troubleshoot them, I could probably figure it out). Far better than when I tried my first linux (Red Hat 9) back in 2004. Back then I couldn't get anything to work (had to switch to wired internet...).

As said before, a lot of it just comes down to testing out a bunch and seeing which ones you like. Download VirtualBox if want an ez way to test out a bunch of different distros.

It's been a few weeks since you originally posted, just pick one and make a Live USB, try it out!

Each distro has screenshots on their website so you can compare and pick one that looks nice to you. Also try to find a distro with an active, friendly support forum where you can ask questions and get help/advice. Linux is all about the community.