SO sorry if there are zillions of these, I didn't see any though, so if there ARE, could i get a link??


I've been into computers my whole life, I used to have a mac and a pc because they could do things the other couldn't, then MAC's got too user friendly so I stuck to PC's but NOW I have Windows 7. And it's RUINING my LIFE! I got rid of McAffee wich helped, but it still drives me crazy with it's obsession with bossing ME around.. I'm the boss not the computer!!!

I mostly just surf the web, watch movies and edit pictures but I also like audio/video editing and web design so I want something user friendly but NOT user friendly to the point where I can't change things where I want to.....

does that make sense? ANY advice would be rad...!

Marie =)

yep, many many identical questions, but nevermind. If you want a decision made for you, try ubuntu. That'll do.

Note that no distro will explicitly STOP you doing anything, the more user friendly ones just provide more slick gui tools to do (subsets of) things for you. The underlying config files etc, are always up for grabs.

for editing media ubuntu studio would do , though ,form what i know , it doesn't have a graphical installer :\

Welcome to the forums Maribee! You'll find a great comparison of the top 10 distros at this site: http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

The short answer is Ubuntu or Mint.

I used Ubuntu / Kubuntu for many many years. Over the last year I switched over to Linux Mint. They're all pretty simple to use but allow you to make changes you desire.

Good Luck.

I'd say one of two paths. One is to install a virtual machine on your W7 computer. It allows you to run virtual computers as if they were a office application. See vmplayer or virtualbox or virtualpc.

Second or maybe equal best is to play with live cd's. See the top 30 at distrowatch.com. Most if not all offer a live cd. You boot your computer to the live cd (could make a usb too) and run the OS.

You choose by playing with them before you buy them (as such since you don't buy nada)

I feel that any of the choice would allow you to be the boss and not too user friendly.

I've tried different Linuxes so far.
I'd say (K)Ubuntu should be the first choice for a starter. Another option could be Fedora.

You can read more in my blog (see link in my signature).

For new Linuxcomers, I would recommend this article.

Welcome Marie! You sound like an ideal Linux user.

It's as much a bit of fun as a guaranteed tool, but you might like to try this distro chooser: http://polishlinux.org/choose/quiz/

The ones that I've found to work without problems were Debian, DreamLinux, Fedora, Mandriva, Mint, PCLinuxOS, Sabayon, Salix, Ubuntu.

These pages have some interesting advice, even if you don't want Ubuntu:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Sw...tu/FromWindows
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Sw...ntu/FromMacOSX

Much like an institutionalized person being set free, some people are more afraid of having choices than of having none. Such a delemma! Such as can GNU/Linux be.

Staying away from Enterprise Linux distributions and counting Server distros as requiring more knowledge than is presently there, a plethora of Linux ditros to choose from still exists. Narrowing it down further: both gentoo-based and slackware-based may be yet too far advanced; and those distros requiring either compiling or too many steps to get functional (Arch, Crux, aptosid, for example) are deleted from the list, as well.

Checking out how various Package Handlers work, use personal proclivities to allow further pruning of branches from the tree of Linux.

Next come hardware limitations imposed on the Home User. A modern computer with 2GB RAM or more and a multi-core processor places no practical limits on that user. A PC within the lower-echelon of i686 processors and with below about 768MB RAM does, however, restrict choices (and moreso, practically, than many will admit). The list of i486-tailored Linux distros is now quite small -- CrunchBang, connochaetos, antiX and Zenwalk are active ones. Eliminate all inactive distros from the list.

Netbooks are unto themselves, AFAIAC. Know your limitations. Which brings me to Open-mindedness.

Fanboys and fangirls are everywhere, Linux-world is no exception. They are much like homeboys and homegirls in their outlooks towards others of not-like mind and/or of differing colors. They are easily recognized by snide offhand comments and by their putdowns (subtle or otherwise) when their views are legitimately challenged or they perceive them to be. Two or more will often gang up on the “odd" one. Those of us who try to live by honesty, open-mindedness and willingness to change cannot be brought to that level, lest we lose our abilities to see things as they really are and get caught up in vain behavior. Pay them little heed. Their idea of “respect” is a three-lane street with two lanes running their way and one lane running ours. We are free. They are captives of their own fears, not recognizing anger as fear-motivated.

One makes choices and decides for oneself. This is the only (and the Linux) way. Slackers once had (and may still have in some circles) a tacit and iconoclastic code of conduct that it would behoove many a Linux user to remember and to consider. But, then again, this is not a free country and one must be careful in not only what is said but also how it is said. It is a shame and it is a fact.

Research distrowatch and the summaries found on each distribution within the pages of OSDisc.com. Search out those of seemingly especial interest individually and collectively.
Narrow the list down. Buy a bunch of used hard drives or USB drives or SD memory chips (whatever works). Download the ISO files and try them out.

Be thankful for the choices. Have fun! Life is too short to buy into cow dung.

What about Zorin? It may be just what he is looking for.
http://www.zorin-os.webs.com/

I am new to Linux as well and have decided on Suse 11.3 because of a book I bought and the classes I am taking in school. Personally I am tired of the Windows GUI and prefer Suse with GNOME myself which is why I chose to steer away from Zorin. I just built a low cost system for my aunt and installed Zorin on it and she loves it. She could not afford the 100.00 Windows license. Got everything working out of the box for her, printer, media, mail etc.

Well if you're *super* new then Linux Mint Debian Edition would be a much better bet than Slackware or Arch, that's for sure. I like it because it's rolling release. That means you have no problem with outdated software. You can install software and it will be constantly up-to-date. It also is more easy for newbies to get used to as it doesn't force you to use the command line.

1 members found this post helpful.

This is the distro I recommend to people for a few reasons first as Kenny said it is a rolling release, and yes I very rarely need the CLI BUT it is there if I need it. It also installed and ran out of the box on my Inspiron 1525,eMachines E625 and my old HP tower system ( Pentium II of all things with 2 Gb ram). I even tried it on an old junker with 256 Mb of ram and it worked so it runs on a good variety of systems.

Ubuntu definitely for starters. It's probably got the largest community, and definitely the largest community of ex-windows-ers and even some dual-boot windows-ers. When I got into Linux over the summer, I started with Ubuntu, and since then have made myself familiar with the workings of linux enough to effectively run Slackware.

Try Ubuntu, Mint, or Fedora.

You can test them out in VirtualBox before installing them.

Just remember, Linux does many thing differently from Windows, and there will be a learning curve.

http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm