You have a pretty capable system, and I assume you have several GB of disk space to spare. I would suggest you install VirtualBox, then download several ISO's and install them on virtual machines. It will give you some idea of what the installation, setup, and work environment is like without hosing your existing system.

hi ram007,
i recommend ubuntu for any new user
cos it is really easy to use
and when you read this link you will doesn't need anything more
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Karmic

also fedora 12 i working on it for a some times and it is also good

I too suggest Ubuntu as a start point, but I also suggest once you're use to it, use DistroWatch.com to investigate other distros. Don't be afraid to try new ones. Ubuntu is good for the new user, but once you know it, to learn more, you'll have to change. At that point, my suggestions are Debian if you want something similar to Ubuntu, Slackware if you don't mind, and if you have a lot of patience, Gentoo.

But Slackware overall.

Well, from your previous thread back in 2004, you said you gave up, and went back to XP. And today, you said Windows is the greatest, Linux sucks.

Linux IS NOT Windows. To look for a distro that is identical to Windows, is pointless. You want to duplicate functionality, and the different apps are going to look and run differently. Same thing if you were going from Windows to Mac...it's not that it's HARD, it's that you don't know what to look for, where. And it doesn't seem like you're willing to work through a learning curve for anything, based on your other posts. If you want to complain about how 'hard' it is to play DVD's and MP3's, write to Microsoft....the DRM crap they want to shove down peoples throats, and the $$$ they flung at the MPAA and RIAA, is the reason only 'approved' players can play it. That's why it doesn't ship WITH Linux distros, but it certainly isn't hard to find or install.

I've got openSUSE installed and running on my laptop (Sony Vaio), in under an hour. After a quick search on their site, a one-click install took care of all the MP3/DVD/etc., codecs, players, and everything. All hardware worked right off the bat.

I suggest looking at ram's most recent thread before spending any more time replying to this one.

I also vote for Ubuntu as starting experience: installing new software is easy, there's a lot of "community support", I think it's user friendly (but maybe I'm biased), the 64-bit version is available.

Sorry, I missed this piece. I would re-try Ubuntu, I'm running the 64 without any problem.

lol! :d

I saw it coming a mile away.

P.S.: Perhaps there should be a "LINUX SUCKS" super-mega-thread. Serious or not, I'm thinking it might provide some good LOLZ every now and then.

I'm very wary of Ubuntu since they started including Beta software by default. I think it's a huge mistake to give newbies Beta software, especially if it is known to give even experienced Linux users headaches.

Newbies need something that is thoroughly and widely tested and rock-stable, with plenty of support. Debian Stable comes to mind, as does the wonderful, newbie-friendly Mepis Linux that is built on the solid bedrock of Debian Stable.

It's always my distro of choice for introducing newcomers to Linux.

-Robin

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

I also though Linux sucked the first few times I tried it, now I know that's because I haven't read about it and I expected it to work like Windows.