Which Linux OS should I use
 

Since the lockdown I have had plenty of extra time on my hands. Being bored with Windows 10 Pro I thought I would look in to the Linux OS. I first downloaded Ubuntu 20.04 and ran it for a while and although it seemed a good I started to read more into Linux systems and at the moment I am trying Manjaro 15 maybe a bit complicated for a newbie like me. I have loaded Linux Mint and Zorin today and will try them out. Any suggestions for easy to get used to systems will be great. Found terminal a little strange at first but now I like it.

Learning Linux is really about the terminal, otherwise you're just using GUI programs. :)

AntiX, & MX Linux, are what I usually recommend, but also Tiny Core & SliTaz, depending on needs. ;)

Any distro will work, but we each have our favourites, hopefully you'll soon find yours.

Mint and Zorin are both Ubuntu based so are very similar in many ways. One site you could use to get information is the distrowatch site which has some information on a lot of Linux distributions as well as links to the specific site for the OS. On the right of the page is Page Hit Ranking which gives a list (with links) of the more commonly used distributions.

https://distrowatch.com/

Another approach to try is to stick with one distro for a little while and fiddle around with the defaults. The most visible default packages would be the choice of desktop environment and the window manager. So, swap out the desktop environment several times and give them all a try. Then as you start to determine which one you like, swap out the window manager several times and give some of the popular ones a try. Then tweak the one(s) you like best to see if any customizations make it better for your work flow.

If you're getting into using the shell, I would very highly recommend looking at tmux. At its most basic level, its good for leaving a program running and disconnecting/reconnecting periodically to check on it in progress without losing anything. I use it several ways, one is with split panes for monitoring in each pane.

I first learned about this site on LQ few months ago, maybe it will help you decide? https://distrotest.net/

There you can check out the look and feel of any OS (without downloading the ISO)...

What a welcome thank you
 

Thanks to all who replied, I will take your various advice on board and try out the various suggestions.

This old post of mine is probably still worth considering:
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...1/#post6071944

Just check out this video that shows how to choose a Linux distro.

https://youtu.be/iox7fr7p5Hc

For a beginner I'd stay away from anything out of the mainstream distro's (there is nothing wrong with plain Ubuntu desktop)

You may want to see this post on how to choose a distro.

I have used Linux for a long time and am fairly comfortable at command prompt. I like the Mate desktop and am using Mint right now, I started out years ago on Redhat. As long as the implementation of the desktop is decent I can use almost any distro.

Distro-hop for a while. Try several out with USB 'Live' sessions.

Take on board Turbocapitalist's suggestions about trying out different aspects of each distro. I don't know of many folks who downloaded a single Linux distro, tried it out, decided they liked it, and stuck with it as it came, OOTB.

There's an awful lot of alternate distros out there to try out. Finding the "one for you" won't happen overnight - it may take a while - but when you find something you can see yourself being able to live with, you'll know it.

Everyone has their favourites, and in any thread like this you'll get as many different suggestions as there are posters. I use "Puppy" Linux 95% of the time, and occasionally mess about with AntiX. But I won't recommend Puppy to beginners, because even by Linux standards it's considered "odd".....


Mike. :hattip:

i would try fedora 32 workstation.

but my all time favorite is arch linux, maybe half a year a go tested it and really liked it.

Slackware

I've settled on Manjaro (and am looking at Arch for fun) partly because the software repos are so damn good.

I can't suggest a specific distro as much as basics. Pick something that is extremely well supported on the internet. Cut your teeth on that. Think anything *buntu, Debian, Fedora, maybe even Arch (their wiki is incredible). Then look to the smaller lesser known distros. Reason is not to force people to use the stuff everyone knows as much as you will have far more help when you need it. One thing I've learned over the last several years is that I needed a ton of help, and 5-6 years later or whatever... I still do.