Hi everyone,

I'm a complete linux n00b. Been on windows for years. Sick of it. I've been wanting to try Linux for years but never confident to try it.

This is it though, windows can go.

I want a stable OS but I want to learn. Arch is compelling as everything that I have read says it is great for learning how Linux works.

Not sure I'm ready for that yet. I love the FOSS philosophy which from reading makes a Debian / ubuntu distribution sound ideal especially as a beginner but Richard Stallman video says that Ubuntu is spyware!

So I am now tempted by openSUSE Leap. Hmmmmm, a bit to corporate?

I have installed a few in a VM and had a quick play to see which one I like but to be honest I don't know what I am doing so who knows. I do quite like Gnome though. So which Distro? any recommendations? Might stick with openSUSE as I used to be an old Novell Sysadmin.

Anyway, hello to the forum!!

Not much is left for your talents in Novell to be used in Linux however understanding the concept of each task is 90% of the battle. The tasks that you did long ago are basically the same as today. You just need to learn new terms.

I think you're better off working in a virtual computer till you get the hang of things. There is nothing wrong with doing it. If you have a supported host and machine then you just play with linux till you decide.

If you want you may consider making a usb flash drive next to try out more native hardware. This may present a bit of a challenge but I suggest it for next step.

Personally I have use for many OS's and not against anyone charging for their work. Some here oppose that but to each their own.

At your stage I recommend going to www.distrowatch.com for as many distro's as you can test. It really is the only way for you to be happy. I have loved OpenSuse/Suse for a very long time and did work on Novell stuff at the end. In truth, most linux distros are pretty much similar in the nuts and bolts department. The way they offer support for programs may be the biggest difference usually.

Good luck.

This. 100%.

There are so many distributions and variations out there that I can guarantee you'll find one which ticks every box.

This website might also help:

https://distrochooser.de/?l=2#collapse15

Be sure to hanswer honestly... ;-)

Hello and welcome to the forum

@rkelsen: Nice link, I'll have to recommend that to other new members when they ask about which distribution to use.

Regards...

Welcome.

My suggestion would be starting with a look at the variations on Linux Mint. They have really nice beginner-friendly pre-packaged disc images you can download and install based around the Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce, or KDE desktop environments.

https://linuxmint.com/download.php

Trying many will give you an idea of not only what's out there but also what's possible. Later when you settle on one, you can customize it to pull in any missing features that you want. Basically, all distros are (mostly) the same under the hood and you can (generally) make one into another by changing configurations, or adding or removing programs. You can go far down that rabbit hole: Even the GUI itself is a program, too, that can be swapped out or customized. Actually, it's usually two, a window manager and, most often, a desktop environment.

Again, having them pre-packaged gives you a good idea of what can be done. After that, you can do the a la carte thing as it grows on you.

Wow! Thanks guys for the welcome and the help. I think I'll stick to a VM for now and take it from there. I'll also try a usb drive install this weekend to play nativley and see how it goes. Thanks for the link rkelsen, it has kubuntu, ubuntu, openSUSE then Fedora as the best for me. Quite liked the idea of openSUSE so I'll go with that and see what happens.

thanks again.

Welcome to the forums, I don't have any better suggestions than those already offered. The VM thought would also be my main suggestion.

Welcome to the forum.

You're welcome