Hi to all on LinuxQuestions.org; I am hoping to get a specific question answered, and to learn more about using Ubuntu v. 12.04 (if it is a good, user-friendly alternative to to Windows OS.
I am in the Twin Cities, Minnesota.

I got introduced to Ubuntu/Linux in the year 2011 from working for an online math tutoring company; I was hired to deliver & set up basic Dell laptops which were operating Ubuntu v. 10.04 I recently upgraded to Ubuntu v. 12.04 & am hoping that will be a good, user-friendly version to use. We'll see.......I don't know yet as it is just too soon to tell.
I tried downloading & installing the VLC media player recently, but it didn't take & I don't know why.....so that was frustrating for me.

Hope to talk with some of you soon!!

Jeff
June 12th, 2013

I would say that a person who understands windows or mac would also be able to understand modern linux. It was not that way a few years ago. Ubuntu and some others are good choices for novice users.

A distro like Ubuntu (short for distribution) has ways generally to install programs. The reason you select a distro is for a few of the goals set by the creators of each distro. Most have a way to manage software. Ubuntu has a pretty easy package management application. Always use it before some off the web install.