I hope I posted in the right place. Anyway I am getting a new-old soon and I want to install Linux on it. So I am wondering which is the best one? I know it is more about personal preference but I just would like some opinions.

PcLinuxOS is the most simple Linux variant I know of and is pre-configured with most options any noob would wanna try. The only downside is that it's x86 only, imo. It runs great on my Compaq laptop and everything works out of the box.

puppy linux would FLY on a 1.5 gighertz pc, there is Dam Small Linux but its a bit too light in my opinion.

I have Ubuntu 9.10. I just got it in the mail the other day. I can make an iso for you.

hurricanegeek, why burn him an ISO when he can get the ISO off of Ubuntu's site?

and from personal experiance, I would recommend SUSElinux or Red Hat Linux

I would highly recommend Ubuntu, It's the most easiest to use and the one withe the most eyecandy. 8-D

I don't know which Ubuntu distro you guys were using, but afaik Ubuntu does not have the eyecandy like Compiz-Fusion nor Emerald installed by default. PcLinuxOS lets you enable Compiz and Emerald just by turning them on and you don't have to scour the repositories for anything, everything he could possibly need is already installed. If he doesn't have to google all day to figure out how to install apps through the terminal for example, which most likely will happen at one point, would make transitioning from windows to Linux much easier.

http://pclinuxos.com/

Well I already know you can download it

if you are a "starter" then go with a debian like "ubuntu 9.10 x86" its fun and easy
also dont use "kde" its still full of bugs and maybe unstable,gnome is perfect
good luck

I would recommend Ubuntu, because it is the most popular distro and almost all linux program works with Ubuntu.

From my experence Linux Mint is good, it runs like a dream on most pcs and has most video and audio codecs installed as standard.

I have the CDs I just got my Ubuntu and Kubuntu 9.10 cds. I also got some opensolaris ones.

Ubuntu is the easiest in terms of finding support/support literature.

I'm still on 8.10 on my laptop, and 9.10 on my desktop.
Note, Ubuntu's support for Intel GM965 chipsets is still b0rked after 8.10.

Linux Mint Ubuntu, but easyer to use and nicer artwork. Mint 8 based on Ubuntu 9.10 is just released.

Linux Mint for me too, though apparently openSUSE has the best use of KDE

I've played with most major Linux distros like LinuxMint, openSuse and Kubuntu. It really doesn't matter which of these distros you are running, as long as the KDE package is the same. The latest KDE is really stable, not sure why some are saying it isn't, some just prefer Gnome over KDE, whatever works for them. I used to like Gnome, probably 5 years ago, but now I prefer KDE.

Look, there isn't a best Linux Distro, they are all different... There are somes simples like Ubuntu and others hard like Arch Linux. Really if you're a new user on the Linux World, I recommend you Kubuntu or Sabayon Linux, they're simple and preety good



WTF? Really, i have more bugs on GNOME than on KDE, KDE 4 isn't unstable anymore and it gives you a beautiful GUI

Most buntu based distors uses to be very simple, but maybe old Windows people will prefer KDE because of the menu is a bit simmilar to the windows menu. Or maybe Mint because of the Mintmenu.

And Mint has everything setup, though fedora looks nice

Mintmenu can actually be installed on other systems, it's not proprietary. Most linux apps will run on pretty much any distro of the same architecture, which is why I recommended a distro that is already pre-configured with most essential apps. You can reconfigure Ubuntu into Kubuntu into linux mint if you wanted to, they are all based on the same system. It boils down to which distro already has most of the packages that the user needs already installed, anything else can be added later.

That's true, if you like the Windows Aero interface you are going to love KDE with kWIN effects, it's just.. beautiful

Thanks for the suggestions.

Yes, Ubuntu does have Compiz-Fusion installed by default. It does not have Emerald installed by default, nor the control panel that allows greater customization of Compiz-Fusion.

Ubuntu comes with Compiz, it's even on by default, you just need to install the control panel. Ubuntu comes with Gnome, Kubuntu comes with KDE. If you've been using Windows, KDE is just confusing, counter-intuitive, and seems bloated full of fancy garbage that you'll probably never actually get any use out of. Gnome, on the other hand, is simple and just does what you need.