Answers to: Best Linux distribution for a non-technical user

Answer by Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:43:04 -0400

I would strongly recommend Linux Mint 9 (standard Gnome edition), however, PCLinuxOS is also a great choice. Both these two distros are ready to go.

I advise against Fedora while Mint is really a more ready to go version of Ubuntu with features such as mp3 & flash playback already installed. Mint has all the advantages of Ubuntu being fully compatible but done of the disadvantages - the green (minty) desktop is easily changed if this is not to your liking.

PCLinuxOs is particularly nice although I give Mint the edge but I admit this is purely my choice and I am happy to accept those who'd recommend PCLinuxOS over Mint. Try both!

Mandriva is recommended by some but I give PCLinuxOs my vote ahead.

I am surprised you narrowed down to Fedora - advise avoid.

Answer by EricTRA

EricTRA — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:21:39 -0400

I'd advice also to go with Mint, Peppermint, SimplyMEPIS. They all perform a great install, are great at hardware detection, easy to use and a very nice UI.

Answer by MIH1406

MIH1406 — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:26:27 -0400

Run away and be careful of even looking at RPM-based distros they are not for normal users I tried to use openSUSE it is very difficult compared with Ubuntu and Kubuntu. They are very easy and you get support in less than an hour.

Answer by craigevil

craigevil — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:22:35 -0400

PCLinuxOS, Mandriva, OpenSuSe, Mint

BTW Picasa works in Linux.

Picasa does not require wine to be installed, it is built in.

You can use the Google repository to install, Chrome,Picasa 3.0 and Google-Desktop. There are two repositories 'stable' and 'testing'. http://www.google.com/linuxrepositories/index.html

Answer by Terminally-ill

Terminally-ill — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 19:41:25 -0400

Hi, Andy, also take a look at the Linux distribution flow chart. :)

http://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/choosing_linux.jpg

PCLinuxOS and Mandriva are also good choices.

Answer by Gorbayov

Gorbayov — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:41:14 -0400

Kubuntu is pretty nice

Answer by Bill Drissel

Bill Drissel — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 01:49:40 -0400

The North Texas Linux Users Group has an installation project that meets every month. If a LUG near you has something similar, take your computer to them and let them install the Linux they prefer.

They'll also update the software of your choice to the latest versions and check the installation.

Regards, Bill Drissel

Answer by fred

fred — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:42:17 -0400

any mainstream version of linux will do. It is just a graphic display, perhaps one needs to get used to.If called to plumb for one then maybe Fedora or suse but then choice is important.

fred.

Answer by InTel

InTel — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:38:49 -0400

One more vote for mint, because I migrated a lot of my friends on it and there aren't any problems. When I used Fedora I had a lot ot problems...

Answer by hilyard

hilyard — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:06:07 -0400

With your bias towards ubuntu and all that RAM, a desktop environment is of little concern to you, it would seem. As such, I would start with Mint and peppermint then, if one would like to broaden his horizons gradually, go with a Debian-based distro like MEPIS. Next mini-step would warrant delving into binary-only Debian like sidux.
For Fedora, check out Xange! In any event, welcome and have fun! Go Cubbys!

Answer by Ron

Ron — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:46:18 -0400

I was going to also mention Linux Mint. It really is the best choice for this particular situation. I promise you won't regret it.

Answer by Booboo 1

Booboo 1 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:13:26 -0400

Out of those two picked by you, I would recommend Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Fedora gives you a bit of a headache until you make it usable(drivers, codecs, etc) but after that it's quite nice and it works great. Ubuntu is much more stable and faster, and besides that, it is much easier to install drivers(nvidia, wireless) java JRE runtime or SDK adobe flash player and reader.

Answer by TracerBullet

TracerBullet — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:05:47 -0400

Personally I would recommend Linux Mint. You literally have to do nothing, just install it and you have everything the basic user would need. No searching around for codecs, flash or any of that stuff. Just a nice stable OS with a good range of basic software.

I have read several people comment on the fact a clean install of Mint is like like having an Ubuntu installation you have spent a couple of weeks with.

You can find it here.