s

[LeakingSink251]

s

[PlayStation 2]

Ubuntu?

Maybe Linux Mint.

[Kobathor]

I like Ubuntu the most, to me it feels like the distro that isn't Linux.. But it is.

 

Good looking, good performing, all the features you'd need ever. (Except for.. you know.. Windows specific features..)

[royalcrown]

I happen to like Linux Mint over Ubuntu because I hate the way Ubuntu's menu is a clusterf%%%. Unity sucks !

 

If you like simpler designs like OSX try Elementary OS:

 

https://elementary.io/

 

I prefer PC BSD because BSD > Linux

[DKL]

Linux Mint. Latest version.

 

I would just like to note for any college student(or other person with a .edu email) to check out dreamspark.com where you can get a free copy of Windows Industry Pro.

[royalcrown]

Ubuntu?

Maybe Linux Mint.

You no longer "Grind my gears" sir lol

 

+1 on mint

[PlayStation 2]

You no longer "Grind my gears" sir lol

 

+1 on mint

:^)

[Smooth Bunz]

Ubuntu is the best free OS But it is still linux so you'll have to learn or watch tutorials on how to install things!

[Kherm]

Windows 10. And only Windows 10

 

Every single PC shall run Windows 10

 

We shall take over the world. 

[OmarM89]

Fedora or Ubuntu

[Tmt97]

I dual boot Ubuntu and elementary os. Personally I prefer the elementary os for its design, I just keep Ubuntu in case I need a bit more software compatibility for some reason.

Windows 10. And only Windows 10

 

Every single PC shall run Windows 10

 

We shall take over the world.

I think if I had to use any version of windows I'd just stop using PC's

[royalcrown]

I dual boot Ubuntu and elementary os. Personally I prefer the elementary os for its design, I just keep Ubuntu in case I need a bit more software compatibility for some reason.

I think if I had to use any version of windows I'd just stop using PC's

Windows is a lot better since the XP days you know, after & when they got a good network stack and stripped out junk, I quit running OSX.

[LeakingSink251]

s

[Elapo]

I prefer mint w/ cinnamon, but with multi desktops in W10 I find myself being equally productive in Windows, so it's been a while since I've used it.

 

Ubuntu is the best free OS But it is still linux so you'll have to learn or watch tutorials on how to install things!

How to install most software on linux:

 

Is software in standard repos?

1. Open package manager

 

2. Search software

 

3. Click install.

 

if not:

1. download .tar.gz

 

2. unpack

 

3. double click rpm/deb

 

Pretty much for 90% of the software. Installing stuff isn't really an issue anymore, unless you're running from CLI (still not hard though), for some reason. 

Also, most software comes with installation instructions anyway, so it really shouldn't be an issue.

[Smooth Bunz]

I prefer mint w/ cinnamon, but with multi desktops in W10 I find myself being equally productive in Windows, so it's been a while since I've used it.

 

How to install most software on linux:

 

Is software in standard repos?

1. Open package manager

 

2. Search software

 

3. Click install.

 

if not:

1. download .tar.gz

 

2. unpack

 

3. double click rpm/deb

 

Pretty much for 90% of the software. Installing stuff isn't really an issue anymore, unless you're running from CLI (still not hard though), for some reason. 

Also, most software comes with installation instructions anyway, so it really shouldn't be an issue.

The last version of ubuntu I used was like 7.04 or something  sounds like it has come along way

[Elapo]

The last version of ubuntu I used was like 7.04 or something  sounds like it has come along way

yeah, most stuff even has a wizard . The main issue you may run into is wrong file permissions, but you can just make a file executable in the interface as well.

[Azgoth 2]

So many different Linux flavors.

 

Linux Mint is my distro of choice.  It's quick, snappy, feature-rich, and--my personal favorite thing about it--it lets you choose how much and when you want to interact with the system.  You can delve right down into the nitty-gritty bits and manually alter everything, or you can do a lot of tweaking through menus, or you can just ignore all that and use whatever programs you need.  It's an OS that generally gets out of your way to let you do things, but still makes it very easy to have whatever more intimate interactions you might want.  I also like the Cinnamon desktop a lot.

 

Ubuntu is the other big one people praise, but I can't make myself get used to the Unity desktop environment and its lack of configurability.  But since you can download Ubuntu with different default desktop environments or just plain install different ones, that's not necessarily a problem.

 

Debian is always an option if you want one of the big daddies of the Linux world, but I've been told it requires a bit more technical know-how than its derivatives like Ubuntu and Mint.

 

Fedora is the other big one, but is mostly for people who want the bleeding-edge software.  It has pretty short release cycles, too, which might be irksome, and is less geared towards long term support releases like Ubuntu/Mint are.

 

Then there's always Arch, if you want a nearly completely configurable system that's also pretty lightweight, but has a very steep learning curve.  Or there's Gentoo, if you think "not having to compile your Kernel and software packages" is for losers.

 

As for non-Linux, there's FreeBSD (or some of the other BSD flavors, but FreeBSD is the most-used for desktop computers by far).  The development model is very different from Linux distros, since all the software that comes with it is designed--from the ground up--to be part of a single, cohesive system that works because every piece was specifically built to work with the others.  Contrast that with Linux, where distributions are more like cobbled together sets of software from all over the place, glued together to make sure there's a working whole.  (There are pros and cons to both approaches--neither one is strictly "better" than the other).  FreeBSD requires more techincal computer knowledge than most of your normal Linux distros to fully configure and get working, though.  On the plus side: it's extremely stable, extremely secure, and just overall regarded as a fantastic piece of software design and engineering.  But it's not for the faint of heart.

[MoonKnightSpidey]

NOT Ubuntu. Ubuntu is terrible. Get an Ubuntu based OS like Mint. Maybe later on get Debian. Once you know enough get Arch. And you will never go back to an another Linux OS.

[DigitalHermit]

OSX-like: Elementary OS

Windows-like: Linux Mint (Cinnamon, specifically)

Something else: Debian, Red Hat, etc.

[Burusutazu]

Ubuntu (My personal choice)

Elementary (Looks better then OSX imo)

Kubuntu

ChaletOS (Nice lightweight aero style)

ZorinOS (various windows styles.)

 

I would take a look at a variety of distributions and pick what you think looks best. 

[Djole123]

ReactOS

[Sithhy]

Damn Small Linux for everything ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[royalcrown]

I prefer mint w/ cinnamon, but with multi desktops in W10 I find myself being equally productive in Windows, so it's been a while since I've used it.

 

How to install most software on linux:

 

Is software in standard repos?

1. Open package manager

 

2. Search software

 

3. Click install.

 

if not:

1. download .tar.gz

 

2. unpack

 

3. double click rpm/deb

 

Pretty much for 90% of the software. Installing stuff isn't really an issue anymore, unless you're running from CLI (still not hard though), for some reason. 

Also, most software comes with installation instructions anyway, so it really shouldn't be an issue.

True, but I think linuxs' problems are that the CLI is cryptic and does not seem logical. Some of this stems from the fact that all this stuff was invented way back when ram was expensive and stupid abbreviations and arbitrary symbols were the norm to save memory.

[LeakingSink251]

s

[Azgoth 2]

What is that?

It's...interesting.  It started as a project to make a free, open source clone of one of the older Windows versions (95?  I think?), but has since morphed a bit to become a "Windows-like" OS (think how Linux and BSD and such are "Unix-Like," meaning they ultimately follow the design principles and/or borrowe(ed) code from Unix), with the aim being a completely free and open source replacement for Windows that still runs Windows programs natively.  It's a pretty neat project idea, and I need to go learn more about it, but it's been in development since the late 90s and still hasn't seen a full release yet.  Worth looking into, if only for being something totally different, but I don't think it's at the point of being a useable, daily OS.  Someone please correct me of I'm wrong on that.