[SOLVED] Most user-friendly distro available?

[Helios1276]

Hey folks, I've convinced the gf to try dual-booting Linux alongside XP. I'm searching for the easiest transition possible(i.e proprietary drivers out of the box, hardware, eye candy). She is by no means a slouch technically and is looking forward to learning the terminal so that is a plus, I was considering Linux Mint from word of mouth, having only briefly played with a live-cd. Ideas?

P.S. Yes the idea of Ubuntu came up and is very much a definite option, I'm simply wondering if there is an 'easier' option for her first time round.

EDIT: In before 'user-friendly depends on the user, slackware is friendly to me' guy.

[tuxxy]

If she is looking forward to running the odd command from the terminal then I think ubuntu is ideal, linux mint only includes some codecs, which can be installed in ubuntu by installing one package from the repos, weather she would like to use the termminal for this is also up to her, the package is ubuntu-restricted-extras.

I much prefer ubuntu to linux mint so my views may be slightly biased, after having used linux mint I would still recommend ubuntu to even new linux users. :)

[Helios1276]

If she is looking forward to running the odd command from the terminal then I think ubuntu is ideal, linux mint only includes some codecs, which can be installed in ubuntu by installing one package from the repos, weather she would like to use the termminal for this is also up to her, the package is ubuntu-restricted-extras.

I much prefer ubuntu to linux mint so my views may be slightly biased, after having used linux mint I would still recommend ubuntu to even new linux users. :)

Same here, I know about the restricted extras ..I have two fully functional Ubuntu boxes at the moment ;). I'm just wondering if there is a 'smoother' windows crossover distro. I DO NOT want this this to get out of hand ..hopefully :)

[tuxxy]

I cant think of one then, Ubuntu I still think would be good choice - why do you think ubuntu has gained popularity as quickly as it has :)

[silkstone]

I also favour Ubuntu, but Kubuntu may be less of a culture shock for someone migrating from Windows. :)

I've not tried other distros but have read a lot about them, and it sounds like they all have their pros and cons. Once everything is up and running (and there are some very good tutorials here on how to do that), I would say that Ubuntu is very user-friendly provided there is no serious hardware incompatibility - but can be an issue with all flavours of Linux.

[bodhi.zazen]

I advise kiwi linux, it has all the extras installed but is still Ubuntu.

http://kiwilinux.org/en/

[Yuki_Nagato]

I hear that Pardus Linux (http://www.pardus.org.tr/eng/) is a very user-friendly distro. I have not tried it myself, but the reviews I have read are generally positive.

Download Location (http://www.pardus.org.tr/eng/download.html)

[JohnWesleyHarding]

I found this test was pretty useful in finding the right linux distro. It gives a list of distros that will match the users needs (according to their answers) and it only takes 5 minutes at most.

http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

I think Ubuntu is one of the best distributions for beginners since there are so many users, so it is always easy to find help online.

[Helios1276]

I cant think of one then, Ubuntu I still think would be good choice - why do you think ubuntu has gained popularity as quickly as it has :)

I would say good devs, good community and some Digg propoganda ;) Again, Ubuntu is 'on the cards'..I'm merely weighing options. Surely one of the greta aspects of using Linux.

[tuxxy]

Well im just trying to point out the fact that its not the number 1 distro right now for nothing, considering its not been out half aslong as some of its main competitors I think thats pretty amazing.

As for the propoganda comment, every OS creates this or attempts too at some point, just look at the likes of linux mint. However what makes an OS really successful and the number 1 distro is apart from the community and devs are happy users :)

[Helios1276]

Well im just trying to point out the fact that its not the number 1 distro right now for nothing, considering its not been out half aslong as some of its main competitors I think thats pretty amazing.

As for the propoganda comment, every OS creates this or attempts too at some point, just look at the likes of linux mint. However what makes an OS really successful and the number 1 distro is apart from the community and devs are happy users :)

Agreed, However being that we are all here already I think we can agree that we already know how great Ubuntu is. I was trying to avoid a thread of Ubuntu back-slappery ;)

[cardinals_fan]

Xubuntu or Mandriva.

[tuxxy]

If you already know how great ubuntu is why change something that aint broke :)

[Helios1276]

Xubuntu or Mandriva.


Just got Mandriva there, anyone have experience with it? how does it shape up to Ubuntu, Mint or Kiwi? I'm literally throwing a variety of live cd at her to let her find her own, however I'd like to pad that out with some sage advice.

[tuxxy]

I used mandriva when it was known as mandrake for a while, I suppose its a decent OS but I dislike KDE which is why I moved away.

[SunnyRabbiera]

If she is looking forward to running the odd command from the terminal then I think ubuntu is ideal, linux mint only includes some codecs, which can be installed in ubuntu by installing one package from the repos, weather she would like to use the termminal for this is also up to her, the package is ubuntu-restricted-extras.

I much prefer ubuntu to linux mint so my views may be slightly biased, after having used linux mint I would still recommend ubuntu to even new linux users. :)

Not in my case, for me Linux Mint is better then ubuntu in many repects.
For one its updater is better, it only updates what is needed unlike ubuntu that updates everything but may leave you with a borked system.
To many Mint is just a dressed up Ubuntu, but I have noted that its more then that...
Any bugs I face in ubuntu are gone in mint, like with the last version daryna, I had severe issues trying to get video to work properly in Gutsy but had no issues at all with Daryna.

[Helios1276]

Not in my case, for me Linux Mint is better then ubuntu in many repects.
For one its updater is better, it only updates what is needed unlike ubuntu that updates everything but may leave you with a borked system.
To many Mint is just a dressed up Ubuntu, but I have noted that its more then that...
Any bugs I face in ubuntu are gone in mint, like with the last version daryna, I had severe issues trying to get video to work properly in Gutsy but had no issues at all with Daryna.

Are you still running Mint? Was playing with it there, it detected everything so far , wireless ok, desktop effects ok etc. Only some button commands from the wireless mouse seemed to be unavailable such as controlling the cube.

[tuxxy]

Any bugs I face in ubuntu are gone in mint, like with the last version daryna, I had severe issues trying to get video to work properly in Gutsy but had no issues at all with Daryna.

Funnily enough had the same problems in Mint, amongst others. I dont assume its a dressed up Ubuntu, far from it.

The more linux mint progresses the further it will distance itself from ubuntu, to me this isnt exactly a good thing.

[cardinals_fan]

Just got Mandriva there, anyone have experience with it? how does it shape up to Ubuntu, Mint or Kiwi? I'm literally throwing a variety of live cd at her to let her find her own, however I'd like to pad that out with some sage advice.
Mandriva isn't speedy, but it's very automated and has a GUI for everything. The latest release is really good (except for a weird bug in the after-installation survey that keeps changing the survey language). Just skip it and you'll be fine :)

[tuxxy]

I never liked mandrakes configuration menu, linux mints custom menu reminds me of it somewhat

[Helios1276]

Well turns out she dislikes KDE 4 and hates KDE 3.5 so Gnome bagged it for the Heron lol Taking your view on updates in Mint vs Ubuntu however , she will be using Ubuntu on a trial period, which is good anyway( I recently fragged one of my own installs through updating). Thanks for all the help guys , there are probably many similar threads to this so I'm going to go ahead and mark it solved.

[SunnyRabbiera]

Are you still running Mint? Was playing with it there, it detected everything so far , wireless ok, desktop effects ok etc. Only some button commands from the wireless mouse seemed to be unavailable such as controlling the cube.

Yes, as for me it works better then hardy.
In my case every error Ubuntu has is fixed in mint.

[Helios1276]

I advise kiwi linux, it has all the extras installed but is still Ubuntu.

http://kiwilinux.org/en/
May be adding through the Repos to a fresh Ubuntu install, thanks for the heads up!

[tashmooclam]

I second Kiwi Linux. It is ubuntu but has the little "extras" already installed. The only difference was the login screen, after it's going, it's Ubuntu.Same heron on the desktop, etc. Why like it? It plays videos out of the box, quicktime, etc. I got annoyed with trying to figure out about codecs, etc. so I just installed Kiwi instead. The second most friendly OS could be gOS, but I only used it a little bit. It is based on Ubuntu. There is another version out there. But, want a really cool OS? Mac 10.5 is very nice. I got a mac mini for $300 and it had 10.5 on it already. That's a nice piece of equipment.

[basenvironment]

Every 'error' a distro has is fixed by me so I do not need to wait for someone else to release and I do not have to worry about them closing shop or deciding not to include what I need. So I don't worry too much about what is user friendly I simply use it as a base and expect to add/remove what I need to make it perfect.

[estyles]

To add on - I like Mint a lot, but when I gave a buddy a CD to try out, I gave him Ubuntu, because Mint Menu is nice and all, but to make it useable to me, I had to add a gnome-panel on top with workspace-switcher and some other random things. Vanilla Ubuntu already comes with two panels and with workspace switcher on the task bar, and the menu being on top means more real-estate for program tabs on the bottom bar. It's a minor thing that's easy to fix, but someone just starting wouldn't know how to fix it.

Other than the different menu, restricted-extras installed by default (a simple two-click process in Ubuntu that you are generally prompted for at some point), and a slightly smarter update feature, Mint isn't much more than Ubuntu with a different theme.

[Account1]

I think of Ubuntu.

[WaeV]

If she is looking forward to running the odd command from the terminal then I think ubuntu is ideal, linux mint only includes some codecs, which can be installed in ubuntu by installing one package from the repos, weather she would like to use the termminal for this is also up to her, the package is ubuntu-restricted-extras.

I much prefer ubuntu to linux mint so my views may be slightly biased, after having used linux mint I would still recommend ubuntu to even new linux users. :)

I agree. Plus mint only comes with one bar by default. (Eww...) Yeah, I know you can change it, but you can install the codecs manually as well! +1 Ubuntu for beginners.

[bodhi.zazen]

Linux mint is nice, but it is a (IMO) substantial split from Ubuntu.

If you would like some of these same "user friendly" features (ie codics for mp3 etc) and stay closer to Ubuntu, take a look at Kiwi

http://kiwilinux.org/kiwi/en/


The latest release, Kiwi 8.12 is based on Ubuntu 8.10 Differences from Ubuntu include :


Packages up to date as of 12-15-2008 from the 8.10 archives
Added Wubi (was not on previous Kiwi Linux CDs)
OpenOffice 3.0 with most up to date Romanian translations from the Narro project
GUI for pppoeconf and support for connections via Speedtouch 330 USB ADSL modem (Romtelecom)
A graphical tool for restoring GRUB boot menus lost after installing other OSes.
Evolution removed, no mail client at all on the CD
Flashplugin-nonfree and gstreamer codecs for restricted audio and video formats
Compiz extra settings GUI
p7zip, unrar and msttcorefonts
the on-CD package archive is removed to gain 12M of space.

[handy]

I have a friend coming over sometime in this coming holiday season & we're going to install his first Linux distro on the box he's bringing with him.

Initially I thought I'd put Ubuntu on it, but having thought about it some more, I'm going to install Arch.

I have never found such a simple way to use a computer in well over 2 decades of using them.

The machine will only have what he wants to use on it, he will be participating in the installation & set up of Arch. So I can explain things as we go. He is a knowledgeable windows & netware user so he should find the installation very interesting.

Once the system is set up, he will know how simple it is to upgrade the entire system, & the various ways to search for & install packages. He'll be aware of the great Arch online resources, including the great Arch wiki, the wiki How-to pages, & the forum.

He will never have to reinstall until a hardware failure causes it.

The simplicity of the Arch setup makes it so easy to check, modify & repair.

For any user who is not afraid of learning to use the Terminal & Nano occasionally, Arch, due to its simplicity, superb documentation & very helpful community is my recommendation as the most user-friendly distro. Everything else I have tried so far is overcomplicated in comparison to Arch.

I recently installed Slackware. Which many consider to be simple & transparent like Arch. I found the installation to be the opposite to that of Arch; with Slack' the quick way, is to install everything! As opposed to the Arch way of only installing what you choose.

I don't use many app's on my Arch/Xfce install, so having a Slackware/Xfce with so many things in it was really quite a shock. If you go through & choose what you want & what you don't in a Slack' install, you would spend tedious hours getting your system down to just what you need, after which most of us would also have some things that we don't need & very likely find that some things don't work because they needed something that you chose not to install.

I have not used Slack' much as yet, though its clumsy installation method is unfortunately probably enough for me to cross it off my list.

[bodhi.zazen]

Arch is nice, I have mixed feelings about advising it to a new user. Take care when you update, I always check the Arch forms first. There are times when updates cause temporary breakage or significant changes in system configuration.

If you are looking for a light weight Slackware + XFCE take a look at Zenwalk. Long ago Zenwalk was "minislack". There are some ligherer weight install options (core, server). Zenwalk has, in general, more up to date packages and package management handles dpeendencies.

I also really like slackware, and I would also suggest looking at the Slack.Build scripts. The reops are small and for the effort I prefer Arch or Gentoo ...

[handy]

Arch is nice, I have mixed feelings about advising it to a new user.

I think a technical type person, who is well experienced with windows can adapt to Arch pretty well, though I expect I'll know about that within the next month. :-)

It certainly would be an unusual first computer user that Arch would be suitable for though I agree.


Take care when you update, I always check the Arch forums first. There are times when updates cause temporary breakage or significant changes in system configuration.

Yes, I have learned about that. Though in 8 months I have been effected be 3 problems. 2 of which are currently working themselves out. They have all been bugs from upstream; kernel, x.org & ATi's Catalyst.

It certainly is good to know how to downgrade packages to get out of trouble if you have to. Which is really very easy to do, thankfully.


If you are looking for a light weight Slackware + XFCE take a look at Zenwalk. Long ago Zenwalk was "minislack". There are some lighter weight install options (core, server). Zenwalk has, in general, more up to date packages and package management handles dependencies.

Thanks for the tip bodhi.zazen, I'll download Zenwalk & check it out.


I also really like slackware, and I would also suggest looking at the Slack.Build scripts.

Thanks again. I am aware of the Slack.Builds, they are kind of like AUR in Arch.


The repos are small and for the effort I prefer Arch or Gentoo ...

Yes, Arch really is so effectively efficient for me. Gentoo takes so long to setup & install software in.

I tried out Puppy & DSL last night. I do like DSL more than Puppy. I'll have to find out if it is easy to build your own DSL, as I don't need 3 web browsers 4 or 5 text editors, amongst other things I would toss out of it, & of course there are a few things I would put in. :-)

I guess one day I'll go down the LFS path, how far I get may be another matter entirely though. :lolflag: