Ubuntu choice for new user?

[lykwydchykyn]

I totally agree but try all flavours of 12.04 before selecting one. A USB stick could be your best friend.

I'll second this; when I set up new computers for my kids last year, I put all 4 major versions of Ubuntu on a USB stick, booted to each one, and let them choose which DE they wanted. One went with Unity, and the other KDE.

Don't overlook KDE; IMO it's actually a bit less resource-intensive than Unity, and far more mature. Kubuntu, MEPIS, or Mint KDE are all good options in the Debian family. It has a pretty familiar feel for Windows users, generally, though it can emulate about any desktop.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

I'll second this; when I set up new computers for my kids last year, I put all 4 major versions of Ubuntu on a USB stick, booted to each one, and let them choose which DE they wanted. One went with Unity, and the other KDE.

I'm glad I read the entire thread before posting . I was going to post the same thing. Let the friend try Ubuntu 12.04, Xubuntu 12.04, Kubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 10.04, etc, etc. Then let them decide what they like best. If you show the friend something that needs to be upgraded in a year or a year and a half, let them know the consequences.

A two year old computer could run any of the DEs; however, you won't really know until you have the machines specifications. I have an 8 year-old Dell Inspiron 5100 laptop running Xubuntu 12.04; however, I upgraded the RAM and disk drive.

If you are familiar with VirtualBox and you have a computer capable of running it, you could demonstrate the DEs using multiple VMs before tying them on the actual hardware.

[leclerc65]

In fact, I think it's the opposite: the installation process for Lubuntu is almost exactly the same as for Xubuntu, Kubuntu, or Ubuntu.

Things we took for granted in Gnome, can haunt us in other DE.
The other day I converted from Ubuntu 11.04 to Lubuntu 12.04. That's a real struggle for me to find the way to switch back and forth the sound from my (analogue) speakers to my USB headset. But of course I am just a newbie installer.

[JasonR]

Running Fedora 16 XFCE here. Seems lighter than Xubuntu 11.10, which I ran previously.

I've got my elderly mom on Xubuntu 11.10. Coming from Win XP, she loves it. Snappy on her 8 year-old machine. I upgraded her to 1.2 gigs ram.

Personally, I prefer Fedora. Absolutely rock solid. I can't speak to the new Gnome, but the XFCE version is impressive.

[Peripheral Visionary]

I agree with the Xfce desktop being not only very easy to adapt to coming from Windows, but also very speedy, configurable, and handsome.

Xubu 12.04 is the fastest and best Xubu yet, and I use it effortlessly on an 8 year old Dell (Celeron) with 512 of RAM! Yet I have all the coolest, latest stuff and an interface that everyone in my house can use without needing "Linux lessons."

[Lucradia]

Probably Xubuntu. Or Fedora XFCE Spin.

[3rdalbum]

I don't think you can go wrong with 12.04.

Start with Unity and see how she likes it. It might be better for her - Unity is a very "helpful" desktop if she uses its features, and if she doesn't use its better features at least it has big buttons

It's also quite good on laptops due to the overlay scrollbar and the better use of screen space.

If she can't wrap her head around it, then you can fall back on Gnome Fallback. I wouldn't recommend changing to anything non-Gnome; if she sticks with Gnome 3 or Gnome Shell she'll be able to use all the same programs and configuration utilities seamlessly.

[Khakilang]

Luckily there is plenty of choice in Linux. You can try Pupplu Linux, Debian with XFCE, PCLinux OS and Xubuntu. Which I think is quite light weight and stable. Try a few and see how it goes.

[kansasnoob]

I've used the setup shown here which uses Metacity on as little as an 1100 mHz CPU w/ 1GB of RAM and it's quite snappy

[aykoola]

Ubuntu 10.10 worked best for me.