which distro should i use?

[avidgamer123]

Hello, I have tried ubuntu before but wasnt very happy with everything. I ended up just deleting it from my computer because it was just easier for me to use Windows, as much as I dislike it. I would like to get back to using linux, but I am not sure what distro is the best for me? I play world of warcraft a lot, and do a lot of internet surfing, etc. I need to be able to use the program Microsoft Zune, so that I can sync my zune to my songs. Other than that, I am pretty open. Before when I used the music player in Ubuntu my songs came in all weird (double songs, wrong order, not full albums, etc). I really like customization of the interface and everything, but am not very knowledgeable, as of right now, of computer language and programming. I also have an intel graphics card, which was part of the reason I couldn't use WOW on ubuntu before. Is there a distribution of ubuntu, or even linux, that would accomodate to all of these needs? Any help would be grateful! I just need a starting point. Thanks everyone!

[philcamlin]

what version did you use beoire because it has gotten much better since the 7X series

usunt is my #1 choice

you can try the live cd and see if it all works thats what i always do before installing to my pc check if the wifi works etc... :popcorn:

[rideburton56]

what version did you use beoire because it has gotten much better since the 7X series

usunt is my #1 choice

you can try the live cd and see if it all works thats what i always do before installing to my pc check if the wifi works etc... :popcorn:

I just spent 10 minutes wikipediaing and googling USUNT as a distro....hahaha what a fail!

im assuming you meant ubuntu?

[avidgamer123]

I wanna say I used 8.04 or somthing like that. I tried it about 4 months ago. I think it was called Hardy Heron... It was pretty up to date at the time I think.

[skaldicpoet9]

Personally I would either go with Ubuntu or Kubuntu first. Getting into Linux for the first time can be slightly daunting and a little confusing for someone new. This leads to a lot of unecessary frustrations and the potential linux user will often just give up and go back to Windows. I think the thing that people expect is the OS to be just like Windows, when it most definitely isn't. It is a new piece of software and you must take care to learn a little about it to really enjoy it. Think about the first time a person uses Windows, they wouldn't know where everything is or how to carry out a specific procedure (like copying a file etc..).

I tried Ubuntu first but then I later went on to use Slackware. I liked the customability of Slackware and how you could really make a very personal OS, however, Slack isn't exactly the newb-friendliest and I decided to make the switch back to Ubuntu.

I think what Ubuntu does well is provide a entry point for those that want to get into Linux but don't want to read a manual to do so. There is a real benefit in having your system be able to run "out of the box" so then you can focus on learning rather then getting the system to work (which, of course, is a learning process in and of itself :P).

My advice to you would be to try out Ubuntu or Kubuntu using Wubi first. Wubi can be installed from Windows and will boot the computer into Ubuntu (or Kubuntu) without having to actually install the OS to a partition. This is a good way to try it out and see how you like it. The interfaces are different and you might feel more comfortable using Kubuntu because it have a similar GUI to windows. However, I prefer the Synaptic Package Manager (what you use to add/remove programs) to the Adept Package Manager and the Gnome GUI to KDE's GUI.

In the end it is all about what you want. If you want to play WoW then I suggest that you go to http://www.winehq.org/ and look up WoW in the app database. There are some inevitable compatibility issues with WINE and WoW, so it may work great or not at all. Personally, I have never got WoW to work on any of my Linux setups.

Anyways, I hope this helps a little. I am still quite new as well and this is what has worked for me so far.

Right now, I am using Jaunty Jackalope and loving it :)

[ktechkio]

I would recommend you go for Kubuntu 9.04. Follow the guide on getting started section of linux.host22.com

[t0p]

Hello, I have tried ubuntu before but wasnt very happy with everything. I ended up just deleting it from my computer because it was just easier for me to use Windows, as much as I dislike it.

You need to bear in mind that Linux will be "difficult" at first - you're used to the ways of Windows, and Linux is not Windows. But if you are at all computer literate, you will pick it up very quickly. So don't let yourself get frightened off at the first sign of the unfamiliar. Stick at it, and in no time at all you'll be fluent in Linux. Honest!

As for what distro to use: I suggest Ubuntu and Fedora. They seem to be the most popular distros, and 8 out of 10 cats can't be wrong!

[metalf8801]

You might want to try Linux Mint it based on Ubuntu

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mint

also distrowatch.com is a good site to find out about different linux distribution

[achase79]

The Zune will not be compatible with linux until wine enables direct access to USB or unless someone can figure out the Zune "handshake".

[HappinessNow]

Set up a dual boot to windows, keep windows in your first boot until you are ready to make the complete cross-over, dual boot to Ubuntu if you are feeling brave triple boot to Windows (XP hopefully), Ubuntu and PC-BSD.

I suspect you want to keep it simple then simply set up a dual boot to Ubuntu and XP.

Have fun!:P

[nixscripter]

Being a somewhat more serious hacker, my advice is simple:

If you want to use Linux, run Ubuntu.
If you want to learn Linux, run Gentoo (http://www.gentoo.org).

The latter makes you build your system by hand from nothing, but gives extensive instructions for doing so.

[avidgamer123]

what is PC-BSD? just out of curiosity...

[avidgamer123]

so i downloaded the latest version of ubuntu from the home website and then wrote it onto a disc using infrarecorder like they suggested. I went to restart my computer with the fully written disc in the computer and it took forever to boot up... and the farthest I ever get is to the black screen with the flashing line in the upper left hand corner. No button does anything except the power button. WTF!? What did I do wrong!?

[mmix]

windows 7 in any distro/cpu which support kvm or vice versa.

[ericab]

i love how people come onto an ubuntu forum, and ask,
"what distro should i use ???"

to me it seems the answer would be a resounding one...

[DeadSuperHero]

I would just say, look through what's out there, and settle in with what comforts you most. I'm not going to advocate one distro (or OS, for that matter) over another because the fact is: everybody is different. Even with the flexibility of the average linux distro, one size does not fit all.

But, I wish the OP luck on his/her endeavors.