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Question

The most user-friendly linux distro?

Jan 11, 2012 2:16PM PST

I want to install a linux distro on my PC and I am wondering what is the most user-friendly linux distro. I have Fedora 16 and don't really care for that much. I am curious if there are any more windows based linux distro that install software and stuff without having to use a lot of code writing. Any suggestions anybody has are great. Thanks

Discussion is locked

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Answer
I say...try them all.
Jan 12, 2012 1:15AM PST

because it's so inexpensive. Personally I am using PCLinux.

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Live cd is
Jan 12, 2012 2:35AM PST

your best friend in selecting a linux distro.

You can see what it offers and how easy to use it will be.

Personally I use Mageia 1 a spin off of Mandriva comes in multiple desktops.

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User freindliest linux is...
Jan 31, 2012 1:00AM PST

I have tried many and have little patience for distributions that do not work "out of the box" so to speak. If things don't work first time then its a hobby, not a computer opperating system.
I have had the best run out of PCLinuxOS, although it is not the prettiest or the most feature packed.
It has a "Control Centre" that makes messing about with the settings easier than just about any other distribution.
The forums are also very friendly to new users.

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my take
Feb 2, 2012 12:46AM PST

Once upon a time, I too had ample amounts of free time to try out every Linux distribution I could get my hands on. This is no longer true. I feel that Ubuntu has greatly solved a lot of issues for desktop/laptop users. It's not perfect, but it's very refined, and I find it as easy and intuitive to use as any Windows or MacOS based system. At one point, I even had to walk my dad through using Ubuntu, just to surf the web on my laptop. He found it easier than the Windows system he uses at work!

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I use Mandriva
Feb 13, 2012 5:13AM PST

Since I had my 1st taste of Mandriva (formerly known as Madrake/Mandrakesoft) back in the late 90s it is the most easiest distro to mess with. They are actually the pioneeres

As mentioned before, they are the creators of the MCC (Mandriva Control Center) or commonly known as Control Center.

Also, has Easy URPMI which is a website for repositories all over the world. So if one is down or no longer supported you can configure your system without even entering a command line (if you want to).

If you are a MS user, KDE is more similar if you are an Apple user, GNOME seems to be the closest to it.

There are other like Enlightenment, XFCE, and many others. Some are more graphic intensive than others.

The differences on the most common Packaging Systems that are Debian or RPM.

*buntus are Debian based, Mandriva are based on RPM. They all have their pros and cons. Most of the success is from the community.

The desktop environment is what people are more familiar with. Depending how good was integrated the experience variate from distro to distro. If you want to go by Distrowatch, is a source of Linux distros; however, is not "THE Site" for Linux distros. There are more sources.

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(NT) kubuntu
Mar 14, 2012 9:14PM PDT
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The choice is yours...
Mar 17, 2012 11:04PM PDT

I agree that you should try multiple Linux distros. However, I think I can get you started.

Try these, my personal favorites:
Ubuntu - Different variations are Lubuntu, Xubuntu, and Kubuntu
Linux Mint - Different variations are Mint 12 KDE and Mint 12 LXDE.

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Linux OS's
Jun 3, 2012 2:37AM PDT

I've used a lot of them.

From a ease of use perspective, you can't go wrong with Linux Mint. Unfortunately Ubuntu has gone down a separate path with Unity.

I would suggest to go with Debian stable and save yourself all the trouble. It' arguably the most stable Linux distro and I can assure you,, once you get it working, there is very little configuration. It's packages are a bit outdated, but you can always install packages manually.

For the brave: Arch Linux

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Suse 12.3 Gnome
Feb 4, 2014 6:58AM PST

I have Linux Suse 12.3 . I like it but setting up a wireless connection was difficult but was successful.
Getting a wireless USB stick that was identifiable was the difficult part.
I found the 3D REACH to work well but a little slow.
Hard wired was no problem. I am using the GNOME as to the KDE platform.
I have 13.1 Suse but am afraid to install it because of possible configuration wireless problems.
I worked for three years just to get any linux system to work wireless.
I still have some problems getting most streaming video to work properly. Some of it is ok and some is terrible.
Very jumpy and intermittent.
I am by no means a computer GURU at all. I am a retired craftsman.
Basically if you are computer literate at all you should be able to get it going.
I did it just to see if I could do it. Just to get away from windows was a great feeling.

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Try Zorian
Feb 14, 2014 8:45AM PST

I managed to move my whole non-tech family over to linux using Zorin. It's almost a mirror image of Windows 7.