Linux OS question

MintyOreo

MintyOreo

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I've never really used Linux on a computer before, so please bear with me. :)

I'm looking into installing some sort of Linux OS on two computers in the coming weeks: a laptop (IBM Thinkpad; can't remember how old it is, but it used to run Windows XP), and a desktop (HP; several years old and used to run Windows XP). Both the laptop and the desktop currently have no operating system on them at all. Other than a lack of an OS, both the laptop and the desktop work well.

I've looked at my options for an OS, and I've decided to give Linux a try. (Mainly coz it's free, but also because I like the overall layout of Linux, from what I've seen online. And I've been told good things about Linux.)

I've seen that there are MANY versions of Linux out there, and I'm kind of overwhelmed at the choices available to me. So... I'm wondering what might be the best Linux OS for me to use. Here's what I need:

~ Easy to use!!! (I am fairly techie, but my folks aren't.)
~ Secure (Another reason why I'm looking at Linux: We always seem to get TONS of viruses on our Windows computers at my house, and we're all tired of it!)
~ Doesn't have to be super fancy or advanced, but needs to be fairly fast and able to handle a lot of web browsing, e-mail and chatting, streaming video and Skype, have some sort of a word processing program, etc.

So, basically, a regular personal computer. The desktop is more likely to be used for any sort of media/gaming purposes than the laptop, but both computers will need to be able to use the internet at reasonable speeds, and be good for high school students to use for homework.

Any recommendations? What would you guys say is a good choice of an OS to use? I've seen a lot about Ubuntu, and I might try that on one of the computers, but I'm open to pretty much any other Linux OS. I've also seen about Linux Mint. I'm open to using two different OS, one on each computer.

:ty:
 
It really depends on your preference for linux OS. Just like choosing an android phone, there's too many to choose from. In the end they are all the same with slight differences. You want one that is usually updated if you want more security, not the older distributions.
My personal opinion is Mint isn't newbie friendly, but that's just my opinion.

The newbie friendliest distro is Ubuntu.

Some popular technical-savvy distributions for people who like to use gnome/teriminal are:
- Fedora
- Slackware
- Gentoo
- FreeBSD

The real part is it's not actually the distribution you use, it's the desktop environment.
You want something for point-and-click is more like KDE desktop environment.

The more harder ones to use (requires learning curve) just rely on Gnome or terminal/shell to get things done which the average newbie doesn't know how to run commands.
 
I'm a long time Unix/Linux guru. Just what Naisho said, I recomend Ubuntu since it's a simple straight forward installation and it's good enough for what you need. As far as high school student, there are many open sources out in the world, like if you need word documents, you can get OpenOffice free, have lot of good stuff compare to Microsoft Office. OpenOffice usually built in Ubuntu. It has pretty much everything you need in it. There are time to time, depending on how old the machine that may require some tweeking like video display that turned out too big, running at 800x640 resolution and need to adust to get it to 1024x800 (most common for older machine that is max resolution).

Other than that, there are many applications are free. The most common problem is when your system crashed or locked up, they don't know what to do next or how to fix it. Just have to google it and manually fix it yourself with all the complex command strings. It's not any easier than MS repair tools.

Overall, it's pretty stable and great OS...Ubuntu
 
I agree with SneakerNet, I am Ubuntu user. I've use Linux many time before (many different flavors) and Ubuntu is the easiest and more reliable. Almost any old PC or laptops would work with Ubuntu. Once you become comfortable with Ubuntu. If your old Laptop or PC have good graphic card, You can install and turn on Compiz (Linux's really fancy eye candies!!!). This make Windows 7's eye candy look cheap and wimpy :rofl: Seriously!!!

I've use Puppy Linux on 500mhz system and it's rather fast on 256mb RAM as a drive. But the RAM memory is limited due to BIOs and it'll locks up or crashed if you run more than 2 apps depending on apps size.

I've used Linux installed in Thumb drive or SD memory card (either standard or Micro). So that I can boot it up to Linux in PC or Laptop without hard drive.

Excellent for emergency

My 2 cents

Catty
 
While I don't necessarily disagree you might want to read up on how to install the XFCE or LXDE version of the distro you choose.

At the moment Ubuntu is trialling a new interface aimed at touch screens and phones and Gnome is heading the same way. If you are new you might not want to be put into the world of touch screens if you don't have one.
 
I am currently on newest version Ubuntu 12.04.. It seem faster and my Acer Aspire 1551 laptop wireless connects quickly than older version. I'm happy with it now.

I hope one day soon Netflix for Ubuntu!!

Catty
 
purplecatty said:
I am currently on newest version Ubuntu 12.04.. It seem faster and my Acer Aspire 1551 laptop wireless connects quickly than older version. I'm happy with it now.

I hope one day soon Netflix for Ubuntu!!

Catty
Click to expand...

I'd rather have Steam! :)
 
I am experinece Ububua :) It is very recommand Ubutna also manually putty Linxus 0S I am experience Ubunbta also , many people choice have pefer, I will download Fedora :)
 
purplecatty said:
I hope one day soon Netflix for Ubuntu!!

Catty
Click to expand...

Could put on Netflix via VirtualBox/Windows/XBMC otherwise it ain't ever gonna be supported in Linux since it depends on silverlight grr!!! M$'s way of stiffling competion!! Sorry :-( Hopefully one day down the road tho!! Thats the only solution and most likely to fail anyways cause vm video rendering may not be good enough but who knows til ya try it out some PCs could fare better results video-wise. But doubt it. So dual boot to windows time! :D
 
Smithtr said:
I am experinece Ububua :) It is very recommand Ubutna also manually putty Linxus 0S I am experience Ubunbta also , many people choice have pefer, I will download Fedora :)
Click to expand...

Fedora is the test version of Red Hat, not a stable OS. Just FYI
 
Ubuntu 12.04 with gnome 3 is the best! I installed gnome 3 on Ubuntu 12.04 since new version released last month. You can try to play with gnome 3 on ubuntu 12.04 :)

Deaf Linux Team
 
I'll echo the comments on Ubuntu being the most user friendly. I'm currently running Linux Mint Mate as it serves my business needs better. Working on trying to make Linux more VRS friendly. Sure can be challenging but we'll get it done...
 
SimonJ said:
VRS? What is that?
Click to expand...

Virus Replication Service

j/k

Video Relay Service. There are no VRS applications available to run on Linux, the only way to use VRS is by web interface type and sometime require tinkering to make it work with Webcam and Web VRS.
 
OK, why not use Google+? I use it here for three way chats every week.
 
Unless you use Anywhere - you can make VRS calls from within Linux using just a browser and your webcam. *Disclaimer, even though I have a spare computer running Ubuntu 12.04, I have not tried Convo Anywhere personally myself.
 
We still struggle to contact Linux developers about Video Relay for Deaf. DLT (Deaf Linux Team) keep in touch with Linux experts who know about Video development but not sure about Video Relay. We won't give up about Video Relay program! :) www.deaflinuxteam.org
 
Im a linux master. Dont listen to these guys. If its an old computer that runs XP then gnome would be too much for it. Get a xfce based linux distro like linux mint xfce edition or xubuntu.
 
taurizs said:
We still struggle to contact Linux developers about Video Relay for Deaf. DLT (Deaf Linux Team) keep in touch with Linux experts who know about Video development but not sure about Video Relay. We won't give up about Video Relay program! :) Deaf Linux Team
Click to expand...

That so? Well then... I guess I'll put the full force of our company's support behind this team.

As far as the original post's question... if it's an older computer, I'd suggest something like Damn Small Linux or... Ubuntu with a simplified interface, such as LightDM.
 
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