A new Linux user needs a Linux that's close enough to the desktop they already know -- almost always Windows -- so they can quickly start using it. That way, they can clearly see the benefits of Linux, such as its stability, security, and speed.
The first thing you need just to install Linux in your PC. But what is the best distribution for beginners?
For a new user, though, I think your best choice would be
. Mint is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution that includes easy access to proprietary software. It also has an especially easy to use new software installer and updater.
Introduction to Linux Mint 8 KDE:
The KDE Community Edition aims to provide a version of Linux Mint which uses the
.
For a detailed overview of the new features and improvements included in Linux Mint 8 KDE, please read “
“.
System requirements:
A minimum of 4GB of free space and 256MB RAM are needed. For a comfortable experience we recommended to have at least 512MB RAM and 10GB of free space.
The skilled users of Linux can chose one of the most popular Linux distributions:
The openSUSE project is a community program sponsored by Novell. Promoting the use of Linux everywhere, this program provides free, easy access to openSUSE, a complete Linux distribution. The openSUSE project has three main goals: make openSUSE the easiest Linux for anyone to obtain and the most widely used Linux distribution; leverage open source collaboration to make openSUSE the world's most usable Linux distribution and desktop environment for new and experienced Linux users; dramatically simplify and open the development and packaging processes to make openSUSE the platform of choice for Linux developers and software vendors.
Ubuntu, Debian based, is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customise and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. "Ubuntu" is an ancient African word, meaning "humanity to others". The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.
The Fedora Project is an openly-developed project designed by Red Hat, open for general participation, led by a meritocracy, following a set of project objectives. The goal of The Fedora Project is to work with the Linux community to build a complete, general purpose operating system exclusively from open source software. Development will be done in a public forum. The project will produce time-based releases of Fedora about 2-3 times a year, with a public release schedule. The Red Hat engineering team will continue to participate in building Fedora and will invite and encourage more outside participation than in past releases. By using this more open process, we hope to provide an operating system more in line with the ideals of free software and more appealing to the open source community.