A facepalm moment

[Melissa]

Not really related to linux but thought id share. I was looking around the site trying to figure out how the heck to post a new thread....not even realizing I had just started a new thread! Jeez its been a long day. Anyways Im a noob to Linux being an avid mac user and a forced windows user ( for work) but I figured id give Linux a try on my poor neglected little Dell. Any suggestions on what I should start with? Im using Mint but having trouble.

Thanks!

 

[cloud-powered]

I prefer Fedora and its derivatives. Even though Linus hates it, I love GNOME 3.

While stepping out of the Debian/Ubuntu realm means finding decent software is harder, most apps are available in RPM form as well.

It will take a bit more work to navigate than, say, Ubuntu, but it's pretty nifty.

 

[lucasbytegenius]

I highly recommend Ubuntu for people starting out in Linux. It's awesome. I wish I had discovered it sooner when I first started.

 

[Bill]

All of these are good suggestions. I have already recommended Zorin OS to you in another thread. It is based on Ubuntu, but is geared towards Windows users. You said you have already tried Mint.

Ubuntu comes with a radically different user interface called Unity. It is a bit confusing at first, but very enjoyable once you get used to it.

Fedora is a good choice as well. As with Unity, Gnome 3 is radically different. To me, it is a bit more of a pain to use, but very easy to use after you spend a little time with it.

The good thing is, you can try them all. If you have a good internet connection, you can download as many .iso files as you want to and then either try them in a virtual machine or burn each one to a DVD and boot your computer with it. When you find one that you really like, it is usually an easy task to install it to your computer.

 

[cloud-powered]

Bill makes a great point. You can install most any distro and easily change the desktop environment.

For example, Ubuntu comes with Unity but you can go into the package manager and ask for GNOME, KDE, or the likes. It's the flexibility of Linux systems that keep me coming back.

 

[pane-free]

Welcome !
Since you've begun with an ubuntu-based distro in Mint, I would suggest staying within the extended family realm which includes Debian, sampling them till one you'd like to stay with for a while is found. Many, many distros are in this category -- zorin (as mentioned), peppermint, ylmf, et cetera; Debian-derived includes SolusOS, antiX, MEPIS, CrunchBang. Best wishes!

 

[Victor Leigh]

Not really related to linux but thought id share. I was looking around the site trying to figure out how the heck to post a new thread....not even realizing I had just started a new thread! Jeez its been a long day. Anyways Im a noob to Linux being an avid mac user and a forced windows user ( for work) but I figured id give Linux a try on my poor neglected little Dell. Any suggestions on what I should start with? Im using Mint but having trouble.

Thanks!

I would recommend starting with something lightweight and working you way up but keeping in the same main stream.

One good mainstream would be Debian which leads to Ubuntu which leads to Puppy Linux which is the lightest that I have been able to get to work on my old laptop. When you start with Puppy Linux, make sure your use Lucid Puppy which is based on Ubuntu and not Slacko Puppy which is based on Slackware.

When you feel that you are ready for the next step, install Ubuntu. Just plain Ubuntu. Don't go for any of the branches of Ubuntu. Yet. The main reason being that once you have Ubuntu installed, which comes with Gnome by default, you can start experimenting with KDE, LXDE and XCFE which are all different window management interfaces. LXDE and XFCE are lightweight and quite similar, but not exactly the same. KDE is refreshingly different.

Then when you are ready to be really adventurous, install Debian. From the bare bones. Have fun.

 

[linbgs]

Not really related to linux but thought id share. I was looking around the site trying to figure out how the heck to post a new thread....not even realizing I had just started a new thread! Jeez its been a long day. Anyways Im a noob to Linux being an avid mac user and a forced windows user ( for work) but I figured id give Linux a try on my poor neglected little Dell. Any suggestions on what I should start with? Im using Mint but having trouble.

Thanks!

Ha Ha. I'm glad you figured out how to post a thread.
The only thing you need now is a free power up!