And if you like the command line you will like the editor vi for sure

Or VIM maybe for an improved vi?

Done that.

Done that too..

I still prefer Ubuntu. The reason I choose Ubuntu over the others like Fedora, OpenSUSE, Mandriva, etc. is deb.

I don't mean Deb vs RPM as in the actual "deb" packaging. Could care less about that.. RPM and DEB are mostly on par with each other. It's the side effect that seems to follow RPM distributions (that I hope MeeGo doesn't do). The filesystem structure is strange.

Command lines and configuration edits that work on Fedora don't necessarily work on Ubuntu, Gentoo, Slackware, LFS... or even Mandriva or OpenSUSE for that matter! I don't know why but RPM distro's seem to want to put things in the strangest locations.

Debian-based systems seem to be much more "universal." Moving from a deb system to something like slackware or gentoo and you still feel "at home" in the command line as far as configuration files. Granted, emerge is a beast all it's own, but it seems easy to find what I'm looking for across these systems.

Another distro I really, really liked was Arch Linux. It's true KISS mentality (keep it simple, stupid) was an amazing way to truly "learn" linux. It combines a more simple and easy approach to installation and setup, but still requires you to get involved like something like Gentoo. Arch's meaning of Simple doesn't mean simple for you, but simple for the package. The packages are in their most default configuration with minimal post/pre system processing involved.

Running arch for extended periods of time got somewhat bothersome though. Just like running my own LFS did. It's really cool to do.. but there are sometimes I just want to click a button and be done with it. That's where debian/Ubuntu came in for me. The command line stuff is there as I need it, but the UI and software require less involvement from me.

My personal recommendations to people:

Ubuntu - You want an OS you can use right now, tinkering as you go to learn linux.
Arch - You don't like hand-holding, aren't afraid to dig in for yourself, but don't want to get into frustratingly difficult underlyings of Linux.
Gentoo - You're not psychotic.. simply masochistic.
LFS - You are psychotic and really want to know every last piece of Linux

From top to bottom you will learn the completeness of Linux faster. Usually requires a few extra shots of whiskey each level down .

@SAABoy

I forgot to mention this nice little distro. http://crunchbanglinux.org/

Crunchbang is quite simple to use without sacrificing performance. Its default window manager; Openbox is very snappy, light (just takes few kb of RAM) and looks good. I used to run #! from usb stick that I'm carrying a round as it works so well on many different systems.

ubuntu livecd or usb

just a note about linux etc - driver support is not always perfect compared to windows although Ubuntu is still very good in that regard. Dont get too fustrated if some stuff does not work straight off

also, go to the ubuntu forums they have guides for total noobs and the help support there is excellent.

Out-of-the-box driver support in linux is however MUCH better than in windows. Supported hardware works pretty much plug and play with no driver installs needed.

About desktop environments, see:
http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/item...ndex.php?lang=

(Screenshots of GNOME,KDE,XFCE and WM)

I prefer KDE because of it's nice looks and it's own apps like Amarok,Dolphin,Kopete,Ktorrent,Quassel,Choqok and many others, all of them communicates with each other well. And I think Plasma workspace is better and it provides very good dual-monitor support.

Ironically, I find the problem with ubuntu forums is that there is so many noobs eager to help. If you search solution to a problem there's usually many conflicting answers as some come from people who don't quite know what they are doing.

When I was using Ubuntu I mostly just read gentoo handbook or forums whenever I needed help or asked at Debian IRC channel. Searching help from Ubuntu forums often felt like blind leading blind. I have later been helping people out at irc.debian.org and noticed theres always good number of Ubuntu users coming there for help.

There's also nice linux help forum at http://www.justlinux.com/ it's more quiet nowadays as linux has gotten easier to get in to, but if one posts a decent question, good answer is pretty much guaranteed. Also they have very good archives for learning.

Like Windows, it dumbs things down too much. I especially dislike its total reliance on sudo which provides little extra protection at the expense of extra dose of annoyance.

Interesting. I took the Linux Distribution Chooser quiz and only got a 100% match on Fedora. Ubuntu and others were dinged b/c I said I had a computer more than 3 years old. That seems to suggest that Fedora runs better on older computers. This is off-topic, but does that sound right?