Most simple version of Linux?
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Soldato
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Easiest to use? Either Ubuntu or Mint. Simplest? Probably Arch, Slitaz or Tiny Core or something similar.
Ubuntu is probably the most popular "user-friendly" distro. The advantage is that almost any problem you encounter (and you will encounter problems) can be solved with a quick google.
I have had no experience with Mint but i understand its user base is much smaller.
Whilst this is true, I find that the Mint community is of higher quality and the members are more helpful. Mint also has some advantages over the stock Ubuntu installation, especially support for certain multimedia formats and the Mint Menu is (depending on your tastes) better than the default GNOME Menu.
Soldato
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It's just personal preference really, have a look at some screenshots and videos and make your own mind up really.
Soldato
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look into:
Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Opensuse and Mandriva.
Pick the one YOU get on with best.
Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Opensuse and Mandriva.
Pick the one YOU get on with best.
Soldato
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Most simple? Just the kernel with enough modules and programs to run a simple shell.
Won't be able to do much more than "echo Hello world!" though...
Won't be able to do much more than "echo Hello world!" though...
Soldato
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Careful, drivers do get removed from the kernel you find in modern distros. A lot of >10 year old hardware can be a pain, either because it was removed or because almost no manufacturers back then open sourced their drivers and the ones that do now haven't bothered with their legacy stuff.
The best way to get working wireless is to buy anetwork card that has, or be sure your network card has open source drivers from the manufacturer.
Easiest to use? Mint, hands down IMO. Ubuntu is great as well, but Mint takes things just a little bit further.
And even better, because it's Ubuntu based, any advice or fixes for problems that apply to Ubuntu normally work for Mint too so you can take advantage of that large user base.
And even better, because it's Ubuntu based, any advice or fixes for problems that apply to Ubuntu normally work for Mint too so you can take advantage of that large user base.
Went from a Debian install to Ubuntu on my MBP (was using Debian as that's what our labs have at University)
Gobsmacked by the difference! Everything works out of the box, no fudging drivers or hardware just not working. For a newbie Linux user, Ubuntu gets my vote every time.
Gobsmacked by the difference! Everything works out of the box, no fudging drivers or hardware just not working. For a newbie Linux user, Ubuntu gets my vote every time.
Well, yes. This is nicely covered in a couple of other threads on here. My hunch is that the OP doesn't have a decade old computer though.
Was that Debian stable or testing? Their stable branch is pretty antiquated at the moment so so it's possible that their testing branch would have done just as well as ubuntu.
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As a forum member reaching the ....um shall we we say "silver surfer" end of the spectrum AND a Linux newbie/noob I would say go for one of the newest releases of either Ubuntu, Mint or Fedora just because they are ones that work "straight out of the box"
DL and burn a Live CD iso version of each and boot to them and have a look at each first to get a feel for them
You can dual boot with your current Windows OS so that you have a fall back if you have problems and need to search for a solution via the various forums online. It WILL happen that you run into a small problem or 2.
Alternately, get hold of a cheap smallish second hand HDD and install to this, with your main Windows OS un plugged, and have a go. That way you can make mistakes and not have to worry to much. Don't be afraid to experiment and if required re install and try again.
Lastly research before you start!
DL and burn a Live CD iso version of each and boot to them and have a look at each first to get a feel for them
You can dual boot with your current Windows OS so that you have a fall back if you have problems and need to search for a solution via the various forums online. It WILL happen that you run into a small problem or 2.
Alternately, get hold of a cheap smallish second hand HDD and install to this, with your main Windows OS un plugged, and have a go. That way you can make mistakes and not have to worry to much. Don't be afraid to experiment and if required re install and try again.
Lastly research before you start!