Guide | How To Linux - What to choose? User friendly guide

[Soulbound]

Often then not, when a Windows user wishes to explore the free Operating System alternatives, the only option at the moment is Linux.

User then uses google to find some more info and often then not they are greeted with the term Ubuntu or a link to Distrowatch, where there are god knows how many distributions listed. Pretty daunting yeah? Yeah it is.
The aim of this guide is to provide some recommendations based on ease of use, stability (up to a certain extend) and to what type of audience it is targeted (Entry Level/Intermediate/Advanced user). Furthermore, it is solely based on my opinion and experience.

Note that I will not cover all types of Desktop Environments/Window Managers. Also, under Intermediate/Advance user categorization, I am assuming the user is comfortable in switching from the different types of commands to a certain extend: Example: Debian user who is used its distribution commands moving to Arch Linux commands (aptitude install/apt-get packagename install to pacman -S packagename).
It is always recommended to read up on the commands for the relevant base distribution (Debian/Ubuntu/Fedorda/OpenSUSE/Arch).

So without further ado, here we go.

Deskto Environments (DE):

KDE: Eyecandy and one of the heaviest DE. Has its own applications usually starting with K. Window Manager is Kwin. Suitable for Desktops/Laptops

Unity: Ubuntu's own DE, on par in heaviness with Gnome 3 and Cinnamon. Dependencies on software are from Gnome since it is essentially a graphical shell for the GNOME DE. Suitable for Desktops/Laptops

Gnome 3: Gnome Shell. Mutter is its Window Manager. Has its own applications. Not as heavy as KDE. Suitable for Desktops/Laptops

MATE: Originally a fork of Gnome 2, the old traditional Gnome Shell. Some but not all applications have been forked and therefore renamed. Marco is its Window Manager, which in turn is a fork of Gnome 2's Metacity Window Manager. Considered light weight but heavier than XFCE and LXDE. Suitable for Desktops/Laptops/Netbooks

Cinnamon: Originally a fork of Gnome Shell. Muffin is its Window Manager, which in turn is a fork of Gnome 3's Mutter Window Manager. Pre 2.0 versions required Gnome Shell to be installed. Post 2.0 version, it no longer requires it, despite still being built upon Gnome technologies. In other words, its a standalone DE. Lighter than Gnome 3 but heavier than MATE. Suitable for Desktops/Laptops

XFCE: Lightweight DE, with its own applications. Some of its applications were forked from Gnome applications. Still requires some dependencies. Xfwm is its Window Manager. Lighte than KDE/Unity/Gnome 3/MATE/Cinnamon but heavier (slightly) than LXDE. Suitable for Desktops/Laptops/Netbooks

LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment): Lightest DE of all of the above. Main choice for older/slower systems. Some applications were forked from Gnome but in general, LXDE has hardly any Gnome dependencies, so you can run independently. Openbox is its Window Manager, but it was not written by LXDE team. Suitable for Desktops/Laptops/Netbooks

With a list of Desktop environments, if you wish to learn more about it, search the wikipedia page and you will be able to see some screenshots as well as additional information and its history.


Base systems:

Ubuntu - Based on Debian technology. Uses APT commands that is visible in Debian and dpkg. Has two release cycle versions: LTS (Long Term Support) is supported for 5 years (current LTS releases are 12.04 and 14.04) and normal cycle release versions supported for 9 years (at time of writting, 14.10 is the latest stable release available).
Recommended for Entry Level users onwards.


Debian - Uses APT commands and dpkg. Known to be the Go To for Servers and systems where the user wants absolute Stability at the cost of updated software. Its release cycles is different. Known as Stable Branch (at time of writting Debian 7 Wheezy) and a new version (from Testing Branch) is released every 2 years. Testing Branch (Debian 8 Jessie) is the branch that will become Stable after the 2 year release. In this branch, packages/updates are tested in the Unstable Branch but did not make it to Stable Branch. This is where more up to date packages are available when one cannot update it further from the Stable Repositories. Sid is the Unstable Branch. This is where the latest packages reside before being tested further and moved to Testing Branch until the Testing Branch has been frozen.
Aside from the above branches, there is also something called Backports, where packages released from other branches are recompiled to work on Stable Branch basically.
Recommended for Entry Level users onwards.


Fedora (previously known as Fedora Core) - Owned by Red Hat. Uses Yum (PackageKit) and RPM package manager. Its release cycles its more or less every 6 months. Further updates for such releases are up to 13 months. Fedora serves as a Testing BED for Red Hat releases (in simple terms, just imagine more or less Stable and Testing branches on Debian). Unlike most bases, Fedora uses BtrFS filesystem by default.
Recommended for Intermediate users onwards.


OpenSUSE - Originally based on SUSE Linux, OpenSUSE its known for its KDE customization. Uses ZYpp method and RPM Package Manager. Release cycle is every two years, however you then have the Evergreen cycle (version 13), which is further supoorted for some time. Similar to Debian, there is a "Testing/Sid" branch, under the name of Tumbleweed, which follows the Rolling Release model. Like Fedora, OpenSUSE uses BtrFS filesystem by default.
Recommended for Entry Level users onwards (not Tumbleweed).


Arch Linux - Latest and greatest software releases, with a DYI focus Rolling Release model system. Basically if you want to venture into Arch Linux, you will have to build your system from ground up without any shortcuts. Don't believe me, just take a peak at the Arch Linux Installation guide and then the BEGINNER guide . Make sure you have plenty of coffee/tea and time because you are in for one hell of a ride. Uses the Pacman update and package manager, also supports AURs (Arch User Repository) under Yaourt command.
Recommended for Intermediate users onwards tho it leans towards Advanced users mainly due to the nature of this distribution. To note: Arch Linux is a walk in the park if one was to compare it to Gentoo.

So, if you have read the information above and decided on what base you want or perhaps you want to go for more customized sub distributions, then below are my recommendations.
Sub Distributions and its DE recommendations:

Entry Level users onward:

Ubuntu Family: Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu/Lubuntu/Ubuntu Gnome - K stands for KDE, X for Xfce, L for LXDE and Ubuntu Gnome is Gnome 3. Those are the official releases of Ubuntu with their tweaked and customized DE.

Ubuntu based distros: Ubuntu Mate 14.04 (MATE)/Linux Mint (KDE/XFCE/MATE and Cinnamon)/Linux Lite (XFCE)/NETRUNNER (KDE)/Elementary OS (Pantheon desktop - Custom shell and uses Gala as its Window Manager, which is based on Mutter)/Zorin OS (Gnome 3 with custom themes)/Pinguy OS (Gnome 3).

Fedora based distro: Korora (Gnome 3/KDE/XFCE/Cinnamon/MATE) - To note: Korora is basically a Fedora Respin, but on steroids. It is more user friendly and most configured for the user (flash etc).

Intermediate Level users onward:

Debian based distros: CrunchBang (uses OpenBox Window Manager with Tint2 Panel) based solely on Debian Stable/Neptune based on Debian Stable however some updated packages and KDE are from Sid Branch and have custom Kernel/SolydXK (SolydX uses XFCE while SolydK uses KDE) based solely on Debian Testing Branch/MakuluLinux (KDE/Gnome3/XFCE/Cinnamon/Mate/Enlightenment) based on Testing Branch/Siduction (Gnome 3/Cinnamon/KDE/LXDE/LXQt/Xfce/Fluxbox) based solely on Sid Branch and have custom kernel

Arch Linux based distros: Manjaro (XFCE/Openbox/Gnome 3/KDE/MATE/Cinnamon/Enlightenment)/NETRUNNER Rolling release (to not be confused with the NETRUNNER Frontier version which is based on Ubuntu)/ArchBang (OpenBox - basically the same "recreation" of CrunchBang but for Arch Linux instead of Debian)

There you go. Here are my recommendations. If you are interested in what Linux Distribution I use, refer to my Linux Configuration listed in my signature.

If you want to learn more about each Distro listed and perhaps reviews, check the following sites:
Distrowatch
Dedoimedo - Mainly KDE distributions reviews
Blogspot - Wide range of distributions reviews

 

[MalwareT]

Fedora (previously known as Fedora Core)

That is one of my favourite distros next to Ubuntu,Mint, and Manjaro/OpenSUSE.

 

[Soulbound]

That is one of my favourite distros next to Ubuntu,Mint, and Manjaro/OpenSUSE.

I didn't mind too much fedora. But 17 released cause me headaches so it registered on me caution. I would rather run centos if was to go rpm way but then again always been more comfortable with Debian.

 

[Oxygen]

Nice tutorial you got here.

 

[Soulbound]

Update: Added Siduction Distro reference (their kernel is custom)

 

[ZeroDay]

Thanks for the post Inkurax. I've done so much Distro hopping recently, anything from Ubuntu to Arch. I'm going to try out Siduction on a partition and, as my stable Linux Distro I can't decide between Mint Debian edition, Mint Cinnamon edition (which I love) or Ubuntu.

 

[Soulbound]

Thanks for the post Inkurax. I've done so much Distro hopping recently, anything from Ubuntu to Arch. I'm going to try out Siduction on a partition and, as my stable Linux Distro I can't decide between Mint Debian edition, Mint Cinnamon edition (which I love) or Ubuntu.

If you going for Mint Debian Edition, as it is usually older and since its based on Testing snapshots, I would rather recommend SolydXK (X for xfce or K for KDE).

They tend to be slightly more up to date and well, its quite polished as well.

 

[jamescv7]

Zorin OS for me is one of the good Ubuntu based distros, since besides on having a same look of Windows. The default customization is already nice for each appealing view.

 

[igjr40]

My favorite is Manjaro ... is THE BEST

 

[russ0408]

I like Mint Cinnamon. Stable, pretty well ready to go out of the box.