So I'm going to be reinstalling my OS soon, and was considering trying the windows 10 preview, or attempting gnu/linux again, last time I tried it for about a day, games didn't run right and I was missing too much ease of use so I went back to Win7.
So is there a guide out there that can help in making gnu/linux function closer to how windows functions to ease the transition? I really only need windows for photoshop and video editing so that's easily doable in a VM I'd imagine.
I found that Mint with Cinnamon is sufficiently similar to Win7. I've recommended it for Windows users that need to use Linux, who don't want a learning curve with the GUI in addition to every other difference.
Ya but is that as easy as Ubuntu is to use with steam? I mean steam's kinda being made with ubunutu in mind isn't it?
Zorin can be made to look very close to that of windows.
Currently running that on my shittop and it works well and yes its very Windows like just gotta use the Terminal a tad more.
Mint is based on Ubuntu so most likely. To my knowledge, everything that works on Ubuntu works on Mint.
Linux in a nutshell
If games are your priority, I'd stick with Windows and run Linux in Virtualbox or VMware. It's a good way to start and you'll learn a lot. Trying to make Linux work like Windows kind of misses the point of using Linux in the first place. Windows only skims the surface of what you can do with PC. They're in charge and you are just an end user . With Linux you'll find that rabbit hole goes much deeper.
If you really want to go for it. Make sure your rig supports virtualization, before you start. Install the Linux of your choice, then KVM & qemu. Ideally add second graphics card and install Windows under KVM with passthrough.
Here's nice link to put some flesh on those bones: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=162768
Many plus ones for you.
Linux is not free Windows. One is DOS based the other is UNIX they will never be the same.
GUI wise KDE is closer to Windows 7 than Ubuntu's Unity.
Well, what do you need easier and closer to Windows 7 exactly? Interface, programs, etc? I feel I should throw in the obligatory Linux is not Windows and shouldn't be thought of as such, you're going to have a bad time if you continue to think Windows like while trying to use Linux. I want to point out as well that 1 day is not a very long time as keep in mind this is a completely different OS, so you haven't had a proper taste.
If you had issues with gaming did you install proprierty video drivers? Those make gaming much more smooth versus the open source drivers
To help the transition I'd also recommend the KDE desktop enviroment as @lessershoe did, it's got a bit of a 'windows look' to it so you may feel comfortable with that. You can install Kubuntu or follow this guide for that
For photoshop and video editing you can run a virtualBox VM quite easily, depending on which versions you're using there is also the option of WINE. CS6 has excellent support as you can see (tutorial here), without knowing the other software I cannot see the compability or link a guide
Mint KDE has my vote.
Suppose I'll give mint a shot then.
What's the difference between cinnamon and KDE? Are they just different versions of GUIs?
Yes, they are different GUIs or desktop enviroments rather. The differences between them are appearance, memory usage, default applications, layout, etc.
Cinnamon is a good one, it's a good blend of things in terms of performance and appearance, moderate memory usage, etc. KDE is more full featured, better appeance, higher ram usage, and has high quality applications by default. Both of course serve the same purpose, so it's a matter of 1) if your computer is modern and able to handle the higher ram usage of KDE or say GNOME as well 2) which desktop enviroment appeals to you most. As example, for me it is GNOME classic
You're able to swap these out and try new ones revatively easily too, so you're free to try them as you please. If you find one you wanna try you can simply search 'installing (desktop enviroment name here) on (distro name here)' and generally you will quickly find easy to follow help