Linux advice

So after much debating I decided to switch to Linux since I like the the though of having complete control of what my laptop does and preforms, my only issue is what kind of OS(hopefully the right words) to get after much researching I have narrowed it down to three.
1)xubuntu
2)Zorin 7
3)ubuntu
now is xubuntu and ubunto different? if so what are the difference of them? love to hear your guys responses to each of these if you have used them, what did you like/dislike? and what would you reccomend as a launching point?

I'd go for Manjaro, which is just a "noob" friendly Arch. Much better than Ubuntu :)

okay, now arch from what I understand is a DIY system?

I'm fairly new to Linux myself, so take this advise with a grain of salt, but I personally would recommend an ubuntu based distro like Zorin or Linux Lite for a noob (but not ubuntu itself). An Arch based distro like manjaro may be a better OS all other things being equil, but you are not going to be able to find the same resources that you will find with an Ubuntu based distro due to Ubuntu's massive popularity and Manjaro's realitive obscurity. With an Ubuntu based distro, you will be able to find a tutorial for just about anything you may want to do, and solutions to any problems that you may have, where as with Manjaro,this will not be the case.I recommend that you go with Zorin for a first distro. 

Ubuntu and Xubuntu are for the most part the same. The only difference in them really is what window manager it comes with - basically what it looks like. Ubuntu is currently using Unity, whilst Xubuntu uses a more light-weight Xfce. Whichever is better is your personal preference and what you like to look at. Ofcourse being Linux, you can always swap these out should you prefer something else.

Have you looked at Linux Mint? It's quite a popular beginner's distro as it's easy to use, and looks good. It uses Xfce like Xubuntu as well if you like the look of that distro.

Personally I started on Ubuntu back when it was using Gnome2 instead of Unity. I now use Debian and prefer it over Ubuntu a lot.

It also depends on what you want to be doing. If you want to play games on your Linux, Ubuntu is definitely the way to go as it has Steam, and arguable the most support.

I have looked at mint, but idk I used it on a friend's computer a while back and didn't like the feel to it, if I wanted to just do light gaming say civ 5, and dwarf fortress would any of the systems work in that regard?

They would all work fine for DF since it runs natively on linux, Civ 5 would require emulation via playonlinux, Zorin comes with it pre installed, Mint might too, but i'm not sure, I don't think manjaro has it. Getting it is just a matter of typeing a few lines in the terminal.

 

okay it sounds like Ubuntu is a good launch pad till I figure out what I really want/need

Another Windows emulator to playonlinux, is Wine. You can check out how well most popular applications work under wine on their website. As for Civ 5 in particular, you can check it here, http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=12117 For the latest version of Civ 5, it's listed as Silver which is what they class as "Applications with minor issues that do not affect typical usage".

nonono, you misunderstood me. I said go with a Ubuntu based distro, that is to say, a version of Ubuntu  modified by someone else, such as Zorin. Ubuntu 13.04 itself is a mediocre distro, and the company responsible for it is extremely unscrupulous, they include software with Ubuntu that harvests your data for the purpose of selling to third partys.

okay sorry anarmypig, late night/work so zorin (7?) would be the best, since it is a Ubunutu like system (so user friendly) I was looking at Zorin 7 earlier so I may go for it

The reality is that you'll just have to experience yourself which distro works best for you. Most linux starters start with ubuntu, which is kind of a bloated buggy mess, but it will learn you a few things about how linux works.

Most Ubuntu users moved up to another distro because they are not satisfied with Ubuntu. Most enthusiasts move up to either an enterprise-grade RPM-based distro, to Debian, or to Arch. Tinkerers move up to Arch, Gentoo, Slackware or BSD (not linux, but also a UNIX clone, and most linux software runs on it because of the BSD ports). Gamers find a huge benefit in Arch, because of the speed and the AUR, which is reason enough in itself to use Arch if you're a gamer or student, because it's the biggest latest-and-greatest software collection for linux out there.

A regular change of distro is very usual for linux users, most linux enthusiasts also run multiple distros. Using linux is like living in a candy store, you can experiment without losing money, and without losing time, because you'll always learn something with it, and what better way to spend your time than learning right?

The good thing about free and open source software is that you're not locked down to one single version or software provider etc... in fact, I don't know ANY linux user that uses the exact same distro as any other, because everybody pulls in new packages from other repos, switches versions, compiles stuff from github or sourcefourge, etc... and ends up with something personal and individual. Chosing a distro is just a starting point, and in that respect Ubuntu is not a bad choice, because it's fully loaded out of the box.

That all being said, I do also recommend Manjaro linux. At the end of this month, the 0.8.7 is released (the rc2 is already available prepackaged, so you can get it now if you want), with the whisker menu, the new thunderbird, steam, all codecs, AUR compatibility, etc... all out of the box, in an 800 MB download. That means that it's not bloated, thus super fast. It's just a great linux experience, one of the best out there for private/general use and gaming.

A lot of people that start linux with Ubuntu, give up on 21st century computing and return to windows, because Ubuntu or the distros that are based on Ubuntu, don't offer that great of a GNU/Linux experience and are pretty limited in comparison to major linux distro families. So go ahead with Ubuntu/Zorin/Mint/etc..., but when you feel like you don't like it anymore, know that that's your cue to change to another distro...

i would suggest linuxmint its a very noob friendly os that ive been using for months and it was the os that i made the switch with 

 

I know this sounds ridiculous but I would suggest arch even if you are a novice. The greatest advantage of arch is that it has a wonderful documentation and a huge community for support. The whole configuration process has a "learn as you go" modus operandi. I wouldn't suggest installing it directly on to a computer at first but play around with it on virtual box first. It's only by going the arch way that you will understand how linux works from the inside out and learn about Desktop Environments, Window Managers, Package Managers and so on. Even if you fail at the installation you will come out with at least the most elemental knowledge about linux.