Hello, I am looking to install Ubuntu but I'm not very good when it comes to different software's (Literally XP, Windows 8 and Mavericks) so I'm wondering if It's best for me to install Ubuntu or another form of GUI Linux software.
Thanks for the help and sorry if It's not in the right forum.
~Cameron
Just run the Live CD and see how you like it.
Thanks, I'll do that :)
Fedora 22 is quite good if you want a good alternative.
Stick to the top 3-4 distros imo. Ubuntu, Mint (ubuntu), Debian, and Fedora. The first two are user friendly for people like you and me.
For clarification Ubuntu is the actual OS not the GUI. You can have Ubuntu with many different GUIs (Unity,Gnome,Mate,KDE, XFCE and so on) and even install multiple of them afterwards.
Check the different flavours of Ubuntu:
Typical Ubuntu with Unity,
Ubuntu Gnome,
Ubuntu Mate,
XUbuntu (XFCE)
Kubuntu (KDE)
All these are exactly the same OS (Ubuntu) but with different GUIs. Check a couple of videos on Youtube and if you like sth try it with the Live CD/USB before you install.
Or try other ubuntu-based OS. These are not ubuntu exactly but are based on it, so everything working on Ubuntu will work in them the same way:
Linux Mint (It comes with 3 different GUIs (Cinnamon, Mate and KDE))
And the Elementary OS (If you like the MAC OS style you might like this).
You can also do a usb boot http://www.pendrivelinux.com/ mount the .iso with that and format a usb stick. It's literally 3 clicks.
Ubuntu will let you try their standard Unity GUI for free also directly on the website.
You forgot lubuntu :p
Install Gentoo
@jfing14: Stop trolling, Gentoo is not for new linux users. Far from it.
@OP: Maybe you should consider Manjaro with Xfce? It's a really easy to use distro, and rock solid, better than Ubuntu for me.
Alright, trolling aside. To be completely honest with you, I don't think you really learn anything by using ubuntu. If something goes wrong than you just look it up on the internet and copy paste or type the commands in and it gives you this self imagined sense of knowledge.
If you really want to use linux to learn than play around with arch for a weekend. The wiki is extremely comprehensive and you can do some reading on what things do while you make things work etc... I'm by no means shilling for arch although it is my preferred distro of choice. Its just that the learning curve is very steep so something that would have taken you 2 weeks to learn in little bits from ubuntu you learn in about 10 minutes in arch.
BUT until you actually know how to set this up I don't advise using it as an every day driver. You are going to want something with a lot of support (although arch has this you are going to want something a little more user friendly) so I'd say give openSUSE a go. With a bit of knowlege from arch you should find understanding how things function a little better. Even give ubuntu server a go, its pretty much ubuntu although stripped down and you still have access to the vast repos that make it very pleasent to use.
Although if you are going to begin using linux don't just do it half heartedly, actually put a little effort in and you will feel really good about it later on.
I agree with trying Arch or Gentoo if you want to learn linux, but Arch first, then Gentoo, kernel compiling and setting USE flags are daunting when you're doing it for the first time.
I recommended Manjaro because you actually learn a bit more than with Ubuntu, while still being incredibly user friendly. Manjaro is more bleeding edge, installing proprietary video drivers is a piece of cake, and it has more packages via the AUR.
Mmmmmmmm linux is linux. At the end of the day you can pretty much make any distro as easy or complex as you want.
As a newbie coming back to linux. Ubuntu is a pretty good launching place to start from. It's popular and there is lots of info when you google search issues which you will get.
Picking the flavor is personal choice I use Ubuntu gnome. But its down to taste. Try the live CD's and see which UI you like.
I'd like to second @LinuxMaster9 suggestion and recommend Fedora 22, as an alternative to Ubuntu. I've been Linux Mint (Ubuntu based) for years and it's very good too. However, recently I installed Fedora 22 in Virtualbox mainly to have a look at the new in built functionality for Docker. I'm impressed with the ease of use and the general feel of the Gnome 3 interface and particularly in the way Fedora adds new software to the package compared to Ubuntu. Very user friendly.
It's worth pointing out that Gnome 3 interface is also available for Ubuntu, as has been pointed out by @turin231.
Hello again guys, I've kept all your thoughts into consideration and researched all the different types of Linux distros you said about and I thought about it and talked to my friend in computing and we came to the decision of Linux Mint. He said it's probably better for me because it's a little more complex than Ubuntu and is probably easier for me to navigate so I've decided to go with that and so far I love it :) thanks guys for helping me choose the right one
Linux Mint is no more complex than Ubuntu. According to some here; it's easier....
You can make any of the big Linux distros into what you want them to be, anyway.
Its not really easier. Just more familiar out of the box. As you said you can customize anything to what ever you want.
Maybe another plus would also be the update manager that is much more noob friendly.
I personally prefer Fedora 22, which seems to be more stable for me, but you may find installing software in Ubuntu easier. Fedora can sometimes be a little annoying. Not difficult, but a bit more complicated. (rpmfusion, etc)
Both are good choices though.