Help choosing a distro

I think you'll find the folks at Cobra are uninterested in linux. Seriously though, as far as linux DISTROs go you can't really go wrong with Ubuntu. It's simple, easy to use, and as useful as you make it. It's a debian based distro which means along with being able to compile your own stuff you can always use the many .deb packages already available. You'll also love apt-get once you get used to it and Synaptic Package Manager makes it simple to find apps to use as well.

Think of Linux as a packet of crisps (chips if your American!)...... They always contain potatoes... Its just the flavour that changes. Well essentially, Linux is the potatoes, and the flavour is the distribution.

If your new to Linux try Linux Mint. Ubuntu's Unity is not in the best interests of anyone trying to learn Linux in my opinion as it gives a totally misrepresented experience. It is also more usable out of the box for a newbie.

Apt-get, aptitude and Synaptic are all present in Linux Mint.

Out of bone idle curiosity, what are your needs that need to be "fulfilled" in a Linux OS?

Well all Linux OS' will be usable as an everyday OS, and in all fairness they're all as powerful and versatile as one another are.

I flip between openSUSE and Debian these days, and the majority of the time I use Linux as my everyday OS, Windows 7 remains for gaming mainly, but I do use it now and then for general use.

I recommended Linux Mint because it comes pre-configured with many codecs and packages that other distro's do not come configured with in a default installation. Thats not to say they can't be, as thats the beauty of Linux, you can make it work for you in any way you wish.

I recommend against Ubuntu now because personally I'm becoming increasingly concerned with the direction Ubuntu is taking. They're less for promoting Linux than they are for promoting Ubuntu. They're essentially marketing their distro as their Windows replacement OS, not a Linux OS to replace Windows. I disagree with that strongly.

I also disagree with the way their funder, Canonical (and especially Mark Shuttleworth) run the show, and the way they are changing their brand in the direction of Unity, and the pressure they exert on DE providers like Gnome. They also tend to ship each new version with a lot of packages that tend to cause issues for new users. Having cutting edge packages and software is brilliant, but cutting edge does not mean stable, and Ubuntu can at times be very buggy, especially in the couple of months following each release.

Its a personal preference mainly. I feel Linux Mint better serves new users with a more genuine Linux environment, and the support is better.

The buggy nature of Ubuntu is nothing to do with Linux Zen, its Canonical and the team that develop Ubuntu that cause the issue by running everything bleeding edge and causing the instabilities. Having 6 month releases really doesn't help either. You look at any serious Linux distro that advertises stability and the first thing you realise is they don't do 6 monthly releases. Debian and Slackware are two excellent examples; they move to a new version only when everything is perfect, and they aren't interested in releasing something buggy and broken.

Canonical's 6 monthly release works against them, therefore when released its buggy as hell. It might look far prettier than say Debian, but thats of no conciliation when the OS crashes and kernel panic's non-stop. The LTS versions fair better, but the ironic thing is they finally iron out all the issues and then move to a new LTS version, thus starting the process all over again.

I know you meant this, but it annoys me when people say Linux is bad (in as many words) because Ubuntu is buggy. Compare Ubuntu to Debian 6 Squeeze, and you got a totally different story.

Debian Squeeze redefines the term stable. Its rock solid, and works 99.99% of the time. Thats because Debian don't run to the time schedule, they upgrade when everything is stable, not a moment before. Debian testing is more stable than Ubuntu 11.04 (or any new release from Canonical) for example.

When using Linux its important to remember that stable equals mature packages, that have been current for a while, therefore have had bugs and issues resolved over time. Debian is harder work than Mint/Ubuntu, and requires more configuration, but you have more control, and considerably more stability in usage.

If it was me I would go with a rolling release of Linux Mint Debian edition. Learn your way around the OS (including terminal) and then move to Debian. Very few that move to it ever go elsewhere.

My first ever explorations of Linux were with Kubuntu (I lasted a week before getting fed up with the eyecandy), and then Ubuntu back in 2006. From there I moved onto Slackware, and in the last few years have distro hopped between openSUSE, Fedora, Slackware, Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian. I've finally pretty much settled with Debian, though I keep my fingers in openSUSE as I don't feel they get anywhere near enough credit for their Linux releases.

Thanks Steeve.

I guess that's the sacrifice you pay really, but I'd much rather a slightly older package that is stable and known to work well with others than one that is buggy and creates issues with dependancies.

I prefer Mint Debian edition most, as it uses Debian as its backend rather than Ubuntu (as is with the normal version 11). Plus LMDE is a rolling release, so always remains current with a simple "apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade" as root.

I would recommend you learn Linux first before worrying about distros like Backtrack5. Linux Mint is a good starting point. No sense in trying to run before you can walk, and you have much to learn before using anything relating to (Slax, which is derived from) Slackware.

Its also absolutely no use to the average Linux user, its designed for digital forensics and penetration testing of OS's.

Sorry, I've been a little preoccupied the last couple of days and didn't see your posts HiddenMist.

As Steve said, go with the Linux Mint 11 version, featuring Gnome. Once your more acustomed to Linux you can try XFCE. They're both very good, I prefer XFCE these days.