4 ms·

Does anyone have a recommendation on which version a total noob should install?

AsyncAwait 8y ago
If you like to try a new type of working environment, the main Ubuntu with GNOME is a solid choice. GNOME is actually pretty great. If you're more looking for familiarity coming from Windows, go with KDE and their Ubuntu-based distro, Neon - https://neon.kde.org https://neon.kde.org - Also, I have to mention, If what you want is the latest & greatest, want continual updates, great setup for multimedia & gaming etc. try https://manjaro.org https://manjaro.org - this is not based on Ubuntu, but rather on a distro called Arch, however the advantages are that you're always getting the latest software & as a result there's much better support in terms of the latest GPU drivers etc. Many are afraid of occasional instability that can come with fresh software that Manjaro ships, which is something to consider, but it hasn't been a problem from what I've seen.
- mrwebmaster 8y ago
  I've been using XFCE for years. It worked better in my old computer. Now I have a fast i7 w/8GB now and still using old XFCE with Ubuntu. Am I missing a lot?
  - AsyncAwait 8y ago
    If Xfce works for you, not really. :-) On the other hand, am not sure things like GTK2 etc, would make a good first impression on a new user such as the OP.
e12e 8y ago
If you want to try Ubuntu, try the latest long time support release (currently 18.04). All Ubuntu (and indeed most major Linux disto) releases come with a "live image" - so there's no reason to start off with an actual install - it's easy to boot off an USB and play around.
rkuykendall-com 8y ago
Always go with the most vanilla Ubuntu you can, since that will always have the most Google results when you hit an issue. Once you're confident, you can branch out from there.
room271 8y ago
In addition to the other replies, it also depends on your computer. I have a new Matebook 13 and 18.04 didn't quite work as well out of the box for me as 18.10, because it lacked some of the newest drivers and the laptop has some pretty new components. But if you have an older laptop, or a desktop computer it's probably less relevant so the LTS version is likely better.
tgsovlerkhgsel 8y ago
Most recent version of Ubuntu. There will be pain. You get the choice of horrendously outdated software where really annoying bugs don't get fixed for 2 years (if you go with LTS) and major upgrades that rarely go smoothly every 6 months (if you don't). I'd recommend not going with LTS; one day you'll hit some missing feature in GIMP, Inkscape or whatever you're using and start cursing your life choices. If you are disciplined enough to document the changes you make to the system (installed packages, changed settings, anything outside your home dir basically) you can simplify your life a lot, because you can reinstall from scratch easily. While the update process has gotten better, old wisdom often suggested to reinstall instead of attempting an in-place upgrade.

If you like to try a new type of working environment, the main Ubuntu with GNOME is a solid choice. GNOME is actually pretty great. If you're more looking for familiarity coming from Windows, go with KDE and their Ubuntu-based distro, Neon - https://neon.kde.org https://neon.kde.org - Also, I have to mention, If what you want is the latest & greatest, want continual updates, great setup for multimedia & gaming etc. try https://manjaro.org https://manjaro.org - this is not based on Ubuntu, but rather on a distro called Arch, however the advantages are that you're always getting the latest software & as a result there's much better support in terms of the latest GPU drivers etc. Many are afraid of occasional instability that can come with fresh software that Manjaro ships, which is something to consider, but it hasn't been a problem from what I've seen.

mrwebmaster 8y ago
I've been using XFCE for years. It worked better in my old computer. Now I have a fast i7 w/8GB now and still using old XFCE with Ubuntu. Am I missing a lot?
- AsyncAwait 8y ago
  If Xfce works for you, not really. :-) On the other hand, am not sure things like GTK2 etc, would make a good first impression on a new user such as the OP.

e12e 8y ago

If you want to try Ubuntu, try the latest long time support release (currently 18.04). All Ubuntu (and indeed most major Linux disto) releases come with a "live image" - so there's no reason to start off with an actual install - it's easy to boot off an USB and play around.

rkuykendall-com 8y ago

Always go with the most vanilla Ubuntu you can, since that will always have the most Google results when you hit an issue. Once you're confident, you can branch out from there.

room271 8y ago

In addition to the other replies, it also depends on your computer. I have a new Matebook 13 and 18.04 didn't quite work as well out of the box for me as 18.10, because it lacked some of the newest drivers and the laptop has some pretty new components. But if you have an older laptop, or a desktop computer it's probably less relevant so the LTS version is likely better.

tgsovlerkhgsel 8y ago

Most recent version of Ubuntu. There will be pain. You get the choice of horrendously outdated software where really annoying bugs don't get fixed for 2 years (if you go with LTS) and major upgrades that rarely go smoothly every 6 months (if you don't). I'd recommend not going with LTS; one day you'll hit some missing feature in GIMP, Inkscape or whatever you're using and start cursing your life choices. If you are disciplined enough to document the changes you make to the system (installed packages, changed settings, anything outside your home dir basically) you can simplify your life a lot, because you can reinstall from scratch easily. While the update process has gotten better, old wisdom often suggested to reinstall instead of attempting an in-place upgrade.