I just bought a new computer and I was seriously considering running a Linux OS on it. I have been researching Ubuntu Linux as a start, and would like to know anyone else's thoughts on Ubuntu or if anyone thinks there is a better Linux OS out there. I've heard talk about Fedora and Lime being good ones, but I also read that Ubuntu is the most popular. Being the most popular doesn't mean the best, obviously (windows sucking in my opinion,) and I would like to know the community's opinion on Ubuntu or other Linux distros

What are the specs?

I recommend openSUSE with KDE.

Ubuntu was a lot like Windows 8, last time I checked -- touch-driven, touch-designed.

Debian.

I've never had a good experience with KDE. It always seems so much more unstable than Gnome.

@op
Ubuntu is probably very popular because it's extraordinarily user friendly compared to the majority of Linux Distros that came before it.

Personally my favorite is Slackware, but I haven't had it installed in a long time.

Backtrack is also kind of fun. Though it takes a little bit of knowledge.

Linux Mint 14 is an excellent distribution.

_Wazzak

Agreed. Although I've noticed the new Cinnamon UI runs very poorly on a VM. So keep that in mind.

I would recommend Ubuntu.
I found that with Linux Mint, upgrading to the next major release was a pain...

And with the new Ubuntu phone coming out, can't hurt to get familiar with it :)

For some reason, even though Ubuntu allows you to easily update to the next version using the package manager, it's discouraged with Linux Mint. You can still do it, but it's not uncommon for it to break things. That's why I recommend using a rolling-release distribution - you never have to upgrade the whole system in one go, you just keep updating it bit by bit forever (that, and having packages that are less than two versions behind the upstream release - in my experience, Ubuntu versions of packages are no more stable than Arch Linux (a rolling-release, "bleeding-edge" distro) versions, and in fact have just as many bugs, with the further disadvantage that bugs that are already fixed in the upstream version stay present in the package manager's version for months, which doesn't happen on Arch).

openSUSE and Fedora are both excellent. I strongly recommend openSUSE if you're just starting though: its documentation is excellent.

@Harmony Driven
It's an HP dv6z-7200

Processor:
AMD Dual-Core A6-4400M (3.2GHz/2.7GHz, 1MB L2 Cache)
Graphics:
AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7600 Series Discrete-Class
Memory:
6GB 1600MHz DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard drive:
640GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive

Kubuntu is awesome: http://www.kubuntu.org/

I've never had any issues with it, its Ubuntu + KDE, super easy to install, frequent updates, well supported.

I use it to do all my software developments on.

--
Rajinder Yadav <[email protected]>

DevMentor Labs
http://labs.devmentor.org
Creating Amazing Possibilities

@DevMentor

Can KDE be added to Ubuntu afterwards? - I have download Ubuntu already but not installed.

Does Ubuntu have good support for NVidia graphics cards? I have been using Fedora since version 9 - it seems to be a bit tricky to do this. That is one has to reorganise the kernel manually with dracut.

Thanks in advance.

Linux in general has poor support for NVidia, particularly if you have a multiple-monitor setup. I recommend using the propietary drivers, I've found they work a lot better than nouveau.

Also, this is incredibly helpful: http://forums.opensuse.org/blogs/jdmcdaniel3/lnvhw-load-nvidia-driver-hard-way-runlevel-3-version-1-46-32/