All "which distro should I choose?" queries here.

[Liverpool_fan]

Linux Mint is perfect. Alternatively you can try Fedora, but it would require *some* work to get it up and running perfectly (with multimedia, good fonts, etc.). Mint won't need you to do the extra stuff.

1) You're under limited download cap? Well in any case avoid older distros. Out of date packages and what not. A 300-400 MB download of packages will suffice all programming and multimedia needs.
And which database, presentation, diagram software do you plan? Make sure it's either cross platform or you're willing to move to an alternative.

2) Solaris? Forget it. OpenSolaris was left in the cold by Oracle, and while Illumos continues its code base, it's not really the OS I would suggest to use, unless you are interested to play with it itself. Forget about Oracle's closed source Solaris anyway.

As long as your Dell XPS 15 doesn't have NVIDIA Optimus, it's fine. Otherwise we have a problem. A major one.

 

[RBX]

I'm not under a download cap, I just like things up and running so I can explore while the updates etc take place.

My working areas are ever changing, I prefer MySQL/Oracle XE as DBs, Eclipse IDE for Java, Netbeans , Topstyle for HTML/CSS, Notepad++ like apps for other web developments, been using GCC for some time in Windows, but I hope a dosbox/wine could run TurboC properly because I don't have a clue about using graphics with GCC. I think MySQL Workbench for EER diagrams should also be available for Linux.

I'll be choosing Gnome based Fedora 16.

And, yes, my laptop does have Optimus

 

[skeletor]

If you have nVidia Optimus, then nVidia card and drivers will not work in Linux. Only Intel HD 3000 is going to be used.

Infact, the nVidia GPU will waste battery if you the laptop on battery.

Here's how you disable the nVidia GPU from running in Linux.

$ sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Add these lines:

blacklist nouveau
blacklist nvidiafb

Save.

$ sudo depmod -a
$ sudo update-initramfs -u

and reboot.

 

[debian]

For all those users wanting to try Arch, but dont feel they are techniaclly equipped, you can try some arch clones and forks like crunchbang or chakra. chakra is especially good fork with absolutely no gtk dependencies. If you like kde and arch, this is the distro to get.

 

[utkarsh73]

This is the first time I installed Linux Mint-12 today and I m pleased by the user interface. A good change from regular windows 7(Although I like 7 too).

One thing is, the battery consumption was very high on my laptop. Can I do anything to save some battery while on Linux mint??

 

[Krow]

Tried tweaking power settings? It will help if you post your laptop model number and also that of its graphics card.

 

[Liverpool_fan]

This is the first time I installed Linux Mint-12 today and I m pleased by the user interface. A good change from regular windows 7(Although I like 7 too).

One thing is, the battery consumption was very high on my laptop. Can I do anything to save some battery while on Linux mint??

Install Jupiter. (Things to do after Installing Linux Mint 12 Lisa ~ Noobs on Ubuntu and Windows, HD Wallpapers, Tutorials, jump to #9)

 

[utkarsh73]

Tried tweaking power settings? It will help if you post your laptop model number and also that of its graphics card.

Laptop: lenovo Ideapad Y560. Graphic Card: ATI HD 5730.
I will be free today and will explore linux thoroughly.

Also I have switchable graphics feature in my laptop. I can switch to integrated GPU in windows and then boot into Linux Mint. Will it work???

 

[Krow]

Yes it will work. Although I am not sure if Mint works well with Intel HD3000.

 

[hellknight]

For all those users wanting to try Arch, but dont feel they are techniaclly equipped, you can try some arch clones and forks like crunchbang or chakra. chakra is especially good fork with absolutely no gtk dependencies. If you like kde and arch, this is the distro to get.

Actually.. Arch Clone is Archbang Crunchbang originated from Ubuntu but is now based on Debian

 

[debian]

Firstly switchable graphics like nvidia optimus is not well supported on linux. Some reverse-engineered projects have come up, but your mileage will vary. Nvidia as of now, has no plans of bringing optimus to linux.

Arch users wishing to try out gnome-shell can look at kahel-os, a clone like chakra but with gtk.

This is the first time I installed Linux Mint-12 today and I m pleased by the user interface. A good change from regular windows 7(Although I like 7 too).

One thing is, the battery consumption was very high on my laptop. Can I do anything to save some battery while on Linux mint??

This is a known kernel bug relating to aspm power management. The fix is available in kernel 3.3 and has been backported by canonical to 3.2 for their 12.04 LTS release. Mint 12 use kernel 3.0, so you are out of luck. You can use tools like jupiter or granola, but your best bet will be mint 13. If you are feeling adventurous, you can try ubuntu 12.04 alpha 2 release 2 days back.

I'm a very new user to Linux community. Installed Linux Mint 12 on my pc yesterday , would have opted for Ubuntu but wanted to try a different distro as I've already tried Ubuntu 10.04 on a friend's laptop.

Things on Mint are quite easy, the Gnome seems much better than what was on Ubuntu. Now I want to install one on my own laptop and want to move on to a more advanced distro - Fedora or openSuse.

I'm a student and want to work with various programming languages and IDEs, databases, diagram and presentation softwares, occasionally listen to music, and socialize on internet.
Which one would be for me ? (I like clean, sophisticated interfaces, but that would come secondary to usage)

Two more things -
1) Would it be feasible to install an older distro (from Digit DVDs) and upgrade it to latest to avoid significant amount of download ?
2) What is Solaris ? No one seemed to mention it among Linux lineage. Could it be an option ? I'm not sure what architecture it runs on.

P.S. I have a Dell XPS 15, I hope Nvidia drivers will be readily available despite the distro I select.

If you are desperate to try solaris, the only feasible option now is openindiana based on the illumos kernel. And since you have dell XPS ( which i think has nvidia gt 525 GC), install the latest Nvidia proprietary Driver as Noveau has known problems with 5 series chipset.

 

[kaput]

After reading this thread and all possible tutorials tried idualbooting Linux mint 12(digit dvd).
Tutorial
Have followed all steps correctly.
The thing is there is no option to install "alongside windows 7" but just the "replace" option.
Same case with ubuntuPlease help
Maybe this isn't the right thread(sorry), a bit desperate here.

 

[nims11]

choose manual install and then create an ext4 partition with mount point as '/' in the extended (preferably) partition. also create a swap partition twice your RAM.

if you didnt understand any of the above, simple install ubuntu using wubi installer under windows.

 

[varshi_s]

From my knowledge, Ubuntu is the most user friendly distro from Linux.

 

[doomgiver]

not anymore.
unity has screwed everyone over.

even finding the file browser is hard, hidden away under 2-3 layers of "menus" and buttons.

 

[soham.b]

I am a complete newbie to Linux world. Want to experiment with it. Have been looking at certain sites and i feel that Linux is getting better and better and user friendly and looks good.

I am a hardcore windows user. I have been brought up on windows. Have been using windows for more than 15 years now.

Which is the best distro for me?? I want something smooth good looking fast and bug free.

How to install it?? is there any simple consumer style user friendly method.Download use the the bootable cd and install like windows bootable cd??

How to install the drivers??Do i need to first find all the driver files and keep it ready??


P.S:- any chances for chrome os(wud have the with the new aura shell )releasing in india this year q3 may be??

 

[doomgiver]

its easier and faster to install some linux distros than windows
try linux mint. or ubuntu. but they require decent hardware to show their best eye-candy.

 

[pramudit]

does anybody here uses opensuse??

 

[krishnandu.sarkar]

does anybody here uses opensuse??

I have it installed in my Virtual Box but don't use it..!! I don't like it from the very beginning

 

[Anish]

does anybody here uses opensuse??

Right here. Been using for the past 18 months. Love it. Currently running openSUSE 12.1 with KDE 4.0 && GNOME 3