Simple way of doing things which needs multiple start ups in Microsoft!
I have not discussed how to partition and one should master it using Gparted (Gnome Live CD) which is a graphical interface (not terminal) before getting started.
I have discussed them elsewhere in the web and in my simple books at Amazon
This is to illustrate bottom up approach to using Linux.
Also illustrate the versatility of simple application (Gparted and Abiword).
Only does not need a Gorilla version to be productive.
What is illustrated here is using a cloud based distribution of Linux and bloating it to a full sized work environment.
This is written on Abiword on Peppermint 4.
It only took only a few minutes to download Abiword.
I of course downloaded 8 hours worth of packages (LibreOffice, LyX, UnetBootin and few more) at a slow pace of 50 KB/Sec and went to sleep and woke up to see everything was up to date to write this.
I have
SuSe 12.3
Peppermint 4.0
PinGuy Ubuntu 10-04 LTS
KiWi Linux 12.04 LTS
Ubuntu 13.04
Knoppix 7.0 Mini Version
And a few spare partitions to test any Linux distribution worthy of install after few sessions of Live interventions.
Note I have dropped PCLinux due to many reasons.
I have dropped both Linux Mint Gnome and KDE editions since both of them could not read my partition table or install it after several attempts.
It may be for laptops, I wonder, please do not try them in spite of the hype in the Linux forums.
Updates.
For Suse which is ideal for a Microsoft convert, one should install it with internet connection Live connected to the PC.
It has automatic configuration ability and setup the SuSe repository in one go.
f that is not done (download configuration)one will find it difficult to get additional software after installing.
It gets all the utilities necessary for first up installation and automatic configuration.
I have used only KDE version, the big DVD version has other desktop functionality. (LXDE,Gnome).
KDE is very similar to Microsoft.
It has the best partition utility, best configuration (automatic on first boot) utility and the most versatile GRUB-2 which is the boot manager with graphical upfront.
I have used the three Ubuntu versions, 10.04.,12.04 (Long Term Support) and 13.04 to see what is missing and what is added up over time to see which has the best functionality.
All of them fared well except 13.04 which was bit slow at start up and Plymouth froze once or twice but with recovery boot up sorted itself without much of my intervention or reinstalling.
Ubuntu 10.04 enough utilities but one cannot download new packages due to dependency problem.
In that sense KiWi was marginally better.
Ubuntu has an enormous repository.
It is hard to chose between Ubuntu versions and Unity installs only a few utilities in the default DVD.
One need at least 126, better 256 graphic card.
In that sense Ubuntu Unity is like KDE and not minimal Android.
AntiX, I erased because it had only a limited installed software.
Mind you Debian is in its 7th new edition and it may be a few years for a newbie to master Debian.
I am going to migrate to Debian 7.0 when and if I have a new 64 bit computer which is very unlikely with tablets on the market.
I prefer light weight cloud compliant software, instead.
I have left many useful Linux distributions not because of any dislikes but Linux newbies might find them hard to configure unlike Linux experts.
The ones mentioned are easy to install and versatile enough.
Fedora and Korara need special mention and like Debian undergoing radical change to meet new hardware needs.
It is changing it installer and the file system btrs (I have not studied there uses to recommend)
Only Gentoo has ZFS file system with ability to encrypt the user file system leaving behind only the operating system untouched.
That is for experts IT administrators with laptops.
If somebody steal a computer they cannot steal critical data.
One has the option to do the encryption of the home folder of most of the distributions mentioned above and I do not recommend them only since, if you as a newbie becomes paranoid one must not stop using email, social networks, computers and Internet and stay at home covering self from head to foot with an old bed sheet.
As a youth one should not become paranoid but become nice and loving creative creature enjoying simple life and not become hackers consortium like the US bureaucrats of the FBI.
