What is the easiest Linux version to install and use for a newbie?

Question

Hello.

I have never installed nor used Linux before.
I heard it's better than Windows and i have a spare old laptop which is broken now.

Now i thought about installing Linux on it. But since i never used Linux before, i need a version which is easy to install and use for a newb like me.

And i have also a few questions about it:
Can i still play Java games such as RuneScape?
Can i still browse the web like on Windows?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

your RAM is too low for most of linux versions. try Xubuntu http://www.xubuntu.org/

it's very complete and simple. and it's based on ubuntu, so you have many programs available for it.



to answer your other questions:

yes, you can install java on Linux, and you can browse the web just like you do on Windows.

Answer 2

I have installed many Linux versions and my favorite for old hardware which happens to be the easiest to install is the Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (aka Dapper Drake) version with support through 2008. It does not have the desktop effects like Beryl and Compiz built into the system, but with older hardware those effects do not work well.



I do recommend downloading the updated Firefox 2.0 browser because Dapper only comes with Firefox 1.5.

Answer 3

http://www.PuppyLinux.org



You can even run it from a FAT32 or NTFS partition. It will even reside in a folder with in Window if you do not want to get rid of windows and still not create a second partition.

Depending on what you want to start with Puppy Linux can be s small as 40mb up to 200mb+

Answer 4

I saw a computer expert try to install Linux. He finally succeeded, but uninstalled it immediately and went back to MS Windows.

Answer 5

try fedora, or ubunto,, believe me, they are easy GUI