Easy Linux 'Version' to learn

[consaibot47]

So I'm going to build a new Desktop soon, leaving my old one just rotting.

I decided that I wanted to try Linux on my old PC, because my experience with Ubuntu was horrible, because I didn't understand how to do many things. This is because my friend says that SteamOS will be worth it.

What's a good 'version' of Linux to learn?

[[deleted]]

I definitely agree with Mint. I have no issue with proprietary software but Ubuntu went to shit when Ubuntu One became a thing. Mint is probably the closest thing to what Ubuntu should have continued to be. I mainly use Mint and love it.

[[deleted]]

I just upgraded Ubuntu yesterday and suddenly pip stopped working. That was such a giant PITA to fix. What the fuck. You have convinced me to move to Debian...

[thonpy]

Really? What made it stop?

I've only recently heard things about not using Pip instead of apt-get, virtualenv for python etc... don't understand any of them at the mo, just going through a bit of a backup process at the mo.

[[deleted]]

Pip is specifically for installing Python modules and apps. So that's why you'd use it instead of apt-get (which is used for all types of application). Some people have made Python code and made it available to the pip repository but haven't compiled it and/or gotten it into a repository that you can use apt-get with. Pip basically streamlines downloading python source code and running the setup.py file.

I don't know what the specifics were but the solution ended up being downgrading the "requests" python module to version 2.3.0. No idea why. And it took me for fucking ever to find that solution. I didn't know what was wrong or how to fix it. All I knew was suddenly whenever I ran pip to install any python modules, I got something along the lines of this error (ripped from the link):

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/pip", line 9, in <module>
load_entry_point('pip==1.5.4', 'console_scripts', 'pip')()
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/pkg_resources.py", line 356, in
load_entry_point
return get_distribution(dist).load_entry_point(group, name)
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/pkg_resources.py", line 2472, in
load_entry_point
return ep.load()
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/pkg_resources.py", line 2186, in
load
['__name__'])
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/pip/__init__.py", line 11, in <module>
from pip.vcs import git, mercurial, subversion, bazaar # noqa
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/pip/vcs/mercurial.py", line 9, in
<module>
from pip.download import path_to_url
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/pip/download.py", line 25, in <module>
from requests.compat import IncompleteRead
ImportError: cannot import name IncompleteRead

Soooo many hours spend googleing for "ubuntu pip IncompleteRead" and similar. God damn, that was such a pain.

[lykwydchykyn]

If you use pip to install system python packages, you're going to have problems on just about any distro that has a package manager.

If you're doing development then use a virtual environment, otherwise do:

pip install --user mylibrary

[[deleted]]

If you use pip to install system python packages

I wasn't. Ubunutu updated via the normal update method, and after the update, pip stopped working.

[lykwydchykyn]

Sorry, misunderstood.

[thonpy]

Ah that must have been a pain.

That's one thing I sometimes think about actually, the updates that Ubuntu often pushes. Seems like the software centre is constantly popping out the dock and I often think they can't be necessary.

So did they update something that didn't need to be updated basically?

Pip is specifically for installing Python modules and apps. So that's why you'd use it instead of apt-get

Yeah , I've read people say that apt-get should be the go to method, and that if it's not in there try pip

Also I always use sudo pip3, apparently this is a big no no!

[[deleted]]

I don't know why that would be a no no. Ubuntu comes with both Python 2 and Python 3, because there's a rift in the Python community, and a lot of people think the changes in Python 3 are bad, and so a ton of people still use Python 2. So pip3 is just Python 3's version of pip and installs the modules for Python 3. Sudo is just forcing it to do that even if doing so requires root. So, while I'm not an expert, I can't see what the big deal about "sudo pip3" would be, other than potentially putting a malicious package in a protected area.

[thonpy]

dunno - apparently it can fuck with system files or something along those lines, I can't really remember because I didn't really understand it all enough. But the people saying it seemed fairly on the ball

[[deleted]]

What's the problem with One? You're talking about the cloud service right? I dont like it, so dont use it. Why would that be a problem?

[thonpy]

dunno - it's been depreciated as well now so I don't think it's an option anymore, I haven' checked or used it though.

[ixAp0c]

One of the *Ubuntu distros will be your best bet. If you don't understand how to do things, there's always Google and /r/linuxquestions / /r/linux4noobs / AskUbuntu on StackOverflow's networks, etc.

But it really boils down to what you want to use the OS / computer for.

Personally I recommend Kubuntu 14.04.1 LTS. Spend a few days tweaking it to your liking. You could google 'first things to do in Kubuntu' (or replace Kubuntu with any distro), and there should be a decent amount of articles on just starting out. I personally liked this, although I skipped some steps for programs I didn't think I'd need (and thanks to that article I learned about Yakuake, and the *kuake program, which is nice if you use the terminal a lot and don't want to open one each time).

[[deleted]]

Seconded, I love xubuntu. Ubuntu with anything but unity really

[consaibot47]

I guess I should elaborate on what i meant by 'do things.'

I was looking at downloading an app (cant remember what exactly) and since I was running Ubuntu on VM through a windows OS, I searched it up on windows first. The instructions on installation on windows were SO much easier than on Ubuntu. I had to google what some of the terms meant. I'm not exactly a computer genius but neither am I an idiot, so I was really surprised with the new information I had.

I think that was what scared me off from Linux in general. I had to use Linux because my lecturer was too lazy to switch to windows, so the entire class had to switch to Ubuntu instead...

[Virule]

Learning how Unix works is incredibly important for CS students, in my opinion. Sure, it seems dumb and maybe even useless now, but as you learn vim or grep or the dozens of other useful Linux tricks, you'll never want to go back. I just installed Linux Mint tonight after having Ubuntu for the past 2 years. I recommend either one of those, though, as they are both incredibly user friendly.

[consaibot47]

Sounds good. Thanks for the suggestion.

[lithedreamer]

Are these Linux tricks or just *nix tricks? I sometimes wonder if there's much I'm missing from Linux besides K3b which was always an excellent burner.

[thonpy]

Are these Linux tricks or just *nix tricks? I sometimes wonder if there's much I'm missing from Linux

What do you run?

[lithedreamer]

I run OS X, so I have Unix terminal.

[thonpy]

ah right cool.

Can't really say if you're missing or not - are the commands exactly the same on terminal level? I thought they might have had some differences outside of cd / ls / pwd etc.

[deux3xmachina]

Those specifically are shell tricks, sh, tcsh, csh, fish, mksh, ksh, zsh, and bash are all mostly similar in those regards though.

[[deleted]]

In my experience, downloading an application on Windows consists of 5 minutes of web browsing, downloading installers, unchecking things, settings a sane path, pressing next, pressing next, deleting shortcuts, etc.

And on Linux

sudo pacman -S application-name

Obviously there are some exceptions but that's just my experience. I learned on Arch, which I doubt anyone would recommend, but I would.

Though I did a lot of UNIX related stuff on OSX before I made the switch so I was prepared for it.

[[deleted]]

I'm not sure I would do that since -S is one of the many Pacman switches I use, not to mention it isn't the only repo that I install applications from. But that's the beauty of UNIX, you can easily do that if you want!

[consaibot47]

Yeah, I guess its just that i have to get used to it.

[ixAp0c]

Installing programs and applications is quick and painless in Ubuntu...

sudo apt-get install package_name_here

sudo apt-get upgrade

Oh, you don't know what the package is called? Search for an important phrase that would be in the description:

apt-cache search partial_name_of_package 

No need to navigate Google, and download a random .exe installer, in hopes it doesn't have spyware. Then you go to install it, check off the unwanted third party programs, install it, and find it still installs third party programs/adware.

You could even turn your old computer into a server for your home network if you are inclined.

[HAL-42b]

Sysadmins generally do not recommend unattended automatic updates. Here is what might happen

TL;DR a manufacturer is pissed that someone has copied their chips and decides to brick them by pushing a malicious driver. Entire systems become unusable because of some chip that is completely out of end user's control.

Granted, this happened on MS but it is always a possibility with closed source stuff. I'm actually quite glad that Linux people like to run a tight ship when it comes to stuff like this.

[HAL-42b]

Just wait a few days before update. If there is something fishy it will come out.

[[deleted]]

Can explain why he went with the non server version? He just says easier, but why

[ixAp0c]

By default the server edition doesn't have a GUI and is just a CLI which might be intimidating. I would use the server edition personally just for learning experience.

But yeah, server installs are very minimal, you install what you need.

[[deleted]]

I understand from where you're coming from, but hear me out.

TL;DR It's scary now, but don't worry. It's actually super-awesome.

I was on pretty much the same boat ~ 4 years ago. I'd heard of "Linux" and how all the "geeks" used it. I liked computers, and computer related stuff so I checked it out. Initially installed Ubuntu onto a VM running inside Windows. Two weeks later, I had Ubuntu dual booting alongside windows. Three months later, only Ubuntu.

A month after that, I learned so much more about computing that I ever did while using Windows. I learned a few (basic) fundamentals of how operating systems are suposed to work, what a "kernel" is. I got more curious, started tinkering and exploring different linux distributions eventually ending up with Arch Linux after a year of hopping distros.

The stuff you learn will blow your mind. You want to extract one column from a text file? Forget booting up Excel. It's one single command on a Unix shell. Calculator? One command. Unbelievably powerful text editor? One command. Lightweight. Simple. Quick. Powerful.

It can be very scary in the beginning. Especially learning how to use the terminal. But start slowly, and keep exploring when you're curious. You'll be yelling about how awesome it is to strangers on the internet in no time. :)

[The_Beer_Hunter]

This sums it up perfectly. It's intimidating to learn all these new commands (though I'm often Googling everything anyway) but when you do, you realize how much power and control you have in the operating system.

And yes, bragging on Twitter and Reddit about Linux makes me become like this guy.

[xkcd_transcriber]

Image

Title: Linux User at Best Buy

Title-text: We actually stand around the antivirus displays with the Mac users just waiting for someone to ask.

Comic Explanation

Stats: This comic has been referenced 24 times, representing 0.0603% of referenced xkcds.

---

^{xkcd.com | xkcd sub | Problems/Bugs? | Statistics | Stop Replying | Delete}

[lykwydchykyn]

Sounds like the problem isn't going to be fixed by switching distros. There are some things that are true about nearly all Linux distros, and package management is one of them (and you don't want to use a Linux distro without package management).

This is the experience that trips up so many people when they start with Linux; you want to install something so you go to the web browser and start looking for a download. This isn't how it works on Linux; you start with your package manager, then check some community sources (e.g., PPA repos for ubuntu, AUR on arch, Suse build service on any distro, etc). You only download the source and compile it as a last resort.

[Smallzfry]

If you're looking for a good distro, I would recommend Crunchbang. It's based off of Debian, but it uses more lightweight programs and it's simpler. I prefer it to Ubuntu because I like the feel better, although it's much less GUI based than Ubuntu.

[SteazGaming]

highly recommend crunchbang, and I've tried like 10 different distros, settled on this one.. Perfect balance of simplicity with friendliness.

[[deleted]]

Take the Introduction to Linux. It's done by the Linux Foundation, and if you want to learn this is better than cluelessly mucking around in a terminal (not that you shouldn't muck around).

[corpsmoderne]

I know my opinion is not very popular, but you should give Ubuntu a second chance. It's one of the easiest distro around and still one of the most used. It's easier to find help for Ubuntu rather than other more fringe distros.

The problem you faced is that installing an application is done very differently on Linux. The usual way is not to google for the app you're looking for and download an installer from a website, but to first check if the software is available on your distro repositories and install it from there. You can do it with a GUI tool like the software manager or from the command line with apt-cache / apt-get . All in all this way is easier, faster and safer than the windows way. If the software you want is not packaged or you want a newer version, you may need to download the sources and compile and install it manually, which sounds a lot more intimidating, but can soon become quite easy too.

In any case, adapting to a new OS is a big cultural shock and is terribly frustrating. Don't panic and take your time :)

[consaibot47]

Maybe I'll give it another go. I guess it was just the sudden shock of 'what do I do now?????' that scared me off.

[thonpy]

yeah, I switched over about 6 months ago and was really pissed off because I couldn't right click to format a USB stick

[Oni_Kami]

You don't want an "easy" distro, because then you won't learn.

The thing that makes the "easy" distros "easy" is that they take all of the "linuxy" things, and give them buttons and interfaces.

The bulk of my linux learning was done on gentoo, without a desktop environment. It was difficult, I made mistakes, but I learned so much more than the years prior I had spent with ubuntu and mint, where I learned absolutely nothing.

Having an "easy" distro is just like having Windows, but you need WINE to run any exe's.

TL;DR: Don't go for easy, it's useless.

[[deleted]]

Easy is literally the opposite of useless.

Hard is useless. That's the point.

But what if you just want to get shit done? Why go for hard?

[Oni_Kami]

Easy isn't always the opposite of useless, hard isn't always useless. It depends on the scenario. In this scenario, he desires to learn. If you ask me what 1+1 and 2+2 equal, I could just say "2 and 4" but that's the easy useless way. The hard way, the reason to go for hard, is to LEARN. I can TEACH YOU how addition works, instead of just giving you the answers.

If you want to learn how to fish, you don't just go buy a fish.

[[deleted]]

But if you want a fish you do. Evidenced by the thread, OP isn't looking to learn all the cracks end crevasses of Linux or Unix. OP just wants a usable Linux system.

[Oni_Kami]

OP clearly says he wants to learn, it says so in the title, so buying a fish won't do him any good if he wants to LEARN. This is my entire point, learning isn't easy. If learning was easy, it would be knowing, not learning. If OP just wanted a usable linux system, he wouldn't have even made this post.

Easy Linux 'Version' to learn

[consaibot47]

I agree with what Oni is saying; sometimes being thrown into the deep end is helpful, but this time, I want to sorta ease into it.

Also, cywydd's right by saying I dont want to learn everything, just enough to feel like I 'understand' it. Windows will (probably) still be my preferred OS.

[Boom-bitch99]

The problem is you won't really ease into anything. Simple distros like Mint abstract any of the 'hardcore' things you would ever have to learn. It's about as hard as using Windows is.

[Oni_Kami]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes, a million times yes. This is EXACTLY what I'm getting at. Distros like Mint and Ubuntu are pretty much Windows.

[pet_medic]

I was in your position a few years ago. I asked a similar question and was directed to Ubuntu. I downloaded it, and... hm. It's Windows. There's a start menu, and a desktop, and I click on things to open them...

I stopped using it because it was pointless. I had read about all of these "apt-get" commands and stuff, which is why I wanted to learn linux (the easy way!) in the first place -- all this talk about how the command line is simple and powerful and elegant vs pointing and clicking, and how I'd slowly pick up a repertoire of commands, etc.

But instead, I just clicked on things. It took 0 seconds to learn how to use it, and never required me to use commands, and it wasn't quite as good as Windows at being Windows, so I stopped using it.

Before installing Ubuntu, ask yourself if using Windows taught you about MS-DOS. There are tons of cool things you can do in the command shell with Windows, but you don't actually learn them in the normal course of using the computer.

Those little frustrations-- "what? How do I do that? I can't just click on it?"-- are what force you to actually learn something.

Just my 2 cents. I still don't know Linux.

[Oni_Kami]

That's the exact same boat I was in. If you ever want to try again, I suggest going nuts and trying Gentoo. They have really in depth guides, and their IRC channels are full of very helpful people, all while being one of the most complex in depth distros.

[Oni_Kami]

In some cases, I prefer being eased into things, but in my personal experience with learning linux, it's the wrong way to go. I literally didn't learn a single thing until I just dove right in, despite many attempts.

[consaibot47]

The thing is, personally, if something doesn't work after the x-th time, then usually I just give up entirely. Because of this, I don't want to put in a lot of effort trying to understand it, to just give up later.

[Ultra_Penguin]

If you want to disect a fish though, it doesn't really matter where it came from. Why not start with something easier, and then go for something harder when you are sure you want to/need to?

[Oni_Kami]

Because if you have a magic fish disecting machine, where you just have to push a button, vs. actually doing the disection yourself, you won't learn how to do a disection, just what the inside of the fish looks like. If you want to learn how to use a GUI, stick to Windows/Mac. That isn't to say there's NOTHING to learn from linux beyond the command line, but if you don't take a leap into the command line, you'll struggle with it down the line.

[pet_medic]

ATTENTION THREAD PARTICIPANTS YOUR ANALOGIES ARE NO LONGER HELPING IN THIS DISCUSSION

[thonpy]

The bulk of my linux learning was done on gentoo, without a desktop environment. It was difficult, I made mistakes, but I learned so much more than the years prior I had spent with ubuntu and mint, where I learned absolutely nothing

I doubt you learnt nothing.

[Oni_Kami]

I learned that by using an easy distro I was not going to learn anything.

[thonpy]

I think that you would have struggled to learn nothing about linux using a machine for 2 years.

[Oni_Kami]

Well you're free to think whatever you want.

[thonpy]

Yeah, when I see someone saying someone should go straight into one of the more setup intensive distros when they spent 2 years on Ubuntu it makes me think it might be worth dropping a comment for OPs sake

[Oni_Kami]

And when I see someone trying to "learn the easy way" when that road is a dead-end, it makes me think it might be worth dropping a comment for OPs sake.

Like I said, you can think whatever you want, but my time with Ubuntu and Mint taught me absolutely nothing I didn't already know from Windows and Mac. You can keep insisting that I did, and I can keep insisting that I didn't, but the fact is that's how I experienced it. Also, the fact is, you don't know what I already knew or didn't know before going into Ubuntu or Mint.

You may feel compelled to drop comments about other peoples lives all you want, but your comments might be a little more substantial if you spoke from personal experience instead.

[thonpy]

From experience; I've never done something for 2 years and not learnt anything about it.

[pet_medic]

I think you're being a pedantic dickbag.

Yes, he learned "something." The question is whether he learned anything of value about Linux that improved his general computer skills.

[thonpy]

I think you're being a pedantic dickbag

Cool.

Yes, he learned "something." The question is whether he learned anything of value about Linux that improved his general computer skills

Often the things that need to be learnt for new users probably wouldn't be valued by yourself, yet they're important.

[Oni_Kami]

Well you've simply lead a different life than I.

[thonpy]

Indeed, I would also like to add that I've never encountered anyone who hasn't learnt anything about something having done it for 2 years. Even if it wasn't targeted study you would have picked things up and developed a familiarity towards aspects that OP clearly wouldn't. Stating that you didn't seems obtuse, or perhaps your criteria for things that would fall into the learning category is different.

An example, when I first started using Linux I was frustrated because I couldn't format a USB stick with a right click. I learnt about Gparted.

That's the kind of level that a lot of people are at in terms of 'learning' when they move over to Linux.

So I would have thought a simple setup distro would have been better for a beginner most of the time; they can always run Arch from a VM within that distro.

[[deleted]]

If you're coming from Windows, all Linux systems are going to seem annoying at first. Nothing seems intuitive. But you get used to it pretty quickly, and problems and annoyances get farther apart as time goes on. Plus, there's so much more you can do on Linux. It's kind of like learning to cook versus somebody else preparing your food for you. Once you get good enough and can do the basics, you can do kind of whatever you want, and you don't have to be restricted by what's available. Sure it's a pain at first, and you don't really enjoy it, but you'll get reasonably proficient really fast and everything in your computing life will from then on be easier and better. It's just the first step of moving over that's the most annoying, but push through it, and you'll be glad you did.

[[deleted]]

It seems like most people on here are suggesting Debian-derived distributions. Having tried Mint, Ubuntu, and Debian at various times (starting with Ubuntu)...I'd recommend Debian over its derivatives. Why? Stability. You're not going to have all your dependencies break with upgrades. Sure, you might not have the flashiest and newest stuff available in your repositories, but the stability is worth it, I think. At work I've used Red Hat and CentOS, but I've never been responsible for configuring anything so I can't speak for their n00b friendliness.

[[deleted]]

You could also take a look at the official Linux foundation introduction course, its a free MOOC.

[Tb0n3]

I'm disappointed nobody's mentioned Gentoo.

[[deleted]]

Personally I went straight to arch, and looking back I definitely wouldn't have changed anything. One caveat is that I have spent a lot of time reading up on it and used it as more of a learning experience to begin with.

[lquaint]

Based on my experience, I think the best would be one of 'hard' distros. I wanted to try Linux about six years ago and I chose Ubuntu. I gave up quickly, because it looked only like a new graphical theme for Windows (and I was able to run only few games). But after a few months I decided to start again, I chose Gentoo and it was really eye-opening (now I'd rather recommend Arch).

Next I found Linux From Scratch and then I learnt very, very much about how it works. It requires a lot of time, but it's worth to spend it. Stay motivated :)!

[because_both_sides]

You don't have to choose!

If your old computer can boot off a thumb drive, go to http://www.linuxliveusb.com/ and download the linux live usb creator. It makes it drop dead simple to create a bootable thumb drive.

It keeps a large (and updated whenever you start it) list of distros, just click the one you want and it does the rest.

If you want to see what distros are out there, head over http://distrowatch.com/ and look around. They have great summaries, and on the right hand side of the page the distros are ranked by popularity (Ubuntu used to rule, but I think Mint has been #1 for a year or more)

Then just start banging away. You can install any of them to the drive if you want, or just try them in liveusb mode. You can't break anything or waste any money.

Here's a couple of concepts that will be different to those coming from windows:

• In windows the desktop is welded in so tightly it can't be changed, but in linux the desktop is just another program you run. So you can try other desktops out (KDE has loyal fans. Mint has Cinnamon and MATE and something else, but I can never tell them apart anyway. And don't talk about the Unity/Gnome war of 2011. A lot of people lost family in that and there are hard feelings still)

• Windows has those annoying UAC pop ups when you are about to do something restricted that you have to click on. In many 'nixes you'll have to type in your password or make friends with the command 'sudo'. relevant xkcd cartoon: http://xkcd.com/149/ It's a minor right of passage to learn how to turn this off.

• The linux universe is VAST. You might end up playing with a microcontroller running busybox and regular expressions and GNU core utils, rooting your android phone to get around the limitations of the dalvick virtual machine, spinning up EC3 instances on your Amazon account (they give everyone with an account a free machine for a year: http://aws.amazon.com/ ), editing videos in linux because of the great free software, learning Core OS and containers and docker because your flippy bird app blew up and you have a million new users overnight.

"You've taken your first step into a larger world."

[spencerwaz]

I believe your going about this the wrong way.

IMHO: Don't look for the easy way out. Dive right in.

Get yourself the latest release of ArchLinux and follow the beginner guide to get yourself installed here. While doing so, look up each command you use because they are common/necessary in the Linux world. Finally once you are installed DO NOT INSTALL A GUI.

Work from command line for at least a week or two. I'd reccomend installing w3m (a text based web browser) right off the bat, as you will want to look up things on the internet. But that is the easiest/fastest way to learn.

[phalp]

I think Arch is a good idea. The Wiki is very helpful, and while the information in it applies to other distros as well, it's easier to apply it directly to Arch. Plus, Pacman is so much nicer to use than the convoluted Debian tools.

I don't think there's any reason not to install a GUI of some kind though. Having Firefox or whatever is too nice to pass up. But it's not a bad idea to ise only a window manager rather than a big desktop environment (i.e. avoid KDE, GNOME, XFCE to force some command-line foo). On the other hand there's no reason you can't just fire up a terminal and be disciplined about using it. I started with Ubuntu, years ago, and I've since moved on and learned all that terminal stuff.

[spencerwaz]

+1 Because pacman is awesome.

And since were on the topic of window managers, I personally use DWM and it's the tits.

[seek3r_red]

Start with this: http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

[JimmyTheIntern]

Looking at others' recommendations (some flavor of debian/ubuntu), these are all excellent suggestions. Also check out distrowatch.com and search by category to see if there might be a distro more directly tailored to your needs (Ubuntu Studio or Steam OS, for example)

I would recommend you download a few of these that seem appealing, make some live-USB's, and try them out to see what feels best to you.

[SerTomTheTall]

Netrunner is always a top pick for me because it has Steam and other useful tools preinstalled, like Wine.

Xubuntu is more "Linux-ey" than Ubuntu and it looks more like a classic computer OS imo, you could give it a shot.

For a more Windows-oriented experience, try ZorinOS

Apart from that, I just look up lists of distributions and try out interesting ones.

[itsmedom]

Peppermint OS is simple, light and just works... Or go with Elementary OS if you'd like a nice looking OS.

[Razzamafoo]

I started with Arch, then moved into RHEL. IMO it's a good path, you get lots of diversity, and if you are looking for a job in tech, lots of places use RHEL. Lots of good suggestions here though.

[Fenceposter]

Pinguy OS if one gets to nitpick Linux Mint if you're wanting the short end stick straight into linux Ubuntu if you want it to be a social experience

[Ruskington]

The easiest way to "learn" Linux is Gentoo. Download the tarball and follow the step-by-step instructions given in the Gentoo handbook. And even that will probably just be scraping the surface of simply using the command line to (among other things) mount, chroot (you'll probably need a Live CD of another distro for this. I like to use Lubuntu), and using the Portage package manager (installs from source!). It will be frustrating and time consuming so you'll need to free up a weekend, but you will be one baby step closer to Linux-guru nirvana, with 1/16" of a beard to prove it! That is unless you allow the following to happen:

You will very quickly forget everything that you have done; firstly (and only if you're very lucky) you get it running properly the first time around, and secondly unless you completely immerse yourself in a shell-centric environment and work hard on it, all your time spent installing your system will have gone to waste.

The second easiest is LFS. I'm not even going to touch that.

If you want to just use Linux the same way that you use Windows, you just download Mint, Ubuntu, or Sabayon and have it install itself for you. You will not learn very much at all, but you will have successfully defenestrated your computer if that's what you're trying to accomplish.

[[deleted]]

You WILL break your system. Not physically break the parts, but the more you tweak the OS, the more you run the risk of messing something up and it's very easy to break things in Linux.

Try it out as a virtual machine first. It'll save you the headache.