Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux, but which one?

ANdrea wrote:
Hallo everyone,
for many years I've been a Windows user, but very recently I decided it's time for a change. That's why I'd like to test a version one of the many GNU/Linux systems. Actually I happened to see last versions of Ubuntu, Mandriva and SuSE, but I couldn't manage to evaluate 'hem thoroughly.

I'm not a SW developer anymore and now I use my laptop mainly for fulfilling office tasks. I surf the Web intensely, need to read my emails, writing documentation. It may happened I need scanning papers now and then or running MATLAB simulations.

So if you were in my shoes which Linux OS would you install on your(/mine) machine?

Thanks for your suggestions and explanations.
ANdrea

P.S.
my laptop HW specifications to be provided?



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You'll get as many different suggestions as there are users running different distros in this group. Many people now are running Ubuntu (or "Kubuntu" if you prefer the KDE desktop to Gnome). Personally I run Fedora core - release 5 at the moment although the current release is 6 - I don't usually jump to the latest until it's been out for a few months. I prefer the Gnome desktop environment. It's not as "pretty" as KDE, but I'm a function guy, and I find it slicker and easier to get around in. I also think it has faster feel. Both Ubuntu and Fedora are well supported, well documented, and have large communities behind them. Suse (Novell) seems to be posturing itself for an alliance with Microsoft, so many of us are skeptical of what that will mean for open source software in the future, and so are hesitant to lend our support in that direction. Open source must remain open and free.

...kurt
.

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