Differences between linux/ubuntu and installing questions

[fps_trucka 1715]

So with my new laptop if i am going to be coding with it i also want to try and use linux and get the hang of it. However, I heard there are like three different kinds of linux? Linux, ubuntu, and unix? I read up on a couple of things saying as how they are all the same but slightly different in some ways.  I wanted advice on which to get. Thanks all!

[Moose 4890]

There's tons of versions of Linux. Linux is the base Operating System, which is open source. Ubuntu, Mint, CentOS, Redhats Fedora, etc. are all versions that people have created to make it a little more user friendly/they thought something could be better or different (Oh yeah, and some take it and have great support or whatever they say they offer in their OS, but charge you (I believe Redhat is a paid subscription or at least has an option for one, for enterprises)). I've used Ubuntu, Fedora, and CentOS, all of which were great, and I've heard many people go with Ubuntu or Mint as their version of choice. I don't know if you'll get a real answer, as at this point it comes down to preference. Again, from what I've heard, many people have told me Mint is one of the most user-friendly interfaces, making it feel a little more like a Mac/Windows setup, while still giving you Linux. 

[Knox 1470]

https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php cinnamon edition

 

very user friendly, and you can reinstall a different OS whenever if you feel like mint isn't for you

[cookie eater 965]

i personally use CentOS because its what we've used in class. Ubuntu is great as a shift from Windows to Linux.

[Mimic 3307]

There's a huge amount of different Linux distributions and really the decision comes down to whatever you like the most. To be honest, from a user perspective (without getting into the gritty details) the Desktop Environment and Window Managers would probably have the largest impact on what distribution you choose initially, but as you grow more accustomed you'd be able to install/configure them yourself regardless of platform. You can find a list of distributions at http://distrowatch.com/ which usually come with some pictures of the DE/WM and themes. 

[fontaine 1744]

FreeBSD ftw /s

[driz 2626]

if you want to game, you need a debian derivative (ubuntu, steamos, linuxmint, debian, etc) if you want a stable server, redhat derivatives (centos, redhat, oracle, scientific) (side note, vmware, amazon, google search and cisco UC all use redhat), if you want to be old school elite use slackware or gentoo and if you want to learn a fuck ton while having a super fast system, do the LFS project (www.linuxfromscratch.org)

[OBrian 120]

You're all forgetting linux on a dead badger. The most effective linux. 

http://www.amazon.com/Installing-Linux-Dead-Badger-Snyder/dp/1894953479

What driz said regarding debian and redhat is correct. FreeBSD is a unix based derivative, IE PfSense is a freeBSD based firewall. I personally have worked a lot with ubuntu, lubuntu, centOS 6 and 7 which are all really good.

[Pisky 45]

I personaly perfer Ubuntu, its a little bit smaller than the other version.