I have an uncle who is very weird...he hates microsoft and wont go to mac. He wants to learn how to use linux...and Ive been trying to figure out what flavor would suit him best...he is no expert but never really needs help with the PC. I was thinking Xandros might be the easiest, I was also looking at Lycoris and Suse. Looking for other suggestions.

 

Debian is pretty easy to set up. It also offers the apt (packaging tool), which makes installing programs a snap.

 

ubuntu is debian but a little easier to coap with, also has apt

 

Redhat is probably one of the easiest Linux' (Lini ) to use.

 

fedora is another good choice (very very similar to RH)

 

The key thing is that I dont want to teach him how to do stuff...because he will call and call and call...its not like I have a problem...but it gets annoying. I know Im gonna have to help him with redhat...Ive never used debian, or ubuntu...but those look simple...and free

 

Well I will say one thing about OS X. It's the most friendly Unix I have ever used. For the most part it doesn't even seem like you are using Unix. Software installations are very straight forward. For the average user there is really no need to go to a shell.

The only Linux I have used is Redhat and then Fedora. They are not bad but you will definitely know you are running Unix with those.

You will get less calls if he goes with a Mac. I still recommend the mac mini. I'm using one right now.

 

I use to use Redhat a couple years ago, but for my schoolwork and business related items I use OS X and I agree. Im seriously trying to get him to buy a mac, but he wont budge...hes too cheap, hence the linux suggestion. I think I might let him borrow my laptop for a weekend in order to convince him...but most likely its just gonna be the new OS.

 

Ubuntu or SUSE

 

SuSE would be an excellent choice, has great support options and has the backing of Novell.

And besides, the guys who work for SuSE in Germany are a great group of people.

 

Another vote here for SuSe. you can get SuSe 9.3 for free at opensuse.org. I've been using 9.2 for a while, and I recently upgraded the other night to 9.3 and it was very easy. Two thumbs up for SuSe 9.3 and gnome.

If you want a very simplistic (hold your hand) linux, you might want to loko into linspire. Not too long ago they offered a free download. Unfortunitly I think I deleted my copy, otherwise I could let you download it. If I find it I'll let you know.