KDE is the closest to windows. Start with Chakra[1] or KaOS [2] if you want it to "just work" (both are Arch-based). If you want to tinker, go Manjaro KDE.

If you want to have to earn back every single piece of hardware in your computer, and end up becoming a Linux superhero when you're done, install Gentoo.

If you're concerned about privacy or rights, avoid Ubuntu and Redhat distros, as they have a history of exploiting both users and the free software licenses they purport to honor.

The most software-compatible is Debian, but games/steamOS run on all x86-based distributions.

1. http://chakraos.org/

2. http://kaosx.us/

I ran Chakra for a while -- although it's been a few years -- and wouldn't recommend them to people looking to switch from Windows. Unfortunately they weren't careful enough with their rolling updates and they would intermittently break installed applications, including at one point smb. So one day I could connect to Windows shares, the next day I couldn't.

If it's been more than a year since you've used a distribution, your opinion, positive or negative, is likely innacurate. The Linux community iterates at an order of magnitude faster then the windows or Mac ecosystem. The Chakra of today is far smoother than the ones a few years back.

True. I wasn't clear, but it was more a criticism of the project's management, which iterates far more slowly. But still, that's why I mentioned it had been a few years -- so anybody could dismiss my experience as they wished.

fwiw though I took a quick look at their -stable forums (http://chakraos.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=32) and there are several recent threads related to updates breaking things. I realize that will to some extent be a problem on any platform, but it seems disproportional on Chakra.

And in any case, that probably makes it a poor recommendation for Linux novices switching from Windows.

fair enough. then switch to KaOS. :)

Or Kubuntu if you like to get help from then now abundant Ubuntu/Debian "how to" stuff on internet.

Also, avoid the problem of "privacity" with normal Ubuntu, as not use Canonical desktop stuff.

If you read up on Jonathan Riddell's (and the FSF and SFLC's) spat with the Ubuntu Community Council [1], you wouldn't touch Kubuntu with a 10-foot pole.

1. https://lwn.net/Articles/645973/

> Anyone know about any good unix distros that wont be too much of a culture shock to someone who has used windows his entire life?

Try openSUSE:

* UI is designed to be very familiar to Windows users, with a Windows-looking taskbar complete with start menu and system tray (if you pick KDE, Xfce, or LXDE for your desktop environment; GNOME is a bit... well, out there).

* openSUSE ships with YaST, which provides rather extensive graphical system-wide configuration. It's arguably the closest thing to a proper and fully-featured Windows-style Control Panel you'll find in the GNU/Linux world. Thanks to YaST, it's pretty rare that you'll ever need to touch the command line for the vast majority of tasks.

* If you're running in an Active Directory environment, openSUSE's builtin support for joining AD domains is abso-fucking-lutely phenomenal; the YaST-based configuration blows even Windows out of the water, let alone other GNU/Linux distros.

* Pretty stable (openSUSE is the testbed for SUSE Enterprise) without being totally behind the times like Debian Stable tends to be.

I've set it up on the formerly-XP-running machines of multiple elderly, computer-illiterate people with effectively zero issues (other than one user complaining about the default desktop background; I showed him how to change it, and he since managed to figure out how to set up his own without further intervention on my part). If computer-illiterate old people can figure it out, I'm confident that someone who knows that Hacker News even exists can figure it out ;)

I think the one I would most recommend for a newbie is Linux Mint. I don't feel strongly about this. If you don't like it, try something else. But expect some migrating pains regardless; you're used to Windows's warts, now you need to get used to another operating system's warts.

I guess I am not a linux newbi. I know my way around a unix box I just haven't used it as my primary work station ever. So things like compatibility with all the popular stuff comes into play.

If you're familiar with the command line, then the only OS I like personally is Arch Linux. You start with nothing more than a Bash shell (seriously, it doesn't even have an installer), install your OS onto a disk with a couple commands, and then install whatever software you want. I install the XFCE desktop environment and Firefox, and go from there. Arch doesn't try to babysit you or do things for you; you will be editing lots of plaintext config files from the shell. But it almost never breaks, because it only does what you explicitly tell it to. Very simple OS, great package management, cutting edge software, wonderful documentation.

To be clear, I do NOT recommend it for folks who don't want a learning curve. But once you've over that curve, it is a haven from shitty operating systems.

I second this. I used Arch for around four years and it was a wonderful experience.

Funnily enough, I recently switched back to Windows from Arch. Linux's ecosystem was just too depressing for me. Windows 10 makes me sad though because it had the potential to be great were it not for all the privacy issues.

That sounds exactly like what I was looking for. Thanks! I'll have a look.

Make sure to check out the Arch Wiki[1]. If you use DuckDuckGo you can easily search it using !AW.

[1] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Main_page

It was my first Linux distro 8 years ago, and it's still the only operating system I can stand today. Again, it has a big learning curve, but I love it :) Hope it goes well for you.

ElementaryOS is the closest to OSX you will find. It's based off Ubuntu/Debian too.