I agree with this and with "drats" comment here, too.
For someone new to Linux, I'd still recommend Ubuntu. If it's too cluttered, try changing the window manager or use Lubuntu.
I only came to Arch Linux after 10+ years of trying others, and it was the right thing for me, but I don't recommend it to others unless they're already quite experienced with Linux. (But for those who are, it's wonderful.)
Until then, stick with Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu, etc - as you'll get the most support there.
I started using Arch a little over a year ago. It was my first Linux distro so I didn't have much experience, and I cant recall regretting it for a single moment during the first couple of weeks. Sure, there's a lot of stuff to set up and configure manually, but I found that to be a good thing. Getting Arch up and running with everything you need is sort of a crash course in Linux. The docs are very good so I don't think the average HN reader will struggle.
Btw, I need to thank you Derek: When I was trying to decide which distro to use I considered Arch because I heard Zed was using it at the time. Then I read the interview with you on thegeektalk.com and decided to give it a shot because of your recommendation, and I've loved it from day one. So thanks!
Agreed completely. Thanks for the suggestion--I'm going to try Lubuntu and Mint in VMs and stick with whichever I like more.
This is a super-valid point--I don't want to spend 4 hours fiddling with drivers to get my Mac's webcam working. After reading your and Derek's advice, I'm going to pop Mint and Lubuntu into separate VMs, and transition to whichever I enjoy more.
I really wanted to go with Arch but there are simply some desktop things I need and I want them to work out of the box and not spend days figuring it out.
Reasons I couldn't stick with Arch: things like Skype microphone, URL links in various apps able to open the correct browser, consistent key bindings, laptop power management. That last one was a killer for me. In the end, I've settled on Lubuntu 11.10. Lubuntu's LXDE setup is clean and light. It lets me stick with an Ubuntu repo system without suffering through what may be a multi-year Unity breaking-in process.