the linux distribution

The beauty of Linux is that you can use a system that is "easy" or "hard". In linuxese, individual Linux "operating systems" are called distributions or distros for short. There are many to choose from and again some stand out and some are more esoteric.

So which one to use? Well we need to make some choices. Do you want a traditional desktop sort of like Windows 7 or one that looks like a cell phone or tablet sort of like Windows 8? But wait this is about Linux, correct? Still desktop approaches exist across platforms and we need to understand this. This is the best analogy i can give to someone not of the *nix inclination.

I base my preference on which Linux distribution I run on how well the desktop performs and how stable it is. I am partial to a certain packaging system, but let's not worry about that just now.

Of course choice depends on how you frame it. You can base choice on many things that have to do with a work environment, such as the tools installed and kernel functionality. You can run bleeding edge software that is just now being developed. You can run desktops that are liquidy, soupy flip floppy entertainment desktops that resemble cartoons. I am an old stick and prefer static windows perhaps with some shadows and crisp legible text. I do like wobbly windows, but that is irrelevant right now.

In Linux you get the choice of which desktops you would like to run. There are several, but GNOME and KDE are the big dogs and Xfce is close behind and then there are many more, but those seem to be a bit esoteric in nature.

I suppose the best analogy I can come up with about linux desktops for a windows user would be, if you applied very sophisticated skins or themes to the Windows desktop that made it look and act different that would be somewhat like running different linux desktop environments.

KDE functions much different from GNOME 3, which I am not sure how it functions it is just too strange a beast for me to get used to and believe me I have tried. Xfce and GNOME 2 are quite traditional desktops. Anyway this conversation will be continued in the desktop wars sections. But the short of it... is that different desktops are almost like different operating systems, but only in the way the graphics work, the underpinnings are the same across Linux desktops.

To see the available Linux distributions there is the ubiquitous distrowatch website.  I spend a lot of time there.