Applications

[knersus]

Hi Guys, After almost 30 years as a MS user, I am considering switching to Linux. Ubuntu comes highly recommended by friends, but some recommend mint. How do I know which one is right for me? How can I compare the gnome destop vs the KDE desktop? Do I have to install both ubuntu and kubuntu? Will all applications run on KDE and Gnome, or are there gnome aps and KDE aps? Where do I find a list of all applications in the repositories? Thanks

[NoaHall]

Mint is ubuntu - but with a easier layout.

If you use the Ubuntu install disk, it will install the Gnome interface. You can then install KDE(and others) alongside Gnome.
You can run Gnome apps on KDE, and vice versa.
There's a huge amount of applications in the repos, so I don't know where you'll find a list.

[MelDJ]

i recommend you to read the beginners guide. see: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1052065

[asmeetkumar]

Hi Guys, After almost 30 years as a MS user, I am considering switching to Linux. Ubuntu comes highly recommended by friends, but some recommend mint. How do I know which one is right for me? How can I compare the gnome destop vs the KDE desktop? Do I have to install both ubuntu and kubuntu? Will all applications run on KDE and Gnome, or are there gnome aps and KDE aps? Where do I find a list of all applications in the repositories? Thanks

First of all let me welcome you to the delightful world of Linux...

As a beginner in the world of Linux, i would recommend using Ubuntu. Its easy to install and has a very good community support.
And since you are coming from the world of M$ you'll find Gnome much easier to learn and use.
You don't need to install both. Still, they are not 2 different distros(OS') once you get the hang of it you can add KDE (or gnome) to your setup later.
For applications you'll find there are a lot of alternatives. I found this site some years back but its still usefull to find windows alteratives.. http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html
The list applications are present under Applications > Software Center

But you need to add repositories to add third party software/ codecs.

Hope this helps you in switching

And remember :
The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.

[Sin@Sin-Sacrifice]

Welcome... The great thing about Linux is that it is free and only you can know which is right for you so try them. As a beginner, though, I would recommend Ubuntu because it's a lot easier than most. Mint isn't bad either. I would stay away from Arch, Gentoo and Slackware. Debian is pretty good too and you can always dual,triple,etc... boot. There's also virtual machines that you can boot an OS within an OS.

You don't have to have both gnome and kde. These are not the only 2 either. Then again... why not have both though? If you have the hard drive space the only way you're gonna know which one is for you is to try them. I prefer gnome but there are many that prefer kde. Some prefer xfce... so on and so forth. There are kde specific apps and gnome specific but they should work on either. I use 1 or 2 kde apps. If one has an app the other will surely have something similar though. Depends on you. You can find a lists of Linux software all over the internets. Here's a good place to start. Here's Ubuntu apps. Just have a look around. I think you'll like Linux though. I barely use Windows anymore... only kept it for gaming.

[andrew.46]

Hi knersus,

After almost 30 years as a MS user, I am considering switching to Linux.

A great move. Mind you I am a little curious as to which version of Windows you were using all those years ago .

Ubuntu comes highly recommended by friends, but some recommend mint. How do I know which one is right for me?

Ubuntu comes with a Live CD so you can boot your computer with this CD and try Ubuntu without installing anything at all. Perhaps pick up a few live CDs and take them for a spin?

All the best,

Andrew