I am planning to have Linux on a second partition with my Windows 10. I have tried Ubuntu, Linspire etc. few years back... But now I am not sure which version to go for - Ubuntu or Mint ? Which one is more user friendly? Then cinnamon or Mate ? which one will be better for a windows user? I have downloaded Ubuntu Cinnamon 15.10 yesterday. Planning to download mint too. Ubuntu 15.10 is not LTS - What will happen after 9 months? will I be able to upgrade to next version without full re-installation? Someone fluent with Linux please guide me -> I am using MBR partition scheme for Windows 10 and have extra partition which I can delete and create an UN-allocated space for Linux install.
Do you mean Mint Mate/Cinnamon? Use the same procedure. Mate/Cinammon/KDE/FluxBox and so on are just desktop environments (DEs).
Which (Linux Mint 17.2 Rafaela) - Mint Cinnamon or Mint Mate edition should I use? Which environment is good for a windows user? I know I can install and try out on a spare HDD to find which one is suitable for me but still looking for suggestion.
Just go with Cinnamon. You can run the downloaded ISOs as live systems on a USB stick/DVD-RW to check if you like their style. No need for installing them before testing, or try em with VirtualBox.
I agree with the guys - you can change from Cinnamon to MATE via Synatic if you don't like it - thus little diffrence which you choose.
Presently, I am downloading Linux Mint 17.2 Rafaela (Cinnamon). Thanks to everyone in helping me to decide.