Hi, I'm really can not setup my mind on a distribution to go for it. I've goggled and found too many opinions and most of them saying it is a matter of personal preferences. I need to learn Linux to manage a server purposes. I am a windows desktop user. Mostly will be a web server. Thanks
The quick & simplest pointer I can give you is this=> If you are most used to 'modern' windoze - just get a live boot ISO of Ubuntu as it is the best supported of all; If you are more of an old fashioned 'classic' desktop user (as I am) - get a live boot ISO of Ubuntu Mate. It is then a very short change from desktop to the server version - with, or without adding a GUI to it. Too many folks agonize over this choice rather than just jumping in; Really the biggest difference between distros is the sizes of their userbase & complexity of stuff (as in Arch vs. Ubuntu for example). Lots of folks prefer Centos for web server uses, with a close 2nd going to straight Debian (from which Ubuntu is descended). But as said above - Ubuntu is simpler & makes for a good 1st experience to get used to before making any other choice later. Many folks will insist upon Mint - but I've found its default offering to be heavier & fussier than Ubuntu. Another starter distro is Zorin, which I simply never recommend because it is so poorly supported. HTH !!
Linux Mint is very close to Windows 7 as far as use goes. Very user friendly! I've been using it for years and would never go back to Windows.
Ubuntu is good for newbies. Mint and Manjaro are also OK. It's not recommended for newbies to choose CentOS, Debian, Arch Linux, Gentoo and Linux From Scratch.
I would recommend staying with an Ubuntu or Debian based OS to start with, best driver and software support in my humble opinion.
We had redhat then Mageia. Find drivers on the ROG Xonar Phoebus Solo and Razer Nostromo and AMD RX570 is simply not possible! Keyboard Defender Warhead GK just refuses to highlight although it works even from DOS but on redhat, Mageia does not want to light up. I realized one who has pure iron without anything, then you can put redhat, Mageia, etc. And if the boards are installed separate audio or video - just a madhouse. No drivers!
This is not a Linux issue, its the hardware manufacturers, some are great with driver support, others are terrible. Have you tried any Ubuntu/Debian based distros? They do seem to have greater driver support than most of the others.
I suggest you to start with Ubuntu, it's a stable release, then you can switch to other linux distros depending on which one you prefer.
only 1 word my good hadron; telemetry. with all respect, that road leads straight to hell; and such companies [ canonical, m$,] should be shunned like the pests that they are, imo.
personally, i refuse to tolerate what is intolerable. [ if it raining too hard, you do not have to go outside for a stroll, do you? ] and as for the likes of the nsa,and the fsb; i sincery hope that they enjoy my very terroristic unencrypted pron collection,. but i seem to have strayed a bit off-topic.. you do not need to use ubuntu at all, there a hundreds of other distros in the linux-sea..
What hundreds of other distributions, you mean the hundreds of copies of Ubuntu that just has the DE changed ?! The best place to start is Ubuntu and it's perfectly fine as a starter.
Nodnar you are precisely correct in your very wise observation=> I do not NEED to use Ubuntu; I do CHOOSE to use Ubuntu. Ubuntu may even be the most used of all distros at this point in time - and if so, it is just because of what others here have said: The ease of finding answers & getting support. Turning off the known telemetry took me about a minute total, and as I said before, compared with the many worse things that none of us can turn off or avoid in the current world - it is a trivial matter AFAIAC. (And may be so for others as well...) Many purists are angry about systemd as well - but here again - unless one obsesses about it, it has come, and is more trouble to avoid than it is worth IMO, so it can be dealt with & ignored. As to your rain query: Actually, no matter the weather I have a NEED to go out for a stroll with our doggy gal. For the rainy days we have an umbrella, rain jackets, and even a mariner's rain hat. When it is -30F here, we have decent winter gear for everyone, so there is no harm in it. Choosing which battles are worth engaging for one's self is important - just as having the correct tools for the job is, also. Speaking of what is intolerable, personally & briefly=> I considered 'unity' to be exactly that; Therefore I choose to use Ubuntu Mate even now that Gnome 3 has become the 'new unity' as it is no better IMO. The U/M community is far smaller, and less helpful - but thankfully the larger community has great answers and most of them work just as well in my chosen DE.