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As a Windows guy, I like Arch; mostly because it taught me Linux.
If your concern is users, though, the Desktop Manager is more of a concern than the distro. I've played with KDE, LXDE, and Gnome and find Gnome to be the best by a huge margin. Gnome actually feels like it isn't completely cobbled together, although sometimes it does drop the ball (the Chromium PIN screen on Gnome is wonky as hell!)
Whichever version you pick, though, bear in mind the maintenance side of it. Ubuntu and Debian both have LTS options, which are the best bet for not having your system randomly break from patching.
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Great. Thanks for the info. 
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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I've been thinking of putting Linux on my wife's computer, long story, old computer that she wants to keep. Anyway she doesn't need much from it but stability, user friendly and ability to use m.s. Office compatible software (libreoffice).
I'm thinking of gently introducing puppy Linux, which had a very Windows xp UI. The other option is trying ElementaryOS which is like a Mac OS, but also user friendly and stable.
Again Linux As a desktop has a lot to offer, and I'm still trying to figure out the best combination of elements for myself. At least now a days you don't get stuck on trying to work around basic hardware drivers that don't exist on Linux.  hopefully...
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I have tried ubuntu 14.10 LTS.
[^]
After short time you can be productive. Comes with a an office knock off suite.
boots quickly.
On a side note I don't get why many people think its a joke to not answer the question seriously.
I was interested in hearing some positive experiences.
Oh well childish jokes it is.
Microsoft vs Linux
Three Microsoft engineers and three Linux engineers are about to board a train to a computer conference.
The Linux engineers notice that the Microsoft engineers bought only one ticket between them.
The Linux engineers ask the Microsoft engineers how they plan on getting to the conference.
"Watch and learn," one of the Microsoft engineers tells them.
As soon as the train leaves the station, the three Microsoft engineers rush from their seats and
all squeeze into one restroom. When the conductor comes through the car he knocks on the restroom
door and says "ticket please!" The door opens a crack and the one ticket is handed to the conductor.
The Linux engineers are impressed, and decide that's what they will do on the trip back.
Then on the return trip, the Linux engineers notice that the Microsoft engineers haven't bought any tickets.
"How do you plan on getting home without any tickets?" they ask. "Watch and learn,"
one of the Microsoft engineers tells them.
As soon as the train leaves the station, the three Linux engineers hurry for the restroom.
A few moments later, one of the Microsoft engineers gets up from his seat,
knocks on the restroom door and says, "ticket please!"
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Roger165 wrote: I don't get why many people think its a joke to not answer the question seriously
Er ... what else could it be? 
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!
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You! You started the nonsense. It's all your fault. 
Off with your head.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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Thank you.
Roger165 wrote: I don't get why many people think its a joke to not answer the question seriously.
I knew there would be a few clowns but I was actually expecting a lot better responses. My fault for expecting much from the Loungers. 
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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To simply answer the question, I find Lubuntu gives a windows feel to ubuntu. Another advantage I have found is that Lubuntu seems to be better at installing on older hardware.
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Member 9742533 wrote: Lubuntu
Hadn't heard of that one.
Member 9742533 wrote: Lubuntu seems to be better at installing on older hardware.
That's actually what I need. Thanks.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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It may also depend on how she uses her computer- if it's mostly a libreoffice platform, if she listens to a lot of music and watches videos, or whatever.
For the media machine, you might want one of the distros that have useful codecs installed, and players that work in a way that makes sense to her. Mint, for example.
Another thing to check out is the repositories a distro uses- are the programs she would like to use available, or do they have to be compiled from source?
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Personally I'd say ZorinOS is made to be most like Windows. Havent used it in a while so I dont know what it's like. Linux Mint Cinnamon is also very good, feels like a hybrid between XP and 7's UX. If you're looking for a modern feel, Ubuntu with Unity (default) or Kubuntu. My sister with Down Syndrome picked up Mint Cinnamon's UI very quickly, and can navigate as well as she did on Windows with a few days of practice.
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I don't know. I did install Mint Linux (Cinnamon flavor) on my laptop and it's really not all that different a user experience. You've got a start menu (much better than the Win 10 start menu), a quick launch like panel on the task bar, etc. I tried Win 10 on the laptop for a few months but was unhappy with it so I decided to try Linux. I'm now a happy Linux user. I basically use mostly open source cross platform applications (jEdit, Octave, Firefox, Thunderbird, Libre Office, g++, etc) so it was really an easy switch for me.
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Why bother? Microsoft periodically re-envisions their user interface from the ground up anyway. So what's the difference between some Linux UI and the next re-envisioning that Microsoft does -- you'll still have to learn where the cheese is all over again. Just pick your favorite Linux and pretend its the latest re-envisioning of the UI from Microsoft.
What you're really wanting, is a cross reference between how to do something in a version of Windows you know, and how to do the equivalent thing in some version of Linux. There's probably books that cover that, but a google search will get you pretty far too.
We can program with only 1's, but if all you've got are zeros, you've got nothing.
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patbob wrote: Why bother?
Learning curve.
patbob wrote: What you're really wanting, is a cross reference between how to do something in a version of Windows you know, and how to do the equivalent thing in some version of Linux.
Ya, but without having to read a book. 
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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Linux Mint (with cinnamon) start very windows-like UI configuration. This is how it looks[^].
However, be aware that linux provide you with a power (to customize), so you'll probably end up with something entirely different from Windows. Once you taste the freedom of your own design, you'll be unable to return to the slavery of using whatever were provided. 
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I'd install Gentoo if I were you*
* Joke.
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Why not to try installing beautiful Linux Mint distributive and customize it so it looks like Windows OS. I did that with my laptop setting up Windows 7 interface and other stuff, including Chrome browser. Even managed to create hot key combinations for text editor and printing. Zorin is another my choice on your judgement, although the new Linux Mint Mate correlates with Windows on large scale. However, as far as I remember Ubuntu used to be very similar before adapting the Unity desktop.
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Is holding the door open for a clown considered a nice jester?
/ravi
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I would rather say that a nice jester is a clown holding the door for you!
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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Well, it was back in July[^], and again in September[^]. I guess it depends whether the clown's name is "Leslie". 
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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Surely you jest! 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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I'd just like a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
Me, all the time
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Don't call me Shirley.
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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Yikes! 
/ravi
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I ain't a nice jester to steal Griff's spolight!
Life is too shor
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Agreed. I stand guilty of the sad crime.
/ravi
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