A friend of mine, who knows Windows well, recently told me that he was going to give Linux a try. On a recommendation of a friend, he was going to start with Sabayon Linux 4.0. Oh dear. It’s not that Sabayon is a bad Linux distribution. It’s, in fact, quite a good one. To me though it’s a Linux pro’s Linux instead of one that’s well suited for a newbie.
From where I sit, a new Linux user needs a Linux that’s close enough to the desktop they already know-almost always Windows-so they can quickly start using it. That way, they can clearly see the benefits of Linux, such as its stability, security, and speed, without being slowed down by the need to learn new ways of doing things.
The easiest way to start is to buy a PC that already has Linux installed on it. That way, all you have to do is turn it on. All the major vendors have at least one Linux PC, laptop, or netbook for sale these days.