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Looking to install Linux on a Dell box that is currently running XP. I'd like to get away from the potential security risk of having an XP machine on the 'net as we look to the future. The Dell is plenty machine for what its used for (file backups, file shares), so I'd like to see what the best Linux distro would be appropriate for setting up a simple shared folder for a few windows workstations to connect to?
Ubuntu? Debian? I don't really care much about what else the box can do...just looking for a simple file share.
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sweet, thanks, I'll give it a shot.
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Ubuntu is okay. I actually like Lubuntu better. Or even Bodhi. Or Mint. All of those are built on Ubuntu, but put things together in ways I like better than Ubuntu's recent OSes.
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If your hardware is supported, sometimes new kit may not be well supported after a release has been out for two years, I prefer LTS releases of the Ubuntu derivatives.
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I find Unity less appealing now than when it first came around as the Netbook interface for Ubuntu. While I don't mind the Ubuntu base, I generally end up with a different GUI.
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I prefer Bodhi over straight Ubuntu. Hardly anything preinstalled, so I get to roll my own distro to some extent, but still have a full GUI to fall back on if I get lost. A more normal take on the light desktop distro is Lubuntu. That would be my suggestion for normal users making the switch from XP or Mac OS.
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The Unity desktop makes more sense in the context of a touch based interface I believe, which is probably where it is headed. The idea is to have the same desktop on phone, tablet and PC, and have it be all the same device to a certain extent.
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If that's Ubuntu's goal, they better hurry up with their mobile initiative. Remember the TV push? That went nowhere. Hopefully mobile gains some traction.
