[Phantom Hoover]

I'm actually starting to hate ubuntu. I have middle fingered Microsoft for decades, but damn their OS is really stable nowadays. Can't say the same for Ubuntu.

i feel like i'm repeating myself an awful lot in linux threads these days, but if you're on standard ubuntu you should definitely gtfo at the next opportunity

[übermetroid]

Can you dual boot Win 8 and Win XP?

[Ghostavo]

Yes

[S-99]

Maybe i'm a little different here. But, i've used for since the day it came out. I like linux mint a lot, and i can take debian from command line bare bones and turn it into a full desktop, and even my own distribution (not suggesting nuke can't do this). I highly recommend debian even myself. APT and the debian repository are simply bad ass. It really helps with dependency resolution, and needing to grab stuff that's not in the debian repositories far and few between (debian's repositories are the biggest).

I said earlier that i like linux mint. Well, i don't like using an ubuntu base because of the stability problems i've had with them (i don't mess with bleeding edge, or even the latest stuff). I remain current in software though. I recommend linux mint debian.

Now i'll probably be told that i don't really like to deal with a "true" linux system. But, i can care less about that. I run linux mint debian for several reasons. But, the main reason is that it does rolling release for linux in an easy way, that is also reliable. They do rolling release in the form of service packs like what you'd find for windows. That makes it easy, the other part that makes it easy is the fact that the packages are tested for reliability before they enter your system with a classification of number 1-3 what may be dangerous for you to install. I've run debian sid before and said **** it. I didn't care going package by package determining if something was going to break my system or not. And well, some system updates have more packages to go through to determine reliability. It gets down to i like a system that easy to use that isn't ubuntu.

I've got better things to be up to, like actually using my computer and not worrying if it's going to be stable the next day. This is why i recommend linux mint debian. Install once, and update into perpetuity. I don't recommend cinnamon, i do recommend mate though (gnome 2 fork). Eats less memory, what frees up more memory is when you uninstall mono (uninstalling it noticeably gave was like 60mb less ram usage from the os). At the end of the day, i prefer to use a computer, than a computer using me. Linux mint debian has matured quite well.

[Kopachris]

Personally, I prefer Arch.  I just like messing around with stuff, learning about how it all works together.  I do it with Mac and Windows, too, but it's easiest on Linux.  I might end up trying Gentoo someday.

I do use Windows as my primary OS right now, though I plan on triple-booting Mavericks, Win 8.1, and Arch on my new pc.

[S-99]

I hear you. I like messing around with all of it too. However, i was getting down to, at the end of everyday, me not wanting to mess with stuff and just sit down and use a computer.

However, arch is a great base. I messed around with it a few years ago. And found that the KISS, really was not about keeping it simple. Well, it keeps it simple for some people, and i know who, however it is not me. But, i think they should have called it "from the ground up" instead. I'm not a hater of arch whatsoever, the repository, package manager, and even the maintaining of the packages is fantastic with arch. Because it's such a pain in the ass to set up (compared to debian...i just didn't prefer setting arch up manually) this is why i have high hopes for arch distributions. The base of their os is solid and great, i know they will spin off many great distributions.

However, even at the end of the day. Even for people who are used to messing around with stuff. I like to put stuff into a highlight. That being if i can turn on the computer and expect no problems and just type up a report, play a game, whothe****cares. That's what i found i really want. I can **** with linux any day no problem. But, for my own systems, i have enough life going on to keep me busy, that the last thing to keep me busy that i desire is my computer.

In retrospect, arch is a great base. I highly anticipate more distributions using it as a base and being successful at it. It will bring the arch base more maturity in the area of at least a damn package manager frontend for the damn thing (which is what i find really lacking in arch aside from more distributions using it as a base).

[jr2]

Can you dual boot Win 8 and Win XP?

That is one thing that the aforementioned EasyBCD makes a lot easier, as, if you install XP after Vista/7/8/8.1, it will overwrite the boot sector, making the other OSes unbootable without repair (as well as Linux, if you have that installed).  Install EasyBCD on the running XP OS, and search through the OSes and add them to the boot menu, after you use EasyBCD to re-install the Windows 6.x bootloader instead of the 5.x one that XP installed (Windows 2000 is Windows is version number 5.0, XP is 5.1, XP 64-bit is 5.2, Vista 6.0, 7 6.1, 8 is 6.2, 8.1 is 6.3   source )