Computer Chat Best Linux OS

[Kensino]

I want to try something new, and am planning on getting a Mac. But until I can save up the rest of the money I want to try something besides Windows.

I was thinking about using Linux. I know nothing about Linux so I was wondering what is the best/most supported (with applications) Linux OS?

I will be using it for writing and testing PHP programs, and maybe internet browsing. I've found a lot of Linux websites but it looks like there are a ton of Linux OS out there.

[TomJames]

My favourite distro would have to be Fedora or CentOS, if you're looking for stable and proven then use CentOS as it avoids the latest features in favour of proven, stable and secure. On the other hand Fedora generally has the latest stuff which will turn up in CentOS eventually. Of course Ubuntu is also popular and is perhaps more aimed at people who want a simple and easy to use out of the box distro. I personally don't find it any more usable than Fedora or CentOS, but then I use the CLI rather than the GUI most of the time, having said that even with the GUI I think they're all fairly similar in terms of ease of use these days.