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Linux distro’s have become so much better for desktop these days. I again have one too many choices at hand - should I go with a Debian distro such as the excellent Ubuntu or someone in the Redhat family such as of course the Fedora, who else.
Ubuntu is definitely very easy for someone starts fresh - it is only a single CD image, easy to download and easy to install. It comes with all the useful apps you would need. And the synaptic package manager is head and shoulders above the old RPM (Redhat Package Management). However, some things are still more available in the rpm format, such as the JDK package from Sun. I had a hard time trying to install that one. Maybe there’s a freeware debian version out there, but it takes some digging.
Ok, Fedora Core 4. Much heftier with either 4CD downloads or one DVD. It has pretty much everything, including freeware versions of all Java development tools (Gnu Java native compiler and GJC compiled Eclipse for example). Other than the size, the only complaint about Fedora is its package management. It still sucks bad. Why they haven’t incorporated Yum or Synaptic/apt is beyond my comprehension.