Best Linux distro.. "best"..

I find OpenOffice and LibreOffice pretty crappy too, although I use it because MS Office is way overpriced and I don't need it on a daily basis. Mono, now that is something I can give Kudos to. I wonder if it is why .NET is mostly abandoned by MS.

I would definitely recommend Mint over Ubuntu.
 
While I'm not a professional photographer, more like an advanced amateur. I have to say I used to use Photoshop religiously in the past, then I moved away from Photography for a while only to return to it a couple of years later once I was using Linux almost full time and thought I'd give Gimp a go. While I admit that I haven't used the latest release of Photoshop, I actually find Gimp to be laid out almost identically to photoshop and in some instances I find it easier to use.

Each to their own, but I don't mind Gimp, it does everything I need it to do.
 
The only thing I can recommend for the OP is to skip dual booting and either install it on another pc or go with a VM. Dual booting never works out simply because it disrupts your workflow. You open program A, B, C only to find that program D simply will not work. So you restart your computer after you close A, B, and C, just to open program D. Are you going to reboot back into your other OS once you are done with program D, then reopen A, B, and C? Probably not. You'll probably open program E and F under the current OS and not want to have to start all over again.

I kept it generic because it could be Linux or Windows. At the end of the day it's easier to just commit the machine to one or the other, and see if it works. The main thing is you need to have an actual goal to achieve. Are you making your life easier by making the switch? Does using one or the other provide a tangible benefit?
 
While I'm not a professional photographer, more like an advanced amateur. I have to say I used to use Photoshop religiously in the past, then I moved away from Photography for a while only to return to it a couple of years later once I was using Linux almost full time and thought I'd give Gimp a go. While I admit that I haven't used the latest release of Photoshop, I actually find Gimp to be laid out almost identically to photoshop and in some instances I find it easier to use.

Each to their own, but I don't mind Gimp, it does everything I need it to do.

There's a mod of Gimp called 'gimpshop' which tries to emulate the Photoshop interface. There are many differences in functions still though. Like in some cases you can manipulate the image directly in photoshop but in Gimp you have to pull sliders. Gimp is awesome for the price though even if we forget that probably 9 out of 10 photoshoppers are wareshoppers.
 
I'm a big fan of gnome 3 and fedora.

Weird that it took so long for someone to mention Gnome. It's really the only Linux desktop environment that's trying to do anything interesting and useful for the user beyond the standard WIMP paradigm. I used to be a fan of DEs like XFCE and Cinnamon, but their adherence to a dying paradigm prevents them from being developed in a way that actually adds value to the desktop experience. If I were nostalgic for Windows XP, I'd just use Windows XP. Now I use KDE for Linux tablets and Gnome for Linux desktops.

I use Arch on all my personal Linux environments and either Ubuntu or RedHat for servers depending on the purpose and software support.
 
Weird that it took so long for someone to mention Gnome. It's really the only Linux desktop environment that's trying to do anything interesting and useful for the user beyond the standard WIMP paradigm. I used to be a fan of DEs like XFCE and Cinnamon, but their adherence to a dying paradigm prevents them from being developed in a way that actually adds value to the desktop experience. If I were nostalgic for Windows XP, I'd just use Windows XP. Now I use KDE for Linux tablets and Gnome for Linux desktops.

I use Arch on all my personal Linux environments and either Ubuntu or RedHat for servers depending on the purpose and software support.

The problem with that, at least for me, is that I like the old paradigm best, so sticking with it works well. New or different does not always mean better. That said, I like making liveUSB sticks with various distros to test, in case something comes along that I like better. I'll take a look at what you mention just to see what I think.
 
The problem with that, at least for me, is that I like the old paradigm best, so sticking with it works well. New or different does not always mean better. That said, I like making liveUSB sticks with various distros to test, in case something comes along that I like better. I'll take a look at what you mention just to see what I think.

Fedora is the best way to try out Gnome. Try a Live DVD/USB and see if you like it. If so, it's available for install on pretty much every distro.

I find that I'm more productive with Gnome because of its multitasking paradigm. The general feel is 90% WIMP, with some small elements borrowed from OS X and others that are novel to the Gnome project. The familiar taskbar is still there, but I don't really use it because I use the Workspace switcher to move around between applications. I think that desktop environments that don't budge from the normal WIMP ways are missing opportunities to provide features that go above and beyond to enrich the user experience.
 
At least there is OneNote online when using Linux. I never found anything close for a native application.
 
I haven't used Linux in years. I found it was just painful to drudge through it. However, recently I see a lot of posts saying that Linux is much better these days than they used to be. I wouldn't be much of a computer enthusiast if I wasn't interested in trying new things and potentially better systems.

That said, what is the best distro these days? By best I mean the one that's the easiest to transition to from windows and one that is mostly set up out of the box.

Thanks!

Ubuntu or any Debian distribution. Preferably Linux Mint Debian, but be weary it doesn't boot from the live optical disc on all systems without possibly have to tweek it if you can. For instance Linux Mint Debian will not boot from a bootable flash drive using made with YUMI by default on my Laptop with GRUB or Syslinux, but will boot from a bootable optical disc and won't boot from either on the custom workstation I built using the GIgabyte 6PXSV4 motherboard. If you want to use Steam then use Ubuntu or some form of Debian considering SteamOS is a Debian distro and follow these instructions below:

Linuxmint Debian 201503-mate 64-bit or 32-bit Installation
Summer Break 2015

Due Date: ?
Value: ?

1. Execute the the following command and elevate to root user if necessary with sudo or su -l : wget http://media.steampowered.com/client/installer/steam.deb

2. Execute the following command and if it fails go to step 3: sudo apt-get install gdebi-core

3. Execute the following command and type y then press enter if prompted: sudo gdebi steam.deb

4. Or, with straight dpkg, you can brute force it with the following commands:
sudo dpkg -i steam.deb
sudo apt-get install -f # (If the above command errors)
sudo dpkg -i steam.deb
5. Search for Steam in the menu and open in. Then an installer should prompt you for the root password. Type y and press enter when prompt and sometimes just press enter if prompted.
If you get the error: “You are missing the following 32-bit libraries, and Steam may not run: libc.so.6” in Ubuntu 14.04.3 and hopefully beyond use the following symbolic link, which should work but doesn't:

For 64-bit Ubuntu and Other Debian Distros:

sudo ln -s /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 /lib/libc.so.6

For 32-bit Ubuntu and Other Debian Distros:

sudo ln -s /lib/i386-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 /lib/libc.so.6

6. The following solution will fix the missing libc.so.6 in Ubuntu 14.04.3 and hopefully beyond:

sudo apt-get install steam

However, it leaves you with a missing libGL.so.1 file.

7. To resolve the previous libGL.so.6 in Ubuntu 14.04.3 and hopefully beyond use the following:

sudo apt-get install ^libc6.*

followed by:

sudo apt-get install steam

8. Let the install complete. Then create a new account or login in with an existing account and get the access code from your email if necessary.

If you want to install Google Chrome in the current Ubuntu and possibly other Debian distros do something similiar as follows because it if not other Debian distros are missing 32-bit library files in the 64-bit version of 14.04.3:

How to install Google Chrome in Linux

1. Go to www.google.com

2. Click on even more.

3. Click on Google Chrome.

4. Click install Google Chrome.

5. Select the compatible version for your Linux Distribution and processor.

6. Click download.

7. Click open with Software Center.

8. Click install. (If it doesn't work at this point use the following command: sudo apt-get install ^libc6.* if not already used recently to install other programs or if you need to update these files.)

9. Run the following from Command Line one the installer is finished:

google-chrome-stable

10. That's it for now. Enjoy!

As for other programs look for 3Waysplits post on Linux programs to replace Windows. Fedora is good too, but don't expect to be able use steam on it unless you can still use PlayonLinux with Wine. That and I didn't like Fedora 22 compared to 21 because it seemed more restrictive and all the commands changed compared to CentOS 7 and Redhat 7, which didn't seem to be documented yet or updated in the documentation from Fedora 21.The one that has commands like CentOS 7 and Redhat 7. If you want to use SUSE you will encounter most of the same problems with it as with Redhat distros.
 
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Why not just install Steam from the software manager in Linux Mint?

Better still, just download and install the package installer from the Steam site itself, then it's every bit as easy to install as it is on Windows?
 
Why not just install Steam from the software manager in Linux Mint?

Better still, just download and install the package installer from the Steam site itself, then it's every bit as easy to install as it is on Windows?

This is what I was thinking. One of the problems we need to face as a linux community is not over thinking or over complicating things that should be simple like installing steam.

There has been a recent explosion of Linux compatibility lately that is being fed even more by the windows debacle and alternate OS push by Valve and several other devs. That has been limited mostly to Debian flavors though from what I have seen. Mostly Ubuntu/Mint clones. There seems to be more speed bumps on just Debian stable but new users are going to find the hand holding of Ubuntu/Mint more useful than Debian anyway.

It really wouldn't surprise me if in 5-10 years most users could completely be happy gaming on Linux. Honestly I can already play all the games I play on Linux and have moved back to it being my full time OS.
 
This is what I was thinking. One of the problems we need to face as a linux community is not over thinking or over complicating things that should be simple like installing steam.

There has been a recent explosion of Linux compatibility lately that is being fed even more by the windows debacle and alternate OS push by Valve and several other devs. That has been limited mostly to Debian flavors though from what I have seen. Mostly Ubuntu/Mint clones. There seems to be more speed bumps on just Debian stable but new users are going to find the hand holding of Ubuntu/Mint more useful than Debian anyway.

It really wouldn't surprise me if in 5-10 years most users could completely be happy gaming on Linux. Honestly I can already play all the games I play on Linux and have moved back to it being my full time OS.

Totally agreed, the only reason my Windows PC is still hanging around is to play BF4 and the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront, everything else including the remainder of my games is done natively under Linux.

While I love using a terminal window we need to move away from unnecessary terminal usage if there is a more modern, simpler way to install software - If someone was on the fence about switching from Windows to Linux they'd crap their pants at the countless lines of text above and probably stick with Windows!
 
I found the lack of terminal requirement surprising. It doesn't scare me away but I could see how it might scare away the average windows user. I did use it a handful of times during the Mint setup but just for settings changes and a chrome install.
 
Even on mint 17 you need the terminal a good bit but it's not as bad as it used to be and honestly as long as you don't stray too far off the beaten path you may not ever have to.

Just today I tried to get my Hauppauge HVR 1955 to work on linux which they say is fully supported on Ubuntu derivatives.

What they don't tell you is you have to setup and patch an entirely separate kernel that you have to reboot into in order to use the device and either re-setup everything else on your computer on that kernel or flip flop when you want to use that device. It's madness.

Baby steps.
 
Even on mint 17 you need the terminal a good bit but it's not as bad as it used to be and honestly as long as you don't stray too far off the beaten path you may not ever have to.

Just today I tried to get my Hauppauge HVR 1955 to work on linux which they say is fully supported on Ubuntu derivatives.

What they don't tell you is you have to setup and patch an entirely separate kernel that you have to reboot into in order to use the device and either re-setup everything else on your computer on that kernel or flip flop when you want to use that device. It's madness.

Baby steps.

It's been "baby steps" in the UI department for 15 years. There's been progress but not really that much. I remember thinking it was stupid that I had to recompile a kernel by CLI just to get my video card to work.... and you sometimes still have to do that. There's nothing on the horizon to indicate that will be changing, either. There's just no impetus for it. Frankly, the openness of the community is what holds it back in this area. There are too many competing interests on the desktop side, and none of them are all that focused on being friendly to the end user. The elitist culture around the whole thing is a major barrier. Look at the furor over systemd. Systemd! People are freaking the eff out about it, and the entire point of systemd is to pull the central aspects of an OS into something cohesive.
 
I've been exclusively Ubuntu for five years now and I can't say I've recompiled a kernel yet.

The "issue" is actually rather ordinary: there is no money to make in selling a desktop OS, especially under the prevailing circumstances. Therefore nobody is going to dump the money into it to make something spectacular.

When there is a monetary incentive to make a Linux-based OS for a particular market, it happens. Whether that's RHEL or ChromeOS or Android or whatever.
 
Generally speaking, when Terminal use is necessary, there's usually very helpful guides enabling the user to cut and paste commands to achieve a result making full knowledge of Linux commands helpful, but not entirely needed.

However it is a good idea to have some comprehension in relation to the Linux terminal.

But, these days I'm finding package managers are more widespread than they used to be meaning I'm finding that I'm using the terminal less than I used to. Which I consider to be a positive step in the right direction in relation to Linux popularity with the ex Windows crowd.
 
Terminal scares people who don't know how to use it. Once you learn how to use it you prefer it over the GUI. But agreed, there should be an 'all capable' GUI for noobs.
 
But agreed, there should be an 'all capable' GUI for noobs.

KDE already tried to do that before they changed courses toward Plasma. It was a mess.

Even Microsoft has spent a lot of time and money building out Powershell because they realize the power and necessity of a shell for administrative and technical tasks.

The problem is really just that the shell is not designed for the way that a modern user is used to interfacing with their computer. A shell with natural language processing (NLP) would go a long way toward making the prospect useful again. Services like Siri and Wolfram Alpha are already NLP-capable shells, they just have limited vocabulary and no real access to processes.
 
Speak for yourself. I disagree.

Bear in mind that we're not talking about ourselves and our personal preferences here, we're talking about migrating Windows users that have most likely never used a command line/shell before. I'm also talking in relation to the simple task of installing software - I don't see any reason why the shell needs to be used for something as simple as software installation.
 
KDE already tried to do that before they changed courses toward Plasma. It was a mess.

I miss KDE3. It felt light weight, menu + taskbar +desktop icons more or less. Goodness help you if you accidentally delete the app bar or menu button or systray widget from the task bar plasmoid in KDE4, while trying to learn how the cashew / paw-print / 3 seashells work. It's easier to just to log out, delete .kde4 from an ssh session, and start over ...
 
Arch Linux user here. I'm sorry, but the terminal sucks and so does Linux for the most part. I only use it because it's the morally correct choice.
 
Arch Linux user here. I'm sorry, but the terminal sucks and so does Linux for the most part. I only use it because it's the morally correct choice.

Well, I have to say this is something I don't agree with at all, I actually find Linux better than Windows or OSX. But, each to their own.
 
I have a lot of grievances with Linux, but posting about them on Linux forums usually gets a bunch of emotional replies from uber nerds. I'll try posting some of them here and see if [H] is more reasonable I guess:

1) The command line is cool, but a GUI is much faster for many tasks. Why use MPV from the command line when I could just do the same thing faster in a few clicks using the GUI in VLC? Why type a bunch of long directory names and commands when I can do the same thing faster in Nemo? The command line is good for some things, but it just gets far too much love in Linux to the point of it being needed for a lot of things that would be faster in a GUI. I had a hell of a time just figuring out how to get bluetooth to turn on when the computer starts up. I shouldn't have to go read the Arch Wiki for something simple like that.

2) Installing software sucks, especially if you aren't using an RPM or Apt based distro. Dependency hell isn't as bad as it used to be, but it still sucks. I'm not a programmer so I can't really go in depth as to why it sucks, I just know that as a user it does. It's much easier to install and especially to remove software on Windows. My Grandma isn't going to want to mess with Yaourt and she's going to be pissed if she goes with another distro and realizes that all of her software is out of date due to being at the mercy of whoever updates software in the repos. Have you ever tried to install graphics drivers using the .run file from Nvidia? That's one hell of an Adventure!

3) A lot of things just flat out don't work correctly. I can't play some videos in VLC due to artifacts (Mostly MKVs). I have MPV installed for the videos that VLC can't play, but I don't want to learn the command line commands for turning off subtitles and things like that, so I still have to boot into Windows to play certain videos.

4) Sound in Linux is a mess. I'm using a 980 with the latest proprietary drivers in Linux, but half the time when I boot up my computer I won't get any sound over displayport until I turn my monitor off and back on. As near as I can tell, this is an old bug with no solution that effects everyone who uses displayport, regardless of their hardware.

5) Linux gaming sucks. OpenGL is a complete mess. Just try to play Civ V, Unreal Tournament, or Pillars of Eternity on Linux and see how bad it is compared to the Windows version. Civ V has no AA in Linux and PoE doesn't have capes. UT just looks like crap all around and I don't know why.

Linux is great if you're a sysadmin and need to run a server or something, but it's awful as a Desktop OS and I don't think that will ever change. Hopefully Vulkan can at least make gaming better, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
 
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You won't get any complaints out of me in relation to terminal dependency and it's over exaggerated importance from the Linux community, however software installation is improving, with many applications able to be installed by the package manager/software manager these days making things just as easy as it is under Windows/Android.

In relation to your other issues, while I run a Soundblaster X-Fi and don't actually stream audio via HDMI out of my Nvidia card, I have to say I have none of the issues you're experiencing under Mint 17.2. VLC for example is flawless playing MKV's and there are alternatives available that don't require use of the command line that are installed by default on Mint. I think one of your biggest issues is that you're running a distro that is deliberately simplistic and designed to be built by the end user from scratch with no packages installed by default - Which may work for some, but I honestly just cannot see the point when most distro's are literally identical under the desktop manager.

Gaming under Linux:

Yes, there are issues on some games (not all), but only two years ago gaming on Linux was literally non existent and things are improving all the time - UT Alpha is still in development, give it time and I'm sure it will improve - Most of the maps still aren't finished even under Windows and SLI support is non existent.

In fact, in relation to driver issues, I've had far more driver related issues under Windows than I have under Linux, I had USB 3.0 issues on my ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Z motherboard right through Windows 8 and up to the beginning of Windows 10 that I just couldn’t resolve due to a lack of driver support. I'm currently running the Windows 10 Enterprise Evaluation on my Windows PC and I'm seriously considering letting it just lapse, as Linux works so well for me that I just cannot justify the $200.00 or so needed to purchase Windows 10.
 
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1) The command line is cool, but a GUI is much faster for many tasks. Why use MPV from the command line when I could just do the same thing faster in a few clicks using the GUI in VLC? Why type a bunch of long directory names and commands when I can do the same thing faster in Nemo? The command line is good for some things, but it just gets far too much love in Linux to the point of it being needed for a lot of things that would be faster in a GUI. I had a hell of a time just figuring out how to get bluetooth to turn on when the computer starts up. I shouldn't have to go read the Arch Wiki for something simple like that.

2) Installing software sucks, especially if you aren't using an RPM or Apt based distro. Dependency hell isn't as bad as it used to be, but it still sucks. I'm not a programmer so I can't really go in depth as to why it sucks, I just know that as a user it does. It's much easier to install and especially to remove software on Windows. My Grandma isn't going to want to mess with Yaourt and she's going to be pissed if she goes with another distro and realizes that all of her software is out of date due to being at the mercy of whoever updates software in the repos. Have you ever tried to install graphics drivers using the .run file from Nvidia? That's one hell of an Adventure!

3) A lot of things just flat out don't work correctly. I can't play some videos in VLC due to artifacts (Mostly MKVs). I have MPV installed for the videos that VLC can't play, but I don't want to learn the command line commands for turning off subtitles and things like that, so I still have to boot into Windows to play certain videos.

4) Sound in Linux is a mess. I'm using a 980 with the latest proprietary drivers in Linux, but half the time when I boot up my computer I won't get any sound over displayport until I turn my monitor off and back on. As near as I can tell, this is an old bug with no solution that effects everyone who uses displayport, regardless of their hardware.

5) Linux gaming sucks. OpenGL is a complete mess. Just try to play Civ V, Unreal Tournament, or Pillars of Eternity on Linux and see how bad it is compared to the Windows version. Civ V has no AA in Linux and PoE doesn't have capes. UT just looks like crap all around and I don't know why.

Linux is great if you're a sysadmin and need to run a server or something, but it's awful as a Desktop OS and I don't think that will ever change. Hopefully Vulkan can at least make gaming better, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

1) Pretty much agree 100%

2) Just going to say yes.

3) That is mostly true. I was always told that VLC doesn't do hardware rendering which is why VLC always artifacts on like 15+gb BR rips. I don't know if this is still true though.

4) This is true, has always been true and FML I wish someone would fix this.

5) So much progress has been made in this regard in the last few years that I am almost giddy. I don't really game much and was never a hardcore video gamer but imho it's certainly picking up momentum. This above anything I believe would facilitate a higher rate of transition of users from windows to linux.
 
3) A lot of things just flat out don't work correctly. I can't play some videos in VLC due to artifacts (Mostly MKVs). I have MPV installed for the videos that VLC can't play, but I don't want to learn the command line commands for turning off subtitles and things like that, so I still have to boot into Windows to play certain videos.

I always found smplayer + mplayer2 to be a better solution than VLC. Though now with the latest version of smplayer you can use mpv as the backend.
 
That is mostly true. I was always told that VLC doesn't do hardware rendering which is why VLC always artifacts on like 15+gb BR rips. I don't know if this is still true though.

As stated, I'm running VLC playing 25GB HDDVD rips with no issues whatsoever, absolutely no artifacting. Not only that but VLC is without a doubt also using hardware based acceleration to decode video.

I honestly think the OP needs to switch to a more user friendly distro.
 
I always found smplayer + mplayer2 to be a better solution than VLC. Though now with the latest version of smplayer you can use mpv as the backend.

That sounds awesome! I'll have to check that out. I think that MPV is the only player that uses OpenGL to render video. I find that really interesting, which is why I installed it

As stated, I'm running VLC playing 25GB HDDVD rips with no issues whatsoever, absolutely no artifacting. Not only that but VLC is without a doubt also using hardware based acceleration to decode video.

I honestly think the OP needs to switch to a more user friendly distro.

I had the same problem with Linux Mint. It seems to happen after updating Nvidia drivers. I haven't found a solution other than reinstalling the whole OS and I'm just too lazy to do that every time Nvidia updates their drivers. I've tried reinstalling VLC, deleting the settings directory, and all kind of random black magic. I'm pretty sure the distro doesn't matter in my case. Besides, I don't think there is a rolling release distro that lets me choose every bit of software myself other than Arch. Other distros come with too much crap that I don't want and can't uninstall without breaking things.
 
I honestly think the OP needs to switch to a more user friendly distro.

Heh that's what I was thinking. It's pretty uncommon to see complaints about ease of use and arch linux user in the same sentence.
 
I've used other distros. They are all pretty the same aside from the package manager if they use systemd. The only thing that makes Arch harder than others is the actual installation and I use an ISO called Architect Linux for that part. I find that Pacman, Yaourt, and the AUR actually make software easier to manage on Arch than other distros.

I used to be a big OpenSuSe guy back in the Gnome2 days, but Cinnamon isn't an option during installation and it's become the only DE I can stand. I've tried other distros too, but I really prefer a rolling release system and Arch seems to be the only option that offers rolling release + cinnamon and no extra apps I don't want. Mint is probably my second favorite, but you can't even uninstall the video player that comes with it without it trying to uninstall half of the packages that Cinnamon depends on and most of the packages in the repos are horribly out of date. Constantly having to add PPAs is also a lot more annoying than just using the AUR. I had the same sound and VLC issues on it and other distros. I'm not sure what bluetooth would have been like. I never stuck with any other distro long enough to set up my dual shock 3 and Steam on Linux wasn't a thing yet the last time I used OpenSuSe.
 
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I've used other distros. They are all pretty the same aside from the package manager if they use systemd.

You say that but ... For instance, KDE is simply packaged better on openSUSE. Mandriva could never ship with everything working properly.
 
I've used other distros. They are all pretty the same aside from the package manager if they use systemd. The only thing that makes Arch harder than others is the actual installation and I use an ISO called Architect Linux for that part. I find that Pacman, Yaourt, and the AUR actually make software easier to manage on Arch than other distros.

I used to be a big OpenSuSe guy back in the Gnome2 days, but Cinnamon isn't an option during installation and it's become the only DE I can stand. I've tried other distros too, but I really prefer a rolling release system and Arch seems to be the only option that offers rolling release + cinnamon and no extra apps I don't want. Mint is probably my second favorite, but you can't even uninstall the video player that comes with it without it trying to uninstall half of the packages that Cinnamon depends on and most of the packages in the repos are horribly out of date. Constantly having to add PPAs is also a lot more annoying than just using the AUR. I had the same sound and VLC issues on it and other distros. I'm not sure what bluetooth would have been like. I never stuck with any other distro long enough to set up my dual shock 3 and Steam on Linux wasn't a thing yet the last time I used OpenSuSe.

I've gotta say, I update Nvidia drivers all over the place, mostly from PPA's, and I just don't have this issue you are describing under VLC - It works flawlessly for me just like everything else, and I don't see any reason why adding a PPA to keep apps up to date is terribly difficult. What do I have to do in an attempt to recreate this issue under VLC?

To remove the default Video player under Mint go to Software Manager > Search for totem > Double click totem and click 'Remove' - Really no harder than uninstalling software under Windows.

The reason why I stick with Mint 17.2 is because everything just works in my experience.
 
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I am a Linux noob (which was the entire point of the thread) and I find Mint to be a pretty smooth transition from windows, as far as difficulty goes, and that's saying a lot compared to 5 years ago when I tried.
 
For Joe Average, adding a PPA is incredibly difficult and for people who know what they are doing it's still a step that you shouldn't have to take. Why can't apps just update themselves like on Windows? Why can't I just download something like an exe that works on every distro? I shouldn't need my disto's repos for anything other than updating the base OS packages. These are the kinds of things that keep normal users away from Linux. When comparing distros, why add a billion PPAs when I can just use Arch, which has the latest version of everything you'd ever want in one place (The AUR)?

As far as the VLC issue goes, I'm at a complete loss. The only thing that I can tell you is that on both Linux Mint and Arch, it worked fine for a while and then suddenly stopped working. Both times were after updating everything that needed an update at the time. The only thing I can think of that updated both times was the Nvidia drivers, but it's certainly possible that there is some other thing both situations have in common that I missed. Here's a screenshot of what it looks like.
 
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Please don't take me out of context here as I'm not intending to sound in any way like a smartarse, I just don't understand what is so difficult about:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:<ppa_name>

Not to mention that under Debian based systems at least (not too sure about Arch) you can download the .deb file which is installer based just like Windows and installs via your GUI file manager.

There is also software under Linux that updates via the software itself and not via the PPA repository just like Windows.

I've added a couple of PPA's to my system, I'd hardly claim that I have added a million by any stretch of the imagination, I wouldn't have even added half a dozen. Honestly, I think you're using an unsuitable distro, PPA's really aren't that difficult to add or utilize at all.

That VLC screenshot looks like extreme macroblocking, it usually happens as a result of a poor encode or the encode of an over the air digital broadcast that has been subject to interference or bandwidth issues - I've never seen that happen before on my own Linux system, are you sure you're using hardware decoding?
 
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Please don't take me out of context here as I'm not intending to sound in any way like a smartarse, I just don't understand what is so difficult about:

Easy for you because you're not new to Linux. If I asked the average user to type something similar in the Command Prompt in Windows I bet they would have just as much difficulty as they would in Linux.

If something doesnt "just work" then most cant be bothered with it.

I think the general consensus isnt "is this hard?" and more "is it an inconvenience and possibly difficult for the average windows user?" and I feel the answer is yes. For some this isnt an issue but Linux is always looking to expand their userbase and undermine the great Microsoft band even little things like this will prevent that every time.
 
Easy for you because you're not new to Linux. If I asked the average user to type something similar in the Command Prompt in Windows I bet they would have just as much difficulty as they would in Linux.

If something doesnt "just work" then most cant be bothered with it.

I think the general consensus isnt "is this hard?" and more "is it an inconvenience and possibly difficult for the average windows user?" and I feel the answer is yes. For some this isnt an issue but Linux is always looking to expand their userbase and undermine the great Microsoft band even little things like this will prevent that every time.

I used to be a power user. Started out knowing and loving the DOS prompt and was a Windows tech for about 16 years. I loved doing all the hardcore stuff, but lately I find myself wanting to just click something and for it to work, without any hassle. Mint is pretty good about that for me, at least for my use.
 
The only difficult thing about adding a PPA for a noob is to find out what it is, what it does and where to find it. The command line part is when all the hard part is already done.
 
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