Hey guys! After seeing so many posts I think dual booting my computer with linux is the way to go. Using linux for programming and windows for games and school work. I was curious of everyones opinions on the different distributions of linux (i think thats what they are called. different versions? ). I am not familiar with the command line very well although I am looking forward to it. I always like doing my commands in windows. Of course this is an unanswerable question in a sense, but I want to hear what your opinions are on linux and there distributions for mainly java developement. Thanks!
I would recommend either Ubuntu or Linux Mint for newbies. I went with Linux Mint on an old laptop of mine because it’s just prettier, but it looks like I’ll go with Lubuntu instead as it’s lighter.
go for ubuntu or linux mint since your just starting out 
Will I have any problems with opengl and eclipse on that?
nope. the cool thing is if you just install eclipse from cli, then everything you need for java is also installed(jdk, jre). but i would recommend openjdk
With Eclipse: no.
With OpenGL: depends on linux drivers available for your GPU. If you use Intel’s built-in GPU, I would expect OpenGL 2.0/2.1. If you have Nvidia, you’ll probably be mostly fine with the Nouveau drivers or Nvidia’s proprietary ones, whichever one is more stable for you. If you have ATI, don’t go Linux. Recent AMD? You’ll be fine.
ah excellent, I have an nvidia card
When you make your choice, just install mesa-utils until you can find good drivers. NVidia has plenty of drivers for Linux available on their site.
Make sure your distribution has an update-to-date kernel so it’s compatible with most hardware.
First you want to know what desktop environment you want to start out with, but note that when you install a distro you aren’t stuck with its desktop. I can install Linux Mint with Cinnamon yet still run XFCE anytime I wanted.
Prepare for a lot of screenshots.
KDE, this desktop is pretty and comes with a few neat effects out of the box. Not quite recommended if you have a bad graphics card:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-riOvX_IBskw/UXpvWL3bjhI/AAAAAAAAPEo/dwsI9WuxG40/s1600/kubuntu-13.04-desktop.png
The distribution in this screenshot is Kubuntu, the name should be self-explanatory.
XFCE, this desktop is minimal and classical. No amazing graphics out of the box but can be achieved with things like Compiz. This is an incredibly lite experience: [URL=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F26Pbg1pDuc/UH-l-hoBvDI/AAAAAAAAK-c/NuK3Hhp0B4c/s1600/xubuntu12.10.png] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F26Pbg1pDuc/UH-l-hoBvDI/AAAAAAAAK-c/NuK3Hhp0B4c/s1600/xubuntu12.10.png [/URL] This is Xubuntu. The name should as well be self-explanatory.
LXDE, this desktop is [b]incredibly[/b] lite. Absolutely perfect if you have low RAM: [URL=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2c600IvFCXM/T6JyuXXNWpI/AAAAAAAAIx0/7xTdIdwl4vo/s1600/lubuntu1204.png] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2c600IvFCXM/T6JyuXXNWpI/AAAAAAAAIx0/7xTdIdwl4vo/s1600/lubuntu1204.png [/URL] This is Lubuntu.
Unity, most people don't like this desktop including me in some ways, but I would recommend it for any new user: [URL=http://www.foxplex.com/components/uploads/weYLIP8r-ubuntu_unity_splash.png] http://www.foxplex.com/components/uploads/weYLIP8r-ubuntu_unity_splash.png [/URL] This is simply Ubuntu.
Here is my favorite. I f**king love this desktop. It's called MATE, it's based off of Gnome 2.0. Amazing: [URL=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xB0ID6_a2jA/UVxHQOrJDUI/AAAAAAAAO1g/hRW74Reeza4/s1600/mate-desktop-1.6_12.png] http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xB0ID6_a2jA/UVxHQOrJDUI/AAAAAAAAO1g/hRW74Reeza4/s1600/mate-desktop-1.6_12.png [/URL] This is probably the most customizable one, in my opinion. Not certain what distro is in this screenshot.
And last, but not least, Cinnamon. This is the default with Linux Mint: [URL=http://img.netupd8.com/linux-mint-15-cinnamon.png] http://img.netupd8.com/linux-mint-15-cinnamon.png [/URL] I shouldn't even have to say what distro this is.
If you are a fan of apple like themes, I recommend Pear-Linux. It’s often called as “Mac looking Linux” The GUI is a fork of GNOME 3 and is heavily modified. The only thing is there is no global menu bar (for which I’m a big fan). Here’s some screen shots.
http://i2.wp.com/pearlinux.fr/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/missioncontrol.png?resize=561%2C316
http://i0.wp.com/pearlinux.fr/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/desktopswitcher.png?resize=561%2C316
http://i1.wp.com/pearlinux.fr/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/notification.png?resize=561%2C316
http://i2.wp.com/pearlinux.fr/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/launchpadbig.png?resize=561%2C316
And it’s linux too, so you can easily run any apps you use in the ubuntu and even eclipse is present in the app store.
Another OS X-like distribution is Elementary OS Luna. It recently came out and is pure amazing.
- Jev.