New too linux

The distribution you choose is up to you. Most every ap should be available for any of them. You can always compile from source if a pre-packaged version doesn't exist for your distro.

well I'm a programmer, too. Check out gentoo If you don't mind some waiting as you'll have to compile everythin yourself. There is very good documentaion how to set up the system on their website and a wiki covering most tasks. It's pretty coder-friendly as you can easily manage running different versions of java or gcc side by side, and pretty streight and open when it comes to overall system design so you can tweak it easily to your needs

[quote=maylemikey]im new to linux and i need help deciding which distribution that i want. here are a few things to help you to know which distribution that i might need 1.gaming 2.music 3.internet 4.im a programmer 5.videos 6.pictures[/quote] Well, if you are a programmer, want a powerful development system, most distros will fit the bill... However, as it seems as though you are into gaming, as well as desktop use (music, videos, images, internet), I would recommend something commercial. First off, I would say suse, but really, its kind of hard running games, and its a little tough on desktop, as its enterprise. You could use Mandriva, it works pretty well, but the interface stiffed me off... Lastly (of commercial) I would highly recommend iMagic OS (google it), because it has Crossover Games (lets you run popular Windows games, including Wow3, Eve Online, etc...), it is terrific for home use, and lastly, well, i like the GUI. ;) Just my 0.02 I got a copy a while back, and it was really worth it, specially with magicOnline for music and easy software installs. However, if you don't mind to much on the games, go with Freespire (freespire.org), free, fast, nice looking, packed, and has easy one click installs of thousands of free and commercial applications (Linux . com has a place where it shows popular distros, there it has it), it also has nice codecs, to run flash etc. and best of all, like most Linux, its FREE! Like said above, if you are more of a techie sort of a programmer, go with gentoo, or slack.. but dont expect any high end gaming/ home usability features. ;) You could also go with Vector Linux (google), its fantastic for a combo of it all, lacks a little, but its based on Slackware, and it has a customizable gui. just lettin you know you got choices. after all, thats what linux is all about. ;) tuxfan; habelgeek