How to install Linux?

I think a good Linux distribution for beginners is Ubuntu. I have use Ubuntu and SuSE and RedHat and Ubuntu was the best.

I suggest you get VMware Workstation and install Ubuntu as a virtual machine. VMware Workstation is not too expensive, is best in class, and has good networking tools. You will be able to run Windows Host and Guest Linux simultaneously and learn about networking interconnections.

Ubuntu Server is different from Ubuntu Desktop. You can run either as a virtual machine.

You can have a try in a virtual environment first if you like, details are in this article I wrote:

https://www.experts-exchange.com/articles/18342/How-to-try-out-Linux.html

The distrowatch site has a very large list of Linux distro's you can download and try. Most of them come as LiveMedia, from which you can also install the distro. LiveMedia is very practical as you can burn the iso to a DVD or CD, then boot the PC from that DVD/CD and run it directly, without having to first install it. You can then look at the features and test it. Most of them also have an installer on the desktop with which you can install it to your HD.

Personally I don't think Ubuntu to be the best distro, as it has a useless desktop interface and is slow and hardware hungry, compared with other distro's. One of the current best distro's for the desktop available is in my point of view MakuluLinux, the XFCE version. It is based on Ubuntu, but has a much better User Interface and also is a lot faster. There is an even nicer version coming out sometime in the middle of this month probably. The beta version looks really nice and very closely resembles Windows 7:

http://makululinux.com/downloads/

Basically you can use any Desktop distro also for servers, but if you want something for real server tasks you should get a distro dedicated for that. As server you can get Ubuntu Server, which has just a command line interface (no GUI), but I can also recommend Zentyal server which is also based on Ubuntu Server, but has a simple GUI, but mainly you would use a web browser to configure and maintain it from another PC. It is very easy to setup and use, and has a modular setup which allows you to add modules for the tasks you need the server to do. It is similar in functions to m$'s SBS server, but without it's limitations of user numbers, and is fully compatible with Active Directory and also includes OpenChange which can be used to replace an Exchange server. The disadvantage of Zentyal could be that it may not be the best OS to learn on, as almost everything is autmated with scripts which you wouldn't find on normal servers.

http://zentyal.org

I recommend the Ubuntu desktop for a first version.  It is not necessarily the best but I have CentOS and an old RedHat installs and Ubuntu was easier to get started with the Gnome GUI.

Ubuntu doesn't use the gnome GUI, that may have been the case half a decade ago. Now it uses unity which is a terrible desktop, very slow, in-intuitive, and needs a powerful 3d GPU. It is the worst GUI you can get for Linux.

Didn't know that, I don't have recent version apparently.

Thank you guys for all the helpful info.
One more question, while hunting for a job I ran into a job description with 'Linux/BSD'. Does 'Linux/BSD' refer to two things -- Linux and BSD or simply one thing -- FreeBSD? Or something else?
Please help.

It refers to two things, Linux and BSD.

Linux and BSD are different things.  Here is an article summarizing differences

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-differences-between-linux-and-bsd/

You can use either, but simple free Linux is probably best for beginning.

So if the job description only lists 'Linux/BSD', do you know which Linux and which BSD it likely refers to?

They are different products. Choose the BSD version you want (probably newest) or the Linux distribution you want. Despite any shortcomings, I think Ubuntu is good to learn on.

John,
Thank you.
I was job hunting and found a job description with the required experience of "Linux/BSD". I know there are many distributions of them. And I tried to figure which Linux and which BSD it likely refers to?
You know?

Here is the information on BSD. I have not used it.

https://www.freebsd.org/doc/faq/introduction.html

I have used Ubuntu, SuSE and RedHat. I tried to use Gentoo but that was a waste of time.

Probably many different ones. BSD type OS's are often part of Routers, NAS etc., and those are usually heavily customized so you can't really go for any specific distro. While Linux is often used in Servers etc. Most Production servers are based on Red Hat Enterprise (CentOS would be a free clone of Red Hat), Ubuntu Server, or SUSE server (Novel).

But if you are looking to apply for a job for which the description is "Linux/BSD", I doubt that installing Linux or BSD on PC's and trying to learn it will get you anywhere within a useful time frame to actually be able to apply for the Job. By the time you have learned enough the job will have been taken. Even if you take courses on the subjects it'll take longer to get enough knowledge.

rindi,  
Good point -- it may be late for the currently opening job but never too late to learn for the future opening.
By the way, you mentioned in your earlier post above that I can burn the distro to a DVD and run directly from it. I've successfully done that and it works. Now can you tell me how to install to a USB flash drive so I can boot and run Linux from the USB drive.

If you are new to the Linux operating system - give Ubuntu a try.  You can also try Zorin - it has a more "Windows" like desktop - even though it is a revised version of Ubuntu.  You can run either of these WITHOUT installing them or you can install them and run them - yes they are free.  These are easy to start with for beginners.  

However, if you want to get a certification in Linux, and you want a free OS - you should start with CENTOS - that is the Red Hat open source build.  There are some differences but there are a lot of resources on the web to help you get going.  I know there are MANY free distros for Linux and everyone has their preference!  (Mint, OpenSuse, Fedora, Debian, and Gentoo - among others.)

You may find it fun to emulate other OS desktops (Ubuntu Tweak UI coupled with Noobslabs apple look stuff - with some tweaking you can make Ubuntu look like a Mac...)

I wish you the best!