Based on the prior article I gave Besgnulinux Linux a try. It reminds me of MXLinux with its number of tools and utilities. Although it uses the JWM window manager, it looks very similar to XFCE. Besgnulinux includes Libreoffice office suite, Deluge BitTorrent client, the Brave Browser, a Brave TOR browser, a couple of music players (SMPlayer and MPV media player), and a Conky Viewer with a few themes. Appearance is black on gray. It runs very fast. It also offers some recommend Third Party applications. Overall, a nice Linux distro with lots of built in applications. Just the thing an older Windows PC user might need. Below are comments from ZDNET and my own screen shots. Enjoy.
From ZDNET: What in the world is that name? Every time I say it, I think, "Best GNU Linux."
Besgnulinux is the brainchild of a single developer who seems to be on a mission to keep old computers out of landfills, and I find that to be a very noble pursuit. The developer has taken Debian stable and created a user-friendly desktop with the help of the JWM window manager. What this does is create a very fast operating system that's also highly stable and works brilliantly on older hardware.
I tested Besgnulinux as a virtual machine with only 2GB of RAM and a single CPU core. Guess what? The OS ran like it was on a powerful, modern desktop computer.
This distribution will appeal to anyone with an aging Windows 10 computer who doesn't care about having the most modern, eye-candy-laden UI and wants an OS they can trust will run reliably and well.
Besgnulinux uses the Calamares system installer, defaults to the Brave web browser, and includes over 40 custom-built tools to control the system's settings as well as the look and feel of the desktop.
Desktop wallpaper viewer below:
Deluge BitTorrent client below:
Brave web browser below:
Third Party Software recommendations below:
There is an App Image Manager to download other software below:
Which Linux distributions will rise above the competition in 2026 to dethrone the old guard? Here are my picks.
ZDNET key takeaways
Linux is set for a big year in 2026.
There will be a few distributions that will surprise people.
These six distros will be on everyone's list by year's end.
It seems I went to bed, and it was just turning 2025. Then, I wake up, and it's 2026. Where did time go?
I can tell you one thing: time went to helping Linux rise in popularity. Okay, the death of Windows 10 also
had something to do with that, but everyone in the business of covering
Linux knew this would one day happen: the masses would finally realize
that there is an alternative OS that's more reliable, safer, and easier
to use.
We
may not be declaring 2026 the year of Linux just yet, but several Linux
distros are likely to have a very good year. These are my picks for
that list.
1. AerynOS
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Once you get past the installer (which will be a bit of a challenge for those new to Linux), you'll find AerynOS
to be an outstanding, rock-solid operating system that is fully atomic
and offers a beautiful KDE Plasma desktop. It is those two last bits
that will elevate AerynOS's status among the Linux distributions.
You see, atomic and immutable
(those are not the same things, by the way) are the future of operating
systems because they provide an experience that will always work.
Atomic distributions basically ensure that no upgrade will result in
system failure, a broken desktop, or unusable applications. That is
important because people depend heavily on a dependable operating
system.
AerynOS
does atomicity but not immutability. That's important because
immutability requires a read-only core file system, and that can confuse
users when they attempt to configure something outside of their home
directory.
AerynOS does all of this beautifully and even has a
very vanilla take on KDE Plasma, which I think is the right way to go.
KDE Plasma is beautiful out of the box, and it's incredibly
user-friendly.
As
well, AerynOS automatically manages boot entries, kernel
synchronization, and rollbacks. This eliminates the need for the manual
writing of configuration files. Even if the EFI system partition is
wiped, it can be automatically rebuilt.
All of this comes together to make something pretty special.
2. AnduinOS
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
AnduinOS is a Linux distribution that, on the surface, appears very much like Windows 10.
AnduinOS is based on Ubuntu, which gives it a head start on
user-friendliness. Couple that with a UI that is immediately familiar to
the average user, and you can see why AnduinOS could become a darling
for the coming year.
As
for the UI, it's based on GNOME, so it's fast. And with the help of
GNOME Extensions, you can extend the features of the desktop. Who
doesn't want that? Speaking of which, the developers have included such
extensions as ArcMenu, Blur My Shell, Dash to Panel, Light/Dark Theme
Switcher, OpenWeather Refined, Removable Drive menu, and more. With the
help of a handy extension manager, you can enable/disable and configure
those extensions to meet your needs.
AnduinOS
also does not collect any information from users, which will be a
breath of fresh air in a world where user information is gold to so many
organizations and companies.
I think the big reason why AnduinOS
will become a darling in 2026 is that more and more users will finally
walk away from Windows and will want an operating system that doesn't
challenge them to learn a new interface. AnduinOS does that better than
most.
3. Besgnulinux
Besgnulinux will make waves in 2026.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
What in the world is that name? Every time I say it, I think, "Best GNU Linux."
Besgnulinux
is the brainchild of a single developer who seems to be on a mission to
keep old computers out of landfills, and I find that to be a very noble
pursuit. The developer has taken Debian stable and created a
user-friendly desktop with the help of the JWM window manager. What this
does is create a very fast operating system that's also highly stable
and works brilliantly on older hardware.
I
tested Besgnulinux as a virtual machine with only 2GB of RAM and a
single CPU core. Guess what? The OS ran like it was on a powerful,
modern desktop computer.
This distribution will appeal to anyone
with an aging Windows 10 computer who doesn't care about having the most
modern, eye-candy-laden UI and wants an OS they can trust will run
reliably and well.
Besgnulinux uses the Calamares system installer, defaults to the Brave web browser, and includes over 40 custom-built tools to control the system's settings as well as the look and feel of the desktop.
Okay,
Manjaro is based on Arch Linux, which I wouldn't recommend to a new
user. Manjaro Linux is a different story because it makes good on the
promise of transforming Arch Linux into something that is
user-friendly.
BigLinux
takes this one step further by including things like web applications
for services/platforms like Amazon Music, Deezer Music, Discord,
Facebook, Instagram, Jitsi Meet, Messenger, Netflix, Outlook, all of the
Google apps, and more. In fact, BigLinux includes dozens of
applications that take up very little space on your drive and help make
the distribution as user-friendly as possible.
As
well, you get to choose which web browser you want during the OS
install. You can pick from Brave, Firefox, Google Chrome, Chromium,
Vivaldi, LibreWolf, Opera, or Falkon. Another very handy addition is the
Big Driver Manager, which vastly simplifies the installation of
drivers.
I believe there are big things to come for BigLinux.
5. Pop!_OS
This is what the default COSMIC desktop looks like.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
It almost seems unfair to include Pop!_OS
on this list because it's been around for so long. The thing is,
System76 took a big chance on creating its own desktop environment,
COSMIC.
I've been using COSMIC desktop since the early alpha stages,
and even then, it seriously impressed me. I would go so far as to say
that COSMIC is going to become the most popular Linux DE by the end of
2026. That alone helps to make Pop!_OS a shoo-in for Linux darling of
the year.
COSMIC is blazingly fast and highly configurable. That doesn't mean you have to bother with desktop configurations, because the out-of-the-box experience is amazing.
Given
how stable and fast COSMIC 1.0 is, I can only imagine what version 2.0
will be like. I would guess that, by the time the next iteration
arrives, COSMIC will have elevated Pop!_OS beyond anything it could have
otherwise become with GNOME.
6. ZorinOS
The Zorin OS desktop resembles Windows with a bit more panache.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Zorin OS has already proven itself to be a favorite contender for OS of the year.
This came about when support for Windows 10 ended and Zorin OS had been
downloaded over a million times in two months (with 78% of those
downloads coming from Windows machines).
Zorin
OS is based on Ubuntu and gives the user a choice of desktop layouts.
If you want a Windows-like layout, Zorin OS has your back. MacOS? Sure,
no problem. When a user discovers Zorin OS, they finally understand that
an operating system doesn't have to be complicated or overbearing.
Zorin
OS strikes a perfect balance of user-friendliness, power, flexibility,
and reliability. If there were a single OS I would recommend to those
migrating from Windows 10, it would be Zorin OS.
This Linux distribution can compete with any lightweight OS on the market.
ZDNET key takeaways
Tromjaro is a Manjaro-based Linux distribution.
This distro uses Xfce desktop and includes well-curated apps.
You can download and install Tromjaro for free.
A trade-free operating system, that's what Tromjaro means. But what does a trade-free operating system have to offer?
Well,
it means a lot, especially if you're tired of the imbalance between
those who have versus those who want. From the developers' perspective,
this "trade-free" OS wants nothing from its users, such as no data
collection and no demands for attention: "This is the purest form of
free and the most honest one."
Essentially, you have an operating system (based on Manjaro) that collects no data and wants no fee. Sounds pretty much like Linux, right?
When I walked through the process of installing Tromjaro,
it struck me that these developers are pretty serious about their
approach. Even during the post-install setup, I was prompted to set up
the Internet Content Blocker. Unfortunately, that feature didn't open. I
even went through the Settings app, and couldn't get it to work.
I decided to continue with my testing anyway.
Select from one of six different custom Xfce layouts.Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Once the setup was complete, I had an Xfce desktop on a Manjaro-based distribution that was laid out in a MacOS-like style.
I'm
not gonna lie, I was impressed. The installation was smooth, the
desktop clean, and the app menu filled with all the tools you might
need. You get LibreOffice (with the database component added for good
measure), the Pamac GUI for the pacman package manager, a clipboard
manager, a color profile manager, a kernel manager, a cron job GUI, the
Czkawka cleanup tool, Firefox, a resources monitor, a multimedia player,
web apps, and much more.
The list of preinstalled apps is an impressive collection of tools curated for the average user to hit the ground running.
But why should you try Tromjaro over any other distribution that uses Xfce?
First, Tromjaro boots very fast. On top of that, Tromjaro performs like a champ. This Linux distribution can compete with any lightweight OS on the market.
There's
also the addition of the Videoneat app, which curates science materials
(in the form of documentaries, movies, courses, tips, and more). I'd
never known about this service and found it fascinating. Each video must
be downloaded (via torrent) before viewing, which can take some time,
depending on the clip size. However, the quality of the videos is good,
and some are worth watching.
I've never heard of Videoneat, but it certainly is intriguing. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
To
further consider why someone would use Tromjaro, I turned to the
(lengthy) list of things the developers changed from the Manjaro base,
including:
Layout Switcher for XFCE.
Theme Switcher for XFCE.
Applied the same fixes for the entire XFCE desktop for themes and icons.
Integration and enabling of the Chaotic-AUR repository.
Hand-picked wallpapers that are more or less unique to the distro.
Co-created the default TROMjaro icon pack.
Enabled Global Menus and HUD.
Added more options to Settings Manager, such as RGB lights setup, system and files backup, webcam, a system cleaner, and more.
Gestures for mouse, touchpad, and touchscreen.
Support and optimizations for touchscreen devices.
Flatpaks and AUR support, as well as a Tromjaro-specific repository.
Support for AppImages.
Automatic system backup.
All common files (video, audio, documents, images) are opened with properly tested apps.
A heavily tweaked Firefox with removed annoyances and trackers, a handful of addons for even more protection, and more.
Trade-free apps for VPN, file sharing, messenger, and more.
Custom internet searches that are accessed from the system's menu.
A custom web app library.
That's
a pretty impressive list that would benefit most users. Clearly, the
Tromjaro developers are taking their mission seriously.
There's also a handy series of videos you can watch that help explain what Tromjaro is all about.
Performance
As
I said earlier, Tromjaro performs as well as any lightweight
distribution I've tested. Part of the reason for this success is the
Xfce desktop, but you cannot discount the optimizations the developers
have considered.
I ran my usual Ollama test on Tromjaro, and it verified what I'd assumed about the distribution. It's fast. Really fast.
After
my initial query, "What is Linux?", I followed up by asking Ollama to
write a Python GUI program that allows users to input specific bits of
information and append this to a file.
Ollama went to work and immediately crafted the application. The speed at which the app was created was impressive.
Conclusion
I
was surprised to run across a Linux distribution that I'd never heard
of, and with Tromjaro having the lofty trade-free mindset, I was glad to
have stumbled upon it.
Although Tromjaro won't woo me away from Pop!_OS (that's a tall task for any distribution), it will remain on my list of distributions to consider for future needs.
I'd recommend installing Tromjaro on a spare computer (or a virtual machine) to get a feel for what it's all about. Who knows, this might wind up being your next distro hop.
For those looking for a bright clean theme to enhance their Linux desktop, download and try the Zorin OS GTK Theme [Unofficial]. So there is no need to install Zorin OS to get the same look. Enjoy.
You can download the theme here: https://www.gnome-look.org/p/1769479
There are a matching set of icon themes found here: https://github.com/ZorinOS/zorin-icon-themes
