We help you pick a new Linux distro based on what it's actually good for
Choice and flexibility are the hallmarks of the Linux ecosystem. In
Windows and OS X, if you don't like some aspects of the operating
system, there's not much you can do about it.Not so in the Linux
world, where thanks to the numerous distributions you are in fact
spoilt for choice. Each distro has the Linux kernel at its core, but
builds on top of that with their own selection of other components,
depending on the target audience for the distro. Different
distros offer different customisation options, so you can fiddle around
with the distro and customise it as per your taste and preferences until
you get the kind of thing you're looking for. So no matter what sort of
user you are, there's a distro for you.
In
this feature we're focusing primarily on the desktop. Some desktop
distros aim to keep things as simple as possible, while others give you
more control. They have different installation routines, different
desktop environments, different package management schemes and different
administration tools. We'll look at regular distros that you can
use for every day computing tasks, as well as those designed to appeal
to users coming from other operating systems, such as Windows and Mac OS
X. We'll also look at distros that can turn an old clunker into a
streamlined computing machine and ones that give advanced users complete
control over their working environment.
Over
the next few pages, we take more than four dozen of the best distros
for a spin, test their unique features and weigh up their strengths and
weakness to help find a perfect distro for you!
Every day distros
Distros designed to replace your existing operating system
Ubuntu
It
isn't the first distro designed for inexperienced Linux desktop users,
but it's inarguably the most well-known. The distro has several
innovative features, including the Unity desktop - which everyone loves
to hate. Then there's the cross-platform and cross-device Ubuntu
One cloud-sharing and file sync service, which offers 5GB of free
storage space. For adding software, there's the Ubuntu Software Center. The
distro has one of the easiest installation mechanisms. It doesn't
include proprietary codecs by default, but you can include them during
installation, simply by clicking a checkbox. The distro is released
twice a year with regular Long Term Support (LTS) releases that are
supported for five years. Verdict: As Unity becomes more usable, Ubuntu will continue to take the fight to proprietary desktops. Rating: 9/10
OpenSUSE
Another
old timer, and one of the leading users of (and contributors to) the
KDE desktop - although officially they don't prefer one over the other.
Indeed, the distro looks consistent across the two desktops and is
visually pleasing. Its all-in-one management tool Yast (Yet
Another Setup Tool) can handle software installation as well as system
configuration and administration. While it's convenient to have all
these settings in one place, it's a bit overwhelming and intimidating,
especially for new Linux users. Also, the distro's installer
isn't as straightforward as Ubuntu's. And, in a break from tradition,
the distro pushes out new releases every eight months. Verdict: Although designed for desktop users, it isn't as friendly as Ubuntu or Mint, but makes for an attractive enterprise desktop. Rating: 7/10
Fedora
Traditionally
pitched as an alternative to Ubuntu, recent releases of the Red
Hat-supported community distro have been prioritising server-based
features over desktop enhancements. This is why the distro makes more
sense as an advanced user's playground. After all, it's a test bed for
features that'll find their way into Red Hat's Enterprise offerings. Also,
the distro's ease of use has diminished since the introduction of the
(slowly improving) Gnome 3 desktop. New users would be jolted by the
barren desktop, that requires them to learn new skills to navigate
successfully. The lack of a functional package manager, multimedia codecs, and a redesigned unintuitive installer don't help either. Verdict: A very capable distro for an experienced Linux user who's going through a mid-life crisis. Rating: 6/10
Slackel
The
distro takes bleeding-edge software from Slackware's Current branch and
offers them in a desktop friendly package by borrowing a few of the
more choice tools from the Salix OS distro. The KDE-based Slackel
images are offered in live-installable and install-only mediums. Some
of the tools that it uses from Salix OS are the codec installer, the
Gslapt package manager, as well as the live CD installer. Verdict: A rolling release that delivers the latest from Slackware, while using tools from Salix OS. Rating: 7/10
PureOS
The
distro is available in two flavours, each based around either the Gnome
or lightweight Openbox desktop. PureOS is based on Debian's Testing
branch and supports multilingual locales. PureOS is only available as
images for making Live USB disks. The goal of the distro is to
serve as a functional distro that you can then personalise by adding
modules via the included scripts. This distro also includes the smxi
script for tweaking the system and installing proprietary drivers. Verdict: A sleek ready-to-use distro best suited for tinkerers. Rating: 6/10
Mageia
Mandrake
Linux was the first Linux distro designed for the every day user. It's
been through many incarnations, and its last avatar forced long-time
community members to fork the distro. The RPM-based distro is now
called Mageia, and is backed by solid community infrastructure. It
offers both KDE and Gnome desktops, and between the project's three
repos you'll get all the software you need. Its installer is easy to
navigate and several screens have the Advanced button, which brings up
more options for experienced users. The most distinct feature of
the distro is the Mageia Control Center, from where you can tweak almost
all aspects of the system. Verdict: The community fork builds on the solid foundation, and is an able distro for every day use. Rating: 8/10
PCLinuxOS
This
distro started as a repository to improve a stock Mandriva release, and
later forked into a distro of its own. PCLinuxOS is officially a KDE
distro, but also has community spins around the LXDE, and Xfce desktops.
The distro can play all sorts of multimedia. It uses apt-rpm and
the Synaptic Package Manager to install RPM packages. Its configuration
tool and installer clearly give away its Mandriva lineage. The distro
includes an illustrated installation guide, and also produces a monthly
magazine for its users. Verdict: Think of it as being something like Mageia with multimedia codecs. Rating: 7/10
Sabayon Linux
The
Sabayon project aims to give regular desktop users a taste of the
Gentoo distro. It's a feature rich and complete desktop distro built on a
stable and mature foundation. The distro has everything a
regular desktop user needs, including all sorts of codecs and plugins.
Besides the usual slew of apps, it also has the XBMC media player and
Wine for running Windows apps. For managing packages, there's the
custom Rigo app browser. It's a graphical front-end to Sabayon's
Entropy package management system and mimic's the appearance of the
Google search engine. The app is simple to use and very verbose. Instead
of displaying cryptic messages, it converses with users in plain
English. The distro has different spins around all the major
desktops, including Gnome, KDE, Xfce and Mate. Also, the distro doesn't
ship a stock Gnome release. It's made some tweaks - for example, to show
minimise buttons - to maintain consistency between the editions. You'll
find other desktops, such as Cinnamon and Razor-Qt, in its official
repos. Additionally, there are also several special flavours that
serve specific purposes, such as the minimal CoreCDX, and the
HardenedServer based on a Gentoo Hardened kernel, for instance. Although
Sabayon is a rolling distribution, the developers have tweaked it to
make the experience easily digestible for new users. Installation is
handled by the re-branded Anaconda installer created by the Fedora
distro. Also, the 64-bit images of newer versions are bootable on SecureBoot-enabled systems. On
the distro's website, you'll find lots of documentation relevant to a
first-time user, including a step-by-step installation guide, and a
detailed FAQ. Verdict: The distro delivers all the power and slickness of Gentoo in a well-rounded and pleasingly user-friendly desktop package. Rating: 9/10
Linux Mint
Since
it's 2006 debut, Linux Mint has slowly been crawling up everyone's list
of favourite desktop distros. One of the major reasons for the distro's
success is that, despite being based on Ubuntu, its default desktop is
much more traditional than Ubuntu's controversial Unity interface. Linux
Mint offers users a choice of two Gnome-based environments, which it
has dubbed Mate and Cinnamon. Mate is designed to be a faithful
continuation of the out-dated Gnome 2 desktop. Cinnamon is a more modern
affair, with a neat menu that gives access to all the system's settings
and applications in one place. The distro is also pre-loaded with a full complement of audio and video codecs, and has an impressive Software Manager. Verdict: A simple to install and polished desktop that works out of the box. Ideal if the divisive Unity rubs you the wrong way. Rating: 9/10
Rosa
The
distro is developed by the Moscow-based Rosa Labs that had worked on
Mandriva's last release. Rosa then forked Mandriva into a distro of its
own. Their main focus is the KDE desktop, but the distro also
puts out Gnome-based spins a few months after the KDE release. What sets
Rosa apart from other Mandriva-based distros are the custom tools that
make their KDE desktop unlike any other. They have a custom launcher and
their own kickoff menu, which looks similar to Unity's Dash and Gnome
3's Activities menu. In addition to the redesigned desktop, the
distro also has a bunch of functionality improvements. The TimeFrame
tool uses KDE's Nepomuk to visualise all your files, video, and music in
a unique and appealing manner. The newer versions of the tool also
support social networks, such as Facebook. Verdict: Try it for the customised KDE desktop. Rating: 9/10
Chakra
It's
arguably the best-looking KDE desktop distro, and it will work for most
users straight out of the box. The distro was originally based on Arch
Linux. It's a half-rolling release that, by its own admission, is meant
for users who don't shy away from the CLI. At the moment, its
package manager is still under development, but it has an impressive
fallback in the form of a bundles manager. The bundles are
self-contained packages of popular apps that can be installed with a
single click. Installation is handled by its custom installer,
that uses the KDE Partition Manager for partitioning the disk. It also
has an impressive first-boot personaliser app. Verdict: A very pleasing KDE desktop that helps you customise your working environment. Rating: 8/10
Knoppix
Long-time
Linux users fondly remember Knoppix as the first Linux live CD. The
distro includes all kinds of open source software from Debian stable,
testing and unstable repos. The distro is available in two versions -
the Live CD image provides over 2GB of software and the DVD image
manages to squeeze in well over 8GB of software. In fact, it's
the only live distro that contains three desktop environments - LXDE
(default) as well as Gnome and KDE. On top of that there's also an
officially supported variation intended for visually impaired users,
that can also be used by computer newbies. Verdict: No one does a better job of showing off the best of open source software. Rating: 9/10
Salix OS
The
developers of Salix OS think of the distro as a bonsai: small, light
and a product of infinite care - and we can't help but agree. The
distro's artwork is pleasing to the eye, with custom wallpaper, icons,
and theme. The Slackware-based distro is available in six different
editions, based around the KDE, Xfce, Mate, LXDE, Fluxbox and Ratpoison
desktops. Salix is very fast and easy to use. It includes a
78-page guide, and there's lots of additional task-based documentation
on the distro's website. Although it doesn't include any codecs, it does
have a one-click codec installer. In fact, the distro is
chock-full of custom tools developed in-house. Some of the interesting
ones, besides the codec installer, are a graphical utility to clone a
live system, a wizard to create a persistent storage, and a graphical
tool for doing simple system administration tasks like adding users.
There's also a graphical Salix installer, that's a refreshing change
from the run-of-the-mill installers. For managing packages, the
distro uses the graphical Gslapt package manager, which is a front-end
to slap-get. Since the distro is fully compatible with Slackware, it
also has a graphical tool for building packages from the SlackBuilds
repository. Verdict: For users who need the stability of Slackware with the convenience of a package manager. Rating: 8/10
Qubes OS
Subscribes
to a security concept known as security through isolation, which makes
it more secure than an average desktop distro. Each app in Qubes runs
inside its own security domain. A new installation automatically
creates some domains such as Work, Personal and Untrusted and divides
apps between them. So you'll find LibreOffice in the Work domain,
Firefox in the Untrusted domain, and so on. For the most part,
Qubes OS works just like any other desktop distro. Instead of app
categories, its KDE menu lists different domains. Verdict: It's unique, secure and has a shallow learning curve. Rating: 8/10
Open Xange
This
Fedora-based distro uses a slightly tweaked KDE desktop so as to make
more easy sense to a traditional Windows user. In addition to the usual
desktop apps, the distro also includes a considerable range of plugins
and codecs.On the desktop you'll find a button to install the
proprietary Dropbox client. For managing other open source software Open
Xange uses Apper, a PackageKit front-end for KDE. Since it's based on Fedora, it uses the Anaconda installer. The distro doesn't support 32-bit architectures. Verdict: A Fedora-based desktop that doesn't do enough to outscore Korora. Rating: 6/10
WattOS
The
distro aims to bring Ubuntu goodness to low-powered machines by using
lightweight apps such as the LXDE desktop. It ships with the Chromium
browser that includes the Flash plugin, and the distro also has the VLC
media player to handle a wealth of media files. WattOS's bootup
and shutdown times are considerably faster than a typical Ubuntu
installation. It uses the Synaptic package manager, and is
pre-configured with its own PPA, but can also install packages from
Ubuntu's repositories. Verdict: The lightest LXDE-based distro around. Rating: 8/10
Manjaro
This
rolling release distro is based on Arch, and is designed for desktop
users. It's got the plugins, codecs and apps to handle all sorts of
files. The distro also maintains its own software repos of thoroughly
tested stable, as well as bleeding-edge unstable, software. Software
installation is handled by its custom Pamac tool which is a graphical
front-end to Arch's pacman package manager. You can also install
software in Manjaro from Arch's community supported user repository
using pacman. Manjaro officially supports the Xfce, Cinnamon, and
Openbox desktops. The distro has two text-based installers with the
newer one including support for Secure Boot and RAID devices. Verdict: Manjaro is to Arch what Salix is to Slackware. Rating: 8/10
Korora
Initially
based on Gentoo, it now uses Fedora as its base OS. It ships separate
Gnome and KDE editions. The developers have taken time to clean the KDE
menus and bundle the Gnome extensions tool in the Gnome-based spin. The
distro has full multimedia support, and enables third-party repos such
as RPMFusion, Google Chrome, and VirtualBox. The newer releases of the
distro ship with the Steam client. Korora also has a few custom
tools such as the useful undistract-me utility that pops a notification
when a terminal command has completed. Verdict: The most desktop friendly Fedora distro. Rating: 9/10
Kanotix
Based
on KDE and Debian's latest stable release, it uses the Synaptic package
manager and ships with multimedia codecs and plugins. Besides the
regular slew of stable (albeit old) software, Kanotix also bundles Wine
for running Windows apps. At the time of writing this feature,
the developer had just released a special edition for the CeBIT expo.
This edition differs from the regular release by updating certain apps
to newer versions and bundling some new apps. So there's the newer 3.8.2
kernel, newer drivers for Nvidia, ATI, and Intel graphics cards, GRUB
bootloader with support for Secure Boot, and more. The
pre-installed Steam client also works even if you install the distro on a
USB disk, so you can carry your games with you. The distro uses the
acritox installer which hands off partitioning to one of the three
partitioning tools (Gparted, fdisk or cfdisk). Verdict: A stable KDE and Debian-based distro intended for daily use that offers conveniences like multimedia codecs and drivers. Rating: 7/10
Netrunner
It's
a major surprise that this distro lies so low in DistroWatch's
popularity table. If you haven't heard of it, think of Netrunner as
Ubuntu without Unity. Netrunner is based on Kubuntu, but that
doesn't mean it's just another Ubuntu-based distro that has slapped KDE
instead of Unity. The distro offers its own cloud service called
Runners-ID (built on top of the open source ownCloud server). The
service is integrated into the distro and offers 5GB of free space,
which you can use to store data, pictures, contacts, calendars and
stream music via its Android app. Sounds familiar? There's more.
The distro also integrates web apps, such as Cut The Rope, Google Docs,
Facebook, and more, on the desktop. When you sign into your online
accounts your data is accessible to local apps such as Kontact and
Dolphin. One interesting web app bundled in the distro is
JacknJoe. It's a web-based application store that houses all the popular
open source apps and games that you can install with a single click.
The distro also bundles proprietary apps such as Skype, Wine for running
Windows software, and all sorts of other handy audio and video codecs
and plugins. Help on the distro is dispensed via online forum
boards on its website. Here, you'll also find some video introductions
to the distro's unique apps and screencasts on common tasks. The
developers behind the distro also publish an online magazine called
Netrunner-Mag. The distro is supported by Germany's Blue Systems, which has several KDE developers on its payroll. Verdict: Ubuntu-like features on a Kubuntu-based distro. Rating: 9/10
ZevenOS
The
ZevenOS project puts out two distros, both of which try and mimic the
look and feel of BeOS. The main distro, called ZevenOS is based on
Xubuntu and uses Xfce. It ships with all multimedia codecs and plugins,
and is meant for systems that lack the resources to power the latest
Linux desktop distros. Then there's the ZevenOS Neptune distro,
which is primarily based on Debian's Testing branch, but uses a newer
kernel and includes some extra drivers. It ships with the KDE 4 desktop,
again modified to resemble BeOS user interface. The distro is intended
for installation on removable media like USB sticks. Their website has a
bunch of videos that introduce both distros. Verdict: Ubuntu for fans of BeOS. Rating: 8/10
Light-weight distros
Slim packages that are ideal for powering old hardware
Zenwalk
The
Slackware-based mini-distro is available in many flavours. The standard
edition has Xfce, but others offer Gnome and Openbox desktops too. It
aims to deliver modern apps on older machines. Although
compatible with Slackware's binary packages, it uses its own Netpkg
package manager, which adds dependency resolution capabilities to TGZ
packages. Surprisingly, it has fully-fledged apps like Firefox and
LibreOffice. Advanced users will appreciate Zenwalk's capability to
easily convert a stock distro into a finely tuned LAMP or file sharing
server. Verdict: Fast distro with some modern apps and an old school appeal. Rating: 7/10
Slitaz
Uses
a mixture of the LXDE and OpenBox window manager, and is designed to
perform on hardware with only 256 MB of RAM. It also has a bunch of
custom tools like the SlitazPanel. It's a useful all-in-one control
panel which lets you administer all aspects of the distro. The
distro weighs less than 30MB and takes just 80MB of hard disk space. It
lacks an office suite and codecs, but these can be installed from its
repos. The distro includes some user documentation that you'll need to
refer to it before using the system. Verdict: Requires learning some new skills, but a good lightweight distro for experienced users. Rating: 6/10
Fuduntu
Originally
designed to churn desktop friendly versions of a stock Fedora release,
Fuduntu earns its name by its ambition to fit somewhere in-between
Fedora and Ubuntu. It includes features of modern distros while
maintaining the look and feel of a traditional desktop. This explains
why it's one of the few distros that still ship with the Gnome 2
desktop.True to its name the distro includes Ubuntu's Jockey
hardware detection tool that will also download proprietary drivers to
maximise performance. Fuduntu isn't shy of proprietary software and
bundles both the Steam client and the Netflix client, which it runs via
Wine. The distro features easy to use custom package management
and configuration tools, while installation is handled by Fedora's older
Anaconda installer, which is a good thing. Verdict: A strange mix of the traditional and the new, which works well on underpowered machines. Rating: 8/10
Slax
The
popular distro has recently woken from its four-year slumber. It is
based on Slackware and offers the KDE desktop. This distro takes a
modular approach to software. To add software you need to fetch
modules from the Slax Software Center, which offers only a few modules
such as AbiWord, Gnumeric, and Google Chrome. Despite its size, it
offers all the codecs, plugins and apps you'd need daily, sans an office
suite. The distro has no installer because it's meant for
running from a removable medium like USB or CD. If it detects a
writeable device, it will automatically save changes there. Verdict: Similar in design to Porteus, but currently lacks apps. Rating: 6/10
Sparky Linux
If
you wish to run the same distro on a new machine as well as an older
one, then SparkyLinux is for you. The distro is designed for both old
and new computers and ships with two customised desktops (Enlightenment
and LXDE) in the main edition and Openbox in the Ultra edition. It
uses a custom installer that calls on a number of other tools to setup
different aspects of the installation, such as Debian's debconf utility
to configure the keyboard and Gparted to partition the disk. It includes
both feature-rich software like VLC and lightweight ones such as
AbiWord. Verdict: Lightweight distro that'll perform well even on semiretired computers. Rating: 8/10
Porteus
This
Slackware-based distro out of Ireland is designed for installation on
removable mediums like USB disks and CDs, but can also be installed on
to a hard disk. It's unique feature is that it exists in a compressed
state and creates its file system on the fly. Besides the
pre-installed apps, additional software for the distro come in the form
of modules. Simply double-click to activate or deactivate a module. The
distro includes a package manager for fetching modules, which you can
also save on a local hard disk so that they survive reboots. The
distro is small because of its modular nature, and incredibly fast since
it runs from the RAM. It also hosts lots of usage documentation on its
website. Verdict: Ideal for installation on removable media, although using it effectively involves a learning curve. Rating: 7/10
Puppy
There's
no beating Puppy for out-of-the-box functionality. Bundling a plethora
of custom apps, there are apps to block website ads and do internet
telephony, a podcast grabber, a secure downloader, an audio player and
more. The distro doesn't include the flash plugin, but offers to fetch
and install it when you visit a flash powered website like YouTube. You
can also install the plugin from the distro's package manager. Puppy
ships with several multimedia players, including mplayer, to play all
sorts of media formats. First-time users might be intimidated by Puppy's
installer. It has no automatic partitioner and fires up Gparted for you
to format the disk. But each step in the installer is well documented
within the installer itself. Bootup and application launches are
blazingly fast, even for bulkier apps such as Mplayer and VLC, which can
be installed from the Puppy Package Manager. Packages are called pets,
and have a .pet extension. You can install packages for Puppy using its
custom Puppy Package Manager tool, and you can configure it to download
packages from other Puppy repositories. It has two independent
and very active forums, and loads of documentation on getting started.
It also bundles help documentation on several topics, such as working
with Microsoft Office files, how to add codecs, software and more. There
are several variants of Puppy Linux. WaryPuppy is the one best-suited
to older hardware and it's a mere 130MB. It offers two X servers - Xorg
and Xvesa - to cover a broad range of graphics hardware. Then there's
the RacyPuppy variant meant for newer hardware and SlackoPuppy based on
Slackware, plus PrecisePuppy based on the last Ubuntu LTS release. Verdict: Easily the best distro for hardware past its prime. Rating: 9/10
Bodhi Linux
An
elegant looking desktop with the pleasing and lightweight Enlightenment
window manager. Bodhi is probably the best integrated Enlightenment
distro. It has a number of profiles, from Bare, Laptop to Compositing
and Fancy, each of which are optimised for different types of hardware. Bodhi
ships with a small number of apps. You can add more apps using the
innovative web-based software installation tool called AppCenter. Using
this tool you can also download packages on any distro and then bring
them over to Bodhi for installation. Since it's based on Ubuntu,
it uses Ubuntu's easy-to-use installer, and also offers lots of end user
documentation on its website. Verdict: A minimal simple-to-use distro that's easy on the eyes. Rating: 9/10
aLinux
One
way for designing distros for ageing computers is to use older software
that don't gnaw at the limited resources. aLinux uses KDE 3.5 along
with the older Koffice suite. However it can play all sorts of
media, bundles all games and has Wine for running Windows apps. It even
includes proprietary software like Skype and Google Earth. Installation
is easy thanks to its custom installer which is easy to navigate. Verdict: An odd mix of old and new software that wouldn't work on every old machine. Rating: 6/10
CrunchBang Linux
This
Debian-based distribution ships with the lightweight Openbox window
manager. It's got Gnome Mplayer, Gimp, VLC and its web browser is
equipped with flash plugin. The distro has AbiWord and Gnumeric, and
scripts to install LibreOffice and Dropbox in its menus. It uses the
Synaptic package manager and a modified Debian installer. Verdict: Snappy Debian-based distro that works well on older machines, and can be easily fleshed out for relatively newer ones. Verdict: 8/10
DSL
If
you thought Puppy was esoteric, wait till you try DSL. This is another
popular distro that's recently woken from slumber. It uses the JWM
window manager, and upon booting launches a Getting Started guide to
orient users.Although the 50MB distro has most daily-use apps,
some like Firefox are so old that sites like YouTube will refuse to
load. You can add more apps using the distro's MyDSL system. While
it's meant to be a nomadic distro, it does have an installation wizard
based on knxhdinstall that'll copy the contents on to a 300MB partition.
Verdict: Because of its steep learning curve it's only recommended for people who need to fuse life into old hardware. Rating: 6/10
OantiX
The
goal of this lightweight distro is to provide a fully functional user
friendly desktop. It's based on Debian's Testing repo, and has a
relatively newer kernel compared to other distros with a similar
purpose. The distro comes with the Fluxbox window manager and can
play all sorts of media. Major desktop functions are managed by custom
tools like the antiX Control Center. It also has a custom package
manager and a custom installer which is fairly straightforward and
well-documented. There's also a tool to create a live installable
snapshot of the system. Verdict: Good zippy distro for old machines and users who find Puppy Linux too esoteric. Rating: 8/10
Tiny Core Linux
Weighing
in at just 12MB, this ships with only a terminal, a text editor and an
app launcher on top of the lightweight FLWM window manager. It has a
control panel to manage bootup services and configure the launcher, but
everything else needs to be pulled in from its package manager,
including the installer if you want to install Tiny Core on your hard
disk. The distro also has a CorePlus variant, which includes
additional drivers for wireless cards, a remastering tool and
internationalisation support. Finally, there's the 8MB Core edition,
which is pretty much just the base system with a command-line interface
to enable more experienced users to build their own system from the
ground up. Verdict: Will perform on the oldest of hardware, but setting it up requires time. Rating: 6/10
Beginner-friendly distros
Designed to reduce the cultural shock of moving to another OS
OS4
Another
Ubuntu and Xfce-based distro aimed at inexperienced Linux desktop
users. The one thing that sets OS4 apart from others with a similar
purpose is its unique desktop layout. The OS4 developers also claim to
support devices that aren't yet supported by the Ubuntu distro itself,
such as WebOS-based devices and Nook-based devices… and even the Kindle
Fire. The distro includes support for popular browser plugins,
lots of apps for playing and producing multimedia, and even tools for
software development. The distro's website has no forum boards and
negligible documentation, but you can buy support from the online Store,
which also retails desktops and laptops pre-installed with OS4. Verdict: An out-of-the-box distro with an unique interface, but little documentation. Rating: 7/10
LinuxLite
The
distro is based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS edition and features a nicely
dressed up Xfce desktop. LinuxLite has the regular apps such as
LibreOffice, Firefox, GIMP, and VLC, but being based on the LTS release,
most of the apps are outdated. Desktop users will appreciate the
inclusion of Flash plugin and codecs, and that the latest release also
bundles the Steam client. Verdict: Another dressed up Ubuntu-based distro that offers little else. Rating: 6/10
SolusOS
Developed
by the same developer who worked on the Debian edition of Linux Mint,
SolusOS is built on Debian Stable, but with some newer software. It
features a polished and tweaked Gnome desktop with window decorations, a
bottom panel and a Windows 7 style app launcher. It also includes
desktop productivity apps, plus Wine, PlayOnLinux and Minitube to watch
Youtube videos. The Gnome System Settings are neatly organised in
the SolusOS Control Center. After you've installed the distro you are
greeted with a five-step first-run wizard that scans the hardware and
installs proprietary drivers, and sets up the firewall. Using the Synaptic Package Manager you can install apps from the SolusOS or Debian backports repos. Verdict: Stable desktop distro that looks and performs great. Rating: 8/10
Ultimate Edition
This
distro doesn't take its name lightly. It uses a customised KDE desktop
with custom icons and pointers. But it takes this a bit too far - the
theme of using white text on a black background extends to LibreOffice
and doesn't make for a pleasant writing experience. Also the
distro has lots of apps for the same purpose, which is again a mixed
blessing. While it's fairly harmless to have a range of media players,
it's rather disorienting to have multiple application installers such as
the Ubuntu Software Center, Lubuntu Software Center and Muon Package
Manager. While the developers have spent so much time customising
the different aspects of the desktop, they haven't even slightly
modified the Kubuntu 12.04 installer, which even displays the Kubuntu
name. Verdict: A comprehensive distro like Knoppix that can confuse users with myriad of choices. Rating: 7/10
Pear Linux
This
Ubuntu-based distro from France comes with a custom user interface
that'll appeal to Mac users. It sports the Gnome Shell customised to
resemble OS X, and even has a Mac OS X-style dockbar. The distro has
hot-corners to display a customised overview, and for switching virtual
desktops. Pear Linux borrows several tools such as the panel and
the launcher from the Elementary OS project. It has out-of-the-box
support for popular multimedia codecs, and there's also a Launch Me
First icon on the desktop that does some post-installation tasks, such
as updating the repository and set up the Pear Appstore, which is
similar to the Ubuntu Software Center. Verdict: Wonderfully cloaked distro to ease OS X users into Linux. Rating: 9/10
Parsix
One
of the nice things about this distro is its attractive artwork and
desktop themes. Parsix is based on Debian Testing, and offers the latest
stable Gnome release. Major versions are released every six months. The
beginner-friendly distro includes codecs and plugins, as well as the
VLC player to handle all sorts of multimedia. The distro has a
simple installer that gets the job done. It uses PackageKit for Gnome
for managing packages. Parsix follows the Debian Security Advisories,
and quickly provides security updated packages. You can also install
proprietary apps from its official repos, which also provide packages
from Debian's Testing repo. Verdict: A fixed release cycle Debian-based distro that's just brimming with apps. Rating: 9/10
Zorin
With
its Gnome desktop tweaked to resemble the Windows 7 desktop, this will
appeal to Windows users. It's available in several editions. The
Core edition is free, while others like Multimedia, Gaming, Business,
and Ultimate editions cost between 7 and 18 Euros. Zorin includes a
look-changer app which lets you select which proprietary OS you'd like
to mimic. It's based on Ubuntu and uses the distro's installer. The distro also comes with Wine to run Windows software. Verdict: Ubuntu made to look like Windows 7, if that's your cup of tea. Rating: 8/10
Distros for advanced users
For Linux connoisseurs who want complete control over their components
Debian
Still
considered to be the best distro for rolling out servers, Debian has
also made inroads into the desktop. It's flexible and can be configured
as a desktop, or as a web/mail/file server. With its reliance on
older but thoroughly tested stable packages, it's extremely secure and
can run on many different architectures. It ships with no proprietary
drivers or codecs, but being one of the oldest and most popular Linux
distros has its advantages. Almost every software vendor provides
prepackaged binaries for Debian, so installing stuff is a breeze. Verdict: Delivers a perfectly stable system suitable for servers. Rating: 7/10
CentOS
This
RHEL derivative is a favourite for admins who prefer the RPM package
management system, and provides all you'd expect in an enterprise class
distro. While ideal for setting up servers because it bundles Apache,
MySQL, PHP, Perl and various server centric software, there's little in
this distro for everyday or hobbyist and advanced Linux users. In
comparison, its biggest competitor, Debian, is a general purpose distro
that's equally at ease on the home desktop or serving web pages. Verdict: Nearly superseded by alternatives like Scientific Linux. Rating: 7/10
Slackware
Offering
packages that are nearly identical to their upstream releases,
Slackware strives to provide the most Unix-like Linux distro possible.
The distro allows the user great control during installation, letting
you decide what packages and libraries to install. One of the
oldest Linux distros, Slackware is extremely stable and most suited for
servers. It doesn't have any graphical system administration tools and
package management is done via the command-line, although there are
ncurses based tools with limited functionality for some tasks. Skill with the command-line can make working with it an absolute joy. Verdict: Stable, secure and classic. Perfect for servers and skilled users. Rating: 8/10
Gentoo
With
Gentoo, users get a pervasive control in building the system from the
grounds up. Along with Arch, Gentoo is one of the most configurable
distros, and expects you to compile the kernel after tweaking it
according to your needs during the installation. The distro packs
an awesome package management system in Portage. Unlike most other
distros, Gentoo installs can take between several hours to many days,
depending on the number of packages you wish to install, since they are
fetched from the Internet. If you've never used it before,
there's a steep learning curve, and you're introduced to Linux internals
and several new technologies native to Gentoo, such as the USE flags
system. Derivatives like Funtoo can be a good starting point for those
unfamiliar with or unwilling to commit themselves to the hardship of
Gentoo. Verdict: Gentoo loses out to Arch because of its lengthy install time and unfamiliar concepts like USE flags. Rating: 9/10
Arch
The
runner-up in last issue's roundup of distros for power users, Arch is
one of the most loved Linux distros for advanced users. It's highly
configurable, with a rolling release cycle that doesn't provide any
default packages. The installation can take a long time depending on the
number of packages you wish to install - which are all downloaded off
the internet. The biggest ratings booster for Arch is its package
management tool Pacman. The installation itself will introduce you to a
range of configuration files that must be set by hand. Everything from
partitioning to installing the bootloader must be done manually. Arch has inspired several distros, each with its own distinct features.
Try Cinnarch if you want all the power of Arch combined with Cinnamon. Verdict: Faster to setup than Gentoo, and more geek fun than any other distro. Rating: 10/10
Advanced lightweights
Crux
Available
only for the x86-64 architecture, this source based distro uses the
ports system for package management and builds on the KISS formula,
favouring simplicity over automation. It sports a user-driven
non-graphical installer and expects you to compile the kernel as part of
the installation like Gentoo. Verdict: A wonderful distro for power users that only supports the 64-bit architecture. Rating: 9/10
Frugalware
Originally
based on Slackware, Frugalware has since shed any remnants of its past.
Aimed at intermediate or advanced users familiar with the command-line,
it offers the choice of a command-line or graphical installation. The
DVD is brimming with packages and you can easily configure it as a
server. Verdict: Good distro if you want all the features of Arch. Rating: 8/10
Foresight Linux
The
only thing here to interest advanced users is its Conary package
management system. Unlike other similar tools, Conary only updates
specific files that need to be updated, saving time and bandwidth. With
Conary you can also rollback or undo any update with a single command. Verdict: Doesn't offer much to the advanced user except Conary. Rating: 7/10 Source: http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/best-linux-distro-five-we-recommend-1090058
