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TheTop11BestLinuxDistrosfor2015
Monday,16February201511:12 SwapnilBhartiya |
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ElementaryOSisthemostbeautifulLinuxbaseddistro.

Linuxisomnipresent,evenifyoudon'trealizeit.IhavebeenusingLinuxasmyonlyOSsince2005and
witheverypassingyearIcometorealizethatithasmuchmoretoofferthanIinitially,backin2005,
understood.Thereissomethingforeveryone.Inthisarticle,IhavepickedsomeofthebestLinuxdistrosto
helpyougetthejobdone.

Themostbeautifuldistro:elementaryOS
ThereistherenodoubtelementaryOSisthemostbeautifulLinuxbaseddistro.Thereasonissimple:Itis
beingdevelopedbysomeofthegreatdesignersactiveintheopensourceworld,sotheyhavetakenthe
designtoeverynookandcornerofthedistro.
Inordertoprovideaconsistentexperienceacrosscoreapps(suchasbrowserortexteditor),theyhave
eithercreatedtheirownapplicationsorpickedtheoneswhichfitneatlyintotheirowndesignphilosophy
forexampletheyareusingMidoriinsteadofFirefoxorChrome.
Nowthatdoesposesomechallengesasthisbrowserwon'tbeabletoofferthefeaturesthatChromeor
Firefoxoffersthankstoextensionsandplugins.
ElementaryOSisclearlyinspiredbyMacOSXastheyhaveadock,toppanelandapplicationshave
buttonsatleftsidethegreythemealsoremindedmeofmyMacbook.
It'saneatOStotry,whichlooksaestheticallygreatanddoesworkoutofthebox.

Bestdesktopdistro:openSUSE
Ispendamajorityofmyworklifeonmydesktopit'sapowerfulmachinecapableofdoingstufflikevideo
encoding,imageeditingandregularwriting.
IfoundopenSUSEtobethemostpolished,matureandprofessionaldistroaround.Theytakeextrapainto
integratethechosendesktopenvironmentwiththerestoftheOS,soyougetanativeexperience.

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IfoundopenSUSEtobethemostpolished,matureandprofessionaldistroaround.

openSUSEhasmadeitextremelyeasytoinstallthirdpartysoftwarethroughtheir'OneClickInstall'from
software.opensuse.org(IfounditeasierthanmanuallyaddingPPAsinUbuntu).Theyhaveahuge
repositoryofsoftwareandyouarelikelytofindyoursoftwareforopenSUSE.
openSUSEhasagemofatoolcalledYaSTit'slikea'commandcenter'oftheentirePCandyoucan
controlalmosteveryaspectofit.
openSUSEalsomakesitextremelyeasytoinstallmultipledesktopenvironmentsincludingLXDE,
Enlightenment,Gnome,Mate,KDE,andXfce,onthesamesystemsidebysidethroughYaST.

LatestSoftwareNews
Q&AwithKritaProjectLeadBoudewijnRempt
DistributionRelease:BlackLabLinux6.5SR1
NoobsLabOffersAmazingMacOSXTransformationPack
TutorialforUbuntu15.04
OneOfIntel'sNewestLinuxGraphicsDevelopersIsAFormer

Bestdistroforpersonalserver:Debian

UbuntuDev

Ifyouarerunningyourownserverforyourownuse,Debianisthedistrotogofor.Debianisknownforits

FacebooktoReleaseItsOwnSearchEngine

rocksolidfoundationnothingcouldpossiblygowrongonaDebianserver.Thenit'sextremelyeasyto
manageaDebiansystemandaplethoraofinformationisavailablethroughforums.

Bestlaptopdistro:UbuntuMATE
Laptops,unlikedesktopPCsmaynotbethatmightywhenitcomestohardwareandtherearepossibilities
ofproprietaryhardware,that'swhereUbuntuMATEdoesthejobthebest.BasedonUbuntu,MATEmakes
itextremelyeasytodealwithanyproprietaryhardware.

MATEmakesitextremelyeasytodealwithanyproprietaryhardware.

Inaddition,MATEoffersagreatbalancebetweenperformanceandusingresourcesefficiently.The
interfaceofMATEisfriendly,nolearningcurve,andlooksextremelypolishedonlaptops.
MATEbelievesinusingfewerresourcesleavingthemforyourapplications,whichalsotranslatesinto
betterbatterylife.

Themostcustomizabledistro:ArchLinux
ArchLinuxisthebestdistributionwhenitcomestopickingsomethingwhichistotallyunderauser's
control,wherethedistroplaysthereloadofa'distributor'withoutaddingitsownpatchestoupstream
projects.
WhenauserinstallsArch,theyareactuallybuildingtheirentireOSbrickbybrickandchooseonlythose
componentstheyneed,keepingitsleekandoptimizedforthejobofcourseitdoesrequireausertobe
fullycapableofmanagingLinuxdistros.
Sinceit'sarollingreleasedistro,Icallit'shootandforget'onceyouinstallArchLinuxyoudon'thaveto
'upgrade'theentireOSeverysixmonths.LikeChromeOS,yoursystemisalwaysuptodatejustkeepthe
'pacmanSyu'fireburning.

ArchLinuxisthebestdistributionwhenitcomestopickingsomethingwhichistotallyunderauser'scontrol.

ThebestdistroforRaspberryPi:SnappyUbuntuCore
RaspbianistheundisputedleaderonRaspberryPis,howevertherecentlyannouncedSnappyCore
Ubuntu,whichrunsonthelatestRaspberryPi2isagamechanger.Withtheir'ChromeOS'likeupdates,a
userwillneverhavetoworryaboutkeepingtheirOS
updated.

Thebestdistroforkids:Sugar
SugarisaFedorabasedLinuxdistroaimedateducators.
WhiletherearesomeotherLinuxdistrosforkids,Ipicked
Sugarbecauseitisnotjustacollectionofsoftwarefor
kids,it'sactuallybackedbyateamwhosesolegoalisto
createaplatformforeducation.Theprojectwasa
collaborationbetweenTheOneLaptopPerChild,
Pentagram,andRedHat.

SugarisaFedorabasedLinuxdistroaimedat
educators.

Thebestdistroforgaming:SteamOS
SteamOSwasdesignedasValveSoftware'sanswertoWindowsforPCgaming.TheycreatedthisOS
fromscratchwithgaminginmind.TheOSisbasedonDebianandoffersgreatsupportforoptimizingyour
GPUforoptimalgameperformance.
Valveisknownfortakingtheirtimetobakethesoftwarebeforereleasingitpublicly,sotheOSisstillin
betastagebecausethingsmaybreak.
TheonlyflipsideofusingSteamOScomparedtosomegenericLinux,suchasArchLinux,isthatSteam
OSwillformattheentiredrive,thereisnooptiontochoosethepartitiononwhichyouwanttoinstallSteam
OS.

Thebestdistroforprivacy:Tails
Weareheadingtowardsanagewhereourdemocraticallyelectedgovernments(intheUSandsome
Europeancountries)arebecomingmoreandmoresecretiveandcitizensarelosingalloftheirprivacy
rights.Intheageofcompaniesminingourdataandtrackingouronlineactivitiesmaintainingprivacyis
becomingagameofchessyouhavetostayonestepahead.
Tails(TheAmnesicIncognitoLiveSystem)isthebestdistroyoucangettomaintainprivacyand
anonymity.TheOSforcesallconnectiontoberoutedviaTorandalldirectconnectionsareblocked.Since
theOSisdesignedtorunasaLiveCDthereareno'traces'leftontheharddrive.
Tailsdoesn'tneedanyfurtherrecommendation,accordingtoaDerSpiegelarticletheNSAitselfdeclared
ita'majorthreat'toitsmission.That'sthebestendorsementofTailsyoucangetinthe21stcentury.

Thebestdistroforaudioandvideoproduction
Linuxdoesn'thaveanyoftheconsumergradeaudiovideoeditingsoftware,evenifHollywoodprettymuch
runsonLinux.Thatsaidtherearemanydistrostargetedataudio/videoproduction.Whatsetsthesedistros
apartfromothersisthattheyusedifferentcomponentsthanthosefoundontraditionaldesktops.These
distrosusearealtimeorlowlatencyLinuxkernaloptimizedtohandleheavyaudioandvideowork.They
alsodon'ttouchPulseAudio,whichisfinefordesktopbutnotsuitableforaudio/videoproduction.Instead
ofPulseAudiotheyuseJACK.
TwoofthemostreputabledistrosforthistaskareKXStudioandAVLinux.Thesedistrosarealsoknownfor
beingextremelylightweight,forobviousreasonstheydon'twanttoconsumeyourresourcestheykeep
theresourcesfreeforyourproductionwork.Tokeepsystemresourcesfreethesedistrosarepickyabout
theirdesktopenvironmentswhileAVLinuxusesthelightweightLXDE,KXStudiousesanaggressively
strippeddownversionofKDE.

Thebestdistroforenterprise:SUSELinux&RedHat
RedHatandSUSEarethetwogiantsoftheLinuxworldthathavecontributedheavilytoamajorityofopen
sourceprojects,includingtheLinuxkernelitself.RedHathasshownprudenceandistransformingitself
fromaclientservercompanytoamobilecloudcompany.WhileSUSEmaybestrugglingwithgetting
movedaroundasitsownerchange(fromNoveltoAttachmatetoMicroFocus),RedHatisstrengtheningits

positionthroughacquisition(suchasFeedHenry)andworkingcloselywithotheremergingplatformssuch
asOpenStack.
WhileRedHatwasthefirstcompanytoregisteroverabilliondollarsinrevenuethrough'pure'open
sourceproducts,SUSEseemedtobestrugglingforsurvivalunderNovell.TheNetWaremakerwassplit
(justlikeSunMicrosystems)betweentheirownproprietarysolutionswhichwerecompetingwithSUSE's
opensourcesolutions.WhileSUSE'sLinuxmarketwasgrowingNetWarewasbecomingaliability.When
AttachmateboughtNovelltheyseparatedSUSELinuxfromNovell,makingthemanindependentdivision
tobetterfocusontheLinuxmarket.
NowSUSEisinnewhandsandwehopethatthefocuswillbemoreontheLinuxsidewhichisagrowing
market.
BothSUSEandRedHatareknownforthebestofthebreedtalentandextremelyprofessionalsupport
systemforcustomers.Eveniftheirsalesteamscompetewitheachothertograbcustomerstheir
developersworktogethertocreateandstrengthenthebackboneoftheLinuxempire.

Thebestdistroforoldhardware:Lubuntu
Allofushaveoldhardwareitisnotwaste.Linuxcanbreathenewlifeintothishardware,youcanuseitas
acommonPCforthefamily,ordonatetotheneedy.Themilliondollarquestionforthisoldhardwareis:
WhichOSwillworkbetteronit?TheanswerissimplyanydistrowithandLDXEdesktopenvironment.
Personally,IuseArchLinuxonsuchhardwarewithLXDEslappedontopofit,butArchcanbeabittricky
foranaverageusersothebestdistrothatyoucangetisLubuntu.
Lubuntu,thankstoitsUbuntubasewillworkfineonyourolderhardware.SincethereareLTSversionof
Lubuntuyoucaninstall14.04onamachineanditwillgetsupportfor3yearsnoneedtoupgradeitevery
sixmonths.Ifyourhardwareisinservicethenextthreeyearsyoucaneasilyupgradetothenextversion
withoutreformattingyoursystem.
Herewe'velookedatLinuxdistrosthattakecareofalmosteverycomputingneedwemayhave.Thereis
somethingforeveryoneandthat'snotusingsome"onesizemayfitall"solution.Thesedistrosare
optimizedforaparticulartask.
Goaheadmakeyourchoice.It'sanopenworld.

SwapnilBhartiya

Comments

SteveDupuis:

17Feb

ThanksSwapnilVerygoodarticle.IenjoyyourenthusiasmabouttheLinux
opensourceworldandlookforwardtoyourwriting.IrunArch/XFCEonmyold
hardware,andSparkyLinuxonmybiggermachines.TakealookatSparkyItswell
designed,isarollingbasedonDebiantesting/sidandhassomeoftheirown
homegrownadminutilitiesadded.Itissolidandwellsupported.Regards,Steve
DupuisOttawaCanada

Report

michelfilion:

Reply

17Feb

GreatlistbutIwould'veincludedPuppyLinux(andderivatives)forthebest
communitydistro.Ican'tcounthowmanytimesthislittlemarvelasbeenof
use..especiallyreinstallingGRUB.Also,alwaysbeingROOTmeansneverhavingto
sayyesorno.MichelFilion,MorinHeights,Quebec,Canada

Report

RodrigoBash:

Reply

18Feb

Thanksbuddy...reallygoodarticle......BestRegardfromManaus/AMBrazil

Report

Travis:

Reply

18Feb

Um,what?NoLinuxMint?Justhowisn'ttheCinnamonDesktopEnvironmentnot
"beautiful?"Justhowisitnotgoodfordesktopsorlaptops?I'mstunnedthatLinux
Mintisn'tmentioned.

Report

Reply

JohnWebb:

19Feb

Mintisnotlovedbyeveryoneforit'slooks.Mintishighlycompetentand
easilyoneofthetopthreedistro'sbutformeitisquiteugly(intheformit
comesinonafteritsinstall).Elementaryislightyearsaheadofitwhenit
comeslooks.

Report

Reply

AriTorres:

03Apr

Isecondthat,LinuxMintMateadnCinnamonareverygooddistros
buttheirlooksisUGLYmaybeClementwilllistenonedayand
adoptsUbuntuThemesafterallMintowesawholelottoUbuntu:)I
alsoagreethatElementarylooksgoodbutisquitebuggyasofright
nowandsomeofthemostusefulappswon'tevenruninitand
actuallybreaksthesystemdown,pleaseshoottheguywho
introducedSnapinelementary.Daniel,doyouneedapush?See
Elementaryin2020

Report

Reply

paul:

24Feb

LinuxMint17,1mateversionsuperbbestoftherestbyalongway

Report

George:

Reply

21Mar

Paul,Iagreewithyou.AftertestingandtryingoutawholelotofLinux
distros,manyofwhomarelistedheretoo,IfindtheLinuxMintdistros
themosteasiesttoworkwith.Liketheysay,"Mintjustworks!"I'm
sure,though,thatSwapnilwouldhavehisreasonsfornotputting
Mintonthelist.Butintheend,Iguess,itisapersonalchoice.There
isnosingleLinuxdistrothatsuit'severybody'sneeds.However,
lookingatthedownloadstrackerontheDistrowatchwebsite,it
appearsasifLinuxMintisdefinitelythemostlikedLinuxdistro.

Report

Je:

Reply

7daysago

IwouldliketoseeaMintwithyumasitbaserepomanager.I
likeyumbutCentOS7isntdoingitforme.

Report

Oogway:

Reply

01Mar

Dependsonpersonalfeelings.FormeelementaryOSisalmostasuglyas
OSX,AndCinnamonMintoveranyotherdistrosbyitslookandfunctionality.

Report

Tariq:

Reply

04Apr

NottoforgetthefactthatLMis'the'mostwidelyusedone.Itisamazinghow
sometimestheauthorshavetheirheadinthesand.Hemightaswellname
someLinuxOSTROasthebestofeverythingorsomething.

Report

amjjawad:

Reply

18Feb

Lubuntuisverygoodsystembutitisnotthebestchoicesadlyforveryold
machines.ThatiswhyToriOShasbeenfounded(torios.net)whichismuchlighter
thanLubuntuandbydefault,supportsNONPAEmachines.Nottomention,itdoes
notusethesameinstallerthatLubuntuisusingsoitdoesnotneedbiggerRAMto
beinstalled.ItisbuiltfromUbuntuMiniISOandrequires60MBRAMwhenidle.
We'resoclosetoreleaseitanditisunderveryheavydevelopmentatthisvery
momentbutwearesoclose:)

Report

Robbothewonderllama...:

Reply

18Feb

Kindalookslikeenoughcategoriestomakesureeveryonegetsagong...but
seriously,Redhatdoesn'tbelonganywhereonthatlist...

Report

Reply

LizziSwane:

18Feb

seriously?Ubuntumate?MatehasbeendevelopedbyLinuxMintyeayougiveall
thecredittoUbuntuforcopyingtheirworkandLinuxMintMateisthebetterversion

Report

Reply

JoshMason:

18Feb

Exceptit'snotcopyingwhenyourDEismadeavailableforeveryoneelse.

Report

Reply

Scott:

18Feb

Iagreethatteammintdeservesanodonthislist,buttocomplain
aboutUbuntucopyingMintisjustcomical,consideringthatMintisan
Ubuntuderivative.Havingsaidthat,Lxleprobablyshouldhaveanod
overlubuntu

Report

Reply

KirkM:

18Feb

Actually,MATEwasnotdevelopedbyLinuxMint,itwasandstillisan
independentprojectthatexistsoutsideofanyLinuxdistribution.Clement
Lefebvre(leaddeveloperofLinuxMint)wasinvolvedwithit'sdevelopment
intheearlydays(asamemberoftheMATETeam)butisnolongerinvolved.

Report

KirkM:

Reply

18Feb

Actually,MATEwasnotdevelopedbyLinuxMint,itwasandstillisan
independentprojectthatexistsoutsideofanyLinuxdistribution.Clement
Lefebvre(leaddeveloperofLinuxMint)wasinvolvedwithit'sdevelopment
intheearlydays(asamemberoftheMATETeam)butisnolongerinvolved.

Report

KirkM:

Reply

18Feb

Sorryaboutthedoublecomment.Ihitthe"Postcomment"buttonand
nothinghappened.Idisabledmyadblockerandtriedagain.Ihadto
refreshthepageseveraltimesbeforebothcommentsshowedup.

Report

DeekshithAllamaneni:

Reply

21Feb

Thisisfunny!DoyouknowthatLinuxmintisjustamakeupoverUbuntu?If
therewasnoUbuntu,thereisnoLinuxMint.

Report

KirkM:

Reply

21Feb

No,LinuxMintisnotjustmakeupoverUbuntu.NomorethanUbuntu
isjustmakeupoverDebian.I'mactuallysomewhatsurprisedthatthat
oldfallacyisstillaround.It'strueenoughthatiftherewerenoUbuntu
therewouldbenoLinuxMintbutthat'sasfarasitgoes.LinuxMintis
almostasfarremovedfromUbuntuasUbuntuisfromDebian.ifyou
reallywanttoknowwhythisisthenpostaquestionontheLinuxMint
forums.You'llfindthemajorityofmembersaswellasthedevelopers
whofrequenttheforums,tobeobjectiveandimpartialevenabout
theirowndistribution.

Report

Rizzo:

Reply

01Mar

LastIcheckedUbuntuwasbasedonDebian.Also,LinuxMintnow
hasbothUbuntu(basedonDebian)andstraightDebianbased
versions.

Report

Reply

Leo:

16Mar

MatewasdevelopedbyaArchLinuxdeveloperI'mtold.CinnamonisMint's
baby.

Report

Reply

PedroKoblitz:

18Feb

Iamskepticofthisarticle.IalwaysusedUbuntu.Onmyjobtheymademeuse
OpenSUSE.AtfirstIwasthinkingIdidnotlikeitbecauseIwasntusedtoit.Ilikethe
GUIenv,butafter3yearsIamconvinceditreallysucksoneveryotherlevel.
Enterpriseeditionsucksevenmore.

Report

MichaelGaringarao:

Reply

18Feb

greatreview..totallyagreedineveryaspect/category..

Report

Hunkah:

Reply

18Feb

IbelievethatLinuxonlyhastworealcamps.RPMvsDEB.Withinthosetwocamps
are(RedHat,CentOS,Fedora)vs(Debian,Mint)Thepeoplewiththemoneyand
financialsupportareintheRPMcampandthedirtyhackersareintheDEBcamp.
(BydirtyImeanthebeardedcavedwellers).WithRedHat,yougetthemoneyand
support,soIifyou'reabusiness,followthemoney.Ifyouwanttostartaprojectthat
youhopewillturnintoanenterpriseproject,thenstartwhereyouwanttoendup
RPM.Ifyou'reanythingelse...juststickwithMint,becausetheyseemtoknowtheir
audience.LetDebiancavedwellersdotheirthinganddon'tpokethemwithsticks.

Report

JoshMason:

Reply

18Feb

ItisworthnotingthatCanonicalofferstheoptionofapaidsupportcontract
forUbuntu,asfarastheDEBcampisconcerned.

Report

Hunkah:

Reply

18Feb

ThereisahugedifferencebetweenacompanythatisJUSTinthe
gameforprofit,andonethathasanopensourceagenda.RedHat,
contributesalmosteverythingitcreatesbackintotheopensource
pool.Weallgettobenefitfromitandgrowfromit.Yearafteryear
RedHathasbeenthetopopensourcecontributingcompanyboth
financiallyandwithcode.Canonical/Ubuntuishardlyseen.Ifweall
startedusingUbuntu,theopensourceriverwoulddryuptoamere
trickle.IwouldrathersupportRedHatoroneofitschildrenprojects
andseethewholeopensourceecosystemthrive.WhichiswhyI
didn'tmentionUbuntu.

Report

AdamStroud:

Reply

10Apr

Howdoyoufigure?Youcaneasilygetthesourcecodefor
theCanonicaldevelopedbitsofUbuntu.Ubuntuisopen
source.Period.Alwayshasbeen.Yourargumentisbaseless,
sir.

Report

carelbosch:
ubuntuandcanonicalsuckslikenothingon
earth.shuttleworthiskillingit

Reply

12Apr

Report

Reply

RonG:

18Feb

IjustwonderwhatyouwouldthinktheSlackwareuserslooklike...LOL

Report

Reply

JoshMason:

18Feb

I'dkindaputArchandGentooatatieformostcustomizabledistro,Archforthe
abilitytosetyourinstallupexactlyhowyouwantitsetup,whichGentooalsogives
installerstheoptionofdoing,howeverIwouldincludeGentoointhatnominationas
wellfortheabilitytooptimizeyourinstallspecificallyforyourhardwareatthesource
code,ifyouhavetheknowhowtocompileacustomkernelforyourhardware,for
example,andyouhavethepatienceaswell.

Report

Reply

JoshMason:

18Feb

Andonemorething,consideringtheinfightinggoingonwithintheDebian
community,andthatDebianStable'spackagesareancientevenforserver
use,I'dpreferusingCentOSforapersonalserverifIwerelookingforarock
forthatpurpose,mainlyasCent7'spackagesareslightlynewerthanDebian
Stable's,andbecauseofitbeingliterallyrebadgedRHEL,ithasthe
assuranceofknowingthatpeoplearepaidtodevelopitsupstream,and
haveahuuuugereptoupkeepintheenterpriseworld,ofwhichthebenefits
wouldbereapedbyCentOSorSLusers.

Report

Reply

Bush:

01Mar

that'swhatDebianbackportsarefor.Iuseafewpackagesfrom
backportslikesystemdandthekernel.

Report

Reply

Algutiz:

18Feb

LinuxMintisthebestforlaptops,desktops.:)

Report

Reply

Earl:

18Feb

yesbetterthanSuseandUbuntuMate.Debianforpersonalserver?Iwould
runNASAonDebianandeverystockmarketifitwasmychoice.howeverits
justthisguyopinion.

Report

Reply

Ken:

18Feb

IfIamnotmistaken,whereisthebestdistroforpenetrationtestingorsecurity
defense(firewall)?

Report

RandyGG:

Reply

18Feb

Kali..

Report

Svendus:

Reply

18Feb

TotallyFishyhehasmissedLinuxMintCinnamon,Mate,XfceandKDE
http://www.linuxmint.com/

Report

Reply

sonority:

18Feb

"Linuxdoesn'thaveanyoftheconsumergradeaudiovideoeditingsoftware"???
WhataboutLightworks,ArdourandBitwigStudio?Runsgreatonxubuntu!

Report

Reply

volly:

18Feb

Verygoodattemptatkeepingthisshortandsweet,butIamafraid,likemostpeople
here,Idonotthinkthatyoudidjusticetowhatisreallyotthereandhaveinnoway
reallyspentenoughtimeandrealeffortingettingtothereallistofthebestdisrosfor
2015.Let'scallthislist,withallduerespect,inyouropinionandthosewhoreally
havenotbeenaroundlinuxinallthatdepthatall.Let'shopesomeonewillcomeup
withabettermoreaccuratelistfor2015,giventhatweareonlyinFebruaryofthis
year.Respectfullysaid........butinmyview,averymediocreattempttothereallist.

Report

Reply

rustguard:

18Mar

"whileAVLinuxusesthelightweightLXDE"Youmayberight.Someone
shouldpointoutthatAVLinuxusestheXfcedesktop.Iwouldbemore
comfortablewithalistlikethisifthetestingandjudgingprocesswasalluded
to.

Report

Reply

Jeroen:

18Feb

WhatdistrowilworkbestonaChromebook?

Report

Reply

Typo:

19Feb

IthoughtthedefaultChromeOSisagoodchoiceforChromebook.

Report

Reply

ColinKing:

18Feb

IreallywanttodebunkthemyththatCanonicaldoesnotproduceopensource
softwarethatnobodyelseuses.Justoneofmyprojectsisbeingusedbyafairfew
otheropensourcecompaniesandisnotjusta"Canonicalonly"contributorproject.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/Reference/fwtsandhowaboutsomeoftheprojects
here:https://qa.debian.org/developer.php?login=colin.king@canonical.comjust
namejustafewmore.

Report

Reply

Hunkah:

18Feb

Statistically.RedHathasbeenthetopcontributor.Ubuntubarelymakesit
onthegrid.Ifyou'reapartofUbuntuandyou'recontributing,thenyou'rethe
guythatgetsUbuntuonthegridatall.Goodforyou:)

Report

Reply

Nick:

18Feb

OKOKYoutalkedmeintoarun@OpenSUSE!:)

Report

Reply

NyilasMISY:

18Feb

bestlaptop/desktopdistro::Fedora(withmatedesktopenvironment):)best
personalserver::centosFedoraisalsoverygoodforgaming,justinstallsteam(I'm
notagamer!)Fedoraisalmosthasthelatestversionsofapplications/packages
FedorahasJamKDEspinformusiceditindg(andmaybegoodforvideoediting),
thatisnotmydesk..butonmateyoumayinstallallofthemandyouhaveKDENlive,
avidemux,devede,pitivi,openshot,lmms,....foraudio/videoeditingthereis
ubuntu'svariant,ubuntustudio,asIknowthathasxfcede....forme,Fedoraisthe
winner:)

Report

AlvaroCervantes:

Reply

18Feb

DIdLinuxcopiedAppleorApplecopiedLinuxonthedesktopstyle(dock?I
rememberDreamlinuxhaditsdesktopthemebackin2007,butIdon'tremember
whenAppleintroducedtheirs(maybebackin2002?).

Report

NyilasMISY:

Reply

18Feb

....inthisworldeverybodycopiesfromeverybodyeverybodystealsfrom
everybody....

Report

Reply

AC:

20Apr

Everyone,includingApple,copiedthedockfromNeXT.(SoApple,infact,
copiedfromthemselves.)

Report

Joe:

Reply

18Feb

IsthatUNITYonOpenSuse??LOL..looksnicetho.

Report

JoshMason:

Reply

18Feb

Nope,that'sGNOMEShell.

Report

claudiu.sergentu:

Reply

18Feb

SayingthatMateUbuntuisatopdistroistotallyunfair.ForthefirsttimeMatehas
benpromotedbytheMintcommunityandforsureLinuxMintdoesitbetterthan
Ubuntu.ThemostsuiteddistroforalaptopismaybeArch(withmanyriskstaken),
sinceUbuntu+unityistoooslow.

Report

Eperbab:

Reply

18Feb

Thebestdistroforoldhardware:AntiXrunscirclesaroundlubuntu.The32bit
editionuses~42MBRAM.AnditisDebianbased.Noneedtoupgradetwicea
year.

Report

Bob:

Reply

18Feb

SurprisednomentionofSabayonforPersonaldesktop,andOracleforbusiness
desktop

Report

amjjawad:

Reply

18Feb

Itisverygoodsystem.ItriedtoinstallitonmyP2with64MBRAMbutitnever
worked.However,Ubuntubasedsystemworked.Also,AntiXhassomeproblems
withdrivers,etc.IhavestartedmyownprojecttoofferFULLfeaturesOSwith60MB
RAMwhenidleanditiscalledToriOS(torios.net).Afterall,itisallabout
preferencesandnothingisperfect:)

Report

Typo:

Reply

19Feb

Thatsoundprettylightandawesome!:DIgotaPCthatveryold,evenLubuntu
cannotinstalledinit(becauseit'sdon'tsupportPAEsystem?)..doesToriOScanbe

installedinaPCthatisnotamodernwithoutPAEsystem?Itrytogoto
www.torios.netThatsoundprettygoodatthemainpagewhenreadingthespecs
andthefeaturesofToriOS.Sadly,Ican'tdownloadtheisoyet?Whentheactual
releasedateactually?

Report

Reply

DanC:

19Feb

Youcanmanuallyadd"forcepae"totheendofthebootoptionsstringand
installLubuntuonanonPAEsystem.

Report

Reply

Sean:

19Feb

whyisgentoonotonthislist?itshouldbeundercustomizabledistros,aswellas
servers.

Report

Reply

Pradeep:

19Feb

Goodpost.Reallyhelpfulforanyonetochoosetheoswhichsuitstheirneedsand
hardwaresupport.

Report

Reply

Lus:

19Feb

Sorrybutyouforgorlinuxmint.

Report

Reply

ali:

22Feb

OpensusearebadestdistroinmyhistoryItestedsomedistrofedoraarch
parabola(thebest)ubuntuButopensuseisreallybadonkde....

Report

Reply

stf:

11Mar

badonKDE?face_palm

Report

Reply

Adonis:

24Feb

Idon'tknowwhat'smoresinful:consideringCentOSequivalenttoRedHat(although
itisnotsaid),ornotmentionningitatall!

Report

Reply

Allen:

24Feb

IthinkthebestforoldercomputerslikeP42.8GhzcomputersisPointlinuxyou
havelongtermsupport.AllthebenefitsofUnuntuhalftheprocessorpowerneeded.
IfyouhaveantiquecomputersthenPuppylinux.IwouldlovetotryOpenSuseonmy
desktopathomeIuseUbuntuonit.90%ofthetimeIonlyuseXBMCKODI,
Handbrake,MakeMKVdoesitworksameorbetteronOpenSuse?

Report

Reply

Aaron:

24Feb

IhaveusedLinuxMint,andnowIuseZorinOS.Surprisedthatneithergota
mention.

Report

rezan:
+1forzorinos

Reply

05Apr

Report

Reply

AgostinhoMatos:

24Feb

Trustingourprivacyorsecuritytothirdpartiesmaynotbeagoodidea.TORnetwork
hasalreadybeenhacked,soIdon'tthinkusingTaildistromaybenotthebestidea
concerningprivacy.

Report

Reply

ShaunHunter:

25Feb

"MATEbelievesinusingfewerresourcesleavingthemforyourapplications,which
alsotranslatesintobetterbatterylife."Mr.Bhartiya,adesktopenvironmentusing
lessRAMhasneverbeenshowntomakeacomputerfasterormorepowerefficient
runningLinux.IfyourPCrunslowonRAMandhastoswaptodiskitwillandthat's
unlikelyonamodernPC.HerearesomerelevantPhoronixarticles:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?
page=article&item=ubuntu_1210beta_desktops&num=1
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?
page=article&item=ubuntu_1310_desktops&num=1
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?
page=article&item=linux_desktop_vitals&num=1
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?
page=article&item=linux_mint17_desktops&num=1Thisapetpeeveofmine
becauseitseemsLinuxjournalistsareignoringtheevidenceandmisinformingthe
Linuxcommunity.

Report

Reply

ShaunHunter:

25Feb

I'msorrythatlooksunintelligible,doesthecommentsectionalwaysstripthe
returns?

Report

me:

Reply

25Feb

Therewillbenobestlinuxdistroin2015.Theywillallbesystemd.

Report

Hiya:

Reply

25Feb

IthinktheselistsareofnousetopeopleexperiencedwithLinux.Theyaresuitedto
newandrelativelynewusers.Regardless,therearealternativesdependingonyour
needs.Forexample,alaptopcanbeanythingfromanoldwinxpbasedonetoa
netbooktoanewgaminglaptop.PersonallyIamgrossedoutbyMATEandby
LXDE.IfIwantalightweightspeedyenvironment,IgowithXfce.Andeventhatis
changingwiththewayIseehowelementaryOS'sPantheonrunningnicelyonold
hardware.Basically,ifyou'renewtoLinux,thislistmighthelpyougetageneral
ideabutremember'best'hereissubjective.

Report

ChristopherBrenk:

Reply

26Feb

OnedistributionIwanttoaddtocommentlist:Trisquel.Inmyopinionit'stheonly
100%OpenSourceLinux,whichalsobrings100%OpenSourceKernelcalled
linuxlibre.That'snottrueforalmostalldistributionsIknow.Itdoesn'tuseanybinary
Blobs,evenintheKernel,likethestandardLinuxKernelsdo.Thats'swhyitdoesn't
supportasmanyproprietaryhardwareasUbuntu,butthereareguysdoingareally
goodjobimprovingonthisissue.ButIhadnoproblemsinstallingitonmynew
machinewithAMDHD7800,mostotherdristributionsItriedtoinstallneeded
speciallykernelparametersbeforeIwasabletogetpictureonscreenfortheinstall
process,evenfedoraandUbuntu...

Report

Rui:

Reply

26Feb

Whataboutthebestdistroforolderpeoplewhoneverusedacomputer?
Somethingwithlessbuttons,lessoptions,twoorthreeuseslike
Browsing+Skype+Text?Nononesensesimple?

Report

Reply

ChristopherBrenk:

27Feb

Ihaven'ttried,butcheckoutVinux.I'dstumbleuponthatdistributionafter
somegooglesearches.Importantkeywordsare"Braille"and"Orca".Ithink
thechoicewilldependonthegradeofhandicapnessthoseoldpeoplehave
todealwith.Maybethey'renotdisabledatallandfamiliarwithWindows?
Thenyoumightwanttotryoutoneofthosedistroslistedinthemainarticle
orZorinOS.

Report

Christopherrenk:

Reply

28Feb

AnotheroptionwouldbeabootableliveCD.UsingabootableliveCDis
simple,becauseyoudon'tneedtoinstallandconfigureyourcomputeratall.
ForexampleyoucouldusePuppyLinux.ItcomeswithMidorforbrwosing
thewebandAbiwordforofficerelatedissues.Bothprogramsarelightweight
andfast.

Report

josedancer:

Reply

01Mar

Themostbeautifuldistro:isnotelementary:pThemostbeautifuldistro:deepin

Report

JustDona:

Reply

01Mar

Maybe...inauniversewheretherewasnoMintLinux...

Report

Plazma:

Reply

01Mar

steamosfromascratch?Orbasedondebian.Itsbetabtw,addthelistlinuxmint
pls,netrunner,manjaroetc

Report

jonumate:

Reply

01Mar

triedinstallingubuntumateonadelllaptopandmanyothers,butnonetwork
driversforanyofthem,thedownsidetolinuxmintistherepoorforumwhennew
usersaretoldtolearncodingorgobacktowindows.shamereallybutsurprised
thatManjaroisnotlisted,buteveryonethinksarchcoversit.butsorryguysitdont
cutit.shamenoonedoesaintrotousinglinuxfornewusers,andnotjustabout
whatisthebest.suchasmint,ubuntu,puppy,debian,manjaro,thinkthelistis
massive.butmoreinfofornewuserswouldbebetterfornewusers

Report

theuser:

Reply

01Mar

LinuxmintisthebestandmostadvancedDistributionwhenitcomestoHardware
Recognitionandcompatability

Report

carlos:

Reply

01Mar

Swapnil,justtoletyouknowIreallyappreciateyourarticles.Theyareveryuseful
andwellwritten.Thanks.

Report

JamieCoates:

Reply

01Mar

Myvoteforbestenterprisedistroanddistroforallaroundgeneraluse,stilland
undisputedwinnerfrom2014isBlackLabLinux.http://www.blacklablinux.orgIuse
itathomeandmyworkhasarunningsubscriptionwithBlackLabSoftware.Itsvery
stable,worksreallywellandIlovethepresentationandthelookandthecompany
putsalotofworkintheirnewreleases.ButwiththeLinuxworldthatsagoodthing
thatwehavechoiceandImnotknockingSwapnil'schoices.WheneverIgetanew
system,BlackLabisthefirstthingIload.

Report

Reply

Stu:

01Mar

Averywellthoughtouttop11.maybethereshouldbe12!Surelytherewouldbea
spaceforportabledistros.Thereareplenty,nowadaysmanyinstallspreboottoiso
linuxtohelpconfigure.IwouldmentionKnoppix,TinyCore/DSL,Puppyetc.ithas
beenapopularchoicesincetheadventoftheusbdriveandabioscapableof
usbbootingbutmuchcanalsobedonewitha20yearoldmachineafloppydrive
andacdromwithorwithoutharddisk.

Report

Reply

GauravJain:

02Mar

ZorinOS9,LinuxMint&Deepinarethebestlinuxforbeginner.EspeciallyZorinfor
windowsuser..verygoodlinux..

Report

Reply

val:

02Mar

themostefficeint::duodebiani3!!

Report

Reply

Ben:

02Mar

I'mreallygladthatUbuntuMATEisgainingmoreattention(andjustrecentlygot
acceptedasanofficialvariant).MATEisfantastic,butI'vefoundthathavingmore
thanonedesktop,orinstallingadesktoponadistronotbuiltexclusivelyforthat
distrocanbeapainsometimes.

Report

Reply

mauve:

02Mar

Bestdesktopforme,afteryearsoffedoraandmultipledeadendstryingother
solutions(lookingatyou,ubuntu),isManjaro.It'sbleedingedge,almostas
tweakableasarch,it'sarollingrelease,itjustworksandIhaven'tusedviyetto
correctanythingintheconfigurationfiles(whichisabigplusinmybook).Idealso
far.

Report

ryan:

Reply

02Mar

Manjaro,Manjaro,Manjaro.Fast,simple.ARCHbased!

Report

Ron:

Reply

02Mar

Damn,youforgotoneofthebestdistro'soutthere...LinuxMint

Report

chewe:

Reply

02Mar

anylinuxdistrothatworkonyourlaptopordesktopthatthelinuxforyouiuse
pclinux.OSoneofthethingidowentibuyanewlaptopordesktopistotakem.s.
rightoutandinstalllinuxandidonethisforthelasttenyears.

Report

etyrnal:

Reply

03Mar

WhatisyourreasoningforexcludingUbuntu?Ifindthatwheniuseotherdistros,
theirpackagesareoftenoutofdate.Forexample,Ubuntu'ssoftwarecenterwill
haveversion2.72ofasoftwaretitle,whileanotherdistro'spackagemanagerwill
havethesamesoftware,buttiwillbeon2.69,oron2.70.NotsurewhyUbuntuhad
beenexcluded.

Report

Reply

KennethV.:

10Mar

ThanksSwapnil,Verygoodarticle,Ilikedtheenthusiasminyourwriting.NormallyI
startreadingthiskindarticlesanddon`tmakeittothenumber5.IfoundexactlyI
whatIneeded.Goodinformation,keepitup!

Report

Reply

RajaSaksena:

22Mar

Thanks.Wonderfularticle.Youmayalsoseethisarticle
http://www.debadityo.com/2015/03/reviewedtop15musthaveubuntu
applications.htmlforthebestubuntuapplications

Report

Reply

amirrm:

27Mar

hiwhatisyourideaaboutParsixlinux

Report

Reply

hottyson:

30Mar

LinuxMintrulestheuniverse.IloveLinuxMintXFCE.Iamgoingtomarryit.Korora
isthebestforoldlaptopsbecausewirelesswillactuallyworkoutofthebox.
VoyagerhaseverythingthatanoldornewPCneedsoutoftheboxincludingKODI.
ThecutestdistroforolddesktopsisSimplicitybasedonPuppy.IhasTor,Netflix
workingoutofthebox.TheprettiestisChaletOS.IusedtolustafterElementary,but
theylabeledmea"Cheater."BestOSIhaveeverusedisChromeOS.However,I
stillneedmyMicrosoftWindowsbecauseIneediTunes,WMC,easywindowtiling
(porn),andeasyprintersetup.

Report

Cesar:

Reply

02Apr

Thereisnobestdistroforthis,bestdistroforthat.Theycanrunprettymuchthe
sameprograms.Itjustreallycomesdowntopersonalpreferencebetweenthings
likedebandrpm...orgnomevsunityvscinnamonvsmate....etc

Report

Barrybumpkin:

Reply

03Apr

IcanbelievethatnoonehasmentionedthebestdistroasbeingtheOpen2Getting
ALifedistro,especiallywhenextendedwiththePossiblyGetAMateoption.Just
sayin'

Report

M.Kelley:

Reply

03Apr

Ihaveusedatonoflinuxdistrosovertheyearsandnoneofthemisasuserfriendly
andvisuallypleasingthanLinuxMint.Sometimes,Igetcuriousaboutanother
versionoflinux,likemageia,suse,rebellin,etc.But,IALWAYScomerightbackto
mint.Toeachhisown.But,asforme....Mint!

Report

AriTorresz:

Reply

03Apr

IfeelthesamewayasyoudobutIalwayscomebacktoUbuntuandnow
UbuntuMate:)

Report

etyrnal:

Reply

04Apr

useMintifyourwantyour3rdpartypackagestobeanumberof
versionsolderthanubuntu's

Report

hamid:

Reply

04Apr

magsi

Report

Reply

AriTorres:

04Apr

noMinthereUbuntuMatealltheway

Report

Reply

Mike:

05Apr

YoucouldaddUbuntuStudiofortheAudio/Videosection.It'sbeenaroundfora
whilebutgivesyoueverythingyoucouldneedoutofthebox.
http://ubuntustudio.org/

Report

Reply

clf:

06Apr

Ilikeit.Verygood!

Report

Reply

avm31982:

09Apr

thanksman,justwhatIwaslookingfor.Iwasn'tawarethatSTEAMOSwasfor
anythingbesidesSTEAMmachinesandIhadonlyheardofArtistXandUbuntu
StudioforAudio/Video.IhadneverheardofTails.Goodarticleman.

Report

Reply

RadioFreeMe:

09Apr

IhavealwayspreferredplainoldUbuntu.After11yearsofusingit,it'sneverdone
wrongbyme.IevenlikeUnity.I'vetriedMintandabunchofotherUbuntu
derivatives,andevennonUbuntuderivativesandintheend,Ikeepcomingbackto
plainoldUbuntu.Formypurposes,itworksperfectlyandconsistently.Intheend,its
allthesameLinuxunderneathwhatevereyecandyyouthrowontopofit.Buthey,
toeach,theirownandshareandsharealike,butgivecreditwhereit'sduethat's
whatopensourceisallabout.

Report

Reply

nitecrawler:

14Apr

nolistiscompletewithoutmentioningslackware.....slackware14.1isthemost
reliabledistrooutthere....

Report

Reply

MutwiraFarikai:

15Apr

opensuseisthebestaccordingtome

Report

Reply

Linuxpower1001:

20Apr

Showsomemoregoodoperatingsystems

Report

Reply

Varg:

23Apr

I'vebeenrunningNetrunnerRollingforawhilenowit'sverypolished,andit
appearstobestableenoughthatitwon'tbreak(toobadly).Theforumsarealso
activeandthereseemstoalwaysbeapostintheforumdescribingwhattodofor
bigupgrades.Itwasnotdifficulttoupdatethelastsnapshot(year2014)tothe
currentstate.TherewasalsoaguideformigratingfromKDE4toPlasma5,andthe
nextsnapshotwillhavetheoptionofeitherKDE4orPlasma5.I'mveryimpressed,
andIwouldrecommendNetrunnerRollingtoanintermediatetoadvanceduser.I
haven'ttriedit,butIcouldimaginethatNetrunner15wouldworkjustfinefora
beginner.

Report

Reply

Alan:

25Apr

ElementaryOSisbeautiful,buttheydon'tallowit'sdownloadforfree.Andtheysay
it'safreeandopensourceOS.Whereisthefreedownloadlinkforthesystem?Can
anyonehelpme?

Report

Reply

GauravDhingr:

05May

It'sfree.Youhavetogototheirwebsitehttp://elementary.io/andthenclick
ontheCustombutton.Inthattypetheamountyouwanttopay,whichmay
evenbe$0.LinuxOperatingSystemshavealwaysbeenfreeandwill
alwaysbe.

Report

EduardGotwig:

Reply

15hoursago

Youdontunderstandthedifferencebetweenfreeasinbeerorfree
asinspeech.therearelinuxdistroswhichindeedcostmoney,see
enterprisesector.

Report

Reply

Mist:

26Apr

http://sourceforge.net/projects/elementaryos/

Report

Reply

Andy:

27Apr

Alan,ElementaryOSisfree.Justkeyin0inthedonationfieldandyoushouldbe
abletodownload.ElementaryhasbeenoneofthebestthatIhaveinstalled.Gofor
it!Andy

Report

Reply

JR:

28Apr

Mageiarules!

Report

Reply

LinuxFan:

03May

Haveyouhardabout'OzonOSHydrogenBeta'?IthinkitshouldreplaceSteamOS
asthebestLinuxdistroforgaming.Hereisthelink:http://ozonos.github.io/

Report

Linuxgeek123:

Reply

04May

HasanyonetriedEBOSSpeedEdition.Itisveryfastbutstillgoodlooking.Ihad
windowsXPonaOldcomputer(1.4GHz512mbitwasSOslowsoIreinstalledXP
butitwassoslow.ThenIinstallUbuntu14.04ItwasStillslow!!SoIinstallEBOS
SpeedEditionItISfasterthenever.ISeriouslyrecommendEBOSSpeedEdition.
Youcandownloaditathttp://emmett31.wix.com/cubeos.

Report

Paul:

Reply

04May

WhencantheLinuxworldconsolidatestheefforttobuildONEkillerdistro?Justtoo
manyconfusingandcontradictingchoicesandopinions.

Report

Nobby:

Reply

4daysago

What...slackwarenevermademention?comeonnow...itmightnotbeaspointand

clickyasRedHatbutitrunsallourservesrocksolidformanymanyyears.Totally
agreewithopensusethough!

Report

andreas:

Reply

13hoursago

GentooorArchnothingmore!!!!

Report

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