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Feren OS is a desktop Linux distribution based on Ubuntu and featuring the KDE Plasma desktop. It ships with a tweaked Calamares system installer, a custom theme and fonts, the Vivaldi web browser, boot options for advanced users, and a Feren OS Tour application, among the many home-built features and improvements. Prior to November 2020, the distribution was based on Linux Mint and included an edition with the Cinnamon desktop.
To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
Colour scheme:green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
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I loaded Feren on an older Ryzen 3 laptop that is unable to accept Windows 11 but is still a decent computing platform. I tried multiple distros before settling on Feren.
On this particular system, Feren is the only distro I tried that installed properly, booted cleanly after installation and still continues to run smoothly. Each of the others I tried - Debian and Arch derivatives - failed to start after installation for some weird reason and in some cases wouldn't even boot into live mode. I have previously worked with all of the other distros I tried to load and for some odd reason they just didn't work this time even though they work fine elsewhere. I believe there is an underlying hardware issue but Feren seems to be more robust than the others I tried in bringing this system up to a reliably operational state.
Once booted, the desktop loads smoothly and everything works nicely. I have had no problems loading applications, installing additional tools from the repositories, and using the system with various external hardware devices including mass storage, pointing devices and keyboards, the printer, docking stations, and external displays. Wireless connectivity and Bluetooth also work very reliably. Everything just works like it's supposed to work.
As a daily driver, this is a fine system. I use it for surfing the web, editing documents, and software development. My hardware is capable of virtualization but I haven't attempted that under this distro yet.
I have no problem recommending Feren, particularly if you're having subtle hardware issues with a system and are having trouble loading other distros.
I installed this distro as my first Linux distro, just to get a feeling of it. Loaded it next to windows, which came with a few hickups along the way. I was familiar with Ubuntu already since I used it on my VServers a lot already. I really like the design that the distro comes with out of the box and the good customizability. It was easy to install and (when I got it working and) it (finally) booted everything worked smoothly. I'm just going to try the distro but up until this point it is a solid 10 out of 10.
The best Plasma DE distro I've come across so far. Basically it's as if Linux Mint had kept their KDE spin going,
Ubuntu LTS base with a decent, but not bloated, set of default apps (Vivaldi is my preferred browser, so it being the default is a big plus for me).
Less buggy than Neon (track pad is fully functional and display settings stay in place) and without the near daily updates. More stable than Manjaro and seems to be well supported (unlike Solus - which now seems to actually be dead).
Though it may seem like an odd choice for a KDE based system, personally, I like the use of Mint tools and the Nemo file manager - it's like the developer asked me which tools to substitute the KDE versions for.
Very nice default aesthetic - better than standard Plasma Breeze and a definite step up from Manjaro or Solus customizations. I did change the panel configuration and the launcher app, but i've otherwise kept the defualt customization. There are a number of preset DE configs in the Appearance pane of system settings, including Ubuntu and Mac clones, so DE arrangement is pretty easy if you don't want to go down the detailed settings rabbit hole.
It's been very smooth running so far, which is a pleasure considering the relative bugginess/instability of many Plasma based distros.
Very highly recommended in general and if you are a Plasma fan in particular, you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't take this for a spin.
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