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1 • Distribution I Recommend (by Willie on 2020-11-16 01:05:18 GMT from United States)
I always suggest people new to Linux start with the distribution the person, friend, co-worker, buddy, etc runs since that will allow them to help them with problems and issues.
It's a lot harder to help on a distribution you're not familiar with.
2 • Zoom/WebEx Video Conferencing (by Btroy on 2020-11-16 01:16:26 GMT from United States)
I agree with Jesse on his recommendation. You will find that the major distros having installers for Zoom and possibly WebEx, thought looking at WebEx seems to point to minimal Linux support. FYI, I've used Zoom and Jitsi on Linux, not WebEx.
Also, look at browser support. Some video conferencing tools, such as Jitsi, work best on Chromium or require Chrome. Others will run on both FireFox and Chromium products, but you'll need to research. What you'll find is that one browser will probably perform better than the other.
The last thing, make sure your device has sufficient RAM, CPU, and a decent performing network. You may find yourself having issues because you are running out of any of these. For video conferencing I suggest you may need a minimum of 4 GB of RAM.
CPU
- AMD - A6 or better
- Intel - Pentium Silver, or a Core I3 or better.
You may be able to get away with less RAM if you use a lighter DE such as Mate or Xfce, but video takes some CPU performance and definitely bandwidth.
3 • Zoom, webex (by Andy Prough on 2020-11-16 02:24:48 GMT from United States)
Of all OS's I've tried, Zoom has worked the best on MX Linux in my experience. Webex doesn't have a client for Linux, and the web version works poorly, with almost no workable microphone. When I have to use WebEx for an important meeting, in my experience I've had to find a Windows machine at work. Wouldn't even work in a Windows VM on Linux for me, as the microphone would not work.
4 • Humble Pie (by vern on 2020-11-16 02:29:18 GMT from United States)
"Enso project is it comes across as relatively humble" I liked humble also. That's intriguing. Usually they claim to save the world.
I haven't herd of Enso before. It does have some interesting combinations.
5 • webex and recommendations (by Tim on 2020-11-16 02:42:31 GMT from United States)
@3 I've used the Webex web client on Debian 10 buster in Firefox with no issues at all.
As to recommendations, I think Jesse's strategy of going down a list until you find one that meets your needs is the most accurate description I've heard. The problem with recommending Linux to a friend is that they probably don't have the same machine as you and they might not want to use the same software as you, so a distro that works perfectly for you might fail for them.
For me at least, bugs and crashes seem to be hardware dependent and somewhat random in software- a bug that gets baked into a Debian stable might not be in the Ubuntu interim released a couple of months later, or might have already been fixed in testing. A good set of repos from an older Ubuntu might get a new kernel from the Mint team and suddenly for one specific computer Mint works better than Ubuntu.
Honestly I don't find that most acquaintances are very interested these days in trying a new OS. It's been years since I managed to convince a few people outside my family. But when I've been successful I've come with Debian, Ubuntu, and Mint and played around with all three until I got one of them working.
6 • recommending a Linux distro (by Andy Figueroa on 2020-11-16 03:43:30 GMT from United States)
None of the four lame choices fit. My main Linux is Gentoo, which I have never recommended to anyone. But, when asked, I always recommend a distribution I have significant experience with on one or more other computer.
Survey selections need to be inclusive. Notably, "I recommend the distro I run," reading "THE distro" strongly implies only the distro one runs for their everyday work or play.
7 • Recommending distributions (by Bobbie Sellers on 2020-11-16 06:45:07 GMT from United States)
One must considered the attitude and interests of the people making the request.
I run a rolling release and having run full update releases in the past find the rolling
release friendlier but only if the user will commit them selves to doing updates on
a regular basis.
I see people using the commonly recommended full update models seem to
have a real fear of updating fearing the loss of data, poorly backed up if at
all. I have tried to help them in the past but at 83 will have to give that up.
I used to use Mandriva 2006-2012 and spent a fair bit of my disposable income
paying for those PowerPacked updates. Now a spend a bit more donating to
TexStar's inimitable PCLinuxOS 64. There is a fine forum with contributors to
the code and contributors to the forum that lighten the mode with their own
unique contributions.
Before the Mandriva I used the Amiga OS 1.2- 3.9 where running as root
essentially I wrote short scripts and modified longer ones to my satisfaction,
before that I used C=64 and 64/128 using both GEOS and CP/M as well as
the native modes. I did basically book keeping and word processing in
all OSes but CP/M which I did not care for at all but which taught me
a good deal.
bliss - “Nearly any fool can use a computer. Many do.” After all here I am...
8 • I recommend... various? (by In The Same Boat on 2020-11-16 07:53:00 GMT from United States)
I find myself in a very similar boat to a couple of the posts above me, also not having an honest answer in this week's poll.
If I'm recommending something to someone who is interested in the idea, but not particularly technically skilled, then I tend to lean more towards the 'buntus. With work/school stuff, which packages are needed will change whether I think to go the 'buntu route or suggest something more RPM-based. If I'm talking with someone technically skilled who isn't interested in switching everything over (yet), but wants to learn more, I regularly find myself pointing at Arch because it makes *you* be thorough and deliberate in your setup, but it *has thorough and comprehensive documentation* regarding how to go about that.
I remember *learning* on openSUSE, but these days I run a 'buntu variant (though I've been mulling over going up to Debian over some... "disagreements" between snap and myself, and a few programs that the Ubuntu alterations cause to break in my non-standard setup in ways where I know upstream the same breakage isn't happening), and I remember a time when I had the free time to play and I would just occasionally throw just about any distro that didn't require compiling in a VM to play with it, so how exactly "the distro I run" is defined matters in my case.
About the only consistent thing in my recommendation is that I tend to gravitate towards the better-known distros, but even that is up in the air depending on who's asking for advice.
9 • Distribution recommendations. Thanks for articles, (by ViamoIam on 2020-11-16 07:56:01 GMT from Canada)
I'll ignore the stuff I agreed with :D and skip to to things I disagree with. I think I can offer another view.
__Opinion Poll: Recommending a Linux Distribution:__
The poll asks the wrong questions. Yup, none of those options fit for what matters. I've worked with software support teams in the past. I run construction teams now. Software distributions or equipment for construction are tools. What tools to use needs to address 2 issues. For every possible solution you must still evaluate 2 questions:
(1) Will it work for their needs?
(2) Will they get support for their issues?
These questions are off the mark and have the above underlying:
'I recommend the distro I run' - thought is people can support what they know themselves, and maybe friends have similar needs (3rd parties my teams think, which one?)
'I recommend another distro in the same family' - thought is same (3rd party teams like mine think, which families? Also there was one major family unsupported when I left of four/five)
'I recommend a distro I do not run' - thought is my needs are different (3rd party teams like mine thought "yup that happens too:)
'I do not make distro recommendations' - last option and still doesn't fit; hmm
There is to much 'I' and not enough of them. Our team never looks at us we look at their needs and how they will get support.
(eg) Even today if a personal friend asks me what I run, I would instead find out their needs and support needs. Tools/software/equipment have different features, strengths, support options, service life and different response times for service and support levels. Mission critical business needs are totally different then home needs. Server, container, embedded and desktop have different use cases. Even in there own categories a general distribution could be developers/ or office workers/ home users/ gamers/ different genre of games/ visual artists .....etc...
Only one time people asked what we run, and now run the same thing. That wasn't a Linux distribution :( , that was equipment because they do similar work.
P.S. Have run or helped admin Red Hat 8 (not RHEL) and 9, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Suse Enterprise Linux, Debian, Slackware, Suse, Mandrake, PCLinuxOS, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Bodhi, Linux Mint, Mageia, Ubuntu Studio, Xubuntu, Fedora, Ubuntu Mate, openSUSE and also used and/or supported Windows/Mac/Windows Mobile/iOS AOSP distributions eg /e/ (mostly general purpose mobile hardware often lineageos, but I've seen a bit Ubuntu touch) I'm probably missing some and have included some that were only tried or supported by teams not directly working with me especially once you get away from larger major distributions, which is what 3rd parties often only officially support. These days in construction we do commercial and a bit residential
10 • Re:9 • Distribution recommendations. Thanks for articles - Small Correction (by ViamoIam on 2020-11-16 08:37:30 GMT from Canada)
I made a mistake, I said:
'Only one time people asked what we run, and now run the same thing. That wasn't a Linux distribution :( , that was equipment because they do similar work.'
I remembered one time way back a person asked what I ran for a distribution and then started running the same thing. I don't even remember who it was as this is feels like over 10 years back to me. MkLiveCD allowed people to create a copy of a Mandrake based distribution. I ran it to make bootable system backups. I Would throw them out eventually the system rolled along. I had local and remote /backups of /home and private stuff. I gave a copy to someone. They asked as I had a backup on me but it was old. The were a friend/coworker and they did start to run it. I don't know if they stayed with it till today.
11 • Finding a good distro for common tasks (by whoKnows on 2020-11-16 09:08:55 GMT from Switzerland)
"My answer, in almost every case, is unfortunately boring yet consistent. Pick the mainstream Linux distribution that works best for you. ... At this point you may be wondering what I have in mind by "mainstream Linux distributions". Typically, when I mention mainstream projects I'm referring to the big (and often longer-lived) distributions. ... Often a good bet is to start at the top of the page hit ranking table instead and work down ..."
The problems here are "recommending" something to somebody and the "page hit ranking".
Now, I assume that the recommendation gets somebody who actually can't use the computers (yeah, it can turn on the Windows, but if "Documents" lies on "D:\", than it's already an overkill "problem").
To such user, one can recommend exactly "2 1/2" Linux distributions - while even the "prime time mainstream projects" are partially broken.
You wouldn't really want to recommend something that comes broken OOTB (MX Linux, Pop!_OS) and the first thing the user has to do, is to fix the bad pre-configuration, something that uses "alternate package managements" [WTF is 'eopkg'?] (Clear OS, Solus, Void), something where you have to check the update packages before you start the update (Arch, Manjaro), something that compiles (anything using AUR Repository, Gentoo), something where you have to manually 'chase the dependencies' (Slackware), something missing the very basics, that randomly fails to update itself properly (OpenSuSe), something that randomly looses the partitions (CentOS / Red Hat / Springdale) ...
That would be like recommending somebody to jump down from the first floor - it would survive it, but very probably land in hospital with broken legs. ;)
That leaves us as the "2 1/2":
1. Fedora - Auto-UPGRADE, reasonably fresh SW, but less SW choice then Ubuntu.
2. Ubuntu LTS - Auto-UPGRADE, old SW, but if some third party has Linux SW, then for Ubuntu.
--
3. Mint - NO Auto-UPGRADE and "dusty" Windows 7 look & feel (and [see 2.]).
4. Rosa (KDE 4) - See 3. and there're no forums to help you in trouble.
12 • distro choice (by Any on 2020-11-16 10:09:59 GMT from Spain)
Every case is different. A colleague, the son/daughter of a colleague, a young person, a senior person, a kid, a photographer, a facebook person ...
But generally I prefer recommending or directly install for someone a distro from the Ubuntu family or some flavour of it . And if I had to install the distro I would prefer the Ubuntu mini iso file.
13 • What distro? (by Someguy on 2020-11-16 11:32:28 GMT from United Kingdom)
It's a moveable feast! Not just a mixture of personal tastes/PHRs &co., but the distro versions keep moving the goal posts, too. A decade back PCL was top-of-the-list for months, then they change the DT and a bunch of other things; Mint became dominant but v.20 ain't too hot, so the beautiful MX has been hard to shift off the top slot recently. Even with Linux there's an element of conspiracy theory. The hardware guys need to get smaller-or-bigger/faster/etc. to keep sales & profits buoyant. Software developers get plagued by requests for new and wondrous drivers, apps., functions. All very déjà vu. Of course, folks now want to zoom, stream and stuff, but it's sobering to note that surveys over the last several decades suggest that most regular folks only use a tiny percent of the facilities on their PCs. Remember, Apollo only had 2K RAM - not sure about hard drive? if any?
So, recommendations? - best just expose neophytes to a range of known options and have them match against their list of requirements, capabilities and tastes.
14 • Distro Recommendations (by jrussell2415@gmail.com on 2020-11-16 12:03:52 GMT from United States)
The options for the poll are rather limited. I think that I, like most people, make a recommendation that is based on the skill level of the intended user as well as how they're planning to use the system. Without knowing those two things, one really cannot make a reasonable recommendation.
15 • Distro choice (by Eijie on 2020-11-16 12:33:17 GMT from Belgium)
I run 3 different distros on my machines. One is a Gnome3, one a KDE and one a XFCE machine. I let the new user play with the different distros and let him/her decide wich version they like the most. I then suggest the Ubuntu flavor of that DE as their first distro.
16 • Poll: (by dragonmouth on 2020-11-16 12:49:50 GMT from United States)
The distro I recommend depends on the level of computer savvy and skill of the individual asking. Also on what the individual will be using the distro for.
17 • Distro recommendation (by kks on 2020-11-16 12:51:11 GMT from India)
I run fedora but i recommend linuxmint
18 • Distro Reccomends (by stillnoar on 2020-11-16 13:22:20 GMT from United States)
I rarely recommend my daily driver, as it is not particularly a beginner friendly choice. I do however recommend a beginner friendly, solid, stable distro that I have run full-time in the past, and revisit with all new releases to re-aquaint myself with an old friend - MXLinux.
While my personal needs have evolved over time to a slimmed down enviornment, MX will hopefully offer the newbie a rewarding experience, which is what we all want them to have.
19 • Bold claim by Enso (by Tim on 2020-11-16 12:56:01 GMT from United Kingdom)
Hi. I tried Enso OS awhile ago. Thought it was ok.
Surprised a bit that reviewer likes that the distro's websiteteam doesnt make bold claims though. It says Enso is:
"Green. Built on Linux, Enso is able to run on nearly any machine that exists, including those that are no longer supported by Windows or Mac"
Well every linux distro can say that and Enso is one that only runs on 64-bit so not on lots of old machines. I thought that was a pretty spurious claim.
20 • @11 (by Andy Prough on 2020-11-16 13:35:35 GMT from United States)
> "Now, I assume that the recommendation gets somebody who actually can't use the computers (yeah, it can turn on the Windows, but if "Documents" lies on "D:\", than it's already an overkill "problem")."
The people who ask for a distro recommendation are the people who''ve actually heard of Linux. A person who can't find their Documents folder on Windows needs a fundamentals course in using a mouse and a keyboard, not a new OS.
>"something that comes broken OOTB (MX Linux, Pop!_OS) and the first thing the user has to do, is to fix the bad pre-configuration"
Factually those two run better out of the box on more desktop hardware which is why they are so highly ranked. I've seen them boot a number of devices that the *buntu's and Fedora will not, and the reviews are consistently in agreement with this fact. Similar to Mint - Mint works well out of the box in the vast majority of instances.
This is the difference between a desktop focused distro (Mint, Manjaro, MX, Pop, Elementary, Solus) and the big general purpose distros and cloud focused distros (*buntu, Fedora, Clear, openSUSE). The desktop focused distros are more popular because they work better in more desktop settings.
21 • Long and involved (by Friar Tux on 2020-11-16 13:50:01 GMT from Canada)
Having read all the previous comments... wordy comments, I'm thinking, what is the big deal? Obviously, if you're on a Linux distro, you've tried a few. If you've tried a few, you've found one or two that work. Period. If someone asks you for a recommendation it's because they know you have a distro that works for you. AND they know they can (and will) come to you if issues show up.
So to answer the question - Linux Mint/Cinnamon. It is the ONLY distro that consistently worked out of box (on various machines), and allowed me to go right to work without any post-install fiddling. I have notes on a few dozen distros I've tried, and only three actually make the grade - Linux Mint (all three flavours, LMDE excluded), Q4OS, and Trisquel (Triskel excluded). All the rest failed. Sad but true.
And now to get wordy myself. While there are a lot of distros that dress themselves up to mimic MSWindows, none of them actually work out of box. Maybe due to the fancy glitz and glitter, I don't know - or care. Linux Mint is unassuming and has no fancy, showy stuff. And it just works. I've installed and re-installed it many, many times and have never had an issue, so it wins out on that experience alone. OK, 'nuff said.
22 • recommend distro I run (by wally on 2020-11-16 13:53:42 GMT from United States)
But I run 5 (currently) and the recommended one will depend on the person and hardware.
23 • Recommending distros (by SA on 2020-11-16 14:02:34 GMT from France)
I do not recommend distros.
I use aside from online Linux, an old computer offline with a few Live USB.
Someone has mentionned Gentoo, and
A Sabayon Live is one of the Lives which work the best .
That Live is running with a good system load on this computer, and some of my older computers have been trash because of that.
24 • Erratum nbr23 (by SA on 2020-11-16 14:07:00 GMT from France)
Sorry, I meant
... Have been trash because of a Bad system load.
25 • Recommending distros (by Dino on 2020-11-16 14:20:30 GMT from Denmark)
I run Debian Testing (XFCE) and Ubuntu, but I always recommend Linux Mint (Cinnamon) to newcomers. It just works.
26 • Distros I (do not) recommend (by Stefan on 2020-11-16 14:21:50 GMT from Brazil)
My first distro was Slackware, and I can say it was a terrible experience... Today, I use Devuan, only at work. At home, my wife and my son use MX Linux and Peppermint LXDE, respectively. I'm posting this from my wife's laptop.
When a friend of mine wants to become a Linuxer, I do NOT recommend any distro in particular. What I do is giving him a bunch of LiveDVDs to be tried by himself (without my help) and then installed/configured by me. In general, the chosen one is something very "Windows-like".
The last four converts have chosen PCLinuxOS XFCE, PCLinuxOS TDE, Linux Mint MATE, and MX Linux. And they are not having any special difficulty to deal with those distros.
As said in post #11 (by whoKnows, of Switzerland), MX Linux is not the most stable distro in existence, but I think it isn't so bad to be considered "broken". Fedora and Ubuntu are certainly buggier. Yes, MX-19 is a little bit buggy, but MX-17 is fine and MX-18 is acceptable. By the way, the version I install in friend's computers is MX-18.3 with Firefox Quantum 67. Not as good as Pale Moon and Opera, but it does the job.
And MX Linux is a lot better than Fedora/Ubuntu for "common tasks" and any other stuff. In reality, it is a true "desktop oriented" distro with tons of useful applications and device drivers. The exact kind of software everybody needs to get rid of Windows.
27 • Run better ... (by whoKnows on 2020-11-16 14:34:06 GMT from Switzerland)
20 • @11 (by Andy Prough)
"The people who ask for a distro recommendation are the people who've actually heard of Linux. A person who can't find their Documents folder on Windows needs a fundamentals course in using a mouse and a keyboard, not a new OS."
Imagine - that person in case even had a certificate as a PC-Supporter. Sad but truth. And yes, it asked for recommendation.
The point in the case was installing some mods for his games, but he was unable to install them properly, because the internet manual wrote that the files should be in C:\something path (and in his configuration, it means that the files should be on D:\). Files were not there any way - because to get them, one has to start the game first ... However ... We have (too) many such cases in support every day.
"Factually those two [MX Linux & Pop!_OS] run better out of the box on more desktop hardware which is why they are so highly ranked. I've seen them boot a number of devices that the *buntu's and Fedora will not, and the reviews are consistently in agreement with this fact. Similar to Mint - Mint works well out of the box in the vast majority of instances."
Run better ... This is very HW dependent. I've seen the opposite also - where Fedora would boot without any issues, but Pop!_OS (which is *buntu) couldn't (secure boot certificate). And then we get their looks that has to be fixed first too ... one doesn't have to fix Ubuntu.
"This is the difference between a desktop focused distro (Mint, Manjaro, MX, Pop, Elementary, Solus) and the big general purpose distros and cloud focused distros (*buntu, Fedora, Clear, openSUSE). The desktop focused distros are more popular because they work better in more desktop settings."
The problem is that except Mint, none of the first group can be used "as is", without fixing them first or not at all (Solus), and the Mint without auto-upgrades also can't seriously be recommended. Ubuntu and Fedora are pretty usable OOTB; Clear OS has a package management problem and OpenSuSe is a pure chaos - with multiple software update tools, unreliable package management and missing multimedia codecs.
Of course, if one knows how to and is willing to learn and cope with the OS, (almost) everything can be done, however, that's not an average user we talk about anymore - they only want their applications to work.
Auto-Upgrade is the nicest example here. It can be done by changing the repositories and from the command line, but the average user DOESN'T CARE for the OS - they maybe know, it's Mac, Windows or Linux Mint, but don't even try to ask them is it a 10.13.6 or 10.15.2, 2004 or 20H2 ... Auto-Upgrade will do the job for them - or they'll run in trouble, like the guy who passed by a couple of days ago.
"Google Chrome doesn't work anymore!" Well ... no wonder. It changed a lot during the last couple of years, since the Mint 17 got released and the Chrome on Ubuntu 14.04 (Mint 17) got unsupported in the meanwhile ...
28 • @27 (by Andy Prough on 2020-11-16 14:55:49 GMT from United States)
> "Imagine - that person in case even had a certificate as a PC-Supporter. Sad but truth. And yes, it asked for recommendation."
That is sad. If a person can't figure out the basics of file management on Windows, they are going to be completely lost on any distro. I would ask what their certification was and tell other people NOT to pursue that certification.
29 • Video conferencing on Linux (by CS on 2020-11-16 16:51:49 GMT from United States)
I completely agree mainstream is the way to go for anything like video conferencing. Even so I tried Skype video calls on Linux Mint 19.3 running on a 2013 MacBook Pro and was getting < 10 fps. I don't know if it was hardware or software related but quickly gave up. Considering Skype has pretty good Linux support I was curious what others' experiences were. Hardware support is always a crapshoot and Mint has not handled that laptop very well.
Based on Andy's experiences maybe I'll give MX a spin when it's time to reinstall that laptop.
30 • What distro? (by hotdiggettydog on 2020-11-16 16:52:02 GMT from Canada)
I do not recommend any distros except to nameless people online. In fact, I don't recommend linux at all to family and friends. It's not worth the hassle. People automatically think it is a geek only thing and put up barriers. Funny thing is they will happily use MacOS and think its the greatest thing since sliced bread when realistically its horrible.
If I were to recommend anything it would the buntus. The buntu update and upgrade process is mostly bullet proof. Debian based distros, though rolling, will not reliably upgrade. Last thing I need is someone phoning me complaining their computer will not startx.
Don't get me wrong. I love linux. Linux has challenged me for 20 years and supplied me with endless hours of enjoyment and satisfaction.
31 • Distro recommendation (by David on 2020-11-16 17:28:02 GMT from United Kingdom)
So Jesse would recommend a beginner to try one of the "major distributions" or "work down the page hit list". Anyone who followed that advice could easily end up with endless change (Fedora), the installation from hell (Arch or Gentoo), or on a software hunt (Slackware).
I recommend beginners to decide what sort of look and feel they like and then pick a well-supported desktop that gives it — Mate (traditional), Gnome (phone-like), or KDE (wow, eye-candy!) Then pick a well-supported distro that uses that as a default — Mint, Ubuntu, or SUSE respectively. Of course, that assumes they have a modern computer and don't need AntiX.
Incidentally, I use PCLinuxOS with Xfce. I don't recommend that to *beginners* because the default is KDE and if a rolling-release distro is going to have problems, KDE is where you'll find them. Xfce needed a bit of adjustment, but it's as solid as a rock. Why PCLinuxOS considered less "major" than, say, Gentoo (famously dismissed as pointless by Linus Torvalds) is one of the mysteries of this site!
32 • Do you recommend the same distribution you use yourself? (by Robert Brenner on 2020-11-16 17:28:53 GMT from United States)
Linux Mint is always the distro I recommend, and it is the one I use for the most part. I play with other distros, but none have supplanted Mint for long term use. Mint has it's own frustrations (fonts!!!), but it works after install with minimal to no additional effort required, its tools are useful and easy to understand, and its community support is second to none. Pop OS is a newer build that uses readable fonts and pretty icons, but is Gnome shell, and, while I personally like the Activities overview for managing open apps, it is quite a culture shock for Window's refugees, so it still does not top Mint as a recommendation.
33 • Distro I use (by Roger on 2020-11-16 18:34:55 GMT from Belgium)
I always recomment the distro I use and that is Linux Mint Mate.
Mint is something I use from 2006 and is my main system from 2009 ( Isadora )
34 • What Distro do you Recommend. (by Rev_Don on 2020-11-16 18:52:26 GMT from United States)
I don't recommend distros for the most part, except for Live Rescue distros and such. I've found that once you recommend Linux to someone you just signed yourself up to provide lifetime support to them. I got tired of 20 phone calls a day from people who never should have been using Linux (or any computer) for that matter. These days I tell them to get a tablet or Chromebook.
If someone is insistent on wanting to try Linux I tell them to go to YouTube and watch various Linux for Beginners videos and go from there. Other than that I stay out of it. It's just not worth it to get personally involved as 99% of them aren't computer literate enough to even attempt to install or run Linux.
35 • Recommend Distro (by GreginNC on 2020-11-16 21:48:37 GMT from United States)
While my answer "recommend the distro I run" is literally true at the moment it is not as cut and dried in reality.
I have always recommended PcLinux to anyone I knew looking to switch over to Linux and it has always been my personal fallback distro.
In a perfect world i would be running Slackware but as the Devs have chosen to keep it in a perpetual alpha state I'm currently back running PcLinux as although it isn't Slackware it is consistent and reliable, and it is the only distro I know of that is both "rolling release" and stable since their version of rolling release doesn't mean "cutting edge".
36 • When it comes to recommending a Linux distro (by Geo Savage on 2020-11-16 21:49:30 GMT from Canada)
Mint all the way home. Anyone who's run Windows can use it. It will do all the ordinary everyday things the average user might need.
If resurrecting a retired machine, I lean to AntiX.
For knowledgeable free spirits I'd go with MX Linux.
37 • choices=decisions, good or bad... (by spongebob on 2020-11-16 21:52:59 GMT from United States)
I prefer not to be put in a situation to recommend anything to a newbie "just because" i use it...if a person is willing to "convert" (from whatever) it should be a personal choice and commit to testing it out for the purpose of deciding what is best for their experience and needs...I think i would go along with those that say LIVE distro is way to go...personally i think the current puppy linux EASYOS (Barry Kauler creation) and works well OOTB for reasonably older and current H/W...runs live or install to USB memory stick (yea I know it runs in ROOT...to all the "Karens" out there, then put on a mask)...it runs my daily casual stuff...my other machines run MX (since 14)...DIY Devuan...still sweet ol' PEPPERMINT (9?)..I've given up on FEDORA, MINT and all DE flavors of 'BUNTUS...too much "dessert toppings" for me...I decided I only need the "floor wax"
Cheers!
38 • Recommending distros (by eco2geek on 2020-11-16 23:19:16 GMT from United States)
I currently have 8 different Linux distros on my computer, plus Windows. (It's a 2TB hard drive, so why not. Plus I enjoy playing with them.) But in my lazy middle age the only Linux distro on my computer that isn't Debian-based is openSUSE. I mainly use either KDE neon or Kubuntu.
It would seem strange to me to have only one (or two) operating systems on one's computer, unless the hard drive was minuscule.
But I recommend Linux Mint for anyone who asks, as they seem to really listen to what their users want, and there's plenty of help available for new (Linux) users. Unfortunately they no longer have a KDE flavor available, or I'd recommend that, but their Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce versions offer some choice and they all run well on my hardware. (Most Debian/Ubuntu based distros have run well on whatever I installed them on, in my experience.)
39 • @9 Question 0: DOES it work? (by Alex Smart on 2020-11-17 00:26:36 GMT from Germany)
>For every possible solution you must still evaluate 2 questions:
No matter how much you hate Windows, it *nearly always* gets to basic GUI. You may have to hunt for drivers on rare / new hardware (while avoiding spyware), but that's a separate problem.
But Jesse often writes reviews of "Linux" distros that simply don't work for the very basics, may not boot, even with his expert skill level.
And every week, the regulars mention distros that simply don't work.
Some like new and to "experiment" but that doesn't make Linux popular as needs to be.
We need to get real answers on what distros do *nearly always* work just by putting the DVD in and clicking a few times. -- So far as I've seen for self and read here just today, that's PCLinux.
40 • Distro I install to someone else (by Jyrki on 2020-11-17 08:38:55 GMT from Czechia)
Difficult to answer. When I install a system a family member, I install distro I use (Artix), because I know that I will be managing it in the future too.
But if a colleague of mine asks me to install Linux for him/her I use something that is very easy to maintain by him - so a major distro like Mint.
41 • Same distro (by Dxvid on 2020-11-17 12:41:39 GMT from Sweden)
I often recommend one the distros I frequently use OpenSUSE, Ubuntu or SUSE, because I know that if I recommended something to someone they will be asking questions later on how to do this and that. So recommending something I know well makes support easier and will ensure they get as little trouble as possible.
42 • @39: (by dragonmouth on 2020-11-17 14:02:51 GMT from United States)
"distros that simply don't work"
Posters generalize based on their experience with a distro. If they have problems with a distro, then EVERYBODY must be having problems. If they do not like a distro, then it must be disliked by EVERYBODY. If they have a problem with a distro, it MUST be the distro, not their hardware or skill. Take any distro, some users swear by it and some users swear at it. If any distro was as bad as posters portray it, it would not stay around for very long.
I have used many of the distros that posters authoritatively state are "broken" and "just don't work". On a daily basis, thousands of users use those "broken" distros without problems. David (@31) said that "if a rolling-release distro is going to have problems, KDE is where you'll find them". That may be HIS experience but it is nopt everybody's experience. I have used PCLinuxOS KDE as my daily driver for the past 4-5 years without any problems. However, I would not categorically state that will be everybody's experience.
There are currently close to a 1,000 distros with over 200 active ones in the DistroWatch database. Each and every one of those distros has those that praise it and recommend it, and those that hate it and claim it is "broken" and "just does not work". Bottom line is that with so many distros and their various versions and with all the possible hardware combinations, when you pick a distro YMMV.
43 • antiX (by Andy Prough on 2020-11-17 22:51:26 GMT from United States)
Probably the most frequent request I get is a recommendation for a distro that will run fast on older hardware, so I end up recommending antiX more than any other. antiX is a speed demon and is very light on memory, yet still manages to provide a full Debian experience (plus all those great antiX extras).
44 • Distro Recommendations (by Simon Wainscott-Plaistowe on 2020-11-18 03:34:56 GMT from New Zealand)
I tend to recommend mainstream distros which I use myself. Mainstream because answers are generally easier to find on forums etc. Also for ease of installing a wider variety of packages. And distros I use myself because familiarity makes support easier when I'm asked to help.
My main three are Linux Mint, LibreELEC & IPFire.
45 • distros that simply don't work (by whoKnows on 2020-11-18 05:45:50 GMT from Switzerland)
@42 • @39: (by dragonmouth)
"Posters generalize based on their experience with a distro.
If they do not like a distro, then it must be disliked by EVERYBODY.
Take any distro, some users swear by it and some users swear at it.
... thousands of users use those "broken" distros without problems."
Posters can not generalize on somebody else's experience.
"Liking" something does not imply that something works properly OOTB.
Not everybody is able to see or cares for ... whatever.
Yup - see the previous sentence.
Let's take a car for example. One decides to buy one of 1000 models. It comes with a cigarette lighter in place of the light switch beside the steering wheel and the window can't be opened on the drivers side.
Now, if the driver is a smoker who never drives at night, he'll find it handy to have a cigarette lighter in place of a light switch that he never uses. Who never opens the window, might even never notice that the window up/down mechanism doesn't work.
However, that does not mean that the product is good, just because SOMEBODY didn't notice its fault or because of SOMEBODY didn't care or even finds it more suitable for his way of doing the things - it's still a bad product - and the fact that one could simply remove a couple of screws, remove the panel, take the piece of plastic that blocks the sliding mechanism out, mount the panel back and say: "Where's the problem? It woks, you see?", doesn't make it better overall.
The point is that anything we use has to fulfill a basic set of requirements. Since different people have different needs and requirements, and since they have different ability to notice or judge, the experiences will vary.
But, there's also objective criteria that does not depend on somebodies taste. If one buys a house, a car, a computer or the pair of shoes, one has a predefined set of requirements that has to be fulfilled. The same goes if one tries to develop a product.
In case of an operating system, there is also such set of predefined set of criteria which is predefined by specialists and takes care that one product meets the minimal basic requirements and is optimized for its purpose for the needs of MOST users. This is called "Standards".
As example, that's how the No. 4 on the list comes OOTB:
https://ibb.co/drjFRqt
https://ibb.co/mtfGhPX
There are two things to conclude:
1. The product does not meet the basic economic requirements - it's "broken".
2. The sole fact that something like that was let out from the alpha, shows the neglect of its developers.
Conclusion: Avoid.
* And no, it doesn't make it better if a couple of clicks can fix it or not.
Black on black - change the default theme and it's fine ... Text editor doesn't show underscore - change the default font and it works ... BUT - that's exactly the job of "distro bakers" - to bring out something that works OOTB, without users having to fix it first, to make it to work.
46 • Correction: (by whoKnows on 2020-11-18 05:52:20 GMT from Switzerland)
"1. The product does not meet the basic economic requirements..."
Should have been:
"1. The product does not meet the basic ERGONOMIC requirements"
47 • Salix vs. antiX (by whoKnows on 2020-11-18 06:16:59 GMT from Switzerland)
@43 • antiX (by Andy Prough)
"Probably the most frequent request I get is a recommendation for a distro that will run fast on older hardware, so I end up recommending antiX more than any other. antiX is a speed demon and is very light on memory, yet still manages to provide a full Debian experience (plus all those great antiX extras). "
The problems here are the "old hardware" and "antiX extras".
How old is "old"? If I take a look at my old MacBook (2009) or ThinkPad 510 or 420 ... they've no problem to run Fedora 33 whatsoever. Are we talking about Pentium III? Nobody is doing any serious work on a 10+ y/o computers.
"antiX extras" is exactly one of the things that renders antiX useless for the most average users - they get a bunch of unnecessary crap preinstalled, and they get multiple WM which all work very different from what they were used to.
Salix would be much better recommendation in such case. It runs very well on old machines, it comes clean preconfigured with "one application per task", and it also comes with XFCE, which is light years ahead of IceWM or Fluxbox, when it comes down to usability.
48 • @47 - Salix (by Andy Prough on 2020-11-18 06:43:07 GMT from United States)
Salix is dormant according to DW, and based on their last release being 4 years old and their packages in the repos being quite old.
Sparky Linus and BunsenLabs Linux are probably a couple of the fast, more minimal distros that some would prefer over antiX for older computers. For me, a distro like antiX with a lot of tools in the menu is not a bug - that's a feature.
49 • How old is "old"? (by whoKnows on 2020-11-18 06:58:42 GMT from Switzerland)
@48 • @47 - Salix (by Andy Prough)
Salix is dormant according to DW, and based on their last release being 4 years old and their packages in the repos being quite old.
Sparky Linus and BunsenLabs Linux are probably a couple of the fast, more minimal distros that some would prefer over antiX for older computers. For me, a distro like antiX with a lot of tools in the menu is not a bug - that's a feature.
Dormant Distro with too old packages for a dormant hardware that one can't rely on as a daily driver. Did you notice?
"With a lot of tools" might be a good argument FOR YOU, but is generally a bad argument FOR THE MOST. See @45.
All these tools a great for the nerds and fiddlers, who still use some ancient stuff for fun, but that makes 2 % of 2 % (ancient HW) of 2 % (Linux) of all users.
The point here is, it doesn't really help much if the OS is using 180 MB of RAM, if the browser with a couple of open tabs already uses over 600 and if it can't play 240x320 px YouTube video, because the HW is too weak / missing HW decoders.
50 • RE:49 How old is "old"? (by denPes on 2020-11-18 08:46:13 GMT from Belgium)
Salix 14.2 is still supported and actively maintained. For example, Slackware only has the unsupported Firefox ESR (68...) version, and Salix 14.2 has the latest Firefox ESR (78..) release. Yet, Slackware is not considered dormant, and Salix is.
4 years is not really old. debian gives 5+ years support on their releases, centos/redhat 10 years. LTS releases are being used for production. Not everyone wants to upgrade every 1 or 2 years. Having a stable base, and being able to update some key software (like browsers) is fine for production and pc's, unless you are a developer that needs the latest frameworks.
Dormant is just an arbitrary term, based on some parameters. The first example (slackware/salix) shows you that in that case it is not really logical.
On the subject of a lot of tools, I think that some cater to the more familiar software sets. And some rely on smaller tools or their own bash/python scripts. I would not consider myself as a nerd. Yet I prefer the smaller tools and my own scripts. A lot of users do the same. whether it be bash/powershell/python or a specific tools for a task, it often provides better flexibility.
51 • No, I don't recommend distros anymore (by OstroL on 2020-11-18 09:16:07 GMT from Poland)
There was a time I recommended distros to friends and relatives, but I won't now. Anyone interested has to get into the pond by himself and wade through. It is easy to show Linux distros to the very young, but not to the grownups. Most of the grownups don't even want to open their laptops anymore, for they are immersed in smartphones.
52 • out of which box? (by Tim on 2020-11-18 11:20:21 GMT from United States)
@45
I’ve been running distros in the Debian family for nine years, and in all that time I’ve never had trouble finding some flavor of Debian, Ubuntu, or Mint that worked fine on whatever computer I wanted it on.
No distro is ever going to meet the standard of “this works out of the box perfectly on every system any user in the world might decide to put it on.” These are not OEM installs and although support is really good, some kernels and some setups are going to cause some machines problems. Fine, we just try again with a different kernel, release, or distro.
The car analogy doesn’t really work for three reasons:
1. Free operating systems are not cars. You can and should try several until one meets your needs. And to be clear, this will be different for each device. My family has five different computers and each at the moment is running a different release of Debian, Mint, or Ubuntu, because whatever is on there now is working, and when one stops working well I’ll put whatever is best for that machine at that time on.
2. People absolutely drive cars with problems if that problem doesn’t affect how they use the car.
3. The stuff you mentioned, changing fonts and moving icons, isn’t equivalent to doing repair work, it’s equivalent to adjusting the mirrors and moving the seat to fit yourself.
I’ve noticed one thing over the years: if I grow really fond of a release, and maybe think it’s my favorite ever, someone else will think it was the worst release ever. And the ones I’ve detested had their fans. We’re just different. It’s ok.
53 • It's NOT ok! (by whoKnows on 2020-11-18 13:21:55 GMT from Switzerland)
@50 • RE:49 How old is "old"? (by denPes)
“Salix 14.2 is still supported and actively maintained.”
This you have to explain to @48 (by Andy Prough) - I know very well how the Salix/Slackware works.
When Fedora uses LibreOffice 7, Ubuntu still uses 6 and the Slackware has 5. That was always so and will never change.
52 • out of which box? (by Tim)
“No distro is ever going to meet the standard of “this works out of the box perfectly on every system any user in the world might decide to put it on.””
“The car analogy doesn’t really work for three reasons: ...”
The car analogy works - if you understand what I wrote properly and “No distro is ever going to meet the standard of “it just works”” has three different reasons:
1. There is no big company who cares behind the Linux as is the case with Mac and Windows. They both work perfectly OOTB on every Hardware they are certified for.
2. Linux's developers are a couple of people who know what they do and the rest is amateurs who do or do not understand something more than their own project.
3. Linux's users are themselves taking care that Linux can never get a chance to improve and get better - TELEMETRY!
Telemetry is the only way to improve the products, because the developer can clearly see how the products get used - that's why Mac and Windows work.
And one more thing about “No distro is ever going to meet the standard of “it just works”” - what I referred to wasn't that every Distro must work on every HW - that's completely impossible without fixing the whole Linux Kernel concept and impossible if not all HW producers are willing to help.
I talked about the SW not working OOTB - wrong default presets which are wrong/false/broken FOR MOST users (even if they might fit some or fixed with only few clicks - that's the job of the “Distro-Baker”).
With other words, one has to ensure that the default presets meet the needs of most users - who wants something else is free to exchange the default light theme for the dark one, and replace the default black font, default system theme ... and “break” it for himself until it gets something like this:
https://ibb.co/4K8gRqQ
https://ibb.co/KDdpsds
https://ibb.co/drjFRqt
If already black default (== broken OOTB), why not at least:
https://www.pling.com/s/Gnome/p/1012041/
This obviously “broken” - regardless of somebodies taste (or the lack of it).
By defending them and call that “diversity”, you're only insuring that Linux will forever stay what it currently is - a project instead of product!
This has very little to do with “We’re just different” - and It’s NOT ok!!
54 • Poll question (by Otis on 2020-11-18 17:14:18 GMT from United States)
Given that distro recommendations posted in here vanish rather quickly (I've posted a few and seen a few), I gather that the query has to do with friends/co-workers etc. Or perhaps at another site.
Perhaps it's the wording, or an out of context to the ongoing discussion perception. It's too easy to come across as a fanboi, especially for the distros at the top 10 or so of the PHR list.
I think MX Linux solves just about every problem a linux user may have encountered on other distors. Plus, no systemd unless you want it.
55 • 51 • No, I don't recommend distros anymore (by OstroL (by James on 2020-11-19 11:20:41 GMT from United States)
I agree, I don't recommend distros. If someone is interested in Linux, I point them to Distrowatch and the search page. They can plug in what they want, and get a list to read through and decide. I will help them with any technical questions about the search page as a lot of Windows users won't understand they have choices, but that is it, their decision is their own.
56 • Every problem ... (by whoKnows on 2020-11-19 12:04:05 GMT from Switzerland)
@54 • Poll question (by Otis)
"I think MX Linux solves just about every problem a linux user may have encountered on other distors."
I don't know about "every problem a linux user may have" ... maybe if you're blind or ...
The first problem I encountered was - it wouldn't make me a coffee ...
But otherwise, I really love MX. Seriously!
Whenever I show it to the people, we always have a good laugh.
And so, I still keep my secretary. By the way ... she's hot - MX not. She gets styled by professionals.
https://ibb.co/zJWt0kv
🥴 🤢 🤮
whoKnows, maybe I should have been called iSee. 😉
57 • Response to this week's poll (by Jacob A. Tice on 2020-11-19 18:30:41 GMT from United States)
SparkyLinux is not a great beginner distro imho. Stick to Ubuntu-based distros if you're a beginner, but if you're advanced than sure, try SparkyLinux. Get used to needing to find Debian-specific packages, as Ubuntu ones don't always work on Debian.
58 • Distro recommends (by cykodrone on 2020-11-20 13:01:47 GMT from Germany)
I run two, a noob friendly, multimedia powerhouse, and an old school bolt it together yourself. I mostly use the latter, because I like it, not one for frills, and cpu cycle guzzling GUI pretties. All that being said, it depends on who I'm talking to, that's the one I recommend.
59 • Distro recommendations (by Basil Fernie on 2020-11-21 08:29:31 GMT from South Africa)
I started my computing experiences on an IBM 704 programming in Fortran II (punchcards) back in 1965, Seen a few changes since then. Called the upcoming change to (desktop) PCs and became very familiar with Olivetti's DOS when I started building my own PC-clones for customers, then changed ro DR-DOS with no MicroSoft drawbacks (whether financial or techonogical) attached. Had a brief look at Very Early Linux, concluded supporting it on user desktops would drown me in support queries, switched to OS/2 round about when one could get a 386 (avoided Intel, used Cyrix or AMD). Bliss - until around Y2K, after which MS manipulated IBM out of providing OS/2, let alone as a free download, and one had to wait for eComstation, which would have priced me out of my target market.
So I fiddled around with this and that, had to buy a couple of laptops in the process with Windows on them which I usually replaced with Win2K Server due to the long-term project I was busy with (but Win7 wasn't quite as bad as I expected) until I managed to install one or Linux distros on desktops/laptops, mainly SuSE. Disappointed at the tedious complications in getting printers running.
Long story short, I now on my own had had installed and was supporting a few hundred of my homebuilt PCs with my own software package on. Not something to fiddle with.
Waited some more until (cue South African anthem!) Ubuntu arrived, then started serious distro-hopping. Mint, Peppermint, Lubuntu (for quite a long time), LXLE (very stable, not too resource-hungry), Q4OS, 4MLinux etc, until one day I saw the classic splashscreen (two anglers on the beach, early morning or evening) of, as I recall, MX14 and I was hooked.
Download wasn't too big, installation was straightforward, sound and wireless connection etc were all easy. It became my daily driver in spite of occasional forays into Puppies (use Fatdog on a stick for many system functions, Fatdog64 even more so), CrunchBang of beloved memory, some other 'bangs, and now Bunsenlabs Lithium for minimalistic elegance (inspired by MX including Fluxbox as an alternative user option). Even stuck with MX when it went through some big changes (just after MX17, IIRC) which may have deterred some previous posters. Now it's all settled down and running very smoothly. Don't think they'll forget the traumas of that upheaval.
What would I recommend to an enquirer? I think a few USBs with a range of distros (Ubuntu or Debian-based) to try, just to sort out their aptitude level. MX19 would be a good approach. Depending on the user's reactions, I might drop the whole idea of supporting them, or I might proceed cautiously.
60 • Distro recommendations (by FRC on 2020-11-21 20:25:44 GMT from Brazil)
I recommend one of the distros a have used.
61 • Recommended distribution for newcomers (by Jay on 2020-11-22 13:16:04 GMT from Belgium)
I use Linux Mint Mate and that is what I tell people to use and I demonstrate it first so they can see how good it is.
Number of Comments: 61
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| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Full list of all issues |
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Xebian
Xebian is a Linux distribution based on Debian's "Unstable" branch and featuring the Xfce desktop. It comes with a slightly modified default configuration, inspired by Xubuntu, and a third-party icon theme. Xebian closely resembles a Debian blend, with only a thin layer for artwork and configuration that differs from Debian.
Status: Active
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Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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