Analysis of the top 10 Linux operating systems

Everyday Linux User ^ | 10 February 2014 | Gary Newell

[ShadowAce]

Introduction

The “Everyday Linux User” website is dedicated to the average, ordinary, everyday, computer user who has a basic working knowledge of computers and who uses their computer for common tasks such as listening to music, playing games, watching videos, writing documents and editing photos and video clips.

Quite a common question asked at sites such as Reddit and Yahoo answers is “Which distro should I use?” and it is usually followed up by a brief set of requirements and the names of distributions that the user has heard of.

Users are confused when they first come to Linux about which distribution they should be using and I have heard people say “I was thinking of Ubuntu or Arch” or “I was thinking about Gentoo and how hard is it to use Linux From Scratch”.

Quite often these same users are sent off to Distrowatch to check out the distributions listed on that site and I’m sure many of those users then look at the rankings down the right hand side.

The truth is though that out of the top 10 only a handful are really going to be useful for a beginner or everyday user.

This article lists the top 10 distributions according to Distrowatch for 2013 and gives a brief outline of the purpose of those distributions and whether they are the sort of operating systems a new user or average computer user should be using as their first port of call.

Linux Mint

Linux Mint is clearly one of the distributions that the readers of this blog should be checking out.

The order of the day for Linux Mint is evolution over revolution and if you are looking for a traditional desktop  oriented operating system with taskbars, system trays and menus then Linux Mint is definitely worth a go.

Linux Mint is a  “straight out of the box” operating system and as soon as you install it you can easily do the sort of tasks you would normally do without having to install any extra software.

Setting up the internet is a breeze as is installing peripherals.

There are a number of different desktop environments available for Linux Mint including Cinnamon, MATE, XFCE and even KDE. Use the Cinnamon or KDE desktop environments on newer hardware and MATE, XFCE environments on older hardware.

Linux is really good at sticking to a theme and so it doesn’t matter which desktop environment you choose the general look and feel and behaviour of the operating system is the same.

Click here for a full review of Linux Mint

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is the distribution that most people have heard of and consequently it is the first Linux based operating system that they try.

The fact that Ubuntu is number 2 in the rankings might actually be down to the fact that because most people have heard of Ubuntu they go straight to the downloads page rather than to Distrowatch. This is of course opinion and not necessarily fact.

I believe that Ubuntu is delivering everything that Microsoft wanted Windows 8 to achieve. The Unity desktop once you get used to it is a slick desktop environment and it is easy to see how it could work on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones.

Ubuntu isn’t for everyone though.  

The fine line between integration and intrusion is encroached upon by Ubuntu and if you aren’t comfortable with seeing adverts for products within your desktop experience then you might want to move on to another distribution or one of the other buntus such as Kubuntu, Lubuntu or Xubuntu.

Unlike Linux Mint the emphasis is about testing the boundaries. The desktop, although clearly not to some peoples tastes, is forward thinking and modern.

Add to the mix the integration of Steam for gaming and you have a really good operating system.

Ubuntu is definitely a Linux based operating system for the everyday user.

Click here for a review of Ubuntu

Debian

Debian has been around for what feels like forever and it provides the base for hundreds of other distributions including Ubuntu and Linux Mint.

Debian contains a set of repositories with an incredibly large number of applications available for users to install.

The versions of Debian available on their site only install free software and there are no third party or proprietary products included by default.

For new users, setting up Debian can be somewhat of a challenge compared to Ubuntu or Linux Mint.

The choice of which version of Debian to run is also quite tricky and depends on the person who will be using it. If you want the latest stuff today then you can install the unstable branch which has all the latest products but they may or may not work for you. At the other end of the scale you can choose the stable branch which has older versions of software that are pretty much guaranteed to work.

Debian is like Linux Lego. It is great for people who want to start from a base installation and build something from the ground up. It may not be suitable for people who have limited computer skills and it requires more of a learning curve than Linux Mint or Ubuntu.

I would suggest that Debian would be “The Next Step” when it comes to trying out Linux.

Click here for a review of Debian

Mageia

10 years ago the Linux landscape looked a lot different to how it looks today. Ubuntu was still in development.

At that time there were other Linux operating systems leading the way including Mandrake (Mandriva), openSUSE and PCLinuxOS. Mageia was originally a fork of the Mandriva codebase and it is a community driven distribution targeting the same sort of users as Ubuntu and Mint.

Mageia in theory is another operating system that new users to Linux should try out. 

Mageia is released for all the major desktop environments including Gnome, KDE, XFCE and LXDE. 

My advice is to definitely give it a try because there are people out there who swear by this operating system and think it is the best there is. What I would say though is that if you don’t like it, don’t dismiss Linux based on your experience with Mageia.

Click here for a full review of Mageia

Fedora

At the beginning of the article I mentioned that people often mention distributions that they have heard of whilst asking for advice on which one to use. Fedora’s name quite often comes up.

Fedora is cutting edge. There is less reliance on stability and more reliance on trying out new things. If you want the latest stuff now then Fedora is definitely the way to go.

For new users though the installer itself is a bit of a tricky customer and you may find the odd issue as you go along.

You should also be aware that Fedora, along with Debian, only ships with free software and you have to jump through a couple of extra hoops to install proprietary software and drivers.

As with Debian, I would say that Fedora is “The Next Step”.

Click here for a review of Fedora

openSUSE

openSUSE is a community distribution with big backing.

As with Mageia and Mint there are a number of desktop environments to choose from including Gnome, KDE, XFCE and LXDE.

openSUSE should definitely be tried by new users and users looking for an alternative to Mint, Mageia and Ubuntu.

The operating system is stable and it is relatively easy to set up and use.

openSUSE has been around for a long time as well so there is little danger of it disappearing in the near to medium term future.

Click here for a review of openSUSE

PCLinuxOS

A definite must try for new users to Linux. It always surprises me that PCLinuxOS languishes lower down in the top 10 rather than sitting up in 2^nd or 3^rd.

For new and inexperienced users, PCLinuxOS provides the closest experience to what they are probably used to than any of the aforementioned distributions (with the possible exception of Linux Mint).

There is great support and a great monthly magazine and the community is very friendly and supportive.

PCLinuxOS has the KDE, MATE and LXDE desktop environments available and therefore it caters to modern and older computers.

PCLinuxOS has a rolling release model which means that once you install it you will never have to upgrade.

Click here for a review of PCLinuxOS

Manjaro

The rise of Manjaro has been nothing short of amazing. Based on Arch Linux, Manjaro provides an instant entry point into the world of Arch Linux.

The setup of Manjaro is fairly straight forward and it performances very well on older and modern hardware.

The learning curve for Manjaro is potentially a little bit steeper than the likes of Mint, Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS.

This is not necessarily therefore a distribution that should be considered a first choice for the average computer user.

Click here for a review of Manjaro

Arch

It scares me the number of people who have never tried Linux before that ask the question “Should I try Ubuntu or Arch first?”

If you are new to Linux and your computer skills are limited then Arch is definitely not your first port of call.

Even if you are an experienced Linux user, Arch may not be your next port of call.

There is no doubt that Arch will provide you a great base to build and tailor your operating system the way you want it to be but to get there you have to want to invest time and you have to be willing to learn on your feet (sounds like a job specification, must be a self-starter).

If you can read and follow instructions and think about what you are doing as you are doing it then there is definitely merit in trying Arch out. Ultimately if you succeed then you will feel great satisfaction knowing that you have a stable, secure, reliable and highly responsive operating system.

The documentation for Arch is excellent. The support from the forums can be a little bit hit and miss depending on whether the questions you ask show that you have put in the effort to try and solve your issues first. For instance saying that you can’t do basic things without having followed the beginners guide will be answered in the standard way. Read the manual.

If you are an average user then Arch may not be for you.

Click here for a look at Arch

Puppy

Puppy is designed to run from a USB pen drive or from DVD. It is not designed to be installed to the hard drive although it can be.

The approach taken by Puppy is about minimalism where functionality trumps pretty graphics.

All the usual favourites can be installed including FireFox and VLC but there are a host of lightweight alternatives installed by default.

Puppy isn’t really an operating system therefore that I would advise inexperienced users to use as their main operating system but I can’t stress enough that you should give it a go by running it from a USB drive.

You can have great fun playing around with Puppy Linux and if you always carry a USB drive with you then you have a bootable version of Linux available wherever you go.

Click here for a series of reviews about different versions of Puppy

Summary

Hopefully this guide has shed some light on the operating systems currently occupying the top slots at Distrowatch.

You should now be able to choose from the distributions that are most relevant to your situation.

For the everyday Linux user I recommend one of Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Mageia, openSUSE and PCLinuxOS with the addition of Puppy on a pen drive.

[clee1]

OK, so which one should I use? :-)

I’m a former unix admin, so none of them scare me. However, I use a Win7 system due to software. I LIKE Office and windows gaming....

Is there a decent emulator available for those progs that are not Linux-native?

[ShadowAce]

I would DL and burn several Live CD/DVDs to experiment with and see which one fits your needs.

As for Office, LibreOffice is quite good, and it comes in a Windows version, so you can try it out before you make the OS switch.

There are quite a few games available on Linux--including Steam. I use Wine to run the one or two Windows games I like (Civilization, mainly), and Wine usually comes with the distro's repository, so you can install it with a single command.

[clee1]

I appreciate the info. I used an early iteration of Wine years ago and it sucked pretty bad; is the newer flavor ok? I have a love-hate relationship with winblows... love the applications, hate the OS.

[ShadowAce]

Like most software, it gets better with each release. It is pretty variable, depending on the application you are trying to run. They have a pretty good database on the status of each game/application on their website. You can look up the one you would like to run and see its status.

love the applications, hate the OS.

I definitely understand that. There are days when I kinda wish I ran Windows, so I could play a game I'm reading about, but Windows just keeps getting in the way. I'd much rather be free from prying eyes/big brother/registration/etc.

[PieterCasparzen]

I use the predecessor of Libre, openoffice.

IMHO...

Many, many, many file formats, covers all the bases I need.

In other words, you have word docs, excel, project management, graphics, slide presentation files in the m$ format, or in the native openoffice / libre formats.

They are a full office suite, you can exchange files with people using windoze, just save in their format.

Download a powerpoint presentation from a website ? Just run it ! It works. Your bank has the ability to download Excel files of your bank activity ? Download and boom, openoffice / libre can read them.

Also very cool is that there is a windoze version of openoffice (I assume so for libre). You know, that version is a windoze program that runs on M$. So you can get friends & family to run that version even if they don’t switch to unix (oops, linux) right away. I find the user interface to M$ office programs, every new version, wacks out with all these cutesy graphical junk things - and everything changes in where its located. A new version of Excel is thus a pain in the neck to re-learn how to do what you used to do. My old openoffice does not try to be cute, it is pretty straightforward. I hope after I upgrade it will be just as easy - I think it will.

In addition to openoffice, Linuxes have a decent working email client as well, just point it at your email server and go.

Linuxes also allow you to download software like Gimp that lets you create or edit existing pictures.

As always, learn about the operating system you are running in terms of security ! Lock down your PC.

Most windoze users simply don’t do that. And to a large extent, windoze is designed to have more open doors and be be more confusing for the local admin (you). But linux/unix also needs to have its security doors closed. Hour for hour spent learning, you’ll be more effective on linux at doing that. Linux has more upfront learning time since it’s such a broad operating system. But the nice thing is your old knowledge for the most part does not have its usefulness disappear with the next version. People who worked with unix in the 1960s could sit right down and be productive on a modern unix. If you knew Win95 well, a lot of your knowledge was win95 specific and has been superseded by 1,000 times more things you should learn. There are whole “frameworks” that never existed in win95, things work very differently.

[PieterCasparzen]

Of course, if you’re on linux brand 1, then want to blow it away and install linux brand 2, etc., you’ll want to have all your files under one directory. Then you can just copy that to your new install and you’re right back where you were.

Of course, you should keep backups of your data should anyhoo as a matter of routine.

[clee1]

I’ll probably leave mine dual-boot, just so I can use winblows natively when I want to (games) and a Linux environment for the rest of my computing. I have used openoffice before. The version I used was a little cludgy, but I understand the later editions are better.

I played with debian and Ubuntu before, and Have setup a CentOS webserver for a nonprofit I work with, but personally I am looking for a simple desktop OS that allows me under the hood for small custom stuff (cron, shell scripts, etc.) I may want to crank up a httpd for a temporary use or setup an inhouse email server. Again, nothing major, but I don’t want to have to babysit a Linux OS any more than I like to debug and secure my Winblows machine.

[Bikkuri]

Kubuntu KDE all the way ;^)

[clee1]

Understood. Thanks.

Per Distrowatch:

Ubuntu, Linux Mint and PCLinuxOS are considered the easiest for new users who want to get productive in Linux as soon as possible without having to master all its complexities. On the other end of the spectrum, Slackware Linux, Arch Linux and FreeBSD are more advanced distributions that require plenty of learning before they can be used effectively. openSUSE, Fedora, Debian GNU/Linux and Mageia can be classified as good "middle-road" distributions. CentOS is an enterprise distribution, suitable for those who prefer stability, reliability and long-term support over cutting-edge features and software.

That being said, I think I opt for one of the "middle of the road" distributions.

Any recommendation?

[clee1]

Agreed. I have wanted to switch to a Linux desktop for a long time.... just never seemed to find the time to get one the way I wanted it, though I have come lose.

I spent some time with RedHat and fedora, early FreeBSD, Debian, etc. Set up a CentOS webserver for a non-profit.

Really just want a simple desktop for 80% of my computing needs with the ability to get into the weeds as the need arises.

[Bikkuri]

Neither of the previous replies to you mentioned that you can install (or boot LiveDisk without having to actually install) on a USB too... I install all of my OS’s from USB.

Download an ISO, boot with it (either from DVD or USB) and mess around with it to see if you like it (meaning the different distros)..

If you like it, you can choose to install. Mint, for sure, is pretty automatic with detecting and using your ‘net connection upon boot (has a weakness to one brand of wireless, can’t remember which one, since the one I use worked with no problems).

Also, since you are limited, I suggest either Mate or XfCE, it works wonders on old laptops and PCs.. and I am talking about 10+ years old; XfCE is Not as user friendly though.. Next, I would recommend KDE.. a little bit more resource needed, but is manageable... Cinnamon (and Unity/Ubuntu) are both resource hogs (eye candy stuff)).

[Bikkuri]

I still have a RedHat CD from around 2000 (or so) buried somewhere.. I should stick it in and see how it performs on my system now :)

[Bikkuri]

BTW, have you tried out Mint XfCE? It may be what you are looking for...

[Bikkuri]

MINT KDE.. You have the experience.. that’s all you need to be up and running in NO time. From booting the LiveCD (USB), through getting the updates.. no more than 20-30 minutes (and only 1 reboot.. that was after the initial install).

The most flexible Linux I know of, as long as you can use terminal comfortably (don’t even need the terminal, but it helps).

(And, it doesn’t have to be Mint either... there are Debian based KDE distros out there with rolling updates so you don’t have to go through the dev update every few months... But, I stick to the Kubuntu since it gives me an excuse to do a fresh install every few months..).

[Bikkuri]

I will definitely check out OpenSUSE KDE.. I am pretty partial to KDE.. not many of the others give the flexibility of KDE.

[Bikkuri]

Lol XD

I was wondering what Linux 8.1 was ;^)

[Bikkuri]

Libre can run M$ Office docs... WINE (WINE Is Not and Emulator) can run many, if not most games (for free)... and there is another that is called Crossfire (sets up and install pre fixed configs for apps and games), but it is pay and play.. :p

[Bikkuri]

One more option we haven’t mention.. VirualBox... You can run Windows inside your Linux OS.. some slight limitations (case-by-case).. but it is what I use for PhotoShop.

[Bikkuri]

Middle of Raod.. in my experience, would be any KDE Distro.. not beginners stuff, but very easy to catch up with the differences.. As far as I know, it is the most flexible.. you have complete control of what and where to put things... you can even make it look like WinBlows, if you want.

[Bikkuri]

Any idea what’s up with CentOS?

Wanted to test it out, but it seems to be gone now :/