Favorite Linux Distro

Hey guys, I've been bitten by the Linux bug for the past few years and have been trying different distros. I've played with Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint and Zorin. Now they're all pretty good, especially Ubuntu (I loved it so much I contemplated getting a laptop made for it), but I wanted other people's opinions on which one they liked the most and why.

Here's some pics for you to Ooo and Aaaw at:

Ubuntu

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Mint

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Fedora

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Bumping this as I have been on Windows for a while, but got bitten by the bug again. This time I'm trying Kubuntu as I have fallen absolutely in love with Plasma and I am also looking at openSUSE as well due to the stability and larger repository vs Ubuntu.

 

For some reason I can't seem to get openSUSE to download on my computer to test it, but I did test an Arch Linux distro called Manjaro. I chose the KDE version and I was in love. I found it to be the most complete OS out of the box that I have tested so far. This is especially true compared to Kubuntu which I liked at first, but out of the box felt very incomplete as if KDE was added as an afterthought as there is not custom theme from Canonical. I ended up making one of my own, but still would have been nice for a preinstalled one made by the Kubuntu team. I also tried Zorin which was recommended by Linux users for people who want a Windows 7 like experience, but I found it too limiting in what I could do with it compared to Ubuntu and KDE. I plan to try Fedora and Mint next, but so far Manjaro KDE is the one to beat (I still like Ubuntu though and cannot wait to test Unity 8 once it's released).

 

I tried Mint, but the Cinnamon desktop just is not for me. I can download Mint with KDE as well, but I just wanted to try and see if I would like the intended environment. It's not bad, but it reminds me of xp in a way which I didn't like. I did try the new Fedora. Last one I tried was with Gnome 3, but I didn't like it (it felt more like a mobile OS). I tried it again to see if the improvements to Gnome 3 made it more suitable to my tastes, but I still don't like it. I guess I'm too much of a weirdo who likes KDE and Unity. Now my major problem is I have to plug in my computer to Ethernet to get internet as Linux has problems detecting my wifi driver out of the box. Also my backlit keyboard's software was made with Windows in mind, so if I want to customize that I will have to see if Wine can open the program.

 

Mint is SCUUUUM! But why the Unity hate? Sure it tries to mimic OS X and Windows 7 to varying degrees and uses more resources than even KDE, but it works most of the time. At least the meta key is mapped to the Ubuntu launcher. Totally get the GNOME 3 hate, and now some users are getting more curious about the fact that there's a Profile ID when you install it on your computer bringing privacy concerns. I may try MATE next.

 

From what I read, you're using the most recommended alternate browser for the OS. Here are some more choices, though:

https://www.starryhope.com/10-alternative-browsers-for-ubuntu-linux/

 

Despite being popular, Firefox and Opera get a lot of internet hate for how bloated and slow they are now. I haven't used Opera since my old Galaxy S and that was only the mobile version. Firefox used be my go to browser when I had Windows 7 on my old laptop, but I have gotten used to Edge to the point where it's my daily driver for web browsing. I refused to try out Chrome due to my dislike of Google's practices, but now I've been rethinking my use of MS's products as well, hence my inner debate of leaping into Linux and making Duck Duck Go as my primary search engine.

 

So I tried Ubuntu Mate and was this created to mimic Gnome cause it certainly looks like it? I'm unfamiliar about Mate. It appears stable, but I never liked Gnome. I tried Xubuntu, but it felt like I was using Windows with the taskbar on the top rather than the bottom. I don't know. I guess I was expecting more since many have compared Xfce to Mac OS X in terms of GUI.

So far Manjaro KDE is my favorite distro. I wanted to try Debian and openSUSE, but Debian doesn't appear to have a live boot option and openSUSE is too large for my internet connection to download (only explanation I can figure out).

I'll take a look at Mandriva and Solus OS next. I tried to use Elementary OS, but learned that you have to donate to get it.

 

So I've decided to install Manjaro KDE on an external hard drive. I liked Solus, but wasn't wowed by it. It's simple, but a little too simplistic. I still cannot get my Wi-Fi Driver to work on Linux though, so I will not dual boot it on my computer and will try this solution instead.

 

That explains it! Thanks.

Now I'm really dumb... well sort of... Apparently you CAN download Elementary OS for free. You just have to put $0 for a custom donation on the homepage, but it sure is deceiving with that option not being more obvious. I tried it, and DAMN! If you like Mac OS X, but cannot afford the hardware; this OS is certainly made with you in mind. The desktop looks like a near clone of OS X, but with hints of GNOME.