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4.7 star rating
0
What is the best alternative to OS X Mavericks?
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PsychOS
All
10
Experiences
Pros
7
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
Runs well on older, 32-bit hardware (i686)
PsychOS is designed for older/lighter, 32-bit, i686 hardware with plans to go even further back with i486 (PsychOS486), i386 and older (PsychDOS), and so on and so forth as opposed to always trying to run on the latest hardware, not that it could in most cases anyway since 32-bit i686 operating systems will run on most x86_64 ones.
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Top
Con
Bloated
Over 3000 packages by default including several package managers.
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Top
Pro
RetroGrab is really cool
It lets you install old software for use with emulators like DOSBox but run them as if they were normal programs from the normal applications menu.
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Top
Con
7 package managers included
There should only be one.
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Top
Pro
No fuss. Just works.
A lot of the programs are already set up for you. Just boot it and go. This is definitely one of the better SHTF distro's.
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Top
Pro
QuickEdit
There's a yad-based tool you do not see on any other GNU/Linux distro in which you can simply right-click pretty much any file and then use the "QuickEdit" option to quickly edit small things about a file such as size if it's an image or video, convert the file, or even render the file if it's a Blender project. It's nice not having to open an image with GIMP every time I want to resize or convert something.
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Pro
The IceWM option looks and functions nice
Most GNU/Linux distributions that include IceWM as a desktop environment option don't do too much to it, if a t all. PsychOS seems to have a customized or themed version that actually doesn't feel you with dread and still uses many of the keyboard shortcuts from XFCE.
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Pro
Lots of command-line tools
Lots of command-line tools and I really like the CLIMax thing. It's a good tool to have if you want to spend time in the command-line but aren't that experienced. Also, it plays a quick, one-time ascii animation when you go into the tty for the first time.
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Top
Pro
TONS of Thunar Custom Actions
PsychOS comes with a lot of Thunar Custom Actions, many of which as disabled, but they are there none the less; most probably just in case. Right-click on a DOOM WAD shows there's a menu item to play it directly using LZDoom.
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Specs
License:
GPL v3
Based On:
Devuan
Default Desktop Environment:
XFCE
File Size:
3.8GB ISO
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Experiences
Free
346
26
feren OS
All
7
Experiences
Pros
5
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Post installazione
Nel post installazione si apre la finestra che ti permette di scegliere, in tutta semplicitĂ , impostazioni desktop. Bello per un utente desktop che non vuole perdersi nella miriade di opzioni kde
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Top
Con
...
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Top
Pro
Stabile
Basata su Mint... la stabilità è assicurata!
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Top
Pro
Bella
Bella da vedere. Permette di lavorare e rilassarsi con semplicitĂ . L’attenzione ai dettagli grafici rende il lavoro piĂ¹ piacevole
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Top
Pro
Scelta kernel
Feren semplifica la scelta del kernel tramite un’apposita sezione.
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Top
Pro
Hardware
Installare hardware è semplificato tramite l’interfaccia di Feren
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Specs
Based On:
Debian>Ubuntu>Linux Mint
Default Desktop Environment:
KDE
Init-System:
systemd
Package Manager:
Debian Package Manager
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Experiences
free
276
32
Siduction
All
5
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Debian based
Apt/Aptitude, debconf or the alternatives system.
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Top
Con
Hardware recognition is bad compared to Ubuntu.
Siduction won't install any non-free drivers by default.
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Top
Pro
Updates are slow, but stable. It is based on Debian after all.
It uses Unstable per default so it is still some kind of stable since all dangerous packages are tested in experimental first.
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Top
Pro
Secure Boot support
It supports secure boot which is great for LiveCDs and dual boot systems.
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Specs
Based On:
Debian Unstable>Aptosid
Default Desktop Environment:
KDE, Xfce, Cinnamon and LXQt
Init-System:
systemd
Package Manager:
Debian Package Manager
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free
221
30
ArcoLinux
All
16
Experiences
Pros
10
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Pro
Easy to install
Unbelievably fast for ArcoLinux with XFCE, Openbox, I3.
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Top
Con
Small development team
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Top
Pro
Community support is great
Need to install Discord on cell phone and computer. Fastest way to receive help. Community is mostly European on Discord so getting help at midnight may be a challenge.
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Top
Con
Multiple types makes new user confused
Due to multiple types, new user might get confused and leave this all along.
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Top
Pro
Helps you to become a Arch Linux user
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Top
Con
A bit bloated
It is a bit bloated to many web browsers, text editors out the box. A simple customize menu's for all 3 desktops would have been nice.
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Top
Pro
Blazingly fast!
Startup time, shutdown time, everything in between.
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Top
Con
No single ISO
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Top
Pro
Easy to isntall desktop environments
Thanks to the manuals provided by the developers it is really easy to install more than 10 different desktop environments that'll work at the same time!
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Top
Con
Forums are not very friendly or helpful
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Top
Pro
Easy to install, handles system memory well, and a great way to learn Arch Linux
Incredibly fast, easy to install, tons of software pre-installed and easily installs more.
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Top
Pro
XFCE, Openbox and I3
Finished Product with almost every tool a experienced user will use.
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Top
Pro
Easy to install NVIDIA Drivers
Has option to install NVIDIA proprietary drivers. Runs great.
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Top
Pro
Learning bash script
The fastest way to reload any Linux desktop is a script that will install all your favorite apps. Keep this file on a USB stick Update for any distro from Ubuntu, Fedora, or even Arch Linux back to your favorite apps in minutes.
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Top
Pro
Efficient use of Memory, Easy to Install, Amazingly Fast
OpenBox on Arco Linux is AWESOME!
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Specs
Based On:
Arch Linux (Rolling)
Price:
FREE
Default Desktop Environment:
Openbox + Xfce + i3
Package Manager:
pacman
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Experiences
free
300
39
RebornOS
All
5
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Con
Crashes
Crashes every time when trying to install. Doesn't even install it in virtualbox or VMWare. AVOID.
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Top
Pro
Antergos with more desktops
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Top
Pro
Highly and Easily Configurable
You can easily choose from a list of browsers, desktops, office suites, etc, all from the installer.
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Top
Pro
Good Repo
Reborn's dedicated repo has some extra packages that are difficult to find elsewhere, in addition to the official Arch repos, community repos, and the AUR.
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Specs
Based On:
Arch
Default Desktop Environment:
KDE, GNOME, Deepin, Budgie, Cinnamon, Apricity, OpenBox, i3, Xfce, Pantheon
Release Schedule:
Rolling
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167
26
Slackware
All
15
Experiences
Pros
8
Cons
6
Specs
Top
Pro
Stable
Uses stable, plain-vanilla packages from upstream.
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Top
Con
Not user-friendly
It is made to be KISS (keep it simple, stupid), so you have to do everything by hand.
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Top
Pro
Strong adherence to UNIX Principals
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Top
Con
Large size live ISO
One needs to vain 3GB+ data for downloading one slackware ISO.
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Top
Pro
Ideal to learn more of Linux
Follows the original Linux roots. It still sees Linux as a free clone of UNIX so the distribution tries to be UNIX-like.
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Top
Con
Narrow repos
Doesn't offer the same amount of options as other distros do.
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Top
Pro
Package management
Uses standard tar archives with shell scripting as packages.
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Top
Con
Niche/small community
Slackware is its own niche and has a small community.
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Top
Pro
One more distro which is init based
Some users don't like to install systemd based distros because they increase booting and processing speed.
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Top
Con
Very slow release cycle
Hasn't updated in 3+ years.
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Top
Pro
Oldest surviving Linux distro
Besides Debian (which was first released in August 1993), it is the oldest still maintained Linux Distribution and was first released in July 1993.
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Top
Con
Dependency issues
When it comes to dependencies, Slackware shows more issues than many other distros.
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Top
Pro
Super fast
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Top
Pro
No systemd
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Specs
Based On:
Softlanding Linux System
Default Desktop Environment:
KDE, Xfce, NONE
Init-System:
SysVinit
Package Manager:
pkgtool
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415
62
Garuda Linux
All
8
Experiences
Pros
5
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
Super-fast
Uses vram, and a zen kernel.
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Top
Con
Needs a lot of RAM
Minimum is 4GB, for most Linux distributions it's 2GB or less.
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Top
Pro
Themes
The dr460nized KDE theme is awesome.
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Top
Con
Super
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Top
Pro
Easy entrance to Arch Linux
Filled to the brim with lots of quality-of-life changes and optimizations that are simple enough for long-time Windows, long-time Mac users, and Arch newbies to understand. Though, it also leads to bloat or not necessarily helpful extra software. If you're not into the "bloat" added in, try checking out the barebones version, you'll need to know a lot of things bout Arch to fully use barebones.
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Top
Pro
Highly customized interface
You already have most of the customization done for you out of the box.
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Top
Pro
Unused RAM is wasted RAM
It takes just a bit more RAM than Manjaro. Edit: This statement is only true if it helps the user and since this could be running on a low end machine this will not.
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Specs
Desktop Environments:
x11
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252
43
Haiku
All
11
Experiences
Pros
5
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Con
No one uses it
It's a very niche OS that no one uses.
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Top
Pro
Very fast
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Top
Con
Unfinished
It's still in beta and quite unstable. Making it unsuitable for developing applications of any kind.
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Top
Pro
Beta has been released
After about 6 years since the alpha version, beta has been released on Fri, 2018-09-28. Check here for release notes.
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Top
Con
Language support is terrible
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Top
Pro
Only need 512mb ram
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Top
Con
Small community
It is important when developing to be familiar with tools that other developers use. You can make any utility in any language you feel like, but if it's in an esoteric language that no one can read targeting a small platform that no one uses, then it was just something you did as a hobbyist, not as a developer. This is not to say that Haiku isn't a great operating system to hack around on. Just don't delude yourself into thinking you're doing it to get familiar with tools that you need to know to be a better developer.
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Top
Pro
Stability
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Top
Con
UI quite different to other OSes
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Top
Pro
Runs perfectly on old Hardware
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Specs
License:
MIT
OS Family:
BeOS-like
Programming Language:
C++, C
Widget Toolkit:
Interface Kit
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Experiences
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95
20
Tails
All
9
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Pro
Privacy focused
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Con
Not for daily use
Tails is a privacy focused Linux distro. The updates that you will receive are only for improving privacy and not for improving user experience.
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Top
Pro
Has TOR built-in
Use the Internet anonymously and circumvent censorship; all connections to the Internet are forced to go through the Tor network.
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Top
Con
You can't install it to a hard drive
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Top
Pro
Easy to use with an USB key
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Top
Con
Saved states are not present for security
For security reasons, saved states are not supported in Tails. Files can be stored in a separate, persistent volume which must be accessed with a root password. Personal settings (e.g. -- keyboard layout, window settings, etc.) are not saved persistently across reboots. This can be a hindrance for anyone not using English as their language, or not using a QWERTY keyboard layout.
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Top
Con
Only GNOME desktop environment
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Top
Con
Slow internet
Tails uses the TOR network and as a result the internet on your computer will be very slow.
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Specs
Based On:
Debian
Default Desktop Environment:
GNOME
Init-System:
Systemd
Package Manager:
Debian Package Manager
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Experiences
Free
325
54
Gallium OS
All
13
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
6
Specs
Top
Pro
Chromebook hardware support baked in
Many things work out of the box that do not with other distros, such as touchscreens.
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Top
Con
Not updated since 2019
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Top
Pro
Chromebook specific OS
Gallium OS is engineered with Chromebook hardware in mind to make the best use of Chromebook CPU's, limited RAM, and storage limitations.
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Top
Con
Bad speaker support
Speaker support is often broken, either no sound or lots of noise/distortion.
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Top
Pro
Easy to install
Using chrx on Chromebook there are only two or three straightforward steps to get Gallium OS running.
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Top
Con
Not the best looking UI
It's not the best in terms of UI but you can always install themes.
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Top
Pro
Lightweight
Based on Xubuntu and requires a low hardware spec. Thus it supports almost all Chrome OS devices.
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Top
Con
Too large
Too large to install on chromebook.
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Top
Pro
Dual boot
Installation option to dual-boot GalliumOS alongside ChromeOS.
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Top
Con
Uses Xfce
Not realy useful for touchscreen devices.
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Top
Pro
Battery life
Efficient in using the battery.
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Top
Con
Firmware update
Required opening the back and removing the firmware write-protect screw and running a script.
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Specs
Based On:
Xubuntu
Default Desktop Environment:
Xfce
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Experiences
Free
269
48
Endeavour OS
All
23
Experiences
Pros
17
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Pro
Good overall system quality and performance
Lean, fast and surprisingly stable.
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Top
Con
NET installer on the way
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Top
Pro
Great hardware support
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Top
Con
Not for everyone
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Top
Pro
No restrictive handholding, pure control over everything
The user can do whatever he wishes because the distro IS Arch - with and easy installer and great themes.
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Top
Con
Kalu needs a little refinement
I applaud the developers to carry on the legacy of Antergos, the only niggling thing that I would appreciate is, while it's nice to see news about updates; my opinion is that once you dismiss the notifications they STAY dismissed. And just clicking on the icon brings kalu brings it to the foreground. Or have the functionality of turning off the news altogether would be well received. Good distro.
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Top
Pro
Fast and simple package management
There can only be one Package Manager (pacman) ;)
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Top
Con
Same Cons that apply for Arch Linux
Since it is based on Arch, it is harder to install and can easily break.
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Top
Pro
Easy installer
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Top
Con
Uses systemd
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Pro
Great for low performance hardware
Easy on the specs and still blazingly fast.
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Top
Pro
Lightweight
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Top
Pro
Arch Linux Wiki
Being an "easy to install version of Arch" means it is exactly easy to use the famous Arch Wiki!
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Pro
As slim as you want it
Based on Arch, Endevour OS keeps its core repositories slim and free of unnecessary dependencies. The distro comes with no bloatware, only the necessary packages. The repositories are nearly as full as those of Ubuntu, while they are often more up to date.
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Pro
AUR support
One of the best reasons to use an Arch based distro. You can find almost every package there is in the Linux world!
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Pro
Stripped down to the bone
Since its stripped down, it is fast and you don't have to deal with bloatware.
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Pro
Great XFCE implementation
Their use of themes and configuration look great!
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Pro
Not based on Ubuntu
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Pro
Cutting edge rolling release
Exactly as Arch - allows users to stay on the most up-to-date versions of the software they are using.
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Top
Pro
Support for a large variety of new hardware
Rolling release means newer, up to date, mesa and kernel versions able to handle newer hardware with better performance!
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Top
Pro
Helpful community
Great team of developers and excellent forum support on their official website.
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Top
Pro
Great community
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Specs
Based On:
Arch Linux
Default Desktop Environment:
Budgie, Cinnamon, Deepin, GNOME, i3, KDE Plasma, LXQt, MATE, Xfce
Init-System:
Systemd
Package Manager:
pacman
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Experiences
0
676
107
Devuan GNU+Linux
All
9
Experiences
Pros
5
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Pro
Stability
It is stable like Debian.
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Top
Con
Difficult to install on non-free hardware
Unlike Debian, Devuan offers no unfree netinstall media, so if your system needs unfree drivers (e.g a laptop or a tablet), you'll have to download the Debian firmware on a separate USB.
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Top
Pro
It's Debian
Devuan is Debian just without systemd, it just mirrors the the Debian archive and repacks packages that have hard dependencies on systemd.
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Top
Con
No systemd
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Pro
Excellent for normal people
It is easy to use and is a good choice for beginners.
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Top
Con
Fragmentation
Forked distributions like Devuan and Artix fragment the Linux community and hurt the original project. Debian users who do not want systemd should use Slackware or BSD instead.
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Top
Pro
No Systemd
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Pro
Most decent look amongst other XFCE distros
Default XFCE theme is unique of all the XFCE distos including MXLinux, Xubuntu etc.
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Specs
Based On:
Debian
Default Desktop Environment:
XFCE
Init-System:
SysVinit, runit or OpenRC
Package Manager:
dpkg with apt, aptitude or apt-build
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105
PureOS
All
6
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Con
No mobile installation
You cant install pure os on a android phone.
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Top
Pro
PureBrowser and TOR
PureBrowser is a modified version of Firefox that comes with security focused plugins. There is also a copy of TOR installed in the OS by default.
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Top
Con
Slower updates
Updates are slower than an unmodified Debian.
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Top
Pro
You can download and install it, without the need to purchase their laptop
PureOS is available from their site for free for anyone to use, no need to purchase any of their laptops in order to check out the OS which is a tweaked build of the Trisquel distro.
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Pro
Default install on a free, open source laptop
PureOS is the default OS installed on the Purism Librem laptops.
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Specs
Based On:
Debian Testing
Default Desktop Environment:
GNOME
Init-System:
systemd
Main Usage:
Desktop
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124
29
Microsoft Windows 11
All
8
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
4
Top
Pro
Great support for video games
Top support for video drivers.
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Top
Con
Tethered to the Microsoft Store
Each new release of Windows tugs users closer to the walled garden of the Microsoft Store.
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Top
Pro
New Features
Such as notification pane, weather gadget and a sweet new centered taskbar.
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Con
Still too many legacy features
Windows 11 still has the Control Panel, Computer Managment and lots of other legacy features that originate from XP, Vista or 7.
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Pro
Great for gamers
DirectX 12 Ultimate and DirectStorage boost gaming performance quite a bit.
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Con
Spyware
Like Windows 10, Windows 11 records everything you do, builds a profile, then sells it to a third party. Go with Linux.
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Pro
New UI design and features
Centered Taskbar and Start Menu, Widgets panel, and so many more new features and UI elements make Windows 11 truly unique compared to other operating systems.
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Con
OneDrive is a bit slow
OneDrive opens a folder or file a couple seconds slower on Windows 10 compared to Windows 11. Not a problem if you don't use OneDrive though.
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Experiences
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6
2
Obarun
All
4
Experiences
Pros
1
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
No telemetry
Freedom for the users.
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Con
Installer
The instasller is abysmal. Is there really no way to install this distro without using it ?
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Top
Con
Complex for newbies
Because freedom in the world today is not simple
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Specs
Based On:
Arch Linux
Package Manager:
pacman
OS Family:
GNU/Linux
Release Schedule:
Rolling
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164
38
Void Linux
All
22
Experiences
Pros
15
Cons
6
Specs
Top
Con
Not suitable for those new to Linux
Documentation is scarce, NTFS partitions aren't automatically mounted, etc.
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Top
Pro
Rolling release
A single instance of Void will be supported forever without needing to reinstall (you can update the system every day instead of having to install one major update every 6 months or so).
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Con
Not popular
Void Linux is not a popular Linux distro. So, if you run into a problem then it's likely you won't find any fix except from the maintainers.
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Top
Pro
Very minimal
More minimalistic than Arch since it doesn't use systemd.
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Con
Manual unclear about base configuration
Manual does not explain how to fix GRUB and gives no partition hints to the available options.
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Pro
Runit init system
An init system with the "do one thing and do it right" mentality. Void Linux does not support systemd.
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Con
Niche distro
Fewer developers, smaller community, fewer packages than other distros.
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Pro
Easy to use installer
Unlike it's closest competitor, Arch, Void includes a very user-friendly and simple installer in the ISO.
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Con
Nvidia CUDA cumbersome to setup
If your using a Nvidia card with programs that require CUDA for fast rendering (Blender), you can expect some trouble getting it to work as it's not included with the Nvidiadriver of the nonfree repo.
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Pro
Runit is fast and easy to configure
Runit init system is incredibly fast to boot and very simple to use.
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Con
No packages
Void developers refuse to package brave.
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Pro
Different DE's live ISO's are available
Arch Linux doesn't make ISO's with different DE's. One need to manually install it through CLI version. But Void which is competitor of Arch, provides a wide range of DE's ISOs.
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Pro
Very lightweight
Base installation can idle at less than 250 megabytes of RAM.
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Pro
XBPS (X Binary Package System)
A brand new package manager that is fast, full-featured, and tailored specifically for Void Linux.
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Pro
BSD-like improvements with Linux
Full support for LibreSSL, an OpenSSL fork focused on maximizing security. The xbps-src package builder works in a similar manner to BSD's ports collection.
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Pro
Musl image available
Musl libc is lighter and faster than bloated glibc. Musl has been argued to be more secure overall than glibc also but is also not supported by all software.
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Pro
Friendly forum
Unlike the Arch Forum, it is a friendly forum (although small).
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Pro
Xbps-src
Xbps-src is a source packages collection which is pretty similar to FreeBSD's ports and may replace AUR for Void users.
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Pro
Many packages
There are some packages in official repos, than may be found only in AUR.
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Pro
Cool Neofetch logo
Neofetch looks good.
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Pro
No systemd
Uses runit instead of systemd.
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Specs
Based On:
Independent
Default Desktop Environment:
CLI, XFCE, Cinnamon, Enlightenment, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, GNOME
Init-System:
runit
Package Manager:
XBPS & xbps-src
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785
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Pop!_OS
All
8
Experiences
Pros
7
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Pop! makes GNOME look really good
If you're a fan of flat desktop interfaces reminiscent of Material design on Android, you'll like the theme that comes as a default in Pop! OS. The desktop and title bars all use a bright turquoise theme that makes the interface feel happy and borderline retro-chic. I found it to be like something you'd find printed on a ringer t-shirt.
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Con
64-bit only
Some older PCs still have 32 Bit processors. This limitation will be a major con for those who use an older PC since they will not be able to install, run it in a VM or live media
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Pro
User-friendly installer
The visually appealing and easy to use installer makes dual booting as easy as it can be.
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Pro
Nice gnome theme dy default
Has nice gnome theme looks really good.
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Pro
Ready to play games, out of the box
If you still miss how easy it was to just click-install and play games in Windows, Pop! will give you that similar expectation.
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Pro
A separate NVIDIA version
Most linux distros seem to hate Nvidia's graphics cards e.g. Fedora and OpenSUSE. System76 have decided to be kind. They have decided to form a good relationship with Nvidia fans and Nvidia itself. By creating a separate installation media that is dedicated for providing support to Nvidia's graphics cards. Even going as far as putting Nvidia's driver updates on Pop!_Shop for users to easily access and install.
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Pro
Optimized for modern hardware
Whereas normally, to use a brand new computer with a Linux OS, you would typically try to use unstable and sometimes buggy drivers - or struggle without hardware support until a stable release comes along.
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Made by a hardware seller
System76 is a hardware company. It configures machines to ship with Linux pre-installed. This means its entire business model centers around delivering a quality desktop Linux experience. As a result, the company pours more attention onto the desktop. It can fix visual issues and may be able to provide a smoother overall experience than you would have installing a different version of Linux on your machine yourself. Providing Pop!_OS also empowers System76 to make certain fixes for users directly rather than having to coordinate with Canonical or the broader Ubuntu community.
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Debian GNU/Linux
All
44
Experiences
Pros
29
Cons
14
Specs
Top
Pro
Wide choice in desktop environments
Debian offers stable and testing CD images specifically built for GNOME (the default), KDE Plasma Workspaces, Xfce and LXDE. Less common window managers such as Enlightenment, Openbox, Fluxbox, GNUstep, IceWM, Window Maker and others can also be installed.
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Con
Stable release contains extremely outdated packages
If you want the newest packages, you'll have to do a minimal installation of Debian stable then upgrade to testing or you need to install testing directly.
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Pro
Standard vanilla Linux desktop
Debian runs standard Gnome, XFCE, KDE - it doesn't use its own special desktop environment or debian specific modifications or customisations, which means that users benefit from the work of the whole Linux community, Debian developers can focus on the distribution itself, and any support for your desktop environment on other distributions should work on Debian as well.
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Con
No default support for unfree drivers
Debian does not official support unfree software so if you have a wifi card or anything elese that requires an unfree driver you will need to download the unofficial/non-advertised non-free iso image which contains all unfree driver packages.
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Pro
Wide choice of hardware platforms
Debian has the widest choice of hardware platforms, including: amd64, armel, armhf, i386, ia64, kfreebsd-i386, kfreebsd-amd64, mips, mipsel, powerpc, sparc, s390, s390x, source, multi-arch.
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Con
Ridiculous package splitting
Even though it makes sense to split devel and the actual binary of an application, the splitting has become as mess in debian and its derivates: for example the nvidia driver is splitted into over 40 different packages.
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Pro
Very stable
Debian has a Stable branch, where packages are thoroughly tested before release. Furthermore Debian is know to be the definition of stable when it comes to production systems.
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Con
Internal quarrels harm the project
Instead of working all together to provide the best Operating System, some maintainers are just ignorant and aggressive to new ideas or new maintainers. That led to many crises and controversy in Debian's history.
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Pro
Install and forget
Once installed you can almost forget about it and start to use your desktop for your daily tasks.
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Con
Systemd is everywhere
Systemd is very hard to debug by itself, and can break in very strange ways (such as not being able to mount a single partition on bootup), but the increasing number of desktops that are relying on specific functionality provided only by systemd (policy kit, dbus, etc) makes the entire system more fragile and harder to debug.
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Easy to find help with any problem
Debian is one of the oldest and most popular distros out there. Debian's popularity means that you will always be able to find a solution for your problem just by searching on Google, or if by chance nobody has had the problem you are having it's very easy to ask the community and quickly get a solution.
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Con
Outdated kernel of the live system
Since the LiveCD is based on Debian stable the kernel is old, outdated but stable.
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Comes with over 55.500 packages
Because of its popularity, Debian has a lot of applications available which range from productivity programs to business software, games and development tools. It comes with over 55.500 packages (software that is precompiled and ready to be installed on a local machine) -- all of them for free.
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Con
Not designed for general desktop usage
By default, Debian Stable is not that great of a distro for general desktop usage, since the packages are very outdated. You'll have to spend a while configuring the system in order to make it work.
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Pro
Highly secure system
Known for being consistent in maintaining a highly secure system. Several other popular distros use Debian as a base or core for their own Linux OS, the security being one of the main factors why it's so commonly used.
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Con
No choices
Debian basically doesn't give you any choices, even dpkg supports this feature with virtual packages: for example, it is very hard to use a different sound system than ALSA, like OSS4 or to use ALSA with pulse audio emulation, and the same goes for different init systems.
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Pro
Rolling or Release based
Every Debian Release can either use a Rolling or Release based model.
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Con
Inconsistent init systems
While Linux uses systemd, non-Linux ports use the traditional sysvinit.
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Pro
Well-working team
The developer works very well so the the code is one of the best written out there.
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Con
Hard to learn
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Pro
A lot of ways to install software
You can either use aptitude, apt or apt-build to install software from the Debian package archives.
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Con
Breaks if you suspend/resume
Breaks when you resume the activity on the system if you use nvidia cards.
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Pro
Great for gaming
As Debian is the base for SteamOS and because Ubuntu is based on it, it's almost certain that all Linux games will run properly and require no hacks like creating symbolic links because of some hardcoded paths.
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Con
Buggy and non-user friendly
You need to know almost as much as Arch and deal with documentation not as good as the Arch wiki in order for Debian to work.
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Pro
Big open-source project
The Debian project is one of the biggest open source projects with over 5000 active contributors.
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Con
No good choices of fresh desktop environments
GNOME is quite outdated and buggy; KDE is too old, even in Sid it is at 5.14 branch (at Jun 13 2019 Plasma 5.16 is available in many rolling/fresh distros); XFCE behaves like crooked, visual artifacts at the taskbar and so on; Cinnamon as far as I know works better in Linux Mint compared to (almost) any other distro; For other desktop environments (e.g. MATE) can't say - these are too new (as projects) and possibly incomplete, thus might have many bugs.
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Pro
Supports SecureBoot
You don't have to disable SecureBoot if you use it, which is useful for LiveUSB or dualboot setups.
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Con
Old software is not useful, but is stable
Certainly for the stable and old stable versions. But the testing version has quite up to date software.
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Pro
The Debian Social Contract
Guaranteed commitment to adherence to values, principles, priorities, requirements and guidelines by the Debian project.
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Pro
A real installer
Unlike other distributions that just extract their Live image, Debian offers a real traditional and modular installer to customize the installation.
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Pro
Strict separation of non-free software
Debian is one of the few distros that let the user choose if he wants a free system or not.
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Pro
Debconf
Depending how it is configured debconf does the most of the hard work for you and only asks you with configuration /file conflicts.
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Pro
Widely supported
Almost any software that is available for Linux provides a Debian package.
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Many ports
Debian supports almost any Kernel maintained CPU instructions set. It has also a few non Linux Ports.
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Pro
Apt-build
It is possible to rebuild the entire system and optimize it for your hardware (of course, it is not as detailed as Gentoo's USE flags).
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Pro
Unique release cycle
The most Linux distros have one or two stages before a release, but Debian has five before a new stable version is released (experimental > unstable > testing > code-freeze/bug hunting > stable).
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Pro
TUI installer
The Debian installer can still be launched as text/curses-like installer which is more compatible and keyboard-friendly than the graphical version.
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Pro
Standard archives
Debs are normal ar and tar archives with shell scripting and additional gz, bz, lzma or xz compression.
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Pro
Live install images for CDs, DVDs and USB thumb drives
Debian releases live install images for CDs, DVDs and USB thumb drives, for the i386 and amd64 architectures, and with a choice of desktop environments. These Debian Live images allow the user to boot from a removable media and run Debian without affecting the contents of their computer.
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Pro
Wise release model
Debian stable does not update a lot and instead provides stability and well tested softwares. You don't get distracted by every shiny new stuff that comes out, and focus on what matters: productivity and reliability of your system.
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Pro
Debian Fast Track for stable
Stable gets backported software from here.
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Pro
Great choice for returning Linux users
If you haven't used Linux for a long time, say 5-10 years, it's a great distro in which you can quickly get in the boat again. You don't have to worry about falling back. Everything is in its place.
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Pro
Has small amount of today's bugs (e.g. no duplicate web cameras in Skype - likely not Skype's fault)
But has quite a few bugs from 2016-2017, apparently for long term.
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Based On:
NONE
Default Desktop Environment:
GNOME
Init-System:
Systemd
Package Manager:
dpkg with apt, aptitude or apt-build
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Ubuntu Budgie
All
12
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Pro
User-friendly interface
Good interface on Budgie and a great approach on Ubuntu.
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Con
Can be slow and bloated
May be preferable for new users, but for those who want a minimal system it can be rather slow and comes with many preinstalled applications.
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Pro
Nightshift
Ubuntu Mate doesn’t have this and it’s really easy on the eyes when working at night.
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Con
Has Wi-Fi issues
Asks for Wi-Fi password continuously.
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Pro
Minimal installation gives a new look and feel to what a reliable Os should be
LibreOffice may be exploited and used to attack you but a minimal installation keeps the stalkers at bay.
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Con
Bad Experience after an update
Had a bad experience after an update and then I gave up.
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Pro
Improved Wifi stability with update
Improved wifi stability with 5.15 update.
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Con
Cannot customize the panel but then you get a more reliable system
A lot of us like to have a power button , restart button and other frequently used apps in our top panel but with Budgie you can’t really customize this but in return you get a great system.
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Pro
Additional themes
No need for external theme sources that may affect how you use your OS. All your favorite distributions can be mimicked.
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Con
It is only completely good if you install it separately rather than on another OS
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Pro
Safe updates
Updates are stable so far.
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Specs
Based On:
Ubuntu
Default Desktop Environment:
Budgie
Package Manager:
Debian Package Manager
Main Usage:
UBuntu with preinstalled Moksha Desktop
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43
MX Linux
All
24
Experiences
Pros
11
Cons
12
Specs
Top
Pro
Easy to use
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Con
Only one Desktop Environment
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Pro
Supports non-free drivers
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Con
Its XFCE version is too laggy
XFCE is meant to be lightweight, and it's almost true for other XFCE distros but not for MX Linux.
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Pro
MX Snapshot: lets you make your own distro
Can create your own ISO (snapshot) and use it either as live-session and install back when needed. With the (pre-installed) Snapshot tool you can easily create an ISO of your running system and then save it to a USB (or other media) and use "your own" distro as a live session or install back whenever you like (even on a different PC with different specs with no issues). You can even give that customized ISO to friends (selecting "non-personal" ISO when creating the snapshot; thus resetting the accounts & passwords and Home folder etc.). Also you can save that ISO directly encrypted via MX Live USB Maker tool. Again, you can install MX encrypted during installation with just ticking a box, no matter if it's the official ISO or your snapshot.
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Con
Old software
Many software applications are older.
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Pro
Good MX Tools and Package Installer
MX Linux comes with its own set of tools called MX Tools, designed to make life easier for users.
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Con
Remixed Debian testing
It's mainly a Debian stable with some recompiled/backported Debian testing packages.
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Pro
Easy install
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Con
Includes non-free drivers
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Pro
Based on Debian
It is based on Debian and not based on Ubuntu.
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Con
More than 50 tweaking softwares pre-installed
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Pro
Lightweight
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Con
Longer boot time
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Pro
Very stable
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Con
10s of media players preinstalled
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Pro
No systemd
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Con
Too much preinstalled applications
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Pro
Can also be used as an emergency tool
It has almost all tools to repair non booting systems or recover files & folders and save them on a safe place. And when thought together with it starts quick on live-session. In addition, you can do these with "your own", customized distro (snapshot).
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Con
Causes overheating on some hardwares
Other debian based XFCE distros- Xubuntu, Debian XFCE, Devuan leave small footprint on system whereas MXLinux uses too much CPU resources on same system.
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Pro
Live-Session boots fastest after Puppy
After Puppy Linux (which's aimed to run from RAM and which is smaller in size) the second fastest (head & shoulders) booting one (together with the sister project antiX) and also has the option "toram" to run from RAM. Yes, not only when compared to full distros, even far faster than small sized or tiny distros, especially when booted to "live-session", about 2 - 2.5 times faster on an old single core laptop.
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Con
Installer and configuration tools are different
Installer and configuration tools are different and can take some time getting used to.
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Con
Too much customization
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Specs
Based On:
Debian Stable>antiX
Default Desktop Environment:
XFCE
Init-System:
SysV-init (default) & systemD
Package Manager:
Debian Package Manager
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