Linux stopped being an OS reserved for “geeks” a long time ago. While the command-line is still indispensable, all popular Linux distributions offer a full-fledged graphical interface, called desktop environment (DE) in which you can work like in any other OS.
2. Linux Mint
Linux Mint has been steadily rising in popularity ever since it came out as a Ubuntu spin-off with multimedia codecs offered out-of-the-box. Today it has its own desktop environment – Cinnamon, handy system utilities (Update Manager, Mint Menu, Software Manager…), and comes in several flavors (KDE, XFCE, Mate). Current stable version is 17.1 (Rebecca) which is a LTS release that will be supported until 2019. There’s also a semi-rolling release based on Debian, which comes in Cinnamon and Mate versions. Linux Mint offers many applications by default (LibreOffice, Firefox, Pidgin, GIMP…), it’s highly customizable and fully compatible with Ubuntu’s repositories, and works well even on older computers.
Best for: users who want a stable and reliable system with great support
Mageia is a distribution created from Mandriva Linux by its former employees in 2010. It uses the RPM package management system and offers many desktop environments: KDE, GNOME, LXDE, XFCE, Mate, Cinnamon and RazorQt can all be installed either from the Mageia DVD or from the repositories. Current stable version is Mageia 4, released last year, and a new release is planned for this year, which will bring many improvements and come with Btfrs file system as default. Mageia provides helpful tools for system setup and customization, and it’s a great choice if you want to step away from Ubuntu-based distributions and try something different.
7. Netrunner
Best for: users switching from OS X and Windows, and those who want to revive their old PCs
ElementaryOS is another Ubuntu-based distribution, and it puts simplicity, beauty and harmonious design above everything else. You get a set of basic applications that cover the most important actions (music, email, text editing…) and the rest can be installed from their app store. ElementaryOS has its own file manager and its own desktop environment called Pantheon with core components such as dock (Plank), application launcher (Slingshot) and panel (Wingpanel). It’s a distribution that “just works” once everything is set up, and it’s very light on the system resources. Expect a new release (codenamed Freya) in 2015.
12. Korora
Best for: advanced users, average users who want to learn more about Linux, users who prefer a minimalist setup
KaOS is a young Linux distribution that’s all about fresh software and technologies. The latest stable version from February 2015 brings the newest from KDE – namely, a complete switch to Plasma 5. Apart from KDE applications, KaOS offers its own software manager called Octopi and the lightweight QupZilla as the default web browser. KaOS is a rolling release distribution and it only works on 64-bit systems. As such, it’s obviously not the best choice for everyone, but it’s great if you want to play with new KDE applications.
