2015 was a very important year for Linux,
both in the enterprise as well as in the consumer space. As a Linux user since 2005, I can see that the operating system has come a long way in the past 10 years.
And, 2016 is going to be even more exciting. In this article, I have picked some of the best distros that will shine in 2016.
Best Comeback Distro: openSUSE
SUSE, the company behind openSUSE, is the oldest Linux company;
it was formed just a year after Linus Torvalds announced Linux. The company actually predates Linux king Red Hat. SUSE is also the sponsor of the community-based distro
openSUSE.
In 2015, openSUSE teams decided to come closer to SUSE Linux
Enterprise (SLE) so that users could have a distribution that shares its
DNA with the enterprise server -- similar to CentOS and Ubuntu. Thus,
openSUSE became
openSUSE Leap, a distribution that’s directly based on SLE SP (service pack) 1.
The two distros will share the code base to benefit each other --
SUSE will take what’s good in openSUSE and vice versa. With this move,
openSUSE is also ditching the regular release cycle, and a new version
will be released in sync with SLE. That means each version will have a
much longer life cycle.
As a result of this move, openSUSE has become a very important
distribution because potential SLE users can now use openSUSE Leap.
That’s not all, however; openSUSE also announced the release of
Tumbleweed,
a pure rolling-release version. So, now, users can use either the
super-stable openSUSE Leap or the always up-to-date openSUSE Tumbleweed.
No other distro has made such an impressive comeback in my memory.
Most Customizable Distro: Arch Linux
Arch Linux
is the best rolling-release distribution out there. Period. Ok, I could
be biased because I am an Arch Linux user. However, the reason behind my
claim is that Arch excels in many other areas, too, and that’s why I
use it as my main operating system.
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Arch Linux is a great distro for those who want to learn everything
about Linux. Because you have to install everything manually, you learn
all the bits and pieces of a Linux-based operating system.
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Arch is the most customizable distribution. There is no “Arch” flavor
of any DE. All you get is a foundation and you can build whatever
distro want, on top of it. For good or for worse, unlike openSUSE or
Ubuntu there is no extra patching or integration. You get what upstream
developers created. Period.
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Arch Linux is also one of the best rolling releases. It’s always
updated. Users always run the latest packages, and they can also run
pre-released software through unstable repositories.
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Arch is also known for having excellent documentation. Arch Wiki is my to-go resource for everything Linux related.
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What I like the most about Arch is that is offers almost every
package and software that’s available for “any” Linux distribution,
thanks to the Arch User Repository, aka AUR.
Best-Looking Distro: elementary OS
Different Linux distributions have different focus areas -- in most
cases, these are technical differences. In many Linux distributions. the
look and feel is an afterthought -- a side project at the mercy of the
specific desktop environment.
elementary OS is
trying to change all that. Here, design is at the forefront, and the
reason is quite obvious. The distro is being developed by designers who
have made their name in the Linux world by creating beautiful icons.
elementary OS is quite strict about the holistic look and feel. The
developers have created their own components, including the desktop
environment. Additionally, they choose only those applications that fit
into the design paradigm. One can find heavy influence of Mac OS X on
elementary OS.
Best Newcomer: Solus
Solus
operating system has garnered quite a lot of attention lately. It’s a
decent-looking operating system that has been created from scratch. It’s
not a derivative of Debian or Ubuntu. It comes with the Budgie desktop
environment, which was built from scratch but aims to integrate with
Gnome. Solus has the same minimalistic approach as Google’s Chrome OS.
I
have not played with Solus much, but it does look promising. Solus is
actually not a “new” OS. It has been around for a while in different
forms and names. But the entire project was revived back in 2015 under
this new name.
Best Cloud OS: Chrome OS
Chrome OS
may not be your typical Linux-based distribution because it’s a
browser-based operating system for online activities. However, because
it’s based on Linux and its source code is available for anyone to
compile, it’s an attractive OS. I use Chrome OS on a daily basis. It’s
an excellent, maintenance-free, always updated OS for anyone using a
computer purely for web-related activities. Chrome OS, along with
Android, deserves all the credit for making Linux popular in the PC and
mobile space.
Best Laptop OS: Ubuntu MATE
Most laptops don’t have very high-end hardware, and if you are
running a really resource-intensive desktop environment then you won’t
have much system resources or battery life at your disposal -- they will
be used by the OS itself. That’s where I found
Ubuntu MATE
to be an excellent operating system. It’s lightweight, yet has all the
bells and whistles needed for a pleasant experience. Thanks to its
lightweight design, the majority of system resources are free for
applications so you can still do some heavy work on it. I also found it
to be a great distro on really low-end systems.
Best Distro for Old Hardware: Lubuntu
If you have an old laptop or PC sitting around, breathe new life into it with
Lubuntu.
Lubuntu uses LXDE, but the project has merged with Razor Qt to create
LXQt. Although the latest release 15.04 is still using LXDE, the future
versions will be using LXQt. Lubuntu is a decent operating system for
old hardware.
Best Distro for IoT: Snappy Ubuntu Core
Snappy Ubuntu Core
is the best Linux-based operating system out there for Internet of
Things (IoT) and other such devices. The operating system holds great
potential to turn almost everything around us into smart devices -- such
as routers, coffeemakers, drones, etc. What makes it even more
interesting is the way the software manages updates and offers
containerization for added security.
Best Distro for Desktops: Linux Mint Cinnamon
Linux Mint Cinnamon
is the best operating system for desktops and powerful laptops. I will
go as far as calling it the Mac OS X of the Linux world. Honestly, I had
not been a huge fan of Linux Mint for a long time because of unstable
Cinnamon. But, as soon as the developers chose to use LTS as the base,
the distro has become incredibly stable. Because the developers don’t
have to spend much time worrying about keeping up with Ubuntu, they are
now investing all of their time in making Cinnamon better.
Best Distro for Games: Steam OS
Gaming has been a weakness of desktop Linux. Many users dual-boot
with Windows just to be able to play games. Valve Software is trying to
change that. Valve is a game distributor that offers a client to run
games on different platforms. And, Valve has now created their open
operating system --
Steam OS -- to create a Linux-based gaming platform. By the end of 2015, partners started shipping Steam machines to the market.
Best Distro for Privacy: Tails
In this age of mass surveillance and tracking by marketers (anonymous
tracking for targeted content is acceptable), privacy has become a
major issue. If you are someone who needs to keep the government and
marketing agencies out of your business, you need an operating system
that’s created -- from the ground up -- with privacy in mind.
And, nothing beats
Tails
for this purpose. It’s a Debian-based distribution that offers privacy
and anonymity by design. Tails is so good that, according to reports,
the NSA considers it a major threat to their mission.
Best Distro for Multimedia Production: Ubuntu Studio
Multimedia production is one of the major weaknesses of Linux-based
operating systems. All the professional-grade applications are available
for either Windows or Mac OS X. There is no dearth of decent
audio/video production software for Linux, but a multimedia production
system needs more than just decent applications. It should use a
lightweight desktop environment so that precious system resources --
such as CPU and RAM -- are used sparingly by the system itself, leaving
them for the multimedia applications. And, the best Linux distribution
for multimedia production is
Ubuntu Studio. It uses Xfce and comes with a broad range of audio, video, and image editing applications.
Best Enterprise Distro: SLE/RHEL
Enterprise customers don’t look for articles like these to choose a
distribution to run on their servers. They already know where to go:
It’s either
Red Hat Enterprise Linux or
SUSE Linux Enterprise.
These two names have become synonymous with enterprise servers. These
companies are also pushing boundaries by innovating in this changing
landscape where everything is containerized and becoming software
defined.
Best Server OS: Debian/CentOS
If you are looking at running a server, but you can’t afford or don’t
want to pay a subscription fee for RHEL or SLE, then there is nothing
better than
Debian or
CentOS.
These distributions are the gold standard when it comes to
community-based servers. And, they are supported for a very long time,
so you won’t have to worry about upgrading your system so often.
Best Mobile OS: Plasma Mobile
Although the Linux-based distribution Android is ruling the roost,
many in the open source community, including me, still desire a
distribution that offers traditional Linux desktop apps on mobile
devices. At the same time, it’s better if the distro is run by a
community instead of a company so that a user remains in the focus and
not the company’s financial goals. And that’s where KDE’s
Plasma Mobile brings some hope.
This Kubuntu-based distribution was launched in 2015. Because the KDE
community is known for their adherence to standards and developing
stuff in public, I am quite excited about the future of Plasma Mobile.
Best Distro for ARM Devices: Arch Linux ARM
With the success of Android, we are now surrounded by ARM-powered
devices -- from Raspberry Pi to Chromebook and Nvidia Shield. The
traditional distros written for Intel/AMD processors won’t run on these
systems. Some distributions are aimed at ARM, but they are mostly for
specific hardware only, such as Raspbian for Raspberry Pi. That’s where
Arch Linux ARM
(ALARM) shines. It’s a purely community-based distribution that’s based
on Arch Linux. You can run it on Raspberry Pi, Chromebooks, Android
devices, Nvidia Shield, and what not. What makes this distribution even
more interesting is that, thanks to the Arch User Repository (AUR), you
can install many applications than you may not get on other
distributions.
Conclusion
I was astonished and amazed when I worked on this story. It’s very
exciting to see that there is something for everyone in the Linux world.
It doesn’t matter if the year of the desktop Linux never arrives. We
are happy with our Linux moments!