 Visitor Reviews |
Latest Reviews
Project: Q4OS
Version: 6.5
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-17
Votes: 0
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What can I say about this distribution? I tried Q4OS a year ago, but found it to be just a basic Debian distribution. Two months ago, I tested it again and discovered the genuine Q4OS tools. It's truly impressive what it can do. The most hilarious are Windows style installers, they make Linux incredibly Windowish. This should appeal to Windows users, as it will increase their trust in this distribution. There are more draws on the scene, for example Windows like themes. These themes make Linux better, faster, more secure Windows clone. Do you want to clone your running Q4OS and run it live from USB memory stick? No problem, s4-snapshot does this job. And how do you install s4-snapshot? Easy, with the Windows-like installer :))) Q4OS is also incredibly lightweight and not bloated.
I must give 10 out of 10. This distribution is a fun but well-thought-out compilation based on Debian. I really like it and would recommend it to everyone. Q4OS is worth trying :) You'll be amazed :)
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Project: AerynOS
Version: 2025.12
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-01-17
Votes: 2
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Even in its alpha state it's rock solid, fast simple and modern. A few notable bugs are preventing me from making it my daily diver, but that's expected at this stage. The idea of automatic updates when I no longer care about the system sounds very appealing. It's not immutable and much simpler than nixos in usability. Been testing it from early March 25 and I see how much it has evolved already. A "must try" for everybody wanting to see the future of Linux desktop. Well done and keep up the good work devs!
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Project: MiniOS
Version: 5.1.1
Rating: 7
Date: 2026-01-17
Votes: 1
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Hello,
I tried the miniOS Toolbox and was impressed!
However, it has the same issues as Puppy, MX-Linux, and EndeavourOS—when watching videos on YouTube in a browser, the CPU and ACPI temperatures rise even more, and after 1 hour of viewing, the OS crashes at a CPU temperature of +90C ! I tested it on different PCs, such as Core2duo/4gb ram; i7/8GB RAM; i5/8GB RAM; i3 8GB RAM— the same problem on all of them!
The entire Linux community has been talking about this for over 10 years, and nothing has changed!
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-17
Votes: 7
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When Mint is about to update, it always something useful and indeed stable - perfect for work. New troubleshooting instruments gives more control over the system. Previous 22.2 version was perfect for my use scenarios, this one do minor important updates (as always). Mint is not trying to be something it shouldn't be, it is always reliable and never disappoints. Nothing much to tell about this update, and that is why Mint is the best distro for work and everyday use - it's predictable, perfect.
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Project: CachyOS
Version: 251129
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-17
Votes: 4
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I have been a long-time user of both Windows and macOS, but transitioning to CachyOS has been a total game-changer for my workflow. With the combination of CachyOS and the Niri compositor, everything runs incredibly smoothly and feels significantly more responsive than any other setup I've tried.
One of the standout features is how user-friendly it is for gamers; it provides excellent default gaming packages out of the box, making it remarkably easy to set up Steam and start playing immediately without the usual Linux troubleshooting. The performance gains were so noticeable that I actually reformatted my entire disk and left the Windows platform for good. Furthermore, the documentation is exceptionally helpful and comprehensive, which made the transition feel seamless. If you are looking for a high-performance, Arch-based distribution that just works, I cannot recommend CachyOS enough.
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Project: Rescatux
Version: 0.74
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-17
Votes: 0
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I've used Rescatux alot since it came out and it has never failed to impress me by putting things to right in triple, quad or in hard drives with an even higher number of installations after Grub updates, kernel change or my mistakes caused Windows or one Linux or another to seize up. It will straighten out Windows in MBR or UEFI, MS-DOS or GPT regardless and simply gets things booting again.
Another thing Rescatux can do that I discovered a few years ago when I was running a dozen Linux and two Windows installs; Some Linux distros have a nice colored boot menu that has a nice font and a higher screen resolution while others are butt-ugly with an oversized white font on a BSOD. While making repairs with Rescatux you can pick the Linux operating system that presents the nicest boot menu, regardless of its place in the sequence of installs, to be the startup boot menu - providing that the os-probe of the Linux distro you've chosen recognizes each of the bootable partitions. Some do (PCLOS, Siduction, MX, Parrot, Manjaro) while others do not (Bodhi, eLive, VOID and almost all Arch-based distros like EndeavourOS, CachyOS, etc. as their os-probe are turned off.
I can't imagine why any multibooter whose heard of Rescatux doesn't have it in their toolkit. Some may use SuperGrub 2 and it will straighten out simple Windows/Debian-based Linux conflicts but IMO Rescatux is a far better utility that can do far more boot-related repairs that cover virtually every Linux type. Don't leave home without it!
JACB
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Project: EndeavourOS
Version: 2026.01.12
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-16
Votes: 16
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EndeavourOS delivers a genuine Arch experience with a polished installer, clean defaults, and zero unnecessary bloat. It stays close to upstream Arch while removing the painful entry barrier. Updates are fast and reliable, hardware support is excellent, and system performance feels consistently responsive. The project respects user control without forcing vendor ecosystems or artificial restrictions. Documentation and community support are strong without toxic gatekeeping. It is a rare balance of freedom, stability, and usability. Fully deserves 10/10.
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Project: Debian
Version: 13
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-16
Votes: 9
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Debian, over 30 years in the Linux Industry. Anyone new from Windows, I highly recommend Debian before anything else. That was the mistake I made. One can get addicted to Distrohopping without checking out a pioneer in the Linux world.
I migrated to Linux after my gaming/touchscreen laptop was not compatible with Windows 11. It has been quite a journey looking for a distro that works for a end user like myself. I have had compatibility issues with most Linux distros surprisingly enough. I first tried Ubuntu and had issues. Then just about every other distro available, except Debian. Now, finally, after 6 years, I decided to give Debian a try.
I couldn't be happier with a distro. My main concern was it might give me problems like all other Debian based distros. And boy was I wrong. I haven't experienced a smoother system like Debian except fyde os. But who wants a proprietary system when Linux is FOSS, or supposed to be.
The installation process took some time I must say. It was well worth the wait. Other distros doing the same tasks, I noticed caused my laptop to run hard. I mean, I could hear the laptops cooling fan running nonstop. And touching the bottom of the laptop, I found it really hot. Reminded me of Windows. This is not the case with Debian. My laptop handles all tasks and I haven't heard the system run like that ever.
Streaming quality is exceptional to say the least. I haven't had any buffering issues whatsoever. From Webapps to Appimages, no matter how many I install, the system is Solid! Running Debian 13 with KDE. I prefer KDE for customization reasons. Such as a wallpaper slideshow, video wallpaper etc. And of course the theming options. To all the devs and everyone that contributes to Debian, thank you so much!
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 7-LMDE
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-01-16
Votes: 8
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Just installed Mint 7 LMDE on my dear old 12" Macbook Pro 8Gb Late 2012, works like an absolute dream, always been a Mint fan, also a Debian fan, so a dream that has come true for me. (MacOS not supported now on this device, or not secure, so wanted to breath life back) Like a brand new laptop now.
Hooked up to monitor via HDMI cable ... bingo.
Installation was easy, even for anyone who is new to Linux Mint, or a bit unsure, go for it people, it just works ...
Thanks Team Mint and Distrowatch.
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Project: MODICIA O.S.
Version: 6.12.63
Rating: 4
Date: 2026-01-16
Votes: 0
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Having read such optimistic reviews, I rushed to download and try Modicia OS. I tried the live version on Asus Vivobook 16X. I went to the Website, watched the even more optimistic AI-generated video and downloaded the ISO from the SourceForge.
The ISO started from Ventoy, alright. I managed to connect WiFi and there my luck started to expire.
Bluetooth wouldn't connect, returning an error 'no backend' or something worded similarly. I realized I wouldn't solve it in the live version without reboot, so I gave it a break. Next, I found the web browser and pressed it to open. The Chromium icon appeared in the panel, and then everything froze. There was no way to open anything. I had to switch off the computer by pressing and holding the power button, as the machine had become completely unresponsive. I understand things happen, but this left me slightly disappointed considering the optimistic reviews here and the video that ensured me it would work out-of-the-box with no need to tinker anything. It's a shame because I'm looking for something to use a media production station and Modicia looks promising otherwise.
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Project: Besgnulinux
Version: 3-2
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-16
Votes: 0
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Sigh. Yes, they've done a great job of making JWM menus and windows look good. Nice graphics.
Too bad many of the "plus" apps and settings simply don't work. Take the global audio Equalizer (ALSA based) -- simply doesn't work. (For that matter, the equalizer built in to Audacious didn't seem to work or work well, either -- but I didn't pursue that further.)
The "change background" app doesn't woirk, and is confusing as hell. It might be that I had to manually run my special xrandr command to set up my "portrait" mode monitor that I have above my laptop monitor in its proper rotation and location. When I entered the command, it worked (of course), but the original Besgnulinux background disappeared. The change backgound app's configuration setup is also very strange, and the suggestion to "swipe the right band" is not at all helpful. I did try installing nitrogen to put up a wallpaper, but for some reason, even THAT app won't work!
There's a graphical front end to the JWM startup code block, kinda like the GUI for startup stuff in Xfce. Super, right? Wrong. It doesn't work. I put my aforementioned xrandr command in there, and it doesn't run at startup.
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Project: Nobara Project
Version: 43
Rating: 8
Date: 2026-01-16
Votes: 1
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In my time distro hopping, I've always tended to stray away from the distributions that aim to provide a "complete" operating system for users out of the box, so distros like Nobara and it's parent, Fedora, have always been on my radar but never something I'd felt like trying. In the wake of some friends of mine switching to CachyOS I had a growing interest in seeing what the hype around the couple "gaming focused" distros was all about, but wasn't huge on the idea of a more streamlined Arch. Eventually after some research, I landed on Nobara's KDE edition.
Overall, the system is rather well put together out of the box. You even get prompted at the beginning of the calamares installer on whether you would like to get the codec headache that's plagued many a Fedora over with and done before you even hit the desktop, which is a much welcomed addition. Despite it's larger than average footprint by default, the software selection was very reasonable and covers almost all the bases an average linux gamer would need. Some apps like Heroic, which usually require manual building and installing, were provided in Nobara's custom repositories to save users the headache of acquiring them by themselves. Updates are also handled by Nobara's own updater tool which handles the patching of certain packages which have various quirks in their upstream versions, as well as initramfs generation using dracut.
Now, I do not personally use much of the provided software on a regular enough basis to leave it all installed, so I spent a bit of time getting it all removed for a bit more of a slim experience. However, this prompted me to notice something about the updater tool: some packages installed out of the gate are actually pulled in automatically every time you update. Notably falcond, a frontend for managing gamemode (another tool I don't often find myself using,) would automatically be queued for installation every run of the nobara-sync application, which rubbed me a bit of the wrong way. Most users wouldn't really care about this though, so no docked points there.
What really tripped me up was how the distro was overall less performant than even plain ol' Arch Linux with their patched mesa drivers (yes, they run the same version. 25.3.3 as of writing this) in most games I tested. Final Fantasy XIV, Guild Wars 2, Hades 2, Deep Rock Galactic, and Kingdom Hearts all ran at speeds generally worse than my average on other distros I've used before with even more dated driver versions, oddly enough. Most notably, KH has known issues with it's borderless mode that I've circumvented on other distros, but on Nobara switching to that mode would cause a notable amount of frame skipping that I couldn't ignore. I wanted to test my usual development builds of mesa to see if this was related to their specific driver builds, but could not acquire all the proper dependencies to do so from Nobara's repos for cross compilation, so I had hit a brick wall.
All in all, the experience while using it was very nice and welcoming, and for newer linux users would be quite the breeze, as GUIs for almost everything are provided out of the box. Many processes that users are simply expected to run through for simple things like video playback and compatibility with windows software, are handled out of the box for a very cozy and straightforward experience. As stated previously, I did personally run into performance issues compared to other distros, but this could be a problem with the specific set of drivers provided in this version, and could be fixed later down the line.
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Project: NixOS
Version: 25.11
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-15
Votes: 7
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This is what Linux was meant to be. No more wasting time reinstalling everything or worrying about different versions of thhe same app running thanks to the configuration files. And it is immutable just like steam os and bazzite so I feel like I can get all the advantages those do while still being upstream like on arch and fedora. And even if something doesn't make sense it is easy to edit the configs by using something like AI for example and the rebuilds either succeed or fail and no changes are made if they do so it feels like a new spin on what can be done when managing the operating system.
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-15
Votes: 4
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Just works, looks good, does everything I need, no issues.
Runs cooler on my laptop than other distros.
I like to distro hop but I keep coming back, usually because of laptop temps.
Started with Unix, yea, I know. Tried to use the early Linux OS but after WEEKS trying to get my printer to work I gave. Sorry I did, took many years for me to finally tell M$ to kiss off.
I've been switching my family and friends to Mint for the last six or eight years.
Really only had one problem, helping someone replace their Windows Quicken.
There are Linux replacements BUT...
Turned out to be a large learning curve for someone who was basically clueless.
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Project: Debian
Version: 13
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-15
Votes: 10
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Last night I installed distro M... on my laptop. Tried to add DE XFCE using the usual . Bad decision. That distro crashed Cathyos and AnduinOS installed in other partitions.Well, lesson learned. I uninstalled it and decided to go with Debian stable. What a breeze of fresh air. I used it in the past (3 to 4 years ago). Today's installation was nothing like before. Was very smooth and the devs really improved this dstro. Speed and performance at a maximum. Debian found a home in my laptop and I am giving thanks to the Debian developers for their accomplisments. Congratulations. Seriously,10 over10. It's a short review. All I could add to it is : Try it for yourself. You won't regret it.
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-15
Votes: 5
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Mint is ridiculously good.
Every single other distro I tried to use had me tinker less or more, to the degree that I had to write a goddamn bash-script to set it up (arch btw).
The new menu sucks, but fortunately the community has the Classic Menu available in the Applets section.
Steam works fine (non-flatpak), no annoying notifications every 5 minutes (looking at you, KDE) using Cinnamon, no graphic driver repos that you have to enable manually and then sit in front of a black screen after reboot (fedora), I could write a whole essay about my issues with most other distros... which I'm not gonna.
I've used LM as my first distro and the more distrohopping I did, the more I wished for an OS that "just works" - and Mint does exactly that.
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Project: MX Linux
Version: 25
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-01-15
Votes: 3
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It is exactly what I was looking for in Linux. Allowed me to ditch windows. I am retired and 73. The tools made it easy for me to learn quickly. Excellent manual.
I have made live USB. My own system with Brave and home bank. I do not miss having to sign and wade thru AD's. I can take it anywhere. Back ups are snap shot updates a breeze. I am taking my email back with Brax mail online.
I tested it on a Lenovo N580 B960 Intel and 4 MB ram. AntiX 23 and MX both ran well. MX is my daily OS on a Dell 5558 with 6 MB ram.
I upgraded both with SSD drives for under $60,,00. For what I do it is smoke on the water! Computing is fun again.
I have a Chromebook Plus for anything Google. Its great if it want looking to pump AI and AD's
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Project: Exton Linux
Version: 260108
Rating: 2
Date: 2026-01-15
Votes: 0
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I keep hoping this fellow will deliver something useful, something I'd like to install but I've wasted a lot of bandwidth and DVDs over the last year and won't keep punishing myself. I am out of patience. 5 times I've downed images from Exton and 5 times they either been incapable of doing simple things like hooking up to wifi or - and this is the real issue for me - the loaded live image cant do a simple mirror image HDMI to a Samsung 32" screen at 1920x1080. Mate, KDE, Cinnamon; it doesn't seem to matter they just snafu on this.
Another thing he misses completely on most images are a few audio and video players. The last on I downed and burned had diddly boo so you can't even see how that works out.
That's it for me as far as Exton is concerned. Maybe some day he'll stop pumping out rubbish, focus on really testing one iso and change the world of Linux. I'm not holding my breath.
JJCB
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Project: PikaOS Linux
Version: 26.01.03
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-15
Votes: 0
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I'm new to Linux and have been distrohopping quite a lot the past few weeks to figure out what way I want to go, and I have now returned to Pika OS.
It works right out of the box on my Nvidia desktop, gaming is very smooth. I even got Clip Studio Paint to work relatively well on it! I don't have to configure Samba for it to immediately find my local network shares from my laptop running Kubuntu. I have yet to stumble upon bugs like I did on for example Nobara where it sometimes doesn't want to launch applications, here it launches Zen browser immediately every time as an example.
The hurdle I had the first time I installed it was because I forgot to disable secure boot, but that was on me. Install is a very smooth experience otherwise, fast as well, however like a reviewer mentioned Nordic keyboard does not work during install, but it works afterwards no problem.
I have yet to have any issues where I required to seek out help but I have been vibe checking the communities of the distros I have tried. The discord server of Pika OS is nicely organized and the people there seems very helpful and nice! I would prefer a traditional forum but I understand this is a small distro. So, it's fine. I feel comfortable that I will be able to get some kind of help if I require it. The few questions I had were answered in the Discord by simply searching for it.
I adore that the standard wallpapers are made by an actual human artist and that she is credited. It's Neytirix for those who are wondering!
The bird is a plus! I changed the application launcher icon to her so she can always hang out with me. :)
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Project: Alpine Linux
Version: 3.23.2
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-15
Votes: 9
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Alpine Linux is the perfect foundation for building your own Linux system. Similar to Arch Linux, only the bare essentials are pre-installed. With Alpine Linux, even less than with Arch. Depending on the intended use, the system can then be customized to your own needs by installing packages.
This is not for beginners, but will be a lot of fun for experienced users.
In addition to use on servers, it can also be used without restriction as a desktop system.
It's best to set it up as a secondary system at first and tinker with it until everything fits. Be sure to document everything along the way. Then it will be wonderfully reproducible to install later on.
Alpine Linux is a secure and lean alternative in the jungle of Linux distributions.
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-15
Votes: 10
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I first saw Linux in March 1995. That was Slackware headless. Early in '96, I found Redhat, and they had a graphic front end. I think that early one was gnome or gnome2 but I have been laughed at, so I don't know. Then we got a version of Windows that was pretty acceptable, so I just played with Linux in VMware boxes. About 2008, I had a massive security mess, which was not really M$ fault, it was mine, but it wouldn't have happened if I'd been on Linux as my daily, so I made the jump. First port was Ubuntu, which by now was all gnome2, which I liked. A few months later, they told us all 'Hey ~ look at this wonderful new thing we're experimenting with, which we call Unity.' Then over about 3 months, it went from wild idea, to shaky alpha, to BETA test, to something you could install and use, to the recommended option, to the only option. It was Unity or the highway, so I walked.
At that point, I came here to distrowatch, to see what else there was, and top place on the list was a thing called Linux Mint, and Mint had a new beta release out featuring a new thing, started in Argentina or some place, called MATE, which was a fork / rebirth of the gnome2 desktop.
"Shut up and take my money!"
I think that was about late 2009 or early 2010, and this is what I've lived in ever since.
So obviously, I rate it very highly.
Historically, the install / live CD comes out before any upgrade path, but going from 22.1 -> 22.2 they swapped that around and the upgrade went live (if you knew what to look for) a couple of days before the ISO came out. Perhaps 36 hours. Same thing this time, going up to 22.3. I was running 22.3 well before mother Mint or any of the mirrors (Ok, I only checked one, aarnet in Australia) had it. Maybe the final BETA is exactly the same as the Gold file, maybe they changed it slightly, I don't know.
There are a couple of new bits & pieces, but my i7-6700 non-k doesn't have a fingerprint reader so that's not a lot of use to me. A couple of the icons look slightly newer and cleaner. (Doesn't have a built-in camera either, or a trusted Microsoft Computing unit, or a Secure Boot That prevents Linux module ~ )
Note : That isn't a complaint, that's a complement. It was pretty right already and it wasn't broken so they didn't fix it.
Folklore & conventional wisdom has it Mint is a good "Beginner Distro" and that's true. It's just a good distro.
If you want to go advanced and very demanding, there's Slackware, there's Linux From Scratch, there's Gentoo, and slightly less 'advanced' than that, there's Arch (actually) and then there are a number of Arch based things like EndeavourOS that are very good. There's Cachy, which is conceptually similar. I have played with all these things, and I still have some of them, in VirtualBoxes, running on my host of Mint + Mate, now up to 22.3, which is very easy and very reliable and very familiar, and I wouldn't change much of anything.
As far as I can see, the only reason you would want something other than Mint, would be so you could look down your long superior nose and say "I use Arch, actually."
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Project: antiX
Version: 23.2
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-14
Votes: 0
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Good at all. I love, that you don t need to update every day. Just sudo apt and all. Very good stability. And at all, this is debian. I think, that is a good system for ethical hacking (because lightweight) and also for veeerry old PCs. This is good for using as a server. I didn t find an negative things on this distro. And it have REAL liveCD and persistence support. That s really good.
At all, this is good distro. "It just works". But you can replace every detail.
And problem : GPU Support. old GPUs.if you have not supported videocards (i d have gt 920m), you don t install the driver from sudo apt. Iw will not work. You need to find this driver at a browser, and install it from init 1.
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Project: VailuxOS
Version: 1.6
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-14
Votes: 1
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I think Vailux OS is a good distribution. I have tested many distros such as Arch, Manjaro, Debian, MX Linux, and many more. Personally, I never really liked the design of most of them.
Vailux OS may look similar to Windows, but it still has the advantages of Linux, such as better privacy, many customization options, and more control over the system. That is exactly why Linux is not the same as Windows, even if a distribution looks similar.
The distribution was also quite easy to set up and use.
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Project: PikaOS Linux
Version: 26.01.03
Rating: 7
Date: 2026-01-14
Votes: 5
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Its pretty good though it has some issues that prevents it to be any higher than a 7.
Firstly we have the blatant problem with installing with anything other than a US keyboard. Things will become very problematic if you don't. Especially if you have a Nordic keyboard and use "alt gr" to use any special characters (which is default on those by the way, and on windows its Ctrl + Alt instead). You cannot create any password with special letters on install. This has to be done after the install or else you'll just get stuck on login or encryption pass phrase.
Secondly we have Aur being completely broken. It refuse to work. PikaOS use a different command for this "pikman" with some docs on their website explaining how its used. It just doesn't work at all and just gives errors so im not sure whats going on with that.
Overall pretty good but needs some more time to become something truly wonderful. If these things gets fixed in the future id give it a 9 or a 10.
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-14
Votes: 8
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Coming over from decades of Windows, Mint is very refreshing. I had no idea what this level of freedom felt like. Ridding myself of all the subscriptions, easily customizable, and works fine on my two laptops. The installation is quick and easy. I tried many different distros, but kept coming back to Mint. Maybe it's because the look felt familiar, coming over from Windows. But also knowing that Linux does not treat its users like products to sell. The privacy aspect was defiinitely a deciding factor when choosing a new OS. I have played around with Mint so much; broken things, reinstalled, tried different levels of security - that in just a few months I have learned a great deal. And about Linux, in general, too. The command line was a turnoff years ago, but now I find myself jumping to the terminal for some of the quick things. I love this OS.
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Project: Q4OS
Version: 5.8
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-14
Votes: 1
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I've been using Aquarius on an old P4 Bios date 2004, with 2GB of ram and 2 HDD's. I had to keep XP Pro on one drive, but wanted something upto date for use on the net. I had downloaded NomadBSD onto a usb drive, unfortunatly the P4 does not boot fron a usb drive so the next small os I saw online was Q40S . This was in the form of an ISO and quite small about 686MB and easy to burn to a CD. Also It was important that I got i386 (32Bit) OS as my P4 is only single core!! . It's getting hard to get a good 32Bit OS. Since installing Q40S on my old P4, there was no hiccup and runs really well , It installed all drivers and picked up all hardware including my Nvidia AGP MX440 64MB . I'm happy with the trinity desktop.
The only thing I was not getting was updates and after 5 mths and firefox crashing ,I selected a full install as recommended and once all the updates finally came through, my system has not falted again. Although my PC is more than 20yrs old, It now has a new life.
I would recommend Q40S for anyone with an old PC , It's just as fast as running XP Pro , but better because it's upto date with current software.! Keep up with the good work !!
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-01-14
Votes: 4
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By far my favorite to put on desktops for people that either don't have any experience with Linux.
If they don't want to learn to much "it just works". Software installation is easy with their software manager which has both their own and the ubuntu repo's behind it. Flatpaks are also behind it so installing Spotify, Teams, Steam, ... becomes trivial
Also fun is that they have automatic snapshot functionality for both ext4 and btrfs. The only thing I don't like here that they stopped letting you choose btrfs as filesystem type in the installation menu. (They do still let you manually partition your drive, so if you create a btrfs partition to be mounted as / there you have btrfs-snapshot functionality again)
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Project: CachyOS
Version: 251129
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 0
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Honestly, I can´t use other distros. The AUR and pacman are the most versatile package managers that I have used, everytime I try a non-arch distro I miss them, and why can´t I use other arch based distros? CachyOS has the least problem with my hardware. Using it on a acer nitro 5 an517-57, meaning impossible to disable nvidia optimus, as i use a dual monitor setup I get a lot of trouble. Other distros capped my second monitor refresh rate in half when using wayland, this also occured on CachyOS put changing to any cachyV4 kernel version fixed it. Even with this problem I used it for 1 month without regrets, then hopped to windows so i could play some siege, fortunately for me it got hacked and I was stuck seeing the agony of slowed down Firefox scroll bar on firefox or when watching 1440p videos, also the unresponsive file searcher. CachyOS KDE surpasses any use case of windows unless when you NEED Adobe software / MS Office and don´t want to bother creating a vm/container to run it. Also, updates didn´t break anything on my end, so no planned obsolesce like Microsoft does with Windows. Games run great, there is a "install all necessary game packages" wich makes it so fine, Its custom proton version fell snappier and more performant than other options. A really well rounded distro.
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 3
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Linux Mint 22.3 "Zena" is a polished, stable point release focused on quality-of-life improvements and Cinnamon desktop refinements.Rock-solid performance and new features like a redesigned Application Menu, better system info tools, and enhanced file operations (pause/resume), making it ideal for users seeking reliability over cutting-edge novelty. While some find it lacks major innovation, it excels at being a dependable, user-friendly system for everyday use, with updates supporting it until 2029,
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Project: Noid Linux
Version: 20260109
Rating: 8
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 1
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Hello, Noid is good distro and easy to install the os with the calamares, I tried a lot of distros based on void linux and i didn't get the job done but with noid there is no more easy to install the void linux,Thank's to Nassim CHETTAH, hope he worck's on more useful tools to make the os great, XPBS is powerful but we need a GUI package manager like octoxBPS and will support flatpack, snap, appimage all in one package manager, f there is a way to fetch package from other distros like bedrock it will be nice.
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 4
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I have been using Mint since version 17.1, when I was looking at replacing Win XP when support was ending. I have never regretted it, each upgrade just makes the system better and better. I used xfce desktop at first, I thought Cinnamon themes were a bit too fiddly to configure, but I've been using Cinnamon desktop now since Mint 21.x.
Very stylish, lots of themes to browse and customise the desktop.
Mint 22.3 is a great all-rounder, it's so good at just about everything.
Highly recommended.
If you know of anyone who is looking for an Operating System which just allows you to get on with things and doesn't get in the way, point them towards Mint.
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Project: Manjaro Linux
Version: 25.0.10
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 1
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I've been using the 25.0.3 Cinnamon Desktop for a bit now and loving it. I've used the KDE Desktop in a bunch of different Distro's including Manjaro and I like it, but the Cinn desktop just flows better, at least in my opinion. It's still an arch distro at the end of the day but Manjaro is stable. It feels smooth and has been solid. I've had some dependency issues with trying to used different programs here and there, like VLC compared so something else and then Remmina, which has caused me to use a different VNC program but over all, it's been solid. NordVPN, Steam, Shortwave and everything else seems to be working just fine.
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 9
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This is the one. If you have a friend or relative who needs to start with Linux. You can't find a better starter. I have been on Linux 13+ years. I still keep it on one or more of my computers. I've heard people say things like newbies need to learn and start with Arch / Gentoo. That's like giving a 12 yer old a Ferrari and think hes not going to kill himself or someone else. It a guarantee FAIL! Start them on level 1 easy. Like a game. Let them enjoy it first . If they enjoy it. they will love Linux. You'll be a hero.
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Project: Zorin OS
Version: 18-r2
Rating: 6
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 1
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tried 18 core (and other, older versions several times, too) and i'm not really amused.
the bugs are so heavy that i chose to use another distro. the whole desktop seems to hang sometimes without intense use of anything on my laptop. there are 3 monitors in my pc-setup and i had to deal with different "monitors.xml" files in order to get it work. and when it worked, only got black screen after login with just a mouse cursor visible. absolute horrible!
zorin often struggles with things that other distros manage without any problem and since a long time - how can that be in 2026?
but i have the feeling that many distros struggle in a similar way since wayland (and other bad things) are in use. it seems to throw distros and programmers back for several years. that's a very sad linux-development.
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Project: Garuda Linux
Version: 251103
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 0
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I really enjoy Garuda on my gaming PC its the linux distro for the gamer that just wants to pick up and go. If you want the Windows simplicity with a slight learning curve you can definitely handle this Operating System. Ive seen some complain about the Chaotic-AUR. So im saying it now it came with it. The only real downside is it does take awhile to get used to the window management especially if your not used to MAC.
Pros
- easy install
- Will pick up and run right out the box
- Has a Garuda maintenance GUI for updates and cleaning
- Community support
- Arch Linux
- Snapshots (awesome if new)
Cons
- Arch Linux
- Over opinionated Desktop (not my con but most people who hate it this is why)
- Chaotic-AUR (same as above once again not my issue)
- Learning curve (if new)
- sucks in VM (for testing)
If you do find that the desktop is too cyberpunk for you try the other versions first I think CachyOS will always top Garuda in speed but not convenience. EndeavourOS is the better everyday Operating system overall.
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Project: Fatdog64 Linux
Version: 903
Rating: 8
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 0
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This version I run as live, and it has worked very well. My only beef is LibreOffice, which I dislike very much. Fact is most do not need an Office suite, just a good WP, and I always go with AbiWord, even in WinOS which Abi is no longer updating, but Linux Abi is more WP than most of us need. Furthermore, FatDog has made it difficult to install AbiWord. Libre is tiresome to set up and use, and it's defaults stink. Fatdog 903, however, setup very nicely with NO problems...even on this old Gateway which I normally have to insert an i915 graphic mode line in boot to get many a Linux to display. Using FF Nightly, but Midori on another laptop, Midori does more but requires a close setup. A later Handbrake than I usually work installed easy, and converts to even smaller, for instance, an 8GB movie converted to 600MB with all bells and whistles, but I generally just go 5.1 surround and English VOB. I am using Fatdog now; I did make a 1GB swap file, because this Gateway only has 4GB RAM. Only use ethernet connection.
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Project: Pop!_OS
Version: 24.04
Rating: 6
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 2
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Have been using it for more than 5 years and was very tempted to update to the latest 24.04 release with COSMIC desktop. And unfortunately I was extremely disappointed with it - it's a complete garbage in it's current state, it's simply too raw and unfinished. Primitive configuration tasks like changing keyboard layout with Alt+Shift is impossible to achieve with reasonable efforts. GNOME extensions are not supported (I've been using Freon to display current CPU/GPU temperatures on 22.04, now it's unachievable). COSMIC Tweaks that is claimed to be a replacement for GNOME Tweaks simply can't change any of the settings it suppose to change. The environment performance is pure trash. I guess it's time to switch to something mature and polished, hello KDE.
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Project: elementary OS
Version: 8.1
Rating: 8
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 1
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OK, this distro has matured nicely and IMO deserves some more credit from the wider community. Is it bleeding edge? No. Intentionally no actually. Is it quite opinionated and limited in customization options? Yes, probably intentionally as well.
To me, it's nice "out of the box", my other computers are Macs so it flows nicely when jumping between machines. I actually like the somewhat retro mac vibes. I don't know if this is intentional or not, but some of the icons are kind of. "retro cool" at this point.
Removing 2 points because: a) Epiphany as a default browser is quite limited, so you have to go out and get something else almost as a first step. There is css available that makes Firefox integrate to the elementary look and feel. b) "Made for elementary" app ecosystem is understandably limited, and when you use modern gnome apps they will look slightly out of place (although it's not terrible)
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Project: Synex
Version: 13-u3
Rating: 8
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 0
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I have been looking for a minimal Debian distro, so thought i would give Synex a try.
So, lets start what i didn't like.
1 . The website needs to changed, half the text is unreadable, white text on white backgound.
2. I don't like being forced to use a long password, why this a thing i don't know. please change that, leave up to the user what password they want to use, some people might want a short password, on normal Debian i can use a short password.
so, what i did like.
1. the installer is better than the standard Debian installer, besides the password requirement.
2. It is a minimal install , which i like a lot.
3. Flatpak's enabled .
4.installed without problems and setup quickly .
5. Nice to have auto login option.
Would i choose to install Synex instead of Debian Gnome, yes.
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Project: OpenMandriva Lx
Version: 6.0
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 0
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The easiest distro I've ever used. I've played with Linux distros before but I was on Windows 11 until 6 months ago. I've never really liked most of the distros i've used, there was always some issue or software I couldn't use because no clear way to make it work or install it.
Open Mandriva has been the most hassle free Linux I've ever used. Everything on the back end is already there so apps just work. Heck I have a few Windows apps that just immediately opened in Wine on just double clicking the exe and they just worked. App images work without issue, well except for one but Gear Lever app helped integrate it properly. It comes with every basic tool or app you need and no bloatware.
ZNVER1 ISO installer for AMD CPU users was a nice touch. Boot up is nearly instant, Welcome menu helps you install most desired apps right away by clicking on them. I'm using this as my gaming OS and It's absolutely flawless and the performance is much better then a few other distros that advertise them selves as gaming optimized ones.
Installing Steam for games is just a few clicks and that's it. I wish there was a local app browser for it similar to Discover or Bazaar but instead of flatpacks, it just shows you what's on the OS provided repos. I know Dnfdrake is there, but it's navigation is clunky and doesn't have a discovery view. That's my only issue and I haven't really seen any OS do that either.
I only had to use terminal once and that was to install the hardware rules for OpenRGB.
It's weird to say this but OM is easier then Win11 to use. Consider this, on Win11 you have to run several anti-spyware apps and tweaking apps to remove all of Microsoft's built in spyware and telemetry bloat. They are complicated and make it easy to brick you system. OM doesn't have those problems to start with, so you just install your apps and just start using it. Even most popular Linux distros have a lot of bloat like Ubuntu, Mint, Bazzite and Zorin for example. OM places you at the starting line, holds your hand just enough to where you find what you need with out getting lost, but lets you choose your pace and direction.
I'm never going back to Windows. I'm here to stay until the heat death of the universe.
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Project: NixOS
Version: unstable
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 1
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Best Linux OS by far. Takes a bit to migrate if you're used to traditional declarative config, but once you do it's so nice and stable. Very easy to have multiple configs and switch between them as well. The package repository has everything you could ever think of, and after learning a bit of the configuration language, its not too hard to package your own stuff and even contribute to the repository yourself.
Also great on servers, imperative gives you the benefits of docker without the overhead. Running many services is as easy as throwing `services.immich.enable = true` in your config
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Project: Fedora
Version: 43
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 0
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Fedora 43 with KDE Plasma is about as close to a perfect Linux distro as I have ever found. I recently made the upgrade from 42 to 43 and everything worked perfectly. I even switched to using Wayland from X11, and everything works properly (except a very specific QEMU VM). I've been using Linux since mid-2000's and wish I made the switch to Fedora sooner than version 42.
What doesn't work? Well, I'm struggling with Steam and the Proton WINE interface. It was working wonderfully and then something bad happened and I haven't taken the time to figure it out.
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-12
Votes: 4
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Running Linux Mint 22.3 on an older MacBook Pro with an Intel i5 processor and Intel graphics. And Mint 22.3 runs great on it love using it and its perfect for an older MacBook since Apple doesn't support these older Mac's with the current version of MacOS. I also really like the new interface changes which gives it an even more modern aesthetic to keep up with current styles.
I really also like the new System Information app as it gives soo much info up front without having to resort to command line to look up hardware and other information for troubleshooting. Its also much better for the common user when doing phone support or trying to guide someone though troubleshooting. Its just a much more clean easy way of doing something that was alittle more technical in the past.
The new menu system is great but I did notice out of the box I did have to make adjustments to the menu to make it to my liking. For example I had to change my settings to the following to make it more visually pleasing to myself.
Categories Icon Size 15px
Application icon size 24px
Sidebar icon size 28px
Maximum sidebar width 160px
I also placed the search bar on the top while keeping the power on and off in the sidebar. The only thing i would like added in the Sidebar is an option of a separator bar to break up "Places" and "Favorites". Also a feature that would remove the names on the icons (just showing icons only) and put "Places" in one column and "Favorites" in another column side by side each other in the same sidebar.
These are things that can be added later but over its a great modern style menu and is a great addition.
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Project: Star
Version: 4.0.0
Rating: 8
Date: 2026-01-12
Votes: 0
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I really like this distro. It provides a graphical environment (XFCE in my case) and a handful of utilities while actually being minimal. Even a base Devuan desktop install provides more bloat (Including things like Pulseaudio), to my surprise. Devuan comes with about 1400 packages installed; Star with only 1200, and the selection is much better. Anything else the user might want can be installed with apt or the Synaptic GUI. The OS installation itself is much simpler for Star as well. Pickings are slim for modern non-systemd distros but this one is nearly perfect as a sanely-configured, good-looking minimalist graphical desktop installation, with all the backing power of Devuan.
And it's really fast.
Unfortunately, things are not quite perfect. There are hints the maintainer was struggling while putting version 4.0 together. Little touches like the "Open as root" menu entry in Thunar is broken in 4.0 while it worked in 3.1. (It can be fixed, of course.) There is some strange litter on the filesystem related to Calamares, even if the package itself is fully uninstalled and purged. (That can be searched for and manually removed.) Version 4.0 ISOs have been removed from the official downloads without a reason given.
The worst issue is that the maintainer has disappeared, and it seems this distro has no future. The most similar, I have been told, is Crowz, whose maintainer collaborated with Star's. However, Crowz has no XFCE version, which is my preference. I have been able to dist-upgrade My Star 4.0 to 5.1, (though it was not quite trivial), giving it a few more years of usability. I will be sad to leave it when the time inevitably comes.
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-12
Votes: 3
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I'm actually on 22.2 at the time of writing this:
Originally when I started out using Linux in 2024 I started with Xubuntu 22.04, but swapped over to Linux Mint in March 2025 when Xubuntu 22.04 was going to EoL and simply because I don't like the whole snappification of Ubuntu.
Linux Mint is incredibily reliable, and has done everything I need it to.
I can play the games I want to play via Heroic Games Launcher, I can type in Japanese using an IME which Linux Mint helpfully explains how to set up.
Web browsing, listening to music, studying, watching videos, communication (via IRC)...
Honestly, there's no reason for me to hop to another distro.
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Project: MX Linux
Version: 25
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-12
Votes: 12
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I am very impressed with MX-25 XFCE, I find it stable and extremely fast and easy to configure with the MX tools supplied with the distribution.
The Installation process was one of the easiest and best i have used over the years , I only had to use the terminal in order to install the latest Nvidia drivers using ddm-mx ( MX's Nvidia tool) this was done using the development mode of ddm-mx by following this utube video 'ddm-mx: New Nvidia Developer Version Selection Feature', this allows me to currently use the very latest version 590.48.01 for gaming and video work (this is very fast and stable and took 5 mins to do, unlike some distributions that take forever and can be long winded.
I have only used for two weeks but it is now my main desktop, having tried all the other big distros over the years I wish i had pick this distribution from the start, very impressice distribution.
I would like to thank all the MX team and contributors for a job very well done.
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Project: Solus
Version: 4.8
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-12
Votes: 4
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I want to put this review on the interest that the project keeps on going popular and thus, continues growing.
I recently switched from Win11 to Debian over a month ago, which taught me the basics of Linux. But as a desktop user, Debían doesn't feel right to me. The lack of true updates and a nasty experience that reset my KDE desktop made me hop elsewhere. It has so many interests that the desktop user is given the basic support, nothing too special.
I then tried Fedora KDE and Tuxedo OS. Fedora was okay but had some annoying quirks I didn't want to live along with and Tuxedo felt like a work in progress, especially for my non-Tuxedo assembled hardware. Worked fine but it doesn't have any guides to setup the system right to have all sources, maybe they rely on the user setting it up as if it were just Ubuntu?
Solus just feels right. Simple commands, a nice updated KDE experience. Snappy by default. It's flatpak repo amazingly had newer software than other flatpak repos I tried before. Through it, it was a breeze to set up my two decade scanner. Printer was easy enough to set up (could be better but some basic AI prompt helped me).
@
Steam and Wine run smoothly and were super easy to set up.
I don't know if they did something to its audio config but I swear music feels much crisper than in Debian/Fedora.
I've been using it for a few days still but I do really feel at home here.
I was worried because I like KDE and didn't want a distro that didn't treat it as a first class citizen. And it doesn't feel that way.
I hope I can say here a long time.
I don't know if I'd recommend it for a total Linux newbie, some basic experience is recommended. But I can assure you it doesn't disappoint.
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Project: Pardus
Version: 25.0
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-12
Votes: 1
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It's a very good Linux distribution. No unnecessary packages are installed after setup. The installation process is very easy. It has its own applications. The icons are also relatively nice. The app store is good. It receives updates on time. It installs .deb packages without any problems. I've installed and tested many applications.
It never caused any problems. I was very surprised.
As someone who has tried many Linux distributions, I must say that this is currently the best distro!
take care..
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Project: Linux Mint
Version: 22.3
Rating: 7
Date: 2026-01-12
Votes: 0
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From a UI look, not much changed on 22.3, but the new menu is really poor. The symbolic icons make it hard to glance at and know what you want. That can be changed easyl enough but changing the Panel (network/volume/battery) icons seems not to be possible.
The new System Administration app is very cool and covers a lot of info which used to be CLI.
Other than the benefits, I think Mint should focus on updating the amdgpu and libreoffice and kernel packages to bring it closer to modern hardware. Maybe not as OOTB, but certainly a user option.
Keeping support for older GPU's needs to be a thing as well as nvidia is dropping support for anything older than 20 series. Like 1050/1060etc.
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Project: Zorin OS
Version: 18-r2
Rating: 2
Date: 2026-01-12
Votes: 0
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Every time I try and burn a disk image using Brasero, it seems to have a different file manager from the GNOME one. It cannot find
my external SSD. Uninstalled Brasero, and installed XFBURN and the file manager it uses works fine. The Zorin FM seems to have a
problem too, requiring reboot to start working again. I'll pick a folder to go to and it won't do anything but lock up so I have to do a force quit then it seems to start working again. One thing I noticed, when it doesn't want to work, I'll usually get a blank screen in the FM with no files listed. I'll click on the sidebar to try and go to /home or any other folder and its completely locked up. As for the Brasero problem, prior to uninstalling it, I tried to re install but that did'nt help. I don't want to discourage people from using this distro as I still continue to use, but I don't want to sign up for anything just to report a bug. Its easier here. Sorry. Just now I clicked on the file manager to open and got the blank screen again. Forced it to quit, then tried re running it and it opened with the /home folder as it should.
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