The vast majority of computer users in the world use Microsoft’s Windows, which has become the dominant computer and laptop operating system. But Windows is not the only choice available to computer users, and thanks to the continued development of the Linux Kernel, we now have access to a wide number of Linux distributions.
With Windows 11 being more prohibitive than ever, as well as the recent controversy about Microsoft adding advertisements to Explorer, there’s never been a better time to move to a Linux distro. These are some of the best distros on the market right now.
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is probably the most well-known Windows equivalent in the computing world, and for good reason. It’s a polished and stable distro that has been around for many years, and quickly became the face of Linux in general. With a large community, plenty of support, and based on Debian, Ubuntu is a great choice for beginners, regardless of what kind of machine that they are using. There is also tons of documentation that can be found online, and thanks to its community, a newcomer will never have to worry about running into problems that nobody has an answer for.
Linux Mint
Based off of either Ubuntu or Debian, many feel that Linux Mint is the direction that Ubuntu should have gone in years ago. With the aim of being as user friendly as possible and offering a desktop that’s similar to Windows in many years, Linux Mint is one of the most highly-recommended Linux distros around. And while it’s often recommended as a distro only for those that are new to the world of Linux, it’s competent enough to be used by seasoned experts, too.
Fedora
Fedora is aimed at the user that has a little bit of Linux knowledge under their belt and isn’t too uncomfortable with the terminal. It’s a fixed-schedule release distro, with a new version being released every six months. Fedora comes with all of the latest technologies available in the world of Linux without sacrificing stability.
Expect to find the latest updates for all apps, as well as a current mainline kernel. Fedora ships with such technologies as Btrfs, Pipewire, Wayland, and many more. The default desktop environment for Fedora is GNOME, of which version 42 has recently been released, perfect for a good workflow.
Arch Linux
Aimed at more experienced Linux users that aren’t afraid to troubleshoot and are comfortable using the terminal, there’s a lot to like about Arch Linux. The user installs it piece by piece, choosing the desktop environment and software that they want.
What they get in return is a lean and resource-efficient operating system that ships with the very latest updates. While this can sometimes lead to some breakages every now and again, most issues can easily be resolved with a quick online search, and thanks to Arch’s extensive documentation, there’s always more to learn and implement.