Amateur Review of Different Linux Distros
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I downloaded the ISO files with Transmission, and used balenaEtcher to flash them to my USB drive each time. The ISO files either came from https://www.linuxtracker.org/ or the respective websites hosting the image files of their distro.
Linux Lite:
In general I liked it. The only outstanding flaw that I could see, was the fact that when my mouse cursor moved over any given window, said window would open up and start operating. That drove me up the wall.
LXLE:
It was also pretty good. However, I couldn't find where the Internet connection icon was, if there even was one.
Kubuntu:
The first impressions were nice....until I got to the "Global Themes" section. I tried both on the website and the GUI to install additional themes, and failed miserably. The interface was not very intuitive in the GUI, and when I tried to install more themes from the website, nothing happened. As in, nothing.
I decided to give it a 2nd try.
Round 2:
Again, it was good at first. However, I started noticing that sometimes I would think I was clicking on a particular file or folder, only to be clicking on something completely different. This was not the first time it occurred, either. Very frustrating.
Lubuntu:
It was also a decent OS. The only major beef I have with this one is, I couldn't find a software center to download/install packages for, say, programming. Tried doing a web search, one site instructed me to 'apt-get install' a software center and when I typed that in, terminal told me there was no such thing. Go figure.
It occurred to me later that I could try the snap store for downloading/installing software that wasn't available otherwise, so I'm trying this again.
Round 2:
So far, so good. Except for a few quirks here and there, I seem to be off to a running start. I found the answer to my aforementioned dilemma: A lovely little package called Discover. Also anything else I needed the Snap Store would provide me with. Still trying to figure out how to pin the apps from Discover to the desktop panel.
Update: I did a little research on that very topic, and found out that if you click and drag any app's icon from the start menu to the panel, it sticks. Only thing is, if you want to move it, you have to right-click it then select 'move left/right' depending upon where it's at on the panel.
Well much as I enjoyed test driving this OS, I'm done with it for now. Going to try KDE Neon again and see if I can't dl/install the app that my VPN provides and get it up and running.
I decided to try it yet one more time.
Round 3:
FINALLY. Some bugs reared their ugly heads. I was typing here in this window and somehow I got switched over to my VLC player. And, if my text cursor was in one place and the pointer was in another place, there was a major screwup. I'd be typing in text and then suddenly my text would appear elsewhere on my screen, in a different location than what I'd intended. Stuff like that. Majorly aggravating. That's the only one that stands out right now. There probably are a few others but it's 0300 in the morning and I'm fixing to crash very soon.
Xubuntu:
At first it seemed to be just the "right stuff." But then, I started having problems. Ktorrent didn't want to open up any of the magnet links I clicked on, and I couldn't find any solutions to that online. Also, both the keyboard and mouse were creating havoc by skipping between windows and when I tried to type in my password, the window I was entering it into would switch to another window and I would be typing out nothing. Not sure why that was happening. Hope the development team reads this and does a tweak to make it not do that.
Nitrux:
"...was not authenticated."
Feren OS:
Same problem. This time I tried a suggestion made by someone on a website I happened to come across while searching for a solution. I managed to somehow finagle my way to grub. Even worse. While searching feverishly on my Android phone to find a way to install the kernel and whatnot, I just bungled it even further. I may not be a complete Linux noob, but I sure ain't an expert. Yet. Tried to assign root to the 'hd0,msdos2' location, then tried different means of loading the kernel. Failed yet again. Finally found the command 'reboot' and started over. If installing the OS isn't that easy, I tend to give up interest really quick. I'm not interested in jumping through hoops just to install a version of Linux no matter how fantastic ppl say it is, especially Feren. There's nothing "elegant" about it if I can't install it.
Knoppix:
Didn't even show up in the boot menu. Pfffffpht.
KDE Neon:
Things were going well-- until I decided to try to connect to one of the servers of my VPN. Then it was like trying to cut down a tree with a limp noodle. The connection app was not as intuitive as, say, that of Ubuntu or Linux Mint. I couldn't figure out one way or another how to connect. I tried "sudo openvpn <filename.opvn>" with both udp and tcp alternately, and failed miserably.
Note:
It occurred to me that I ought to try my VPN's exclusive app, instead of wrestling with the local stuff on my machine.
This is my latest project, as of 020522.
Update:
Everything went well, except when I downloaded/installed my VPN's app. Kept trying to log in and getting an error msg.
Ubuntu Studio:
Several problems-- Tried to install it because the sophistication of the intended apps for video, audio and desktop publishing impressed me. Got an error message:
(Insert print screen image here)
It also froze when I was trying to download another ISO file via Ktorrent. And, it had a gnasty habit of not detecting my external hd.
Trisquel GNU/Linux:
Same problem as Feren and Nitrux. WTF? Over.
Parrot Security OS:
Take a huge guess.
Ubuntu MATE:
The GUI is very similar to Linux Mint; however when I started fiddling with the screensavers, I got tons of error msgs.
I'm hoping that this too shall pass, like everything else. If someone on the development team can read this and do something about that particular bug, that'd be awesome.
ubuntuDDE:
I liked the neatness of the GUI. However when I tried to click on various windows I got either a quick response or none at all-- no consistency.
BEE free OS:
Same problems as Nitrux. The very first time I tried to open the iso it actually worked, but since I didn't get around to installing it that time since then it's been giving the same error msg: "...was not authenticated."
Ubuntu Budgie:
Got an internal error msg. Tried to print screen it twice but got no echo to save the files.
Community PC Linux OS 64 Trinity Mini:
"did not authenticate." Seems like a trend going on.....
Fedora Cinnamon:
So far I'm impressed. I reckon because it's 'Cinnamon' flavoured it has similar traits to Linux Mint, and I enjoy the same quality interface. When I installed it I had to do a little tweaking, a'la deleting partitions to make space for Fedora, but besides that I haven't had any problems so far.
One major flaw: the audio isn't working. Tried messing with the various controls and couldn't get it to produce any sound. Tried VLC, Rhythmbox, and a Youboob video but none of them emitted any audio.
Fedora KDE:
It was also working well except for a few error msgs here and there, and also I was having the same problem with my mouse cursor; I would think I was clicking on one thing and it'd turn out to be another.
Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS (Focal Fossa):
Well, I'm enjoying it so far. The "Favourites'" huge icons on the left hand side of the screen do put me off a tiny bit but I guess it just takes some getting used to. Nevertheless the well-put-together aspect of this OS is truly appealing, not to mention the high level of user-friendliness.
This one is a work in progress. If anything comes up that seems untoward, I'll be sure to let you readers know.
I downloaded the ISO files with Transmission, and used balenaEtcher to flash them to my USB drive each time. The ISO files either came from https://www.linuxtracker.org/ or the respective websites hosting the image files of their distro.
Linux Lite:
In general I liked it. The only outstanding flaw that I could see, was the fact that when my mouse cursor moved over any given window, said window would open up and start operating. That drove me up the wall.
LXLE:
It was also pretty good. However, I couldn't find where the Internet connection icon was, if there even was one.
Kubuntu:
The first impressions were nice....until I got to the "Global Themes" section. I tried both on the website and the GUI to install additional themes, and failed miserably. The interface was not very intuitive in the GUI, and when I tried to install more themes from the website, nothing happened. As in, nothing.
I decided to give it a 2nd try.
Round 2:
Again, it was good at first. However, I started noticing that sometimes I would think I was clicking on a particular file or folder, only to be clicking on something completely different. This was not the first time it occurred, either. Very frustrating.
Lubuntu:
It was also a decent OS. The only major beef I have with this one is, I couldn't find a software center to download/install packages for, say, programming. Tried doing a web search, one site instructed me to 'apt-get install' a software center and when I typed that in, terminal told me there was no such thing. Go figure.
It occurred to me later that I could try the snap store for downloading/installing software that wasn't available otherwise, so I'm trying this again.
Round 2:
So far, so good. Except for a few quirks here and there, I seem to be off to a running start. I found the answer to my aforementioned dilemma: A lovely little package called Discover. Also anything else I needed the Snap Store would provide me with. Still trying to figure out how to pin the apps from Discover to the desktop panel.
Update: I did a little research on that very topic, and found out that if you click and drag any app's icon from the start menu to the panel, it sticks. Only thing is, if you want to move it, you have to right-click it then select 'move left/right' depending upon where it's at on the panel.
Well much as I enjoyed test driving this OS, I'm done with it for now. Going to try KDE Neon again and see if I can't dl/install the app that my VPN provides and get it up and running.
I decided to try it yet one more time.
Round 3:
FINALLY. Some bugs reared their ugly heads. I was typing here in this window and somehow I got switched over to my VLC player. And, if my text cursor was in one place and the pointer was in another place, there was a major screwup. I'd be typing in text and then suddenly my text would appear elsewhere on my screen, in a different location than what I'd intended. Stuff like that. Majorly aggravating. That's the only one that stands out right now. There probably are a few others but it's 0300 in the morning and I'm fixing to crash very soon.
Xubuntu:
At first it seemed to be just the "right stuff." But then, I started having problems. Ktorrent didn't want to open up any of the magnet links I clicked on, and I couldn't find any solutions to that online. Also, both the keyboard and mouse were creating havoc by skipping between windows and when I tried to type in my password, the window I was entering it into would switch to another window and I would be typing out nothing. Not sure why that was happening. Hope the development team reads this and does a tweak to make it not do that.
Nitrux:
"...was not authenticated."
Feren OS:
Same problem. This time I tried a suggestion made by someone on a website I happened to come across while searching for a solution. I managed to somehow finagle my way to grub. Even worse. While searching feverishly on my Android phone to find a way to install the kernel and whatnot, I just bungled it even further. I may not be a complete Linux noob, but I sure ain't an expert. Yet. Tried to assign root to the 'hd0,msdos2' location, then tried different means of loading the kernel. Failed yet again. Finally found the command 'reboot' and started over. If installing the OS isn't that easy, I tend to give up interest really quick. I'm not interested in jumping through hoops just to install a version of Linux no matter how fantastic ppl say it is, especially Feren. There's nothing "elegant" about it if I can't install it.
Knoppix:
Didn't even show up in the boot menu. Pfffffpht.
KDE Neon:
Things were going well-- until I decided to try to connect to one of the servers of my VPN. Then it was like trying to cut down a tree with a limp noodle. The connection app was not as intuitive as, say, that of Ubuntu or Linux Mint. I couldn't figure out one way or another how to connect. I tried "sudo openvpn <filename.opvn>" with both udp and tcp alternately, and failed miserably.
Note:
It occurred to me that I ought to try my VPN's exclusive app, instead of wrestling with the local stuff on my machine.
This is my latest project, as of 020522.
Update:
Everything went well, except when I downloaded/installed my VPN's app. Kept trying to log in and getting an error msg.
Ubuntu Studio:
Several problems-- Tried to install it because the sophistication of the intended apps for video, audio and desktop publishing impressed me. Got an error message:
(Insert print screen image here)
It also froze when I was trying to download another ISO file via Ktorrent. And, it had a gnasty habit of not detecting my external hd.
Trisquel GNU/Linux:
Same problem as Feren and Nitrux. WTF? Over.
Parrot Security OS:
Take a huge guess.
Ubuntu MATE:
The GUI is very similar to Linux Mint; however when I started fiddling with the screensavers, I got tons of error msgs.
I'm hoping that this too shall pass, like everything else. If someone on the development team can read this and do something about that particular bug, that'd be awesome.
ubuntuDDE:
I liked the neatness of the GUI. However when I tried to click on various windows I got either a quick response or none at all-- no consistency.
BEE free OS:
Same problems as Nitrux. The very first time I tried to open the iso it actually worked, but since I didn't get around to installing it that time since then it's been giving the same error msg: "...was not authenticated."
Ubuntu Budgie:
Got an internal error msg. Tried to print screen it twice but got no echo to save the files.
Community PC Linux OS 64 Trinity Mini:
"did not authenticate." Seems like a trend going on.....
Fedora Cinnamon:
So far I'm impressed. I reckon because it's 'Cinnamon' flavoured it has similar traits to Linux Mint, and I enjoy the same quality interface. When I installed it I had to do a little tweaking, a'la deleting partitions to make space for Fedora, but besides that I haven't had any problems so far.
One major flaw: the audio isn't working. Tried messing with the various controls and couldn't get it to produce any sound. Tried VLC, Rhythmbox, and a Youboob video but none of them emitted any audio.
Fedora KDE:
It was also working well except for a few error msgs here and there, and also I was having the same problem with my mouse cursor; I would think I was clicking on one thing and it'd turn out to be another.
Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS (Focal Fossa):
Well, I'm enjoying it so far. The "Favourites'" huge icons on the left hand side of the screen do put me off a tiny bit but I guess it just takes some getting used to. Nevertheless the well-put-together aspect of this OS is truly appealing, not to mention the high level of user-friendliness.
This one is a work in progress. If anything comes up that seems untoward, I'll be sure to let you readers know.
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