Open-Source Saturday: Linux

The Complete Starter Guide to Linux

Introduction

Everyone has at least heard of Linux at this point, and if you haven’t then you’re really missing out. Despite it having a history of being complicated and scary to use, it really isn’t that bad, and with a huge community dedicated to making Linux user-friendly it has actually improved so much that it is a viable, complete, more stable replacement for Windows and Mac OS! This article will touch on the different base distributions of Linux with pros and cons along with a quick guide on how to install it side by side with your current operating system. Don’t worry, it’s not difficult!

There are three “main” distros that people use: Debian, Arch Linux, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). They are all built on top of the same Linux kernel, but differ vastly in how they manage files and do administrative tasks. Of the three, Debian is the most stable and user-friendly as of now, with Arch coming in a close second. As of only a few months ago, RHEL is now closed-source, but it is worth mentioning as there are still many distros based on RHEL that remain open-source. So let’s dive in to it and get a good understanding of Linux.

History

In order to talk about Linux we need to go back to the late 1960s and talk about Unix first. Unix was developed as a multi-user, multi-tasking operating system and has been widely used in science and research. Unix was made by AT&T’s Bell Labs with the idea of using small modular utilities to perform tasks, a design that was different in comparison to the computer that was used to guide Apollo to the moon. That computer, the AGC, ran on a simple real-time operating system whereas Unix is a time-sharing operating system. The difference between the two being that real-time has more time constraints and time-sharing uses a task scheduler, which is what all of our computers today use.

Moving forward a little, descendants built on top of the Unix base began showing up, namely the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) which in turn inspired BSD-based distros. One of these distros was NeXTStep OS, which if you are an Apple user you may recognize this as the fundamental building block of Mac OS X which in turn was the basis for iOS. Something else you may not know is that the original BSD was also the foundation of the PlayStation 4’s Orbis OS. Home internet routers also use Unix, although some smart routers now run on Linux.

It wasn’t until the 1980’s that a new foundation from Unix was born: Minix. Minix was made to be an educational tool as was open-source to students at the time, and in 1991 a student used it to make what is now the most used OS kernel in the world. Linus Torvalds, a 21-year-old student, combined the use of his Minix build and the Unix design principles to make the Linux Kernel, which he used to release his first full Linux OS: Linux 0.01. This version was a command-line tool that began to grow a cult following of programmers and enthusiasts. In the 1992 we saw the release of Slackware, and shortly after in the same year we got openSUSE. Then in 1993, the Debian Linux OS was announced and then stably released in 1996. The release of Debian entered Linux into the consumer domain instead of just the enthusiasts and the community was growing. This community continued contributing to the Linux project and in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Linux was considered more affordable and stable than proprietary operating systems like Microsoft’s Windows. Red Hat Linux, released in 1995, became more preferred to enterprises and businesses as they didn’t have to pay to use it and it was proving to be better than the other options available.

We finally got to see Arch Linux for the first time in 2002, and finally Ubuntu in 2004. Ubuntu is currently the leading operating system, being one of the most user-friendly, stable, and powerful Linux distros ever made, all built on top of Debian. From here to the present there have been thousands of distros made spawning from the big three, and Linux has slowly made its way into the mainstream consumer market as a viable, daily-drive desktop system. Not to mention the countless other systems that use Linux, like Android, Chrome OS, and Steam OS, and other embedded systems as well like Roku devices, your car’s computer, your smart home devices, TVs (smart and dumb) and so many more. You most likely use Linux every day without realizing it.

The Big Three

As mentioned previously, the big three Linux distros are Debian, Arch Linux, and RHEL. Almost every distro you will run into that are commonly used are based on one of these three. So without further ado, let’s jump right in starting with RHEL.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

RHEL first started as Red Hat Linux, and upon merging with the Fedora Project in 2003 it branched into the paid distro Red Hat Enterprise Linux. As evident by the name, RHEL is a paid distro aimed toward businesses and enterprises. It is a very reliable and fast and Red Hat is still one of the leading contributors to the Linux kernel. Up until July of 2023, RHEL was open-source but wasn’t available to the consumer as a full packaged distro. Building the RHEL distro from source is a complicated and difficult task, so there were a lot of distros built on top of RHEL that gained popularity in the home lab scene. Namely Rocky Linux, CentOS, Amazon Linux, Oracle Linux, and VMware being the most popular and used ones.

Now let’s breakdown the pros and cons of RHEL.

Pros

• Certified in the Cloud: RHEL is the primary cloud operating system, giving developers a platform for making native cloud applications.

• Enterprise Security: There is a large team of developers checking each line of code in the RHEL source for security flaws and they work relentlessly to patch anything they find.

• New Technology Support: RHEL has AI enhancements and containers that give room to expand and be compatible with new and emerging technologies.

• Datacenter Migration: Deploying services over multiple clouds in a data center is made simple with RHEL’s built in utilities for installation, migration, upgrading, and eventually deployment.

• Extended Support: Being a paid enterprise software, RHEL has a 10 year support contract for helping update, upgrade, and maintain your RHEL applications.

Cons

• Cost: RHEL is a subscription based OS. Enterprises that need the paid features are fine to pay it, but consumers wanting to leverage the technology for their personal uses won’t be looking to purchase a license starting at the lowest of $179 a year for the no-support subscription. The costs range depending on use and add-ons needed from $179 to $8,964 a year per license.

• Steep Learning Curve: If you’re looking to start your Linux journey, or don’t have much experience with command line use, RHEL has a tough learning curve that make it not a realistic choice for the common user. Even if you are a Linux user, RHEL is different enough from the other core distros that make it tough to migrate to it and feel comfortable.

• Security Patches: Although the OS is generally safe from huge security breaches, any software you install on RHEL will need an extra security top-off, which may end up costing money. Not to mention any vulnerabilities that come up and need to be patched immediately.

If you are interested in trying RHEL, I would suggest using a user-friendly desktop distro derivative like Fedora. Fedora is free and open-source and is a great starting point to learn more about RHEL before you decide to tinker with server-side technology. I would also suggest Oracle Linux for a server-side OS when you do start your home lab projects and want them to be on a RHEL system. With RHEL now being closed source, I am unsure about the future of these open-source derivatives, so proceed using RHEL with caution.

Arch Linux

Arch is an independently developed general purposes operating system aimed to keep all of the Arch software fully up to date with a rolling release update model. This means that as updates are available they automatically roll onto your system. While this is nice to keep your stuff up to date, it is indiscriminate of beta releases, which is what ends up turning many normal users away from Arch due to instability issues in those updates. The base OS is very stable and some derivatives boast better user-friendliness with update filters to use stable releases only and include more support for Windows exclusive software. One such distro that is growing in popularity, Geruda Linux, is, in my opinion, the most user-friendly Arch distro. It has support for all of the popular window managers and is fully customizable. If you are a gamer it comes with out of the box support to run any Steam game, even Windows exclusive titles with built in WINE support and Steam’s Proton for Arch.

Here are the things you should know before considering Arch as your Linux flavor:

Pros

• Rolling Release: As I mentioned earlier, Arch uses this rolling update model. This means users don’t need to reinstall a newer version of Arch to do a full system upgrade. The command is very simple as well.

• Pacman: No, not the game. Pacman is a package manager. It is stable, reliable, and relatively fast compared to other package managers. Pacman is what Arch uses to install and delete 3rd party apps and libraries on the system.

• AUR: The Arch User Repository is a vast, community-made and maintained repository of various software and libraries to customize your Arch experience.

• Documentation: There is vast documentation on Arch now which is really helpful to developers and enthusiasts looking to leverage Linux for their workflow.

Cons

• Difficulty Level: This is mitigated with some derivatives, but the base Arch Linux does not have nice graphic interfaces for a lot of things and relies on the command line for managing stuff. Having prior experience with Linux commands is recommended.

• Installation: Arch uses all command line for installation of the base distro. With derivatives they use graphic interfaces and help abstract the command line stuff going on in the background. Although it will still ask some questions in the command line that you have to answer to configure the OS to your liking.

• Possible Instability: Rolling releases are nice for keeping things up to date, but as I mentioned earlier they don’t always have every bug worked out, especially in intermediate updates. Some modern derivatives filter the updates so you don’t have to worry this as much any more.

I would recommend using a Debian derivative before jumping into Arch just because it is more stable and it is more forgiving if you accidentally do something wrong. That said, if you learn on Arch it will still apply to every Linux distro and possibly make your experience in other distros better in the future. It has grown in popularity in the recent years and some derivatives are slowly catching up to Debian as a good entry level distros.

Debian Linux

Debian is the most widely used and popular stable Linux distribution. With its stability and huge community, Debian supports just about any software that exists. It is a very lightweight operating system, being capable of running on very low end and old hardware including devices exceeding 15 years in age. It uses the largest package manager, APT, and is one of the most stable desktop operating systems in the world. It has a very robust hardware support for various CPU architectures, capable of running on various versions of ARM and MIPS, AMD64, i386, RISC-V, and many more. Debian is an OS of choice for many developers from armatures to seasoned professionals, and for good reason.

Here are the pros and cons:

Pros

• FLOSS: Debian is a 100% free and open-source software under the GNU General Public License and will never change, making it a great option for home users and business professionals alike.

• Stable and Secure: With over 1000 volunteer developers maintaining the 50,000+ packages running Debian, it is always being updated with better security and stability so the experience is always clean and smooth so any user feels comfortable using it.

• Flexible Installation: Debian has a live version that lets you test out the OS on a USB stick before fully installing it on your system. This let’s users really get a feel for it without making hard to reverse changes to their computer hardware.

• Community Led: Debian is maintained by over 1000 volunteer developers all over the world actively making it the best operating system you can use.

• IoT and Embedded: This is more for developers, but since Debian is so lightweight you can use it on various IoT (Internet of Things) devices and embedded systems like car computers. Tesla even uses Debian for part of its electric car’s embedded computer.

• APT: The APT package manager is simple to use and contains just about every package that exists. It is quick and reliable, and if there is something missing, there is likely a 3rd party repository that can be added to your local instance to leverage APT’s power to install those packages.

Cons

• Documentation: Debian has good documentation, but is still lacking in some areas. While the official Debian Administrator Handbook is good, the Debian Wiki is outdated and far lacking in comparison to the Arch Wiki.

• Bug/Issue Tracking: Debian hasn’t updated the issue tracker for quite some time, so it is dated and tough to use properly, discouraging users from using it altogether.

• Command Line: Using the terminal to perform tasks like updates has a learning curve that people fear and will decide against using Debian because of it. Learning it isn’t difficult, but it does take time that some people just don’t have.

• Setup: Base Debian has a very minimal setup process that can be difficult to learn to do effectively for the best customizability. However, derivatives like Ubuntu have easy to use GUIs for installation and setup, making the experience very user-friendly.

While the base Debian distribution has it’s more complications for the average user, many of it’s derivatives are very user friendly and some are designed for Windows users looking to change to Linux without giving up the experience they’re used to. Most of these derivatives you’ll find are actually based on Ubuntu, which is derived from Debian. If you are a Windows or Mac user looking to make the change to Linux, then you’re in luck because I am going to also cover some of these more Windows and Mac user-friendly distros and then an installation guide that applies to all Linux distros.

Windows/Mac friendly Linux Distros

This section is more or less a guide to choosing your first Linux distribution if you decide you want to make the switch. Now, changing your computer’s operating system sounds scary, I know because I was scared at first too. You have to jump into the deep end of the pool, totally out of your comfort zone to learn something new. But don’t leave yet! You can try Linux without leaving your current system behind! Through the use of virtual machines and live installations you can try out any Linux distribution without compromising your current computer. For Mac users you will have to use a Type 2 hypervisor, specifically for the purposes of this tutorial we will use UTM. For a Windows PC you will be able to do a live installation which is a fancy way of saying it will run on a USB thumbstick. But first let’s look at the actual distros and how they compare so you can make an informed decision.

Ubuntu

Currently the reigning champion of Linux, that is that it is by far the most popular and widely used distribution in the world. Canonical is the company that maintains the OS and although there is some fear that they will one day switch to closed-source, the current versions that exist and are being used are phenomenal, not to mention free and open-source. It is worth mentioning that Ubuntu has it’s own unique desktop interface that slightly resembles Chrome OS but feels more robust. As a Windows convert this may not be the best choice for you, but if you are coming from Mac it may feel a lot more like the Mac Launchpad which could help with comfortability in the transition. Most of the distros in this list are derivatives of Ubuntu, so it only makes sense to mention it.

Ubuntu is a feature-rich OS with famous apps like Spotify along with other well-functioning apps in the Ubuntu software center for really simple installation. If you’re more into the home server scene, then Ubuntu’s server edition is hands down the most popular distro, although most seem to use a Type 1 hypervisor like Proxmox with Ubuntu VMs and containers running on it for all of their service hosting. It is also really secure, with a kernel enhancement AppArmor that limits the security gaps of programs and resources. There are many things in the OS that supports security practices like secure passwords, firewalls, VPNs, and many more. Ubuntu also is customizable, so even if you don’t like Ubuntu’s interface there are other options like Kubuntu that strips Ubuntu’s interface off and replaces it with KDE Plasma for a more Windows-like experience. Or Wubuntu that is a Windows 11 clone also run on KDE Plasma with all of the functionality of Windows, including embedded Microsoft apps like PowerShell, Edge, Teams, Skype, and more, powered by Ubuntu. And if you want it to look like Windows 10, Wubuntu has a Cinnamon version for just that. And with new long-term support versions being released every two years, each with five years of support, you don’t have to worry about lack of updates and support.

Some disadvantages to consider include the interface as I mentioned previously as well as the heavier reliance on command line interaction. Ubuntu is aimed at technical oriented people who are going to take the time to learn the distro to its fullest, not as a personal computer for your everyday needs. But you can get away with most simple stuff without need for any command line access, such as internet browsing and word processing with LibreOffice. If you’re a gamer and looking for easy and stable, Ubuntu is one I would recommend if you also plan on wanting to learn more about configuring Linux on the back end to support your games. This can also be somewhat avoided as Steam’s Proton can make that easier, but some games just simply won’t run well. Ubuntu uses NVIDIA’s drivers out of the box, with proprietary and open-source options you can choose from on installation and later if you choose to switch. AMD support isn’t as plug and play though, requiring downloading the latest drivers off the internet to really use the full extent of your GPU.

Zorin OS

Zorin OS is made and maintained by two Irish brothers and is built on Ubuntu. Zorin boasts one of the best transitioning experiences coming from Mac and Windows, and I can’t say they are wrong. There are a few different versions of Zorin you can get, Core, Pro, Lite, and Education Edition. All but Pro is free, and the Pro version is only $48, which goes directly to the developers to aid them in maintaining and keeping Zorin one of the best Linux experiences for the average user. Zorin Core, Light, and Education Edition come with four desktop layouts you can choose from to customize your experience, including two Windows-like layouts, Touch layout for touchscreen devices, and GNOME Shell which matches many other distros out there. If you are coming from MacOS or Windows 11 though, Pro may be more suited to you as you are provided with an additional six layouts, including macOS-like, Windows Classic-like, Windows 11-like, ChromeOS-like, GNOME 2-like, and Ubuntu-like layouts.

This distro is also great for reviving older devices that are up to 15 years old. Zorin Lite uses the Xfce desktop environment for super light-weight rendering and has been used by small governments to reduce costs by extending computer lives by an expected 30-40%. Zorin is growing more and more popular, and as of now the City of Vicenza in Italy is using Zorin OS as their primary workstation OS for all of its employees. If you’re worried about security, Zorin OS has built in antivirus protection and is highly resistant to malware. Since it runs on Ubuntu, it also gets those same security patches when they come out. Zorin also is privacy-respecting, so it doesn’t collect personal data and its source code is audited to verify its privacy and security claims.

Unlike Ubuntu, Zorin comes with far more game support out of the box. With NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel drivers as well as game optimizations, Zorin allows for indie to AAA titles to run smoothly on your system for a great experience. Not to mention you can find Steam, Lutris, Epic Games, itch.io, and GOG in their built in Software Store. Speaking of the Software Store, it contains all of the Ubuntu repositories as well as all of the Snap Store and Flathub repositories. You can also download any .deb app and seamlessly install them on your system. If you have a smart phone you can connect it to Zorin OS with Zorin Connect so you can sync notifications and messages, transfer files and photos, use your phone as a mouse and keyboard, or even a remote for presentations, and control your music and video playback across your devices.

The only big con of Zorin OS is that the firewall isn’t enabled by default, but it can be easily enabled and configured through the Zorin Settings. And aside from some preinstalled software, the extra layouts, and some premium backgrounds, the $48 price for Pro may not be worth it for many users. Some things have to be done through the command line, especially if you are into game modding and custom configurations. Aside from these minor drawbacks, Zorin OS is my highest recommendation for newcomers in the Linux scene.

Linux Mint

Another very popular Ubuntu derivative, Linux Mint is one of the most popular one that almost everyone I have met has heard of or scene before. It has a very clean interface and has three different desktop editions you can choose from, Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce. Mint is lightweight by default, as the Mint team has been solely focused on quality over quantity. It has multimedia support, out of the box pre-configurations so you don’t have to worry about those things, and is also designed with gamers in mind.

Abstracting itself from Ubuntu and handling all of those pesky game configurations to get everything working smoothly really aids the transition to Linux. It also has great file management, with high efficiency and stability. Linux Mint also provides low-cost solutions for IT professionals as well and is highly recommended by many. The only cons I could find on Mint is the lack of user interfaces for some services, having to solely rely on command line for certain things. Although, this shouldn’t be an issue for the common user as everything else is supported with UIs.

Solus

Previously known as Evolve OS, this distro is a very clean and polished independent distro, skipping the main three altogether. Its main desktop environment is through Budgie, which used to be developed in house by the Solus team but has since branched into its own organization, and has a lot of customizability options. Solus also has GNOME, KDE Plasma, and Xfce versions so you can stick to the experiences you like most while taking full advantage of the Solus OS. When it first was changed from Evolve in 2015, it made its way onto DistroWatch.com as a promising beginner distro. It follows a rolling release model, so you can frequently update to the latest stable branch as it comes out, and is considered one of the most stable rolling release distros in the industry. It also has a live image so you can experience and test it hands on without compromising your current system. Solus uses the Flatpak and Snap repositories for access to download thousands of software, so anyone can have access to the necessary apps and suites for gamers, general-purpose users, office users, and developers.

Solus’ biggest drawback is that it only has Flatpak and Snap for software downloading, which means it is fairly limited. The other known issue is that, on rare occasion, software updates will leave you with a black screen upon completion, but this issue is heavily tracked and there are many solutions and a whole community of support to help you get it back to usable in no time.

Closing Thoughts on these Distros

Again, my #1 recommendation is Zorin OS, as it gives you the feel of Windows or Mac with the distinct separation from them as well as a Linux experience. Not to mention it’s more robust Software Store, and the pre-installed suites and extra layouts in the Pro edition. My next recommendation would be Linux Mint for it’s great stability and easy learning curve. Followed by Wubuntu if you really like the look and feel of Windows and don’t want something totally new. I have no experience with Solus, but it has showed up in the top choices on many lists and blogs for beginner friendly and Windows/Mac recoverees. The biggest draw to Linux is it being completely free and open-source, which is why making the change can be very financially beneficial, not to mention rewarding when you realize you’ve learned so much about computers along the way. So now you’ve considered the good entry points, we can now go over how to take a live look at your distro of choice, as well and fully install or dual boot install your pick. Any distro that has a live image option is preferrable, and all of the mentioned distros above have one.

Installation

This will be a general tutorial on how to install and use a Live image of Linux. It will apply to all of the distros. There are some prerequisites before just jumping into it, so here are the things you’ll need:

• A computer with an internet connection, keyboard, and mouse

  • This can be the computer you’re putting Linux on if you’re only doing Live or Dual Boot, I recommend backing it up still or using a different, maybe older computer to install Linux on

  • Whatever computer you are installing on, you need to know who the manufacturer of the motherboard is, (Dell, ASUS, MSI, etc.) so you can easily find out how to get into the boot menu

• A USB thumbstick, preferably 16GB or more in capacity

• Time. Installing a new OS takes about 20 minutes to an hour depending on your internet connection and hardware speeds.

Now we need to establish two very important downloads that are absolutely required for this to go smoothly.

• Your Linux distro of choice’s official ISO image. Go to their website and find the Downloads page or their GitHub’s releases page for this,

  • If they have the option separately, choose the live image ISO.

• A flash software. I recommend using Balena Etcher, it’s free and reliable. If you have Mac you can use their Disk Utility software to do it, but I find it confusing and not intuitive, and Balena works on all desktop OS’s.

Okay, NOW we have everything we need to get started.

Windows

1. Open Balena and choose Flash from file and find the .iso file you downloaded for your distro.

2. Plug in the USB stick into your computer and then choose Select Target in Balena and choose the USB stick.

3. Finally, press Flash! and wait until it finishes flashing the image to the USB device. This can take a while, just be patient and let it go through the verification as well. Then immediately unplug it after completion, Windows might ask to reformat because it isn’t recognized, just ignore it.

4. Now that you have a bootable USB with an active Linux Live image, go ahead and fully shut down the computer you will be installing it on and plug the USB into that computer once shut down.

   1. Make sure this is the ONLY USB stick plugged in. Wireless mouse and keyboard dongles are fine.

5. Power back on the computer and repeatedly press the button your keyboard that opens the boot menu for the motherboard

6. Once it opens, choose the USB stick. It may say “UEFI: USB Disk” or something of the sort, that is the one.

7. Depending on which Linux you are using, it may open a GRUB menu to ask which version you want. Choose the top option, or whatever says “Try or Install [Linux Distribution]”.

8. If there are any simple set up steps, walk through them with the interface, but do NOT hit any button that says install, or wipe and partition your drives.

   1. Doing the full install will get rid of any and all data on the device currently. If you do the full install, make sure to back up your data so you don’t lose it all.

9. Enjoy the features and experience your new Linux distro gives you! If you like it but don’t want to get rid of Windows, most distros will let you choose a dual boot option and let you keep everything on your system and find extra space to put the Linux OS on. If you want to replace your current system you can choose to do the full install.

Mac OS

1. The steps are the same as Windows, except instead of replacing your system we will be installing on a virtual machine using UTM. So make sure you have it downloaded following the link or finding it in the Mac App Store for $9.99.

   1. Open the .dmg that is downloaded and drag the app into the Apps folder in the menu that pops up.

   2. Simply run the app now and we can get started

   3. You won’t need etcher or a USB stick, and most of the distros are included in UTM already.

2. Press the “+” button and select Emulate, then Linux, then under Boot ISO Image select Browse and find your .iso

3. Click on continue, then only put in the recommended hardware for that Linux distro.

   1. My general configuration for Linux is 2 CPU cores (should be the default) and 4GB (4096MB) of memory

   2. For storage, do at least 10 GB

4. Skip the shared directory section and then rename the VM to the distro you’re using. Then confirm the details of what you configured

5. Click on the play button and then walk through the installation guide.

   1. The first time booting will take a longer time to configure the hardware emulation

   2. Since this is a VM, you can do the full installation without deleting your system

6. Enjoy your new Linux VM!

   1. Keep in mind that you can delete it at any point, have it start whenever you turn your Mac on, and even host services from it. So if you don’t have money for a dedicated server, your Mac can work just fine for temporary.

Conclusion

There are so many more things I can say about Linux. There are thousands of distros that you can find and use today, and even specialized distros for different professions. Like Ubuntu Studio for content creators, or Pop!_OS for STEM students and professionals. There are even tools and tutorials that can teach you how to make your own distro on top of pre-existing ones if you want to embark down that path to further your skills as a computer expert in Linux. The Linux Project, along with the GNU Foundation and Free Software Foundation all strive for the same thing, digital liberation, and using an open-source operating system like Linux is but a stepping stone in driving the future of technology the way we want it. I hope you learned a lot about Linux after reading this and can take away a new skill or two.

As always, like and subscribe and feel free to leave comments! If I said something that is incorrect or doesn’t hold true anymore, let me know so I can make proper corrections so nobody is misinformed. And if you want to support me so I can continue making content and finish my schooling, feel free to upgrade to a paid subscription for only $5 a month or $50 a year. It includes nothing extra, but it really does help me in my journey of learning and teaching about upcoming technology and the wonderful world of open-source.

I wish you a happy journey into the world of Linux!

Sources

• https://cloudinfrastructureservices.co.uk/ubuntu-vs-redhat-whats-the-difference/

• https://www.fosslinux.com/44623/top-unix-based-operating-systems.htm

• https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/linux-history/

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer#Software

• https://www.maketecheasier.com/history-of-linux-distros/

• https://elinux.org/Main_Page#Technology_Watch_List

• https://www.linuxinsider.com/story/consumer-electronics-closing-in-on-open-source-55196.html

• https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/linux#why-choose-rednbsphat

• https://fedoraproject.org/

• https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_Linux

• https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/configuration/arch-linux/

• https://www.debian.org/intro/why_debian

• https://www.trustradius.com/products/debian-os/reviews?qs=pros-and-cons#reviews

• https://itsfoss.com/windows-like-linux-distributions/

• https://docs.getutm.app/

• https://1gbits.com/blog/ubuntu-pros-and-cons/

• https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/configuration/zorin-os/

• https://zorin.com/os/

• https://www.linuxmint.com/

• https://www.trustradius.com/products/linux-mint/reviews?qs=pros-and-cons#reviews

• https://kubuntu.org/

• https://wubuntu.org/

• https://etcher.balena.io/

• https://linuxnetmag.com/solus-vs-ubuntu/

• https://getsol.us/

• https://ubuntustudio.org/

• https://pop.system76.com/