Linux is everywhere. It’s on your servers and in your\r\nphones, cars, watches, toasters, refrigerators… and desktops. Although fewer users\r\nsee Linux on their desktops than in their thermostats, even that is on the rise, partly due to the\r\nnumber of high-quality distributions. This new wave of Linux desktop\r\ndistributions is bringing a confluence of user-friendliness, modern design, and\r\nstability to the open source platform.
The only problem you might have is figuring out which of the more recent\r\ndistributions are the true darlings of the moment. Never fear, intrepid\r\nreaders: I have you covered with the five Linux desktop distributions I feel\r\nare the hottest commodities coming out of the open source world.
Note: This gallery is also available as an article.
All apps carry a similar design spec and do exactly what you’d\r\nexpect them to do. With Elementary OS Freya, there are no surprises. It works\r\nand it works impeccably. Anyone who has used Windows or OS X will immediately be\r\nat home in Freya. It’s that well designed. Yet it doesn’t give up its own unique\r\nflavor and design elements.
Korora developers are working on a unique tool called Lens. This\r\nproject has a goal of creating an agnostic alternative to desktop UIs. It’s\r\nactually a fairly impressive (and complex) idea, which you can read more about here.
Mageia should be much applauded for the thriving community it has developed\r\n(and continues to nurture). I strongly believe that Mageia could become one of\r\nthe primary distributions for those looking to run either the GNOME or KDE\r\ndesktop.
Jack Wallen is an award-winning writer for TechRepublic, The New Stack, and Linux New Media. He's covered a variety of topics for over twenty years and is an avid promoter of open source. For more news about Jack Wallen, visit his website jackwallen.com.
