Skip to content

TechRepublic

  • Top Products Lists
  • Developer
  • 5G
  • Security
  • Cloud
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Tech & Work
  • Mobility
  • Big Data
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • CES
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Top Products Lists
  • Developer
  • 5G
  • Security
  • Cloud
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Tech & Work
  • Mobility
  • Big Data
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • CES
  • See All Topics
  • Sponsored
  • Newsletters
  • Forums
  • Resource Library
TechRepublic Premium
Join / Sign In
Microsoft

Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

By James Sanders July 28, 2015, 3:39 PM PDT

Image
1
of 10

00-notwindows10.jpg
00-notwindows10.jpg
Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

\N

\N

Windows 10 is highly anticipated for a varietyrnof reasons, including it brings a great deal more sanity to the unmitigated mess of Windows 8, and it does not require a third-party utility to make it usable for a natural (or a classic, depending on who you ask) desktop workflow.

However, the underlying operating system (OS) that a user runs is becoming anrnafterthought. The primary focus for many users is on the web — as such, thernavailability of browsers and day-to-day productivity software isrnmore relevant to end users than the old era of buying boxed software in stores.

This gallery highlights various OSs that are, for mostrnusers, adequate replacements for Windows 10. Many of the options featured hererncan be used in VirtualBox, if you prefer to give it a spinrnwithout dual-booting or formatting your system.

Also read:Windows 10 review: Full of promise, but not a must-have just yet

Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

OS X 10.11 El Capitan

Image: Apple Inc.

OS X 10.11 El Capitan

El Capitan is a beta product — though, in general, OS Xrnis still the biggest commercial competitor to Windows. For the most part, itrnmakes more sense if you already have or plan to buy other Apple products.

In comparison to the current release (Yosemite), El Capitanrnchanges the system font to the SanrnFrancisco typeface used in the Apple Watch and the upcoming iOS 9. ElrnCapitan also brings support for snapping two windows side-by-side, a featurernother OSs have had for years.

Also new in this release is improved display support for Chinese and Japanese, and an improved Japanese IME (Input method editor). The IME allows the user to write in Japanese by typing phonetically (in Hiragana), and generates the correct Kanji without user intervention by using frequency and context-sensitive clues to determine the correct Kanji.

Killer feature: HiDPI (“Retina”) display support is more maturernthan what’s available with other OSs.

Price: Free upgrade, though using OS Xrnrequires Apple hardware, which starts at $499 for the Mac Mini.

Image: Apple Inc.
Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

Ubuntu 15.04

Image: Screenshot by James Sanders

Ubuntu 15.04

Ubunturnremains the most visible Linux distribution for people not necessarilyrnpredisposed to installing a different OS. The Unity interfacernrequires some level of adjustment compared to Windows, though the name Unity isrnat least accurate in regard to presentation — the system behavior isrnreasonably well thought-out, and is uniform across applications.

Ubuntu, like other Linux distributions, has native versions ofrnpopular open-source software, such as Firefox and LibreOffice, which are installed by default; offerings that can be installed by the user include VLC Media Player, Pidgin instant messenger, FileZilla, and Audacity. Additionally, closed-sourcernproducts such as Google Chrome, Skype, Trillian, Steam, Dropbox, and TeamViewerrnare also available.

Of note, Ubuntu Kylin, the derivative intended forrnChinese users, includes a preconfigured IME and an additional migrationrnassistant for people switching from Windows, as well as Kingsoft WPS Office inrnplace of LibreOffice, as that product is more popular there.

Killer feature: It’s a good entry point for people who don’trnhave prior Linux experience.

Price: Free

Image: Screenshot by James Sanders
Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

Kubuntu 15.04

Image: Screenshot by Matt Nawrocki

Kubuntu 15.04

Kubunturnis the first distribution to ship version 5 of KDE Plasma, an alternative desktop environmentrnwith much improved HiDPI support, and a more modern visual style compared tornprevious releases. Like Ubuntu and other Linux distributions, it has nativernversions of various popular open-source and proprietary software.

Killer feature: It’s the de-facto flagship distribution forrnKDE, setting it ahead of competing distributions that still include KDE Plasmarn4.

Price: Free

Image: Screenshot by Matt Nawrocki
Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

Fedora 22

Image: Screenshot by James Sanders

Fedora 22

Fedora is the flagship distribution for the GNOME desktop environment. Fedora releases serve asrnthe basis of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and a significantrnamount of the development work on Fedora is done by Red Hat employees. Consequently, Fedora uses more recent versions of the Linux kernel than other distributions. This strikes a balance between having advanced support for newer hardware (compared to Ubuntu), but with greater stability compared to bleeding edge / rolling release distributions such as Arch Linux.

Compared to Ubuntu, the Fedora project has a much stricterrnpolicy about the use of non-free code in official repositories for softwarernsuch as audio/video codecs and proprietary programs such as Flash, Java,rnGoogle Chrome, and Skype. These can be added with relative ease using thernthird-party Fedyrnutility.

Killer feature: Being the de-facto flagship distribution forrnGNOME, it provides the most mature HiDPI support among Linux distributions.

Price: Free

Image: Screenshot by James Sanders
Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

Haiku

Image: Haiku, Inc.

Haiku

Haiku is an open-source implementation of BeOS, which was thernfirst OS designed for symmetricrnmultiprocessing and preemptive multitasking. Haiku is named for the peculiar errorrnmessages from the default browser in BeOS.

The Haiku project is thernmost feature-complete original OS targeted toward general usersrnthat is not related to the Windows, Linux, or OS X / BSD family. While still inrnAlpha territory, it’s generally stable enough to browse the web, listen tornmusic, and do other basic tasks.

Killer feature: Super light-weight, and it doesn’t require much in thernway of system resources, making it a good choice for migrating on olderrnsystems.

Price: Free

Image: Haiku, Inc.
Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

eComStation 2.2

Image: XEU.com BV

eComStation 2.2

eComStation 2.2 is scheduled for release in October 2015 from thernnew developer XEU, which has taken over from Mensys BV, the previous maintainerrnof the project. eComStation is the successor to IBM’s OS/2, with updated driverrnsupport and current software packages such as Firefox and ApachernOpenOffice.org. Despite the relative age of OS/2, it still has vibrant community support.

Killer feature: Full binary compatibility for Win16rnapplications (this is better than the compatibility in Windows).

Price: $145 for the Home/Student edition.

Image: XEU.com BV
Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

Chrome OS

Image: Google

Chrome OS

Google’s Chrome OS has slowly added more and morernpackaged applications, making Chromebooks much more than the internet appliance they started as. Apps can be addedrnthrough the Chrome web store, and partial support for Android apps is availablernthrough the App Runtime for Chrome (ARC).

Chrome OS lacksrnthe ability to do very specific things that traditional desktop OSs can, such as burning CDs or DVDs, though the frequency with which thisrnis a common task is far less than it was 10 years ago.

Killer feature: Extremely hardened security makes the prospectrnof viruses on Chrome OS less likely.

Price: Free, though it is only available on Chrome-branded hardware from various OEMs, starting atrn$149. This makes it a prospect of purchasing new hardware, instead of an in-place softwarernupgrade.

Image: Google
Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

Remix OS 1.5

Image: Jide

Remix OS 1.5

Remix OS from Jide, a startup founded by ex-Googlernengineers, takes Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and gives it a productivity-mindedrndesktop feel, with proper windowing support and multitasking. Remix OS shipsrnwith the Jide Ultratablet, and ROM images are availablernfor the Nexus 10 tablet. Jide has also launched a Kickstarter for the Remix Mini,rnwhich brings the OS to desktop users.

Killer feature: Proper windowing for Android, with support forrnMicrosoft Office.

Price: Free, though it only runs on specific ARM hardware eitherrnfrom Jide or the Nexus 10. A ROM for the Nexus 9 is planned for a futurernversion.

Image: Jide
Solus
Solus
Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

Solus

Image: Solus Project

Solus

The Solus OS is a new Linux distribution that is targeted for desktop users. It includes the Budgierndesktop, which is designed for this distribution. Like Ubuntu, it adds arndifferent interface to the existing GNOME software stack, and like Ubuntu, it has a well thought-out,rnconsistent user interface. Solus is still in beta.

Killer feature: A new, minimalist interface intended for andrntargeted to desktop users.

Price: Free, though they arernsoliciting donations via Patreon.

Image: Solus Project
  • Microsoft
  • Open source
  • Software
  • Account Information

    Share with Your Friends

    Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won’t disappoint

    Your email has been sent

Share: Screenshots: Windows 10 alternatives that won't disappoint
Image of James Sanders
By James Sanders
James Sanders is an analyst for 451 Research. He was formerly a Staff Technology Writer for TechRepublic.
  • Account Information

    Contact James Sanders

    Your message has been sent

  • |
  • See all of James's content

TechRepublic Premium

  • TechRepublic Premium

    Media disposal policy

    PURPOSE This Media disposal policy from TechRepublic Premium provides specific instructions for ensuring organization data is properly protected when disposing of old storage media. From the policy: POLICY DETAILS When disposing of damaged, unusable, obsolete, off-lease, decommissioned, old, or end-of-service-life equipment and media, the organization requires that the guidelines outlined herein be followed: Hard drives, ...

    Published:  March 30, 2023, 12:00 PM EDT Modified:  March 31, 2023, 11:06 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    IT email templates: Upcoming software release

    PURPOSE To take some of the effort out of writing (and rewriting) emails to share with company staff and executives, TechRepublic Premium has assembled basic templates to handle the most common types of communications. Simply copy the text into your favorite word processor and customize it to fit your needs. Then, paste it into an ...

    Published:  March 30, 2023, 12:00 PM EDT Modified:  March 31, 2023, 11:29 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Mobile app development policy

    PURPOSE The purpose of this policy from TechRepublic Premium is to provide guidelines for developing mobile applications from a security, procedural and best practices standpoint. While it contains technical guidelines, it is not intended to serve as a programming guide but as a framework for operations. This policy can be customized as needed to fit ...

    Published:  March 29, 2023, 12:00 PM EDT Modified:  March 30, 2023, 4:43 PM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    New client audit checklist

    PURPOSE This checklist from TechRepublic Premium provides a method for auditing and documenting a client site and assembling an inventory of systems and software, as well as giving you a framework for developing recommendations, applying costs to them, and storing all that information in one file. Tracking client contact details, circuit information, network equipment, cloud ...

    Published:  March 29, 2023, 12:00 PM EDT Modified:  March 30, 2023, 4:54 PM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium

Services

  • About Us
  • Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
  • Site Map
  • Site Help & Feedback
  • FAQ
  • Advertise
  • Do Not Sell My Information

Explore

  • Downloads
  • TechRepublic Forums
  • Meet the Team
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Resource Library
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • TechRepublic
  • TechRepublic on Twitter
  • TechRepublic on Facebook
  • TechRepublic on LinkedIn
  • TechRepublic on Flipboard
© 2023 TechnologyAdvice. All rights reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Property of TechnologyAdvice