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However, common software like multimedia codecs and closed-source hardware drivers aren’t supported on Fedora, which has a laser-like focus on free software. The Fedora project is a platform for all the latest technologies going on in Linux-land and helps push the entire Linux ecosystem forward. Unlike many other Linux distributions, Fedora works with a lot of “upstream” projects and doesn’t excessively customize them. These are all great Linux distros, but they aren’t the best place for most new users to start for one reason or another.įedora is popular, and it’s a great project. Here are a few you may have already heard of. There are many other Linux distros out there- hundreds, actually. Linux Mint is also relentlessly focused on improving the desktop of today, while the Ubuntu project is working on a smartphone operating system, creating new software package formats, and entirely rewriting the Unity desktop for phone-PC convergence.īut what about Fedora, Debian, Arch, and others?
Both its Cinnamon and MATE desktops are more traditional interfaces that will probably be a bit more familiar to users leaving Windows than Ubuntu would. Linux Mint is focused on the traditional desktop. Ubuntu seems more popular in the wild, but Linux Mint often feels more popular among vocal Linux desktop users online. Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, so you get the same Ubuntu base system, but it’s also its own project. There’s no denying Linux Mint’s popularity.
There’s also a huge amount of documentation available online, so if you run into a problem, you can probably perform a web search and find someone else who’s already had and solved the same issue. Ubuntu’s popularity means there is a huge amount of software available for it in its software repositories and even in PPAs, if you end up needing something more bleeding-edge. You don’t have to upgrade to a new version every single year to stay current, as you would if you were using a faster-moving Linux distro like Fedora.
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These LTS releases also receive hardware support upgrades and some other significant software updates, allowing you to install Linux once and use your system for years. Go with the “long term service”-or LTS-release and you’ll have an Ubuntu system that’s supported with security updates for five solid years.