BigLinux makes Linux easy for anyone – and it should be way more popular
BigLinux offers numerous desktop layouts, such as this OSX-like take. ZDNET/Jack Wallen
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- BIgLinux is free and available for installation on as many computers as you need.
- It’s big, beautiful, and offers more helpful features than the operating system you’re currently using.
- It should be far more popular than it is.
I thought I’d seen them all and worked with every distribution available. Even so, I poke around, every day, to see if there’s something new to be had. Color me surprised when I ran into a Linux distribution that has been around for nearly two decades and I’d never known about.
That distribution is BigLinux. Hailing from Brazil (localized into Brazilian Portuguese with support for English), this flavor of Linux was originally based on Kubuntu but eventually re-born with a base of Deepin. Soon after that, it added more desktop environments, until it resembled that of ZorinOS (allowing users to select a desktop layout of their choice).
Also: 5 reasons why desktop Linux is finally growing in popularity
But back in 2021, BigLinux made another shift, migrating to Manjaro Linux with KDE Plasma as a base. And, with KDE Plasma as its primary desktop, it still allows you to select your layout (from a vanilla KDE Plasma to a rather OS X-like desktop and everything in between.
BigLinux wants to be everything to you: from gaming, productivity, task automation, entertainment, communication and so much more. Sounds like just about any operating system on the planet, right? Well, BigLinux does have a few tricks up its sleeve to distance itself from the usual, mundane OS.
For example, you get web applications (such as Amazon Music, Deezer Music, Discord, Facebook, Instagram, Jitsi Meet, Messenger, Netflix, Outlook, all of the Google apps, and more) out of the box. You’ll find dozens of applications that take up very little space on your drive.
Also: KDE Neon shows that the Plasma 6 Linux distro is something truly special
You also get to choose the web browser to be installed and used by default (from Brave, Firefox, Google Chrome, Chromium, Vivaldi, LibreWorlf, Opera, or Falkon), sync your phone (with KDE Connect), install drivers with the Big Driver Manager, reduce ambient noise from your online calls and recordings (with the help of neural network techniques).
There are plenty of included web apps to use out of the box. ZDNET/Jack Wallen
BigLinux is also optimized to facilitate easier game installation (and includes Steam out of the box). You’ll also get remote access, restore points, automatic file compression, Android apps (thanks to Waydroid), and so much more.
Yeah, BigLinux has a lot to offer. In fact, I was surprised at just how much there was to find.
Also: Do you need antivirus on Linux?
On top of that, it’s quite an elegant desktop. I opted to test the OS X-like layout, which presents with a bottom dock, a top “menu bar,” and a user-friendly, searchable main menu.
Forgetting BigLinux had migrated to Manjaro Linux, I opened the terminal window to test the installation of apps from the command line. With my memory skipping a beat, I first ran, sudo apt-get update, only to be reminded that pacman is the default package manager. However, the developers thought of this eventuality and added a wrapper that would connect apt to pacman and run just fine. I was then able to install applications like this:
or
sudo apt-get install opera
Either way, Opera was successfully installed.
And that, my friends, tells the whole story. BigLinux makes Linux easy for anyone.
But there’s more.
You might think BigLinux is just for new users. In that thinking, you’d be mistaken. There are subtle additions that make this Linux distribution one that can be enjoyed by any level of skill. Take, for instance, the built-in SSH Manager you’ll find in the Konsole terminal window. From this add-on, you can easily add entries to your SSH Config file. When you go to add an entry, you can include the hostname, port, SSH key, username, folder, and profile.
The BigLinux Konsole terminal includes a handy SSH config GUI. ZDNET/Jack Wallen
SSH power users will love having the ability to manage their config files with this handy GUI.
Also: What is SSH and how do you use it? The secure shell basics you need to know
The thing that really sold me on BigLinux was the sum total of all its parts. As I tested the distribution, I kept finding new and exciting bits that made me wonder why other versions of Linux hadn’t been thought to include. When you combine that with ease of use, stability, performance, and beauty, you get a desktop operating system that should be known by all.
If you’ve been on the hunt for a new desktop operating system, you’d be remiss if you didn’t give BigLinux a try. You can download the ISO, and run it as a live distribution to see if this flavor of Linux is right for you.
Trust me when I say that you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
BigLinux offers numerous desktop layouts, such as this OSX-like take. ZDNET/Jack Wallen
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- BIgLinux is free and available for installation on as many computers as you need.
- It’s big, beautiful, and offers more helpful features than the operating system you’re currently using.
- It should be far more popular than it is.
I thought I’d seen them all and worked with every distribution available. Even so, I poke around, every day, to see if there’s something new to be had. Color me surprised when I ran into a Linux distribution that has been around for nearly two decades and I’d never known about.
That distribution is BigLinux. Hailing from Brazil (localized into Brazilian Portuguese with support for English), this flavor of Linux was originally based on Kubuntu but eventually re-born with a base of Deepin. Soon after that, it added more desktop environments, until it resembled that of ZorinOS (allowing users to select a desktop layout of their choice).
Also: 5 reasons why desktop Linux is finally growing in popularity
But back in 2021, BigLinux made another shift, migrating to Manjaro Linux with KDE Plasma as a base. And, with KDE Plasma as its primary desktop, it still allows you to select your layout (from a vanilla KDE Plasma to a rather OS X-like desktop and everything in between.
BigLinux wants to be everything to you: from gaming, productivity, task automation, entertainment, communication and so much more. Sounds like just about any operating system on the planet, right? Well, BigLinux does have a few tricks up its sleeve to distance itself from the usual, mundane OS.
For example, you get web applications (such as Amazon Music, Deezer Music, Discord, Facebook, Instagram, Jitsi Meet, Messenger, Netflix, Outlook, all of the Google apps, and more) out of the box. You’ll find dozens of applications that take up very little space on your drive.
Also: KDE Neon shows that the Plasma 6 Linux distro is something truly special
You also get to choose the web browser to be installed and used by default (from Brave, Firefox, Google Chrome, Chromium, Vivaldi, LibreWorlf, Opera, or Falkon), sync your phone (with KDE Connect), install drivers with the Big Driver Manager, reduce ambient noise from your online calls and recordings (with the help of neural network techniques).
There are plenty of included web apps to use out of the box. ZDNET/Jack Wallen
BigLinux is also optimized to facilitate easier game installation (and includes Steam out of the box). You’ll also get remote access, restore points, automatic file compression, Android apps (thanks to Waydroid), and so much more.
Yeah, BigLinux has a lot to offer. In fact, I was surprised at just how much there was to find.
Also: Do you need antivirus on Linux?
On top of that, it’s quite an elegant desktop. I opted to test the OS X-like layout, which presents with a bottom dock, a top “menu bar,” and a user-friendly, searchable main menu.
Forgetting BigLinux had migrated to Manjaro Linux, I opened the terminal window to test the installation of apps from the command line. With my memory skipping a beat, I first ran, sudo apt-get update, only to be reminded that pacman is the default package manager. However, the developers thought of this eventuality and added a wrapper that would connect apt to pacman and run just fine. I was then able to install applications like this:
or
sudo apt-get install opera
Either way, Opera was successfully installed.
And that, my friends, tells the whole story. BigLinux makes Linux easy for anyone.
But there’s more.
You might think BigLinux is just for new users. In that thinking, you’d be mistaken. There are subtle additions that make this Linux distribution one that can be enjoyed by any level of skill. Take, for instance, the built-in SSH Manager you’ll find in the Konsole terminal window. From this add-on, you can easily add entries to your SSH Config file. When you go to add an entry, you can include the hostname, port, SSH key, username, folder, and profile.
The BigLinux Konsole terminal includes a handy SSH config GUI. ZDNET/Jack Wallen
SSH power users will love having the ability to manage their config files with this handy GUI.
Also: What is SSH and how do you use it? The secure shell basics you need to know
The thing that really sold me on BigLinux was the sum total of all its parts. As I tested the distribution, I kept finding new and exciting bits that made me wonder why other versions of Linux hadn’t been thought to include. When you combine that with ease of use, stability, performance, and beauty, you get a desktop operating system that should be known by all.
If you’ve been on the hunt for a new desktop operating system, you’d be remiss if you didn’t give BigLinux a try. You can download the ISO, and run it as a live distribution to see if this flavor of Linux is right for you.
Trust me when I say that you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
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