distro

The KDE Plasma 6 desktop menu shows how elegant the desktop is. ZDNET/Jack WallenZDNET's key takeawaysKDE Plasma 6 is available now (the easiest and fastest method is by using the KDE Neon distribution).It's beautiful, fast, and highly configurable.If using KDE Neon stable, you'll want to upgrade as soon as you log in for the first time.KDE Plasma 6 is here and for those of you who were anxiously awaiting its arrival, you won't be disappointed. For those who've never tried Linux or KDE Plasma, now is a great time to…

The Sparky Linux desktop is as simple to understand as any you've ever used. Jack Wallen/ZDNETZDNET's key takeawaysSparky Linux 7.2 is available to download now for free.It's incredibly fast, simple to use, and based on one of the most reliable operating systems on the market (Debian).You might find it a bit boring.One of the many benefits of using Linux is that it doesn't suffer from the "planned obsolescence" that you'll find in other operating systems. With Linux, you could find a distribution capable of bringing…

Escuelas Linux is a desktop that is simple and elegant to use. Jack Wallen/ZDNETZDNET's key takeawaysEscuelas Linux is free to download and install on as many computers as you need.With a wealth of pre-installed software and a simple user-restore tool, this makes for a great education environment.Creating an ISO for installation can be tricky.Escuelas Linux is a free educational operating system that is aimed at preschool to high school students and offers plenty of tools to aid in their path to learning and growth.…

Why? Because since the core system is read-only, it's far less vulnerable to malware and tampering. If you can't add anything to the operating system, you can't corrupt it. In addition, immutable distributions use containerization for applications. This further isolates programs from the core system and each other. So, even if you do have a bad application, it has far less access to the underlying system than, say, a Windows application does to Windows. Another immutable Linux win is that it offers unparalleled…

The Desktop Cube is back! Jack Wallen/ZDNETZDNET's key takeawaysZorin OS beta 1 is now available for testing and can be downloaded from the official Zorin OS download site.Eye candy like the Desktop Cube takes center stage to prove this distribution can seriously impress not just with performance and stability but also with plenty of pizazz.Not every feature works when using the beta version as a virtual machine.Every time the Zorin OS team teases a new release, I think, "This will be the one to convince me it's my…

The Desktop Cube is back! Jack Wallen/ZDNETZDNET's key takeawaysZorin OS beta 1 is now available for testing and can be downloaded from the official Zorin OS download site.Eye candy like the Desktop Cube takes center stage to prove this distribution can seriously impress not just with performance and stability but also with plenty of pizazz.Not every feature works when using the beta version as a virtual machine.Every time the Zorin OS team teases a new release, I think, "This will be the one to convince me it's my…

Installing SteamWhat you'll need: The only things you'll need for this are a running instance of a Debian or Ubuntu-based Linux distribution and a user with sudo privileges. Once you get beyond the installation, you'll also need a Steam account, so you can download/purchase games. Do note that you can also install Steam via Snap (with the command sudo snap install steam). However, I've found the Snap version of Steam to be a bit unpredictable. For example, the only way to get it to properly run is from the command line…

After giving it some thought, I started to realize I was no longer as enamored of Pop!_OS as I once was. Sure, it was still a serviceable distribution, but there were aspects of the distribution that were starting to bother me. Beyond the instability I was experiencing, I didn't like the app launcher and the upgrade process was becoming a bit cumbersome.Once I'd drawn that conclusion, it was time to decide which distribution would be my next landing spot. I considered going back to elementary OS but remembered the…

Canonical Ubuntu 23.04, Lunar Lobster. Image: sjvn/ZDNETCanonical has officially released Ubuntu 23.04, codenamed Lunar Lobster, which is the latest version of its Linux distribution and it boasts improvements for enterprise developer desktops, gaming enhancements, a revamped installer, and an expanded focus on gaming. "This Ubuntu milestone release demonstrates our progress in raising the bar for the enterprise developer desktops, thanks to our best-in-class Linux integration with Active Directory (AD) Domain…

Windowsfx is an elegant alternative to Windows 11. Jack Wallen/ZDNETFor many, Windows is the only desktop operating system they've ever used. For them, there's a familiarity that makes dealing with the usual troubles associated with Windows (random restarts for updates, failed drivers, and insecurities) tolerable. But what if I told you there was an alternative? There is, and it's been around since 1997. That alternative is the open-source Linux operating system. Also: Universal Blue is a new paradigm for the Linux…