It’s been almost 2 years when I started using a Linux distribution as my primary OS, by reading that previous sentence you might have already guessed my first distribution of choice, no doubt, it was Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and we all have been there.
It was a hard and painful experience for a person who was an avid user of Windows, primarily the best version of it Windows 7, but I made a choice to get the freedom from not sharing data and giving a premium for basic applications like a word processing application (MS Word). That is why I moved to Linux because I had no choice, some people wanted my privacy and some of them my money *Cough Cough* Apple. and then I installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS on my potato laptop.
After almost 1.5 years I was still installing different distros officially called distro hopping, to get the suitable distro for all my need but such as normal document writing for the hectic assignments of my computer science degree with a couple of crazy development projects. I tried many popular variants as listed below.
- Ubuntu — Debian based, Tried all Desktop Environment, Mate, Gnome, Xfce are on my favourites.
- Linux Mint — Ubuntu based, Tried All Desktop Environment, Cinnamon is favourite.
- Manjaro — Arch based, Deepin
- Antergos —Arch based, Gnome
- Pure OS — Debian based, Purism
- Arch Linux — Xfce
after trying every distribution, there was something that doesn’t feel right until I discovered Elementary OS. I really didn’t know why I have not tried this freaking great OS.
Then I stopped distro hopping. I found everything I needed, with this beautiful OS, Everything was in the right amount, It Just felt great for my Potato Laptop. Even my TrackPad was working good than other distribution where I had to compile the driver, and tinkering with synaptic files to set it the pressure sensitivity, I think I was just lucky.
Let's get to the point of why this OS.
I believe that this is the most Minimalistic OS, with the mission of
“ why less is more”
which appeals to the most even you are a power user or a simple user.
Minimalism in OS
Providing the only things that simple user wants, still giving great power to Power User, such as seamless experience in doing things such as
- Installing Application
- Out-of-box Experience
- Look and Feel
Installing Application
Elementary OS’s AppCenter is one of the finest things about the OS, for a new user, it is a breeze to installing the software, because of their list of curated apps, that is none the less small, but are welcoming to the user, rather than freaking out the new user by telling them the nightmarish sentences like “ Go To Terminal ” ( P.S. I Love Terminal. ), I know there are alternatives like Software in GNOME and in almost all other distribution, but installing things are not a breeze as AppCenter, these installer gets stuck that panics the user, that something went wrong, even though it was just a graphic’s glitches or late responses of interface, at least on my potato laptop, but still bad for newer people, but when you go to the perspective of Power User, who installs the application, using compiling the source, or uses APT, the experience is same awesome as other distros, because at last, it is Linux, and you do the heck you want with it. I believe but after you get used to the Linux GUI interface, a Linux user always needs to discover the power of “A Terminal”.
Out-of-box Experience
Elementary OS provide one of the best out of the box experience with the applications that matter, most of the Windows, specifically Mac OS users, will feel right at home, there is nothing that needs to be configured, the experience has the right amount of apps that you need which includes
- Music
- Epiphany (Browser)
- Photos
- Code ( One of the best out of the box code writing app )
- Camera
- Video and Many More…
Yes, the other distribution also adds these apps, and they are great as well but I believe that these above apps are maybe not very rich featured, but very refined, complete apps and as minimal as these apps could be.
Look, Feel and Performance
Let’s first see at the look and feel, Elementary OS is based on Pantheon DE (Desktop Environment), which is quietly beautiful, minimal and also have all the rings and bells. I don’t know to me it feels like these UI interaction and aesthetics are inspired by MacOS, but I also believe it might be better than MacOS overall because you are getting a better UI experience and you can customize it as well as per your liking.
On other distribution specifically Debian based ones, I often experience certain problems that led to unresponsive UI such as copying any big data, or in heavy usage, but it might be the problem of my potato laptop, which even don’t have an SSD. but I never experienced these problems in Elementary OS.
On the performance parts, the distro is quite the same as other distribution because at last it is still based on Ubuntu, so it inherits all the goods side of that distribution.
Bonus: ShortComings
- One of the biggest annoyances that you can not update from older OS release like Loki to the newest Juno, to get the new release you must wipe the old one to get new.
- It breaks all the GTK apps UI, Elementary people made it clear that their desktop is not GNOME, so they really don’t care about it.
In summary, I believe that Elementary OS is one of the refined and best out-of-the-box experience for the newer and also the old user. If you have never tried Linux or you have never tried this distribution, please give it a try, it will be worth it.
Download it from here https://elementary.io
After installing here are my favourite apps, that you may like.
Formatter — A man needs to format its SD card and Drives.
Image-Burner — A distro hopper needs to make bootable USB
Fondo — A curated list of Unsplash wallpapers.
Screen-cast — Record your screen like never before.
and Many More.
PS. I got inspired by
Cassidy James — Cofounder & UX Architect Elementary.
Jason Evangelho — Linux advocate, @Forbes writer.
