One of the mottos the Linux community has is “if you don’t like it – then fork”. While this is interesting idea it has created as many Ubuntu derivatives as the day is long. Don’t believe me? Check Distrowatch – as I am posting this four of the eight “new releases” listed on the front page are Ubuntu derivatives. Now personally – I do not think this is a bad thing. Not the same thing works for everyone and when you are new to the world of Linux it is easier to try a different “spin” than it is to learn to configure everything yourself. The only problem with all these spins (and something I’ve often heard complaints about) is that there is too much choice when selecting what flavor of Ubuntu to install.

I make a point of trying as many different variations of Ubuntu as I can, this way I can be informed when I recommend one version over another to friends and family. The following is a round up of my favorites I have found over my last three years in the world of Linux.

Best Full Featured DVD - Pinguy OS

This is a spin just recently released and it has become the main OS on my Sager laptop for a number of reasons. Overall Pinguy OS has a very elegant, unified feel to it and careful work has been put into the visual aspects of the operating system with a close attention to detail. The current release is based on Ubuntu 10.04 and Pinguy has says he plans to release a new version with each new Ubuntu release.

Best Full Featured CD - Linux Mint

Linux Mint is one of the older Ubuntu spins and it is still one of the best. It is where the fantastic menu and update manager Pinguy OS also uses were developed and it set the standard many derivatives have followed of including codecs, flash, and java in their releases (although the latter of these three is not include on the CD version of Mint). Where is Ubuntu has begun changing their default application set, Mint sticks to it’s roots – still including the Gimp and Pidgin instead of Empathy. The latest release of Mint is version 9 and it is based on Ubuntu 10.04 – Mint follows a release cycle the is typically a month or so behind Ubuntu releases.

Best Windows-Like - Zorin

Zorin is designed with the intention of making a recent Windows convert feel at home. The default skinning and applets look decently close to Windows 7 and this can easily be changed to look like Windows Xp. Zorin includes flash and media codecs by default and the most recent version is based on 10.04

Best Lightweight - Lubuntu

Lubuntu leaves a memory footprint right around 100megs on a fully booted system. It uses LXDE and is designed to be quick. The latest release of Lubuntu is based on 10.04 and Lubuntu follows a very close release cycle to Ubuntu. Before anyone leaves a “what about Crunchbag” comment – sorry, I prefer Lubuntu.

Best Netbook Remix - Jolicloud

Jolicloud is designed to work with as many different netbooks as possible. In fact it is one of the only distros to support the GMA500 out of the box. It is based on 9.04 – but don’t worry about this older version number, Jolicloud has some of it’s own repositories to provide more up to date packages to it’s users.

Best KDE - Netrunner

I really like a lot of the features KDE has to offer – however many of the applications most KDE distros ship do not feel as “complete” as their Gnome counter parts. So while Netrunner uses KDE it still uses nautilus as it’s file manager, Firefox for it’s webrowser, and VLC for it’s media player. It also includes media codecs, java, and flash. One thing I dislike about Net runner though is that it uses Knetwork manager – which I feel is horrid compared to nm-applet. The latest release of Netrunner is based on 10.04

Best E17 - Moon OS

Moon OS is an E17 distro that is based on 9.04 It looks elegant, is fast, and is decently stable. The only real draw back to it is the fact that being based off of 9.04 is contains mostly older packages.

If you want an update to date version of Ubuntu with E17 you might want to try compiling from SVN.

These are what I feel are seven of the best Ubuntu derivatives and the area in which I feel they shine. Is there another type of Ubuntu spin you think I missed on my list? Or maybe you feel one of my picks should have been something else – if so let me know by dropping a comment below.

You can contact the author via email and visit his personal blog

Something most new Linux users often struggle to understand when first using Linux is the concept of desktop environments. What a desktop environment actually is I feel gets further clouded when users start exploring different “spins” of a distro. For example it is very common for a new user to think Kubuntu or Xubuntu is something entirely different from the well known Ubuntu. Many do not know that they can easily install any *buntu on any other *buntu with a single command!

Just as choosing the distro can be difficult so can choosing the right desktop environment. The following is an overview of some of the best known desktop environments so you can be more informed in your decision.

Gnome

The most popular desktop environment currently in use is Gnome, it is the desktop environment that powers the three most popular desktop Linux distros (Ubuntu, Fedora, and Linux Mint). Gnome is a fully developed desktop environment that provides a fully integrated application set. It is easy to use and provides GUI tools for making edits to all the different features that are available within it. It is a very “user friendly” desktop environment that is fantastic for new users.

Gnome’s memory foot print is modest for all the features it provides. A default Gnome install uses around 180megs of RAM. If you like eye candy on your computer odds are you will want to be running compiz (desktop effects) on your Gnome desktop. A default Gnome install with compiz running uses slightly more memory, right about 205megs.

KDE

In terms of popularity KDE is the second most popular desktop environment. Like Gnome it is fully matured and provides it’s own full application set as well as GUI tools for configuration. KDE also has a wide selection of “plasma widgets”, which are handy applets you can place all around your desktop for all sorts of tasks. They range from something as practical as a calculator to as useless as a display from “The Matrix”.

Over all KDE is much more customizable than Gnome, but this comes at a cost. A default KDE install uses around 510megs of RAM, if you are looking for eye candy it does not cost as much to run kwin (KDE’s built in desktop effects) as it does to run compiz. With kwin enabled a default KDE install uses around 520megs of RAM.

XFCE

XFCE is designed to be simplistic and quick. It does not provide much in the way of eye candy (although you can run compiz on it) but, it is a decently fast/responsive desktop environment. While XFCE does have some of it’s own applications, such as it’s file manager Thunar and the XFCE system monitor, it does still borrow some applications from the Gnome environment (such as nm-applet network manager). Don’t think XFCE is an immature project though, what it borrows from Gnome is more to save itself from reinventing the wheel than from lack of ability. XFCE does not have quite as many tools for making GUI edits as Gnome or KDE, but it does have a fairly good configuration panel.

Designed to be quick and lightweight XFCE leaves a low memory footprint on the system you have it running on. At defaults XFCE uses around 140megs of RAM.

LXDE

LXDE is a newer project in the world of Linux desktop environments. Similar to XFCE, LXDE’s goal is to provide a fast, lightweight desktop environment with little resource usage. LXDE has a few of it’s own applications, but those applications it still lacks it borrows from Gnome and XFCE. The age of the LXDE project really shows when you start to look into making customizations to things. Many adjusts have to still be made by manually editing configuration files, not a bad thing if you know your system well (or are willing to learn it), but this can be a giant set back for a beginner who wants things to “just work”.

LXDE may be a much younger project than XFCE, but it does a fantastic job of resource conservation. A fresh install of LXDE uses 100megs of RAM, the lowest of all the desktop environments I am reviewing today.

E17

I cannot do an overview of Linux desktop environments without mentioning E17. E17 is designed to be a lightweight, but elegant desktop environment. It is very successful at both of these tasks. E17 uses all of it’s own libraries, that have been built from the ground up for speed and flexibility. E17 is a tinkerers delight, you can customize and change anything and everything.

A base install of E17 leaves a memory footprint of around 110megs of RAM. Now, while a base install is functional, half the fun of E17 is playing with widgets, changing transitions, and generally toggling everything you can just to see how shiny you can make your desktop. After I had my E17 fully configured it’s memory footprint was increased to a whopping 120megs of RAM.

A few of you may be wondering if E17 is so lightweight, flexible, and flashy why don’t more distros opt to use it for their desktop environment? There are two reasons for this. First and foremost is the fact that E17 is very much “beta” software. Compiling the latest version from source at any given point can have piles of crashes/segfaults that can make using it a giant headache. Second, if you do take the time to piece together a stable E17 build (check out Elive for the best E17 distro around) the desktop environment takes some getting used to. For many it will feel foreign regardless if they are used to using another Linux desktop environment or a Windows machine.

Final Thoughts:
All of the various desktop environments have their advantages and their disadvantages. Which one is right for you largely depends on your task at hand. Personally I run LXDE on my netbook, KDE on my gaming laptop, and Gnome on my home media center. If you are not sure which is best for you, try them out! It is all free software after all, get a feel for which desktop environment you are most comfortable on and use that one.

Is there another desktop environment that you enjoy using that I failed to mention here? If so let me know, I am always looking to tinker with new things.

You can contact the author via email and visit his personal blog

As you will see, a lot of the work for Ubuntu 10.04 has gone in interface design. That will be even more true for 10.10. If all of Mark’s predictions are true, Maverick Meerkat will be one innovative desktop!

Shuttleworth definitively has a talent for presenting and argumenting. Watch the video to find out why the next Ubuntu will be the answer to life, the Universe, and everything (followed by an interesting Q&A session).

The next year will definitively be interesting for GNOME, Ubuntu, and Open-source desktops in general. What do you think?

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