For about three years of my life, Basic OS is the operating system I use. The only thing that pulled me away from that Linux distro was my first purchase of System76 hardware (a beautiful Leopard Extreme). Since that first purchase I’ve been stuck with the System76 desktop ( Thelio , is, in my opinion, the best desktop on the market). Because I use System76 hardware, Pop music! Operating system just makes perfect sense.
However, there are days when I miss the elegance and simplicity of the Elementary OS desktop distribution. Elementary OS is as elegant a desktop operating system as you’ve ever seen it. With the slightest inspiration taken from the MacOS interface, Elementary OS uses the Pantheon desktop to create an interface (Figure 1) that absolutely anyone can use.
Figure 1: Desktop Basic OS is as elegant as you’ll see. Image: Jack Wallen
What makes Elementary OS user-friendly?
First and foremost, Elementary OS is based on Ubuntu Linux, which means it uses the apt package manager. Therefore, installing software (even from the command line) is quite simple. But don’t think you have to bother with the command line to install apps, as Elementary OS includes its very own app store where you can install a lot of software with a simple click (I will mention to some notes for a moment). Of course, Elementary OS also supports Flatpakso you are not limited to just apt package manager.
Regardless of which path you choose, you’ll find it incredibly easy to install software on Elementary OS. And with Ubuntu as its base, you can be sure that any software installed is fully tested and ready to go.
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Another reason why Elementary OS is so user-friendly is that the developers have tried to create a unified user interface design. This is something that many Linux distributions can use.
Fits well with the MacOS interface, everything in Elementary OS has the same design elements. You will not find an application that does not appreciate the aesthetics of the operating system. While that may not seem like an obvious plus, any bit of continuity you can add to the interface will help users feel at home.
Those are the little things.
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Another feature of Elementary OS that makes it so user-friendly is the installer. You will be hard pressed to find an easier OS installation on the market. And during the initial rollout, you’ll see Elementary OS walk you through things like old files are automatically deleted after 30 days (Figure 2).
Figure 2: You don’t have to worry about manually deleting old files, because Elementary OS takes care of that for you. Image: Jack Wallen
Software included
This is where Elementary OS can get a little rough. Out of the box you will find the simplest collection of software, such as:
- Email the client
- GNOME Web web browser
- Music player
- Video Video Player
- Code text editor
You’ll also find a calculator, task manager, image viewer, PDF viewer, file manager and camera app… but not much more. That means you will have to install software, which is where problems can surface. For example, if you open AppCenter, you’ll find software like LibreOffice (the most widely used open source office suite) missing. The same is true of proprietary apps like Spotify and Zoom.
However, since Flatpak is installed, you can add those software titles. The good news is that you still don’t have to touch the command line. You can open a web browser, point it to flathub.org, search for LibreOffice and click Install, and it will download a file to your local storage. Once that file has been downloaded, double-click it (named org.libreoffice.LibreOffice.flatpak.ref) and follow the prompts. It is really easy.
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And, to make this more attractive, there are thousands upon thousands of apps installed from Flathub. So when you’re frustrated by the lack of software included in AppCenter, just head over to Flathub and you’ll find everything you need.
Is Elementary OS right for you?
This is a difficult question to answer as it all depends on your needs and desires. Let me try to break it down for you.
- If you are new to Linux and are looking for a desktop operating system that is elegant and extremely user-friendly, but doesn’t exactly follow the rules that most Debian-based distros/ Ubuntu follows (especially with regards to software installation), Elementary Operating System is the perfect solution.
- If you are looking for a Linux distribution that is highly configurable and ready to do any task you do with it, Elementary OS may not be the best fit.
In other words, if you’re new to Linux, Elementary OS is hard to beat. If Linux has been your problem for many years, you may find the Elementary operating system a bit limited. Either way, though, it’s hard to put this Linux distro on top because it’s beautiful and easy to use.
