If you’re familiar with Linux, you’ve probably heard of the distributions that most others are derived from, like Fedora, Debian, and Arch. While these are perfectly suited to starting your Linux adventure, there are others that are more suited to keeping your system clutter-free while providing the tools needed to grow your operating system the way you want. So, rather than just signing up for one of the popular Linux distributions, let’s explore three lesser-known options that will offer you more control than the versions they’re based on.
This is the essence of Linux: finding and tweaking a system that best suits your specific use case. So if you’re tired of Microsoft’s endless clutter and want to move to Linux to regain control of your operating system, we’ve discovered three options that give control back to the user without compromising too much on the applications available in the largest repositories of Linux’s main pillars.
So if you’ve always wanted to try Arch and its delicious Pacman package manager, but were afraid of installing it manually, EndeavorOS has the solution you’re looking for. Then again, if you’re more interested in Fedora’s RPM packaging and enterprise support, Aurora entered the fray with a rock-solid atomic system. Of course, we can’t forget Debian, but with its polarizing adoption of systemd, it’s no longer quite the old-school option for light users that it once was, and so Devuan is a fork that removes the burden of a handful of traditional init systems, returning choice to Debian users under the Devuan flag.
Moving away from Windows is easier than ever, especially when there are plenty of things Linux can do that Windows 11 can’t, thanks to modern, polished distributions that offer clutter-free control.
EndeavorOS
Imagine a version of Arch Linux that’s easy to install, without making too many changes that would interfere with package management, ensuring that your experience is as close to Arch as possible without any of the headaches of its forks. It’s EndeavorOS – a distribution that simplifies things and allows users to choose their software rather than relying on suites that many users consider cumbersome. Additionally, EndeavourOS uses the Calamares installer, which has become so popular that it is becoming a standard. Not only does this simplify installing an Arch-based distribution, but it also works online and offline, so you can get a new operating system up and running without an Internet connection.
When installing offline, it is limited to a single desktop environment, KDE Plasma, known these days for its low resource usage. Of course, if you prefer to install Gnome, Mate, Cinnamon, Budgie, XFCE, LXQt, LXDE or i3 window manager, just use online mode. That’s a total of nine options in a single installer, and rest assured what’s installed will be minimal: a basic set of applications to get you started, allowing you to choose other software to suit your needs; say, if you want to use a package manager, options like Octopi exist in the AUR.
And that’s the beauty of using an Arch-based distribution: access to the AUR that hosts thousands of community apps, eliminating the need to use Flatpaks when the AUR and Arch host just about every app you would need. Like any community store, you need to be careful what you install from the AUR. EndeavorOS has fundamentally simplified the use of Arch so that anyone can operate a system, online or offline, while avoiding the clutter of Windows – one of the many reasons people are abandoning Windows 11.
Dawn
If you don’t know what an immutable operating system actually is, consider ChromeOS or even Android, whose kernel is read-only, meaning neither you nor anyone else can modify these files. This keeps the operating system strong, and Aurora is an immutable distribution built on Fedora’s KDE atomic framework (specifically Fedora Kinoite), and each version is tested and deployed to users as a single image. In the event of an outage, you can roll back to a previous image, negating the instability that typical Linux distributions can exhibit with updates. With Aurora, you simply go back and continue calculating, without hassle or hassle.
While an immutable operating system may be more difficult to modify, there are tools available to pin packages after the fact, but it’s certainly not as simple as overriding the defaults in a non-immutable version. So Aurora’s basic design presents additional challenges, but for many, the stability and ease of use of image snapshots is worth the extra effort. Or you can install containerized Flatpaks from Flathub, further simplifying and strengthening the operating system. Security and peace of mind are hard to ignore, all built from a distribution that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon: Fedora.
This means you get the familiarity of Fedora in an even more secure package with Aurora, wrapped in a KDE Plasma package (there are no other desktop choices; it’s specifically a version of KDE) installed via the proven Anaconda installer with its live ISO. Plus, you get the added simplicity of not having to deal with the immutable core operating system. This leaves users with a simple, uncomplicated KDE basis for installing the applications they want so they can keep their operating system as simple as they want while avoiding Windows bloat.
Devuan
If you’re tired of the Microsoft telemetry that permeates Windows, then a distribution where you control everything, even the system that handles all the initialization of an operating system, might be the change you’re looking for. This is where Devuan excels: it is derived from Debian, but without systemd, which many consider bloated due to its many forced dependencies that have expanded far beyond what an init system typically controls. By avoiding this overhead, Devuan developers give control back to users via a choice of three inits, SysVinit, OpenRC or runit.
Devuan uses the Refracta installer, which avoids any dependency on systemd for the live ISO. Unfortunately, Refracta isn’t the easiest to analyze, thanks to its graphical user interface, and the live ISO only offers XFCE because that installer works by cloning itself to your disks. The good news is that you can create your own XFCE based Devuan spin from the live ISO, thanks to refractasnapshot. This way, you can modify the base installer to offer your most needed applications, and then use that installer on a fleet of hardware at home or in the office. If you want to test other desktop environments, you will need to use the Netinstall ISO or Desktop DVD.
Ignoring systemd and opting for a smaller, less bulky init system means you’ll need to think more carefully about your application choices, as some rely on systemd to function properly. Some applications from Flathub or external sources may not start at all. Devuan’s system daemons do not automatically activate when installing their necessary scripts, so your specific hardware may require manual intervention for software such as PipeWire and WirePlumber. Ultimately, if you want full control over a non-bloated system, it’s entirely possible with a distribution like Devuan.
