7 Best Linux Distros For Programmers

Linux distributions allow you to not only browse the web but also to work on any other necessary tasks. The Linux kernel is very flexible and it enables developers to make any modifications and contributions they want. Besides, Linux can run on any hardware and is compatible with all the popular programming languages.

The flexibility of Linux distros is a reason why Linux has always been so popular among programmers. Some distros have quite impressive functionality and many useful tools, offering the best environment for software developers. We prepared this list of the seven best distros so that you can choose the one that fits your objectives.

Increase Your Linux Experience 10 Folds with These Distros Sample

The moment an individual hears the word 'Linux', his mind starts thinking about the codes and complexities. Are you also one of these? If yes, then the time has come to bust the myth. Gone are the days when Linux was traditionally used just by the coders and programmers. With the passage of time, it has transformed immensely. Several distributions (distros) available in the market solve the problem of security issues related to the Windows and Mac OS. Furthermore, the developers have left no stone unturned in making it more interactive and user-friendly.

Undoubtedly, more and more people are shifting their interest in Linux. That isn't a problem as many distros are available in the market. The real problem begins when techno-geek sets on a hunt to find the best distros as per his requirements. And, let us not forget that there are thousands of distros available in the technical market. To ease the problem of the techno-buffs, this article has been drafted. It lists down 2019's best distros as per the different categories of the users. Keep scrolling the page to know more.

A Collection Of The Ultimate Web Browsers For Ubuntu

Web browsers are vital if you're going to have any sort of online experience on your computer. There are hundreds of choices out there, as well as the standard browser which will come pre-installed on your computer, but that's often not the best choice, and it can be quite an intimidating task to sift through every dodgy review site on the internet to try and find the right browser for you. Ending up with a Downloads folder filled with installers and a desktop littered with icons isn't what you want or need, so this collection of web browsers for Ubuntu should be able to help you decide on which one you want before you go and download every single browser available on the internet.

Pre-order your own disk with (K-, L-, X-) Ubuntu 18.04

Ladies and gentlemen, it is the same time of the year again. It is end of March, and it means that the release of the next generation of your favourite operating system will be released less than in a month's time! And this will be a Long-term support (LTS) version this time!

Yes, Ubuntu 18.04 is less than a month away. Many of you already looking for downloading of your own ISO image of the system. Yes, that's the next version, codenamed Bionic Beaver.

But many of you are not so lucky, and will need to wait longer, because you can not or do not want to create their own DVDs with operating system images.
We can help!

You can pre-order your own copy of Ubuntu 18.04 (or Xubuntu, or Lubuntu, or Kubuntu), including Ubuntu 18.04 MATE right now. It means that a DVD with your favourite OS will be burnt to you as early as possible, and dispatched on the 26th of April 2018, or soon after. Dispatched to anywhere in the world.

How you can get the DVD? Go to http://buylinuxcds.co.uk site, purchase the Ubuntu DVD from there, and in the PayPal comments state that you want version 18.04. K-, L- or Xubuntu editions are also available there. That's easy.

To help you even further, here is a mini-shop which you can use straight away. It supports PayPal checkout. And you even don't need a PayPal account to pay - you can do this with your credit a debit card!

UK (2.20 GBP): Ubuntu 18.04 pre-order (UK) Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu Lubuntu Ubuntu MATE

USA (3.50 USD):

Ubuntu 18.04 pre-order (USA)
Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu LubuntuUbuntu MATE

Other countries (3.50 GBP):

Ubuntu 18.04 pre-order (Other countries)
Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu LubuntuUbuntu MATE

And yet another alternative: you can purchase the same disks via eBay.

Ubuntu 17.10 - unhappy remarriage

Ubuntu 17.10 is a new operating system not just because it was released very recently, in October 2017. It is also the first operating system from Canonical since it reverted from Unity to the GNOME desktop environment as default. It was GNOME 2 in use at the divorce time, and now it is GNOME 3 after the re-marriage.

Linux notes from DarkDuck has already reviewed the GNOME version of Ubuntu, when Unity was still in place. There is also a quick screenshot-style review of Ubuntu 17.10, but it is now time to get a more in-depth look into this operating system.

Ubuntu 17.10 is available to download through a large global network of mirrors, and torrents are available. The 32-bit ISO images are no longer available, only the 64-bit. The most recent 32-bit image for Ubuntu users is Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, which still will be supported for a few more years. However, all newer versions will only be available with the 64-bit kernel, unless you are looking for the low-resource distributions like Lubuntu or Xubuntu.

The ISO image if Ubuntu 17.10 is about 1.5 Gb in size. I "burnt" it onto a USB stick.
The USB drive is in the port of my Dell Inspirion 17 laptop. Reboot. Choose to boot from USB. Let's go!

Ubuntu 17.10 quick screenshot tour

Ubuntu 17.10 is the newest version of this world famous Linux distribution, and this one is especially interesting because Canonical decided to dump its controversial Unity baby and use GNOME desktop environment  instead.
It means that there are no longer separate Ubuntu and Ubuntu GNOME distributions. They are now the same. Linux notes from DarkDuck has reviewed the Ubuntu GNOME 17.04 not that long ago.
Let's now have a quick whistle stop tour on Ubuntu 17.10 with GNOME desktop environment.

The most promising linux distributions in 2017

Linux distributions have already gained recognition of its users and with every year new products appear in the market. Many of them focus on the certain tasks, so you can’t create a single list of the best ones. Here we have chosen several fields of Linux use and those distributions that have all chances to take the initial positions in their niche in 2017.

Ubuntu Budgie 17.04 – new kid on the block

Budgie is the newest player on the arena of Desktop Environments for Linux operating systems. It is the baby of Ikey Doherty and his team. Their flagship distribution is, of course, Solus. You can read my review of Solus operating system here.

Unlike Canonical’s Unity, Budgie is available for other teams to use too. It is currently available for Arch, Debian testing, Manjaro and some other distributions. Some of them have Budgie in the repository, others have already prepared the special Budgie spin-offs.

Ubuntu Budgie is the newest addition to the officially supported Ubuntu flavours. It is quite interesting how these two parts can play together. The first time they married was the Ubuntu Budgie 16.04 remix. And since 17.04 Ubuntu Budgie is officially supported by Canonical.

You can download Ubuntu Budgie from one of several mirrors around the world, or via torrent. The ISO image size is 1.6 GB. I used the dd command to "burn" the ISO image of Ubuntu Budgie 17.04 64-bit to the USB stick.

The USB drive is in the port of my Dell Inspirion 17 laptop. Reboot. Choose to boot from USB. Let's go!

Ubuntu 17.10 switches name to Cyrillic Alphabet

Ubuntu is one of the most famous, and no doubt the most widely used, Linux distributions in the world. It made Linux a household name.

Since 2006 Ubuntu has given its new releases names consisting of two words starting with the same letter, in sequential order beginning with 6.06, Dapper Drake. Zesty Zapus will be the name for release 17.04, due to be released on the 13th of April 2017. By the way, have you pre-ordered your disk yet?

Clearly, Z is the last letter in the Latin alphabet. What will happen beyond that letter? Many of you have heard hints about the future name of the Ubuntu 17.10 name. There are letters "aa" reserved for this future release.

Not many of you know that these will no longer be drawn from the Latin alphabet. These are also the first letters of Cyrillic alphabet, used by Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian and many more languages. The recent leaks from Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu family of distributions, show that the name of the distribution will be "Апельсиновый Арбалет", the Russian for Orange Crossbow. The name is not set in stone yet, but it is a leader in the currently running contest.

You still have time to cast your vote.

And don't forget about the date...

Pre-order your own disk with Ubuntu 17.04

Ladies and gentlemen, it is the same time of the year again. It is March, and it means that the release of the next generation of your favourite operating system will be released in a month's time!

Yes, Ubuntu 17.04 is less than a month away. Many of you already looking for downloading of your own ISO image of the system. Yes, that's the next version, codenamed ZestyZapus.

But many of you are not so lucky, and will need to wait longer, because you can not or do not want to create their own DVDs with operating system images.
We can help!

You can pre-order your own copy of Ubuntu 17.04 (o Xubuntu, or Lubuntu, or Kubuntu), including Ubuntu 17.04 GNOME and Ubuntu 17.04 MATE right now. It means that a DVD with your favourite OS will be burnt to you as early as possible, and dispatched on the 13th of April 2017, or soon after. Dispatched to anywhere in the world.

How you can get the DVD? Go to http://buylinuxcds.co.uk site, purchase the Ubuntu DVD from there, and in the PayPal comments state that you want version 17.04. K-, L- or Xubuntu editions are also available there. That's easy.

To help you even further, here is a mini-shop which you can use straight away. It supports PayPal checkout. And you even don't need a PayPal account to pay - you can do this with your credit a debit card!

UK (2.00 GBP): Ubuntu 17.04 pre-order (UK) Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu Lubuntu Ubuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

USA (5.50 USD):

Ubuntu 17.04 pre-order (USA)
Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu LubuntuUbuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

Other countries (3.50 GBP):

Ubuntu 17.04 pre-order (Other countries)
Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu LubuntuUbuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

And yet another alternative: you can purchase the same disks via eBay.

Pre-order your own disk with Ubuntu 16.10

(drum rolls)

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you the release of the next generation of your favourite operating system!

Ubuntu 16.10 is less than a month away. Many of you already looking for downloading of your own ISO image of the system. Yes, that's the next version, codenamed Yakkety Yak.

But many of you are not so lucky, and will need to wait longer, because you can not or do not want to create their own DVDs with operating system images.
We can help!

You can pre-order your own copy of Ubuntu 16.10 (o Xubuntu, or Lubuntu, or Kubuntu), including Ubuntu 16.10 GNOME and Ubuntu 16.10 MATE right now. It means that a DVD with your favourite OS will be burnt to you as early as possible, and dispatched on the 13th of October 2016, or soon after. Dispatched to anywhere in the world.

How you can get the DVD? Go to http://buylinuxcds.co.uk site, purchase the Ubuntu DVD from there, and in the PayPal comments state that you want version 16.10. K-, L- or Xubuntu editions are also available there. That's easy.

To help you even further, here is a mini-shop which you can use straight away. It supports PayPal checkout. And you even don't need a PayPal account to pay - you can do this with your credit a debit card!

UK (2.00 GBP): Ubuntu 16.10 pre-order (UK) Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu Lubuntu Ubuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

USA (5.50 USD):

Ubuntu 16.10 pre-order (USA)
Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu LubuntuUbuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

Other countries (3.50 GBP):

Ubuntu 16.10 pre-order (Other countries)
Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu LubuntuUbuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

And yet another alternative: you can purchase the same disks via eBay.

Will Ubuntu keep the title of the best Desktop OS?

While working at Dell Inc. in the 2011 I met some Linux enthusiasts that introduced me to Ubuntu. I have heard about SUSE, Debian and Red Hat before but they were never promoted as real alternatives to Windows and OS X. But Ubuntu changed my mindset toward Linux so I decided to give it a try. At the beginning I felt it was too hard to understand so I went back and forth between Ubuntu and Windows until I got used to Ubuntu. My first barrier was the fact that on Windows everything was fixed by installing a software that will do everything for you  and on Linux it was all about the Terminal. But once you realize that you don't need to deal with malware and slow performance anymore you simply don't look back at Windows.

Users more await for the new Ubuntu than Fedora release

Fedora 24 and Ubuntu 16.04 families are due to release within next month or so.

Just about a month ago the Linux notes from DarkDuck blog started a poll where you could vote which of these two distributions you await more. It is time to give the results of that poll now.

Let me do this without any further delay.

Order any flavour of Ubuntu 16.04 now!

(drum rolls)

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you the release of the next generation of your favourite operating system!

Ubuntu 16.04 is just a month away. Many of you already looking for downloading of your own ISO image of the system. Yes, that's the next long-term support version, codenamed Xenial Xerus.

But many of you are not so lucky, and will need to wait longer, because you can not or do not want to create their own DVDs with operating system images.
We can help!

You can pre-order your own copy of Ubuntu 16.04 (or Xubuntu, or Lubuntu, or Kubuntu), including Ubuntu 16.04 GNOME and Ubuntu 06.04 MATE right now. It means that a DVD with your favourite OS will be burnt to you as early as possible, and dispatched on the 21st of April 2016, or soon after. Dispatched to anywhere in the world.

How you can get the DVD? Go to http://buylinuxcds.co.uk site, purchase the Ubuntu DVD from there, and in the PayPal comments state that you want version 16.04. K-, L- or Xubuntu editions are also available there. That's easy.

To help you even further, here is a mini-shop which you can use straight away. It supports PayPal checkout. And you even don't need a PayPal account to pay - you can do this with your credit a debit card!

UK (2.00 GBP): Ubuntu 16.04 pre-order (UK) Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu Lubuntu Ubuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

USA (5.50 USD):

Ubuntu 16.04 pre-order (USA)
Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu LubuntuUbuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

Other countries (3.50 GBP):

Ubuntu 16.04 pre-order (Other countries)
Variation Ubuntu Kubuntu Xubuntu LubuntuUbuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

And yet another alternative: you can purchase the same disks via eBay.

Fedora or Ubuntu: what do you await more?

The poll is now closed. Please check the results here.

There will be 2 major releases in the next couple of months.

First, end of April 2016 will see the release of Ubuntu 16.04, the next Long Term Support release of Ubuntu, the distribution with an indisputable authority in the Linux world.

Second, mid-May 2016 will bring us a new release of Fedora 24, another big name in the Linux world.

Both distributions are supported by big companies, Canonical for Ubuntu and RedHat for Fedora.

Both distributions have their army of followers.

Each distribution has its pros and contras.

But which of them is most awaited by the Linux community?

Let's see! Please show your position and cast your vote! You may also comment about the reasons of your vote. The most interesting comments will feature in the voting results that I will publish on the 12th of April, about a week before the Ubuntu 16.04 release.

In the meantime, you can read my latest reviews: Ubuntu GNOME 15.10 and Fedora 22 GNOME.

How-to video: Removing old kernels in Ubuntu

Once new kernel passes the test system, Ubuntu offers you to install it through its update system.
At the same time, old kernel remains in the system. It means that after some time of using Ubuntu, you may have a number of old kernels. They take your disk space and also may clutter the GRUB menu, although the latter issue is resolved in newer versions of Ubuntu.

This video shows you the way to remove old obsolete kernels from your Ubuntu installation.

The same approach is valid for whole Ubuntu family and derivatives: Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Zorin OS, Linux Mint and so on.

Please remember that the "best practice" is to keep at least two kernels in the system: the current and the previous one. This is to ensure the fallback solution if current kernel fails for whatever reason.

How many old kernels do you have in your system? How often do you remove the obsolete kernels?

Ubuntu GNOME: the typical part of the family

The GNOME edition is one of many official Ubuntu spins available since version 13.04. It is officially supported by Canonical. I have never tried this version before, although I am more or less familiar with other representatives of the GNOME3 offsprings: Mageia, Fedora, OpenSuSE. It was time to taste this flavour too.

The ISO image of Ubuntu GNOME 15.10 occupies about 1.2 GB. You can download it from many mirrors or using torrent.

I "burnt" that image onto the USB stick using the Ubuntu's built-in tool. The USB stick is ready and plugged into the port of my Toshiba Satellite L500-19X laptop. Reboot. Let's go!

Pre-order Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu 15.10 - all flavours

Yes, you guessed it right!

With a release of a new version of Ubuntu 15.10 less than a month away, many of you already looking for downloading of your own ISO image of the system. Yes, that's the next version, codenamed Wily Werewolf.

But many of you are not so lucky, and will need to wait longer, because you can not or do not want to create their own DVDs with operating system images.
We can help!

You can pre-order your own copy of Ubuntu 15.10 (or Xubuntu, or Lubuntu, or Kubuntu), including Ubuntu 15.10 GNOME and Ubuntu 15.10 MATE right now. It means that a DVD with your favourite OS will be burnt to you as early as possible, and dispatched on the 22nd of October 2015, or soon after. Dispatched to anywhere in the world.

How you can get the DVD? Go to http://buylinuxcds.co.uk site, purchase the Ubuntu DVD from there, and in the PayPal comments state that you want version 15.10. If you want K-, L- or Xubuntu, state it also in the same comment. That's easy.

To help you even further, here is a mini-shop which you can use straight away. It supports PayPal checkout, similar to Buy Linux CDs site. And you even don't need a PayPal account to pay - you can do this with your credit a debit card!

UK (2.00 GBP): Ubuntu 15.10 pre-order (UK) Variation  Ubuntu  Kubuntu  Xubuntu  Lubuntu Ubuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

USA (5.50 USD):

Ubuntu 15.10 pre-order (USA)
Variation  Ubuntu  Kubuntu  Xubuntu  LubuntuUbuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

Other countries (3.50 GBP):

Ubuntu 15.10 pre-order (Other countries)
Variation  Ubuntu  Kubuntu  Xubuntu  LubuntuUbuntu GNOMEUbuntu MATE

And yet another alternative: you can purchase the same disks via eBay.

Jdrivesync: your Google Drive synchronisation client for Linux

Google Drive is an instrument that is used by many. Of course, there are many alternatives to it like Dropbox or Yandex.Drive, but nevertheless many prefer a Google-backed solution. One of the reasons for me was an ability to have several services under one "roof", one account.

Google released clients for its Drive for many platforms: Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS and so on. Unfortunately, an official Linux client is still a missing part of the puzzle. That is why developers worked to create unofficial clients for Google Drive.

Grive was a solution for many. It worked on Ubuntu, Debian and so on... It was distributed in source code only, so you had to compile it for your own OS. Unfortunately, things changed in April 2015. Grive no longer works. The reasons behind this issue are given here.

Is there an alternative to Grive? Yes, there are several options:

1. Insync. This is a paid option. I leave it for those who interested.
2. Ocamlfuse. It is a heavy-weight solution. I tried it in the past, and was not 100% happy about it.
3. Jdrivesync. This is the free option I've never tried before.

Let's explore it!

Ubuntu 15.04: evolution continues

Everyone knows the distribution that I am going to review today. It is one of the most famous distributions in the world, leader of the Distrowatch chart and base for many forks and spins.

Canonical releases new versions of Ubuntu family distributions every 6 months. Ubuntu 15.04 was released in April 2015, and you can buy the disk with this version on BuyLinuxCDs.co.uk or via a special post on this blog.

Although it is very easy to download an ISO image from Ubuntu's official web site, people order these disks from me, so I decided to take one of them for a personal test-drive. The distribution's ISO image is about 1.2 Gb in size.

So, DVD with the 64-bit Desktop version Ubuntu 15.04 is in the DVD-drive of my Toshiba Satellite L500-19X. Reboot. Choose to boot from DVD. Let's go!