Find the Right Linux Distro using DistroWatch

NixNexus

Stop Googling "best Linux distro." Use DistroWatch's search tool to find distros that actually fit YOUR needs in 2 minutes.  ==**WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS VIDEO**==👇👇  - Why most “best Linux distro” searches are misleading - How to use DistroWatch’s Search tool step-by-step - How each filter affects your best Linux distro results - How to pick beginner-friendly options confidently - How to shortlist and test the right distros for _your_ needs  📑 _PREFER READING? HERE’S THE DETAILED ARTICLE_ 👉👉 https://nixnexus.org/find-the-right-linux-distro-using-distrowatch/  ==**TIME STAMPS**==👇👇  00:00 - Intro 00:30 - What is DistroWatch.com 01:13 - How to access DistroWatch Search Page 02:08 - How to Use DistroWatch's Search Tool to Find the Best Linux Distro 02:12 - Different Types Of Free and Open Source Operating Systems 02:42 - Different Categories Of Linux Distribution 03:14 - How to Find Linux Distros According to Courty of Origin 03:41 - How to Find Linux Distros According to Linux Family Tree  04:29 - How to Omit Linux Distros According to Linux Family Tree 05:14 - Different Types Of Desktop Interface used in Free and Open Source Operating Systems 05:51 - How to Find Linux Distros According to Hardware Architecture 06:26 - Different Types Of Package Managers / Formats used in Linux 06:49 - Different Kinds Of Release Model in Linux 08:06 - Linux Installer and Their File Sizes, Installation Method and Language Support 08:44 - Different Types Of Init Softwares used in Linux 09:45 - How to Filter Linux Distros According to Current Status 10:31 - Things To Do After Filtering The Perfect Linux Distro in DistroWatch.com 11:44 - Start Using Your Perfect Linux Distro

Transcript

00:00Hello friend, if you are still googling what is the best Linux distro then stop

00:05right now because Linux does not have a one-size-fits-all version. What works for

00:11someone else might become a completely wrong choice for you. Instead go to

00:17distrowatch.com and use their search tool and within two minutes you will

00:22have a personalized list of distros that actually fit your needs not what some

00:27random person on the internet think is the best. If you have never heard of

00:31distrowatch here is what you need to know. Distrowatch is a website dedicated

00:36to free and open source operating systems. It primarily features Linux and tracks

00:42every major distro, listing their release announcements and providing detailed

00:46information on each one. However the real magic of distrowatch is hidden in its

00:52search page. A tool that allows you to filter distributions based on your

00:57preferences. And today I will walk you through exactly how to use this tool

01:02question by question. And by the end of this video you will know exactly which

01:07distro to test and which one to ignore. So let's start. First of all go to

01:15distrowatch.com. On the home page you will see different distro bulletins, release

01:20announcements and many other informations. But we are not here for that. Click the

01:26search link on the top mid section and this will take you to the search page.

01:30Once you are there you will see not one but two different search forms. One is a

01:36drop-down style and the other one uses checkboxes. They might look different but

01:41both of them achieve exactly the same thing helping you narrow down from hundreds

01:46of Linux distribution based on your personal preferences. Both the forms have 14

01:51questions covering topics such as operating system types, their categories,

01:56country of origin, desktop interface, release model and so on. So use whichever

02:02one you find more intuitive. For this walk-through I will stick with the top one.

02:11The first question we have is about operating system type and we have five

02:16options. All BSD, Linux, Solaris and other OS. Now if you are unsure about any

02:24question leaving it as the default is always a safe choice. But since we are

02:29looking for the best Linux distro I will go with Linux. However you can choose from

02:35BSD, Solaris and even other operating system if you want to try something

02:40entirely different. At number two we have distribution category. This is where

02:46you tell DistroWatch what you want your operating system for. Like you need

02:51something for beginner, education, gaming, privacy or maybe to revive an old

02:56computer. For our test I am specifically looking for a beginner friendly Linux

03:01distro. So I will choose beginners. But if you are unsure the best option you can

03:07select is desktop which will list all the distros that are meant to be run on a

03:12personal computer. Next number three is country of origin. My advice here is

03:19unless you have a strong reason to pick a specific country just leave this as

03:24default. That way you will get the best distros from all around the world.

03:28Selecting a country will limit your results dramatically and will show only

03:33those distros that are developed in that particular country you have selected. So

03:38I will go with all for now. The fourth question is based on. So what does it mean?

03:46Usually what happens is in the world of free and open source operating systems users

03:51and hobbyists create new flavors or distros from existing ones often just to

03:56add features or to change the aesthetics. Therefore to list all the popular distros

04:02the best option I can go with is the default one. However if you want you can

04:07filter the result by selecting from the likes of Arch, Debian, Fedora and so on. But

04:13in that case the result will only list those distribution which are based on the

04:18project you have selected. For example Manjaro is based on Arch, Ubuntu is based on

04:24Debian and Bazite is based on Fedora. Then the fifth question we have is not

04:31based on and as the name suggests this is the opposite of the last question.

04:36Meaning if you select an option here any distribution based on that project will

04:42be excluded from the final result. Therefore the best way to use this is to

04:46use it with question number 4. For example you can keep number 4 as the default and in

04:52number 5 select one option let's say Gen2 which is considered as one of the

04:58hardest distro to use and maintain. So when the results are listed it will

05:03remove all the distros based on the Gen2 family and your results will be refined.

05:08But for our beginners search I will leave this as default. Then at number 6 we have

05:16desktop interface. Now this can get a bit technical. If you are completely new to the

05:22world of free and open source operating systems options listed here might be

05:26confusing for you. So my recommended advice for beginners is to always lean

05:32towards desktop environments like GNOME, KDE, XFCE or Cinnamon because they are

05:38designed for ease of use. But if you truly do not have any idea leaving it as

05:44default is perfectly fine and I will also stick with it to see more varieties in the result.

05:51After that question number 7 is about architecture or in simple words the CPU type.

05:57If you are using a single board computer like a Raspberry Pi you will have to go

06:02with the ARM option or if you happen to be on something different like a RISC-V PC

06:08or an older power PC then you have to select according to your CPU type. But for

06:14the majority of the users who are using modern Intel or AMD processors the simple

06:19answer is x86 underscore 64 which is commonly known as x64. Then comes package

06:28format. If you are looking for an absolute beginner distros then there are only three

06:33viable options which are Deb, Flatpak and Snap. Not only they are easy to use but you

06:40will find tons of help and troubleshooting guide on the web. But to get a variety of

06:45options I will go with the default. Next number 9 is release model. This is an

06:52important question so listen carefully. We got five options in total. The default one

06:58is all. Then we have fixed meaning selecting this option will list those distros

07:04which release a new version of their operating system in a fixed schedule like

07:09every year. Then there is fixed LTS meaning these distros also release a new

07:15version in a fixed schedule but they are always based on an LTS or a long term

07:21support kernel. Next is semi rolling and rolling. These distros do not focus on

07:27releasing a new version every year. Instead they focus on constantly updating

07:31their current ones. So if you select a semi rolling distro you will receive

07:37updates constantly sometimes every two to three days. In case of rolling release

07:42distros you will receive updates almost every day meaning you will always have

07:48the latest features. But in amateur hands they can be more prone to breaking

07:53whereas fixed release are considered more stable and safe for beginners. So in my

07:59opinion fixed is the best option here. But if you like a little bit of adventure

08:03you can go with semi rolling. Next in number 10 we have install media size. To be

08:11honest in the modern Linux scene this criteria is pretty much irrelevant and so

08:17is number 10 installation method and number 12 multi-language support. Because

08:22with widespread fast internet and large USB drives the size or method of

08:28installation rarely impacts the final outcome. And today virtually every modern

08:33installer and desktop environment support multiple languages right out of the box.

08:38Therefore we can leave all three of them as default and move on.

08:44Our second last criteria is init software and like number six this is pretty much

08:50technical too. Actually init software is the first thing that start in a

08:54GNU Linux operating system when you press the power button and boot up your computer.

08:59It manages all the services, processes and overall system state.

09:05Systemd is by far the most common init software in modern Linux distros. But some

09:11hardcore Linux users absolutely hate it. Because they believe systemd does not

09:16follow the core Unix concept of modularity and minimalism plus it is highly

09:21complex and centralized. So they prefer popular alternatives like runit,

09:27sys5 and openrc. But if you are just starting or frankly do not care about the

09:34behind the scene debates systemd is what you will encounter most and it is

09:39perfectly fine. But again to get more variety I will leave this as default.

09:45And finally at number 14 we have status and this is super important as well.

09:52If you check the options we have active, dormant and discontinued. Active means these

09:59distros are actively maintained. Dormant means these distros are not maintained

10:04properly and they haven't seen updates for more than two years. And at last

10:09discontinued means these distros are no longer being developed and they are

10:14basically dead. So the obvious choice here is active. Because for security and

10:19stability you always want an active distro. Plus using a dormant or

10:25discontinued operating system is a recipe for disaster. So I will select active.

10:34Alright, the selection process is complete. Now let's hit the submit query

10:39button and see what distro watch recommends for us. And just like that our hundreds of

10:45choice has been narrowed down to just 13 options. If you look at the first 10 listed

10:51distros, Linux Mint, Zorin OS, Ubuntu, Elementary OS, Tuxedo OS, Linux Lite. These are all

10:59highly recommended beginner friendly distros. Plus all of them are based on the

11:04Debian family. Which means if you ever need help, there is a massive community

11:09ready to assist. And see that number in parentheses next to each name. That's

11:14distro watch's popularity ranking. A good indicator of how widely these distros are

11:20searched for. To know more about these distros, simply click on their name and it

11:25will take you to the distribution's dedicated information page. And these pages

11:30are treasure troves of information. Here you will find everything you need.

11:35Starting from basic information to website links, community forum links,

11:39download page links, independent reviews and so much more. So what are you waiting

11:45for? Head over to distro watch dot com and use this search tool to find your

11:49personalized list. But here is the most important part. Do not just follow my exact

11:54selections. This is your journey to finding the perfect distro. So play with these

11:59forms, experiment with them and see how it affects your results. And then don't

12:05stop there. The next crucial step is to test them out. So download a virtual machine

12:10and install at least four or five of the top picks. Play around, get a feel for them.

12:16And I guarantee you, you will find the perfect Linux distro in no time. And if you

12:21want even more beginner friendly ways to narrow down your search, check out my

12:25previous video where I cover two more useful tools to find the best Linux distro. The

12:31link is in the description. Also, let me know in the comments what

12:35criteria's did you use and which distros you are testing. And if you have found this

12:41walkthrough helpful, give a like and hit that subscribe button. Thanks for watching.

12:45I will catch you in the next one.

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