Alternative distros are not feature packed as mainstream distros but they are known for their simplicity and purpose focused use-case.
2014 has been a great year in world of open source Linux distros. Many new Linux distros were released this year. Many mainstream distro users migrated to alternative options in 2014. The mainstream distros are popular as they have large userbase, number of developers working on the development, the support is quite accurate and responsive and they have their own software repositories.
Alternative distros don’t have either of the features that mainstream Linux does but, however alternative distros are created for specific purpose. Many users like to try out alternative distros for a change. These alternative distros are based on mainstream distro. Today we have listed six alternative distros that were released in 2014. However most of these alternative distros are paid.
1. Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux has unique user interface. The package comes in size of just 200 MB. It is designed to run from USB drive. Puppy Linux is basically made to work on portable devices. The distro has Quickpet installer that helps you to install common software packages. The distro is quite light. It is perfect for computers with older hardware.
Click here to download Puppy Linux
2. Makulu
The design of Makulu is inspired by Ubuntu MATE or Linux Mint. Makulu themes have nice cosmetic touch. The distro comes with Thunderbird, Dropbox, Kingsoft office, Audacious and VLC bundled within the distro. Makulu has two installers to install apps. Linux Mint installer is tried and tested for years while, Makulu’s own software installer has been inbuilt in the distro as well. Makulu also has good collection of inbuilt games. The distro has similar UI as Fundutu and Point Linux.
Click here to download Makulu
3. SparkyLinux (Gameover Edition)
SparkyLinux is based on LXDE desktop environment. The distro is pretty lightweight. Number of applications are already included in SparkyLinux. There is set of applications to listen to the music and watching videos as well. The OS has bundled Transmission bitorrent client and Dropbox. The distro is focused on gamelovers. It includes games like Battle For Wesnoth, SuperTuxKart and SuperTux in the distro itself. There are some retrogaming options like breakout, lemmings and tetris.
Click here to download SparkyLinux
4. Peppermint OS
This distro is a great combination of desktop Linux distro and web kiosk. The distro is based on LXDE desktop. The distro includes Gnome Mplayer, Guayadeque Audio Player, file manager, terminal, text editor and screenshot tool. Peppermint has ICE editor that lets you integrate web apps into desktop. The Peppermint OS has similar UI as Google Chromebook. Peppermint OS is the best solution if you have mid-range desktop computer which you use mainly for web apps.
Click here to install Peppermint OS
5. Netrunner
Netrunner is similar to Ubuntu. The Ubuntu users would love Netrunner. The distro is based on KDE desktop. Installing the distro is pretty easy. The distro includes installation guide. All important and commonly used applications are already included in Netrunner.
Click here to download Netrunner
6. Simplicity Linux
Simplicity Linux is based on Slacko version of Puppy Linux. It gives you access to Slackware repositories, which is great for installing applications that are not included in the distro by default. The distro is available in three main versions, Minimal, Netbook and Full. The UI of Simplicity is more like a standard desktop distro but, it packs number of great applications with most performance benefits of desktop distro.
Click here to download Simplicity Linux
7. Zorin
Zorin distro is known for glitz and appearance of desktop UI. It does not include all desktop effects that come with Compiz. The main feature of Zorin is the look changer that comes with the desktop. It enables to switch between Windows UI and GNOME 2 look. Some developers have even added OSX look in Zorin. Zorin OS is available to download for free.
Click here to download Zorin
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