Cinnamon affords a clear and easy desktop interface anybody can decide up instantly.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Linux is all about selection. It has been since its inception and it stays so to today. You will discover desktop interfaces that vary from old-school to extremely trendy (and all the pieces in between). In the event you’ve ever used any incarnation of Home windows or MacOS, you will discover a Linux desktop distribution to completely meet your wants.
As for me, my choice falls extra towards the trendy tackle the desktop. Nonetheless, most customers want to stay with the acquainted and that usually means Home windows. Due to this, you will discover various Linux desktop interfaces that resemble the Home windows UI on some (or a number of) ranges.
Additionally: One of the best Linux laptops
One such distribution is Ubuntu Cinnamon. This official taste of Ubuntu makes use of the Cinnamon interface (which is the default for Linux Mint) for a desktop that requires little or no effort to be taught.
In response to the official Ubuntu Cinnamon web site, “Cinnamon takes the extra conventional strategy of a GNOME 2 and MATE-like desktop. Much like Home windows 7, it’s straightforward to transition out of your Home windows system to Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix, and even for those who nonetheless want to maintain Home windows on the facet, you possibly can at all times dual-boot Home windows and Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix.”
And that’s the coronary heart of Ubuntu Cinnamon. It is all about making the transition from Home windows to Linux as painless as doable. And it does a outstanding job of creating it straightforward.
Additionally: An important cause you need to be utilizing Linux at house
Earlier than you get too excited, do know that that is Linux and never Home windows, so essentially it’s totally different. First off, it is open-source, which not solely means the supply code is available to view and edit (if wanted) but it surely’s additionally free. On prime of that, a lot of the software program you will use on Ubuntu Cinnamon is free. That ought to not scare you away from attempting Ubuntu Cinnamon. Once I say it is easy to make use of, I imply it is easy sufficient for anybody to make use of.
Give it some thought this fashion. The overwhelming majority of individuals work together with the world by way of an online browser and never way more. The times of needing particular functions for all the pieces you do is over. Due to that, the working system you select is not almost as vital as the online browser. And even then, most browsers work simply advantageous.
Additionally: One of the best safe browsers for privateness
With that in thoughts, what’s stopping you from attempting the likes of Ubuntu Cinnamon?
Talking of which…
I’ve by no means been a giant fan of the Home windows interface. However I do see the attraction. The normal desktop format is environment friendly and covers all of the bases. If you wish to rapidly launch a favourite app, click on an icon on the panel or desktop. For launching some other app, scan via the desktop menu. Do you’ve got a folder you continuously entry? Add a shortcut to the desktop. It is all there, able to go.
You possibly can open any put in utility via the Ubuntu Cinnamon desktop menu.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
If that UI sounds not solely acquainted but in addition fascinating, Ubuntu Cinnamon has you coated. The desktop affords a really conventional format with all of the options you are accustomed to utilizing… however with a decidedly open-source spin. You will discover loads of open-source software program put in by default. Click on the Menu button (decrease left nook) to disclose all the pieces categorized so you possibly can simply discover what you are on the lookout for.
Additionally: This official Ubuntu Spin would possibly simply be the right intro to Linux
Pre-installed software program consists of the likes of:
LibreOffice (workplace suite)Firefox (net browser)Thunderbird (e mail)Celluloid (video participant)Rythmbox (music participant)GIMP (picture editor)
For individuals who want to deal with folders on the desktop (for simple entry), merely right-click wherever on the desktop and choose Create New Folder.
Additionally: Need to save your ageing pc? Attempt these 5 Linux distributions
One other very good function of Ubuntu Cinnamon is window snapping. With this tackle the desktop, you possibly can snap home windows:
Splitting the display screen in half vertically.Splitting the display screen in half horizontally.Splitting the display screen into 4 quarters.
Working effectively with 4 apps snapped into corners.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
I am a giant fan of window snapping and use it on daily basis. Not each desktop consists of four-corner snapping and I am right here for it.
Who’s Ubuntu Cinnamon for?
This is a vital query to ask, primarily as a result of the Cinnamon desktop is instantly linked to Linux Mint. And given how common and user-friendly Mint is, why would not you simply go for that OS? To make this query much more complicated, Linux Mint relies on Ubuntu. So, why not reduce out the center individual and use Ubuntu with Linux Mint’s desktop?
Additionally: Methods to change Home windows with Linux Mint in your PC
There is not any onerous and quick technique to reply that query. The distinction between Linux Mint and Ubuntu Cinnamon lies within the particulars, most of which actually will not matter to new customers attempting to determine which working system to decide on. Even the file managers are the identical.
From the person’s perspective, the first distinction is discovered within the variety of pre-installed software program. Linux Mint consists of various functions not present in Ubuntu Cinnamon. For instance, Linux Mint consists of the likes of Warpinator (ship and obtain information throughout a community), Redshift (colour temperature adjustment instrument), and Hypnotic (watch web TV), Library (view latest information). One massive distinction is that Ubuntu Cinnamon makes use of GNOME Software program because the app retailer, whereas Linux Mint affords mintinstall.
Each instruments make it very straightforward to put in software program, nonetheless, Ubuntu Cinnamon affords Snap for common bundle administration, whereas Linux Mint goes with Flatpak. Each distributions have help for his or her common bundle supervisor of selection constructed into the app shops, so even putting in proprietary software program like Spotify is simply a few clicks away.
Additionally: My thought for an incredible new beginner-friendly Linux distribution
One factor that does shock me with Ubuntu Cinnamon is that it would not embody the built-in potential to share folders over a community (the place Linux Mint does). Even with the Public folder present in your Dwelling listing, you will discover no straightforward technique of sharing.
In the long run, Ubuntu Cinnamon is a completely fantastic desktop working system that may swimsuit nearly any sort of person, whether or not you are new to Linux or not. The one sort of individual I’d say won’t dig this official spin can be somebody who likes a desktop that gives appreciable flexibility and configuration choices. The Cinnamon desktop holds again on the configurable choices to maintain issues easy. That does not, nonetheless, imply it’s a simplistic desktop. It isn’t.
In the long run, for those who’re on the lookout for a desktop working system that’s instantly acquainted, easy to make use of, free, and dependable, look no additional than Ubuntu Cinnamon.