I've been using Linux for a quarter of a century, so why do I keep coming back to Ubuntu?

It scares me to say this, but I have been using Linux for a quarter of a century! Long before the Raspberry Pi was my main hobby, installing Linux on a myriad of devices was my jam. From the early days, when an AMD K6-2 333 and 128MB RAM powered my initial exploration of the world of Unix and Linux, to today, which sees Linux running on my Ryzen 5600X system, a Raspberry Pi laptop, and my beloved Steam Deck.

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In those 25 years, I have tried many different Linux distributions; in fact, here is a list of distros that I have used over the years. This list is not exhaustive, because I reviewed a lot of Linux distros for Linux Format magazine.

• Corel Linux
• Mandrake Linux (Mandriva)
• Open Suse / Suse Linux
• Ubuntu (2006 onwards)
• Debian
• Crunchbang Linux (Debian)
• Fedora
• Manjaro
• Arch
• MX Linux
• Bodhi
• Raspberry Pi OS
• Armbian
• DietPi
• AnduinOS
• Bazzite
• CachyOS
• Linux Mint
• ZorinOS

The keen-eyed amongst you will spot that the majority of these distros are Debian-based. Yes, I prefer Debian-based distros, chiefly because I know apt rather well. But I can confidently use Fedora, or Arch (Aur) based systems too. So with all this confidence, why do I keep coming back to Ubuntu? Well, it boils down to a few reasons.

Ubuntu “just works”

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I’ve run Ubuntu on everything that I could. My laptops all ran it, something called an O2 Joggler (a rebranded OpenPeak device), which was a photo frame with an early Intel Atom CPU, also ran Ubuntu.

My Asus eeePC ran it for a short while, until I moved to Cruncheee, a version of Crunchbang Linux (Debian) for the eeePC. What links all of these devices is that Ubuntu just works. Sure, in the early days, some Wi-Fi cards and obscure hardware forced me to tinker in the terminal, but in recent years, I’ve not had to delve into the terminal to fix a critical issue. For newcomers and those who prize reliability over the “bleeding edge”, Ubuntu is hard to beat. I can drop my nearly 70-year-old dad in front of Ubuntu, and he can use it easily. It just works.

Ease of use, no matter your level of knowledge

That leads me nicely into this section, and Ubuntu’s ease of use spans the gamut of users.

Linux is often seen as the difficult and, dare I say, “nerdy” OS choice, and typically those attracted to Linux are more computer-savvy than others. However, Linux is open to everyone. Ubuntu is proof of that. From my perspective, Ubuntu offers the ease of use that macOS provides, but without the walled garden that Apple promotes. Ubuntu is free, and it works on older hardware. The installation process has been streamlined, particularly over the last couple of years, with a redesign and tweaks to reduce friction for new users.

I recall installing Corel Linux and Mandrake Linux (now known as Mandriva) back in the early 2000s. They both had a great installer for the time. Remember, this was a time when the installer would scrutinize your system and ask you to make every decision along the way (including writing a custom X.org file), which would scare some from trying. I mention Corel Linux (a Debian-based distro) because that was the first Linux distro that worked for me. The installer felt, dare I say it? More Windows than Linux, and for someone moving over, it was easier to use.

Corl Linux was great fun, and the CDE (a variant of KDE) user interface was similar to Windows of that era, so not too much for me to learn. Corel Linux just gave me a basic install, not too many apps to choose from, but enough. Unlike the time that I downloaded Mandrake Linux (two days to download two CDs!) and chose to install everything. The app menus were rammed full of stuff that I had no idea about.

I loved Mandrake Linux. It felt great and worked well on the hardware of the era. However, I tried a few out, and some, like the KDE CD burning tool K3B, stuck and became a favorite.

The choice of flavors

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Linux, at its most basic level, is all about “choice.” You can choose your distro, your window manager, desktop, apps, and more. Where Ubuntu, well, actually the Ubuntu community, does things a little differently is in the flavors of the OS. Each flavor, be it official or community-maintained, has “buntu” in its name.

This makes them easily identifiable to the end user. Sure, there are other distros based on Ubuntu that put their own name and spin on things (Pop! OS springs to mind), but the above list are the Ubuntu distros that many think of. I’ve also placed some suggested use cases for each distro, but ultimately that choice lies with you.

If I wished, I could install Ubuntu and then install another desktop environment, all via the software center or the terminal. In the past, I used to install Ubuntu and then install KDE. Now I just install Kubuntu and enjoy the KDE Plasma user interface.

Great documentation

Good documentation is what every project needs, and Ubuntu sets a high standard for documentation. If you were to Google “How can I change directory in a Linux terminal?”, chances are that you will get an answer that refers to Ubuntu. Either a direct Canonical / Ubuntu-backed document or something from a forum post. Ubuntu has been around so long now that it permeates the search results. Raspberry Pi is also doing the same thing, which I love to see!

The official Ubuntu documentation is excellent and covers trivial and technical issues with clarity. However, the unofficial documentation is also top-notch and provides knowledge for those uncommon issues, particularly when using applications not provided by Ubuntu.

As somebody who has over a decade of experience writing and editing technical documentation and tutorials, I really appreciate good documentation.

“You’re just an Ubuntu fanboy!”

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I’ll support any cause that aims to open up computing to everyone. Free/libre software has proven itself to be used in science (NASA, CERN, ESA), technology (waving arms around to mime “Internet”), entertainment, etc. Why pay for an operating system when you can get a great one for free?

My recent Bazzite experiment has proven to me that Linux is now a capable gaming platform, and yes, I already own a Steam Deck, so I should’ve realised. But using a 4060Ti and 12th-gen Intel system to game is a bit different from what the Steam Deck can offer, and it has a bigger impact.

Digging into my personal history with Ubuntu, and in the early 2010s, I ran installfests at locations as diverse as Barcamp Blackpool, Oggcamp, and a disused paint warehouse in the center of Liverpool. I also co-created UCubed, an Ubuntu-centric unconference which later became the genesis for the Raspberry Jam movement, thanks to Alan O’Donohoe, who used UCubed as a template for the worldwide Jam movement.

Nobody at Canonical paid or asked me to do that. I felt that, after using Ubuntu for many years and being part of a larger tech community that included numerous software developers and system administrators, I had to give something back.

Wrapping Up

You may not agree with me, heck, I love that you will probably comment about “Why distro X is better than Y!” and “GNOME sucks, I use Openbox!” but this is just my opinion, based on experience and life events that have ultimately shaped how I use Linux. Your journey will be different, and so will your choices. I respect them all and urge you to continue your Linux journey.