Ubuntu

As of 2018, Ubuntu's installer will collect data about user devices. This has caused outrage amongst Linux users.

Firstly, it's opt-out, rather than opt-in.

Secondly, it shouldn't even be there.

Thirdly, Canonical (Ubuntu's creators) have a very poor record on privacy, including harvesting local searches to drive Amazon sales and hostility to critics or their privacy practices.

Try Linux Mint or Manjaro instead. Linux Mint is completely compatible with Ubuntu, but comes with added features that make it even more user-friendly, especially for beginners. Manjaro is not based on Ubuntu; it's based on Arch. Although Arch has a daunting reputation as a difficult-to-use distro, Manjaro has been completely sorted out by its creators for user-friendliness. It supports both its own and the AUR (Arch User Repository), which means access to tens and tens of thousands of apps. If you don't know which to go for, consider also: Mint will be as stable as Ubuntu, Manjaro is a semi-rolling distro, which means it gets very regular system updates. Both are available with different desktops, and both are very much better than Ubuntu. I use Manjaro and would never use Ubuntu.

[Edited by JohnFastman, May 27]

With every release, Canonical's Ubuntu wavers further from its slogan "Linux to human beings."

I've been an avid Ubuntu user for close to 6 years. I was loyal, avoiding distro hoping and being patient about some bad moves on Canonincal's part. A couple of weeks ago, I moved to Manjaro, an Arch-based Linux distribution.

In few words, and to the average user, I'll explain a few reasons why:

1. With every release, Ubuntu gets more and more bloated. It comes filled with software you don't need/want, and the software you DO want is oftentimes lagging behind and outdated, requiring you to constantly fiddle with PPAs.

2. Unity is awful and I hate it (change my mind) and the latest releases have seen the addition of ads in the desktop itself.

3. Privacy and security have been a bit shady as of late. For example, Canonical's anonymous data collection is opt-out, not opt-in. Although it's great to have the option to share the info or not, I dislike the fact that it's opt-out.

4. Finally, Canonical has announced recently that it will be dropping 32-bit app support, which is ludicrous. If you're using Ubuntu for gaming, for example, you got the short end of the stick from this statement: Valve will, in turn, drop Ubuntu support from 19.10 onward.

Canonical's recent moves have been riddled with bad decisions and I can no longer recommend Ubuntu. If you still want to move to Linux -- as you should! -- please consider one of the following instead:

• Manjaro Linux
• Fedora
• Linux Mint
• Pop!_OS

These are just pointers. There are many more distros around and I strongly recommend testing and hopping a bit to see what suits you best!

[Edited by coralinecastell, June 25]

I don't like running Ubuntu, not for a while now. It has a lot of other crap I do not want either. But there are good Ubuntu alternatives.

I just deleted Windows today and installed Ubuntu on my desktop. Ubuntu is very easy to learn I had it up and running on a 9-year-old desktop that I received for free

Linux is popular, best supported, Easy at first (Ubuntu), easier later, private, secure, reliable (Processes), light, open and free. It has free app stores, all free software, best uptime, many great look and feels (desktop environments) with rapid frequent lightweight updates (Packages) and almost all drivers. Ubuntu can auto find all drivers online.