Jack Wallen/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysThe latest release of Solus is available now and can be downloaded and installed for free on as many computers as you need.This open-source desktop distribution offers a flexible user-interface and a reliability no closed-source operating system can offer.The default Solus layout is fairly pedestrian, so those who aren’t a fan of a Windows-like desktop have to spend little time customizing.I’ve spent decades using Linux and testing just about every type of distribution to ever come to market. Very often those distributions offer something new for users, something they might never have seen before. Some distributions are all about panache, while others are all about simplicity. Some strike a balance between the two, and others lean one way or another.Other distributions just want to be familiar.Consider this: For better or worse, almost every PC user has experienced Microsoft Windows. That proprietary OS has stood at the top of the operating system food chain for decades, primarily because it’s what people know. That is why some distribution developers decide to go all in on the Windows metaphor.Also: The best Linux distros for beginners: Expert testedSuch is the case with Solus. This distribution isn’t based on Ubuntu, Fedora, or Arch. Rather, Solus is built from scratch. You won’t find apt, dnf, pacman, or any other package manager from another distribution. That’s right, Solus stands on its own. Even so, this is one Linux distribution you should not avoid, especially if you prefer the traditional desktop layout.The default Solus desktop offers a bottom panel, desktop menu, system tray, clickable launchers, and icons. Sound familiar? It should be because the layout has been in use since the Common Desktop Environment (CDE), which predates Windows 95. You can easily customize the Solus desktop to look and behave like others, such as MacOS. Jack Wallen\ZDNETOf course, this isn’t Windows, it’s Linux, so it also offers reliability and security that Windows can’t match.So, why should you try Solus? What makes it stand out above, say, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or Fedora? Honestly, not much, and that’s a good thing. Solus makes the case for not fixing what’s not broken.If I had to come up with one reason to choose Solus over other distributions, it would have to be the Budgie desktop. I’ve always been a fan of Budgie. This open-source desktop is a great blend of Xfce, GNOME, and Plasma, offering a very simplified default layout that you can customize to just about any layout you want. Prefer a MacOS-style desktop? You can do that. Windows? Yep. GNOME? Of course. Plasma? Indeed. Cinnamon? Of course.With Budgie, you’ll never get bored with your desktop because you can change it as much as you want. Although Solus’ default take is very Windows 7-esque, you can quickly modify it by switching the panel into Dock mode, removing some of the applets on the dock, adding a top panel, adding the necessary applets, and voilà! You have a MacOS-like UI. Move the dock to the left side and you’re looking rather GNOME-ish.There are themes, transparencies, animations, automatic tiling, the Raven panel, autostart applications, and so much more. You also get apps like LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Celluloid (video player), and Rhythmbox (music player). If you don’t find the app you need preinstalled, there’s the GUI app store, Snap, and Flatpak.Also: blendOS is the Swiss army knife of Linux distros but it’s not for everyoneConsidering that the development team created Solus from scratch makes this distribution even more impressive. Most teams opt to base their work on that of Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, or Arch because that means the wheels don’t all have to be re-invented. The Solus team did just that, deserving a big, hearty Huzzah. Who is Solus geared toward? I’d say just about anyone. If you’re new to Linux, you’ll find the default UI will make you feel right at home, which means migrating to the open-source OS won’t be nearly as daunting a task. If you’re already familiar with Linux, Solus would make for a nice change of pace because A) It’s not based on anything else and B) The UI can be anything you want it to be.The development team actually states this up front: “Solus provides a multitude of experiences that enable you to get the most out of your hardware. From our flagship Budgie experience for modern devices to the more traditional XFCE experience for lower-end devices, Solus aims to provide the best experience for your device.”Also: 5 most beautiful Linux distributions: ‘Equal parts user-friendly and eye candy’I look at Solus as a sort of do-anything Linux distribution because that’s precisely what it can do. For those who are concerned it won’t support your hardware, there’s the DoFlick Solus Driver Management tool, which helps you install proprietary drivers for hardware that might either not function out of the box or could benefit from the closed-source code from a manufacturer.For me, the only thing missing from Solus is built-in network file sharing. Fortunately, Samba is already installed out-of-the-box, so all you have to do is install the nemo-share package from the app store. Once you’ve done this, sharing folders is just a right-click away in the file manager. There are only two issues I ran into. The first was that Samba wasn’t enabled by default. To remedy that, issue this command:sudo systemctl enable –now smbThe second issue is that you have to manually add users to Samba, which can be done like this:sudo smbpasswd -a $USER
sudo smbpasswd -e $USEROnce you’ve done that, you’re good to go.I’m not going to lie, Solus isn’t going to steal me away from Pop!_OS. If, however, I was in the market for a new distribution, I would certainly give Solus a long, hard look. If you’re a fan of the Windows 95/98/7 interfaces, and you want a desktop operating system that will not let you down, Solus might be just what you’re looking for.