What flavor of Ubuntu do I choose? #StartUbuntu

If you are considering becoming what is known as a "switcher", and, as is likely, the operating system you want to switch from is Windows, here at Ubunlog We are willing to give you a hand. You can always buy a computer with a fruit logo, but you will be spending money that you may never pay off. The best alternative to Windows is to move to Linux, and of course, in a blog like this we are committed to Ubuntu or one of its official flavors.

In the history of Ubuntu and its "flavours" there are comings and goings. There are flavors that are at some point no longer relevant and are discontinued. On the opposite side we have projects that start as a "remix" of Ubuntu, Canonical thinks what they are doing is a good idea and decides to accept them as an official flavor. The list may vary, but not the heart; all flavors they use the same base.

What are Ubuntu flavors?

If you have come this far, you already know what a Gnu/Linux distribution is, but even so, it is likely that you do not know what the «flavors» from Ubuntu. A flavor of Ubuntu is a Gnu/Linux distribution that is based on Ubuntu. It's actually Ubuntu, but with a specific desktop, with specific tools or for a specific type of computer. The behavior of the flavors in Ubuntu is very similar to the Windows Home and Windows Professional versions: they are the same operating system, but one comes with more software than the other.

Ok, I'm beginning to understand about Ubuntu flavors. But what flavor do I choose?

There are about a dozen flavors of Ubuntu. Each flavor has a specific purpose and, without going into technical details, I will briefly mention its characteristics:

• Ubuntu. The first option to consider is the distribution itself, Ubuntu. The main desktop is GNOME, the most used in the Linux world, which is also used by very famous distributions such as Debian or Fedora. It looks similar to what we see when turning on a Mac, but Canonical prefers to put the panel on the left and reach from side to side. GNOME is very easy to use, and the preferred choice for many when moving to Linux.
• Kubuntu. It's Ubuntu with the KDE Plasma desktop. It is a desktop oriented to the end user, that is to say, it is very easy to manage and “find” things, partly because it has an interface similar to that of Windows. With each version they have released, they have made it lighter and more productive, but it has gotten a bad reputation for not working well on some computers. This is what KDE has, they want to do everything and do it well, but they have to perfect everything new that they introduce.
• Xubuntu. This is Ubuntu dedicated to computers with few resources. Use the XFCE desktop, lighter than the previous ones but not at all intuitive for users coming from Windows. What it is, is quite customizable.
• Lubuntu. It is another flavor of Ubuntu that is dedicated to computers with few resources, let's go what is meant by "old computers". The difference with Xubuntu is on your desktop: Lubuntu uses LXQt, a very light desktop that looks very similar to the old Windows XP, so the adaptation of Windows users is very easy.
• Ubuntu MATE. It's a similar flavor to Kubuntu, but instead of using KDE it uses MATE as the default desktop. MATE is the name that Martin Wimpress chose when he decided to create something that looked like the old GNOME 2.x, for those who preferred to use the classic Ubuntu and not the Unity developed by Canonical, which the truth is that at first they didn't like it too much .
• Ubuntu Studio. This flavor is intended for those who like production, be it musical, graphic, multimedia or simply related to the world of lyrics. From each sector above, Ubuntu Studio has a toolkit that it installs by default. Thus, in the case of graphic production, it has Gimp, Blender and InkScapet; so on with each production theme.
• Ubuntu Budgie. It's a flavor of Ubuntu that's basically like a GNOME that likes makeup. Much of Ubuntu Budgie's guts are shared with the main flavor, but it has its own theme and a more streamlined design.
• Ubuntu Unity. Canonical abandoned Unity and returned to GNOME, at the time to the third version (and discontinued Ubuntu GNOME), so Unity was left in Limbo. Years later, a young Indian developer brought it back to life, and it became an official flavor again. Ubuntu Unity uses the desktop that Canonical developed, but with the latest versions of the software. It stands out for using the Dash, and for including all the tweaks that the developer who resurrected it comes up with.
• Ubuntu Kylin. It's a flavor that is aimed primarily at the Chinese public, to the point that we don't usually cover it here at Ubunlog. The desktop it uses is UKUI and although it has a good design, it is likely that not everything is perfectly translated into Spanish.

Which is the winner?

Es hard to choose among all the available options. We would not say that one is better than another, but that each one is the best in his own. The main version uses a GNOME which is very easy to use; Kubuntu is for those who want it all; Xubuntu and Lubuntu are for low-resource computers, the former being somewhat more customizable and the latter somewhat lighter; Ubuntu MATE for those who like the classic, even the "old", see the quotes; Budgie and Unity are for those who want new experiences; and Studio for content creators. And, well, for those who speak Chinese, Kylin. With which you stay?