Top 25 Ubuntu-Based Distributions With Descriptions

Have you ever sat on a toilet with the lid up and got water on your bum?   If you have, you probably remember how that initial rush of excitement eventually faded and you were upset?  Sometimes running vanilla Ubuntu can feel exactly like that.  Here’s a list of 25 Ubuntu-Based Distributions that should keep you high and dry from the Ubuntu burn out syndrome.

andLinux
This is a Xubuntu derivative which uses CoLinux (a port of the Linux kernel to Windows), and is primarily designed to facilitate running Linux binaries on Windows. Ever see Konqueror running in Windows? Now you can.

Edubuntu
Official derivative which runs the KDE Desktop, Edubuntu is focused towards the classroom, and contains many educational related packages.

Elbuntu
The objective of the Elbuntu community project is to provide the maximum eye candy for the end-user using the enlightenment window manager and the related libraries. Elbuntu is based on the Ubuntu distro, but with E17 and not gnome.

Fluxbuntu
This Ubuntu is lean, mean, and FAST as hell. It uses Fluxbox window environment, which lets it run faster on lower-end hardware – faster than most other versions of Ubuntu. This is Ubuntu without the “bloat” – not quite 7.10, but they are working on it.

Freespire
If you complain that Linux does not have MP3 or WMV codecs by default, you may want to check this out since it licenses these codecs and includes them by default. Click N’ Run is really, really slick and makes installing software easier than any other distribution.

gNewSense
Is it me, or does anybody else read the name as gNuisance? Based on Ubuntu, this distro takes the proprietary and non-free software from Ubuntu and rips it out. Basically a bastardized version of Fedora, probably better off using the next one in the list.

Gobuntu
This is an official version of Ubuntu that provides the same product as gNuisance. It was going to be called Gnubuntu, but Richard Stallman didn’t like the name. It currently only has a text-mode installer, but it works just great.

Goobuntu
This little project gets all sorts of attention. Ad two parts vapor-ware with a whole lot of Google hype working for it, and you end up with a distro that Google uses internally, and thousands of people wish it were true. I’d probably run Goobuntu as long as they use Gnome. 🙂

Impi Linux
South African Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, which focuses on the enterprise and government sector.

Kubuntu
Do you like KDE? This is an official derivative that provides a slick KDE desktop. Recently released are some packages for the beta of KDE 4 which is shaping up to be a really nice desktop environment.

Linspire
Used to be called Lindows, it’s a commercial distribution that likes to make it easy to use for an average person. Costs $50.

LinuxMCE
Ever want Linux with a ’10 foot’ user interface to facilitate running it on your gigantic TV? It’s an add-on to Kubuntu that makes this a reality.

Linux Mint
My girlfriend loves Linux Mint, which says alot more than I could. Their goal is “to produce an elegant, up to date and comfortable GNU/Linux desktop” I suggest trying this as an alternative to Ubuntu if you’re looking for something that is a bit more familiar out of the box to new Linux users.

Mythbuntu
Ubuntu based MythTV distribution that is easy to setup and use. The Mythbuntu Control Centre gives you a GUI to configure MythTV and it can be used as a Backend, Frontend, or both.

nUbuntu
Aka Network Ubuntu, this one is a pretty sweet distro including network penetration test tools, like Wireshark, nmap, dSniff and Ettercap.

Ubuntu Christian Edition
Ever wonder what version of Linux Jesus would download?  Now you know.  Ubuntu CE is designed for christians. I’ve reviewed Ubuntu CE from the point of view of an agnostic, and ended up giving it a general “thumbs down” but I think with the next release (and especially after correspondencewith the primary developer) the 7.10 version will receive a better score. It has several neat ideas for christians such as a daily bible verse on the desktop, and several bible thumping Firefox plugins that cater well to a specific niche market.

Ubuntu Home Server
UHS is in production status but deserves mention. It’s a product that will compete directly with Windows Home Server.

Ubuntu Satanic Edition
Linux for the Damned is not technically an Ubuntu distro. It’s simply some repackaged themes which allow you to deck out your computer with some wicked screensavers, desktop backgrounds, etc.

Ubuntu Studio
This distro is geared towards people who want to produce and manipulate multimedia content. It provides a different kernel to facilitate audio processing with minimal delays, and has a bitch of a problem with not being able to fit on a 700MB CD. Bust out your DVD-RW disk like I did and take a look at this sucker if you’re interested in doing any sort of video, audio or graphic creation, I highly reccomended it.

Ubuntu Ultimate Edition
Take Ubuntu, update it, then plug in all sorts of extra software and then you have yourself an Ultimate Edition of Ubuntu.

Ubuntulite
Got kids? Grab an old Pentium PC (minimally a 75MHz Pentium with 32MB RAM), install Dans Guardian, and boom – PC for the kids to browse the web.

UbuntuME
The Muslim Edition of Ubuntu, much like Ubuntu CE provides tools for those practicing Islam, like prayer times, Quran tools, web filtering, etc.

Xubuntu
Official release that runs an Xfce desktop environment, it’ll run faster than a regular vanilla installation.

XUbuntu
Does anyone really need to run Linux on their 1st gen Xbox?  Really?  Pfft.

If you enjoyed the article, please Digg it.  I’ll be doing my normal Thursday Linux Nation post within the next few hours.