Vanilla OS Orchid improves on an already brilliant Linux distribution

Jack Wallen\ZDNET

ZDNET's key takeaways

Vanilla OS "Orchid" is available now to install and use for free.Vanilla OS supports several installation package types, offers a clean GNOME desktop, and offers a very shallow learning curve to appeal to any user type.Some user types might not love the GNOME desktop environment.

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In the land of Linux, there are a few distributions that go out of their way to set themselves apart. One such take on the open-source operating system is Vanilla OS. I've previously covered Vanilla OS to discuss its take on security, which (of course) is a key factor.

Also: The first 5 Linux commands every new user should learn

However, the developers of Vanilla OS have spent the last year completely rewriting the operating system to redefine simplicity and performance. The end goal is to provide a seamless and intuitive experience for users of any type.

They succeeded.

By a mile.

Also: 5 reasons why Linux will overtake Windows and MacOS on the desktop - eventually

Vanilla OS offers a few features that make it stand apart from other operating systems and the end result is simplicity, cleanliness, freedom, and an obstruction-free experience.

Even the new installer is impressive. For example, during the installation wizard, you can select what you'd like installed. You can enable the installation of LibreOffice and common utilities (to go alongside the core utilities and web browser). 

Jack Wallen\ZDNET

On the top of it all, Vanilla OS offers a fairly vanilla GNOME desktop environment. It's not until you take a peek under the hood that you realize there really is something special about this distribution. This general-purpose desktop operating system is immutable, which means the root file system is read-only. Thanks to this, Vanilla OS is far more secure than operating systems that don't go the immutable route. 

Also: What is immutable Linux? Here's why you'd run an immutable Linux distro

Beyond that, things really start taking a different route. One could be led to think of Vanilla OS as a "frankenlinux" distribution, as it seems to be an amalgamation of Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine, Fedora, Arch, and openSUSE, thanks to the package-management wrapper, called Apx, which allows for the installation of packages from various sources. Those packages are also installed within containers, so you don't have to worry about them accessing your root file system and wreaking havoc (should a malicious app accidentally be installed). Vanilla OS supports Flatpaks, AppImages, and even Android apps. 

Essentially, Vanilla OS supports packages from all types of distributions and OSes. You could even install Wine and add Windows into the mix.

Also: How to run a Windows app on Linux with Wine

As for updates, those happen in the background and are a part of what makes this OS special. With the onboarding wizard, you get to select how often updates happen and set it to only check for updates when the computer is idle. You can update your machine Never, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. The default is Weekly, but seeing as how I'm a big advocate of frequent update checks, I go with Daily every time.

Jack Wallen\ZDNET

Vanilla OS probably won't be winning any awards for best-looking distribution. That doesn't mean it's unsightly. It's GNOME and the developers have done very little to the desktop. One of the few added touches is in the form of several pre-installed GNOME extensions (all of which are disabled by default). 

The developers have included extensions like Apps Menu, Auto Move Windows, Light Style, Places Status Indicator, Removable Drive Menu, System Monitor, User Themes, Window List, and Workspace Indicator. Of course, you can always install more from the GNOME Extensions Store. Other than that, it's just GNOME. Don't get me wrong, that's not a bad thing. I'm a big fan of the GNOME desktop because I like things quite minimal. 

There's also the inclusion of Lutris, which makes installing games easy. With Lutris, you can install games from GOG, Epic Games Store, EA App, and Ubisoft Connect. Lutris also works with Flatpak, Steam, and Wine. On top of that, the developers saw to it to roll Flatpak support into the GNOME Software app store, which makes it even easier to install apps of all sorts. Need Slack? It's there. Need Spotify? You got it. 

Also: How to install Steam and start gaming on almost any Linux distro - now it's a Snap

Vanilla OS caters to everyone: developers, gamers, shoppers, bloggers, browsers, and everyone in between.

There are other, techier bits, such as the ability to roll back to a previous state, regenerate the initramfs, and even a GUI utility for switching graphics cards. Vanilla OS is one of those operating systems that always seems to have something more to offer, the deeper you dive in.

From all of the testing I've done with Vanilla OS, I always come away with the impression that Vanilla OS is the operating system for everyone. No matter your skill level or familiarity with Linux, Vanilla OS has you covered. There's little this Linux distribution can't do and a whole lot it can. If I were in the mood to switch from my default Pop!_OS, you can bet Vanilla OS would be right at the top of the list of choices.

If this sounds like your next operating system, download the ISO, install it, and enjoy that delicious vanilla flavor.