Endless OS is a free OS created mainly for user’s first time using a computer. Now what makes Endless OS different and unique from other Linux distributions is that it comes preloaded with more than 100 apps. Now you might be thinking about what should I do with so many apps, read till last and you will know their purpose.
Although one thing I would like to tell you about Endless OS at the beginning that is it’s not like your regular Linux distro. Apps are installed as Flatpak, there are no PPA’s, and drivers are provided by Endless OS combined in the update. So for power users, Endless OS might not be suitable for you, if you looking for a regular Linux distro then read about Zorin OS here.
I was searching for a new Linux distro to try then I came across Endless OS. From the first impression, this was not something that I have seen already. Although it’s not difficult to install some of these apps in other Linux distros, the collection of the apps that comes with Endless OS is different.
Lets start the review from installation first.
Installation
Installation of Endless OS is the easiest installation I have ever seen. To install Endless alongside windows you just need to download the setup from Endless’s official site. Then just select the version you want to install and select storage you want to allocate. It will start downloading and then will also start the installation.
First Impression
After installation gets completed at the first boot of the Endless OS you are presented with this screen, this is less like a desktop and more like an Android tablet. Familiar preinstalled apps are Chrome (yes Chrome and not Chromium), VLC media player, Facebook, Whatsapp (Whatsapp Web), Youtube, and other social media apps.
But that’s not what you want to know so let’s get into other lesser-known apps. You can see in the image above folders are containing a lot of apps. So let’s talk about these folders and apps in it.
Media
Media contains apps like photos viewer, video player, photo editor, audio, video editor, and graphics editors. Linux users will be familiar with most of these apps. These apps are Inkscape, Audacity, Tux Paint, Blender, Pitivi, GNU Image Manipulator.
The other apps that Media contains are Blender Tutorials and Drawing Tutorials. These are not designed to make you an expert but contains more of a basic introduction. As the name suggests Blender tutorial contains basic intro of Blender and drawing tutorials contain basic sketching tutorials.
What makes these apps even better is these tutorials don’t require you to connect to the internet and you can learn everything offline.
Curiosity
Curiosity has apps like Science Snaks, Myths and Legends, Maths, How to, Travel, Health, Animals, Duolingo. Now you might not be familiar with these apps, all these apps are informative apps. These apps provide you with knowledge and even some experiments that you can perform at home.
Like all other apps, all informative apps are offline so you don’t have to worry about the internet. These apps might not be for everyone but are great at improving knowledge.
Games
There are also games like Missile math, Tux Math, and others. There are various games and apps, most of these are designed with the purpose of entertaining combined with learning. Some games have maths problems or English spellings involved in it to solve or type while playing. These Games can teach children while keeping them entertained.
There are other folders as well with similar types of apps and games. Now, these apps might not be for everyone but are best for kids at home. Ice on the cake is these are offline so you don’t have to worry about your children getting carried away in the online world.
As you already know the internet is a place where one can easily wander away, search for something and something similar may come up that you will not want your children to see.
As these apps are offline you will have no need to worry. Just Install this OS and hand over the PC to your children and see them learning while also enjoying. One other great app that I would like to point out is Encyclopedia. You can think of it as an offline Wikipedia on your PC. It has information about almost all the topics.
Learn to Code and Cooking
Just as the name suggests learn to code has apps with tutorials to teach programming. This even has Arduino Projects, which gives you some simple and basic learning of Arduino. So just like other Apps and tutorials, everything in this OS is on a basic to moderate level. These tutorials are for beginners but are presented in a great way with images and animations.
There is also an app called Cooking, that teaches you Cooking from very basic like cleaning Utensils. If you or any of your family member loves cooking it can be a great help to teach them to from very basic. It includes a basic intro to cooking as well as more than 100 recipes.
AppCenter
As Endless OS doesn’t come with any PPA you have to depend on AppCenter(Application store of Endless OS) to install apps. It contains a lot of apps, most of the apps you need to use are present on this App Center. Even if you have installed a basic version of Endless OS in beginning you can later install all the apps from here.
Conclusion
As you have already read this OS is not for power Linux users. But it’s great at what it offers, it can really be one of the best OS for a family PC. If you install it on your family PC or your children’s PC then it can be one of the best OS.
It can teach children something new while keeping them entertained and safe from the online world. It can also be a great OS for you if you use your PC mostly for social media and editing purposes.
At last if you use Endless OS do tell us what did you liked and disliked about it, and don’t forget to mention what do you feel about this review.