Fedora has always been one of the Linux giants and it’s attracted a huge following. I’m reviewing the beta today, shipping with the all-new GNOME 3.16.
1. First impressions and ease of use
The live ISO is 1.3 GB in size and can be downloaded from https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/prerelease/. The beta ships the new, sleeker, and much-improved GNOME 3.16.
GNOME Shell has always come with a learning curve for anyone who’s used to a traditional desktop. However, Windows 8 and Unity users will already be somewhat used to this sort of interface. One thing that I immediately noticed is the lack of window buttons other than the close button. However, we can fix this with GNOME Tweak Tool. After my other tweaks, it looked like this (taken after installation):
However, it doesn’t fix the fact that everything feels slow and stuttery, at least in VirtualBox. But it should be faster on physical hardware.
Ease of use score: 8.5/10
2. Installer
The installer is the same one that Korora used, Anaconda. It worked great so I’ll just leave screenshots here.
Installer score: 10/10
Release date
|
ISO size (GB)
|
Distribution base
|
Default filesystem
|
Install time
|
Boot time
|
Size of install
|
Desktop RAM use
|
Kernel Version
| |
KaOS 2015.02
|
2/24/2015
|
1.4
|
Independent
|
XFS
|
18:03
|
0:36
|
4.6
|
415
|
3.18.7
|
Ubuntu MATE 15.04 Beta 1
|
2/25/2015
|
1.1
|
Ubuntu Vivid (15.04 Beta 1)
|
ext4
|
12:57
|
0:27
|
4.2
|
457
|
3.19.1
|
Manjaro 0.8.12 Xfce
|
2/6/2015
|
1.4
|
Arch
|
ext4
|
11:33
|
0:27
|
4.7
|
351
|
3.16.7
|
Netrunner 15
|
2/16/2015
|
1.9
|
Ubuntu Utopic (14.10)
|
ext4
|
16:20
|
0:41
|
6.4
|
714
|
3.16.0
|
openSUSE 13.2 KDE
|
11/4/2014
|
4.4
|
Independent
|
Btrfs (used ext4 because of known bug)
|
15:29
|
0:39
|
4.4
|
422
|
3.16.6
|
Bodhi Linux 3.0.0
|
2/17/2015
|
0.6
|
Ubuntu Trusty (14.04 LTS)
|
ext4
|
5:50
|
0:34
|
2.2
|
348
|
3.16.0
|
Linux Mint 17.1 Cinnamon
|
11/29/2014
|
1.4
|
Ubuntu Trusty (14.04 LTS)
|
ext4
|
8:45
|
0:42
|
4.5
|
343
|
3.13.0
|
Pinguy OS 14.04.2
|
3/22/2015
|
2.6
|
Ubuntu Trusty (14.04 LTS)
|
ext4
|
20:54
|
0:47
|
7.4
|
745
|
3.13.0
|
Korora 21 Cinnamon
|
2/6/2015
|
1.7
|
Fedora 21
|
ext4
|
13:24
|
1:04
|
5.0
|
602
|
3.18.3
|
Fedora 22 Beta
|
4/21/2015
|
1.3
|
Independent
|
ext4
|
10:10
|
0:46
|
4.2
|
843
|
4.0.0
|
Average of all distros
|
1.8
|
13:41
|
0:40
|
4.8
|
524
|
3. Design
Fedora 22 Beta comes with the new GNOME 3.16, which ditches the old black and silver theme for a new flat gray theme, and I have to say I like it. It helps with the new modern look.
The lock screen is similar to Windows 8’s:
The default Cantarell font adds a touch of uniqueness as well.
Design score: 9/10
4. Applications
Fedora adheres strictly to Free and Open Source applications, but quality applications are numerous.
Web Browser - Firefox
File Manager - Nautilus
Email Client - Evolution
Text Editor - GEdit
Image Viewer - Shotwell
Terminal Emulator - GNOME Terminal
Music Player - Rhythmbox
Office Suite - LibreOffice
Applications score: 10/10
5. Installing packages
Fedora has traditionally come with the Yum package manager, but for version 22 it is starting to phase it out and typing the Yum command in the terminal just redirects to the new dnf installer. For people who prefer graphical applications, there’s a store called “Software”. Since Fedora has been popular for a long time, there’s also no shortage of applications for it.
Installing packages score: 9.5/10
Final thoughts:
Fedora’s a great distro for FOSS enthusiasts and people who like to stay on the bleeding edge. In recent years, it’s made strides to stay beginner friendly and I have no problem recommending it.
Final score: 47/50 = 94%
Distro name
|
Final Score
|
Manjaro 0.8.12 Xfce
|
99
|
Ubuntu MATE 15.04 Beta 1
|
97
|
Linux Mint 17.1 Cinnamon
|
95
|
Fedora 22 Beta
|
94
|
openSUSE 13.2 KDE
|
93
|
Korora 21 Cinnamon
|
92
|
Pinguy OS 14.04.2
|
91
|
Netrunner 15
|
90
|
Bodhi Linux 3.0.0
|
84
|
KaOS 2015.02
|
80
|
Average of all reviews
|
92
|
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