Kernel Chronicles 

The Top 10 Operating Systems of 2025 

(Without Selling Your Soul—or Your Kidney—to Apple)

At some point, a man grows tired of being nagged by his computer. He wants a ship he can sail, not a cruise liner that tells him where to stand. That’s where I’ve dropped anchor — on MX Linux 24 “Libretto,” my new nautical operating system.

I’ve run plenty over the years: Windows when I had to, Ubuntu when I needed order, and Fedora when I felt brave. But MX… MX runs like a well-built vessel. No wasted movement, no leaks, no endless telemetry storms. Just smooth sailing and full control of the helm.

This year’s field report comes straight from the deck — ten operating systems worth knowing, tested and cursed at by someone who’s been elbow-deep in kernels longer than most laptops have lived.

1. MX Linux 24 “Libretto” — The Nautical Flagship

MX Linux doesn’t scream for attention. It glides — quietly competent, with that no-nonsense Debian stability underneath and a streak of antiX cleverness running through its veins. XFCE remains the captain’s choice: light, fast, and so efficient it feels smug. KDE Plasma? Available if you like your dashboards shiny.

The MX tools are what seal the deal — Snapshot, MX Tweak, and the best installer this side of the equator. Nothing unnecessary, nothing hidden. It feels like something designed by old engineers who still believe buttons should do things.

Use it if: you prefer control over clutter, and like your OS steady enough to navigate a storm.

Avoid it if: you think minimalism is a flaw.

MX Linux is, quite simply, my nautical system — seaworthy, stable, and proud of its hull. It won’t win a beauty contest, but it will outlast the judges.

2. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS — The Reliable Workhorse

Ubuntu is that dependable freight ship — slow, steady, always arriving. Not exciting, but never capsizing either. Canonical’s enterprise polish still shines, even if it smells faintly of corporate varnish.

3. Fedora 41 — The Polished Test Pilot

Fedora’s the experimental speedboat. Fast, slick, and prone to tipping over. It’s Red Hat’s playground for testing future tech — a place where innovation occasionally catches fire.

4. Linux Mint 22.4 — The Gentleman’s Workbench

Mint is what happens when Ubuntu takes a long vacation and finds its manners. Clean, smooth, and less needy. Cinnamon desktop feels like Windows 7 finally stopped apologising.

5. Manjaro — The Polite Arch

Arch power without the existential crisis. Manjaro rolls forward constantly, handing you the latest packages before you’ve had time to back up your files.

6. Debian 13 “Trixie” — The Stoic Veteran

Debian doesn’t care about trends. It’s the long-haul cargo ship — slow to leave port, impossible to sink.

7. openSUSE (Leap & Tumbleweed) — The German Precision Pair

Everything about openSUSE feels engineered. Leap is your stable cargo freighter; Tumbleweed is your high-speed patrol craft. Both get the job done, and YaST remains the best control panel afloat.

8. Rocky Linux — The Steady Successor

Born from rebellion after Red Hat’s licensing storm, Rocky Linux sails under its own flag. Solid, unflappable, and perfect for server fleets that value uptime more than excitement.

9. Kali Linux — The Hacker’s Toolkit

Kali’s a pirate ship — fast, armed, and not for Sunday cruising. It’s purpose-built for cybersecurity, though you wouldn’t want to live aboard it full-time.

10. GrapheneOS — Android Without the Spying Eyes

For the privacy purists, GrapheneOS offers a stripped-down, hardened hull that still floats in Android waters. Secure, silent, and suspicious of everyone.

11. Windows 11 — The Corporate Necessary Evil

Still floating, somehow. Windows 11 remains that overdecorated cruise ship—crowded, noisy, full of telemetry passengers who never disembark. But for gaming and legacy software, you may find yourself reluctantly on deck.

Bonus Round: Mobile Linux — The Rebellion Continues

Ubuntu Touch, postmarketOS, and Plasma Mobile are the scrappy dinghies challenging Android’s navy. They still take on water, but the craftsmanship improves every year.

Closing Thoughts

The sea of operating systems in 2025 is vast and occasionally turbulent. But amidst the marketing storms, MX Linux 24 keeps a steady heading — practical, resilient, and blissfully devoid of nonsense.

If the others are yachts, MX is a well-oiled trawler: not glamorous, but it gets you home in one piece, even when the clouds roll in.

– Field Report compiled for Kernel Chronicles by Otto Brinkmeier (a.k.a. Othello Cody Verrocchio), 2025.