Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise Pangolin) is out. By now there are a zillion reviews of it already, but I wanted to take a little more time to use it before writing one of my own.

When it comes to Linux distributions, it's truly different strokes for different folks. Some folks want software that is truly free, meaning that they can do with it as they please. That's where distros like Trisquel come in. Trisquel is based on Ubuntu, but it provides only free software. You will not find proprietary software included with it.

Siduction 11.1 is a fork of the Aptosid distro. Siduction comes in KDE, Xfce or LXDe spins. You can get 32-bit or 64-bit versions of each spin. Siduction is based on Debian Sid and includes Linux Kernel 3.1-6 and X.Org server 1.11.2.902.For this review I opted for the Xfce version.

Fedora 16 was released a while back, and I've finally gotten around to checking it out. For this review though I've opted for the KDE version of Fedora. As you may already know, Fedora comes in multiple spins including GNOME, Xfce, KDE and others. If you're interested in checking out other versions of Fedora, you can see a full list on the Fedora Spins page. There are ten different versions of Fedora listed there, so chances are that you'll be able to find one that might work well for you.

The recent release of Linux Mint 12 has gotten quite a bit of attention. Most reviews of Linux Mint 12 have focused mainly on the GNOME 3 desktop (as pointed out in the comments of my Linux Mint 12 GNOME 3 review by reader liquidkermit). But there's another desktop environment included in Linux Mint 12 called MATE.

The moment so many have waited for is finally here. Linux Mint 12 has been released! This update to Linux Mint has had many people on edge since it marks the move from the older version of GNOME to GNOME 3.2. GNOME 3.2, as you might already know, has had many detractors. Linux Mint users have wondered how on earth such a popular distribution would make a transition to such a reviled and hated desktop interface.

openSUSE is one of the most popular desktop distros available. This time around it's version 12.1 that has been released. If you aren't familiar with openSUSE then you should know that it comes in KDE, GNOME, Xfce and LXDE versions. For this review I've picked the KDE version of openSUSE 12.1. I may do a quick look at the GNOME version on Eye On Linux later though.

Yet another Ubuntu release is upon us. This time around it's Oneiric Ocelot (Ubuntu 11.10). Canonical, as you may already know, tends to name its release after various kinds of animals. The ocelot is a dwarf leopard that dwells in South and Central America and Mexico. The other part of the name is the word "oneiric" which essentially means "relating to dreams" according to the Merrian-Webster dictionary.

The release of Ubuntu 11.10 also means that all of the related spins have also been updated, including Kubuntu 11.10.Many people have expressed dissatisfaction with Ubuntu after Canonical added Unity to it. Kubuntu has often been mentioned as a possible replacement for Ubuntu for users who dislike Unity and want to move to another environment. Does Kubuntu 11.10 work well as a replacement for Ubuntu 11.10? We'll find out in this review.

Mandriva had been around a long time and is a popular desktop distribution. I was intrigued to find that Mandriva now has a fork called Mageia. The first release of Mageia came out recently and I finally found some time to sit down and give it a go. Mageia was created by former Mandriva contributors. For more background, be sure to read the original announcement about Mageia.