stillOS offers one of the best Linux onboarding experiences I’ve ever seen

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• stillOS is a new Linux distro aimed at consumers.
• This distro makes it incredibly easy to start using Linux.
• You can customize the desktop without having any Linux skills.

Every Linux distribution approaches the onboarding process differently. Some take a minimal approach, while others hold new users’ hands every step of the way. 

And then there’s the rare distro that finds the sweet spot where it makes it easy to take your first steps with Linux, but doesn’t make long-time users feel like they’re using a distribution with training wheels.

Also: 5 of the easiest, quickest Linux distros to install – and I’ve tried them all

stillOS is a distribution that nails the process of setting up Linux for the first time. Here’s how the stillOS website describes the distro:

We got annoyed with Windows making us the product, and Linux being too complicated. So we made stillOS. We believe stillOS is the first truly consumer ready Linux distribution. Thanks to atomic updates, stillOS is able to stay as stable as a rock while still bringing you new features. App and OS updates are automatic, so there’s no need to worry about keeping your OS and apps up to date.

Let me address that description for those who’ve never used Linux at all.

First, let’s take atomic updates, a feature that new users needn’t worry about. Why? These updates happen in the background, doing exactly what the description says: making the OS as stable as a rock. Because the updates are atomic, you don’t have to bother about the update process, which will never cause the OS to go bonkers on you or (worse) break. This all happens in the background, and the next time you reboot, those updates are applied. Simple, safe, and stable.

OK, let’s go back to the first statement — that “stillOS is the first truly consumer-ready Linux distribution.” The idea of being consumer-ready is intriguing. From my perspective, that goes a bit beyond just being an option for those who are new to Linux and into the realm of, say, “This OS is one that could be installed and sold on machines to consumers.”

Also: How I turned my ancient Windows PC into a Chromebook for free – with FydeOS

Does stillOS live up to that bold claim? Almost. 

If the developers can work out the issues I’ve surfaced (more on that in a bit), that claim could very well come true. Even so, I’d say that stillOS is already very close to being the first consumer-ready Linux distribution. 

stillOS is familiar

Familiarity is a claim that gets bandied about with certain Linux distributions. It seems every distro that configures KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, Xfce, GNOME, COSMIC, LXDE, etc. to look like Windows can claim that the desktop will be immediately familiar to those who’re coming from Windows.

Over the years, I’ve claimed that numerous distributions would be instantly familiar to new users; distributions like ZorinOS, elementaryOS, Linux Mint, and Kubuntu. I still stand by those claims. 

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Yes, stillOS takes the GNOME desktop and configures it like Windows out of the box. It has a panel, desktop icons, a system tray…all the usual suspects. In fact, it’s so familiar that it’s boring. That’s not a bad thing; however, if you’re hoping for a unique, tricked-out desktop, stillOS isn’t what you want. However, stillOS is immediately familiar because it sticks with the tried-and-true desktop layout. 

After installation, you’ll experience several pieces of the puzzle that contribute to stillOS’s claim. First, you’re informed that an update is happening in the background, and you can continue without interruption. That should help give users a sense of reliability.

Next comes the ability to select which applications to install. This goes beyond the typical web browser and office suite. With stillOS onboarding, you can select apps to install from several categories, such as web browsers, productivity, music listening, gaming, creative work, utilities, and LLMs. Expand each category and select any/all apps you want to install. You’re not limited to a single app in each category. For example, you can select as many web browsers as you want, or as many office suites. 

Take, for instance, the productivity section, which allows you to install things like OnlyOffice, LibreOffice, Planify, Todoist, Trello, monday.com, ClickUp, and HubSpot. 

After you complete that process, you can choose to open the First Steps app immediately.

stillOS is easily customizable

Another thing that makes stillOS consumer-ready is the First Steps app, which is similar to what some other distros might call a Welcome app, only it includes quite a bit more. With First Steps, you can:

• Install apps
• Configure displays
• Customize the layout and extensions
• Manage online accounts
• Add Bluetooth devices
• Configure printers
• Sign up for the stillHQ forums

For instance, click Launch for “Customize the layouts and extensions,” and you can select from several pre-configured layouts, including ones that resemble different Windows releases, a MacOS option, a GNOME layout, one that resembles elementaryOS, a layout that looks like ChromeOS, and more. 

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If you switch layouts, you’ll be prompted to log out and log back in. After switching to the elementaryOS layout, I found I couldn’t log back in until I rebooted the OS. Once I logged in, the layout was quite nice.

I tried several layouts and found that with every change, I had to reboot. This is most likely a bug that will (hopefully) be fixed in the next update. After a few layout switches, I ended up with an unresponsive desktop, which forced me to do a hard reboot. After the reboot, all was well.

Beyond the rebooting issue, there’s one other thing to address. Because the developers claim that stillOS is the first consumer-ready Linux distribution, one would think they’d at least mention installing or using a Windows app. Don’t get me wrong, I do not believe that the lack of Windows apps should be a deal-breaker, because there are more than enough apps (especially web-based) to make up for it. But it might behoove the developers to add to the welcome app something like, “If you regularly use specific apps on Windows, chances are good you will find their equal in our app store.” 

With ZorinOS, if a user attempts to install a downloaded .exe or .msi application, a window pops up informing the user of the open-source equivalent. I’m not saying that stillOS should go that far, but they could certainly learn something from ZorinOS.

Also: Linux Mint vs. RefreshOS: I compared the two best distros for new users – this one’s better

What I think Linux newbies will appreciate is that stillOS is fairly easy to customize to work for them, without having to jump through hoops. Everything with stillOS makes perfect sense, and it all comes together to create one of the best Linux onboarding experiences I’ve ever seen.

Does that mean I’d place stillOS at or near the top of my best distros for new users? Give stillOS a bit more time to work out the kinks, and you can bet it will leap into my top 10 list of best Linux distributions for new users.