One of my favorite things, as a Linux fan, is to read the weekly issues of Distrowatch’s ‘Distrowatch Weekly’, and seeing what new Linux distros are being added to their database. In the August 29th issue, under the ‘Distributions added to waiting list’ section was a distro called Enchantment OS, and it was described as follows…
Enchantment OS is a Linux distribution which is based on Xubuntu LTS and designed with less technical users in mind.
Ok, so it’s billed as a beginner’s Linux distro, but it’s much more. First off, the Enchantment OS website is professional looking. Sometimes if a distro’s website is janky looking, I won’t download the distro. The only compalint I have about the website is that the distro is a straight download from Sourceforge. I’d have preferred a torrent download, but if a distro is a newer one it may not have the users to torrent. Enchantment OS also offers pre-installed USB sticks and DVDs for sale along with a paperback guide for the distro. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a distro that was so encouraging to new Linux users. I can’t offer a review on the book since I can’t afford the $30, but I’m not above taking a free review copy if Enchantment wants to send me one. (hint, hint)
After downloading the distro, I installed it onto my Acer Cloudbook 14 with its 2 GB of RAM and 32GB hard drive. I had no problems with installation as I had with some other distros like Zorin OS and Linux Lite. It’s a very nice and clean-looking distro with all the software you might need. and not a lot of unnecessary applications. After downloading all the programs I needed, that weren’t included with the distro, I still had 18 GB left on the hard drive, Compared to the 3GB I had left after the last Windows 10 update, 18 GB is plenty.
It boots fast, It has some great looking wallpaper choices that comes with it and, as one famous company once said. it just works. The one thing I didn’t care for was Enchantment’s Software Boutique, basically its app store. Instead of being able to search through it, you can only browse through it. However, Enchantment, in its Software Boutique, also offers you the option to download any other software manager like the Ubintu software store which I prefer. It also comes with Firefox Fast browser pre-installed, which is a really good privacy browser with the best ad and flash blocking extensions pre-installed.
If you were to sit a Windows user in front of a machine that had Enchantment OS installed on it, they should have no problem using the machine, but as with most Linux distros they’ll probably need their hands held for a few things. I would imagine that’s where the Enchantment OS book comes in.
As a regular user of Linux, I love Enchantment OS, and it is now currently my favorite distro. It comes with the XFCE desktop, and is based on the long-term supported Xubuntu 16.04, so you won’t have to do a fresh install every six months. In closing of my disjointed review, I give Enchantment OS the full Trench Reynolds’ seal of approval.
The Trench Reynolds Report 