AlmaLinux 9.2

64-bit

AlmaLinux is one of the leading replacements for CentOS, which Red Hat stopped developing in 2020. Like Centos, it is a drop-in replacement for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and its release numbers continue the CentOS and RHEL numbering systems. In fact, the 9.2 release, codenamed Turquoise Kodkod, was released on the same day as RHEL's 9.2 release.

Although AlmaLinux is only a couple of years old, as a successor to Fedora and CentOS, AlmaLinux is a mature distribution, and the 9.2 release in no exception. Like earlier releases, the 9.2 release consists of packages taken from the repositories of packages included in RHEL and tested and digitally signed by AlmaLinux. The most recent release consists chiefly of security updates and package upgrades, as well as AlmaLinux branding and the removal of RHEL branding.

AlmaLinux's target audience is corporate. However, users might also download it to get a general sense of RHEL without having to register. Also, existing users of AlmaLinux should install 9.2 as a security update.

blendOS

With all the different ways to install packages, a distribution like blendOS was bound to happen sooner or later. BlendOS simplifies package release by supporting packages from Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, Kali Linux, AlmaLinux, and Rocky Linux, as well as Android and web apps. Add universal package systems like Flatpak and Snap, and, in theory, blendOS should allow the installation of almost any package you encounter.

If that were not enough, blendOS provides an immutable desktop, a structure that has gained popularity in recent years. The characteristics of an immutable desktop are that neither users or applications can modify it, the entire system is updated at the same time, and applications are isolated from each other. The result is a more stable, secure system.

BlendOS has a broad appeal, but should appeal especially to gamers, those who want to try an immutable desktop, and simply anyone who wants the widest selection of packages available.