Unusual linux distros with some weird quirks

As we all say, there is a distro for everyone. But, what are the options for the weird people? Aha! No worry, the open-source world got you covered. There are lots of good mainstream Linux distributions that the majority uses. And then there are these weird distributions that I have many questions for.

Currently, Ubuntu holds the record for the highest regular users. Then there is Linux Mint, Manjaro, ElementaryOS, etc. Then there are distributions that not a lot of people use but are wonderful, like Zorin, Deepin, etc. We have already talked about some beautiful looking distributions here. But, in this article, we are gonna explore the next level of weirdness. So let’s see what we got:

Endless OS

Endless OS is a Debian based Linux distribution that offers educational Linux experience and tons of preloaded contents. It is aimed for kids and basic users who want to learn stuff and don’t wanna do much. It already comes with many apps and you can install “some apps” from the app store.

There are thousands of Wikipedia articles available offline, tons of books, and other sorts of preloaded media readily available offline.

What’s so weird about this is how it’s so locked down and frustrating. There is a Debian base you can’t access. And then there is no package manager. Only GUI to install a few apps which are only available in one single repo. Nothing can be sideloaded, there is no flatpack or Snap support and you can’t manually enable them. This is so locked down, weird and limiting. But the positive side of it is those free books and contents.

Feren OS

Feren OS is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution that comes with a customized Plasma desktop. To be honest, this is probably one of the most beautiful Plasma-based Linux distributions. It does the whole Plasma thing right. It’s a fantastic OS with an almost perfect user experience.

So why does this exist on our list? Because it so weirdly bothers me why fewer people know about this distro? Why when someone talks about flawless distribution, they do not suggest Feren OS?

And their website is also weird. A free Weebly site with Weebly subdomain. Now, If you browse the Ubuntu website, you will get to know the real deal. But the original Feren OS website looks like it’s sharing fake malware loaded ISO or pretending to be the original Feren OS website. This is too weird.

React OS

This isn’t a Linux based distro. It’s like WINE… but it’s an OS. React OS lets you install windows programs and drivers. Well, sort of. Even if modern apps suck on this, I personally think it’s a cool project. You can install your legacy win32 apps that wouldn’t run on windows 10. Like old games and peripherals.

This is a promising Windows knockoff and it is immune from being sued by Microsoft because it is not a stolen copy of Windows, but a reversed engineered one. The development of this OS is so slow. Too slow I would say. It started in 1996 and yet it is still incomplete. It hasn’t seen its first 1 point release yet.

Sure there is a fun running old windows apps and seeing it working in a free OS but, there is some concern. With an old base, comes with a major security risk. If you want to use it, you have to be worried about your device security. The apps are old and filled with vulnerability. I know a handful of people use this, and most of them are geeky hacky people. But that’s the only safe zone.

TinyCore

TinyCore is a cool Linux distro. It shows how versatile Linux can be. TinyCore, as the name suggests, is a tiny size Linux distribution that can be used in devices that have low storage and less powerful hardware.

TinyCore has 3 options, a core 11 MB, TinyCore 16 MB with GUI, and a 160 MB version with basic tools and browsers. The fun part is how small but still fully functional. 16 MB is barely the size of a 10-minute long audio file. You get a desktop, a set of basic apps and you can install additional apps just like on a normal Linux distribution.

Unlike Puppy Linux or another lightweight distro, TinyCore does not save state for live sessions. You have to install it onto a drive. You can use it for let’s say, on an RPi zero, but it cant be used for recovery reasons. I wish it has this feature.

There is another that is so damn small and also requires very little RAM. MULinux is a fully functional Linux distro that can be used as a live distribution and takes 20MB of disk space and 4MB of RAM to run. It can be run on ancient hardware and you can also do some hacky stuff with it if you wish.

UBPort

UBport is a cool Ubuntu port, but for mobile phones. You can install it on selected devices with the UBPort installer. The installation process is very easy. UBPort looks great on mobile and I think its cool. Unfortunately, UBPort isn’t that famous. And I don’t know why. I’m noticing the rise of Linux for mobile and I think it is time to revive this wonderful OS. But no. UBPort is still sort of dead. Looks like I’m wrong here, UBPort is abandoned by Ubuntu, but being an open-source project, UBPort is continuing to be developed at a regular pace. Their blog posts are very recent too.

Suicide Linux

Suicide Linux is a Debian package for Debian based distributions with which you can turn any distro into suicide Linux. But, it’s not a cool thing at all. You might not want to install it on your system in any circumstance. It’s a small script that tweaks execution error to suicidal command “sudo rm -rf /”. That means if you do anything wrong even a simple mistake while typing a command in a terminal, your whole system will collapse. Even if you are an expert avid Linux user, don’t try this without a VM.

Hanna Montanna Linux

I’m gonna talk about several of this distro. Hanna Montanna Linux or HML is a TV Show themed Linux distro inspired by a popular show name Hanna Montanna. This is a customized Kubuntu distro with Hanna Montanna wallpaper, theme, and bright icons.

Rebecka Black OS is a live OS that runs on Wayland. Its a Debian based distro and can be used in portable storage.

Justin Bieber Linux is a satire Linux distribution inspired by Hanna Montanna Linux. And there is nothing special. It’s just a joke. But it works if you really wanna use it.

Mangaka Linux is an Anime and Manga themed Linux desktop that looks way better than this. I think it’s cool and I suggest this to everybody who wants a themed distro that does not hurt user experience.

OtakuX is another Anime themed but it comes with some cool apps like Danbooru Client to access Danbooru image boards, FatRat download manager, MyPaint and Krita, Music Player, a plugin that enhances audio of the system, Minus Cloud Storage and more.

Religious Linux distros

For proving the versatility of the Linux world, people came up with almost everything. Religious Linux distros are a part of it. Ubuntu Christian Edition is a Linux distribution that is based on Ubuntu and includes many Christian specific themes and applications.

Sabily Linux is a Linux distribution that comes with a beautifully customized Unity Desktop. It contains tons of useful religious applications for Quran reading, prayer time, ritual related apps, books, and DVD containing sacred text recitation.

Bodhi Linux is a Linux that can be used as a regular distro for anybody, despite the strong Buddhist connection to it. The Desktop is named “Enlightenment” and it delivers a “Minimalistic” experience. You know the deal. The whole distro is damn light. Takes less than 100MB of RAM on boot.

Ubuntu Satanic Edition is quite an anti-religious I can say. I thought it was a joke, but seems it is not a satire Linux distro. But, it does not contain any satanic verse or calls you to join their satanic cults. Rather, it’s geared toward metal music fans. It contains free metal music, audio plugins, and their site contains some good blog posts and suggestions about hardware.

Apartheid Linux

This is the worst and shameful Linux distro I have ever come across. I don’t want to talk about it much but its a distro for white nationalist. It is described to be a racist Linux distro that is built for a white supremacist to hide their identity online. This is still actively in development and being promoted by the anti-semantic racist idiots from a forum. Even the logo looks like a Nazi symbol.

Conclusion: So here you go. I have compiled a list of weird, unusual, and some rare distributions. From Linux to not so Linux, from cool to dangerous, from religious to stupid and shameful. I hope you enjoyed this list so far. I was about to add some Linux distro that disappeared suddenly and I don’t recall their origin or even name. But I will add them whenever I find out. Thanks for reading.