5 Reasons Ubuntu Is Not the Best Windows Replacement

Switching to Linux? Many will say to try out Ubuntu. Thing is, if you’re after a Linux distribution similar to the Windows desktop you already know, Ubuntu might not be the one you want.

1

Ubuntu Has an Unfamiliar Interface

Windows has changed over the years, but there are certain things about it that people expect to be true. There is a taskbar at the bottom that displays your open apps and maybe a few of your pinned favorites. The Start Menu sits to the left of those icons. The system tray and clock are in the bottom-right.

This interface is so ubiquitous that Chromebooks function the exact same way, as does the Samsung DeX interface that comes with many Samsung phones and tablets.

Ubuntu doesn’t. Ubuntu apps are arranged along the left side of the screen instead of the bottom. There is no Start Menu. The app launcher looks more like a tablet’s than that of a Windows PC. The clock is in the top-center. Status icons appear in the top-right, and don’t call that area a system tray. In fact, you’ll need to install an extension to make it function like one.

For many of us, these changes are trivial. For people who like the muscle memory that they have built up with Windows, these changes will make Ubuntu feel like an uncomfortable place to land.

2

Your Fate Is Still In Corporate Hands

If you want to leave Windows because you are tired of being beholden to a corporation, Ubuntu won’t exactly set you free. Ubuntu is a corporate-backed project. While it is built overwhelmingly using free and open source software that the broader community provides, the particulars about the Ubuntu distribution are determined by Canonical, a private company based in the UK.

This means that as an Ubuntu user, you will still see your desktop change in ways you might not like for reasons that are primarily market-driven. In the past, the Ubuntu desktop used to ship with Amazon integration enabled by default. There was even a preinstalled shortcut to Amazon on your dock.

Canonical spent years developing its Unity desktop interface with commercial ambitions in mind, then scrapped it when neither other businesses nor other source communities showed much interest. Now Ubuntu uses the latest version of the GNOME desktop environment instead.

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3

There’s Still Some Minor Telemetry

If you are leaving Windows because you are fed up with Microsoft’s tracking, you will absolutely have a more private experience using Ubuntu instead. There’s no comparison, really. Yet Ubuntu will still request some information about your system.

It’s understandable, really. Canonical wants to get an idea what kind of hardware people are installing Ubuntu onto, so they know what to develop for.

You can choose not to send this information while installing Ubuntu, and you can disable it later in System Settings. Unlike Microsoft, there’s nothing sneaky or shady about it. Yet compared to other Linux distros, even this amount of telemetry was enough to stir up controversy. On Linux, it’s common not to gather any data about you at all.

4

Apps Come In Several Different Formats

There are many different ways to install software on Microsoft Windows, but for the most part, there is one package format that is really dominant: EXE files.

On Ubuntu, the story is a little bit more complex. If you look for software, there are three formats you can expect to encounter. Snap packages are the default option that Canonical is pushing most heavily. Before snaps, Ubuntu used DEB packages, and some apps will still come in that format, especially if you install them through the terminal using the Advanced Package Tool (APT).

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If there’s one thing you get with Linux distros, it’s choice.

The increasingly dominant format across Linux more broadly is Flatpak, which is the default on the Steam Deck and on distros like Fedora Silverblue, which I personally prefer over Ubuntu. You can install Flatpak apps on Ubuntu as well.

A new Windows user may encounter quirks and think an app is busted when the problem is actually due to the format instead. For example, the file picker in the Flatpak version of an app may not have access to the entire system due to its tighter security settings, while the DEB version works as expected. What newcomer would think the problem lies in how they installed the app?

5

There Are Ubuntu-Specific Bugs

There are some issues you may encounter on Ubuntu that you don’t encounter on other Linux desktops. This is because Ubuntu often makes changes to the software that the broader community develops, and issues can arise from these changes.

For example, Ubuntu has issues with touch screens on two-in-one laptops. You might encounter these quirks and think that Linux isn’t ready. The reality is that alternative distros, like Fedora, provided a perfectly smooth experience almost a decade ago. Ubuntu introduces bugs thanks to the extensions it has added to make its desktop look the way it does.

As a long-time Linux user, it’s relatively easy for me to understand and hunt down the cause of these issues. I wouldn’t expect first-time Linux users to walk away from the experience with any understanding deeper than the idea that Linux just isn’t ready. Ubuntu may be dominant, but that doesn’t mean it provides the most stable and bug-free experience.

If Ubuntu isn’t the best distro for Windows users, what is? When I first switched from Windows to Linux many years ago, I explicitly wanted something new, but I heard it said then, and I still hear now, that Linux Mint remains the best Windows replacement.