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ZDNET's key takeaways

• RefreshOS 3.0 is a brilliant Linux distribution.
• This OS has ease-of-use, beauty, performance, and stability.
• You can install and use RefreshOS for free.

I've tested so many Linux distributions over the years that I can safely say that I've forgotten more than most users have tried. Since I started my path as a writer covering Linux and open source, my main goal has been to find ways to introduce people to the Linux operating system. To do that, I've spent decades keeping tabs on distributions that make sense for new users. That journey has led me to the likes of Ubuntu, elementary OS, Linux Mint, and so many others.

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Recently, I was reminded of RefreshOS, which I once proclaimed was the Linux distro even a Windows user could love. That was version 2.0. Recently, version 3.0 was released, and it seriously ups the user-friendly game. 

The developers have stuck with the Debian/KDE Plasma combination and have opted to use more recent versions (Debian 13 and KDE Plasma 6.3.6). Although RefreshOS doesn't go with the most recent releases, it's very much on par with the likes of Debian and Ubuntu.

RefreshOS also uses the Wayland compositor, which is a change from version 2.0's use of X11. You also get kernel 6.12, so you know it starts with a rock-solid foundation.

But what makes RefreshOS 3.0 so special that I would consider it a top contender for new Linux users?

It starts with what people in the Linux community refer to as "sane defaults." Simply put, sane defaults are options that are applied to the OS out of the box that make sense for users. 

For example, instead of having to build or install anything after installing the OS, RefreshOS arrives fully prepared for you to do what you need. You get drivers and firmware for your hardware, codecs for multimedia, logical audio settings and power management, and a carefully selected collection of applications, such as VLC, LibreOffice, GIMP, Kdenlive, Thunderbird, Elisa, PhotoQt, KWave Sound Editor, KolourPaint, Pluma, Weather, Brave web browser, KDE Connect, KMouth, and more.

The Reload Menu

Another addition to the RefreshOS desktop is the Reload Menu. This is a new desktop menu, specific to RefreshOS. There are two primary differences between the stock KDE Plasma menu and the Reload Menu: Categories have been moved to the right side, and the ability to pin the menu has been added.

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What does it mean to be able to pin the menu? If you click the pin icon, the Reload Menu stays open even after launching an app. This feature comes in handy when you need to open multiple apps and don't want to have to keep going back and opening the menu.

You also get custom system styling with three RefreshOS themes: RefreshOS Hybrid, RefreshOS Light, and RefreshOS Super Dark. By default, the Hybrid theme is chosen, which uses a combination of the light and dark themes (dark for the panel and menu, light for applications). Although I'm not a fan of dark themes, the Hybrid theme is a great compromise. 

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I immediately switched to the RefreshOS Light theme, because I prefer light themes, and it looks quite lovely. After that, I switched the Window Decorations to BackWin-Light, enabled the floating panel, and wound up with a gorgeous desktop.

Bravo to the RefreshOS team.

Performance

On the performance front, I have zero complaints with RefreshOS. After all, it's Debian and KDE Plasma… what more could you ask for in a speedy desktop OS? Apps opened quickly, and animations were smooth. I even enabled several desktop effects to see if it would hinder performance, and still the desktop worked like a champ.

Universal package manager

RefreshOS also includes the Flatpak package manager by default. However, the one thing that is missing is KDE Discover/Flatpak integration. Even from within Settings, there's no visible way to make the connection.

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To remedy that, I opened Discover and installed "Discover - Flatpak backend." Even then, I discovered that Flatpak wasn't set up to use Flathub. So, I issued the command:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Once that was taken care of, Flatpak was ready to go. To my surprise, it was also automatically set as the default in Discover > Settings (over the previous default, Snap).

Would I recommend RefreshOS?

You bet I would. RefreshOS is a beautiful, easy-to-use distribution that could easily be adopted by anyone, regardless of whether they have any Linux experience or not. RefreshOS's sane defaults really are sane, the Reload Menu makes perfect sense, and the curated apps are just what you need to get going.

And with the combination of Debian's stability, KDE Plasma's performance, and the RefreshOS team's design choices, this is a distribution that everyone should consider.

If I've piqued your interest, download an ISO of RefreshOS now.