Ubuntu-based elementary OS 6 'Odin' Beta Linux distro now available for download

Why don’t more desktop computer users run Linux-based operating systems? Well, software compatibility aside, there is fear of change and the unknown. For a user to switch from Windows, it need to be a fairly simple affair. For years, just installing a Linux distribution was a daunting task. These days, it can be faster and easier than installing Windows 10 -- depending on the distro, of course.

For beginners, once installed, their chosen Linux distro should be easy to use with an intuitive desktop environment. I'm a big fan of GNOME, but understandably, not all folks like it -- especially Linux novices. One particular Linux-based desktop operating system has been focusing on accessibility to all -- elementary OS. This distribution is polished and focuses on being easy to use. It is a good choice for both experts and beginners alike. And now, elementary OS 6, code-named "Odin," has officially achieved Beta status.

"Developers and testers, it's the day you've been waiting for: elementary OS 6 Beta is available now! We first started talking publicly about elementary OS 6 in August of last year. In the time since, we've been hard at work tackling the ambitious scope of work we laid out for ourselves while also dealing with the fallout of a global pandemic, travel restrictions, and loss in our own circles of family and friends. Despite all of that, we’re proud of the work we’ve done and are excited to get it into the hands of developers and testers as we work to complete the stable release," says Cassidy James Blaede, Co-founder and CXO, elementary OS.

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Blaede further explains, "Beta releases are a snapshot of Early Access builds once the developer platform has stabilized. At this point, we invite app developers to begin building and testing their apps on elementary OS. They're still built on the daily repos, so we still caution against using beta releases as your daily driver, and it is still not possible to cleanly upgrade to the stable release. But things should be more stable especially around developer-facing APIs."

You can read more about the elementary OS 6 planned changes here. If you want to test or try the Beta release, you can download an ISO here. Should you install it, though? Unless you plan on providing feedback to the developers, probably not. For those that just want to try it out of curiosity, you should only do so on a spare computer or in a virtual machine. After all, a pre-release operating system will have bugs, including ones that could lead to data loss.

Photo credit: Trismegist san / Shutterstock