Ubuntu already has 11 flavors. Time to expand the family or one left over?

Canonical has released a new version of its operating system, and the official flavors have followed suit. Until 22.04 there were 8 brothers, but after the incorporation of Ubuntu Unity, Ubuntu Cinnamon and the return of Edubuntu, now there are more than ten, raising the mark to 11. Having gone up from 10 has made a psychological barrier pass, and it is at this moment when one considers things: are they enough, is one missing or should someone else arrive? to the family Ubuntu?

The answers may not be exclusive. I have an opinion about it, but I know perfectly well that what one does not like another can love. Each flavor has its reason for being, and it will be used more or less, but it will be used. Even so, I am going to write what I think, and also I'll talk about the remixes who are candidates to raise those 11 up to, at least, 14.

Ubuntu Cinnamon, sorry but...

I know full well that to release a Linux distribution, even a flavor, requires a lot of work. I also know that it was the first remix to appear about four years ago, but, without having anything personal against the project, it is a version that I personally think is superfluous. Cinnamon It is created by the Linux Mint project, which is nothing more than an Ubuntu-based distribution that does not have to go through the Canonical hoop. Without these ties, it offers a DEB version of Chromium and Firefox, for example. The official flavors have to use the snap version yes or yes, at least by default.

If I decided to use Ubuntu + Cinnamon, my choice would be without a doubt Linux Mint. Clement Lefebvre has been with his project for years, and the integration with his desktop is the best it can be. Of course, this is my opinion, and among those reading this article there will be others who prefer to have Canonical behind them, but I don't see the need for Ubuntu Cinnamon. It is not personal; it's overbooked.

Metapackages on other versions of Ubuntu

Then there are two other official flavors that give you food for thought: Ubuntu Studio and Edubuntu. Both are run by the same developer, although the Edubuntu leader is his wife, who had the idea of ​​bringing him back to life. Ubuntu Studio has long been considered disappearing, and part of the blame is that it's actually a Kubuntu with the audiovisual software metapackage, in quotes, so I don't know if it's superfluous or not. I see Edubuntu a little differently: if it is a system designed for education, I think it is better that everything is ready after the installation from scratch, I do not see anyone in any school installing Ubuntu and then the metapackage for education. But it's actually Ubuntu with that metapackage on top. That and a different logo. Are they too much?

Those who could enter

To reach the figure of 14, three more projects have to continue their development: those of Ubuntu Web, UbuntuDDE and Ubuntu Sway. The first one is quite stopped, if not completely stopped. It is the brainchild of Rudra Saraswat, who is also in charge of Ubuntu Unity and blendOS. The intention is to offer a alternative to open source Chrome OS, and allows you to use the /e/store and install Android applications, something that I have not been able to verify because it is necessary to have it installed natively (it does not go in virtual machines). Seeing as his latest ISO is 20.04, I doubt he's going to make the team. And it's a shame, because it has Firefox-based and Brave-based versions.

With the second things do not look better. UbuntuDDE It would be Ubuntu with Deepin desktop, very attractive visually and with its own most interesting applications, but its last version It came out a year ago now, coinciding with the release of Jamy Jellyfish (22.04). I guess Canonical will have an eye on it and won't give it a good vibe if they don't release an ISO every six months, so I wouldn't bet on it either.

Ubuntu Sway does look good

The last of the three remixes that are still out there would be Ubuntu Sway, who does have a version of the recently launched Lunar Lobster, and it looks very good. For starters, because, based on Ubuntu, he uses the Sway window manager, which makes him fast and a good choice for keyboard over mouse lovers. Among its characteristics is that it is free of snaps, something that on the one hand seems good to me and on the other I think it would have to change if it wanted to become an official flavor. But it is interesting, to the point that I have it on a USB and from time to time I work with it.

There are 11, it could be 14 and I open a debate: Are they left over, are they missing or both at the same time?