I am a professional Linux user and this distro is one of the most unique I have tried.

ZDNET’s key findings

• Rhino Linux is a rolling release Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that is now available and ready to impress.
• It’s beautiful and offers one of the most useful command line package managers on the market.
• There is no GUI to install software.

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If you are looking for a Linux operating system that has a unique (and cool) point of view, I suggest you try Rhino LinuxIt is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution with rolling releases, meaning that all the software is updated as soon as the developers release the new version. In other words, your desktop will always be up to date. And because of the way rolling releases work, you don’t have to worry about making major upgrades from version 1 to 2 or 10 to 11, or whatever would come next with a traditional approach.

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Rhino uses a modern version of the highly efficient and customizable Xfce desktop (dubbed “Unicorn”) to help make the interface immediately familiar to anyone who logs in. You’ll find a dock on the left edge of the screen that contains launchers for common applications, access to the application grid (where you can find all of your installed software), and a handy search bar (Ulauncher) that lets you quickly find and launch any installed application (or even application settings) that you need.

I’m not usually a big fan of recommending the Xfce desktop to users who don’t have much experience with the Linux desktop or who don’t have the knowledge to learn a new interface quickly. Thanks to the sheer number of configuration options, Xfce can be a bit overwhelming. At the same time, the variety of settings makes Xfce highly customizable, which is exactly what the developers at Rhino did when they designed this desktop.

For those who want a desktop that makes accessing files easier, the developers of Rhino have added a really nifty tool to the top bar. You’ll find a list of a few folders you have in your home directory (Files, Documents, Music, Pictures, Video). If you click on one of those entries, you’ll see a list of the most recently accessed files within the directory. Click on the file you want to open with the default associated application.

Remember when I said Rhino is an Ubuntu-based distribution? It is, but you wouldn’t know it. The big clue is that Rhino opts for the Pacstall package manager instead of the traditional apt-get. That’s not to say that apt-get isn’t on the system – it is. But with Rhino Linux, there’s a much easier path to getting the software you want installed.

Speaking of software installation, this is where Rhino does itself a disservice (at least in the eyes of a new user). There is no graphical user interface for software installation. Yes, aside from updating the operating system, Rhino software installation is done entirely via the command line.

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Don’t worry though, as the Rhino developers have done their best to simplify installing packages from the command line. First, when you first run the installed operating system, you’ll be presented with a window that allows you to select the package managers you want to use. You can select between Snap, Flatpak, and AppImages (or all three).

The developers then added a handy tool (rhino-pkg) that makes command line installation very easy.

For example, if you want to install the LibreOffice office suite (which is not installed by default), you must first run the command:

rhino-pkg install libreoffice

The output of the above command will list all available LibreOffice programs and the package manager used to install them. Scroll up and you will find the list. libreoffice-core (apt). You will also see a number in the left column (in this case, 7). Type 7, press Enter on your keyboard, verify the installation, and rhino-pkg will take care of the rest.

Once that command is complete, the software will be waiting. Open the application grid, click on the LibreOffice launcher you want (such as Writer or Calc), and you’re good to go.

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A little trick I tried was to install GNOME Software with the command:

sudo apt install gnome-software -y

In theory, this would give you a GUI application that you can use to install software. Unfortunately, the tool didn’t work exactly as intended, as the main page of the application remained blank and the search for software to install failed.

This is fine because the rhino-pkg command line tool is fairly easy to use (as long as you’re familiar with the basics of using apt, snap, and flatpak).

In the end, would I recommend Rhino Linux to someone who has never touched Linux? Probably not.

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But to anyone who doesn’t run from the command line like they might catch a bad case of the nerds, I’d say dive into Rhino Linux It’s a great way to try something new with Linux. However, if the developers create a graphical user interface for rhino-pkg, I would gladly recommend Rhino Linux to any type of user, from beginners to advanced.