To this day, I can still remember the first time I logged into Linux and how it looked. It was Caldera Open Linux 1.0 with the Fvwm95 desktop. It was ugly (even at the time) and completely different from any desktop I'd used. At the same time, it was a lot of fun learning something completely different while also discovering what a truly stable operating system could be. It's been a long, long time since those first steps, and every so often, I feel the need to harken back to those days, even if only to remind myself how far the operating system has come. Also: The best old-school Linux window managers that still hold up Recently, I stumbled upon Exe GNU Linux and, as usual, my curiosity was piqued. This distribution is based on Devuan GNU/Linux and uses the Trinity Desktop (which is a fork of KDE 3.5). The reason you might be interested in Trinity is that it was forked from the version of KDE prior to it becoming KDE Plasma. So, if you want to find out what this particular desktop was like before it evolved into something more modern, Trinity is what you want. So, essentially, what Exe GNU Linux offers is a Linux desktop that looks and feels like it's from the early 2000s. But is it a viable Linux distribution for the modern era? I decided to install it and find out. Exe GNU Linux key features First off, let's consider why you might want to try Exe GNU/Linux. Here are the key features: Also: The 5 best rolling release Linux distributions - and why you should be using one Systemd-free - Because it's based on Devuan, Exe GNU Linux doesn't use the systemd startup service. Although I find systemd to be an outstanding tool, there are many people in the Linux community who find systemd too complex and bloated.Lightweight - Exe GNU Linux is lightweight and fast, making it ideal for older or underpowered hardware.Simplified installation - Unlike those distributions of yore, Exe GNU Linux is fairly straightforward to install.Avoids non-free repositories - If you want a distribution that is pre-free/libre software, Exe GNU Linux is a great option. My first impressions Right out of the gate, I found that Exe GNU Linux did, in fact, remind me very much of Linux from my early days… with a twist. For example, I combed through the desktop menu to see what came pre-installed and found that the menu was full of applications, many of which I probably would never use. When I first started using Linux, most distributions were loaded with software geared toward scientific uses. Also: 5 lightweight Linux distributions that will bring your old PC back to life Exe GNU Linux felt the same way, so I immediately searched for a package manager GUI and found Synaptic. Upon starting the app, it requested the root user's password, but I had disabled the root user at login. To get around this, I opened a terminal window and issued the command: sudo synaptic I typed my user password, and Synaptic opened. That's kind of how things went in those early days. There always seemed to be an extra step needed to do just about everything. I searched Synaptic for LibreOffice, and it came up empty. That didn't seem right. No matter how many times I searched, it came up empty. Even an attempt at installing LibreOffice from the command line failed. What to do? Also: The best Linux distributions for beginners: Expert tested and reviewed It turns out there was a lot to do, and I had to call upon my old-school skills to get it working. First off, the time/date was incorrect, which prevented me from accessing the LibreOffice site. I had to run the date command like so: sudo date --set="2025-04-21 09:02:00" Once I had that done, I could successfully access the LibreOffice site and download the installer files. Fortunately, that didn't send me into a dependency spiral, and in a couple of minutes, I had LibreOffice installed. Now, Exe GNU Linux was a bit more usable for me. The next problem I had to surmount was the fact that the desktop window was too small. I was using Exe GNU Linux as a virtual machine in VirtualBox. Normally, I'd only have to insert the guest additions and run the command ./VboxLinuxAdditions.run (inside the mounted VirtualBox folder). Unfortunately, the folder wouldn't mount because it couldn't find the /media/cdrom folder. I opened a terminal and created the folder with sudo mkdir /media/cdrom. I could then mount the guest additions and run the command. Also: 5 Linux distros that offer something for everyone - from beginners to pros That led me to a dependency spiral where I couldn't get bzip2 installed (it wasn't found in the repositories). To get around that, I had to locate the bzip2 deb file (which took much longer than it should), install it with dpkg, and then fix the broken installation with sudo apt-get install -f. The dependency spiral didn't end there because I also had to install the kernel headers. I then went into Synaptic and enabled all of the extra repositories and still came up empty. Eventually, I gave up on getting the guest additions installed because it wasn't necessary for the review (but would have helped with screenshots). Who is Exe GNU Linux for? First off, Exe GNU Linux is not for those with little to no Linux experience. You do need to have at least a fundamental understanding of how Linux works because you will run into issues that require some creative solutions. Also: 5 most beautiful Linux distributions: 'Equal parts user-friendly and eye candy' For those who do have a decent understanding of the open-source OS, Exe GNU Linux is a treat because it shrugs off modernity in favor of old-school Linux. Exe GNU Linux can be a bit of a challenge, but if you want to dive into a Linux distribution that's going to teach you more about the OS than, say, Ubuntu or Linux Mint, Exe GNU Linux is a great path to take. If you are up for a challenge, Exe GNU Linux is a lot of fun, especially given that it'll give you some insight into what Linux was like before it got all fancy and simple. If you're interested in giving Exe GNU Linux a try, download the ISO from Sourceforge. Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.