The Regata OS was initially launched in 2012 with the proposal to offer a Linux distribution – nothing conventional – that could provide a more familiar environment for newcomers in a world far beyond Windows while adapting to the user taking advantage of their experience with the PC, reducing the learning curve.
Based on the popular openSUSE, the Regata OS initially used the Cinnamon desktop environment, which was later replaced by KDE Plasma in Regata OS 14 Lion, released in October 2013. Since then, Plasma has been the default desktop environment.
On July 4, 2021, Regata OS 21 Challenger was released, which arrived as the most important version of the operating system ever released. The Regata OS Challenger brought major changes in the way it was developed, starting to use, for example, the most recent and stable version of Plasma instead of the LTS (Long-term support) versions of the graphical environment, allowing to offer users a better experience, as well as new features and functionalities.
Currently, the latest version of Regata OS is 22.1 (codename Discovery).
Regata OS Apps
In order to create an entire ecosystem that could improve users’ experience on Regata OS, “exclusive” applications were developed that could meet users’ needs, such as the Max-Q app, which helps owners of laptops with hybrid graphics to take better advantage of their hardware, with the app letting them choose which apps should run on the device’s most powerful GPU.
The Regata OS also has its own app store, which offers selected software for a better user experience. This means that before an app makes its debut on the Regata OS Store, the developer team runs some tests to make sure everything will work as expected. Also, you can install and remove apps with just one click (like you already do with your smartphone).
The original Regata OS applications are open source, which means you will be able to see them running on a different Linux distribution. But until that happens, they will be “for your eyes only”.
Ready for those who love games
In an attempt to make the Regata OS one of the best places for those who love to play games, the operating system also focuses on gamers. For example, for those who bought games outside of Steam, there is the Game Access app, which brings together the most varied game launchers in one place.
Furthermore, with Game Access, the user does not have to worry about complex configurations. Games run on top of a custom version of the Wine compatibility layer (based on the latest version of Wine-GE-Proton).
However, if Game Access is not enough for players, it is possible to find popular apps such as Lutris, Heroic Games Launcher, Bottles and Minigalaxy in the Regata OS Store. The Regata OS also features a custom Linux Kernel, which has some optimizations to help improve game performance.
A Linux distribution that adapts to you
There are many Linux distributions that claim to offer ease of use, but few of them are really willing to adapt to users, especially those that come from Windows, whether you like it or not, it is the most used operating system today.
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, Regata OS seeks to adapt as much as possible to new users in the Linux world, but while maintaining its own identity.
You can learn more about Regata OS from the developer’s official website. For those needing help, you can get support through Reddit or the Regata OS group on Telegram.