On the flip side, the Linux ecosystem has several flavors that feature a bare-minimum number of packages and services.
Arch Linux is one of my favorite Linux-based desktop OSes. I have written at length why I use Arch Linux. If you want an OS that gives you complete control over your computing, Arch Linux is the one.
With the Ubuntu distribution of Linux turning 21 years old this month, students' opinions vary on its relative merits.