Endless OS is an unusual Linux distro in that its user interface is more like an Android smartphone or tablet than a Linux desktop computer platform.

Version 3.5.4, released on Jan. 17, brings parental controls and other refinements that make this distro a cool alternative to the Chromebook for home, educational and community use. Endless OS goes a long way to eliminating the learning curve attached to using more traditional Linux OSes.

This ease-of-use performance makes it a good selling point as a computing platform for kids and for groups of users within a school -- as well as in other agencies that control what users can access and configure.