Thinking about trying other distro(s)

[DoYouKubuntu]

Since settling on (K)Ubuntu back in 2005, I haven't bothered trying any other distros. Prior to that I tried a lot, some of which I liked better than others, but once I hit on *buntu I just didn't see the point of trying any others, as I really liked it and it served my purposes, so why bother?!

But now I'm kind of getting that old itch to try some other distros--just for the hell of it. I'm very loyal to Kubuntu and cannot imagine finding another distro that I'd like so much better that I'd jump ship. But I have enough computers that I can experiment to my heart's content and without regard to wiping a drive if I'm unhappy.

So, does anyone have any suggestions/personal experiences with other Linux distros they'd like to share?

By the way, when I first started using Kubuntu in 2005, the release was 5.04 and its name was Hoary Hedgehog; the only previous release was 4.10, named Warty Warthog. After 5.04 the names have [sort of] gone in alphabetical order, starting with Breezy Badger. I've always wondered why the switch? I've kind of guessed that the alphabetical thing hadn't occurred to anyone yet when the first two releases came out, and then one day someone at Canonical said, "DUH! We should name them alphabetically!"

[woodsmoke]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Hi
A) In terms of plain old usefullness, workability and overall ability to TWEAK to one's heart's content, SuperOS. BUT....there is no forum, and little discussion at the Ubu forums. One is on one's own and I think that it is possibly going to go the way of Unity if it has not already done so. I, personally, have a LTS version which should last a few more years. In terms of "down and dirty" just plain workin' for EVERYthing, it is the best and was my main squeeze until I went to Kubu. However, I keep TWO fully tweaked hard drives with it on them for "just in case" when I just GOTTA get things done.

B) In terms of something truely DIFFERENT, the previous version of #! which still had one tweaking the desktop using the file system and was not based on Debian. When they went to Debian, to me it lost a lot of its "flavour". However, the Debian version does do conky well and one can really do transparency with not having to jump through major hoops. For those who really like "art" in the desktop, the tweaking of conky with a dedicated wallpaper really can be a ...work of art.

C) Aptosid is really "cutting edge" but also "works". It really isn't something that is signficantly "arty" even given the weird scorpion that is the distros icon, but that bleeding edge stuff is fun to fiddle with.

D) There are several "completely free" distros but the only one which I found to be REALLY workable was TrisQuel. However, I ....just really DO need to have access to codecs and such because of my work at the college, so even though I like it, and still keep an updated hard drive with it on it, I don't actually "use" it much.

I found the community to be very helpful and friendly. ... But...one thing about Trisquel is that it is not "oriented" toward English users, so if someone became "expert" there one could really be of a great help.

http://trisquel.info/en

E) AVLinux is an interesting .....dedicated.....distro. There have been a lot of "dedicated" distros that really do just hit a very small niche community, such as maybe a "firewall" Linux. However, AVLinux really is a workable, useable Audio Visual oriented Linux. The forum is a combination of AVLinux and "Remastersys" which is done by "Fragadelic".

Since there is always a great thrashing about in Linuxdom about "multimedia" and GIMP, etc. I always thought that this distro really should be getting much more recognition because it really could pull a bunch of people from the Windblows world into Linux.

It is now listed at Distrowatch so I can only hope that it somehow moves to the mainstream of Linux.

The developer of Remastersys, "Fragadelic" is involved but the main dev is, as I understand it, Glen McArthur. (The FORUM for both distros is hosted by the main developer of RevLinuxOS "RevLinux or Gene" which got through a first release, but due to health problems and hacking of the servers the development has slowed considerably.)

But, getting back to AV Linux, it even has a .pdf manual!

www.bandshed.net/pdf/AV502Manual.pdf

http://www.bandshed.net/AVLinux.html

So....hope this gives you a little start!

Come back and tell me what you think, good, bad or indifferent.

woodsmoke

[woodsmoke]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Note: I modified some of the above post if anyone wants to glance at it.

I FORGOT.....possibly the BEST Linux for somebody with your experience.

IQunix.

it is JUST the OS.

You build your own gnome as it were.

AND it has all the basics there like printer drivers etc. so you can concentrate "on the distro".

Back when I was at RevLinuxOS we were really fretting over how to get "social" stuff onto the desktop.

Well, it never went anywhere, putting the socail stuff on the desktop that is.

So, I ran across IQunix and developed a way to have ALL of the "twittery" things corralled on the desktop in a useful way. And threw in a couple of other things that I thought college kids, and maybe high school, kids would find interesting and useful for school without making it "too schooly(sic)" as it were.

However, one has to host such a beast and I didn't know if I could get sourceforge or whoever to do so, so..didn't follow through. However, I did make a completely functional distro, using the apps in the distro and also a Remastersys constructed version.

So.... there is a PURE OS for ya!!

http://iqunix.sourceforge.net/

woodsmoke

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Wow, woodsmoke, what amazing input! I honestly haven't even HEARD of most of what you mentioned--but it has been almost 7 years since I really thought about other distros. When I posted the blog post that's in my sig, I linked to several well known Linux distros--distros I'd actually heard of!--but other than that I've been totally out of the loop now for years.

Thanks for the great info.

[woodsmoke]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

you are quite welcome!

And, considering your considerable ... .... expertise, I fully expect that whichever you decide to fiddle with that it will be rippin' and snortin' in a whole new way quite soon!

Be sure to keep us apprised of what you find.

woodsmoke

[bsniadajewski]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

You know there are always the well-known ones that have recently released new versions like Fedora (16) and openSUSE (12.1). OpenSUSE is definitely a good one to try. It is usually very stable. It has a top-notch system configuration tool in YaST, and good third-party repositories available like Packman and OpenSUSe Factory (somewhat like the PPA system Ubuntu and all its derivatives can use). Mageia can also be a good one to try, but it still has some problems with urpmi that could screw up your install if you're not carteful.

[SteveRiley]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

DEB and Upstart have become so familiar to me that going to anything that's either RPM or systemd would feel like starting over.

So if I ever got the hankering to do that...to start over...I think I'd just go straight to Linux from Scratch. Seems like the logical next step on anyone's way to constructing motherboard factories and then chip fabricators

[woodsmoke]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Steve:
Your comment about manufacturing mobos etc. dredged up a thought that I've mentioned several times on Linux forii.

if every single active linux user(somebody that maybe looks at a forum once a month) gave just one buckola to Canonical there would be several million buckolas available to actually produce a line of dedicated Linux computers AND put them into stores which, has always seemed to be the critical step to me.

I quite realize that most of the people here probably detest Wal-Mart but let me play the devil's advocate.

The "average person" basically has very few options as to "what to do to fill up the day". Work, go home to the family, watch the telly, maybe read a book, play or work in the yard, or "go out".

Going out is basically going to eat, maybe play some kind of "sport", usually "watch" the sport, go to a movie etc.

But what "most people" do when they "go out with the family" ...."most of the time" is not pay twenty bucks each to go to a movie or watch a sport, or go putt putt golfing... is go "shopping"

Usually at some place like Wal-Mart or Sears, or Target or "the grocery store".

And the kids are along and they "want something"....

Now the kids get a "lot of things" like food, candy, a comic, a toy etc. but they increasingly get a "cheap game" or a "cheap video"

It is my "personal opinion" that the choke point for Linuxdom to go "mainstream" is the "box store shelf".

When there can be cds of "games" or something that cost five bucks, to cover packaging etc. that are "Linux" and there is a cheap laptop with Linux on it in the same store, then I think Linux would rocket because most "adults" do e-mail, putz on the web etc. The kids "play games" putz on the web and do homework.

But you say..... they can download everything for FREE!!! that is the Linux way....

Yes....but free does not put money into Wal-Marts pocket.

An example is a screensaver that Gene over at Klikit got worked out with a commercial company. It was an knock down, gorgeous beautiful screensaver of a "fish tank" with neon tetras in it....just beautiful.

But a commercial item.

When the kid is hollering that he wants something and the parents give him ten bucks and he goes to the "game aisle" while the wife, him and the baby are looking at tellys what does the kid see? We all know...MS games, MAC games, Wi games etc.

But, if there was some kind of "commercial" Linux game.... something with "added value" over the regular Linux offering.

And example is "Bejewelled".... I never have really been able to work out the timeline of when what got made but the Linux version is "Gweled".

The way I understand it the original version was "Gweled"...which was somehow obtained by PopCap games and the rest is history. Anybody that has used a Windows machine and has gone to PopCap games or saw the cd in the box store has probably played Bejeweled.

Now, Gweled, does not have the "crystal falling" or the "Level UP!" sounds but the appearance and the game play and music are identical.

So....if there were a FLOOD of "Linux games" that had some relatively small feature that was not included put into the games section of repos but the "enhanced" version was put into stores...

The kid with his ten bucks would already have played the "repo version" but now could say...hmmmm why don't I get the "enhanced version" instead of a Windblows game?

just a thought.

one buck per person if EVERYBODY gave just one buck, I think could cause use of Linux to explode.

just a thought.

woodsmoke

[SteveRiley]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Very interesting supposition, woodsmoke. In theory, it sounds plausible. In practice, I think it would be more problematic.

I have several .NET 1.0 apps that I can still run just fine on a Windows 7 box. Mind you, .NET 1.0 is ancient, but the DLLs happily co-exist with their more modern counterparts.

What happens when Junior's Linux box wants to dist-upgrade and libwhatever-0.5-ubuntu2 is replaced by libwhatever-0.6-ubuntu1? The package manager for libwhatever has deemed that the new version cannot, under no circumstances, co-exist with the older version. Therefore, Junior's favorite game now refuses to run, because the game's package manager hard-coded a dependency for libwhatever-0.5-ubuntu2. Junior now is ready to throw an unholy tantrum, and waits until he's in a public place to maximize his parents' embarrassment.

Don't misunderstand: I'm completely in favor of actions that will further spread the usage, if not the clamor for, more Linux. But for this idea to succeed, the community will need to radically shift its current approach regarding backwards compatibility.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

According to an article Doc Searls wrote recently in Linux Journal, Linux is now the most-used operating system. I don't remember the specifics, but I'm guessing that's largely due to the wildly successful and popular Android OS. The problem is that many, if not most, Android users either have no idea that they're now using Linux or they don't care. They just like what their smartphone or tablet can do and how it looks, and that's that. If these same folks realized that their PCs and laptops could be running the same base OS as their phone--and that it's free and that they don't have to continually pay out the ass for software upgrades--I'm quite confident that many of them would dump windoze in a heartbeat.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Linda,
When I ran my first Linux distro I wasn't presented with a marriage contract! Were you?

I often try different Linux distros. It's a lot of fun if you have the time, which I do. 8) I try a LiveCD or USB first, and if it merits futher study I fire up VB and create another guest OS, right along side my licensed copy of XP. I've found several that are just as good as Kubuntu, from the DE POV, but none were significantly better to merit replacing Kubuntu. The KDE version of Linux Mint was very nice. It almost flipped me. Fedora, Mandriva and PCLOS are usually nice, but I prefer the deb over the rpm. I haven't tried OpenSUSE since Novell died, but I would have never adopted it while MS and Novell were buddies. Corporations that "partner" with Microsoft seem to experience mortality problems.

As a long time user of Linux you know that underneath, Linux is Linux. There are so many flavors for the DE that anyone can find one that appeals to them more than any other. IF you try another distro and find one that you like better than Kubuntu then GREAT! You'll probably find someone here on this forum who is using it, regardless of which one "it" is, that you won't have to change homes! 8)

[woodsmoke]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Steve wrote:

Don't misunderstand: I'm co......

radically shift its current approach regarding backwards compatibility.

An excellent point which I had not considered!

woodsmoke

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Linda,

When I ran my first Linux distro I wasn't presented with a marriage contract! Were you?

No. But I do have my diskette somewhere in my garage, in a box I haven't unpacked yet [after 5+ years since I moved], from 1991 with one of the first Linux kernel releases on it. Of course, I don't have a single computer with a diskette DRIVE now, but still.

I often try different Linux distros. It's a lot of fun if you have the time, which I do. 8)

I used to--and I DIDN'T have the time back then, but I did it anyway. Now that I have tons of time on my hands, the desire is no longer there. (I've been to hell and back, healthwise, during that time and now I'm just more inclined to stick with what's already working.)

I try a LiveCD or USB first, and if it merits futher study I fire up VB and create another guest OS, right along side my licensed copy of XP. I've found several that are just as good as Kubuntu, from the DE POV, but none were significantly better to merit replacing Kubuntu. The KDE version of Linux Mint was very nice. It almost flipped me. Fedora, Mandriva and PCLOS are usually nice, but I prefer the deb over the rpm. I haven't tried OpenSUSE since Novell died, but I would have never adopted it while MS and Novell were buddies. Corporations that "partner" with Microsoft seem to experience mortality problems.

Interesting. Thanks for the input.

As a long time user of Linux you know that underneath, Linux is Linux. There are so many flavors for the DE that anyone can find one that appeals to them more than any other. IF you try another distro and find one that you like better than Kubuntu then GREAT! You'll probably find someone here on this forum who is using it, regardless of which one "it" is, that you won't have to change homes! 8)

Since it's been so long since I tried any other flavor of Linux, I really don't know how other distros match up with *buntu. I'd expect the standard *nix file structure--/, /usr, /usr/bin, /mnt, /etc, and so on--but what about user accounts? Is there uniformity so that /home/[username] is the default location for user accounts? A million years ago on SCO Xenix, I'd set up user accounts in /user [which I created] instead of the default /usr, in order to distinguish the two. I don't really remember when /home became...well, HOME, for user accounts, but I'm so used to it now I'd set them up that way even if a particular distro didn't do that by default.

I'm also very...obsessive!...when it comes to installation locations. I LIKE consistency. I set up all my computers in exactly the same way, with the same partitions named the same way, and I install things in the same directories, etc.

(I'm not sure where I was going with this but, oh well!)

[GreyGeek]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Not "Linda"? Oh well, I've been getting a lot of brain farts lately.

I really don't know how other distros match up with *buntu.

Allow me to suggest that your first distro test be with Linux Mint KDE, WHEN it is released (or Gnome or LXDE now).

Another is PCLinuxOS, which is an rpm based distro.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Thinking about trying other distro(s)

Not "Linda"? Oh well, I've been getting a lot of brain farts lately.

That's okay. I used to have a lot of brain farts, too--but post brain surgery they got a lot worse!

I really don't know how other distros match up with *buntu.

Allow me to suggest that your first distro test be with Linux Mint KDE, WHEN it is released (or Gnome or LXDE now).

Another is PCLinuxOS, which is an rpm based distro.

I should have mentioned--and maybe this is where I was going in my last reply [but had a brain fart!]--that what I want to do is wipe / so I can install the new distro on it, but leave my /home and /data partitions as is. I'm guessing that regardless of distribution, this should not be a problem.