So I was looking into running something besides Windows on my computer, and I've found a few good options. I' used Ubuntu for like a week already, and while I liked it, it just had some weird issues, mainly with the Unity interface bullshit but also in a few other regards. Anyways, the options I've found and liked are Xubuntu (http://www.xubuntu.org/), Mint (http://www.linuxmint.com/), and the most interesting choice, Zeven OS (http://www.zevenos.de/screenshots), which is based on Ubuntu but made to look and work more like BeOs. I also looked at ArchLinux and Gentoo, but they seemed a bit challenging for my beginner's experience.
Anyone have any other suggestions or comments about the ones mentioned?
Gentoo is awesome, but yeah I wouldn't start with it if you're new to Linux.
I'd try Kubuntu, it's just Ubuntu with KDE instead of GNOME (gui), which in my opinion is much more useful... and objectively far more customizable. It will only take a second to get used to after Windows, but you'll be hooked before you know it ;)
You're probably familiar with but the best part of Linux is package managers (aptitude for debian/ubuntu), so installing things is as simple as
apt-get install vnc4server
in Terminal. prepare to have actual control over your pc.
Interesting. I have yet to get over my allergy to Unix, which all Linux-launched operating systems grew from. If anybody has a "sales pitch" that would convince an old Unix person that a particular branch of Linux is not the headache that Unix is, I'm all ears.
It's not Vista. confuseddood;
Quote from: vziard on July 30, 2011, 11:14:27 AM
Gentoo is awesome, but yeah I wouldn't start with it if you're new to Linux.
I'd try Kubuntu, it's just Ubuntu with KDE instead of GNOME (gui), which in my opinion is much more useful... and objectively far more customizable. It will only take a second to get used to after Windows, but you'll be hooked before you know it ;)
You're probably familiar with but the best part of Linux is package managers (aptitude for debian/ubuntu), so installing things is as simple as
apt-get install vnc4server
in Terminal. prepare to have actual control over your pc.
I've used KDE before, and I fucking hate it. I don't really know why, but I just find everything about it either strange or obnoxious. I think xfce looks more my style.
I never got too into it when I used it, but I did do a little bit of stuff like that and the system worked fairly well.
Between Mint, Xubuntu, and Zeven though, what do you think would be best? I've heard good things about Mint. I wish I could talk to people with experience with Zeven, but it's an obscure german variant so I'm not sure I'm going to find many opinions.
Quote from: Khadafi on July 30, 2011, 06:16:17 PM
It's not Vista. confuseddood;
Naw. Ya don't say. n_u
Quote from: Clara Listensprechen on July 30, 2011, 06:53:48 PM
Naw. Ya don't say. n_u
honestly though, you don't really know how much you dislike vista until you start using another os. it's not bad on the level of windows ME, but there are so many better options. even if you insist on using windows, 7 is much better.
Quote from: Hiro on July 30, 2011, 06:26:21 PM
I've used KDE before, and I fucking hate it. I don't really know why, but I just find everything about it either strange or obnoxious. I think xfce looks more my style.
I agree about KDE. The entire interface seems awkward and bulky to me :(
It's not like Ubuntu doesn't still have GNOME: you can switch to it from Unity on the login screen, though some of the Unity tweaks may cause minor issues. I'd suggest comparing Xfce and GNOME yourself. Look at the panels, file managers (Nautilus/Thunar), and application menu/main menu.
I haven't used Mint in a while, so I'm not too familiar with differences in Ubuntu Gnome/Mint or Xubuntu/Mint Xfce
Hm, I tend to prefer KDE over the others, I use it on my netbook and it works better for fast usage than GNOME and xfce do... imo. I'm also very used to OS X so I like some of the UI features it has by default, although the same stuff can be configured with any gui.
Mint is basically just Ubuntu with bloatware, I'd go with Xubuntu and install software as you need it.
Quote from: vziard on July 31, 2011, 01:09:02 AM
Hm, I tend to prefer KDE over the others, I use it on my netbook and it works better for fast usage than GNOME and xfce do... imo. I'm also very used to OS X so I like some of the UI features it has by default, although the same stuff can be configured with any gui.
Mint is basically just Ubuntu with bloatware, I'd go with Xubuntu and install software as you need it.
I thought the point of Mint was to run well on netbooks, no?
I'm having trouble seeing much advantage from mint over xubuntu and vice-versa, and while I know Zeven isn't a practical choice, it's just so damn interesting...
Quote from: Hiro on July 31, 2011, 01:39:01 AM
I thought the point of Mint was to run well on netbooks, no?
I'm having trouble seeing much advantage from mint over xubuntu and vice-versa, and while I know Zeven isn't a practical choice, it's just so damn interesting...
I think its purpose has always been to be easy for noobs to setup -- this is what I remember from years ago, before netbooks were around. Now Ubuntu kind of advertises itself the same way. Xubuntu, if anything, would be optimized for netbook usage, with Xfce the default window system (which is pretty lightweight)... but any Ubuntu distro would be fine on a netbook. I'd choose Ubuntu if for no other reason than because it's the most well-supported when it comes to random hardware issues.
Use *BSD.
Quote from: Hiro on July 30, 2011, 08:35:52 PM
honestly though, you don't really know how much you dislike vista until you start using another os. it's not bad on the level of windows ME, but there are so many better options. even if you insist on using windows, 7 is much better.
Heh. Speak for yourself--I knew I didn't like Vista the day I got it home. It's just that the price was right. ME is much more flexible even though it has a capability deficit, and I'll have u know that I think it's more flexible than XP even. I have a couple of machines that still run it. Offline, maybe, but they're still my workhorses.
Quote from: Clara Listensprechen on August 03, 2011, 08:28:00 PM
Heh. Speak for yourself--I knew I didn't like Vista the day I got it home. It's just that the price was right. ME is much more flexible even though it has a capability deficit, and I'll have u know that I think it's more flexible than XP even. I have a couple of machines that still run it. Offline, maybe, but they're still my workhorses.
You should install Linux or BSD on those.
Quote from: TheSequel on July 31, 2011, 06:06:10 PM
Use *BSD.
but why? is it easy to install? are there many decent applications for it?
What about Haiku?
Well, me & Microsoft familiarity date back to the days when Gates "created" MSDOS from CP/M, and via my familiarity with CP/M, Microsoft is like a familiar old sock that I know how to do under-the-table stuff with. All the malware issues experienced by others using ME and earlier editions weren't shared by me cuz I knew how to inoculate my system by hand and was even able to notify Ad Aware about the specifics of how malware attempted to disable detection by it. I even got into the back doors of spammer ops and did my own meddling as payback.
I am disallowed by the system to do such by-hand stuff on XP and later, which is why I hate 'em. I'm afraid that my ick experience with Unix soured me on Linux et seq. If I ever get a computer that isn't already employed, I might try Linux and whatever, but as long as my ME machines continue to be productive...well..."if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Quote from: Hiro on August 04, 2011, 03:16:25 PM
but why? is it easy to install? are there many decent applications for it?
What about Haiku?
It's sort of like Gentoo, but not Linux baddood;
Quote from: TheSequel on August 04, 2011, 06:25:13 PM
It's sort of like Gentoo, but not Linux baddood;
But why would you want that besides having fun, compatibility with BSD is nothing next to Debian or RHEL systems doodhuh;
Quote from: vziard on August 04, 2011, 07:40:19 PM
But why would you want that besides having fun, compatibility with BSD is nothing next to Debian or RHEL systems doodhuh;
You wouldn't doodhuh;
Edit: Actually I think many programs written for Linux will work on BSD.