Distros of interest and why.

[Suo_Eno]

siduction 2012.1 Desperado. Supposedly a friendlier aptosid fork... I think. I still dream for a Sid based Bodhi but Jeff would insist on a new full separate team to run and maintain that.

[/dev/urandom]

Are there any "full-sized" screenshots of that Semplice thing around? I'd like to know if it would be a decent alternative for my #! VM ...

[nunol]

I had already mentioned DSL in this thread but I am going to do it again because it's back: http://damnsmalllinux.org/forums/index.php?topic=11.0

Small, light, fast, still obsolete but good for very old computers (486DX, 16MB of RAM or better).

[Pikachu6708]

01:) Crunchbang: my first real Linux install.

02:) Ubuntu: read a lot of good stuff about it before and mucked around with an older version of it and liked it, plus it's a good distro for building up a custom desktop configuration from a minimal command-line install.

03:) Mint Cinnamon: read a lot of good stuff about that distro before.

04:) CentOS: free RHEL.

05:) Fedora: Redhat's testing grounds, plus I mucked around with F16 a little and liked it.

[Pikachu6708]

I had already mentioned DSL in this thread but I am going to do it again because it's back: http://damnsmalllinux.org/forums/index.php?topic=11.0

Small, light, fast, still obsolete but good for very old computers (486DX, 16MB of RAM or better).

Have you looked into Tiny Core? ( http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/welcome.html ) It's based on DSL, and it's lighter.

[nunol]

... and it's lighter.

I tested TC a few times before and it's not lighter at all.

http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/faq.html#req

[Pikachu6708]

Still light enough to run on pretty much anything though.

[nunol]

Sure, and not so old software!

[Pikachu6708]

In addition, Crunchbang will run really good on pretty much anything Win98-era or newer with 128 megs of RAM or more, along with Lubuntu, or you could take a minimal Ubuntu install and put a minimalist Fluxbox setup on it. Xubuntu or Mint Xfce will run great on anything XP-era or newer with half a gig of RAM or more, and Kubuntu or better or Mint KDE or better will run best on anything Vista-era or newer with 2 gigs of RAM or more.

[nunol]

I like Crunchbang and Lubuntu.

The best minimal Fluxbox Debian/Ubuntu based distro I know is AntiX. It's specially good if you are using older hardware but that is only my opinion.

[Pikachu6708]

I like Crunchbang and Lubuntu.

The best minimal Fluxbox Debian/Ubuntu based distro I know is AntiX. It's specially good if you are using older hardware but that is only my opinion.

I got Crunchbang running on an old PII with 128 megs of RAM, it runs better than it did with Windows 98, but it's still not very usable, going to need to bump the CPU up to at least a PIII and the RAM up to at least half a gig to gain at least a sliver of usability, otherwise, I'll need to build a new PC altogether.

[Pikachu6708]

Mepis:

I like a Debian Stable-based distro. Nice community. Easy to install. I like using it to boot all my other distros, and and the Mepis live CD comes in handy for lots of things. Kind of partial to Mepis since it was the first distro I installed myself.

SalineOS:

Got interested in it as an alternative to Mepis; I want to see how things go with it over the course of a few years. I like how the developer is very active at the forums.

Debian Stable:

Rock solid, dependable. I tried it at first because I thought it would be a challenge, but it wasn't difficult to install.

Ubuntu LTS:

I like the world-community concept. I think that going with the LTS versions allows me to avoid the problems some people seem to run into with the 6-month release cycles.

PCLinuxOS:

Dependable, gets me a little closer to "cutting edge," and it's a nice rolling release distro. Easy to install, works well out-of-the-box. I installed to see how long before it would break, actually, but it just keeps on working.

Fedora:

I've only used it for a few months. Just wanted to see what it was all about, and get to know the .rpm side of things a little better.

Scientific Linux:

Newest addition here. Looks like a distro that I can install and keep for a few years without much hassle. Also gives me more practice with yum. Seems to have a nice, civil community.

Scientific and CentOS are free RHEL as well.

[nunol]

Yesterday I was using a 256MB of RAM computer to run firefox 15, VLC, gedit and a terminal window with gcc to write and compile small programs. Worked but was using a little swap. OS: Lubuntu 12.04 tuned: viewtopic.php?f=42&t=96465

With only 128MB of RAM Puppy, AntiX or light Debian 5/6 install is a better option than Lubuntu or Crunchbang and is enough to do a lot of stuff if you know how to use your RAM and CPU cycles to the maximum.

[Pikachu6708]

Dang! I thought you couldn't get FF15 to run on a quarter-gig. XD

[nunol]

You can but Midori is lighter and faster, specially if you disable scripts and plugins.

I was using FF15 to test this new version, usually I use Midori on low RAM computers.

[Pikachu6708]

What about Dillo?

[nunol]

Very basic but very light! I only use Dillo if Midori is to heavy.

[exploder]

Wow! Great to see this thread alive and well! My interests are currently with these distros.

PCLinuxOS - This is my favorite rolling release. These guys and gals have done a lot especially when you consider that so many stepped up to the plate in Texstar's absence. The latest point release is very good and I have seen great reviews on it. I am anxiously waiting for the x64 release and it looks like it is getting closer everyday. Some of you might know that the PCLinuxOS community did a lot to help me make it through my last eye operation, these folks are just like family to me. Also, PCLinuxOS kept me from giving up on Linux a while back when no distributions seemed to run on my hardware. I owe the PCLinuxOS community a lot and PCLinuxOS has my highest regards.

PCLinuxOS sticks with a stable core so to speak, they place hardware compatibility above higher version numbers and they go the extra mile to make sure the maximum amount of hardware that can be supported is. PCLinuxOS will go as far as to roll back a version of things to avoid serious show stopper bugs, this is very responsible development in my opinion. The re-mastering tool that comes stock with PCLinuxOS is still the most valuable tool I have ever seen in any distribution. PCLinuxOS has always struck me as one of the highest quality distributions there is, these folks have high standards and their quality is outstanding.

Ubuntu 12.04 x64 - Most of you know I have never been very much of a Ubuntu fan. Ubuntu has failed me more than any other distribution I have ever tried. The LTS release changed my mind about Ubuntu though. I started getting interested in Ubuntu when Gnome Shell came out and Ubuntu decided to create their own user interface. I liked the very first version of Unity used in the Netbook Remix, especially what Oz Unity did with it and to me it had great potential. Unity took awhile to take off but I see good things happening with it, it has a MacOS like appeal and to be honest, it is fun to use at his point in time.

People complained about Ubuntu's decision making process, including myself but now they seem to have their own direction. Designing their own user interface, providing some popular package updates and sticking with stable, working versions of things has really changed my views on their work. I see less "upstream issue" responses to things and they seem to be doing some real development work now. I have always felt that any given distro has a certain responsibility for what they release and Ubuntu is taking responsibility now. Hardware support is good in 12.04 and the point releases they provide help ensure that newer hardware stands a decent chance of working. Ubuntu has helped spark the interest of game developers and even though I am not much of a gamer I know that this is something that has held Linux back and I am glad that Ubuntu has influenced these changes.

Ubuntu's application showdown is also something good because it just might help create a more level playing field between Linux and Windows. Ubuntu has done things lately that matter and I finally feel like they are deserving of some press and recognition. In the past I felt like Ubuntu was getting far too much press over nothing but now they are doing some very innovative things, taking responsibility and coming up with original ideas that benefit everyone.

Linux Mint Cinnamon - When Gnome Shell entered the picture I really wondered about the future of Mint. Like Unity, Cinnamon had a rough start but now it is really looking good. I see more and more distributions offering Cinnamon in their repos and that says a lot. Cinnamon to me offers the best of the old and the new, it has just the right mix of desktop effects and functionality. Cinnamon has a very elegant look and feel and it makes a traditional desktop seem like an attractive choice again. Like Ubuntu, Clem decided to go his own way rather than use Gnome Shell and that really impressed me. I could never have imagined Cinnamon looking as refined as it does in Mint 13 and it is a pleasure to use.

Clem made the decision to fork Nautilus and again to me this is responsible development. Mint is well known for it's usability and these type of decisions are good for the community because it takes away the worry about loosing features that we all want. No one can say that Mint is nothing more than Ubuntu with codecs. Mint clearly has it's own identity in the Linux world and that is what most of us have always wanted. It's my opinion that Mint's future is brighter than ever because Clem has decided to go his own way and not follow the crowd. I should mention that I do like the Mate version of Mint, Cinnamon just happens to be my personal preference.

Sorry for writing so much but after reading how the Linux desktop was dead I have to completely disagree with that. Distributions are taking their own direction, taking responsibility for what they are releasing and in my opinion providing a higher level of quality than ever before. I like where things are heading and think that Linux is getting better than it ever has before.

[Pikachu6708]

And if you don't like the Unity shell, there's Kubuntu, Lubuntu, and Xubuntu to look at, or you can just do a minimal command-line install of Ubuntu and set up whatever GUI you want on it.

[exploder]

The whole thing about the distros I mentioned was how you could have a complete system up and running stable in a very short amount of time. I fix a lot of Windows computers on the side for extra money and it is a painful experience to get Windows to the same level of functionality that these Linux distributions have right out of the box. For a seasoned Linux user there are endless possibilities to have exactly what you want down to the smallest detail.

There are occasions where I will put together something very custom but usually I will re-master PCLinuxOS because it is so convenient to use the "mylivecd" tool to do it. I work a lot and generally go for the out of the box solutions. New users really need the out of the box experience until they gain some knowledge and the distros I mentioned have a lot to offer in this respect.

There are a lot of great projects out there to fill a large variety of needs, I just like how some are going above and beyond to provide such a high level of quality and user experience. It's nice not to have to answer countless questions when I give someone that is interested in Linux a distribution to try out.