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1 • PCLinuxOS (by kc1di on 2014-09-15 09:28:46 GMT from United States)
Thanks for the review- I've used PCLinuxOS off and on over the years and it has never failed to give me a good desktop experience.
in fact installed the lxde edition on an old laptop and gave it to my Grandson a few years back and he is still using it. every day.
only problem I've ever had with it is the 64 bit release will not allow me to run wine with 32 bit program that I must used for work. though they have the 32 bit libs available it just does not seem to work with my set up. But other than that it's a solid and pleasant to use Distro.
Did I mention it has a very good forum and magazine also.
2 • Bodhi (enlightenment) (by Robertd on 2014-09-15 09:46:51 GMT from United States)
Sad days indeed! Not that I used Bodhi exclusively, but any interest in furthering enlightenment is appreciated.
Good luck!
3 • About PCLinuxOS (by César on 2014-09-15 10:41:53 GMT from Chile)
Hi!!!
The recent past week i install the "last" PCLinuxOS, KDE 64 bits flavour, the system running smooth, well, but when i update the system, every one of the different repository (i use all the repos in synaptic) are too slow, very slow, slow than a big fat snail. For example, in Debian i have up to 1 mb/sec in the download process, in PCLinuxOS only a 17 kb/s!!!. Nothing to do.
In my personal experience, for use a Mandriva "son", is much better Mageia, more speed, more performance, more modern look and the remember of Mandriva in every aspect.
Saludos from Santiago de Chile.
4 • PCLinuxOS (by Fencemeister717 on 2014-09-15 10:43:39 GMT from United States)
Thanks for the great PCLinuxOS article! Since my first experience with Linux, around 2001 (Corel Linux) I have tried litterally hundreds of flavors. My first experience with it was PClinuxOS 2007. Since then I have used it as my daily OS. While I still continue to try out other flavors often, to this very day I have not found a more satisfying and all around reliable version of Linux. My solution to the possibly excessive amount of apps is to install the "KDE Mini" version and add whatever it is you personally need. The Live USB Creator makes cloning it a breeze!
5 • PcLinuxOS (by ChrisW on 2014-09-15 11:23:01 GMT from Nicaragua)
PCLinuxOS is 1 of the very few distros that I have Installed and needed very little intervention to have system that has run pretty much faultlessly for 3 yrs ...The help in the forums has always been friendly and the first rolling release I have used and despite all the talesof mpending woe people spout about rolling release this Distro can prove them wrong..
I have recently installed a PClinuxOS openbox version a community member developed and am enjoying that greatly
6 • CDE (by corneliu on 2014-09-15 12:13:54 GMT from Canada)
All good, but it seems to me that there will be cases where dependency libraries will be loaded in memory two times (once for this particular application and once for the rest of the system).
It would be nice if there existed a universal online repository with CDE packages where any company could submit their software and any Linux user could download any application.
7 • Massive linux migration (by Joselo on 2014-09-15 12:28:20 GMT from Mexico)
The marvelous chage of paradigma is really possible. Like it was confirMed at Nante University of France.
8 • CDE (by Pearson on 2014-09-15 12:33:04 GMT from United States)
CDE looks interesting. I haven't looked at their site yet, so I wonder how it determines the files to package? If it's doing the equivalent of using strace(1) and copying whichever files are used, I could see some privacy issues (my ~/.foo.rc may have username/password combos). I could also see problems with large and/or complex software (if I don't exercise a certain feature when making the package, some configuration files or libraries might not be loaded).
Still, I'll look at their site. It looks quite interesting!
9 • PClinuxOs (by PCLinuxOSUser on 2014-09-15 13:17:27 GMT from Canada)
Good review of PCLinuxOS.
I use PCLinuxOS 64 bit since its first release. Install on my main desktop, I never encounter any problems since. Of course, these must be updated regularly. I make 4 upgrade linux kernel without worry. I love PCLinuxOS 64 because it offers the best of two worlds. The stability of the packets and the Rolling Mode Release.
What people should know is this: LibreOffice has its own manager update. Calibre and also Vitualbox.
Honestly I look for default on PCLinuxOS and I cannot find.
PCLinuxOS is a mature LinuxDistro
10 • PCL (by Snazzy on 2014-09-15 14:19:10 GMT from United Kingdom)
Not a regular user myself (having an up-to-date copy at all times, though), have to echo the above favourable reports and applaud another excellent Jesse review. Excepting only his reservation about letting loose newcomers. This is the only OS I load for youngsters and proverbial elderly ladies of a nervous disposition (elderly gents are generally provided with Mint). Almost everyone is familiar with Android and Wonkydoze these days, so the transition, albeit with 30mins hand-holding, has proved virtually painless, subject to an occasional call as I emerge dripping from the shower...
11 • PCLinuxOS (by jaws222 on 2014-09-15 14:50:00 GMT from United States)
I downloaded the latest PCLinuxOS 64-Bit Mate version to my laptop last week and it runs like a dream. I've been using PCL on and off for the last few years and always ran into issues with the Samab Server. The recent Mate version seems to have Samba running right out of the box.
12 • #8 followup - CDE (by Pearson on 2014-09-15 15:27:10 GMT from United States)
My second concern actually is addressed on the CDE site:
An astute reader will notice that CDE packages might be incomplete since they only contain the files accessed on executed paths. It's easy to manually augment packages with additional files to make them complete.
I guess I qualify as "astute" ;-)
13 • Master Distro Database for Matching Hardware (by Brian Rosenau on 2014-09-15 15:33:25 GMT from United States)
As I was reading through the new and upcoming distributions, I had a thought. Maybe this has already been accomplished, but it would be fantastic if there were some kind of database tool (or web-based front end to such) whereby all the criteria for major (and even minor) distributions could be aligned with other filters associated with hardware. In short, I would input what computer hardware I was using (CPU type and speed, RAM, and video card/chip, etc.) so my computer would be matched against distributions that would support it outright... This would greatly simplify a great deal of reading along with trial and error to see which distributions would give me the greatest hope of success.
Does something like this exist? If not, is someone willing to create such a usefull tool set? Just food for thought...
14 • PCLinuxOS (by Pedro Schwartz on 2014-09-15 16:05:50 GMT from United States)
Delightfully puzzling, I have been running the KDE version
of 2014 on a 64Gb Sandisk flash drive for quite a while. No
"persistence" or special apps, etc.. just installed it to that
drive and it has been running fine, updating etc.
Other distros won't do that for long, with the notable exceptions
of the ones that do feature a persistence scheme.
15 • Bodhi (by Tim Wilkins on 2014-09-15 17:43:56 GMT from United States)
I noticed that Sparky Linux is doing a spin with E 18 and E 19 development. It is not as solid as Bodhi, in my opinion, but a person can still run Enlightenment.
I really love the way Enlightenment works. It is great for my purposes.
16 • @3 César - enabe all repositor (by Ika on 2014-09-15 18:07:06 GMT from Spain)
What's your reason to enable ALL repositories? It is highly NOT recommended to do so. Only one repo. Besides enabling more than one is completely useless as all repos have the same packages. So?
17 • PCLinuxOS (by Crow on 2014-09-15 18:14:52 GMT from Mexico)
Thank you Jesse Smith for such a straight, honest review.
The PCLinuxOS community helps a lot, so does the monthly magazine, I'm from social sciences, the graphical interface is my place most of the time, CLI is beyond my abilities unless someone gives me detailed instructions. I guess I always be an eternal newbie.
I've been running PCLinuxOS everyday at work for the last 6 years, it's stability helped me to deliver work always on time, something the other guys running Windows couldn't do. I even made a remaster using LXDE with educational software for special ed kids and the tools PCLinuxOS provide made that a breeze.
Thank you again and keep the good work.
18 • PCLOS (by Harold Williams on 2014-09-15 18:49:37 GMT from )
Been running PCLOS KDE 32 bit for several years. It is my day-to-day OS. I have also installed the 64 bit version with my Win 7 desktop. The forum is first rate and helpful. Texstar seems to be always on watch for any problems that crop up. Good review; spot on.
19 • PCLinux, 6 years now and highly recommended. (by Tony on 2014-09-15 19:22:58 GMT from United Kingdom)
PCLinuxOS, been using it about 6 years now. Occasionally I go off and try another distro like Mint, Puppy, etc etc.(both very good distros), but I always come back to PCLinuxOS within a short period. Why? Because it works! It's the most stable (I use it as my only work machine for my business), easy to use, the forums and developers are friendly and knowledgeable, great magazine and it is also surprisingly fast especially the x64 variants.
I'm sure lots of people will suggest others and I have tried literally hundreds of versions and varieties. I am no Linux expert, I don't want to have to fiddle around for hours (unless it's for fun). PCLinuxOS like any distro does get problems) but they are few and get solved (Certainly no worse than what I had before I moved to Linux) and for that reason alone I would highly recommend it.
20 • Q4OS (by Leandro on 2014-09-15 19:45:53 GMT from Chile)
I did the unattended install of Q4OS only to reach the login screen not knowing what the login info is. Can anybody say what it is, please?
21 • @20 (by jaws222 on 2014-09-15 19:50:49 GMT from United States)
'I did the unattended install of Q4OS only to reach the login screen not knowing what the login info is. Can anybody say what it is, please?"
Weird, I didn't see anything in the documentation. Try the following:
Username: root
Password: live
22 • PCLinuxOS (by Oso Loco on 2014-09-15 20:17:25 GMT from Ecuador)
PCLinuxOS is definitely an underrated distro. I have tried several rolling distros, and PCLinuxOS is one of the most stable ones (if not the most stable, period).
23 • CDE (by Mark Moon on 2014-09-15 23:16:16 GMT from United States)
CDE-Gobolinux. Not so far apart.
24 • Best of PCLinuxOS... (by whitespiral on 2014-09-16 03:53:57 GMT from Mexico)
Best of PCLinuxOS... no systemd in sight. :-D
25 • Q4OS, etc. (by Kragle von Schnitzelbank on 2014-09-16 08:39:50 GMT from United States)
Per user manual - setup:
"Predefined user with empty password will be created, system will ask user to change the password immediately after first login."
I remember the Makulu dev had some choice words about Enlightenment. Perhaps over time it will mature?
CDE reminds me of 0install, done one app at a time, partly.
I didn't see a way to search the H-node database for hardware that works.
26 • PCLinuxOS (by kilgoretrout on 2014-09-16 15:06:49 GMT from United States)
I wouldn't classify PCLOS as a true rolling release. Most refer to it as a semi-rolling release. The underlying plumbing remains fairly stable for long periods of time while the user facing applications that are important to most people like kde, multimedia and internet applications are updated frequently. The founder of PCLOS, texstar, appears to have had this philosophy from the inception of this distro and it makes PCLOS much more stable than most rolling releases.
The old timers here will remember texstar as the individual that use to create alternative up-to-date kde packages for mandrake back in the day. His packages were very popular in the madrake community because it allowed you to have the most current version of kde without updating your entire system, thus avoiding the annual upgrade/reinstallation of your operating system ritual. Texstar was also one of the first to create a livecd designed to also allow you to install the distro, an idea which is commonplace today but was revolutionary at the time.
27 • Bodhi (by G. Savage on 2014-09-16 15:11:47 GMT from Canada)
I think we are seeing a consolidation and convergence of distros. I don't see non-commercial or non-specialty distros surviving the end of the decade. I hope I'm wrong. If some of the smaller ones shut down, I hope those folks contribute to some of the big-tent distros. I've lost track of how many near antique machines I've rescued with Puppy/MacPup. But I can do pretty much the same with Zorin or Mint XFCE, and they have large community support too..
28 • Q4OS & OLinux (theta Linux) (by Dave Postles on 2014-09-16 15:27:08 GMT from United Kingdom)
I'd be interested in more comments about these two distros. Q4OS has been dowloaded very highly. I tried OLinux, but encountered many issues.
29 • Pclos (by hotdiggettydog on 2014-09-16 15:47:24 GMT from Canada)
Nice to see a Pclos review!
The lighter versions of Pclos run well on old computers. Old hardware is well supported.
I'm not a fan of network management. It's a little busy and confusing. It has not changed in years really. Vpn setup can be a real pain.
Great distro otherwise.
30 • @27 (by jaws222 on 2014-09-16 17:20:27 GMT from United States)
" I've lost track of how many near antique machines I've rescued with Puppy/MacPup. But I can do pretty much the same with Zorin or Mint XFCE, and they have large community support too."
Crunchbang is another. I have it on an old HP laptop that maxes out at 3GB of RAM. I dual-boot it with Windows 7. Windows 7 runs slow and pathetic and Crunchbang runs like a champ!
31 • Bodhi Linux (by LinuxJunkie86 on 2014-09-16 22:58:46 GMT from United States)
I'm sad to see that Bodhi will no longer be developed unless someone else is willing to pick it up. I installed 2.4.0 on my Mom's old Compaq laptop to replace XP and Bodhi runs like a champ. The laptop only has 384MB or RAM and a 30GB HDD. I may have to replace Bodhi in the future once its repository support ends if not sooner. Any suggestions for other lightweight distros (besides Crunchbang) that would be a good fit for it?
32 • @31 (by Dave Postles on 2014-09-17 08:37:50 GMT from United Kingdom)
Possibly Slitaz, which should, I think, run comfortably in 256 Mb RAM. The reason that I suggest it is that it can be easily developed from low-end to higher-end with higher-end packages should they be necessary and the desktop looks 'professional'. OTOH, don't use it if you are arachnophobic (its logo!)
33 • Replacement (by wolf on 2014-09-17 10:50:41 GMT from Germany)
@31 Try Simplicity may work like a charm though it is faster with more ram (using ramdisk) Slitaz is a good one but needs to much tinkering for my taste
34 • Bhodi Replacement (by Hombre-Guapo on 2014-09-17 11:42:29 GMT from Nicaragua)
@31
For an OS to run on an old PC Try Antix that runs on some very low powered set ups they advertise it runs on "64 MB old PII 266 systems with pre-configured 128 MB swap to the latest powerful boxes. 128 MB RAM is recommended minimum for antiX. The installer needs minimum 2.2 GB hard disk size"
LegacyOS is a puppy variant designed for very low resouce pcs,
If you want Enlightenment there are are a few Distros that offer it but how well they really develop or support with it may be an issue
Manjaro has 1, Makulu, PclinuxOS I believe had one
Not being a Developer I can only guess it't not the easiest DE to work with as what it offers sounds like it should be more widely used..
35 • Bohdi replacement (by Maria on 2014-09-17 12:40:34 GMT from Peru)
@31: How about Puppy? I've used Puppy on an ancient Pentium III with 256 mb Ram and run like a charm. I've heard good things about Antix too, if you are more used to a Debian-derived distro.
36 • Bhodi Replacement (by fernbap on 2014-09-17 13:53:01 GMT from Portugal)
I would start with a simple Debian based distro with a light desktop (Crunchbang is basically Debian with Openbox, for instance).
The difference from using pure Debian (which you can try, of course) is hardware support, alyhough if your hardware is old, ot will probably be supported.
Anyway, pure Debian with a light desktop will have a RAM footprint of around 120-140 MB.
Crunchbang is nice, sure, but something with LXDE or MATE will offer an experience much more familiar to the novice user.
Puppy is always an option, of course, although its main drawback is the lack of a wide selection of apps. There is even a version of Puppy with Enlightment.
Another option would be Salix, and you have several lightweight desktops to chose from.
But i guess the main issue will be hardware compability, so you will have to try them and see which works best with your hardware.
37 • Bhodi Replacement (cont) (by fernbap on 2014-09-17 14:02:42 GMT from Portugal)
I would start with more alround distros before going to distros specifically made for old hardware, and see wether they are fast enough.
in order of preference (which is subjective, of course) i would try:
1. Point Linux
2. Salix LXDE
3. Crunchbang
38 • @31 Bodhi Linux (by linuxista on 2014-09-17 14:46:26 GMT from United States)
I would try to stay with an Enlightenment desktop if that's what my mum was used to. The options seem to be Debian (Sparky, Elive, Makulu). I would go with Sparky or Elive. If you don't have experience with Slackware, Puppy, Slitaz, or Manjaro, I would stay away from these options for remote maintenance.
39 • Bodhi replacement (by RollMeAway on 2014-09-17 19:21:21 GMT from United States)
I suggest PCLinuxOS. Either install one of the light versions like LXDE, then install "task-enlightenment', after installation, or
install a community version such as:
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,127856.0.html
Either way you will have a stable fully supported distribution you can depend on, and won't have to re-install.
40 • After-Bodhi (by Kragle on 2014-09-17 21:36:18 GMT from United States)
Per DW Search, ZevenOS and Hybryde are also 'buntu-based distros supporting Enlightenment. (This info may be dated.) A community spin is rarely 'fully supported'.
Another strategy may be to find out just what's needed to maintain it now - or (short-term) simply (make a backup OS-install ISO and) avoid updating.
OnTheOtherHand, analysis of actual usage may reveal a client has no awareness of DE as such, and the search may be driven more by hardware limitations.
41 • Bodhi/Enlightenment (by JDNSW on 2014-09-17 22:39:47 GMT from Australia)
I have experimented with Bodhi in the past, and planned to possibly use it in the future, so I am a bit sad to see it go. However, although I have not tried it (yet), I just checked - Enlightenment is in the Mint 17 repository, which probably means it is in other Ubuntu/Debian based repositories as well.
So this may be a route for those wanting to use Enlightenment.
42 • @ 41 & various (by mtakiteasy on 2014-09-18 01:27:21 GMT from Portugal)
Both new and long established distros have been migrating to become Debian based.
Enlightenment over anything else, but Debian, is a call for failure.
That's why Bodhi died.
Hence, distrohopper: Don't waste your time. Download Sparky E18 or E19dev and you cannot get wrong.
43 • Bodhi replacement on an old computer (by Kazlu on 2014-09-18 10:43:03 GMT from France)
I join #38 and #40 on the first criteria of choice: go for a solution with the same desktop. A DW search did not even returned ZevenOS, only Hybryd, which does not have a more recent edition than the one based on Ubuntu 13.04, so I would stay away from it. Bodhi won't disappear in a second, it is Ubuntu-based so you still get the security updates (does Bodhi uses Ubuntu repos or its own?). In the meantime you can run a couple of tests to see if distro X or Y fits. Others here already mentioned solutions like Elive or Sparky, which seem good, although the latter has no security updates channel since it is based on Debian Testing. There are probably others with Enlightenment in their repositories, like #41 JDNSW mentioned.
That is relevant if you can get your Enlightenment to be like it was on Bodhi. If you can't or don't want to bother and if you are ready to change the DE, I would suggest Lubuntu. Also Ubuntu-based, not much to do to get your mom started. I use it on a backup PC with PIII @ 800MHz and 512MB of RAM. Works really fine, uses 90MB of RAM when just logged in. With 384MB of RAM, you have DEs that will run just fine, but you will be short with applications. I am thinking Firefox... But that was the same thing for Bodhi.
I hope that you will find a proper replacement... Or that Bodhi will continue with someone else :)
44 • Since noone mentioned them... (by fernbap on 2014-09-18 12:14:24 GMT from Portugal)
Macpup is a ready made puppy with Enlightnment. Probably the closest thing to Bhodi, after you manage to find out how to install it, since all puppy tools are custom made and not familiar to the general user (though easy to use).
Another distro made to be lightweight and fast is Peppermint.
I would stay away from Elive as a matter of principle. The stable releases require a donation to be downloaded, and after you install it you find out that you need to make further donations in order to get office and apt.
45 • Elive (by linuxista on 2014-09-18 14:50:32 GMT from United States)
@44 A few years ago I was going to check out Elive and dropped the idea like a hot potato when I found out they were selling it. I agree with you on principle and also practically speaking: why shell out when there are dozens of brilliant, and probably better, free distros? A few months ago (and a second ago) I went back to check it out again and they seem to have changed their policy. Now it's free: No mention of donations, and the stable and beta iso's began downloading without any hurdles. However, the stable version hasn't been updated since 2010 and there's mention about they only have 1 mirror.
So I would NOT recommend this distro on the basis of future support, a chequered past and probably a very small community.
46 • Bodhi Linux (by mandog on 2014-09-18 15:49:01 GMT from Peru)
Shame to see it go but what is all the fuss about this is Linux enlightenment can be installed on any Linux distro, it comes as a package and can be installed on its own or in conjunction with any distro you have installed.
47 • @46, re: Bodhi Linux (by Rev_Don on 2014-09-18 17:19:17 GMT from United States)
I don't think it was so much of a fuss, just someone looking for a reliable, ready to go right out of the box distro that will run on an older laptop with limited ram (384megs). Not such an odd request.
He never mentioned what DE he wants to use on it. Others suggested that he might want to stick with that as hs Mother is probably more familiar with it.
While installing Enlightenment is possible on pretty much any distro, that doesn't really help if you can't install the distro as it is due to the memory constraints of 384 megs.
Not everyone is capable, or ready to start from scratch with a base system like Debian and build up from there. Plus some people don't have the bandwidth speed or caps to allow downloading a lot of different distros to try them out. So asking for suggestions for a suitable replacement seems extremely logical to me.
If you don't want to assist, or find it to much of a fuss, then just ignore it and let those who enjoy the challenge of helping someone do so.
48 • Bodhi is not dead (by meanpt on 2014-09-18 20:51:52 GMT from Portugal)
The only anouncement made by Jeff was he's stepping down, and the rest of the team is willing to take his duties. So, it's not dead.
49 • PCLinuxOS (by Githin Zacharia on 2014-09-18 22:55:42 GMT from Kuwait)
Jesse Smith wrote an honest review on PCLOS. I have downloaded the fullmonty version. I am using it without any complaints. It looks pretty and performs well. The KDE takes around 500-600 RAM. If laptop is unplugged, the downloading rate is very slow but on AC power its to its maximum. 4GB Ram is perfect to run fullmonty. It holds lots of applications. I would like to suggest KDE version for normal use.
50 • @43 "xyz or Sparky, ... the latter has no security updates" (by mtakiteasy on 2014-09-19 01:43:01 GMT from Portugal)
Security does not exist.
Heard about nsa/prism?
...a few high level FLOSS entities's server compromised?
... Ssh?
...
Malware hit any OS/program.
I guess you're concerned about software bugs, that may cause harm. A golden rule for all PC users: backup, backup, backup your data.
51 • Sparky: one more reason: (by mtakiteasy on 2014-09-19 01:57:04 GMT from Portugal)
E is a Sparky's official release. I guess valuable users may find a valuable home up there.
A great will be Distro, is that one that can keep valuable users, and not the other way around.
52 • @50 security updates (by Kazlu on 2014-09-19 09:08:50 GMT from France)
First, backup does not prevent you from malware that may leak information, nor do up-to-date software keep you away from the need to backup. Yes, you're right, backup data is a golden rule for all computer users, but that's not enough.
Every software has bugs, and some may cause harm by erasing data (solution: backup) and others by letting others steal data from you or take over the resources of your computer (solution: don't use the incriminated code... provided you're aware of its behavior). Heartbleed is a recent well-known example (not necessarily a good one by the way since it touches especially servers), but there are dozens of small bugs with various impacts discovered every week, if not every day, on software for GNU/Linux. Those, once discovered, often get quickly corrected by the developpers of the concerned program, but then the question is: how does the fix get to you? There are two main solutions: either you run a rolling release distro that keeps close to upstream, updates the software in its repos with a minimum of testing and then you can get it (example: Arch Linux). Or you run a fixed release distro, in which case if the update is important enough ("security update", it depends on how the distro team sees it), often the distro team takes the fix provided by upstream and adapts it to the version of the program existing in the repos (example: Debian stable). That way, even on a stable distro, you can have security fixes quickly. Debian Unstable has more or less the same logic as Arch Linux here, but What about Debian Testing? New software, which includes security related updates as well as regular updates, arrives in Debian Testing repos with some delay, and there is no specific channel for security updates like there is in Debian Stable, which means security updates arrive typically later in Debian Testing than in Debian Stable. It may be only one day, in which case it's no big deal, but it can also be weeks. Considering you heard about nsa/prism and bugs existing in FLOSS, you probably see that it is more risky to use software that takes longer to incorporate updates that correct *known* bugs. Running up-to-date software does not guarantee you're safe, but at least you reduce the risk of getting into trouble.
53 • CDE packages (by Kazlu on 2014-09-19 10:35:03 GMT from France)
@23: "CDE-Gobolinux. Not so far apart."
It rang that bell for me too. Even if it doesn't seem to be exactly its purpose, CDE can be used to have several vrsions of a given program without messing with the dependancies of the host system. Say you want in your LTS distro the recent version of a certain application available on your rolling release distro but you don't want to mess with the software present on your LTS distro, you can! At the cost of more resources usage of course, since you potentially load in RAM two versions of a given library which the considered application depends on.
About the risk of possibly leaking personal information in a CDE package, how about creating the CDE package with a fresh new user, or with the guest user if you can? That way you put only what you want in it.
54 • @47 bodhi (by mandog on 2014-09-19 12:28:43 GMT from Peru)
I was under the impression that this was a discussion forum not a help forum, as I stated enlightenment is available for every distro so the apparent loss on no loss of Bodhi is not a problem as for setting it up that is what forums are for they all have a section just go to the arch/ubuntu/fedora/debian/suse/ etc wiki and follow the instructions
55 • Principles of the GPL? Here we go again. (by Garon on 2014-09-19 13:05:51 GMT from United States)
@44 and 45,
Wow I still find it amazing that people who have been using open source software for years still do not understand the principles of the GPL. So you say Elive has "a checkered past" because they once asked for donations, or required donations? That's not correct according to the GPL. Before ridiculing developers of any GPL project, because of "principle," you had better learn the principles of the GPL. It gets really tiring explaining what freedom and free means where the GPL and open source is concerned. I'm not an Elive user but it's not because of shady past or present actions. People should judge for themselves and not listen to FUD. READING IS FUNDAMENTAL.
56 • Chequered past (by linuxista on 2014-09-19 14:49:55 GMT from United States)
My principles are not the same, nor must they be the same, as the GPL. This seems to be the erroneous assumption on your part underlying your quotes and all-caps. I want to support non-commercial efforts, and I don't want to get involved with software that may try to lock me in, ratchet up the price, goad me into buying "pro" versions, or annoy me with advertisements. You have your free, and I have mine.
57 • Bodhi Replacement (by kc1di on 2014-09-19 17:31:59 GMT from United States)
another method of getting a pretty good e-18 /19 DE is to download and install PCLinuxOS minime - the install "task-elightenment" right not it will give you a nice e-18 desktop. But e-19 is in the repositories also.
58 • PCLinuxOS minime ... (by Fossilizing Dinosaur on 2014-09-19 18:33:07 GMT from United States)
... (or miniKde) requires 1Gb RAM, per official intro web-page; by contrast, Bodhi only requires 128Mb RAM. Having a package in the repository is a far cry from a fully debugged and supported official ISO. An advanced user (or a developer looking to add some cred) could build a truly E-only spin, of course. Getting all apps working well with E19 would be quite a bit of work.
E19's in many repos by now; there's even a simple script for adding it to 'bu. Doesn't mean every app is written to its standards.
A poser comes to mind: does Enlightenment demonstrate that the bling so often used to justify hardware upgrading is designed for sales, not efficiency and effectiveness?
59 • Elive (by linuxista on 2014-09-19 18:41:41 GMT from United States)
@44 - I misread your earlier comment about Elive. You said: "after you install it you find out that you need to make further donations in order to get office and apt." If that is true, that is tremendously creepy and misleading, and another reason to stay away from Elive.
60 • PCLinuxOS Review (by Charles on 2014-09-19 23:39:41 GMT from Ukraine)
Thank you Jessie for the superb PCLinuxOS review.
Regretfully, Debian 8 is no longer on my company's upgrade path (mainly because of systemd), so we've been exploring the BSDs and the feasibility of using Slackware on a larger number of our systems. Really, it's been a lot of work. Somehow, we overlooked PCLinuxOS. After trying it, prompted by your review, we're convinced enough to give it a try on some of our newer systems.
We're still hoping that the devs at Debian will come around and start listening to their users and make sounder choices in the software they wish to use and promote in their distro. In the mean time, it looks as though PCLinuxOS will work for us as an alternative. Thank you again.
61 • Elive @55 (by fernbap on 2014-09-20 13:47:26 GMT from Portugal)
GPL? Who said anything about GPL?
Elive asks you to pay for their distro. I have nothing against it, i was even curtous about it enough to pay for it and install it on my computer.
Then i found out that i had no package manager whatsoever. Selling a debian based distro that has no access to the debian repos? really?
And the only way i could get it was to pay (again) for the "office disk" which included Open Office, apt and synaptic.
And all of that i learned only after i had installed a linux distro that i had payed for.
No, that is not a GPL breach. That is a conn job. People are intentionally fooled into having to pay again in order to have a funcional system.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice....
62 • Sad that Bodhi Linux project lead stepped down. (by jmichael2497 on 2014-09-20 17:13:09 GMT from United States)
i was hoping for a bit of humor, telling friends to use 3.0, and then sending this, but looks like no 3.0 release. ah well, at least there are other similar Enlightenment live distros, mentioned above (lubuntu, and other main distro respins).
http://www.reddit.com/r/meme/comments/2gwxdu/sad_that_bodhi_linux_project_lead_stepped_down_as/
63 • Elive@61 fernbap (by KickRocks on 2014-09-20 22:42:38 GMT from United States)
" That is a conn job. People are intentionally fooled into having to pay again in order to have a funcional system."
Yeah, I fell yay. What a rip. IMO it sullies the image of the GPL and FOSS. I hope that Distrowatch, would label a warning next the Elive distro, to help others from falling into being snookered.
Peace. :)
64 • PC Linux os (by Djsi on 2014-09-21 01:22:23 GMT from United States)
I have used pclos for many years and have found it to be a great place for linux users to start.I personally use it with lxde on older pc's and it's great.
65 • PCLinuxOS survives (by Fossilizing Dinosaur on 2014-09-21 03:44:39 GMT from United States)
Sometimes being slow to roll is a good thing.
Doesn't mean they're perfect by any measure; forum mods and admins can be as 'arch' and provincial, confused and wrong as anywhere else on the 'net. Only human.
But while mentoring new fearless leaders is no walk in the park, either, those who neglect this aspect usually see their community fade away.
66 • Puppy linux (by Ted H on 2014-09-21 14:14:45 GMT from United States)
@ 36: "Puppy is always an option, of course, although its main drawback is the lack of a wide selection of apps."
While I can't comment on the size of their app repository (never got that far), they actually seem to throw in everything but the kitchen sink in their menu apps, when a lot less would do!
One friend of mine has a problem getting his wi-fi to work with it - through many Puppy versions!! Another friend of mine raves about Puppy, but I can't, although I do admire its small size.
Ted H
67 • PCLOS (by M.Z. on 2014-09-21 20:34:53 GMT from United States)
@57 & 58
As I think another user mentioned you might be better off going from PCLOS LXDE to e19 rather than starting with a KDE based version of PCLOS. The minimum recommended RAM is only 384 Mb with PCLOS LXDE:
http://www.pclinuxos.com/get-pclinuxos/lxde/
@60
I think PCLOS is an excellent distro for home PC users, but I would not think of it as a replacement for Debian. I have used it since 2011 as my main desktop and problems with it have been few & far between, but I think the overall stability & reliability of all the moving parts in the packages is as close to a short term release of Ubuntu as it is to Debian stable. It is excellent & very stable for a rolling distro, but Debian is the gold standard in stability & I think supporting a large number of Debian PCs would be easier than an equivalent # of PCLOS machines for that reason.
One example that springs to mind of a minor issue in PCLOS is the stability of all the parts in QGIS. I do a decent amount of work with maps & geographic data so I need GIS software every now & then & QGIS delivers that on most Linux distros including both Debian & PCLOS. Unfortunately there can be occasional issues in things less stable than Debian. I've had problems getting all of QGIS going in both PCLOS & distros based of 6 month Ubuntu releases (it was Mint release a couple of versions back). One example I distinctly remember is seeing QGIS load an error that basically said 'python for QGIS is broken' after at least a couple of different upgrades to QGIS in PCLOS. It hasn't really affected me too much because I don't do any python scripting to manipulate map data, although that is something I'm trying to learn more about. Anyway the problem always goes always after another synaptic upgrade a few days later, but If I were doing something mission critical & time was money I would find that unacceptable, although it is nearly a non issue for most PC users.
PCLOS is still an excellent distro & I remember Mint/Ubuntu downgrading the same QGIS software package to the version in Debian stable between short term releases, so PCLOS is hardly only in a a few problems with that sort of lesser known software; however, I think PCLOS is far better for personal computers rather than mission critical environments. Of course I don't about the trade offs & the specific issues you are having with systemd, so YMMV.
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