Getting into Linux a bit more.....
Posted May 5th, 2008 at 10:20 PM by dunbar
I was all but forced to hang up Mandriva 2008 x86_64 DVD 2008 (whatever happened to simple names like 'Mandrake x.x"?).
I couldn't get Flash installed properly, even following the directions.
I couldn't edit mime types.
The browser that was included could not be upgraded by browsers within the repositories - some kind of permissions thing.
It was slow as molasses on my Celeron D 3.33GHz system.
I had once been pointed towards PCLinuxOS by folks over at USALUG, but initially I was, well, 'turned off' by the name. The last thing I wanted to try was 'Windows XP but running on Linux', and 'PCLinuxOS' sounded like just that. I had tried Lindows and FreeSpire and LinSpire... that was also very slow. So I waited regarding PCLinuxOS until just 2 months ago.
I booted the PCLinuxOS MiniMe 2008 distro on a Dell Inspiron 2200 and I found out I could run it (on a laptop, no less!). PCLinuxOS was just basic KDE, and offered a lot of what I wanted. Ubuntu had failed me months before, the latest Ubuntu CD I tried still would not boot very well, so I felt PCLinuxOS deserved it's one try.
Eventually, it replaced Windows XP on the Inspiron, and replaced Mandriva bleh bleh bleh bleh on the desktop.
Although I can still see some issues with documentation, I feel that this distro deserves the attention that I once gave to Slackware and ArchLinux.
Time to dig in to Linux again, and see if things have improved in the various areas where I was so disappointed over the past 5+ years.
I couldn't get Flash installed properly, even following the directions.
I couldn't edit mime types.
The browser that was included could not be upgraded by browsers within the repositories - some kind of permissions thing.
It was slow as molasses on my Celeron D 3.33GHz system.
I had once been pointed towards PCLinuxOS by folks over at USALUG, but initially I was, well, 'turned off' by the name. The last thing I wanted to try was 'Windows XP but running on Linux', and 'PCLinuxOS' sounded like just that. I had tried Lindows and FreeSpire and LinSpire... that was also very slow. So I waited regarding PCLinuxOS until just 2 months ago.
I booted the PCLinuxOS MiniMe 2008 distro on a Dell Inspiron 2200 and I found out I could run it (on a laptop, no less!). PCLinuxOS was just basic KDE, and offered a lot of what I wanted. Ubuntu had failed me months before, the latest Ubuntu CD I tried still would not boot very well, so I felt PCLinuxOS deserved it's one try.
Eventually, it replaced Windows XP on the Inspiron, and replaced Mandriva bleh bleh bleh bleh on the desktop.
Although I can still see some issues with documentation, I feel that this distro deserves the attention that I once gave to Slackware and ArchLinux.
Time to dig in to Linux again, and see if things have improved in the various areas where I was so disappointed over the past 5+ years.
Total Comments 1
Comments
 |  If you have a spare box to kick around and a few minutes to spend, check out PC-BSD sometime. Given the primary considerations you have listed, it seems you might find it to be a rather competent platform. limited bloat, good performance, streamlined PBI installer format, plus proven BSD reliability and security. On a personal note, I have moved towards preferring the BSD kernel development model in recent years as compared to the somewhat chaotic model oftentimes surrounding the Linux kernel. I am not saying either is better, but instead just expressing a personal preference between the two. I am still a staunch Linux advocate, though I have simply found a different open source POSIX platform that I feel is typically more suited to my specific interests. |
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Recent Blog Entries by dunbar
- Getting into Linux a bit more..... (May 5th, 2008)
- Part three... (October 13th, 2007)
- Part two... (October 13th, 2007)
- Linux documentation (October 13th, 2007)
- Bloatware (September 24th, 2007)
