Sun Dec 29, 2013 5:51 pm
The number one question for Linux users. Lately, I have been testing various ones, usually Gnome releases and without going into it all I have found that Mint 15 MATE is to my liking. It is highly friendly and plays well with Ubuntu and Debian. It uses the Ubuntu repository, but also loads lots of great Debian things. It is forgiving. I find its ease of use and breadth of accessibily to be a great boon. its version of Wine is so efficient that one can pick and choose almost anything. but there is a catch: Since MInt does not come with xterm (and I don't know why) you will have to laod it yourslef from the Ubunty repository in the terminal. Easys stuuf. Just remember to update it at the end. it is very like the old Ubuntu 12.10 in many ways in that it uses Gnome 3, not an improvement on Gnome 2. If you want things on your desktop all you have to do is find the app. you loaded from the package menu, right click it and pick the one that says "desktop". Instant and no muss or fuss. It does have its quirks as do all Linux distros. One is that it can be a bit slow, but no that slow. I don't know how old you are, but at my advanced age and the times from which I come patience is not only a virtue, but a gift to savor. If you are into idol worship, no less that Richard Stallman likes it. Mint is a child of the Free Software Foundation which stallman created. Mint is very popular in New England because, as Debian is, it comes from here. Both Debian and the FSF are in the Boston area near the Charles River and both ahve roots with MIT' Articificlal Intellience Laboratory. Mint also lets you download a free 50 pg. users' guide which it keeps up to date. If you want a nice KDE I love KUBUNTU. (yes, Mint has a KDE and you might want to try it.) If you dug Win 95 you' be right at home with KUBUNTU. (Soon, Canonical will be using "Mir" for its program, not its unique and quite versatile "Unity".) Pesonally, I don't like Ubuntu 13.04. It is highly restirictive. But 13.10 is somewhat of an improvement. I think they thought better of being so restrictive this time around. Another is Zorin 7. Its fast. Its a quick load and it is a bit smaller. Like a Mazda Miata. Fun. But its programming is, to me, stiff and unforgiving. Its also very buggy. I hear developers love this distro for its willingness to accept modifications. I have another, Arch Linux, on a seperate drive. Arch Linux is not like anything you have ever come across. For the highly adventurous there is an OS that is so new and odd that it will take time to know. Its called "Haiku" and its a live distro. so far, its gotten great reviews, Its not Windows, Mac or Linux. But since it has a GUI it should not be too shocking. You know, many of didn't go to Linux because we got sick of Microsoft, but many did. We got into Linux because it was fresh, revolutionary, small and wiry and 'in your face'. and, of course, its free, but not as in "free beer". (But make mine Steel Reserve 211, the "Jefferson Airplane" of brews.) PS: I still love the i386 architecture. I'm not a gamer. But if I was I would go Ubuntu 64bit. Its the boss and most servers in the world are now Ubuntu. (Lets all go down and point and laugh at Balmer's new Microsoft "Super" server. So last century to me. (Besides, its nice to be able to annoy the school yard bully, isn't it?). Happy screaming streaming.