Linux Users general chat thread.
scooby1970
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Rather than start a new thread for every version of Linux I thought I'd start a general Linux thread.
I've been trying out Fedora 15 which is the first distro to use Gnome 3. I've read through the reviews and it seems Gnome 3 is causing as much fuss as Ubuntu's Unity.
First things first, Fedora 15 found all my hardware on my laptop and I was lucky to have Gnome 3 actually work (I seem to be in the minority as loads can't get it to work on their hardware). It's a strange experience, as there is no desktop as we know it on Fedora 15. Each application when opened goes to a new workspace and I found it really confusing.
There is no minimise option at all, you either have a window open or you don't. And as for customising your desktop, there is no optionn for this either. I don't know if people will "get" Gnome 3 in it's present form, Unity is much more friendly, even if you didn't like it.
Another distro worth getting is Mepis 11, lovely looking and easy to use and set-up. It's a nice change from Ubuntu or Mint and seems to be much faster too.
Please share your thoughts or comments on any distros you've tried or use.
Mark
I've been trying out Fedora 15 which is the first distro to use Gnome 3. I've read through the reviews and it seems Gnome 3 is causing as much fuss as Ubuntu's Unity.
First things first, Fedora 15 found all my hardware on my laptop and I was lucky to have Gnome 3 actually work (I seem to be in the minority as loads can't get it to work on their hardware). It's a strange experience, as there is no desktop as we know it on Fedora 15. Each application when opened goes to a new workspace and I found it really confusing.
There is no minimise option at all, you either have a window open or you don't. And as for customising your desktop, there is no optionn for this either. I don't know if people will "get" Gnome 3 in it's present form, Unity is much more friendly, even if you didn't like it.
Another distro worth getting is Mepis 11, lovely looking and easy to use and set-up. It's a nice change from Ubuntu or Mint and seems to be much faster too.
Please share your thoughts or comments on any distros you've tried or use.
Mark
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Comments
To be honest it seems very much that Gnome 3 has been received much better than Unity. It isn't that surprising to me, as I feel Gnome 3 is just easier all round than Unity and nicer to use, though obviously some don't like it. I reckon that though both are designed for tablets and smaller screens generally, Gnome 3 still works great on large screen desktops where Unity can feel cramped and out of place. I do hope Ubuntu pulls it back a bit, but I suspect that when I do try Ubuntu again I'll be using Gnome 3 rather than Unity.
The whole button issue continues to cause storms, but I just don't get it. Anyone who spends a bit of time with Gnome 3 will soon understand the workings. It doesn't make sense to have a ton of buttons when you don't navigate the way you used to. It's not hard, in fact I think it's much quicker now. It didn't take me long to get used to it, and if I can do it anyone can.
Anyway, I'm running it on openSUSE and it's very very nice. openSUSE has proved a real welcome change for me from Ubuntu, though I do still love the 'bunt.
The other day I installed Peppermint Ice OS on our Eee PC 701 4G, and it's totally brilliant. Much quicker than anything I've ever put on it, and highly recommended.
The reason I don't want either of them is because of driver support for my wireless card. It seems only Ubuntu repositories seem to have the right one even though I'm sure Broadcom has made the driver open sourced.
So yeah... Any ideas on a nice looking distro suitable for a small screen? (1024 x 600)
It just works straight off the usb stick. Hardware drivers, network connections to the rest of my (Windows) network, everything.
Even more of a surprise the GUI is beautiful and intuitive. No steep learning curve and endless messing about in a terminal emulator.
About 12 years ago I installed a Red Hat distribution on a spare PC and quickly lost the will to live. Linux really has come a long way.
If Linux works on all PCs, like it does on my netbook, I really can't see me installing Windows on anything ever again.
Glad you are impressed, Ubuntu "just works" as I like to say, it's my most used Linux and our office PCs have all changed to it in the last few weeks (20+ of them) with no hardware problems at all.
I really like Mepis 11 too, that looks great on a small screen for those who need something on a smaller screen.
I have run OpenSuse on Virtualbox, but I just can't get it to install on any of my PCs for some reason! It's doing my head in as I really like the feel of it!
I'm still trying out Fedora 15 and Gnome 3, and it's nice to see different distros going different ways. Really mixed reviews on it as I said, and my feelings are mixed too. If there was more control over it's looks and themes I could be swayed.
Mark
Well you could always add the Gnome 3 PPA onto 11.04. There's extensive coverage of this on the Ubuntu Forums.
I've only been using it for about 4-5 years, and even if I take a mental snapshot of the last 2-3 years, say from 2008, it's amazing how much it's changed from then to now.
Looking around and there aren't a great deal. One more doesn't hurt. It'll only be me and about three others posting.
lol, fair enough. and one more certainly doesn't hurt
That's one of the main things which put me off using Ubuntu, Mint etc. As I am being taught how to use access and how to code in VBA in sixth form. I've attempted to previously open .mdb files using Libre Office Base but it just doesn't work?
Had a go with KDE, nice and stable but just didn't do it for me.
After spending time looking at distros, i came across something called E17 whilst looking at Sabayon.
After some looking around, it seems its been about for ages, other distros also use it, but sabayon seem to be getting into it.
Never heard of it until this weekend, that's E17
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIflH21KDwQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yal9RAPjRSs
There are other options. You could try using the Windows version of Access under Linux with Wine. You could also install a whole copy of Windows under Linux using a virtual PC in something like VMware Server or VirtualBox.
WINE is pretty awesome for those wanting to run some Windows programs in their Linux OS. I use it for Spotify and Photofiltre and it works flawlessly. So easy to set up to.
Mark
I'll most probably go down the WINE route. Thanks Kevin
The latest one had the command embedded in the postinst file, which as most Linux users are aware will wipe your hard drive. This kind of thing doesn't need to come packaged in a .deb and may come in all sorts of scripts to download themes, so please take care what software you install outside of your package manager.
One question I want to ask Linux users, what Internet Browsers do you use? I'm using Firefox 4 on alll my versions of Linux, it just works much better than the Windows version and is so much faster.
Anyone used Midori? Be interesting to know what people think of that one.
Mark
Is it...?
I think XFCE is generally "better", but it won't be anywhere near as light as OpenBox is. I really like OpenBox. Very nice on low specs. XFCE is not really something I'd class as especially light on low specs, but maybe someone here will correct me on that.
Yes Chrome works really fast. On a change of subject I noticed this
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/ubuntu-launches-new-unity-enviroment-for-netbooks-11-05-2010/
which shows that unity has been around for netbooks for a while so I'm not sure why the ubuntu developers have taken the whole package in this direction?
My graphics arent great and i can't run Unity despite using command lines from another thread and trying to force it to work. In fact the display settings are simply not there. in Usually its under appearance settings but the tab is simply missing. what gives.
ooh running Ubuntu 11.04 here btw
WINE is very useful but it sometimes produces odd side effects in some programs, e.g. sound comes and goes in some games, applications which work ok but crash if you click on a particular button such as the library in Shareaza.
I installed Xchat, so that I can use IRC. Still getting used to the install manager on Ubuntu. I also have to install the Flash Player on it as well.
Still getting used to it. I haven't used that many other programs on it yet. GNOME seems okay so far.