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Time to try a new Distro?

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  • 20-01-2013 9:31pm
    #1
    harney
    Registered Users Posts: 1,215 ✭✭✭


    Hi all

    I have been using Linux Mint since around version 5 and am wondering if it is time to make a change or if there is anything worth switching to?

    I am not a big fan of Red Hat or Ubuntu (yes I know!) and SUSE just seems odd to use now even though both it and Mandrake were the first distros I cut my teeth on around a decade ago.

    I am not a power use, quite the contrary I just need a desktop OS that will play happy with me and not cause my gf to call me up asking how to do things!!!

    The reason I am looking now is that I managed to whittle my data down to an exportable amount so I am in the process of copying it off with the intention of formatting and reinstalling everything.

    While I am use Mint 12, I am using gnome (I think) rather than what ever desktop manager Mint comes with - this is due to running apt-get update a while ago and accidentally installing gnome :D After swearing at it for a while I find myself trying to access menus by moving the mouse to the top left hand corner on other machines and getting frustrated when it doesn't work so I guess I do like it!

    Any ideas? I think as I type that Mint is the one to choose but I will have a last browse of distrowatch over the next few hours as I backup the last few hundred GB of data.

    Sorry for the essay.

    tl;dr anything better than Linux Mint without resorting to Red Hat, SUSE or Ubuntu (yes I know!).


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    #2
    Johnboy1951
    Registered Users Posts: 14,007 ✭✭✭✭Johnboy1951


    My suggestions

    Mageia
    PCLinuxOS
    Mepis

    You won't know until you try them I guess ;)


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    #3
    Tom Dunne
    Registered Users Posts: 23,212 ✭✭✭✭Tom Dunne


    Using Fedora here, reasonably stable, quite pretty.

    Currently upgrading to version 18 (really didn't think it would take so long).


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    #4
    harney
    Registered Users Posts: 1,215 ✭✭✭harney


    I might boot Fedora up in a vm and see what it is like. I installed Mint 14 but don't really like Cinnamon after using Gnome for so long. I tried installing the some of the gdm options through the package manager but it just resulted in killing my X windows session. There was some circular error that would not let me boot into a graphical desktop, although I could hit ALT F2 and from there launch an X session. Odd, but such is life.

    This site looks promising, and since all my data is off I can play around for a week or so to find something I like.

    http://worldofgnome.org/choose-your-gnome-distribution/


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    #5
    col.in.Cr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 511 ✭✭✭col.in.Cr


    I just put Debian on from here:

    http://www.goodbye-windows.com/

    it worked perfectly,so far anyway


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    #6
    harney
    Registered Users Posts: 1,215 ✭✭✭harney


    col.in.Cr wrote: »
    I just put Debian on from here:

    http://www.goodbye-windows.com/

    it worked perfectly,so far anyway

    I spent about 1 year on the Mint LMDE and it was OK, but as I take a scatter gun approach to patching I ended up a few times having to reconfigure X windows after either Mint or Debian decided to remove my nvidia drivers (on my old pc - the new one has intel drivers, but still.). I believe that it has gotten much better (Mint LMDE) and I am sure Debian itself is great but I want something shinny for my newish pc.


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    #7
    webwayz
    Registered Users Posts: 75 ✭✭webwayz


    The 3 distros I like are Debian and the 2 debian derivatives Ubuntu and Mint.
    I was impressed by Mints support for drivers for printers/scanners, where I had had many issues with other distros.


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    #8
    human 19
    Registered Users Posts: 839 ✭✭✭human 19


    you really need to say what you are looking for
    New distro? new desktop environment?
    The first place to look would be You tube where loads of people put up review vids of different distros and desktop environments


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    #9
    syklops
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,966 ✭✭✭✭syklops


    harney wrote: »
    I might boot Fedora up in a vm and see what it is like. I installed Mint 14 but don't really like Cinnamon after using Gnome for so long. I tried installing the some of the gdm options through the package manager but it just resulted in killing my X windows session. There was some circular error that would not let me boot into a graphical desktop, although I could hit ALT F2 and from there launch an X session. Odd, but such is life.

    This site looks promising, and since all my data is off I can play around for a week or so to find something I like.

    http://worldofgnome.org/choose-your-gnome-distribution/

    You say you dont like Red Hat but Fedora is Red Hat. A popular and stable release of Fedora becomes the next polished release of Red Hat. Fedora 12 became RHEL 6, if I remember correctly. Putting my cards on the table I am a Fedora user and a former Red Hat employee but if you don't like RHEL you won't like Fedora.

    As another user said, you didnt state what your looking for, and "time for a change" is not a good enough reason for me to change a distro. I use KDE and despite a few months of difficulties KDE is now stable and working perfectly. Fedora 17, despite its controversy regarding its name, has been the best one since F12 IMO. Aside from the usual fidgywidgyness with flash I have had no problems.


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    #10
    Scruffles
    Registered Users Posts: 955 ✭✭✭Scruffles


    seconding all the comments on giving us requirements,am guessing are wanting something that is 'ready to run' judging by the ones have prefered already but there are so many distros with various specialities available.
    the distrowatch list is a good place to start for information though dont use the popularity [or lack of] as a rule of quality,and there are still plenty of worth while ones that are not even on the list.

    in terms of no fuss 'ready to run' distros,woud recommend pearOS,its based on mac OSX but totaly improves on OSXs useability;have never got around to installing it but its one that have got booting live off a USB stick.
    http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=pear

    another 'RTR' one woud recommend is porteus- http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=porteus
    its based on the daddy of distros; slackware but doesnt come with its complexity.
    although have not installed it,its also partitioned on the USB stick of mine,it boots light speed fast,it is classed as a live distro but can be easily installed the last had heard of it.
    yep,just as thought-easy;
    http://porteus.org/tutoriels/37-installing/114-official-porteus-installation-guide-v-10.html#Hard%20Drive


    the favourites of mine are all 'specialist' distros-
    -matriux [got this one installed and booting on the USB stick,its a sec/penetration testing distro,needs manualy partitioning to install but its start menu isnt over complex like backtracks] :
    http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=matriux
    -DEFT [on the USB stick,a sec/forensics distro;very interesting woud recommend checking it out as a live version if are interested in sec and forensics stuff, its also used by police];
    http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=DEFT
    -backbox [on the USB stick,a sec/penetration testing distro,again better than backtrack in own view];
    http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=backbox


    as for SuSE,it isnt the same as it used to be,it was novell that used to make it and can remember what it was like a decade ago to as it was the first one of mine;they sold the retail version on the shelves next to windows back then which was awesome.
    novell offloaded SuSE onto the open source developers years back and it seems very different to how it used to be.


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    #11
    docentore
    Registered Users Posts: 1,582 ✭✭✭docentore


    have you tried Sabayon?


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    #12
    Hotblack Desiato
    Registered Users Posts: 34,523 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    Scruffles wrote: »
    novell offloaded SuSE onto the open source developers years back and it seems very different to how it used to be.

    Similar to what RH did with Fedora. RH split into RHEL and Fedora.
    SuSE split into SUSE (SLES/SLED) and openSUSE, commercial distros with official paid support and a free distro with community support respectively
    I've been using SuSE/openSUSE for ten years now
    Ten years ago the development & bug fixing process was effectively closed except to employees, today it's open to the community, anyone can request a feature, there is the open build service, lots of community repos and respins, online upgrades, long term supported versions, a rolling release distro... It's not the same as buying a box set of CDs in a shop with paper manuals included back in the day, but that business model is not viable today.

    Fingal County Council are certainly not competent to be making decisions about the most important piece of infrastructure on the island. They need to stick to badly designed cycle lanes and deciding on whether Mrs Murphy can have her kitchen extension.



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    #13
    human 19
    Registered Users Posts: 839 ✭✭✭human 19


    ninja900 wrote: »
    I've been using SuSE/openSUSE for ten years now
    ......... a rolling release distro...

    The last time I looked for a main distro,2 years ago, I also looked for a rolling distro.I looked at Suse but refused to give a sh!tload of my personal data to Novell, just to be able to access the forums. So I went with sabayon in the end.


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    #14
    Hotblack Desiato
    Registered Users Posts: 34,523 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    The data you submit doesn't have to be real :) I never bothered to sign up to the forums, it's a good resource to google without bothering to register.

    The Novell sign-up pages are due to be removed soon anyway so there should then be a less 'corporate' registration process for forums.opensuse.org

    Tumbleweed is the rolling release version of openSUSE.

    Fingal County Council are certainly not competent to be making decisions about the most important piece of infrastructure on the island. They need to stick to badly designed cycle lanes and deciding on whether Mrs Murphy can have her kitchen extension.



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    #15
    IRWolfie-
    Registered Users Posts: 100 ✭✭IRWolfie-


    harney wrote: »
    I have been using Linux Mint since around version 5 and am wondering if it is time to make a change or if there is anything worth switching to?
    You seem to be happy with mint, so the easiest solution would be to not change :).


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    #16
    minminadam
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭minminadam


    whats wrong with ubuntu?

    I switched from mint back to ubuntu, find it quite good. Little slower to boot maybe, but fine


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    #17
    Hotblack Desiato
    Registered Users Posts: 34,523 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    What's wrong with Ubuntu?

    Forcing their users down the Unity deathmarch path. Yes there's Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, but they don't really get the same love as the 'real thing'

    Selling their users out with Amazon search. This is so evil even Microsoft never did it, although they could have made a lot of money doing so.

    And their founder/funder is a megalomaniac who is making increasingly irrational decisions.

    The great thing about free software projects though is that if enough people don't like the way it's going, they just fork it and see if they can do better. Mint do seem to be doing better.

    Fingal County Council are certainly not competent to be making decisions about the most important piece of infrastructure on the island. They need to stick to badly designed cycle lanes and deciding on whether Mrs Murphy can have her kitchen extension.



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