The [Main] What Distro should YOU use? - Page 10


View Poll Results: Best Distro for Low resource PC?

Voters
170. You may not vote on this poll
  • Dam Small Linux

    20 11.76%
  • Debian

    42 24.71%
  • Feather Linux

    3 1.76%
  • Gentoo

    13 7.65%
  • Puppy Linux

    9 5.29%
  • Slackware

    38 22.35%
  • SuSE

    9 5.29%
  • Vector

    10 5.88%
  • Yoper

    0 0%
  • Other

    26 15.29%
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Thread: The [Main] What Distro should YOU use?

  1. #136
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    Jan 2004
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    Los Angeles CA
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    I want to change my vote

    it has been so long since I voted I now have a new point of view, and prefered flavor/

  2. #137
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    2
    Hello,

    I have decided that I wanted to build a separate storage server, and my timeline for building it has just received a large nudge by me spontaneously upgrading my current computer completely...

    So anyway, I want to build a storage server for my network from the following

    DFI lan party NF4 SLI DR motherboard
    amd 64 x2 3800+
    GeForce 6800GT
    4x Seagate 400 Gb SATA drives

    My goals are to:
    1) Make a 1.2 TB(approx of course) RAID5 array in software using the appropriate version of linux. Possibly adding a spare drive later, and maybe expanding the array as needed.
    2)Put the server on the network so that it is accessible to all my windows machines quickly. (I.E. faster then windows file sharing normally is)
    3)Bond the 2 gigabit network ports on the motherboard and connect them to a gigabit switch (which needs to support bonding too, correct?)
    4)Automatic defragmenting and 'optimization' of the array, virus scanning too.
    5)This one is kind of optional, but I would like the computer to email my Gmail account in the even of a drive failure.

    Time that I can dedicate to learning linux? well give that good raid cards are $500+, I would say I have plenty of time to save that much

    I do have broadband so downloading the discs is fine with me.

    Which forum should I use for further questions about this little project of mine?

    Thanks.

  3. #138
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    Quote Originally Posted by ConKbot of Doom
    Which forum should I use for further questions about this little project of mine?
    You are perfectly fine in here as long as you wondering what distro to use. Once you picked one and have questions concerning its installation, proceed to the installation subforum. If your installation has succeeded and you have questions concerning what software to use in Linux for task XYZ, go to the software forum. For hardware related problems, go to the hardware subforum.

    I have never built a server with the specifications you require, but I just recently rebuilt my own little server and have to say I liked Debian the best. Ubuntu Server Edition and Gentoo Hardened where the other two candidates. Debian won for stability and easy upgrading. Ubuntu is tricky to upgrade between releases and Gentoo hardened hasn't any good documentation anymore, but if you succeed with it you'd have a rock solid server.

    "What can be said at all can be said clearly, and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence."

    Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951)

  4. #139
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    2
    Hie. I'm currently using win XP. (from the day Bill Gates was born) Now, I intend to switch to linux as it's said to be virus/spyware free. Is that true?

    I'm worried about compatibility problems, as I would depend on my USB, printers, mp3players, mobile phones alot. I'll get a Twinhead laptop soon and will be using it for emails, word doc, Command and Conquer, messenger, bittorrent (and all other downloads), music, dvds, surf the net etc.

    I seriously need recommendations on which mepis/ubuntu that suits me. Oh and which one is with the 3d cube thingy? That's so cool.

  5. #140
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    59
    Linux is spyware and virus free.
    The cube thing is called beryl.
    I'm not sure if you'll have trouble using your printer/scanner (i dont have either), but everything else is easy to mount to a usable directory. (in ther terminal, su to root and "mount /dev/devicename /some/other/dir") the device name would be the one that wasn't in the /dev directoyry before you pluggered the device in, and /some/other/dir is any empty folder you want.
    For messenger, you have programs called gaim or kopete, they let you connect to yahoo, msn, irc etc etc all at once. bittorent and firefox are available for linux, but im not sure about command and conquer.
    For music and dvds, download xmms and as many codecs asyou can find.
    Last edited by boxxertrumps; 05-30-2007 at 10:39 AM.
    - Ryan "Boxxertrumps" Trumpa

  6. #141
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    Oct 2002
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    Quote Originally Posted by toshiokenzo
    USB, printers, mp3players, mobile phones...emails, word doc, Command and Conquer, messenger, bittorrent...music, dvds, surf the net etc.
    Since you're a long-time windows user you'll need to make a few adjustments. No longer will you download programs and drivers off the net. All the programs you need are available through a "package manager". On ubuntu I believe it's called synaptic. Also, ubuntu appears to be geared towards people who are used to the "windows way" so I think that's where you should start.
    Read this and things will be a lot easier for you: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~djm/ubuntu/
    Need help in realtime? Visit us at #linuxnewbie on irc.libera.chat

    Few of us will do as much for our fellow man as he has done.
    --Andrew Morton on RMS

  7. #142
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Greenville, SC
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    68

    I like comerricalized Debian desktop implementations

    Quote Originally Posted by ions
    This is the ONLY 'What distro is best for you?' thread on the board now. Well if you're not sure tell us what you do and a little about your computer and we'll help you figure out which is best for you and why.

    Some things to think about when posting:
    • What apps do you use most?.
    • For me, far and away I use teh Web Browser most, followed by the Email client next, and the text editor third most often. Actually, Email is probably the most consistent activity I do with a computer, but at home, I use both Email clients and Web based Email, which drives up my Web usage. I do a lot of other Web activity, such as here, to research and post in forums, so that also drives up Web usage.

      Quote Originally Posted by ions
      Do you have a broadband connection? .
      Yes, and that certainly has an impact on my interest in Debian. Prior to broadband access, I purchased either books or boxed sets to get my systems, and I did not use Debian, I used Slackware, Mandrake, and Red Hat in those days. Still all good distros, but Debian, with broadband access, is more flexible.

      Quote Originally Posted by ions
      How familiar are you with computers? .
      As a software user, very familiar. For hardware, I am familiar enough to accomplish whatever I need to do.

      Quote Originally Posted by ions
      How familiar are you with Linux? .
      Extremely. I've used many different varieties and have studied them extensively since 1995.

      Quote Originally Posted by ions
      How much time are you willing to invest into learning Linux? .
      I am sure it has been in the thousands or tens of thousands of hours - and about twelve years of elapsed time.

      Quote Originally Posted by ions
      How powerful is your computer? .
      I have a 400 MHz system that is now pretty much dormant, a 1 Ghz desktop that is aging but still quite functional, and has been my primary system for several years. I am migrating to a 2.7 GHz system that I got for the price of the postage from someone who was moving up in models. I got a newer DVD/RW drive and a larger capacity hard drive. Now I hope to get three to five years out of that system as the 1 GHz system gradually becomes a test system and the 2.7 GHz system becomes more of the every day system.


    Quote Originally Posted by ions
    This is a popular topic and in the interest of providing info as clearly as possible on the topic we think one cetral thread is a good idea. So, all new threads that should have been posted in this thread will be locked from now on.
    Brian W. Masinick
    Masinick at Yahoo Dot Com

  8. #143
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    SimplyMEPIS has been my every day Debian desktop system for the past couple of years. Prior to that I was a firm Libranet user for several years, though my Libranet system became more like a Sid system than the system it originated from.

    Recently, I have raised my opinion of Kubuntu. The installation and applications that are available have really made this a very solid and usable system, too. I personally think that SimplyMEPIS is set up, immediately upon installation, more ready to be used. However, Kubuntu installs just as easily, has as many or more packages included, and where it does take an extra step, there is Easy Ubuntu available to make use of multimedia applications a snap with either of them.

    Freespire gets honorable mention. The only reason I don't raise them higher is that the first version (and the commercial Linspire system upon which it was based) is really getting behind the other vendors in coming out with current software. As soon as Linspire and Freespire stabilize their move over to a Ubuntu code base, this should improve. Meanwhile, the older versions of Freespire and Linspire are very easy, just getting old in Internet age. The new versions, however, are not stable enough for every day use yet, but should be very soon.
    Brian W. Masinick
    Masinick at Yahoo Dot Com

  9. #144
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    10

    Hello everyone

    This is my first post here, so please bear with me.

    I currently am a Windows XP power user willing to switch to Linux. Some friend of mine tried to convert me to Ubuntu, but he failed. My main reason to refuse Ubuntu was because all the stuff was in the repositories, and all kinds of things happened when I tried to install "outside" software. I consider such a centralized way of packaging as very bad. I want an OS that is just that, an OS, lets me install whatever I want from various sources and doesn't treat me like a baby (the "we know what's good for you so trust us" approach).

    Unfortunately, I heard that in the SUSE, Fedora, and of course, Debian camps things are identical. Time-based releases are preferred to feature-based releases and users are locked in the repositories assigned to their OS version (notice that not being able / not wanting to compile things is still "locking in" to me).

    So, is there any distribution designed from the ground up with such a philosophy in mind*? Or should I stay with Windows and/or buy a Mac?

    Hardware resources are not a problem, just as a hi-speed internet connection is not.

    *PC-BSD is trying the good thing, however, it's only something superficial and unstable.

  10. #145
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    zugu,
    Man, you _are_ a windows power user. What are these "various sources" of which you speak?
    Do you really want to compile and install major packages by hand?
    The distro maintainers have done lots of work centralizing their package collections...why do you think that's a bad thing?
    Anyway, it sounds to me like you're wanting Slackware.
    Need help in realtime? Visit us at #linuxnewbie on irc.libera.chat

    Few of us will do as much for our fellow man as he has done.
    --Andrew Morton on RMS

  11. #146
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    10
    Actually, I despise compiling and editing config files. As far as I know, Slackware's package manager does not solve dependencies, I am supposed to solve them every time I install something. So no, Slackware is not for me.

    I want something with the ease of use and polish of Ubuntu and the elegance of Debian that does not force me to use certain versions of the packages in the repositories. Basically, I want to be able to install whatever software I want, whenever I want, without being forced to upgrade to the next release of the OS just to get newer versions of even basic tools like Firefox, Gaim or OO.org.

    Centralized package management is bad, because I, as a user, depend on what the developers cared to port/package/backport. Where is the famous *NIX flexibility?

    apt-get might be cool, but it stops being so when the packages I want are not in the repos or I need newer versions. Installing things from sources others than the repositories has the potential to b0rk the whole apt ecosystem, either instantly or at dist-upgrade. Same for rpm based distros. I don't want to be locked in the repositories. I want to be able to install Firefox 2 and when the time comes, to upgrade to FF3 without upgrading the distro. I used Dapper for a year, until I noticed I was frozen inside whatever the repositories looked like at the moment of the release. The dapper-backports repositories are almost empty and developers are reluctant to backporting most of the required apps because "it might break the system". And it's not just Dapper, it's every other release of Ubuntu and Debian and Fedora and OpenSUSE and so on.

    Windows XP, OTOH, lets me install everything released in the last 7 years or even more. Mac OS X has the most comfortable way of installing things: the application is self-contained, with everything it needs to run, regardless of what's installed on the OS or not. That's what I call real flexibility. Is there any distro out there that does this?

    I hope I stated my point better this time.

  12. #147
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    So you want a distro in which most packages are statically linked...hmm... I don't know of any distro that does that, as it's a huge waste of resources.
    You're informed enough to make your own choices, and it sounds like you should probably stay with windows/mac.
    http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm
    Need help in realtime? Visit us at #linuxnewbie on irc.libera.chat

    Few of us will do as much for our fellow man as he has done.
    --Andrew Morton on RMS

  13. #148
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    Jul 2007
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    It might be a waste of resources, but it would make installing and deploying applications much more easier. Developers would have an easier life, not concerning themselves with what's installed or not in the operating system. HDD capacities are not a problem nowadays, so redundancy should not be an issue.

    Well, I guess I'll stick with Windows for now, Linux is not yet for me (and there are chances it will never be). I find this centralized design philosophy to be fundamentally flawed and there's no chance someone will change it. PC-BSD people are trying something, as I said in my previous posts, but it's just superficial, the underlying system is still FreeBSD.

    So here ends my not quite pleasant Linux experience. I'll be sure to check some distros in VMWare from time to time, just to keep up with what's happening.

    Cheers.

  14. #149
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    Quote Originally Posted by zugu
    HDD capacities are not a problem nowadays, so redundancy should not be an issue.
    It's not really the HD space, but the RAM wasted.
    Quote Originally Posted by zugu
    Well, I guess I'll stick with Windows for now, Linux is not yet for me (and there are chances it will never be)
    Cheers.
    I doubt any free software developer will ever implement what you're wanting....but then again who knows?
    Need help in realtime? Visit us at #linuxnewbie on irc.libera.chat

    Few of us will do as much for our fellow man as he has done.
    --Andrew Morton on RMS

  15. #150
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    Quote Originally Posted by zugu
    So here ends my not quite pleasant Linux experience. I'll be sure to check some distros in VMWare from time to time, just to keep up with what's happening.Cheers.
    I beg to disagree.

    I have one box running 3 Dos, 5 MS Windows (including Vista), 100+ Linux, few BSD (including PCBSD and FreeBSD) and a couple of Solaris. I also run VMware with a M$ system as host and Linux as guests.

    I would say Linux is the easiest and the most pleasant to use. This is because we are allowed to control/configure the operating system and not being told to stick with rules laid down by the M$.

    Even if a M$ Windows doesn't Linux he/she will eventually find out Linux is a super utility that can be used to migrate the M$ systems from hard disk to hard disk or to salvage his/her work when the M$ fails or dies.
    Linux user started Jun 2004 - No. 361921
    Using a Linux live CD to clone XP
    To install Linux and keep Windows MBR untouched
    Adding extra Linux & Doing it in a lazy way
    A Grub menu booting 100+ systems & A "Howto" to install and boot 145 systems
    Just cloning tips Just booting tips A collection of booting tips

    Judge asked Linux "You are being charged murdering Windoze by stabbing its heart with a weapon, what was it?" Replied Linux "A Live CD"

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