I decided it was time to play around with newly released Linux distros the other night night. I know it is not the greatest decision as far as computers go, to play with the operating system when it is late. Getting to bed at four in the morning reinforced that thought.
It started out simply enough, I thought I would check out the new Linux listings at Distrowatch
and see what distributions are popular. There has not been a lot of movement in ratings of different distributions but there were some new releases. I broke out some blank cd’s and off I went.
I started out innocently enough thinking about a recent conversation I had at a local netboook show and tell. One of the people there also uses Linux and we talked about our choices. One distro we both had used in the past was PCLinuxOS and we both agreed PCLinuxOS is a solid distribution. I had moved on to Minime which became obsolete, and he has moved on to Tinyme for his netbook which he runs off a xd card and does not use his hard drive.
He mentioned a recent release of Minime was out. That was my starting point. I found the updated Minme torrent download, downloaded the iso and copied it to cd. Minime said it could not run as a live cd. Oh well, that was fun, not.
Mepis released a new beta iso, and I thought it may run well on my netbook. I downloaded the iso, copied it and started it up. It ran fine as a live cd, so I installed Mepis to my hard drive. mepis installed quickly, and ran okay except it would not shutdown properly. That should have been a hint to stop for the night.
I thought, well maybe Debian would now work with my netbook wireless. Repeat, to install. Debian made it to the wireless configuration but does not support my wireless card. In the past Debian made no changes to my hard drive, but this time that was not the case. Grub was gone and Windows was in jeopardy.
This is where the fun began as midnight came and went. As Zenwalk worked before, except for my wireless card, the new beta may have caught up. Repeat download install sequence. Being a beta, or more likely my Debian almost install and abort, Zenwalk loaded and ran, but Windows was still missing.
One o’clock in the morning was now in the past. I got on the net and looked for an easy was to fix the MBR so Windows could load. That was a wasted forty minutes except I read a method to use Ubuntu to rewrite the Windows loader. Three o’clock in the morning was now history. I had downloaded Ubuntu and repeated the install.
Ubuntu not only loaded painlessly, it found Windows and added it to Grub! The world or at least my netbook was safe once again. It was now almost 3:45 am. The Ubuntu file update notification showed up and I decided I may as well spend a few minutes updating Ubuntu. Wrong thought, thinking it would be a few minutes. The update was quick and painless, but not fast.
Mepis works on my Asus netbook. Debian’s install, and also tells so you before you start. Ubuntu saved the day for me. It may be Ubuntu loads and runs faster than previous releases. Ubuntu is well polished and stable.
In wrapping up, do not seriously think about toying with your computer’s operating system when it is late, or you are tired. Linux Beta’s are not really ready for prime time, or at least dual booting. They make it clear in their release announcement, and they mean it. Staying up later to fix earlier mistakes is not really a good solution.
Linux is a great OS, and the problems were all my doing. Towards the end, I thought perhaps I should download a server version which is pretty stripped down, and add programs I want. After seeing four in the morning, I decided enough was enough for one night.
I had some free time this week, and the Sidux Linux I am using has drifted from leading edge to leading as the Sidux Team introduced a new revision. I was very happy with Sidux and recommend Sidux if you want a stable fast Linux on your computer.
With that being said it was off to Distrowatch for another round of trying out new flavors of Linux. The current roundup is very impressive, and my final decision still is not made. I started downloading PCLinuxOS from their server using my Mac. The download rate was pretty slow, so I killed it waiting for a different time of day to try again.
As I looked over the current offerings, Crunchbang Linux caught my attention. It is purported to be a smaller faster Ubuntu Linux. I downloaded the most current version and installed it on my little Asus 1000. It is a snappy little distribution. It is complete as it comes for most users. I would have been happy with it, with the exception of the color scheme. It is shades of black upon shades of black. I do not know if there was a statement in the color scheme, but with so many choices I decided to let Crunchbang go for something a little more colorful. If black is your favorite color, and you desire a fast lighter distribution, check out Crunchbang Linux.
My next choice was Vector Linux. Vector has a new version out, and I know from past experience that Vector Linux is one very fast distribution. It has been some years, and many revisions since I ran Vector, but knowing how quick it was, I was curious to try Vector Linux again. I was not disappointed! Vector is everything it always has been, and more.
One of the options during the install was to load the works, that was not the option name, but the idea is the same, so I chose it. The whole meal deal was exactly that. Vector Linux was stuffed with more software than I imagined one cd could hold. So much in fact, I felt it was more than I wanted. It was replaced, but I plan to go back and install the regular flavor next week.
Puppy Linux is making a bigger name for itself every week. At around one-hundred megs one is challenged to find a competing distribution that packs so much software and is so fast. As luck would have it, Puppy Linux released two new versions yesterday for revision 4.2.
Puppy Linux from Puppy's site
Being greedy, I downloaded them both, and ran the version that is not the retro edition. What a pretty desktop I had! Loaded with all the software I could want and then some, with the exception of a few games, Puppy is a very pleasant Linux. I had a problem making my memory stick bootable, but once I figure that out, I will have a portable Puppy on a flash drive, and Puppy Linux may make it to my hard drive.
I always wanted to give Zenwalk Linux a spin, but I was never too sure about my wireless support. Since I have decided that wireless on my Asus is not all that, I downloaded Zen Linux and completed an install.. Zen Linux is everything it claims to be. Zen Linux is a nice mix of software. Each program is a leader in its separate category. Zen is very fast, and responsive, with a nice collection of software in the repositories. Zen Linux claims a place on my hard drive this go around.
I am ever curious about Mepis Linux, so I downloaded Mepis. For whatever reason the server timed out in the last thirty seconds of downloading, and I never managed a complete ISO. Mepis is a good distribution, though probably a little heavy for my little netbook.
Along the same lines, I managed a complete download of PCLinuxOS, and burned a cd. It is a little too much for my netbook without undergoing some major changes. It is very pretty as always and performed well for me on my desktops. I am sure that remains the same
I am torn between Zen and Puppy Linux. They are the best for my needs right now, and it is a tough decision. Maybe I will use them both as my mood changes?
