Stable and Userfriendly...anyone ..?

[asheesh1_2000]

Following the very sticky thread in this section, I installed Ubuntu 10.10 as I want to explore Linux world.

Though it is very easy to install and was having lots of better options, like in old days we had to mount a NTFS drive manually but here it is just a single click, however my very first encounter with Ubuntu in 1 week is BAD,

I simply changed my login profile to automatic login, and BAM... the famous Ubuntu error of .ICEAuthority has started coming since then. I hv somehow been able to login back and perhaps look around more will be able to cure it but the impression has not been good.

So I am looking for another one to download, and do not point to me that sticky thread as I simply do not trust it anymore.

 

[Ijack]

Mandriva, Fedora, or - for the more adventurous - Gentoo.

 

[Emerald]

FreeBSD

 

[skittle]

arch linux, its like a perfect balance between debian and gentoo.

 

[CsG_kieran_2]

Try linux mine. Its very user friendly, ^^avoid Fedora for the time being

 

[randomizer]

It sounds like you've had past experience since you refer to the old days. What level of experience do you have? Are you looking for a distro that will hold your hand and not really tell you what it's doing or do you want to be in the driver's seat instead? Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pinguy OS, PCLinuxOS and to a lesser extent Fedora, Debian and openSUSE will all be like this. Arch and Gentoo will require you to configure most things yourself, but if you don't mind reading it's quite simple. Most of Arch's base configuration is in a single file. Gentoo is really only good if you like spending a lot of time compiling things.

There's also Slackware, which is in somewhat of a league of its own. It's installation is a bit more complete than Arch's in that you can have an entire system installed from the get go, but the behind-the-scenes configuration is still done manually. In addition, Slackware (without 3rd party tools) does not automatically handle dependencies, and so you will never have the infamous "dependency hell." Only packages that you specify will be installed or removed, and the system will not try and stop you from removing packages that you actually need. It's the ultimate level of control available using binary packages (or source if you want to compile things). You know exactly what is on your system because you explicitly installed it.

I don't believe that the term "user friendly" has any meaning, hence my more verbose post. Every user is different.

 

[asheesh1_2000]

My earlier experience with Linux have been with server kinds and firewalls only and have played with Redhat enterprise, Turbo, freebsd (CLI based) , IPSO etc.

Now I am trying to migrate my desktop usability from Windows to Linux for..

1. I expect Linux to handle 64 bit word size better then Windows.

2. I think Linux will be able to handle Hexacore better then Windows.

3. Most ... Linux is far less targeted by BAD guys so I feel more secure.


However, since I must accept I am somewhat used to the CLICK and GET DONE environment of windows, and beautiful layouts, though I am not expecting the same with Linux, but I think by now Linux must hv come up close to it.

 

[chamaecyparis]

Check them out. I like either one.

Aptosid 64-bit XFCE
http://linux.ixcodes.com/aptosid.html
(As a +1 to randomizer)
Salix64-xfce
http://sourceforge.net/projects/salix/files/13.1/salix64-xfce-13.1.2a.iso/download

Welcome to Linux, again!

 

[Pyroflea]

As far as ease of use goes, the standard Ubuntu, Mint, PCLinuxOS, etc. For stability, I like Debian. Pretty much all of the suggestions here are quite viable. My personal top picks would be Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, and Fedora. That's just me though.

 

[randomizer]

However, since I must accept I am somewhat used to the CLICK and GET DONE environment of windows, and beautiful layouts, though I am not expecting the same with Linux, but I think by now Linux must hv come up close to it.

You might be interested in a distro that uses KDE. It's a bit more "beautiful" than GNOME, at least out of the box. GNOME is a bit more tacky IMO, and making it look nice often requires cheap tricks to workaround limitations. Want a transparent panel? Well you can get a true transparent (or translucent) panel with the right Window Manager but that will also mean the opacity of the text is too low to read. You can use a transparent PNG background image instead, but then you've got no real transparency as anything behind the panel won't be visible through it.

 

[asheesh1_2000]

You might be interested in a distro that uses KDE.

Is it not true any more that while installing any Linux it asks you if you want to install KDE or GENOME?

 

[randomizer]

Perhaps on a fully-loaded DVD, but a Live CD distro won't. There's no enough space to fit it on there.

 

[Pyroflea]

Is it not true any more that while installing any Linux it asks you if you want to install KDE or GENOME?

I've never had this option on a single installation disk. At least from my experience.

 

[asheesh1_2000]

I've never had this option on a single installation disk. At least from my experience.

I had this option in Red Hat Linux 8 desktop version which I got along with its book, that was some 6 years back.

 

[randomizer]

Fedora's DVD has the option, as does openSUSE. I'd imagine all DVDs that are at least 4GB in size would have multiple DEs available. Back when RH 8 was around the DEs probably didn't take up nearly as much space so fitting more than one on a CD was easier. Remember also that Live CDs come as a complete working environment including applications as well. There's only so much you can cram into 700MB, especially when it's already compressed to 1/4-1/3 of its actual size just to fit.

 

[CsG_kieran_2]

Fedora's DVD has the option, as does openSUSE. I'd imagine all DVDs that are at least 4GB in size would have multiple DEs available. Back when RH 8 was around the DEs probably didn't take up nearly as much space so fitting more than one on a CD was easier. Remember also that Live CDs come as a complete working environment including applications as well. There's only so much you can cram into 700MB, especially when it's already compressed to 1/4-1/3 of its actual size just to fit.

Most Torrents or Websites have the option for what type. e.g KDE, Gnome, LXDE, Xface you name it. They are also not very large. from 600MB to 1.5GB max for any desktop OS (64Bit)

EDIT: Except fedora as that can get large - desktop equivalent to red hat.

 

[asheesh1_2000]

Try linux mine. Its very user friendly, ^^avoid Fedora for the time being

Do we get to choose KDE with Linux Mint?

 

[Pyroflea]

http://www.linuxmint.com/release.php?id=13

Fluxbox, Gnome, KDE, Lxde and Xfce available.

 

[asheesh1_2000]

http://www.linuxmint.com/release.php?id=13

Fluxbox, Gnome, KDE, Lxde and Xfce available.

very nice, thanks. Anywhere I can see some pics or thumbnails how do they look?

 

[Pyroflea]

Fluxbox: http://www.linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/isadora/fluxbox/isadora.png
Gnome: http://www.linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/isadora/isadora.png
KDE: http://linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/isadora/kde/isadora.png
LXDE: http://www.linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/isadora/lxde/isadora.png
XFCE: http://www.linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/isadora/xfce/isadora.png

They all look fairly similar by default due to the stock theme.

 

[asheesh1_2000]

Fluxbox: http://www.linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/isadora/fluxbox/isadora.png
Gnome: http://www.linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/isadora/isadora.png
KDE: http://linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/isadora/kde/isadora.png
LXDE: http://www.linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/isadora/lxde/isadora.png
XFCE: http://www.linuxmint.com/pictures/screenshots/isadora/xfce/isadora.png

They all look fairly similar by default due to the stock theme.

thanks. yeah, they look similar.. but then of course, it is mint and should be in green only.

 

[asheesh1_2000]

Thanks everyone, I think I will go with Linux Mint with KDE.

 

[randomizer]

Linux Mint 10 KDE should be getting an RC release some time in the not-too-distant future. Most likely The end of Jan or early Feb. I'd expect a mid-Feb release of the final version.

 

[amdfangirl]

They have a constant release schedule don't they?

 

[abdussamad]

Following the very sticky thread in this section, I installed Ubuntu 10.10 as I want to explore Linux world.

Though it is very easy to install and was having lots of better options, like in old days we had to mount a NTFS drive manually but here it is just a single click, however my very first encounter with Ubuntu in 1 week is BAD,

I simply changed my login profile to automatic login, and BAM... the famous Ubuntu error of .ICEAuthority has started coming since then. I hv somehow been able to login back and perhaps look around more will be able to cure it but the impression has not been good.

So I am looking for another one to download, and do not point to me that sticky thread as I simply do not trust it anymore.

I think you need to lower your expectations a bit. You are using a new operating system and it is likely that just about any distro you use will have some annoyances. You just have to persist with it and implement bug fixes, workarounds as and when you encounter problems. Having said that I rather like opensuse 11.3 KDE version. Using it right now. And yes it wasn't trouble free. Had problems but fixed them one by one. Reasonably happy with it now.