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4 less-known Linux distros for beginners
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Comments (8)
With the exception of SolusOS, which is based on Debian, all of the "friendly" Linux OSs for beginners mentioned in this lame article are Ubuntu re-spins. Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge anyone from re-spinning Ubuntu but when a dumb ass blogger claims to be touting beginner friendly OSs...and then lists the SAME OS only with different themes, then it makes one wonder if someone didn't do his homework. The fact that Linux Mint (another Ubuntu based distro), PCLinuxOS (based on the now defuct Mandriva), Mageia (a fork of Mandriva) or Sabayon (a user-friendly, binary version of Gentoo) didn't get a mention is criminal. Let me boil it down for beginners using this article for reference: Use Ubuntu or Ubuntu. Ridiculous.
> Use Ubuntu or Ubuntu.
You can have any flavor of soda you want as long as it's Coke, Diet Coke, Caffeine Free Coke, Cherry Coke, Coke Zero, etc., etc., etc.
You can have any flavor of soda you want as long as it's Coke, Diet Coke, Caffeine Free Coke, Cherry Coke, Coke Zero, etc., etc., etc.
@cmost: Mandriva is NOT defunct. Mandriva 2012 is in beta now.
Other than that, yes, I agree with your points. I could have named a few other good choices as well.
Other than that, yes, I agree with your points. I could have named a few other good choices as well.
@jdixon
Cheeburger, cheeburger, Pepsi, no coke.
Cheeburger, cheeburger, Pepsi, no coke.
and then lists the SAME OS only with different themes.....,
No, you are wrong, at least on one count, and it's a wrong that surpasses picked nits and semantics.
Mint is far from an Ubuntu derivative with different themes. The fact is, they wrote a brand new codebase to bring usability back to the desktop The Mint folks spent a great deal of physical and hourly capital in bringing a decent alternative to those who despise the Unity interface.
Personally, while I'm not crazy about Unity, it does work mostly and I can see where some would like it...but for a company that carries the workload of millions of users on it's shoulders, to change the DE landscape overnight, it's a blatant insult. The Ubuntu Community gave much to Canonical and they were rewarded for their efforts by a "our way or the highway" attitude. To be fair, the Gnome folks did the exact same thing.
While I do use Mint on most Reglue and HeliOS Computers, we are also working with SolusOS for possible licensing deals and the Fedora respin known as Fusion.
In the case of Mint, it goes way beyond "a different theme set" and I don't see how it can be even remotely argued that it is.
No, you are wrong, at least on one count, and it's a wrong that surpasses picked nits and semantics.
Mint is far from an Ubuntu derivative with different themes. The fact is, they wrote a brand new codebase to bring usability back to the desktop The Mint folks spent a great deal of physical and hourly capital in bringing a decent alternative to those who despise the Unity interface.
Personally, while I'm not crazy about Unity, it does work mostly and I can see where some would like it...but for a company that carries the workload of millions of users on it's shoulders, to change the DE landscape overnight, it's a blatant insult. The Ubuntu Community gave much to Canonical and they were rewarded for their efforts by a "our way or the highway" attitude. To be fair, the Gnome folks did the exact same thing.
While I do use Mint on most Reglue and HeliOS Computers, we are also working with SolusOS for possible licensing deals and the Fedora respin known as Fusion.
In the case of Mint, it goes way beyond "a different theme set" and I don't see how it can be even remotely argued that it is.
Fair comment on Mint. However, cmost does make a point that these are all closely related distros. There are distros that are not Debian offspring which, IMNSHO, are better choices.
The Baboontu fanbois WILL come out with their articles abt how great their "non-Linux' distro is for n00bs and all others, and how you can do almost EVERYTHING on it.
That's always been and always probably will be their Thing.
2c
2c
@ helios
You're right; in fact I am a big fan of Linux Mint. It's true that Linux Mint actually forked from Ubuntu at Edgy Eft. That being said, it remains binary compatible with the latest Ubuntu release and shadows Ubuntu's release cycle making it appear, if only on the surface, as an Ubuntu re-spin. In my case, I only returned to the Mint fold upon the release of LMDE, which I currently use (and love!) LMDE is based on Debian Testing.
@ Caitlyn
Oops! I didn't realize Mandriva was still making a go of it. With all the recent articles about Mandriva's financial difficulties and imminent demise, I assumed that it is essentially a defunct distribution. To paraphrase Mark Twain: The reports of Mandriva's death are greatly exaggerated.
You're right; in fact I am a big fan of Linux Mint. It's true that Linux Mint actually forked from Ubuntu at Edgy Eft. That being said, it remains binary compatible with the latest Ubuntu release and shadows Ubuntu's release cycle making it appear, if only on the surface, as an Ubuntu re-spin. In my case, I only returned to the Mint fold upon the release of LMDE, which I currently use (and love!) LMDE is based on Debian Testing.
@ Caitlyn
Oops! I didn't realize Mandriva was still making a go of it. With all the recent articles about Mandriva's financial difficulties and imminent demise, I assumed that it is essentially a defunct distribution. To paraphrase Mark Twain: The reports of Mandriva's death are greatly exaggerated.
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