Mint Linux 7 vs PClinuxOS 2009 Which do you prefer and why?

[jediphx]

Thanks in advance

 

[VinDSL]

Let's keep it simple...

I ran PCLinuxOS 2009 for about a week. It's a very capable distro, but it had a rather kludgey look n' feel.

Kinda hard to explain feelings, you know? LoL! That's why I wanted to keep it simple, sooo...

I'll simply say, it wasn't my cup o' tea - but I did give it a fair trial! Sometimes I purge distros in 30 minutes! Fedora 11 comes to mind... :thumbsdown:

PCLinuxOS 2009 would have made a splash if it came out 2 years ago. That's about the best thing I can say about it.

Linux Mint 7, on the other hand, has a very polished feel to it. Can't make up my mind which I like better - Mint 6 or Mint 7 - but I definitely didn't care for PCLinuxOS. Maybe I'll try it again in a couple of years...

I'm typing this on Mint 7 right now, via Firefox 3.5.2, and it's a 'class act'!

For me, form is just as important as functionality. PCLinuxOS 2009 functions just fine, but it has a very dated look about it.

Mint 7 gives you cutting edge performance, plus an elegant look n' feel.

Okay, I'll stop now!

 

[Gooberlx2]

I've tried both and I also much prefer Mint. PCLinuxOS just didn't rub me the right way. I mean, PCLlinuxOS seems fine....just nothing really special about it.

That said, I hope Opensuse continues to expand in both popularity and amount of stuff in their official repositories. IMO, it feels like the most well polished distro I've used. If they had anywhere near the community and software support and popularity that Ubuntu and its offshoots enjoy, well....that would just be peachy.

I only mention the official software support, 'cause I'm really not a big fan of using the Packman repository. I've found that the increased probability of breaking things outweighs the benefit of software access. It would also make version upgrades easier.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
I only mention the official software support, 'cause I'm really not a big fan of using the Packman repository. I've found that the increased probability of breaking things outweighs the benefit of software access. It would also make version upgrades easier.

Good point!

Mint's Update System is another plus. It's a huge improvement over its parent... Ubuntu!

MintUpdate uses a 1-5 rating system (1 being the safest)...

1. Level 1 means the update is made by Mint.
   
   Level 2 means the update has been tested by Mint and is safe.
   
   Level 3 means the update hasn't been tested by Mint, but they believe it?s fine.
   
   Level 4 means the update hasn't been tested by Mint, but it's likely to cause problems. Beware!
   
   Level 5 means the update WILL break all or part of Mint!!!

Most updates will be Level 3.

Level 4 & Level 5 updates DO NOT display by default.

Personally, I enable the Level 4 display option - been around the track a few times...

Level 5 is pure suicide - can't remember ever doing a lvl 5 upgrade!

BTW, if you decide to go with Mint 7 (smart choice) be sure to install "Ubuntu Tweak".

This is a 'must-have'!

Ubuntu Tweak 0.4.8 released (Ubuntu Tweak Web Site)

"Ubuntu Tweak" works great on both 'Jaunty' and 'Mint 7'!

 

[jediphx]

much newer looking version of pclinuxos check it out http://linuxgator.org/home/index.html

 

[Nothinman]

Mint's Update System is another plus. It's a huge improvement over its parent... Ubuntu!

So they have a rating system but virtually never use it? How is that a huge improvement?

Following the same rating system, every update released by Ubuntu in their main repo would fall under 1 or 2 and the ones in universe/multiverse would fall under 3. Patches hitting level 4 or 5 should never be released except in development repos. Hell even packages in Debian's unstable tree would fit level 2.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

Mint's Update System is another plus. It's a huge improvement over its parent... Ubuntu!

How is that a huge improvement?

Let's ponder the question...

http://www.vindsl.com/images/mintupdate_5_warning.png (VinDSL.com - MintUpdate Screenie)


What (exactly) does Ubuntu offer that matches this?

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: jediphx
much newer looking version of pclinuxos check it out http://linuxgator.org/home/index.html

I wouldnt call it newer...its just Gnome instead of KDE is what it looks like to me.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: blackangst1

Originally posted by: jediphx
much newer looking version of pclinuxos check it out http://linuxgator.org/home/index.html

I wouldnt call it newer...its just Gnome instead of KDE is what it looks like to me.

Heh! Then there's SAM... which is PCLinuxOS-based also, but uses neither GNOME nor KDE.

http://www.sam-linux.org/ (SAM Linux Web Site)

It's based on PCLinuxOS 2009.1 with a XFCE 4.6.1 interface and openSuSE color scheme.

I might give it a whirl one of these days...

Isn't Linux fun?!?!?

 

[Nothinman]

What (exactly) does Ubuntu offer that matches this?

Not publishing updates that will break things?

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

What (exactly) does Ubuntu offer that matches this?

Not publishing updates that will break things?

Nice theory, but...

http://www.vindsl.com/images/ubuntu_no_warning.png (VinDSL.com - Ubuntu Update Screenie)

Not only did Ubuntu publish the risky module (highlighted), but it gave no warning on update! This is just one example!

LoL! Non-Level 1 updates come from the Ubuntu repos. Hello?!?!?! MintUpdate provides the cure!

I know you're stuck on Debian, which Ubuntu (hence Mint) are based upon , but video driver problems in Ubuntu are rife!

Ask anyone that runs Ubuntu about video card problems. Update Ubuntu and the video card quits working - happens all the time!

The larger point is, the MintUpdate system gives you warnings and hides (by default) risky (Ubuntu) updates. Ubuntu doesn't!

This is just one of the great features in Linux Mint, not afforded by lesser distros.

 

[Nothinman]

http://www.vindsl.com/images/ubuntu_no_warning.png (VinDSL.com - Ubuntu Update Screenie)

Not only did Ubuntu publish the risky module (highlighted), but it gave no warning on update! This is just one example!

Using something like Envy means you take responsibility for breakage like that beacuse those tools don't work within the package management system. If you stick with the packaged linux-restricted-modules package supported by Canonical and don't use crap like Envy you should be fine.

I know you're stuck on Debian, which Ubuntu (hence Mint) are based upon , but video driver problems in Ubuntu are rife!

I've stuck with the Debian packaged binary nVidia drivers for a while now without any problems regardless of updates. I had to wait a bit to update Xorg a while back because of backwards incompatible changes and a delay in updating the module package but paying attention to something like that is part of using sid. Had I been using testing or stable I wouldn't have even seen that.

Ask anyone that runs Ubuntu about video card problems. Update Ubuntu and the video card quits working - happens all the time!

Probably because so many of them use crap like Envy.

The larger point is, the MintUpdate system gives you warnings and hides (by default) risky (Ubuntu) updates. Ubuntu doesn't!

The larger point is that if you stick within the system you don't need a rating system because the updates aren't unsafe. I'm not saying everything from Ubuntu is 100% perfect but that rating system is definitely the sign of a bigger problem with distros like Mint.

This is just one of the great features in Linux Mint, not afforded by lesser distros.

I prefer the feature of my distro where I get updates that don't break things.

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Originally posted by: blackangst1

Originally posted by: jediphx
much newer looking version of pclinuxos check it out http://linuxgator.org/home/index.html

I wouldnt call it newer...its just Gnome instead of KDE is what it looks like to me.

Heh! Then there's SAM... which is PCLinuxOS-based also, but uses neither GNOME nor KDE.

http://www.sam-linux.org/ (SAM Linux Web Site)

It's based on PCLinuxOS 2009.1 with a XFCE 4.6.1 interface and openSuSE color scheme.

I might give it a whirl one of these days...

Isn't Linux fun?!?!?

Fun for experimenting, yes

 

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Originally posted by: Nothinman

What (exactly) does Ubuntu offer that matches this?

Not publishing updates that will break things?

Nice theory, but...

http://www.vindsl.com/images/ubuntu_no_warning.png (VinDSL.com - Ubuntu Update Screenie)

Not only did Ubuntu publish the risky module (highlighted), but it gave no warning on update! This is just one example!

LoL! Non-Level 1 updates come from the Ubuntu repos. Hello?!?!?! MintUpdate provides the cure!

I know you're stuck on Debian, which Ubuntu (hence Mint) are based upon , but video driver problems in Ubuntu are rife!

Ask anyone that runs Ubuntu about video card problems. Update Ubuntu and the video card quits working - happens all the time!

The larger point is, the MintUpdate system gives you warnings and hides (by default) risky (Ubuntu) updates. Ubuntu doesn't!

This is just one of the great features in Linux Mint, not afforded by lesser distros.

Just to be clear, do you like Mint?

/tease

 

[TSDible]

I've used both extensively, and I prefer Minto to PCLinuxOS

That wasn't always the case... I even sent a couple of donations to PCLOS in order to get access to faster repositories and updates.

I feel that PCLOS just hasn't kept up with the rate at which the Linux desktop is evolving.

I've used SAM as well... Just to note... the current release is the last one that will be based on PCLinuxOS. There has been no announcement as to what the next version will be based on.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: TSDible
I've used both extensively, and I prefer Minto to PCLinuxOS

That wasn't always the case...

[...] I feel that PCLOS just hasn't kept up with the rate at which the Linux desktop is evolving [...]

Interesting comment(s), and true!

That's what it always comes down to for me (on the desktop)...

I always liked SuSE (now openSUSE) on the desktop, but they started lagging behind on KDE 4.x releases and I strayed.

When I started branching out and trying other distros, Ubuntu offended me on some guttural level. That changed with 'Jaunty' (9.04).

I loved Linux Mint from the start, but it was rather unheard of at the time. Now it's ranked (currently #3) above openSUSE in popularity on DistroWatch.com.

Funny how fast the Linux Desktop environment is evolving. After being wilfully ignored by the Linux Community for years, Desktop development is on fire!

You can thank Netbooks (generally) and Ubuntu (specifically) for getting the ball rolling...

BTW, speaking of Netbooks, Mint 7 scales down nicely - another Mint plus!

I'm successfully running a full Mint 7 Desktop on a 10.1" Asus Eee PC netty.

Here's a screenie: http://vindsl.com/images/Mint-7-EeePC(2).png (VinDSL.com - Linux Mint 7 on Asus 1000HD Eee PC)

 

[KeypoX]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

[L=http://www.vindsl.com/images/ubuntu_no_warning.png]http://www.vindsl.comshould be fine.

I know you're stuck on Debian, which Ubuntu (hence Mint) are based upon , but video driver problems in Ubuntu are rife!

I've stuck with the Debian packaged binary nVidia drivers for a while now without any problems regardless of updates. I had to wait a bit to update Xorg a while back because of backwards incompatible changes and a delay in updating the module package but paying attention to something like that is part of using sid. Had I been using testing or stable I wouldn't have even seen that.

Ask anyone that runs Ubuntu about video card problems. Update Ubuntu and the video card quits working - happens all the time!

Probably because so many of them use crap like Envy.

actually if you use the drivers from nvidia and update your kernel you do have to reinstall the drivers. I have always used drivers from straight from nvidia or ati. And this is a pain in the ass. But also gives me the opportunity to check for new drivers .

And I doubt mint would fix this problem. I expect maybe it would mark kernel updates as dangerous or whatever. Which would suck for people that only used mint, they would be stuck with no kernel updates?

Anyways I read a lot about mint, tried it, and didn't like it. I really like ubuntu, more than the dozen or so others i have tried. Still need to try debian, but I like a crammed, bloated OS. If ubuntu can really be called that. Of course Mint would prob be even more crammed/bloated lol.

 

[Nothinman]

actually if you use the drivers from nvidia and update your kernel you do have to reinstall the drivers. I have always used drivers from straight from nvidia or ati. And this is a pain in the ass. But also gives me the opportunity to check for new drivers

That's not an opportunity, it's a burden. If you stick with the kernel and module from the distribution you don't have to worry about it. And there's the fact that those installation scripts (at least nVidia, not sure about ATI) overwrite files installed by other packages so using them will eventually break X on a seemingly harmless update.

And I doubt mint would fix this problem. I expect maybe it would mark kernel updates as dangerous or whatever.

Exactly, which is crap. If you avoid Envy, manual nVidia installations, etc kernel updates are perfectly safe.

 

[Gooberlx2]

I thought Dell/Ubuntu introduced some sort of automatic driver recompile feature for kernel updates....maybe I misunderstood the feature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D..._Kernel_Module_Support

 

[Nothinman]

I thought Dell/Ubuntu introduced some sort of automatic driver recompile feature for kernel updates....maybe I misunderstood the feature.

Yea, that's what it's for although I don't know how well DKMS is supported in Ubuntu yet.

 

[sourceninja]

I want to go on record that I run about 15 ubuntu servers, 8 desktops, and 2 notebooks. I've never had a single problem with the nvidia or intel drivers.

I'm straying from ubuntu because we have chosen (mainly because we already pay for the support as part of our novell netware licensing) novell linux/suse for our new servers. So I'm going to be replacing our systems as they come up for replacement with those operating systems.

I'm also kinda taken by kde 4.3, it finally seems to be just about right. However kubuntu is straight up horrible. I've never had a default install of ubuntu crash, yet kubuntu crashes on my test box. With the mint kde release being based on kubuntu, I'm not sure I'd even want to try it, that's how much I look down on kubuntu.