PCLinuxOS

[reverend boltron]

Well, I have to say, there is something about Linux that makes me question my nerdiness. The fact is, no matter how many times I have tried switching to Linux, I just couldn't do it.

I have tried switching over because of Microsoft and their methods, but that was probably more during my teen years when I was just fighting what was popular for the sake of it being popular. Luckily I never was put in the situation of fighting myself, jay kay. But honestly, I have tried switching over to Linux, didn't work. I set up my computer for dual booting, didn't work. I got live CDs, didn't work again. I even went as far as building a switch with micro transistors, and modding my jumper shunts on the back of my hard drives so I could physically flick a switch to go between hard drives, so I could just boot Windows or Linux, but every single time I went back to Windows.

Why? Because I never had a good experience, and to be honest, I needed to be "taught" by someone how to use it. That may not sound "leet" but that's the honest truth.

I started hearing about how awesome Ubuntu was. It was all the rage with the kids, people were saying it was the best to use to switch from Windows to Linux. And I thought I would give it one more shot. Ubuntu was nice. It was a lot easier to use, and things were pretty good. But there were still problems. There were issues with it that I didn't like, and to me, it wasn't worth giving up Windows for. My thought process was, "I have a computer that functions the way I want it to. Why am I going to sacrifice functionality and usability to use my computer for the same thing?"

So after multiple Ubuntu attempts, I decided it wasn't worth it. Then I stumbled into this section of the forum and saw the Linux Beginners Thread... I decided I'd have a go at it again. I wanted to read it, and see what it said, maybe this was what I needed to make the switch, or the dual boot. I was game to go at it again.

Well, I read over the thread, and I decided I'd check out the distro watch to see what was still popular. I checked out the little poll they had on the screen telling what the most visited sites were, and Ubuntu was right at #1, which was discouraging. But then I saw a little option that said I change the ranking system to be set by weekly instead. When I did that, I saw PCLinuxOS was the number one distro.

I went to their website, I downloaded their live CD, and I burned it. I can tell you, just from using it for a few minutes, I am so pleased with it. Right out of the box everything worked perfectly. I'm going to tinker with it some more, but my suggestion to people who want to give Linux a try: Don't always believe the hype, PCLinuxOS is a great distro to try, especially if Ubuntu left you feeling a little let down.

The resolution is fine, the internet connection is perfect, it's speedy. I really like it a lot. I'm glad I came to this forum.

 

[smb]

your probably satisifed because it's KDE based. Personally I think Mepis is better. I could never get fonts working with PCLOS, and Mepisfor some strange reason has perfect font rendering, especially with Firefox. JMHO.

 

[soonerproud]

One size does not fit all especially in the land of Linux. PCLOS, Mepis and Linux Mint are great for those that do not want to have to go through the hassle of getting Flash, Java, and some codecs. (None of these distros provide w32 codecs or DVD playback out of the box.) Ubuntu on the other hand does not have these because it's commitment to remain as free as possible. Ubuntu is great for some one that wants an easy to install distro but also wants to learn some of the Linux basics. It is a good balance between easy to use and as a learning platform for more advanced Linux stuff.

 

[Nothinman]

My thought process was, "I have a computer that functions the way I want it to. Why am I going to sacrifice functionality and usability to use my computer for the same thing?"

Because once you get the hang of the way Linux works you'll find that there's a lot more functionality and usability there. The only thing really lacking is games.

 

[Brazen]

First off, I agree with Nothinman: I don't use linux to do "the same thing," I use linux because I want to do more.

Second off, your post is a very good read (IMO) and illustrates a very good point that "one size does not fit all" (as soonerproud said) and if you just jump in and try out a few distros you might find one that you like more than what is the "most popular".

I think your post would be a beneficial addition to the linux FAQ thread, just word-for-word as it is really. I could say the same things in the FAQ, but coming from multiple people gives it more credence I think

 

[2canSAM]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

My thought process was, "I have a computer that functions the way I want it to. Why am I going to sacrifice functionality and usability to use my computer for the same thing?"

Because once you get the hang of the way Linux works you'll find that there's a lot more functionality and usability there. The only thing really lacking is games.

Not to troll but what Can I do with linux that I cant with Windows. I see this said alot but do not see any points made. I am a linux fan, use PCLinux on the wifes laptop and support some ubuntu systems at work, I tried making linux my OS but really missed, all the keyboard shortcuts and general ease of use of windows, plus my treo would never worked right with linux if at all.

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: 2canSAM
Not to troll but what Can I do with linux that I cant with Windows. I see this said alot but do not see any points made. I am a linux fan, use PCLinux on the wifes laptop and support some ubuntu systems at work, I tried making linux my OS but really missed, all the keyboard shortcuts and general ease of use of windows, plus my treo would never worked right with linux if at all.

I agree with the premise. There's a lot I can do in Windows that I can't do in Linux, but the inverse is most definitely NOT true.

That said, this thread is about PCLinuxOS. IMHO, it is a better distro overall than Ubuntu. The interface is very nice and for a beginner they've made it as Windows-esque as possible.

 

[Nothinman]

Not to troll but what Can I do with linux that I cant with Windows. I see this said alot but do not see any points made.

Use redundant levels of software RAID? At least that's not possible with consumer versions of Windows. Run a compositing window manager that isn't crippled to hell is another good one. I could probably come up with more if you'd like but the only thing I usually touch Windows for these days is games.

I am a linux fan, use PCLinux on the wifes laptop and support some ubuntu systems at work, I tried making linux my OS but really missed, all the keyboard shortcuts and general ease of use of windows, plus my treo would never worked right with linux if at all.

See I have the exact opposite experience, for example not being able move windows by holding alt and clicking anywhere in the window is a deal breaker for me, it's a small thing but I use it so much because it's quicker than grabbing the title bar and it's simple to grab windows that have the title bar off screen. Speaking of screen, I can't live without screen. It's essentially a text based window manager so that I can have a dozen or so shells running inside of one terminal and disconnect/reconnect whenever I want. AFAIK screen doesn't run on Windows at all even in cygwin. Multiple desktops are another thing, I believe Windows supports them but they just don't work as well. And the fact that 99% of all of my software patches come from one place is killer too, the only software I have that's not managed by my package manager is a game or two and VMWare; with Windows you have Windows update for the stuff MS publishes but every other piece of software has to either reinvent their own autoupdate method or you have to check for updates manually, it's just a lot of extra work so most people just end up not updating half of their software.

I can't comment on the Treo because I never buy hardware that I don't know for a fact works in Linux. Yes, it's a little more work to do the research but in general I end up with higher quality hardware as well.

 

[Jay]

Another vote for PCLOS. Mandrake was ok, didn't like Red Hat, Ubuntu didn't work with all my hardware out of the box. PCLOS is the first distro to work right out of the box (widescreen resolution was only change I had to make post install, and was accomplished very easily).

Tex has, IMO, created the right mix of functionality without sacraficing the Linux experience. You don't need to do any command prompt with PCLOS, there's a GUI for every application I could think of. And best of all, it's all free.

My only complaint about Linux (this is not a PCLOS issue), is the naming convention of apps in the distro updates. That still retains the nerdiness of all Linux Distros. I think if some users would dedicate to creating database that uses laymans terms, it would go a long was to converting more Windows users.

 

[Nothinman]

Yea because apps like Nero Burning Rom and Alcohol 120% are named very well...

 

[Jay]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
Yea because apps like Nero Burning Rom and Alcohol 120% are named very well...

Actually, I was refering to some of the more obscure programs (Nero and Alchol 120% I'm okay with). Is Nero 7 available for Linux? (I thought 6 was, but don't remember if they ever ported 7).

I digress, if you've used Linux at all, trying to scroll through all the updated (or available packages), many times you can't tell what the packsage is by the name alone, you have to start looking at the description. Not bad if you have 10-20 packages, but when you have hundreds of packages listed (many of which are support files to other programs, which just muddies the water when you are having to read through all the descriptions). But almost all are free, so can't complain too much.

 

[Nothinman]

Actually, I was refering to some of the more obscure programs (Nero and Alchol 120% I'm okay with). Is Nero 7 available for Linux? (I thought 6 was, but don't remember if they ever ported 7).

My point was that Windows app names are just as bad as Linux app names. And it's less of an issue because with proper distros like Ubuntu the app names are hidden so instead of Ephiphany you see "Web Browser" or in the worst case "Web Browser (Ephiphany)".

I digress, if you've used Linux at all, trying to scroll through all the updated (or available packages), many times you can't tell what the packsage is by the name alone, you have to start looking at the description. Not bad if you have 10-20 packages, but when you have hundreds of packages listed (many of which are support files to other programs, which just muddies the water when you are having to read through all the descriptions). But almost all are free, so can't complain too much.

Running Debian stable I don't think I've seen 10-20 updates come in at once except maybe during the initial install. Windows would have the same problem if it was possible to update all of your apps in one place. And IMO Windows updates are worse because they just have the KB article in the name so you have to click on each to see what they actually do.