Crunchbang - the lightweight contender with a big heart.

Crunchbang started off with an Ubuntu base, which is probably not a bad place to start. It has since matured through to a very usable Debian base OS. I have used it off and on for a number of years. I like it because of it minimalist look and feel, it just works, has some nice scripts and is lightweight on resources.
Crunchbang is not really designed for beginners or people new to Linux as it is quite different from Ubuntu (a favourite of beginners) or even MS Windows or Apples OSX in its look and usage. Installing is fairly straight forward using the debian install "wizard". It doesn't have an install option from the live mode which I hope is remedied soon. Once installed and rebooted the dark desktop is presented. This is a combination of openbox, tint2, and a few other bits like conky for displaying system usage and the keyboard shortcuts on the screen. The version I am using is based on the testing branch of debian which is really quite stable. It has the basic apps needed to get going and it has an install script for most of the other stuff you might need and configured. I have found Crunchbang to be ideal for my laptop which has a 14" screen where other desktop environment or window mangers are a little bit to screen hungry, especially Gnome and KDE. Having a dark and uncluttered desktop make it easier to work with and easier on the eyes.
I will be using this one more. Personal rating 9.5.

Fedora - The Blue Hat

Fedora  has its roots in Red Hat and it still part of it. What comes through Fedora will generally see itself in Red Hat Enterprise (business) edition. So its basically the testing ground for Red Hat but in saying that it is remarkably stable. Like Ubuntu, it has a 6 month upgrade path and unlike Ubuntu it doesn't have an LTS version as it doesn't fit into their model. What users do is upgrade once a year, or skip a version. Red Hat has stuck with Gnome as it default desktop although others are available. There has be a lot of talk on the internet about the (new) Gnome desktop with it being a "love it or hate it" type of desktop. Personally I think people have got the wrong end of the stick and asking the wrong questions. Gnome 3 works in a different way and people don't aways like change. Gnome 3 helps you work in a different way and I like it, the emphasis is more on getting things done than organising your desktop, Its a working environment rather than something you work on (like a desktop).
Fedora 17 is easy to install and runs smooth. Unlike previous versions, this one feels more light weight and nimble and I don't really notice the desktop which means its doing it job! All the apps I need are to hand. The only complaint I have about Fedora is their package management system or "yum" as its called. I don't know why but it always seems slow. it is improving, but compared to "apt" of Debian/Ubuntu, is crawls along. Overall Fedora is a system I am growing to like and with some other things that Fedora are looking to do in the future to become more business friendly, I will be sticking with this one, for a while at least. Personal rating 8.75.

Ubuntu or not Ubuntu? That is the question.

So I've returned to Linux, not that I'd been away really, but now a decision had to be made, which system, and Linux came out on top. It won on a number of issues, these being security, adaptability, and not being dictated to. Now comes the question of which flavour Linux? Back to the familiar, a choice of Ubuntu, because "it just works", Fedora because it has great backing, and debian because it is one of the most stable. I am looking for something that I can set up with a minimal fuss, works with the hardware I have, and can interconnect and work with the other stuff I have, phones, tablets, cameras, audio players, a NAS and a TV. The three above should be able to do this. The hardware I have is a Lenevo Thinkpad R61 laptop with Intel everything, which makes life a little easier as Intel has fairly good support in Linux.
I first tried Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. I decided on the LTS version as I didn't want it fully cutting edge with updates all the time and a virtual reinstall every 6 months. Set up was easy except for the wireless card being slow and needed some adjustment to get it up to speed, thank you Ubuntu Forums for helping. The Unity desktop took a little getting used to. I liked the way the menus moved to the top bar in a mac-esque way when moused over, but not all apps obeyed. Everything else was the normal Ubuntu experience of being pleasant and fairly efficient. Personal rating 7.5 out 10.

Next up was Fedora 17.

Just Linux

In 1999 I first discovered GNU/Linux. I had come across a CD on the cover of a magazine. It could boot into a new and different operating system. I still have that CD! I was amazed by it. It would run my little laptop in memory (192Mb) faster than Win98 on the hard drive. Then I found a magazine in Australia with Red Hat 7.1 on the front (and I still have these CD's too). This I installed onto my laptop. It took three days to configure and get everything working and then - wow - what a laptop. My little Toshiba Satellite had a P3 processor running at 700 MHz, 192 Mb ram and a 30 Gb hard drive, and it would out perform PCs and laptops of better hardware running the latest from Redmond. I was happy. I eventually gave it to a good home running SimplyMepis, a Debian based Linux OS. I have played and got to know well the Red Hat/Fedora system, the Debian system (and various derivatives), a little bit of Suse, Mandrake/Mandriva, Slackware, Puppy, and some embedded ones too.
Since then I have had to use Windows OS's for a lot of work stuff because my clients and/or employers uses Windows based systems. OK, so now I'm going to have a pop at Windows, and what I found was that it is slow and gets slower over time, it is inherently insecure and you have to install extra software to protect your stuff, it is clunky, and I just don't like to pay for something that is basically incomplete and has known flaws. But it does work and can be made to behave and be relatively secure. I still don't like using Windows and I refuse to do my banking on a windows machine. Just my opinion. I now run Windows in a vm just for testing purposes.
I have used OSX on a Macbook Pro, along side my trusty ThinkPad R61, for a few years as a way to get away from Windows. I needed to use Adobe CS4 which meant either Windows or OSX, and I chose OSX. This was a good learning experience for me for as good as the Mac is, it too has its limitations, mainly imposed by Apple slowly building their walled garden with their increasingly dictatorial and arrogant views on how we should use their products. May be we should just employ Apple to do our work for us! I also run Debian on the Macbook and it runs really well.
And now I'm ready to sell the Mac and live with Linux only!
Next up: Debian, Ubuntu or Fedora? Ubuntu or not Ubuntu, that is the question!

Welcome to my weblog

Welcome to my new blog, Geek In Oz. First, a little introduction, I am a self confessed geek, and I live in Australia. I haven't always lived here. I was born and raised in England.
This weblog is about my trails and tribulations, successes and reasonings about the tech world. I will probably concentrate on Linux, Android and open source software.
I have always enjoyed technology. My first project was to take apart and put together my fathers mantelpiece clock, at the end, the clock worked and I had a ew parts left over!
My projects these days mainly cover trying to get things to do things they weren't designed to do! When I have success I will write it up here for you, when I have failures, this too I will put here, and of course, when I need help! I will also be doing reviews and opinion pieces. I am hoping to post regularly, starting with once or twice a month and slowly increasing.
I hope you will enjoy - let me know.