Bored again...

[techieMoe]

From time to time I get a little too comfortable (read: bored) with my operating system setup and I feel the need to shake things up a bit. The last time this happened was in May.

Yesterday I booted my laptop into Ubuntu 8.04.1 and went about my everyday task of checking for updates. Ubuntu has issues with their repositories sometimes. They simply refuse to authenticate correctly at odd intervals. I can sometimes fix this by changing servers (say, between the Main server and a US server). This time it didn't work. I was annoyed and felt the itch for something new anyway, so I wiped it.

First install attempt was the KDE 4.1 LiveCD of OpenSuSE 11. The installer errored out for some reason. Next up was Fedora 9, Gnome LiveCD edition. The install went fine, but I had to jump through a dozen flaming hoops to get it into workable condition.

Next was the DVD edition of openSuSE 11. All of these are the X86_64 versions by the way. That one installed fine, but I made the mistake of choosing KDE 4.0, under the assumption that I'd be able to upgrade to 4.1 after the fact.

Once that was all done I found out that the "easy" way to get 4.1 (the one-click link on the openSuSE website) didn't work in 64-bit. When will a major Linux distribution finally admit that 64-bit is the future, and should be embraced rather than treated as an afterthought?

I was fed up so I reinstalled, choosing Gnome as my desktop. That was fine except the version of NetworkManager that openSuSE uses wouldn't let me configure my wired Ethernet connection. It kept telling me to use YaST instead. When I used YaST, nothing changed. Finally I had to check the box in YaST that said, "Do not use NetworkManager" before I could get it to accept my changes.

At this point I've wiped the partition again and I'm using XP only. I'm tired of Ubuntu for the moment, tried Fedora and SuSE unsuccessfully, and I may just end up staying with XP until the next round of distribution releases comes out. That is, unless someone has a suggestion for something I might try instead.

I have one stipulation: I don't do Linux from Scratch. I mean that in both a specific and general sense. If the distribution requires me to fiddle with its internals before it will work properly, forget it.

[techieMoe]

I just noticed that KDE updated their LiveCD to 4.1.1 this week. I might download that next and see what sorts of improvements have been made. Here's the press release:

K Desktop Environment - KDE 4.1.1 Release Announcement

[techieMoe]

Well, that was...exciting. Sort of. In the way random shock treatments are exciting. I apparently downloaded the unstable snapshot LiveCD by mistake, thinking it was the 64-bit version due to its 1.1.64 version number. Whoops.

I went ahead and installed it anyway, and boy was it aptly named. Remind me to pay more attention to my downloads next time. As it is I don't have much time left here at work so I'll have to continue my odyssey this weekend at home. I'm still considering downloading the KDE 4.1.1 stable LiveCD and giving it a go.

[jayd512]

Just an idea for ya, Moe. And I say this for 2 reasons.
First, if you're looking for something different you could chew on the same project as me... CRUX 2.4. Dapper_Dan has been helping me along with it, but considering your level of experience you'll probably have less trouble than me!
Second, you've not done a rant on CRUX... wouldn't mind seeing what you think.

[minthaka]

What about Mandriva 2008 Spring, TechieMoe?

[Freston]

It's hard to give you a suggestion about which distro to use Moe. I mean, if anyone knows his distro's it's you.


But since you asked, how about Pardus? Or Sabayon, I hear good things about that.

[seth556]

I'm also looking for something. Been using Ubuntu for a little bit Foresight and PCLinux before that.

[arinlares]

off the top of my head (assuming the distros on you site are the only ones you've used, techiemoe), one comes to mind: pendrive linux. it's, i believe, built off of Mandriva. here's the link (it explains installing from Windows, though): Pendrivelinux 2008 install from Windows | USB Pen Drive Linux

Install Pendrivelinux 2008 using Linux | USB Pen Drive Linux

i doubt you need the whole tutorial for either, but it varies from a HD install...

[KyKo]

Give KateOS a try.

[Dapper Dan]

Just an idea for ya, Moe. And I say this for 2 reasons.
First, if you're looking for something different you could chew on the same project as me... CRUX 2.4. Dapper_Dan has been helping me along with it, but considering your level of experience you'll probably have less trouble than me!
Second, you've not done a rant on CRUX... wouldn't mind seeing what you think.

With all due respect to jayd512, techieMoe... DO NOT try CRUX!! It is everything you detest in a distro. I'd recommend another "ready-to-go-out-of-the-box" distro like gOS, DreamLinux or Mint. CentOS might be another alternative if you don't mind having to configure Java and Flash...