Switching from Ubunto to another Distro....

[cazmatazzz]

Switching from Ubuntu to..... Mandriva?
Hello! I've been an enthusiastic Ubuntu and Xubuntu user for quite some time now. About three years ago when my windows XP started giving me such critters, I was tempted to throw my laptop out of the window. Because I could not find my original XP cd I decided it was time to try something new. And so I installed Ubuntu.

Now after three years of using ubuntu the same temptation is arising, although this time not out of annoyance, to try something new.

So my quest for a new distro has started. What I want is a stable and fast system that allows me to tweak certain bits (I am not exactly a beginner but then to call myself intermediate.... well I guess it depends on your scale of reference) but not the whole shabang. Also I love choice, thereby meaning large repositories and who doesn't adore a nice look and feel.

Thus! Which distro to choose? there are soooo many options, I have been looking at Mint, pclinuxos and Mandriva. I guess I am looking for something similar to Ubuntu but more advanced maybe.


I sure hope this rant makes any sense.

[mohitchawla]

There's no point in switching from Ubuntu to Mandriva/Mint/PCLOS, because all those are similar to Ubuntu, aimed at the beginners. So essentially, you won't find much difference. You have anyway, already tried the best of that lot, Ubuntu.

As for large repositories and the ease of it all, again, there's no point.

If you actually want to try different distributions with different CONCEPTS, not just different wallpapers...try distros like Arch, Puppy, Slackware ...you'll learn something new, experiment, tweak and (probably) have fun.

[cazmatazzz]

I figured inasmuch that those were quite similar, perhaps a reason why I chose them in the first place. The problem is that I do want to learn new things, but I don't have that much spare time on my hands. So I want to learn through progress so to speak.... or at least that I don't have to spend five days getting to know the system before I can use it.... this is sadly the only computer I have...

[fiddledd]

OpenSuse is worth checking out, and for something different OpenSolaris. The new release (2008.11) of Opensolaris is out soon.

[earthpigg]

You will be able to use puppy, i can almost guarantee it. look at my 'join date' on the left... that was about a week after my first linux experience.

i found that puppy didn't spoon-feed me everything, but it was still apparent how to do what i wanted after a little bit of clicking around and/or google searching, etc.

puppy is also snappy and fast as all hell, and has a live CD.

[silvestros]

I switched to openSUSE two days ago because I had a problem with the temperature on my laptop when running Ubuntu. I liked it, so my vote goes to SUSE.
If you want something similar to Ubuntu, then try Mint.

[Antman]

If you want to try some distros that are a little less newbie friendly than Ubuntu try:

Slackware
Zenwalk
Fedora
sidux:KS
Debian
VectorLinux
DesktopBSD

[mikjp]

Debian is similar to Ubuntu. And it's for more advanced users :-)

[Soldierboy]

It sounds like you're ready for Arch. Follow the beginner's guide on the wiki. I would also second Debian, however, good luck finding decent and up to date documentation for it.

[XPuntu]

.... this is sadly the only computer I have...

Then make sure you install virtualbox and you can test out as many distros as you want without having to throw away Ubuntu first. Plus you'll get better performance than testing with a live CD.

[Soldierboy]

Then make sure you install virtualbox and you can test out as many distros as you want without having to throw away Ubuntu first. Plus you'll get better performance than testing with a live CD.

+1

Use VBox to decide on a distro. Its very convenient. Install then simply delete the .vdi if you don't like it.

[cardinals_fan]

Zenwalk, perhaps?

[Sorivenul]

If you're looking for "similar to Ubuntu, but more advanced", I would have to suggest Debian. It does not come automatically configured and preloaded with everything out-of-the box, and requires some work to set up, but the rewards are numerous. My Ubuntu custom netinstall boots in about 25 seconds, not matter what I do. The stock Debian kernel config is much more "vanilla", in simple terms, than the Ubuntu kernel. You have to learn to manually configure some files in /etc and other various places, and the manpages will become your friends. My custom Debian Lenny netinstall boots in under 15 seconds to desktop and contains only exactly what I want. Arch and Slackware are also good "learning" distributions because they force you to learn manual configuration and setup as well, though Arch spoils users with its pacman package management system, IMO. Good luck in your search.

[cazmatazzz]

thanks for all your advice guys! yesterday i installed mandriva, because i didnt have much time but couldnt wait to get something new. i'm already a bit tired of it though because its making me wait....its very slow!! and i hate the sound my computer makes when it has to think continually (out of pity?)

so soon i'll be switching again but it is a matter of having the time to switch to something more difficult (although mandriva was a breeze to install it still managed to kicked me in the butt because it was so slow.) so i might install puppy or debian if i have time, seems very nice and interesting (although my friends will start calling me a big fat nerd again...) or maybe the easy way out and back to ubuntu.

anyways thanks for your suggestions!!

[cazmatazzz]

so i'm going to look into debian, puppy and arch. guess i'm up for a challenge, but i just hope i find the time....

[mthei]

Zenwalk, perhaps?

x 7


Installation isn't as easy as say Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, and the rest, but it's one of the best desktop distros out there. Nice and light, too.
Fedora is still my favourite, though.

[cazmatazzz]

originally i had thought about fedora but read that third party repositories were a bit of a drag. currently mandriva is driving me a bit up the wall, its slow at launching applications (ie 30 seconds for firefox) and sometimes it doesnt close things. i've been trying to shut down firefox for ten minutes now....nothing. also my computer doesnt shut down, it will only go in suspend or hibernation mode.

although i could spend time fixing all these things, i think i just want another distro, also because it looks and feels too much like ubuntu, then well i might as well go back to it.


( o yeah im going to look into zenway as well)

[cazmatazzz]

did i say zenway.... zenwalk of course...

[mthei]

originally i had thought about fedora but read that third party repositories were a bit of a drag.

By Fedora 10's release, RPMFusion (Livna, FreshRPMs, and Dribble) will be open to the public, all issues with bugs from the three repos are supposed to be resolved by the time of release. It's better to wait a month or so until F10 is available.
Very few of the bugs I've encountered from Livna were too horrible, though (XMMS had some bad plugins, ie MP3 tags would not display properly, VLC had a few display problems).

[notwen]

I guess I am looking for something similar to Ubuntu but more advanced maybe.


Debian. =]

[Old Marcus]

I would suggest Mint but it's probably not different enough. But my opinion is that it's what Ubuntu should have been, more complete and just plain nicer to use, not to mention expelling the horrible brown. I switched to it when I tried Hardy and had no end of problems. I rolled back to gutsy for a while but then tried Mint and loved it. Haven't changed since.