Ubuntu derivatives, Mint, Mint talk and Distrowatch

[Ariya243]

What all of the Ubuntu-derivative-OS-producers and Distrowatch don't want to say is that all those Mint, Pinguy, Zorin, Bodhi etc are just Ubuntu user's remixes, and that those producers (users) of Ubuntu derivatives have enough money to upload them for others to use and get donations.

What Distrowatch had found out, but don't want to say is that after Ubuntu 12.04, Distrowatch is no more distro-watching website, when it comes to Ubuntu derivatives, but an Ubuntu-user-watch. Not like earlier days, there is no mini.iso for anyone to build his own OS. So, Mint, Pinguy, Bodhi, Zorin or whatever Ubuntu based "distros" are just like any other Ubuntu user's own remix.

As a distro-watching web site, as far as Ubuntu derivatives or user remixes, Distrowatch has nothing to say, and had become Ubuntu-remixes-watching web site. Funny how things turn out!

In the so-called Distrowatch page-hit-rankings, one can just add up all Ubuntu derivatives hits and call that Ubuntu ranking.

Mint's Clem, Pinguy's Antoni, Bodhi's Jeff or Zorin has to download one of the Ubuntu 12.04 to remix it. There is no mini.iso anymore. All these people are just like us Ubuntu users.

They have to download either Desktop CD, Server Install CD or Alternate Install CD, just like anyone of us.

Have a nice day!

Ariya

[wojox]

Installation/MinimalCD is right here.

[Ariya243]

Installation/MinimalCD is right here.

Okay, thanks!

But still all are Ubuntu derivatives.

It is much easier to download the Desktop CD and add or uninstall applications, wallpapers, change the lsb-release, issue and issue.net in /etc and add icons and pixmaps, change some in /usr/bin and /usr/share etc...
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2042066

There was a hue and cry about Xubuntu below advertising Mint...

In Mint you'd find a app called MintConstructor, which is used to remaster Ubuntu to Mint.
See what happens, if you change lsb-release, issue, issue.net and xsessions, gnome-sessions wording from Ubuntu 12.04 LTS to any name.
And also, what happens, if you delete Precise repos from in /etc/apt/sources.list in Mint 13...Would Mint 13 be an LTS for next 5 years?
The same with Pinguy, Zorin etc

[sffvba[e0rt]

With this logic all those distro's and thus Distrowatch is actually (Debian)watch...


404

[Ariya243]

With this logic all those distro's and thus Distrowatch is actually (Debian)watch...


404

Agreed!

[viperdvman]

The reason that you see so many distros out there based on Ubuntu, or even Debian for that matter, is because Debian and Ubuntu are such good distros to base another distro on.

As most of us probably know, I don't think that the creators of Mint, Bodhi, Zorin, etc. are downloading the stable versions of Ubuntu and simply remixing them. Rather they're downloading the alphas and betas, tweaking them to their own distro, and possibly sending some of their changes upstream.

I love Ubuntu. I download Ubuntu and add KDE, Cinnamon, MATE, etc. on top of it. I love Bodhi Linux too. It's arguably the best Enlightenment-based distro out there, ergo it's Top-20 page hit ranking on Distrowatch. I like Mint too, a lot. Had I not already chosen Ubuntu as my main Linux distro, I would've gone with Linux Mint. Much of why it's so popular is because it keeps the more traditional desktop (MATE and Cinnamon) by default while Unity and GNOME are pushing their UI's to risky new grounds. While I myself like Unity and GNOME Shell, others don't, and thus have switched from Fedora and Ubuntu to Linux Mint.

But yes, Ubuntu and Debian are both great bases on which to build a Linux distro. That's why you see so many of them on Distrowatch, far more than you see Gentoo-based, Arch-based, etc.

[Ariya243]

viperdvman,

Its all about tweaking, don't you think so? And you do the tweaking too with your Ubuntu as everyone of us users. No two Ubuntu users have identical desktop, maybe only in offices. Everyone is tweaking, but they shouldn't say it is their newly made OS. I took apart Zorin OS 6 core...Hmmm core...What core? The core is Ubuntu. I took apart Mint 13 too, and Pinguy. Add E17 ppa and you have E17 Ubuntu. Add Cinnamon, you have Ubuntu Cinnamon. If you want you can add all Mint made apps. Take out the Zorin look changer and release the Awn and Gnomenu, you have a perfect Ubuntu! Pinguy is pretty buggy. Bodhi has taken lot things off Ubuntu, to make a minimalist distro, but E17 is too childish to me.

I wonder, what'd happen, if I change the Debian vmlinuz and initrd.img from Solus OS or Crunchbang and replaced them with Ubuntu's and few other files in /usr/bin, /usr/share and in /etc... I was comparing files in Crunchbang and Ubuntu in Gnome Commander. Maybe I'd make an Ubuntu Crunchbang. Its all about files in Linux.

I like Cinnamon, but not Mate. I am going to play with Pantheon. In 12.10, I'd try to get nautilus, Terminal, Gedit etc out and have only the Elementary stuff.

By the way, I don't know how to write a script, but know how to manipulate them, being an Engineer.

To make something out of Arch or Gentoo is a headache, so it is better to download Bridge Linux (any flavour) or any Gentoo like Sabayon, Calculate and do your own additions and subtractions.

Have a nice day!

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2042066
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2040069
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2038103

[Mikeb85]

The reason that you see so many distros out there based on Ubuntu, or even Debian for that matter, is because Debian and Ubuntu are such good distros to base another distro on.

As most of us probably know, I don't think that the creators of Mint, Bodhi, Zorin, etc. are downloading the stable versions of Ubuntu and simply remixing them. Rather they're downloading the alphas and betas, tweaking them to their own distro, and possibly sending some of their changes upstream.

Is that why Mint versions are released a month later than every Ubuntu release?

It's not that Debian/Ubuntu are good distros to base another on, it's that they are easy to base another distro on, and easy to maintain compatibility.

[vexorian]

Is that why Mint versions are released a month later than every Ubuntu release?

It's not that Debian/Ubuntu are good distros to base another on, it's that they are easy to base another distro on, and easy to maintain compatibility.

That's what makes them good distros to base another on. :/

[Ariya243]

All of the Ubuntu clone makers call their distros as OSs and give 5 year LTS - Long Term Support. Hmmm...

Mint, Pinguy, Zorin, Bodhi, Pear, Snow etc are offering that 5 year LTS, so how about taking off Ubuntu repositories from their "operating systems" and then give that LTS?!

After taking apart Zorin, Pinguy and Mint as a user, and not as a geek, I'd like to ask these very special distro makers, whether they could openly say that they are dependent on Ubuntu for their existence. And say that in their Web sites, like Elementary OS people do.

Every Mint, Zorin, Pinguy, Bodhi, Snow, etc user is a Ubuntu user and these makers and Distrowatch must openly say that.

And every Ubuntu user is a remixer of Ubuntu, as Ubuntu comes without proprietary drivers, codecs and a whole lot of applications, and in a size of a CD--the final release always fits in a CD. Only Bodhi would fit in a CD as Ubuntu is stripped of practically everything, but Mint's XFCE edition, which is a Xubuntu clone is 811 MB.

Or is it dollars, these Ubuntu clone makers are looking for, asking for donations for remixing and uploading the original Ubuntu? Mint for example, shuns Google as a search engine as Google won't pay him. Most of these are one-man shows and some might have a private server or a sponsored one. The 5 year LTS, they can't give, if they take off the Ubuntu repositories from "their" sources.list.

PS: Well, I saw this down the web page in Mint
Other issues

Linux Mint 13 is based on Ubuntu 12.04. Make sure to read the Ubuntu release notes.

Hmmm...it appears to be an "other Issue." Should it be the main issue on the top of the web page?

And at the very bottom;
Linux Mint is free of charge (thanks to your donations and adverts on the website) and we hope you'll enjoy it.

It looks like Ubuntu is not free of charge...but Mint is and "please donate." Imagine 3727 "hits" in Distrowatch "donate" one $ per month, it would be quite a sum to live on, even pay for the server. Writing applications is mind work, and could be done while drinking coffee or tea at home. Everyone drinks coffee or tea anyway...If it is 2$/month or 3$/month, wouldn't it be a tidy little salary?