SimplyMEPIS 8.0 - Review

Discussion in 'all things UNIX' started by Mrkvonic, Jan 7, 2009.

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  1. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Hi all,

    You might be interested to read about MEPIS and the upcoming 8.0 release.

    An excerpt:

    "If you're a Linux enthusiast, you have probably heard of SimplyMEPIS. It is a Debian-based distribution, aiming at being simple and usable out of the box. Currently, version 7.0 is available to the users, with advanced betas of version 8.0 getting ever more ready toward the release. I decided to give it a whirl.

    In this review, I will pit SimplyMEPIS against the solid impression of stability and usability that several other distributions have left upon me, namely Ubuntu, SUSE, PCLinuxOS, and others. To pass the test, SimplyMEPIS has to be friendly. It has to be solid and functional. Most importantly, if things are missing (like applications, codecs etc), they have to be quickly and easily obtainable."

    So here you go:
    http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/mepis.html

    Comments and suggestions are welcome.

    Regards,
    Mrk
     
  2. rdsu

    rdsu Registered Member

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    MEPIS was the 2º distro that I used and I like it a lot!

    For those that want to use Debian stable plus other nice tools, with a nice and experient forum, this is a great option.

    Highly recommended! :thumb:
     
  3. Pedro

    Pedro Registered Member

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    Use Debian stable with backports? :D
     
  4. rdsu

    rdsu Registered Member

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    Nop... :p

    I prefer other things, that is why my distro is sidux! ;)
     
  5. Pedro

    Pedro Registered Member

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    I forgot to ask Mrk, you had problems with GNOME's network-manager or was it something else? I've yet to see that thing work, but it's supposedly getting better.

    I had that somewhere to try it, i think i lost it.. :p
    Is it KDE or Gnome by default?
     
  6. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    Hi pedro,
    what network manager does debian stable use?
     
  7. Pedro

    Pedro Registered Member

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    Good question. I was using an ethernet cable on Etch, and used etc/network/interfaces to set it up.
    But i'm using Lenny for quite a while, with wicd. The default in Lenny is network-manager (like most distros i suppose).
     
  8. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    Hmm ok.
    since network manager doesnt seem very reliable why is it the default in so many distros?
    surely if its not reliable it should be replaced by something more reliable and not used as default or fixed so it works better?
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2009
  9. Pedro

    Pedro Registered Member

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    My guess is perhaps it really is good once finished, but it's not finished :p
     
  10. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    when do you think it will be finished? lol
    seems stupid to use something as default network management if it isnt reliable.
    even windows wireless config tool works better than network manager lol.
     
  11. Pedro

    Pedro Registered Member

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  12. rdsu

    rdsu Registered Member

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    Give it a try! It has so many great features... :D

    By default is KDE.
    XFCE second.
    Gnome doesn't have an official support because it is unstable on sid, but they have packages and art them for it...
     
  13. rdsu

    rdsu Registered Member

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    I forgot to thank Mrkvonic for one more nice review ;)

    Keep going...
     
  14. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    @Mrk et al:
    That is a bit disappointing ( the review) :(
    Mepis 7+ was one of the first Distros I tried and still use, and found it then incredibly effective well set up and newb friendly oob.
    Has really had a stellar rep till now.
    Since then there have been some disruptions at Mepis and this release has been somewhat slow to arrive.
    Nonetheless, publishing your review will hopefully highlight some sticking points for the devs.
    Still 'beta' so high hopes.
    :thumb:
     
  15. rdsu

    rdsu Registered Member

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    I agree with you, and this is a cons of this distro.
     
  16. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

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  17. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Hi guys,

    Thank you for your responses.

    Always remember that my reviews reflect a personal taste, reflection of ideas etc, so they are by no means anything you should swear or marry your daughters by.

    Second, I'm always trying to judge operating systems from the standpoint of someone normal, i.e. not you or me, but someone who would probably give birth to an alien (from Alien) before figuring out how to command line.

    Simplicity does not mean ONLY 13 lines on the command prompt. Simplicity means something that geeks consider below their honor.

    Mrk
     
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