Linux Distro query re "single apps distro"

Hello all linux xperts

I've been weaving my way around the distros for a while.
I get confused why so many seem to offer multiple tools for the same job
Desktops
Terminals
browsers
office apps
movie players
.......................etc

Any recommendations/experience with any distro(s) that "hones in" on single tool type set-ups.

I dont have strong feelings re desktops
I do want firefox and flash support
Open office
firewall

Thx
LB

heh just trying to tap the local 'kb' before embarking on a search....

 

Hello,

Many seem to offer multiple apps for the same job for many reasons:

1. Historical, as some things come from UNIX and have evolved over the last 30 years.
2. Compatibility (different kernels and platforms).
3. Ease of choice - go with what you like or prefer.

When you think about, it's not much different from what you get in Windows, except you get them all instead of downloading individually.

If you're looking for a minimalistic distro where you install only what you want, Ubuntu would be a good choice for an easy distro and Gentoo for a hard one.

Mrk

 

Longboard, have a look a this article I wrote a while ago

http://www.ngr78.co.uk/articles/view.php/90

What it comes down to is Freedom, people can build an OS that suits their exact needs, rather than be forced to pick compromised, unoptimised, bloated tools (which along with the excess baggage are harder to maintain and develop, due to the large code base). If you want to build a XP clone, you are Free to, if you want a minimalist desktop that will run on a old machine, or maybe a command line only server, you can and not have to worry about securing, upgrading upwanted stuff.

Archlinux is another expert, minimal distro, that probably slots in just below Gentoo on the dificulty scale, the core distro install gives you shell and a few command line tools, everything else has to be hand picked and installed.

 

If you don't want to start from scratch I'd say Zenwalk, based on slackware. Ofcourse you'd have to install openoffice (it comes with AbiWord+Gnumeric) and flash (from the extra repository) yourself. It uses Iceweasel (the GNU version of Firefox) and Icedove (GNU Thunderbird). I think there is a live version available to if you want to try it.
Oh, and about the firewall: there is an option to enable firewall which gives a "trustealth" rating at shields up if that's important

 

Yes, although for most users coming from Windows Kubuntu (which uses the KDE destop instead of Gnome) offers probably a more familiar GUI.

 

Would Damn Small Linux (4.1 RC 1) fit the bill OpenOffice is the only thing on your list that's missing. I have the CD but haven't tried it yet, so I may (more than likely) be wrong...

 

ubuntu only has one program for each task. it also has the best support for anyone new to linux by a long way.

 

OK
Thx for advice
It's great to have access to you guys here

LOL, I've been 'avoiding' Ubuntu: trying not to run with the herd
I've been tasting various distros with VMs and live CDs
Getting to grips -trying- with Xorg configs and the various package managers, how to install and uninstall, terminals, Lilo V Grub, partitions and why, and PCBSD etc.
Really want to make the change.

@nickR: that is beyond me. ( at this stage anyway )

Its a bit of a leap jumping into a fully functional desktop and then going backwards from there when something doesn't do what I thought or figuring out how to do it right in the first place

Getting there...as fast as this calcified old brain will let me...
Can only scan so many pages/day.
Want to be able to lead my tinlids in the right direction.
Regards.

 

Having several applications with a identical purpose raises concerns on the Windows platform: Large registry, incorrect keys, conflicts. etc.
System Restore is Microsofts confirmation that this problem is real.

In a Linux system, I don't think a similar concern exists. There is no registry, applications take care of customer settings on their own. Uninstalling an application does exactly that. And multiple tools won't conflict like we know in Windows.

With my Windows background, I like a lean Linux system too, but it shouldn't be a concern.

Allright then, how about openSolaris

 

Don´t worry, zillions of borgs love Ubuntu and so will you.

/C.

 

The herd appears to be running with PCLOS nowadays, so you're probably safe with Ubuntu...

 

Ah: a little momentum here

LOL & LOL
I am looking at Paldo, I have PCLOS installed, Like Mint, like PC-BSD (except for struggles with flash and media players), like experimenting with the minimals: Puppy, DSL, lurking around Xfce = Vector & Zen etc etc

A voracious tourist so far, continually boggled at the OS communities, really: have to settle ...sometime...

@wilbert:

heh heh: Re open solaris :already looking: long road to hoe...more brain strain..more RSI heh

Anyone else got a little yen for this as Solaris goes open with a live CD :
http://opensolaris.org/os/;jsessionid=6A430A9DE1B7376C1DBE2DC6C74DFFFF
http://opensolaris.org/os/downloads/
http://opensolaris.org/os/project/indiana/resources/getit/
http://opensolaris.org/os/newbies/
http://www.opensolaris.org/os/article/2006-02-27_getting_started_with_opensolaris_using_vmware/
http://blogs.gnome.org/gman/2007/11/01/opensolaris-developer-preview-try-it/

 

pclos is a tiny distro that most linux users have never heard of, never mind anyone else.

look how many people search for it
http://www.google.com/trends?q=ubuntu, pclos

if you look very, very closely you might see a tiny spec below the blue (it might be a different colour when you look) line which represents ubuntu. look at all those countries where no one even searches for pclos. it's not popular anywhere apart from this forum.

 

iceni60, you seem to be the only Distro basher here @Wilders, sad

Oh lucky, someone else found out about the tiny little unknown http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15355/

BTW, PCLOS users (all 5 of us) could care less about what you think

Happy Linux

 

One of the reasons for this might be that it's an English only distro. I know many would prefer their own language.

 

I've heard "it looks good and it just works" from a few reviewers also! The only distro that recognized my 1440X900 screen resolution, PCLOS!

 

i'm not bashing, not that i think there's anything wrong with bashing something that deserves a good bashing. they are just facts, re-read it and you'll see. i'm sorry you are hurt by it.

i don't believe you because you sound quite upset, i just wanted to get the facts out because often here you get the impression pclos is far better then it actually is.

 

Freedom of choice is the bliss of Linux.

Ime any flavor is better than M$.

Having said that. Ime PCLOS is available in many languages, does have the best hardware recognition & has the friendliest most nix-n00b forum around. And has no billion dollar corporation behind it.

And my sig says the rest.

 

PCLinuxOS does have a very helpful forum, not to mention frequent visits by Texstar himself, but the wealth of information on the net for Ubuntu is hard to beat. Google almost any problem or situation, and a detailed answer is readily available. Pclinuxos does seem to gaining popularity, at least according to page hits for the last six months at Distrowatch, where it is number one (although I'm not reading too much into this).

For the record, I'm currently dual-booting both.

 

I guess that's why it's #1 on Distrowatch for the past 6 months....

I'm not particularly partial to any one distro, except perhaps Debian or SuSE, but you can't deny that PCLinuxOS 2007 has grabbed everyone's attention this year....

 

To be honest, I prefer the dual-purpose Wubi. You get the experience of Linux while protecting your...Windows.

 

well go and see what happened when ladislav took down the distro ratings for a day. he's explained that a few times.

i'm sure it's a great distro with good devs and and a nice community that's growing fast. all i'm saying is people shouldn't make it out to be the most used distro when it's not, that's all i'm saying.

 

I've never tried PCLOS so I can't say anything positive or negative about it.

Just some general thoughts: I remember news several years ago which I read on heise online regarding security updates for Debian. At that time there were only a handful people among the Debian maintainers responsible for security updates - and apparantly there was actually just one person among them who was really active. Now the situation happened that this person attended or organized a Linux conference (or something like that - I don't recall exactly) - with the result that over a period of, I think, two or three weeks no security updates were delivered for Debian because no one was there who really cared.

Don't get me wrong: This happened long ago, and the situation today is completely different (the popularity of Ubuntu as a Debian derivative and the constant exchange between the Debian and Ubuntu developers was probably helpful). But this experience made me a little bit sceptical against distributions maintained only by a small staff (like the one for PCLOS). To ensure the ongoing quality of a distribution and the prompt delivery of important updates, a certain organisational structure must exist - and I'm not quite sure if this can be guaranteed by a small staff considering vacation and sick days and some staff members being absorbed by their regular job, etc. That's why I prefer big distributions with a large staff of full-time maintainers and a driving force behind them (e.g. Mark Shuttleworth). It just makes me feel better

Just my 2 cents ...

 

That very quaint story is not analogous to PCLOS.

 

That's why you have always SAM. SAM 2007.1 Linux is based on PCLOS and you can get it even with Finnish, a language about 5 million people only. Never mind of these ä, ö, å letters, everything including the Finnish keyboard is working fine and the Firefox is also in Finnish too! Faster and safe than ever with SAM.

Best regards,
Firefighter!

PS. So far SAM was the only distro which I managed to get the WLAN working in my ACER 3002 WLMi laptop. Just need to find the 802bg folder in Windows and "bcmwl5a.inf" file during wireless setup by using ndiswrapper, and that's it. Even Ewido micro works fine in my USB stick by choosing "open with, Wine Windows Emulator".