Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? Consult our cynic's

[jimmy]

This is a great read. Witty and interesting. Enjoy!


www.theregister.com/2022/05/31/the_cynics_guide_to_linux/

[mikkh]

Yes I enjoyed the Ubuntu - meaning those who can't configure Debian quip, but then they ruined it by repeating the absolute myth that Ubuntu was the first to bring user friendliness to Linux.

I can assure you it wasn't. I was running the beautifully easy to use and full of features 'Libranet' (that even a lot of modern distros can't hold a candle to) many years before Ubuntu even existed.

Sadly the owner tragically died well before his time and his son didn't want to carry on - or so the rumour goes. Libranet was also a Debian clone because 'Pure Debian' is rock solid but notoriously hard to build on, unless you have a degree in geek!

You have to remember Linux started as a university project, so actually working was always more important than putting a pretty face on it. Over the years, it still remained mostly in the academic world, but gradually leaked out as a genuine (free) alternative to Windows.

I remember my first taste of Linux more than twenty years ago - about 5 years before Umbongo appeared and while there were a few distros that still resembled university projects, the majority were mostly user friendly to some degree. Even if it did take a bit of research to get the best out of them. Also before the U word was Conectiva (sic) a Brazilian project that bought a classy desktop and DVD movie playing as standard to the Linux World - quite a coup back in the day.

When Ubuntu finally arrived it was a drab bare bones effort that I laughed at, especially as it's South African multi millionaire owner had it hyped out of all proportion in all the computer magazines of the time and it frequently came strapped to the front of many of them in printed CD format. You could also request as an IT company/business as many printed copies (within reason) as you liked for free. I even fell for this hype myself because I wanted Linux to spread and ordered a dozen copies to give away to customers. After giving away a few, I suddenly thought why are you doing this man's work for him, for perhaps the most ordinary and drab Linux that I wouldn't be seen dead using myself. The magazines didn't have my integrity though and many an Ubuntu tutorial featured over the years.

This annoyed me greatly, because it got to the stage when I mentioned Linux, people would say "Oh you mean Ubuntu?" no I do not mean a johnny come lately Debian clone that's not even very good compared to all the Debian clones that already exist!

Obviously it improved over the years, but I was always suspicious of how a third rate distro suddenly became 'The' Linux. And South African millionaire? that just doesn't sit right with me, he may have earned his money legitimately, but probably not eh!

I do agree there's far too many to choose from, especially when many are just subtle variations of the same thing.

My list would barely make 5, never mind 10 and they are as follows:

1) MX Linux - The ultimate Linux for me bar none.

2) Linux Mint - I prefer the pure Debian version (LMDE) rather than the Ubuntu tainted one, but either is fine

3) PCLinuxOS - Often touted as a beginner friendly version, but it's so much more than that and one I used for many years before discovering MX Linux

That's basically it, told you I would struggle to make 5

I should give honourable mentions to OpenSuse and Manjaro (read a whole host of Arch clones) though, but I would still feel happier with the first 3.

[jimmy]

Checking MX Linux right now. mxlinux.org/

[mikkh]

Hope you like it.
My only minor gripe with the main XFCE version is the ludicrous decision to have a side taskbar as default!
Luckily it can be fixed to a more normal bottom or top taskbar with MX tweak, but I just don't understand why they would do that.

MX tools is it's biggest asset. No other Linux goes as far in bringing extra programs/utilities within easy reach.

PCLinuxOS is also quite good in that respect, but doesn't have as many.

Linux Mint barely has any at all and should have been 3 in my list for that reason alone.

[jazzazz]

My first Desktop was a WindowsXP desktop back in 2006, but its' memory & resources back then were a joke. When Windows stopped supporting XP I converted it to Linux (Mint 17), and I had MAXed out its' RAM, but was still a joke compared to todays.

Anyway when it was time to upgrade to a new one, I ended up with an Apple MacMini. I never expected to afford an APPLE computer either, but was actually reasonable, since I already had the peripherals (Monitor, KB/Mouse, etc.)

For an 8G RAM & 1TB HD(A few yrs. back), it was a reasonable $699 at Best Buy, a U.S. Brick & Mortar.