Go to page: 1 2 3   

Printer Friendly Version

Overall usability

Software installation is done through Synaptic which is fine, despite it proving to be a poor source of software discovery. While providing Synaptic is an awesome way to manage software, looking at poorly descriptive text is not a very compelling way to get new Linux users to try software.

The provided documentation with PCLinuxOS is messy, despite my salute to those who have worked to provide as much to it as they can with their free time. Remember, PCLOS is a volunteer effort: there is no Canonical or Novell supporting this project.

Despite the documentation being a bit on the weak side, the hardware database is vastly more up to date than most other distributions out there. So for new users, this can prove immediately helpful.

One thing that bugs me is that PCLinuxOS really leaves you with KDE only. Great for most people, but a bit limiting. There is a GNOME version that is unrelated to PCLOS proper, however I have not had a chance to test it myself.

Pitfalls

My only gripes would be defaulted to KDE only and the lack of other companies willing to put some support behind this distribution, as it would benefit from some help in the financial dept. At this stage in the game, it feels like it could see the same fate as another stellar distro known as Simply Mepis. If the money falls short, things could begin slipping off with its development.

Despite this concern, I have found that those who simply could not make a go of it with (K)Ubuntu, have done really well for with a migration to PCLOS.

3) Freespire

While this is not going to really be something more intermediate-to-advanced users are going to choose, total newbies looking for something different than PCLOS might find themselves well matched with Freespire 2.0. Due to the liberal licensing, you will find everything working out of the box without any extra installation. Most restricted codecs (except DVD), Flash, and proprietary video drivers are all ready to go right after you install.

Overall usability

Hardware and wireless support is on par with what you might find with Ubuntu Feisty, although a few additions have been included to provide better functionality due to the age of the version of Ubuntu Freespire 2.0 is based on. Extra wireless drivers, proprietary software, among other goodies set this distribution apart from its Ubuntu cousin.

Freespire provides a fairly typical KDE desktop along with highly customized and streamlined versions of both Firefox and Thunderbird. Software installation is accomplished via CNR, apt-get and Synaptic.

Pitfalls

I used to be a HUGE fan of Linspire 4.5 and 5.0. At the time, it filled in many of the gaps being largely ignored by other newbie-friendly distributions. But when Linspire rolled out Freespire 1.0 and then later, 2.0 (which makes up Linspire 6.0), I found myself largely disappointed for the following reasons.

The signature tools for Linspire was the availability of "legal" DVD playback (legal according to our overlords at the MPAA) along with SurfSafe parental controls. These two features made the distro for a lot of users. Both features were stripped out of the current version(s) of Linspire's Linux products.

The old version of CNR was well integrated and presented me with a page of the latest proprietary new software releases. I loved being able to go to this page specifically to see what the latest was. Today's CNR, while making proprietary software available to other distros, leaves a lot to be desired with regard to how it organizes software. You can use its directory to locate stuff you know you want, but the sense of new release discovery is just not the same.

Go to page: 1 2 3   

Printer Friendly Version