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Mepis, Me piss?

Just pronounce it like Memphis, given that Memphis, Tennessee, is named after Mepis, Egypt.

The problem that I at least have is that there are too many Debian-based distros to choose from

AFAIK, Ubuntu is the only major one that contributes heavily back into Debian proper and has a community development model. The others are either largely one man shows or commercial distributions with proprietary tools that they keep to themselves.

I'd love it if just one Debian derivative would come out way ahead of the others in terms of popularity, to the level of Fedora, Suse, Mandrake, or Gentoo; then I could feel confident that it will stick around and stay up to date for the long haul.

If you look at the last month on DistroWatch, one seems to be pulling far ahead of the others, even above the distros you mentioned.

I've had the best luck so far with Fedora, but I hate the fact that a full system upgrade is due twice a year.

With Ubuntu, there are two releases a year, but all you have to do is replace the name of the release in your repositories and "apt-get dist-upgrade".

As for Debian itself, well I used to use it (on a Sparc 10), but to have an up-to-date desktop I had to run "unstable", and occasionally things (like DNS - that was fun) would break for awhile.

Ubuntu also has an unofficial sparc port.

MEPIS, Ubuntu, Xandros? All three are based on Debian and a bit easier to use.

That question is unfortunately both very pervasive and very nearly irrelevant.

I understand that software preferences are often a 'blocker' to accepting one distro over another, or even linux at all, but there are so many good choices out there... who cares?

Want KDE installed on a Debian base? Look here:
http://www.mepis.org
or http://www.ubuntulinux.org/wiki/Kubuntu
or http://www.kubuntu.org.uk

Or any other of a half-dozen great GNU/Debian/KGX distros out there.

I've grown quite fond of the group of people working on integrating KDE with vanilla-Ubuntu. Not only can you add it to an already GNOME-based setup, they've released an entire branch with KDE as the default! They've still got some work ahead of them but the current release is very impressive!

If you want KDE on Ubuntu, apt-get it from the universe repository. Yes, I know, that's less than obvious... The Ubuntu people are working on making stuff like that easier. Heck... when Hoary is released in two weeks (or so) you can just apt-get kubuntu-desktop.

Me? I'm typing this from a freshly installed Kubuntu system. It's purrty. Mepis is nice as well but I've found it's kernel to be a little unstable on my laptop. Nothing a recompile didn't fix, but I've decided to back Ubuntu.

BTW... the wine packages from wine.sf.net/apt aren't stable. Your best bet is to apt-build roll your own. I might contrib mine once I get some font issues worked out.

Mepis is a great KDE/Debian based Live CD. It is basically a cleaner Knoppix, with a graphical installer option, unlike Knoppix's commandline script installer option (which is very much a hack). The great thing about Mepis's graphical installer is that since it is also a Live CD, you can surf the web while your OS installs :)

XP, whist MS crap, doesn't realy require one bit of tweaking.

Try explaining module installations or drive mounting orcode compiling to a regular user and you will get blank stares.

The biggest flaw in the author's perspective is seen right here:

Back in the UNIX wars, the vendors had two primary axes on which they could compete: hardware speed, and features of their flavor of UNIX.

He forgot the legal axe. Sun, IBM, DEC and others wasted their resources on court battles about "fat line" patents and other nonsense. How can you pay developers while fighting off everyone else's lawyers? The survivors largely blunted that axe by burring it in each other, but it's still around. It was thrown hard at BSD and idiots like Microsoft and SCO are still trying to wield it.

The legal attitude was the downfall of closed source Unix but it's not a factor in free software. The issues are worked out and best practices can be passed on. For all the author's complaints, Linux distributions are probably more coherent than different versions of Winblows.

The author then goes insane here:

It takes longer to configure code than to compile it these days, which is categorically not the case on Windows. Commercial grade Windows software just works and usually keeps working. Do you think that this might, just maybe, have something to do with the reason that major apps like Adobe's Photoshop, Macromedia's Director, Adobe Premiere, etc, are still not available on UNIX and, in my opinion _never_ will be...

Where to start? I'm to conclude that Winblows is easier to code for because Adobe does not have to reconfigure their code to compile it again and somehow that makes Winblows a more consistent platform? That's nuts and it's not even close to true. Adobe, I'm sure, has to do plenty of code rewrite when M$ forces them to pay for a new OS and SDK. Of course, Microsoft would break Adobe if they ever did anything free software friendly. But what does this have to do with differences between Linux and BSD? Absolutely Nothing. Free software is much easier to port to other free software than it will ever be port closed source crap. That's why thing like GIMP, ghostview, KDE and others run under BSD, Linux, OSX and even Winblows, though the Winblows ports are largely a waste of time.

I think I see the problem here:

I installed Linux on one of my systems the other day, so I could use it as a teaching vehicle for my class on system log analysis.

The author is a noob. MJR, I suggest that you actually use free software regularly before you predict it's demise due to a non existant lack of co-operation. Go here and tell me in a year or so if you still have problems with packages not working. I don't care how many years you have worked with hoary old Unix boxes, you are out of your mind to compare Microsoft junk with free software and conclude that M$ is more consistent in any way.

The list of things the author implies without saying is staggering. I can refute a few that popped into my head to show the absurdity of the whole article. You can do anything with available free software you can do with non free, it's easier to set up, works better and it costs a lot less. I don't need Adobe. Red Hat's market is not going away because Debian does things differently. They share code and each is gaining the strength of the other: Debian is getting easier for desktop users to configure, Red Hat is getting better package management. Red Hat will also never run out of people who want the consulting which is "Enterprise support". IBM made 2.6 billion dollars that way too without once saying a bad word about any free software project.

Any of us who've worked with the various free-nixes out there have run across the "vanity versions" and their related politics: so-and-so won't work with so-and-so-else, let's start a whole new operating system development tree! Wow. Grow up.

A tired, M$ style, flame. I'm not sure what problems he's had, but he's welcome to fix them and share them back anytime he wants. I would not call him vain for that.

1. Joe User's Winblows machine dies of spyware/malware.
2. Joe User gets ripped off taking his poor machine to big_chain_store for a fix. He pays one two two hundred bucks for "factory new" settings. His wife's baby pictures, their printer drivers, 101 other settings that took months as well as all their third party software that made the experience bearable.
3. Joe User's computer is then owned and blown five minutes after hooking back up to the net.
4. Someone gives Joe a live Linux CD which blows Windoze away.
5. Joe never looks back.

It's easier to fix a broken windoze computer with Mepis than it is to reinstall windoze. You might even retrieve your wife's pictures with it and you will surely not have to spend hours digging up browsers, spell checkers, paint programs and all the other software that makes a Winblows computer usable.

There are enough people like me willing to help Joe at no charge to make it much cheaper too. I teach a Linux for desktop users at a local computer club and can say that interest in free software has never been higher and the migration has never been easier. They are able to teach each other once I get them going. The progression is geometric and Microsoft will never catch up.

Game over.

• MEPIS.org
• Wikipedia article on MEPIS

Depending on your contract with Novell, you may want to pick SUSE, but any of the RedHat professional distros (RHAS/RHES) is probably your best bet.

If you don't have a contract with Novell or you are going to have to pay a load of cash to use SUSE, go with RedHat...

The first reason to stick with RedHat is that RedHat is one of the oldest of Linux server distros which means that RedHat has pretty good support, and the second one is that outside of the Linux world...RedHat is synonymous with Linux....The perfect example of this is going to a hardware manufacturer's site looking for a device driver and seeing a page that says some thing along the lines of ... "We support Linux 7.3, 8.0, 9.0..."...

That's also why you should choose EXT3 as your Journaling Filesystem...forget Riser, JFS, XFS, etc...all of the Linux rescue utilities and admin CDs support EXT2/3...

IMHO, there's a time for preferences and fanboy-ism, but that's not when it comes to your data or your job. Stick with tried and true technology.

As a side note, don't go with WhiteBox...for some reason the legal departments don't like it :)

In a few years, hopefully you will be able to add Pro Mepis to that, but it's still in beta stages and current debian distros leave alot to be desired when it comes to administering professional machines...mainly, there's noone I can get on the phone and yell at till it's fixed...and 3rd party support don't cut it...3rd party support for OSes is for sunset systems...

I'm running SimplyMepis on my laptop now, and I just tried the live version of Ubuntu last night.

Both Mepis and Ubuntu detect my Centrino wireless, but only Mepis makes it work. Ubuntu gives some error at boot and then doesn't even show it as a device once the system is up. Both detect my Synaptics touchpad, but only Mepis has all its functionality working "out of the box". And Mepis provides most useful (though not Free) plugins for Mozilla/Firefox already installed and configured.

YMMV, but if you try Ubuntu and have problems with it, you definitely should take a look at Mepis.

Got a study to back that up? I doubt it.

I have not used IE at home for more than three years and have not had any problems. Sure, I've got an old version that came with Winblows 98, but I removed the network drivers from it ages ago and I doubt it would do me any good anyway. Under Linus I've have a few problems with streaming media on a few sites, but Mepis comes with Real Player and Xine. Between those two, I've got all normal formats and abnormal ones like Windoze Media, without having to worry about the trojans. Over the last three years, I've seen fewer and fewer sites requiring IE, and none of them that I actually need to use. I imagine that a site that really requires me to use IE would require me to load a steaming pile of DRM crap to work and that pile would break the scanner drivers and other stuff that I keep 98 for in the first place.

Keeping IE on the shelf is an instructive waste of time. The upgrade train never ends so when you think you need it, it's not going to work.

At work, for instance, I can't use Firefox for certain tasks because the Java-based admin pages (finances and grading) at our University won't work with it.

Too bad but don't worry. Your employer made a mistake. Most people are figuring that out by now. My University is quickly wiping out such junk. It cost a little money to get data out of the Microsoft Roach Motel, but it saves much more in the long run.

And $500 is a lot of money when you can just get Mepis. It's a newbie friendly live CD that has a nice GUI installer. Five clicks through a GUI and you have it. I think it does dual boot too, so there's no need for the extra clunker with Winblows or a new Mac. After a while of using spamassasin to block spam and Mozilla or Konqueror to browse the clean web, you will come to love your old PC again.

Macs are nice, but you can have your old PC and make it useful with free software. There are a few areas in which the Mac still excells but there are fewer and fewer of them.

This is not an advertisement, it's a fact of life and a popular uprising. Not even Microsoft's massive PR efforts can keep their users happy any more. If it were an advertisement, it might have mentioned alternate platforms or placed blame where it belonged. Linux, Apple, Solaris, BSD and other systems that are not plagued were not mentioned. Instead of Microsoft's poor design and implementation, "openness" and "features" were blamed.

The easiest install I've seen to date is Simply Mepis. It runs as a live CD, so you can see if your particular system works. Most systems these days actually look better when booted into a well configured KDE desktop, which includes beautiful fonts, icons and wallpaper. When you like what you see, the install is about five mouse clicks away using a desktop icon, "installation center". It takes about 20 minutes and EVERYTHING is done in the GUI with help files and descriptions. Anyone who's suffered though a fresh Windoze install can do it. Using it is just as easy if not easier than anything Microsoft has. It just works.

Unfortunately, it comes down to this. Linux is essentially developed by geeks for geeks, and, as a generality, geeks have little time/patience with the "clueless newbie unwashed" who need their hands held.

And somehow closed source developers who have little time/patience for even their PEERS are better? What crap, the thing that support people are sick of is M$ problems, not the users Microsoft likes to blame for them. Users themselves are sick of junk that breaks so easily and being blamed for the problems. If you want real attitude problems, look to Redmond.

M$ computer "support" comes from two places, people who help their friends and $50/hr phone calls to M$. The second group is famous for being as helpful as psychic friends network, but less friendly. The first group is dumping Microsoft and all of it's problems and insults.

If Linux is ever going to conquer the desktop, it will take the effort of many dedicated people who not only have the time & the patience, but also obsess about the user experience of the aforementioned unwashed.

Where have you been? Desktop Linux is here and it's easier to use than Winblows. Distributions like Mepis install in less than 20 minutes and run great. The kernel does the hardware detection, so the user does not have to read arcane manuals, feed the computer floppies and CDs and reboot six or seven times. Printer configuration through CUPS and KDE is likewise a walk in the park. The KDE UI is both more powerful and easier to use than Winblows' pathetic, single screen ugly. 99% of what normal users want is there by default, where M$ users have to visit a store and spend hundreds of dollars and get the extra pleasures of DRM, DLL hell and other nasties. Getting specialized software is as easy as a no cost click with programs like Synaptic or Kpackage. Most importantly, free software keeps working. It stays up longer, for those who care, and it does not get eaten by automated worms, spyware, malware and other M$ born infection.

Unlike the average /. reader, the majority of people view the computer as a tool, a means to an end, not as a hobby and not as the end itself.

The average slashdot reader is well aware of that. Those that want to keep their reputation for recommending the best now recommend free software.

I'd recommend going with MEPIS. It's Debian-based, but very newbie-friendly.

I've been helping a friend get into Linux. I recommended MEPIS to him, and he loves it.

As is Mepis. Support via the various forums is good. Support for Windows apps (Wine, Crossover Office, and Win4Lin patches in the kernel) is built in to help ease the transition.

Check it out. The iso is a bootable, fully functional config with installer.

Why Xandros? If it is because you're looking for an up-to-date Debian based desktop oriented distro I'd say take a look at Mepis

Check out the Mepis Distro (http://mepis.org/) - it allows you to run in a Live CD environment to test your hardware.

I've got it running on a couple of public access terminals at our church - no one has had any problems using it yet.

• Mepis
• Debian
• Fedora

That should take care of things and you can spend the rest of your client's time showing them new and better software instead of fixing old crap.

Yeah, but with a half life of just 4 minutes, people don't see a real improvement no matter which way they go with Windows. "Yeah", you say, "but a Pee Cee with SP2 does not get owned so quickly." Of course, it does, when the user has email (conversation with study author), or browses. People know this and are not very happy.

Next time, give them Simply Mepis or Debian Sarge. It works, it's easy for both of you and they will thank you for it.

Better yet, get your friends to install pirated garbage and then report your competition. M$ does not care, it's just another stinking cash grab in the best tradition of the BSA and non free software. It's just another cost of doing that kind of business.

End users are not going to be able to tell the difference. Legitimate businesses can't tell either. I know, I worked for one. That guy would never in a million years do that on purpose.

I've got a better idea for you backyard builders Simply Mepis. Most users won't know the difference. Those that notice will have good things to say.

• KDE
• OpenOffice.org
• Mozilla suite 1.7 with mozcalendar
• Solitaire :)
• Samba
• etc...

Wow,

It seems like I'm the only person who read this and thought, "Hey! I should do that too!"

Honestly though, stop giving the guy such a hard time. I talk to lots of people who tell me they've been vaguely wanting to try GNU/Linux but didn't know how/we're scared to try/etc. I first tried GNU/Linux by using a SuSE Live CD, and now I run Debian on all my computers.

So long as the CD Label provides a few simple but essential instructions, it could be really appreciated by some recipients.

The labels should say something like: This is a version of GNU/Linux. Put this CD in your computer's CD-Rom drive and restart the computer. You will get a demonstration of GNU/Linux that will NOT alter your hard drive or damage your current Windows operating system. Did I mention it has games? Enjoy! For more information, check out: http://www.mepis.org (assuming you put Mepis on the CDs.)

Cb..

Mepis is Debian based; much lower barrier to admission than other Debian distros.

Try Mepis. It installs from a single live CD, it's got exactly 1 thing to do each task and it tries to do it well. It is also tied to the debian tree, so most software installs easily and without a hitch.

If you find it too difficuly to install without a manual, you can get Point & Click Linux which comes with a version of Mepis. It also includes comparisons between Windoze and provided Linux apps.

Not convinced...look at this review.

Try Mepis. It installs from a single live CD, it's got exactly 1 thing to do each task and it tries to do it well. It is also tied to the debian tree, so most software installs easily and without a hitch.

If you find it too difficuly to install without a manual, you can get Point & Click Linux which comes with a version of Mepis. It also includes comparisons between Windoze and provided Linux apps.

Not convinced...look at this review.

Except for the problem of it breaking when you upgrade it.

I think MEPIS Linux is like that.

HP, which discovered the defect during routine notebook testing, said the flaw could result in blue screens, which indicate a computer crash; intermittent lock-ups or memory corruption.

Gosh, I've seen a lot of that out there. They won't give you your money back, but free replacements which are easy to install have been getting rave reviews. After hundreds of similar replacements, I can say for sure that the RAM was not the problem. Every now and then there really is a hardware problem, like a dead back up battery ($3.00 at Walmart), but mostly it's bad software. So spin a CD before you pop the cover.

I really think the article missed out a link to their homepage? Anyway, here it is: www.mepis.org and a .torrent download (since their ftp mirrors all doesn't seem that fast): .Torrent

Cheers.
Albert

My metric for "Just Working" is putting a CD in an NForce motherboard desktop and seeing what happens. MEPIS handles this test with flying colors. It even Just Worked on my Dell Inspiron 8500 with two caveats: manual intervention was required to get widescreen aspect ratio support working (15 minutes of Google time), and my Microsoft MN-700 WLAN card required me to download drivers to use with the included version of ndiswrapper, but ndiswrapper is actually much more stable on this machine than the native Prism2 drivers were on an old laptop. But considering the unusual nature of the hardware, I suspect I'd have to do some tweaking to get Windows XP working from a clean install on this laptop too.

The only thing MEPIS lacks is nipples. Clearly Ubuntu has the lock on nipples and slightly sexually ambiguous multiracial harmony scenes.

MEPIS comes pretty close to 100% Debian compatible for all practical purposes. As far as I know you can install pretty much any Debian package. And everything "just works" out of the box. And it has a nice graphical installer and comes on a bootable CD.

Please explain how this differs from . To me it sounds like a clone of the MEPIS project that simply duplicates effort and has slicker marketing due to a bigger budget.

No, I'm not a weenie who needs things spoon fed to them, I've been using Linux since long before it was cool or chic, starting with Slack back in '96, then RedHat, then Mandrake. After Win2k came out I moved back to using Windows for most of my day-to-day desktop needs (now mostly Win XP), but recently I've installed MEPIS on my laptop and I find it quite enjoyable to use. The things that stand out to me are 1) fabulous hardware compatibility, including out of the box support for almost every component of my Dell Inspiron 8500 laptop, with NVidia GeForce4 Go graphics and so on (I did have to make a quick manual edit to XF86Config-4 to get widescreen support, and my Microsoft MN-720 802.11b card took about half an hour of screwing around to get running, but ndiswrapper was already there, I just had to find the right driver version and run it.

Okay, that's all the ranting I can do for now. Did I mention that MEPIS makes a great recovery CD? That's how I first discovered it. Give it a try, funny name aside.

Knoppix might be useful for rescuing a system, but as an overal distro, it suffers from the problem that you can't install it to your hard drive. There are complex workarounds, but it defeats the purpose. I really hope the knoppix team add that functionality.

Meanwhile, MEPIS does exactly that. It's a live distro like knoppix, but once you've decided you like it and it's compatible with your hardware, you just install it on your HD like a regular distro. And it's also based on Debian. One downside, though, is lack of activity: the current released version is a year old.

Check out Mepis Linux. Debian/testing based, run from CD or easy install, and built for desktop use. Current version is quite solid - It installed beautifully on my AthlonXP desktop and IBM Thinkpad.

I'm a geek too, and I'm looking for long life. Last summer I finally upgraded my dual PII400 desktop (the MB died) to an Athlon XP2500. Runs Mepis Linux. My file server is still a P233mmx with 512mb and 4 drives in mirrored pairs. It runs Novell NetWare 4.12 and is stable as a rock. The firewall/webserver? An old Compaq P90 that in which upgraded the HD to 8GB. It runs Gentoo. Really.

The IBM AT (8mhz, 256MB) has finally been relegated to the attic - the CGA monitor died.

• Mepis
• Fedora
• Debian use the new installer, Testing rocks.
• Feather Linux for those of you still running your favoite 486.

I doubt they will block Slashdotters.

It's less effort, really it is. We now return you, of your own volition, to Windoze hell.

I'd just get another hard drive. If the system does not have a CD, do the install on another machine, move it and tweak it as required. Mepis and other Knoppix based distributions should work without much or any modification. Moreover, they should work very well on that hardware. For what it's worth, my 90MHz P1 Thinkpad is jealous of your memory and processor but happy with it's five gig hard drive and Woody. Save the HD caddy, if the yours has one! They are easy to work with, but hard to find.

I love it in Windows XP, but I also use Linux. MEPIS to be specific and enlightenment to be even more specific. Although I don't use the grouping in Linux, it is quite ridiculous that they award patents for things like that. But let's face it. Gates is a genius, and if we could have gotten away with it, some of us would have, for the rest of us there is integrity.

Try Mepis.
A friend has a USB wireless and it works great with an extention cord for war-driving. I believe it was the netgear, I'll find out which and post more info. But it worked great with Kismet and airsnort.

So give Mepis a shot, it's a live CD all it will cost you is a bit of time and a blank CDR

Mepis Linux

Knoppix and friends autoconfigure these things. Distros like Mepis install those settings to the newbie's hard drive with a few GUI clicks. Other distros like Red Hat and Mandrake have done this for years, but Mepis gives you the chance to try it out off the CD without risk to the newbie.

In any case, the point of the project is collect specific information about specific applications, so that developers can change their manuals or programs if they are inclined. If you think a control panel is lacking, by all means, write in. Be sure to include specific details of what confused you. If you think this is too much trouble to go through, ask yourelf what commercial vendor listens this way. Keep those thoughts in mind the next time you have a problem and you get stuck in the hardware - software blame shifting game played by most people who demand money for their services.

Very friendly software works just fine on older hardware. I know that Debian testing, with KDE 3.2 works just fine on 450 MHz and 128MB RAM. I'd even go so far as to call it snappy. I've used Mepis on machines as low as 233 MHz. Sure, OO was slow on that, but any reasonable company can use it's old "server" to provide that via terminal services to machines of this class.

More importantly for business is the that XP is just the beginning of what Microsoft pushes. Not only does a company have to buy new hardware to run it, it also has to purchase "servers", CALs and other eXPensive junk. Free software has and still makes better use of hardware and has a lower TCO, regardless of what Fedora does.

In anycase, how do you properly configure and protect a Windoze box from itself? Because the vectors are born in services that the user demands, email and web browsing, you can't keep them from getting through. What bandaids to Microsoft's design flaws do you use to keep your machines "clean"? Can you really justify that kind of expense and effort for home users? You have to clean up after them periodically anyway, don't you? When it's all said and done, it's easier for the home user do dual boot something like Mepis and blind that M$ junk by removing network drivers.

Mepis is one of the easiest Linux installs you will find. Imagine Knoppix with a GUI installer that works and you see Mepis. Install off the first CD takes 15 to 30 minutes depending on the speed of your CD and what games you play while it's going. It's got Windows network browsing, printing via cups and all that jazz.

Fedora will also work well, but the default is a Gnome desktop that's hungrier than KDE and the install takes a little longer.

i happened to come across these fantastic spyware removal sites. if you download their software you are guaranteed 100 per cent no more spyware
Debian
Mandrake
Linspire
Fedora
Mepis
Xandros
Suse
Slackware
Gentoo

In some ways, the biggest problem is Microsoft Windows itself. Windows has holes that can allow a hacker to install almost anything on a computer that lacks a protective program or device called a firewall. Users' vulnerability can be compounded if they have not installed the latest patches from Microsoft.

Cut SETH SCHIESEL some slack. The press is still groping with Internet issues. A few years back, a "computer expert" at most papers was someone who knew how to fix the boss's M$ desktop.

Many things said were encouraging.

• He understands that users can run "servers"
• He understands Winblows has serious problems.
• He understands that IRC has legitimate uses.

Give him some time and the scales will fall off his eyes and his attitude will change. He's already noticed that it's hard for to exchange files with his friends, even though he pays big bucks for "broadband". Sooner or later, he will discover that http is also a text based protocal that takes little horsepower to run and is easy to set up in the home. When he realizes this he will start to question why he can't run his own and everything will fall into place.

Seth, you should try a copy of Mepis sometime. It has all of the software that the big boys use to run websites, Apache, mySQL and PHP. It also has excellent and easy to use html editors such as Mozilla's composer and Bluefish. If all you want is static image galaries, just use the KDE file browser's one click generator. Mepis configures itself from a CD on boot and has a GUI installer that works. Mepis is easy and will hasten your enlightenment.

The world of ends is waiting for you. It needs you. You can be part of the solution, not the problem. THE INTERNET IS THE NEW PRESS. IF IT IS NOT FREE THERE IS NO FREE PRESS. Kiddie porn is best fought by busting kiddie porn makers, not by regulating presses. It would be a shame if only a few "respectable" well regulated companies were alowed to publish on the web as the New York Times does.