Yet Another Debian-based Distro: Mepis

emgarf writes "Today, on the first anniversary of the MEPIS Project, MEPIS LLC announced the release of MEPIS Linux 2003.10 for Pentium processors. MEPIS Linux is a desktop Linux that is designed for both personal and business users. MEPIS Linux offers a live/installation/recovery CD, advanced automatic hardware configuration, XP/NTFS support, ACPI power management, WiFi support, personal firewall, KDE 3.1.4, OpenOffice 1.1, Mozilla 1.5, and much more."

Comments

Problem with choice

[ryan1106]

I don't see why anyone would have anything against another Linux distro. That is what the Linux community is based on isn't it? Choice?

Not sure why this is news

[Ridgelift]

It's always good to see another distribution from a research/development standpoint. Rolling your own distro builds more who are familiar with the landscape.

But why is this here? What defining feature of Mepis make it /. worthy? I think it'd be better suited on distrowatch. Posting each new distribution won't help Linux, but rather it gives the impression of being a little desperate.

I'm not trolling or trying to start a flamewar (I'm a Debian user myself), but Linux needs to push the envelope for creative code hacking.

Standard meta-distributions

[heironymouscoward]

The trend seems to be towards two standard meta-distros:

- Debian for installations
- Knoppix for live-cds

Re:Desktop Linux the way you want it.

[Frymaster]

Gentoo gives you total control, like no other linux distro.

true. but it takes days to install and my mother would never be able to set her own USE flags. i think mepis is looking to provide maximum customization while still being "end user friendly"

Re:Why no RPMs?

[Abjifyicious]

Well I've used both Red Hat and Debian, and while I'm not an expert Linux user by any means, rpms and .debs seem like pretty much the same thing as far as functionality goes. The real reason people like Debian is not because of the package format, but rather because of tools like apt-get which allow you to quickly and easily retrieve and install packages and all of their dependencies with a single command.

Now I know that there are plenty of tools out there that use rpms and give you similar functionality to programs like apt-get or dselect, but I think people just like the fact that in Debian they install these things by default and are built specifically with them in mind.

Anyways though, for a new distro that's just come out, it seems like it wouldn't really matter whether it's Debian Based or Red Hat based. You can get the same functionality with either package format, it just depends on what tools you include with your distro.

Re:Desktop Linux the way you want it.

[BrookHarty]

Gentoo gives you total control, like no other linux distro.

true. but it takes days to install and my mother would never be able to set her own USE flags. i think mepis is looking to provide maximum customization while still being "end user friendly"

I wasnt speaking for people like your mother, I was speaking for the linux hacker who likes to tweak and hack. The person who tries more than one distro, or even has a ppc/sparc box. The ones who like to bang the metal, code demos, have a little bit of the artist hacker in them.

Gentoo isnt the distro for your mother. Gentoo is like the turbo charger you bolt on, or the even the custom paint job for your car. Its the way you want, exactly. And that customization takes knowledge and experience with building a src based linux setup. Yes it takes time to compile, just as building a plane in your garage takes time.

I wouldnt ever recommend Gentoo (except live cd's). Knoppix/SuSE or Mandrake are much better choices. SuSE has better end-user tools, Knoppix provides the best visual (out of the box) experience. Mandrake is popular and easy to find support. Just as there are different cars, there are different linux distros. Pick the one for the right job.