>
>
> After familiarizing yourself with apt-get and other Debian
> idiosyncrasies (such as "apt-cache search") that survive the
> translation to a LiveCD distro like MEPIS, you might try taking a shot
> at Debian itself. The new installer is pretty easy to work with. I'd
> recommend trying the minimalist approach, telling it (when it asks)
> that you don't want to install anything with the OS itself, and will
> just use apt to install additional software packages once you have the
> OS running.
The SimplyMEPIS CD is "minimalist" in that it provides desktop tools and
only desktop tools, and only a limited number of them. And it is not
just a LiveCD distro, but includes a 4-click install utility (and
QParted for partition editing). Once you have MEPIS installed on your
hard drive, you can either use KPackage to install other Debian packages
or use apt from the command line. GUI or CLI - it's your choice.
>
> Of course, some people don't like that approach -- they like the
> embarrassment of riches that is the kitchen sink approach to Linux
> installs. I find that having great big piles of unwanted software
> just drives me up the wall. In fact, I don't much like KDE or Gnome,
> and have chosen a completely different window manager on which to
> standardize my own computing experience -- in part to avoid the bloat
> in both of the two most popular GUI environments for Linux, just as I
> avoid the bloat of kitchen-sink distros like Fedora, SuSE, and Mandrake.
KDE Office was left out of SimplyMEPIS. It has the "basic" KDE desktop
plus selected KDE-based programs -- and a few Gnome ones, too, notably
gFTP. IceWM is also there for those who prefer a lighter window manager.
>
> In any case, you might find it worth your while to try the minimalist,
> "lean and mean" approach to installing Linux. Debian is pretty much
> ideal for that, if you want to get running in a hurry, because of the
> highly extensive apt resources at your disposal and the native
> functionality of apt in Debian. It makes for a very quick process of
> installing the software you will want, starting from the bare-bones
> install, where some other distros would take more time and effort to
> get up to speed.
The MEPIS ideal is to closely parallel the Debian experience instead of
"proprietorizing" it a la Xandros or Linspire. It *is* Debian, with all
packages carrying their original names, plus some setup tools and
defaults set for the convenience of desktop users (including mplayer and
xine as Moz plugins). The now-in-beta ProMEPIS version is a set of
additional CDs that contain the "everything including the kitchen sink"
package set you get with the pro/advanced versions of SUSE or Mandrake,
but you don't need to use the whole thing; you can pick/choose packages
and install only what you want/need.
An aside: The person who said he couldn't figure out how to set screen
resolution in MEPIS needs to find the KDE control center (menu -> system
-> settings) and open "peripherals," then click "display." That's where
you'll find your montor resolution choices. If you have an nVidia
graphics card, there's also a separate nVidia-supplied (proprietary)
utility that handles nVidia settings.
In other words, MEPIS has nearly everything Bruce Perens and others have
talked about for UserLinux, except it's here and working today. And if
your first install includes packages you don't want or like, fire up
KPackage, type in your root p/w, and uninstall them, click-click. Or
open a terminal window and do it that way. It's your choice which way
you want to go, not Warren's. He just provides the tools. How you use
them is up to you. :)
- Robin
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