Short in the wireless department; if Ubuntu had it there I would look no further–the present state of wireless support (as of Gutsy Gibbon 7.10) is simply not up to the standard of some of the other ‘major’ distros, namely Suse and Mandriva.
For security, package management, stability and support Ubuntu is by far the leader, though that counts for little when you are on the road and just have to connect wirelessly–watching the network manager applet endlessly spinning its wheels, or watching the terminal return no dhcpoffers –sleeping when you know that it is a viable AP can create no end of frustration.
A couple of weeks ago I installed Mandriva ‘One’ on my test machine (a Thinkpad) with an all localized set up to show how easy it could be done for those less familiar with Linux. They were duly impressed, and a couple of them even considered switching, trying livecd’s that I had burned and given them.
The nice thing about the Mandriva distribution is that wireless support is superb–wirelessly connecting as I start up, and something that those I was demonstrating for could not even get going in their native ##windows installs. That went well, but keeping a non-English system around for daily use was just not in the cards. Got the latest from PCLinuxOS, the MiniME install, and started up from it. Again the wireless was easy to connect, so I went ahead and installed over the Mandriva. As the installer gave me the choice as what I wanted to keep, I chose to only overwrite the Mandriva portion, leaving my home intact. the significant bit here was that I had not set aside a /home partition yet was still able to save all my files and settings.
The minimal install of MiniME meant that the system was quite frisky–if this was going to be a daily use computer then I would stick with Ubuntu–but as I need the wireless at this point that is just not an option. Very hopeful that Hardy Heron will fix all that, but for now will stick with what works best for this machine and what it is used for.
This is after breaking any number of installs and learning how to fix them via forums, searching the internet for fixes, printing out the instructions and generally understanding a bit more on how to recover when things go wrong. As I did a fair amount of research before buying this (now) test machine I was confident that it was well supported in Linux, something that someone converting a longtime ##windows machine may not be able to do so effortlessly.
If you are able to have a daily use computer as well as an older test machine to dabble with, this is one of the best way to introduce yourself to the different package management systems, figure out which system suits your needs best in terms of how easy it is to add codecs and whatnot (wireless, graphics cards, etc); there are some nice surprises out there and they are all free for a test run should you choose to do so. Burn a live cd, try it out, and see what you think. Stay ahead of the curve and try some open source software–it is only going to get better.

When first installing Gutsy Gibbon (way back in beta) there were some issues with installing vmware-server; everyone I talked to just said ‘use virtualbox’. While virtualbox is undoubtedly a fine solution, it lacks the polish and ease of use I had grown accustomed to while using Feisty. After having running so many distros (subsequent to installing them) using vmware-server, it was not easy to make the switch. After a self-imposed hiatus of several months, I decided to give vmware-server another chance, and I’m pleased to say that it is not only easier to install (from the Canonical partner Gutsy repos) but is also much improved in terms of speed, stability and overall ease of use, with a much improved user interface and improved speed and graphics capabilities–just ran Hardy Alpha 3 in a vm on only 256MB ram, and it flew–clearly a reflection on Hardy as well, though kind of shocking exactly how fast it ran and how effortless it was to set up. Time to dust off all the distros I downloaded but never could find the time to try out on a live install over the past several weeks. Having a Linux machine without virtualization is an incomplete experience at best. I may even try to virtualize ##windows just to see how the other half ‘lives’. Heh.

One of the more fundamental disagreements within the Linux community is how best to presents ourselves to those new users, or those who may be potential users; one camp believes that we should strive to remain oblivious to the clear faults in proprietary land, sparing the rod in a manner of speaking.
Some of these same individuals worry when a new product, such as the eeepc, the $200 dollar Walmart gOS desktop, the cloudbook (all of them running Linux of one sort or another) is launched, thinking that a poor reception will set back the progress Linux has made invading the home desktop market.
The general thinking seems to be that if we are on our best behavior, never pointing out the glaring deceptions practiced by certain companies nor referring to them in less than fully respectful terms; that we should be endlessly patient (beyond any sort of reasonable limits) with new users who want easy answers while refusing to do anything for themselves (such as reading informative links, walkthroughs, faq’s, documents, etc.) lest they are scared away by the mean Linux people, thus delaying the fabled ‘year of the Linux desktop, 200_’.
While those are all admirable goals, and worth setting, the plain truth remains that the reason for success in the past year plus or so is not due to how nice and cheerily polite we all are, but to the features available for the first time that make Linux a viable replacement for the two main proprietary alternatives, Microsoft’s Windows (and Office Suite) and Apple’s Mac OS X (Leopard).
We’re not nicer than any other users, and pretending that we are so (or policing a kind of niceness purity within our own ranks) is certain to be an effort in futility. When you leave the proprietary umbrella of (imagined) safety and familiarity you are on your own; while there are many who are willing and able to help (more due to a thirst for problem solving than any particular sweetness)–you first have to help yourself, and then, if you wish, pass some of that knowledge back to the community. There is always someone less knowledgeable than yourself and they will be grateful (hopefully) for whatever tidbits you can pass along. If you get stuck there are a ton or resources to fall back on–some of them human (heh), and your willingness to work with others is a fair indicator of how well or quickly your problem will be solved. It is a welcoming community, with the flaws and drawbacks of any other group of like-minded individuals.

Is a minimal version of PCLinuxOS that comes with just the bare bones, allowing you to install exactly what you need; the liveCD is a very fast boot, and true to its Mandriva roots is extremely easy to configure through the Control Centre. I downloaded this 279MB distribution at a netcafe, burned the iso file and connected to the hotspot there in a matter of moments, all without installing a thing–were it not for some files that needed backing up on my installed system, I would have installed it right then and there.
There is really no tougher test for a Linux distribution then starting it cold from an outside wireless hotspot and configuring it via liveCD mode; that it was able to do so in such an effortless manner is a testament to how much the team at PCLinuxOS continue to hone their skills and make an excellent easy to use distribution even better. I installed Asian language support in a flash (not sure how that is possible in liveCD mode, but it worked) and was quickly browsing the web with the default Konqueror web browser.
If you’re just going to use the system to browse the web, watch movies, listen to music and get email, perhaps do a bit of text editing or creating spreadsheets, then it is already for you; the excellent Abiword and Gnumeric come ready to go, though you can easily add Open Office if you so desire.
The tendency of Linux distributions to get bigger and pack more and more into their liveCD/DVDs (e.g., Sabayon, MIB Games Mandriva remaster) while convenient can slow your system down considerably; it’s nice to see that some see the need for a more bare bones effort that allows you to pick and choose for your particular needs.
Well worth the download and test drive; see if you can resist making your system a dual boot with this very zippy and configurable effort from TexStar and company and all the fine developers at PCLinuxOS.

Would seem to be an oxymoron for the ages; Slackware by its very nature is not ‘easy’; interesting to see the new release of DarkStar Linux, which is targeted at beginners in an installable liveDVD. There seems to be a great deal of interest in this distribution, if torrent speeds are any indication; the 2.34GB download is flying (fingers crossed). Another distribution that I have long been curious about (obsessed even) is Vixta, now with release 0.98.1; though that has no seeders and will apparently take infinity to download. Worth the wait? Time will tell. More as they are downloaded and iso’s burned to disk.

Well the day has finally arrived, and even in the gnome Linux channels people are asking when they can download and install KDE 4.0. Hahahaha Though not nearly as finished as the 5 releases since 3.0 there is a lot to look forward to in this initial release; coupled with the release of Alpha 3 of Hardy and lots of breakage to look forward to. Will report more as soon as possible.

MIB Live Games is a treasure trove for Linux gamers; at last count over 100 games, 48 in arcade alone. As it is based on Mandriva 2008, the setup (and possible installation) are a breeze; to say that everything is included out of the box on this remaster of Mandriva 2008 ‘One’ would be an understatement indeed. It can be installed or used as a liveDVD (3.4GB); as there was already a Mandriva on my test box I just ran it in liveDVD mode, and even using an underpowered Intel video card all the 3D compiz-fusion eye candy and games worked flawlessly. Not that I tried every one of the games. Heh.
For foreign language support both this remaster (as well as the original) of Mandriva 2008 ‘One’ is rivalled by only Ubuntu for ease of set up and input as well as number of languages supported. Not that other modern distributions cannot do it; but for new users some of this can be rather daunting, and when you toss in the fact that it is a non-native language initially then the difficulty level rises considerably.
My only gripes with this particular remaster were the odd screen glitch at restart, as well as hanging for an extended period of time (i.e., not responding) while in screensaver mode.
For those in Asia, using the original Mandriva 2008 ‘One’ Asia edition is preferable as this remaster only offers major European languages at the starting configuration screen, though again they are not that difficult to add once the system is installed.
Just wish this distro had been around when the test box was my only computer; the graphic card support is superb–eliminating a lot of the xserver reconfigure settings needed in the not too distant past. All in all a fine first effort from the unofficial Italian branch of Mandriva–much more to look forward from this group of knowledgeable individuals.

This is a Linux distribution from Taiwan that really puts the Xandros default on the eeepc to shame; the colorful desktop icons in the easy mode are very well crafted and contain the same useful categories (internet, work, learn, play and settings) as well as an easy way to switch between the easy and normal desktops via a clicker on the lower left panel.
For all its good looks it lacks seriously in the net connection department–it failed to find a wired or wireless connection on both a thinkpad and the eeepc; on the eeepc it ran for about a minute before freezing up completely.
Excellent start up time, flashy icons, and general ease of use; a very good proof of concept, but nowhere near ready to be used on systems planning to be used on the internet.

A lot of exciting distros coming out now; though many of them are early releases (i.e., alpha or beta) they are still usable and worth the time to try out; not necessarily in the sense of following the entire release cycle, but as a preview of what is coming for that particular Linux distribution. It is a bit difficult, however, not to get too attached to a particular package management system (such as apt) while remaining open to alternatives outside of those employed by the major distributions (deb, rpm, etc). Hope to try some of the more promising looking new Linux distributions; the major obstacle at this point being the paucity of torrents for such, as well as sparse bandwidth for those that do come up with something original–a case in point being the Linpus Linux (9.4) Lite distribution, one that seems a perfect fit for the eeepc. Another would be the alpha (beta by now?) of Foresight Linux 2.0, a most excellent distribution when it was at 1.4. More later.

Up; left the last one up a tad bit too long. And in typical FOSS tradition, the most popular choice in the prior poll was ‘other’. Hahahahaha