I like Mepis, the old Mepis that is. One of the first distros that could be installed with no muss or fuss. Now, I just installed 6.0 beta2. And I have an installation of Ubuntu Dapper Drake development. There is no comparison, Ubuntu kicks Mepis butt. Faster, cleaner no cutsie aquarium, etc.

Sorry to say but it looks like Mepis took a wrong turn.

jimbo

It's a beta. Save the remarks for the final version. Of course Mepis is based on Ubuntu's pools, who cares? It's still a Deb derivative distro and is uniquely Mepis. Mepis also has better media support than Ubuntu out of the box, plus broader hardware support. Ubuntu uses (IMO) the ugliest brown theme Gnome has by default, plus it has a non-standard root/user account setup. When you look at the loader or the desktop, it screams "Mepis", not "Ubuntu".

They are not even close to being simular.

Agreed, its at the beta stage, but comments do help to shape the final releases. In reference to this:
*I* care. I've had to pass on applications because Ubuntu doesn't have them, and the Universe repositories or whatever are a pain to find and set up, or at least they were at that time (5.04) and standard Debian repos break Ubuntu.

How will Mepis go about changing from Ubuntu's root/user setup back to the Debian? My guess is that it won't (but I've not tried the beta so i may be wrong) and so we're stuck with the Ubuntu model if we wanna stick with Mepis.

Debian has its releases and Mepis wants to release more often. I can understand this, and since Ubuntu is doing that (and apparently doing it rather well) then I understand why Mepis wants to move that direction. I just don't have to be happy about it.

Well, I have 6.0 beta 3, and the final release is supposed to be June 1st, so there can't be all that much difference. And the Ubuntu I have is also a development version, Dapper Drake. I just followed a procedure to install KDE to Ubuntu, keeping Gnome as the default. Very nice, easy to switch between Gnome and KDE. Each menu is separate, no Gnome menu items on KDE menus, etc.

I hope the final release of Mepis 6.0 measures up, but I am having serious doubts.

Good luck, jimbo

@lefty.crupps- The root/user thing is normal in Mepis so far. Which packages are missing in the Ubuntu pools? So far, the only things missing for me were MythTV, Mozilla and Opera.

@jimbo-62- Did they get rid of that stupid aquarium thing? I'm using an earlier beta and that's the first thing I removed, at warp speed.

Bluesman2333:

Nope, it is still there in beta 3. I did likewise, gone in a flash. I am really sorry to see Mepis swerving off course. It was my first good experience with Linux.

Good luck, jimbo

I think Warren is trying to save it by going to the Ubuntu pools. No doubt Mepis stands out among distros that "just work".

Wow, Bluesman. By stating that Warren Woodford is trying to save MEPIS, you imply that it has a problem serious enough to ruin it. If so, it would be only the second distro I know of that faces or has faced disappearance--the other one being Mandrake, according to a recent Distrowatch column which stated that MandrakeSoft is in bad financial shape.

The saving part is the release cycle. Warren wanted a predictable cycle that Debian couldn't give.

I installed Mozilla and Opera is available. Enable all the repositories that are part of the default install.

There are other issues with Beta3. But it's a beta after all. If you know what beta software is supposed to be you wouldn't be making these kinds of comments.

They are appropriate only for a released version. Then you should feel free to comment on using something else because something you feel isn't working correctly. It's a BETA!

lucky9:

Gosh, I thought beta software was almost good enough to be a release, especially beta3. And the reason it was available for use was to double check the quality, stability, features, etc. before the formal release.

I didn't know it was inappropriate to comment on bugs or poor performance, etc. Please excuse my ignorance.

jimbo

I can feel the heat increasing...ahem...

i hate ubuntu,but i love mepis.yes i dont really like mepis switching to ubuntu repos but i have mepis 6.0 beta 3 installed and mepis makes working and using ubuntu alot better.betas a still being test and have bugs,thats with any distros betas.mepis is awsome!!! go warren

Just installed 3.4.3 one day ago after ruining 3.3.1 through some foolishness. This release is great once you get a feel for it. uDev faked me out at first. Now I love it.
Not sure exactly where warren is taking this, but have a little faith. Judging by his track record, my gut feeling is it's going to be great.

Unfortunately Warren isn't going anywhere it seems with the Mepis 3.4.3 series, which is based on the Debian repos.
The new Mepis is based on the Ubuntu repos.

I agree that the Mepis 3.4.3 needs a bit of getting used to (udev/hal etc), but it's my favourite Mepis to date. I changed the default apt to Sid/unstable and have a Debian Sid Mepis.

I think it's also true to say (I read it somewhere) That the Mepis kernel on the 3.4.3 is totally debian compliant - but correct me if I am wrong.