Look, my point wasn't to start a flame war over whether Linux should attempt to be user friendly or not. It wasn't to say that Linare looks like XP (it doesn't really.)

I simply want to know what makes Linare different. Why should I try it? What's its niche?
Where are the meaningful improvements on other distros? How is your choice of software included different?

I'm asking Linare to sell themselves.

--Shade

You had good points. No flame here, not even a spark. Problem is, most people can't run windoze either. They most likely can't run Linux, since they can't even run windoze. I posted this the other day, somewhere. If people were to start using Linux instead of windoze, they would log in as root, all the time. They would install everything they came up on without checking to see if what they was installing was "good" or not. Sort of the same thing they do with windoze, hence all the viruses, trojans and spyware crap.

You are right though, they need to tell what is different about their distro. I know Mandrake and Redhat uses rpm stuff. Gentoo uses portage. Some others use cvs and/or apt-get. We need more info.

Another thing, before long we will have a very long page for all the various distros that are out there. There has to be something good, Jeremy added it to the site. He wouldn't add a junky distro.

I would also have to say, some people are just to "ignorant" or careless to run any computer. I know some I wouldn't trust with a Commadore Vic-20. Might put a virus on tape. I guess basically, when someone tells me they use Linux, I have more respect for their abilities to run a computer. They should be like cars, have to have a license or something.

My two cents worth, usually sucks too.

Later

dalek, I completly agree with you. Some people just shouldn't be running Linux. My girlfriend came over one time and was looking up movie showtimes, I guess this happens a lot PenguinPwrdBox heh, and I had to point her to the internet and all that. It doesn't really bother me because I know that she couldn't give a flip about Linux, or the open source community. She's kind of like the soccer mom, she just wants a car/computer that can get her there/let her surf the web and check her email, she doesn't care how it's done, just as long as it does get done. (if that makes any sense).

I wouldn't recommend that she use Linux because I don't think she'd benefit from using it. She's been trained/brainwashed to using Windows, so it would take her quite awhile to get into the thinking of how Linux works. All she does is chat online, check email, and surf the web anyway... I'm ranting.. crap.. anyway.. I agree with you dalek..

Some of the features of Linare Linux is
kernel 2.6
kde 3.2
mozilla 1.6
gimp 2
gaim
mplayer
evolution
openoffice
... . many more ..

It makes use of Synaptic package manager to handle package updates and is based on rpm .

There is NOTHING elitist about what I have said.
Some people should not run Linux - period.
Basically, it comes to this for me.
How many posts have we all seen that start out with "I'm about to give up - convince me......"
That is what I mean.
Some people should just not run Linux. It's not for everyone.
Maybe you, like SchadeBoy, just don't have the time to tinker.

My point is simply this.

I love this OS. I will never use anything other than Linux, unless forced to (work, etc.) - however, there are other people that will be scared off from computers in general from the sheer intimidation that Linux can have on novice users.

If i get my choice between someone having intellectual freedom on an MS machine, or not computing at all, I'd give 'em a copy of Windows with a smile on my face.

Looks like I'm sticking with Gentoo. I have kernel 2.6.7 with all the patches. KDE3.2.3, Mozilla 1.7, same Gimp 2.0.4 and Open Office 1.1.2. Pretty much the latest everything. Not saying nobody should try it, just that I already have it all installed, and compiled.

linareuser, does this distro compile for it's specific machine or are they pre-compiled? Curious. Not familiar with Synaptic.

Now I'm waiting on that graphical installer for Gentoo. They say it is coming.

Later

I agree with Shade. Not to put words in his mouth, but the question he asked was basically, "What sets Linare apart from its competitors?" Anyone who uses Linux in any signficant way already knows that there are dozens of distros out there, so what makes Linare special? Just to be clear, this isn't criticism, but simply a request for more info. What compelling reasons are there to use Linare over something like Slack, Suse, Redhat, etc.?? Comments welcome. -- J.W.

Hello,

I've been using Linare for a few weeks. Basically it's a subset of Fedora Core 2 (one CD instead of four), english-only, with KDE as desktop manager. I looks and is really organized in a friendly way for Windows users.

What set's it apart from other distros I've tried (Debian, RedHat 9, Mandrake 9.2/10) is :
- All on one single CD,
- Simple installation (but no language selection, no packages selection),
- The finest polished look I've seen on Linux.

So in my opinion Linare makes sense :
1. If you like Fedora Core and you want the nice Linare look-and-feel
2. If you buy a Linare PC with it preinstalled

Personally, the first reason is why I've tried Linare, and I love it!

I hope that this helps to answer your question.