Hi all,

I have a Linux machine running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, but I'm not very happy with the GUI.

I am setting up a new machine and now have to decide which distribution I am going to install. I am thinking about CentOS because of the long-term support.

On the Ubuntu machine, among other packages, I run tnef to extract data from winmail.dat (windows mail attachments) files.
http://www.faqforge.com/linux/how-to...-debian-linux/

I read that this package is developed for Ubuntu and Debian. Does this mean that it will not run on CentOS?

I do not understand the differences between all the Linux distributions (e.g. Ubuntu Kubuntu CentOS Redhat Debian) and I thought that every package will run on any distribution. Could somebody comment on that?

Thnx, M0s..

Absolutely no, you can not take a package from any system and run it on another. Each distro has its package manager, that may or may not resolve dependencies. Each distro has decided where to install files, and this is not the same across all, or even most distros.

Centos uses .rpm packages, since it is a derivative of Red Hat. Ubuntu is a derivative of Debain, both use .deb packages. Some packages for one may run on the other, no guarantees. Best thing is to get the package for your distro, from the repos for that distro. Then you will have the per-req's and the package will install and run.

Do not mix packages from one distro to another. You will have problems, very difficult to resolve if you mix and match.

1 members found this post helpful.

Why not try some of the other GUI's Ubuntu has to offer?

For example:

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/xfce
or
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/kde

1 members found this post helpful.

Mint is based on Ubuntu. It can use Ubuntu packages, and provides several GUI options out of the box.

Or just install a run a different desktop/window manager.

A couple of solutions, as mentioned, install another desktop enviroment such as KDE, XFCE or LXDE - XFCE and LXDE will make your machine run much more snappier.

Secondly, you can install Centos and search for the tnef rpm package to install or, compile tnef from source.

Personally, if you're new to all this, keep Ubuntu and install XFCE or LXDE and choose that from your login menu at startup.

You have hit one of the major areas that may make or break Linux getting to the masses. There is far too many package systems wasting developers time as they have to repackage for all the major distros - what an utter waste of their time. Linux needs a unified packaging system.

Each individual distro is unique and to having a favorite distro is having a favorite flavor of ice cream. Here's a short list of some distros out there and some basic info.

- Ubuntu - Very popular, 6 month release scedule, with LTS releases you can have support for 5 years (very long period of support for a Linux distro)
- LinuxMint - Almost as popular, if not just as or more popular than Ubuntu, uses the same Ubuntu base but with either Cinnamon (GNOME 3 Shell fork that has some GNOME 2 functionality) and MATTE (continuation of GNOME 2 under a different name). As well, this also has LTS releases with 5 years of support
- Fedora - One of the bigger distros. Not as simple or stable as Mint or Ubuntu, but also has a 6 month release cycle and is on the bleeding edge of Linux technology. Great distro if you are excited about trying brand new technologies, bad if you don't like major changes early on (like GNOME 3 or KDE 4)
- openSUSE - Another fairly big dstro. Unlike the distros stated above which default to a variant of GNOME, openSUSE uses KDE. openSUSE has two big benefits: YaST2 which allows you to change a lot of settings in your system without manually editing configuration files and using command prompt utilities and includes a highly-polished KDE desktop. openSUSE also tends to be more conservative on new technologies than Fedora and has a 8 month release cycle.
Debian - A very, very stable distro with tons of packages. Debian has releases every 2 years or so, which means less upgrading and longer support but as well out-of-date packages in the quickly evolving Linux world. Debian is quite as newbie friendly as other distros, but doesn't have too bad of a learning curve either. Debian also adheres very strictly to the Free Software Movement ideology.