I'm basically caught between choosing Mepis or Xandros, having researched them both, to install on friends XP machines.

They are all XP users, with mp3 etc. collections, that would benefit from an all in one easy OS like XP but with all the essential software, hardware detection, overall compatibility, and just ease of use like XP.

Having researched Mepis I'm down to these queries:

1. Is Mepis 1 or 3 CD's or is there an option? Whats the difference? Can a DVD be used?

2. What are the Simply Mepis miniumum hardware requirements - to decipher if MepisLite is even better for some others whom are on older Windows OS's and old laptops!

3. Does Mepis have much better hardware setup/compatibility than Xandros, really, in all area's?

4. Is Mepis easily themed/configured to be quite similar to XP?

5. What are the key differences in Debian compared to Gnome/KDE with respect to what I'm after in terms of novice XP user, wanting similar experience and compatibility?

6. How easy is it installing KDE additionally, and is that then as good as Xandros would be?


Many thanks.

1) 1 cd, there are 3 extas cds if you dont want to use apt-get
2) If you have at least 128MB of ram simplymepis will be fine, though i recommend lite for that. simply is best with >256MB. You also need a pentium or greater (AMD is fine).
3) Try the cd, Its a liveCD, if it works install it.
4) linux is ALL about theming, windows has almost no themeing support. as you will see when you use it.
5) KDE is more like windows 95/98 in terms of looks, Gnome looks like nothing you have ever used. Debian is not nearly as easy as MEPIS and for the most part, its completely compatable with the debian repos, the only notable exception is the kernel.
6) KDE is already installed. To install gnome you would do apt-get install gnome

Just try the live CD. It doesn't damage your hard drive in any way. It runs completely off the CD and RAM.

1. I've heard of apt get, and have searched around for a brief explanation of what it is, can someone please outline it for me, its a free service to get applications etc. right?

2. You say 128MB required but you don't recommend it, will it really be that noticeably different?

3. Will do, just want a couple more queries answerd, near to deciding on which of the 2 already.

4. So Mepis can theme like XP as good as Xandros can, and it does/can work similarly (layout etc)?

5. I've seen KDE 3.4 and it looks great, I see what you mean, but really it looks the most user friendly to a user migrating from XP, looking at screenshots like this http://www.kde.org/screenshots/image...snapshot05.png comments?

6. OK.

7. I've found out that Xandros can play MP3's but not create them, and not play many DVD's. Is this compatibility side the same or better with Mepis? This is the kind of ultimate questions that mean I can rule one of the 2 out without downloading and testing them.

I have heard that Xandros is really good for those wanting an XP esperience, but I'd stick with Mepis. The hardware detection is darn good and its easy to use overall. And I ran it on a Pent2 with 128 RAM, it was slow but it worked fine. I just had to wait a bit for progs to load. Even adding more RAM (its cheap) to a friend's computer is a great way to start.

KDE can run in top of (almost) any Linux distribution, and then can be themed any way that another KDE is themed, so the "look" of your desktop can be the same no matter what the underlying Linux distribution is. KDE 3.4 will be out for Debian (and therefor Mepis) someday in the future, but until then KDE3.3 is pretty slick anyway.

There is a way to make your whole desktop themed to XP, but I think that is a bad idea; we want to open the eyes of the newbies to the great look and feel of Linux, not an XP clone. In my opinion. BUT if you've decided on an XP look go here:
http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=1499

To make mp3's in Mepis (or any linux) you need lame or toolame (both are mp3 encoders) and a program like kAudioCreator or gRip. Open the program, stick the disk in, choose the path where to save it, select some options (or go with the default) and rip away! To install these progs is easiest under a Debian system, such as MEPIS. You can use apt-get, or for the newbie the easiest to use is Synaptic , a graphical program that uses apt and can tell you what you have, whats available, and can install/uninstall any of them. Easy as pie.

DVD playing is the same way: you need to have the programs, and using apt (or synaptic) is the easiest way to get that. So again, I vote Mepis. To play a DVD you need to install xine or mplayer, and dvddecss (the dvd descrambler). Basically go into Synaptic and search for DVD, and then anything that looks like you might want to use it, install it. Nothing will "break" your installation like a program might in Windows.

Note, however, that some of the repositories (the places where apt and synaptic get their progs over the internet) have changed a bit since SimplyMEPIS was made. No prog updates or installs will really work until you change those in Synaptic. Dig around this Mepis forum and you'll find some answers on those changes.

I mean no offense here, but some of your questions sound a bit newbie-ish. I would reccommend playing with Linux yourself a bit to get a feel before you go off installing it on other people's computers. Its well worth practicing how to install Linux, maybe a bit of info about dual boot (Mepis can set this up quite easily during install, as long as you don't format over the XP), especially since you do NOT want to erase your friends' music collections, etc.!

Good luck, and as always, come back for more questions!

Apt is a command line utility and is used to update your system,upgrade your system, installing programs etc. Most people use a grapgical front end to use it, Mepis has two such GUI's, Synaptic and Kpackage making it easier to use.
128Mb of ram was recommended above because that is really the minimum amount to run the live cd. It's better if you have more and when installed on the hard disk, as with most OS, more memory the better.
You can play MP3's out of the box ( Mepis comes with a choice of players).

Repositories are places where software packages are stored. Apt-get (or Synaptic Package Manager--the graphical version) checks the repositories to see what's available or updated. Then, you can mark what you want to install, and it will be downloaded and installed.

http://www.psychocats.net/essays/winuxinstall.php

I installed Mepis on a friend's computer with 128 MB RAM, and it was damn slow, but so was XP, and so would any modern OS. There won't be any difference between Mepis and Xandros in this regard, as they both you the KDE desktop. Though, you could always use a lighter desktop like IceWM or XFCE on Mepis or Xandros.

Both Mepis and Xandros can "theme," and better than XP. It all depends on your desktop environment (KDE or Gnome) or window manager (IceWM, Fluxbox, etc.), not on the distribution.

Once again, this is not something that is specific to any distribution. Some distros come with MP3 support out-of-the-box. Others don't. But even for those that don't, you can usually find the support by downloading it through Synaptic/apt-get. What I like about Mepis is that you can check a whole bunch of extra repositories through Synaptic itself (Settings > Repositories, check all but the non-US ones).

Ok, thanks for the advice guys really appreciate it. I've actually tried the live Linux CD quite a bit, and thats ok. Obviously it costs and has other dis-advantages that rule it out, amongst other needs.

I'm increasingly thinking Mepis is right, so it saves a lota download bandwidth, my time trying it, installing it to check all these things, it's just not realistic especially for newbies, we have to be able to recommend distro's to people based on such info better. I'm reasonably mac and PC savvy, and am willing to now do the same with Linux to an extent, but with Windows or Mac, you can get going straight away. With Linux, you have 200+ distro's and its a nitemare determining which one is right for you, and people should at least be able to get it down to 2 options, and even further really.

Expecting Windows migrators to test different versions, is like locking the Linux door on them, and waiting to see if they can still be bothered to try and get in. Anyway, Mepis it is I think.

1. Synaptic seems the way to go.

2. So really I'm thinking Mepis only on 256MB machines, anything below MepisLite? Unless the IceWM or XFCE desktops are easily turned on and make a big difference?

4. Yes I've seen that link with XP themes, thanks. Again, its for others knowing what will make them comfortable. They know its Linux, and may come over to changing as time and confidence develops, but its showing them is can be anything they want it to be, for starters looking like XP and better, and with simple changes, even better, but different.

5. As an estimate, KDE 3.4 on Mepis will maybe land what, weeks or months most likely?

Huh? What's "the live Linux CD"? What does it cost? Mepis is both a live CD and installer, and Mepis is free.

How, exactly, can you not get going straight away with Mepis? I don't understand. It's all point-and-click. Did you realize that with Windows and Mac, the OS comes preinstalled?

Take this quiz. It'll recommend the best two distros for your needs:

http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

It's already there. You either use it or you don't.

Once again, it doesn't matter what distro you use. Xandros is also slow on 128 MB machines. It all depends on the desktop/window manager. They are, in fact, easily "turned on." You don't really turn them on. You install them (via Synaptic), then you log out and log back in, picking them under "Session type" at the log-in screen.

As someone said earlier in this thread, you should get to know Mepis/Synaptic/Linux in general better yourself before you start installing any distro on friends' computers.

EDIT: Meant LINUX LINSPIRE LIVE CD - actually managed to get it for free with a coupon code but can't really use that many times, and it isnt the most suitable distro.

" How, exactly, can you not get going straight away with Mepis? I don't understand. It's all point-and-click. Did you realize that with Windows and Mac, the OS comes preinstalled?

Well of course Mac and Windows comes pre-installed, thats quite clear. I have installed XP on many machines, and fairly often that is not going straight away, there are hardware, driver, decoder, and software things that need fixing, installing, troubleshooting.

The same goe's for some Linux distro's, some are worse, some are better, and Mepis has the best hardware detection which is immediately one of the many factors I've managed to painsakingly establish to determine a suitable distro, despite being advised to try 6 distro's by many people.

Thats just not efficient or welcoming to any new Linux user, oh try 6 distro's. How come I've managed to rule out 4?

With painful research over many sites I've managed to go from 6 possible distro's, to 2. So clearly people don't need to try download, buy, test, either live or install 6 distro's to get an idea of what they want. The quiz you linked is ok, but also some basic answers to reasonably specific Q's is a huge help in determining before wasting time installing, trying 6+.

I've done that quiz, it came up with 6 options, most of which I was already considering, 2 of which these 2.

On the last point, I intend to. In light of the above and thanks to you all for this help, seriously, I am basically now pretty much deciding on Mepis, so sorted, thankyou.

Yet it has been tricky getting to this point over 2 weeks, and it would have been far more time wasting and hard, to try 6 distro's, so it's just frustrating, and a big un-necessary treck for newbies considering this platform.

Actually unless you try out a few different distro you never know which one will be the right one for you.

Cds are not that expensive, and unless you pay for the bandwith it is not that big of a deal to download and try out a few.

Each distro has its good and bad points. They all tend to do things just a little bit differently. Not to mention the amount of software that comes with each one is different.

Distrowatch.com has a pretty decent review of each one, plus they breakdown which ones are better for newbies.

Good newbie distros at least in my opinion are:
Ubuntu
MEPIS
Xandros (other than paying for free software)
PCLinuxOS
SUSE

When I was first introduced to Linux I try over 20 distros. Finally settled on PCLinuxOS, had problems with it. So I went to Debian. Using Kanotix I did the Debian install and I have been a happy debian user since Nov 2004.

Xfce is a light and easy to use desktop. It works great on my laptop with Ubuntu. On my desktop with Debian Sid I use Icewm simply because I like to be able to launch an app with 1 button.

Which distro you choose is totally up to you. If you decide yu don't like it you can always pick another one.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Linux and good luck.

My point was simply that if you want to see how Mepis is, it has its own live CD. I don't think Linspire's live CD would give you a sense of how Mepis will be...

I don't think having six options to choose from is a bad thing, especially when they're ordered (it seems natural that if a quiz like that gives you six results, that you'd try the first two first).

Honestly, I found it fun, and I know a lot of people would agree with me. There are a lot of "distro junkies" out there who just download and install new Linux distros. In fact, I have a partition on my hard drive solely dedicated to trying out new Linux distros. That said, if a quiz like the one I gave you was around (or well-known) when I was starting out, I would have been saved a lot of time in getting to Ubuntu and Mepis (the top two the quiz recommended me), rather than trying out twelve different distros first.
Choice is never a bad thing, but that quiz is also a good step in getting you pointed in the right direction. I always hate it when a newbie comes on to a Linux forum describing her exact needs and gets a response like, "Oh, you just have to try them out and see what works for you." While that's true, it doesn't hurt to know where to start...

This whole idea of having to try 4+ distro's is just ridiculous. Choice can be good, but forcing it, and not having an easy option, or at least easy routes in, is not good.

There's a distinct lack of awareness about what a basic user wants. Throwing choice, is simply not inviting, easy to figure out, or effective.

It's taken 2 weeks to go from 6 to 2 distro's when people told me I'd have to try all 6 to really know. Well I didnt, some simple research and answers on the distro's they can be ruled out.

A new user isn't an instance Linux freek. They want a good working system, more often than not a better system than XP offers (as thats were most are now and therefore migrate from) and thats that.

They dont enjoy, or want to have to go through hell to find 6 possible distro's for them, then download them all, burn them, test them live, or install them. They want max 2 options, and to be able to quickly determine which is most likely going to be right for them.

I tried Linspire live as it was easy to get, so is information on it. It's site and info out there, quickly rules out no go's for users, with decent information, tutorials, screenshots,and even video previews/tutorials. It's compatible with all XP formats, and is promoted as such, to that audience, effectively. No information is hidden, hard to find, needing a live or install of it, a clear decent outline and feel, facts is stated, for user to make up his mind whether its right or not.

With other distro's thats just not true, and when you come to any site that I have, you get this, oh try that one and that one, then someone else says try that one and that one, oh no I think that one, but then that one might be good for that. Oh, what the hell, try them all is the conclusion. What the hell kind of conclusion is that?

Anyway, I've gotten there eventually with research, advice, quizes, so thanks.

How about, instead of complaining, you offer a practical solution?
I have: take the distro quiz, take the top two results.
How difficult is that?

I try to popularize that distro quiz as much as I can.
Every time there's a newbie here who says "Which distro?" I just put a link to that site.
I wish I'd had that quiz when I started using Linux (I had the same problem as you--everyone kept saying "Use whatever works for you").

But just whining that there should be only two options isn't going to help anything. There aren't only two options. There are many options. I prefer Ubuntu and Mepis, but someone else may prefer Blag and Mandriva. Someone else might prefer Slackware and Gentoo. Someone else might prefer PCLinuxOS and Vector Linux. And on and on...

Even if everyone had the same goal (let's pare it down to two distros)--which they don't--getting everyone to agree on which two distros to recommend to newbies would be nigh-impossible.

There's only one thing you can do to solve this problem--point people to the distro quiz and say, "If you don't have a lot of time to test out distros, try the top two results of this quiz."

If you decide Mepis is the best and say to newbies, "Try Mepis," you're no better than anyone else ("Try SuSE," "Try Linspire," "Try Fedora," etc.). And if you complain (as you just did), that helps even less.

Most people will just ignore your little rant. I'm trying to help you be helpful, though. If you're saying, "This isn't the way it should be," stick around these forums--help new user find distros that are right for them. Don't make them go through what we went through.

That's another thing. Linspire charges money for its OS and charges money to enable you to download software. How else do you think they're able to market their OS so well? A lot of distributions rely on the donations of time and money of many good souls and volunteers--they don't have that kind of marketing department. If you like Mepis so much and want to do something to make it better, donate some money to the project, or create a tutorial with screenshots for it. You can make a difference, and it won't be by complaining on these message boards...