I currently use ubuntu, and enjoy it..but ive heard SO much bout how good mepis is.. and how many have switched from ubuntu to mepis, anyone here reading this go from ubuntu to mepis? if so why and did you have ubuntu working well and besides just "working" what reason(s) did you switch??

Ubuntu to Mepis, why?
It is a question that only you can answer. My transition would be debian to debian :-), don't ask me why.

If ubuntu is working why do you want to change? Remember that if there were a "unique, best" distro, everybody would be using it if they could! Kde will still be kde, gnome will still be gnome, synaptic will stay synaptic :-) whichever distro you use. To convince yourself, have a look at other distros screenshots. what is different, the theme, the wallpaper, a kind of control center added?

The only thing i value/evaluate on a distro is the package management, after all they are still linux(slackware,gentoo, fedora,etc.)

Bit simplistic. May be true for you, but what if you had to setup a system for a *nix novice - say your mum, Grandpa, aunt Mable, whoever. ???.
Then the whole aggregate (and how it works together) is what matters.

I installed Ubuntu for such a novice, but I needed a root account.
It's just the way I work. Could have added one, but by the time I figured that out, I was sudo'ing for damn near everything I needed to do.
It got ditched for Mepis - picked up everything (wifi and all), and I could use cups for print setup without dicking around.

She complains of it being slow, so Arch is a definite option, but for now it's Mepis.

When i install a Linux distribution for someone, it is usually their choice(heart this, heard that..., usually mandrake fedora, suse). I have setup lots of debian desktops and servers.

Once it is setup(doesn't really take much time for me to do so) to install new software(because it is usually a problem for novices), i just tell the folks to use synaptic to install/remove/update anything. This is why i value the package management for them and me.

Installing any distro is not tough when the cd is able to boot correctly but maintaining/using/customizing it can be.

syg00, why dont you do this?
Works for me. And I also value package management and stability over time more than flashy first time installation. With that it's just one solution for me: Debian.

But everyone has there own values.

The REAL question is: If you want a to use a Debian distro, then why not just use Debian?
"Reasons to Choose Debian" http://www.es.debian.org/intro/why_debian

It is a time tested and stable distro. If you want bleeding edge software just use the Testing and Unstable repositories.

Before I installed Sid I played around with Xandros, Linspire, Ubuntu, Kubuntu and a few other Debian based distros.

I found that Debian was the best way to go. The others either tweaked the environment especially Xandros and Linspire, or like Ubuntu/Kubuntu they are using packages that are not straight Debian.

Not trying to bash any other distro, I think they are good in their own way. Good newbie Debian based distros are Ubuntu, Xandros, Mepis and Linspire. But if you want to tweak your system and really learn GNU/Linux going Debian is the way to go.

That said using whatever distro you are comfortable using that fits your needs is the important thing.

Using Sid with the repositories in my source list I have access to over 20k packages. I can do everything that I could running Windows other than play a few games.

Plus my software is always up to date, take for example Firefox; two days after the "official" Mozilla release of version 1.0.4 it was in the repositories. Since then it has even had an update.

Just my 2cents.

What I like about Mepis and what I don't like about Ubuntu is that Mepis does not see it's mission to create a new set of repositories. Yes, they do have a few 'special' Mepis programs, such as their OS Center, but Mepis has committed itself to be 'debian'. From what I can see with k/ubuntu, it looks as if they are on the road to creating their own set of packages.

This is fine. But I know for a fact that there are a gazillion people who use the Debian (unstable) packages and there is also a group of experienced Debian packagers. Thus when I install a Debian-packaged application (like MySQL, or Jpilot, or GIMP) I'm pretty sure it has been created by someone who knows what they are doing and that it has been tested by a heck of a lot of people before I get it. I can't say that with assurance from something coming out of the K/Ubuntu repos.

I WOULD go with 'straight' Debian, but after fighting with Slackware for two years, I'm older and just tired of it all. I don't want to spend the time editing text files to get the sound and video to work. Mepis and Kanotix and K/Ubuntu work great out of the box with hardly any messing around.

Al

I used Kubuntu for a week. All the sudo'ing was scrambling my brain. I like a root account to go in, do what I need to, and get back to user-mode again.

Other reasons for the switch? I was having problems with installing some software in Kubuntu that just worked in Mepis. Other's say Mepis picks up their hardware better, some say K/Ubuntu do. Kubuntu was being weird with my digital camera too ... so was Mepis, but it was an easy fstab fix. It all really comes down to what works for YOU on YOUR computer.

So I run (happily) Mepis now, after a year or so on Xandros. Kubuntu was nice ... I liked it a lot, but it was giving me troubles that I didn't need. So insert next CD in stack and try a new distro. Mepis works for me.

Kanotix is great. Thats is how I installed Debian Sid. Everything worked right from the first boot.

The cool thing about Kanotix is the fact that there is a desktop and a laptop version. Plus the fact that the kernel on Kanotix is compiled for 686 . 2.6.11-k7 i686 GNU/Linux

Although many Debian users might recoil at the thought, I use Mepis because I find it to be a great user's version of Debian. Mepis recognizes hardware very well, sets up the system nicely, and comes with some 'non-free' software completely integrated that I use quite a bit (realplayer, adobe acrobat, nvidia drivers). My mepis installs have always went better than straight debian installations. I am not an expert, andmaybe that is the reason for my fondness for mepis.

Although it does not yet compare to the configuration controlsfor Mandriva, the Mepis OS Center works well. I think it has more polish than Kanotix, although that is an example of another 'distro' which really acts as an extpert twist on debian. Very few other systems can offer the base that debian can. Unfortunately, debian has the feel that it is winding down over time. I am worried that the main project has not absorbed any of the good ideas swirling around it, such as the hardware recognition of Mepis and Knoppix.

Bryan

Wow, this room was built, and posted before i could even blink!!

Mind you, having a distro _war_ isn't all that uncommon... though not necessary here

We at MEPIS strive for the use/understandability of LINUX, not any one distro, or window manager (but we all know that XFce rules )

If anyone needs a hand, be sure to ask, cause someone will reply.

If you need a faster reply, try #mepis on freenode.org

L.F.

I have an old Gateway Essential computer and no distro has installed the sound - not even Mepis3.3. But the new one, 3.3.1 nailed it! Everything on this computer works for the first time since WinME years ago. The only thing I was disappointed about was I couldn't fine MSTTcorefonts - so I copied and installed them (the whole shebang) from my windows fonts folder and now I'm a happy SimplyMepis camper. The webpages are fantastic - not a jagged font to be found, plus it's so new there were only 2 updates to be had. Ubuntu is good, SuSE is good, all of them are good, but this one is the best!

CouchMaster, going by what you said about not finding MSTTcorefonts and only having two upgrades I believe you need to update your apt sources list. In 3.3.1, only the Mepis repositories are "turned on" and all others are commented out. There has been a many discussion on why this was and I am not going into that here.

You need to either modify your sources.lst file (uncomment the other deb sources) or do like I did and open up synaptic>settings>repositories and check the boxes of the other sources and reload. You will find afterwards there are PLENTY of updates--did mine yesterday and it was over 210Mb--plus MSTTcorefonts.

BTW, I like your sig!

Thanks Midway - I just installed 3.3.1 2 days ago and will try your suggestions - I knew there had to be a better way and was thinking 'surely there has to be more' but didn't know how to go about it.

Midway - I did as you suggested and changed repositories...worked great! I found and installed Quanta, saw the msttcorefonts etc. Thanks again.