Linux Mint 17.1 "Rebecca" KDE Review: The Best KDE spin I have used!

On 8th January 2015, Clement Lefebvre has announced the availability of an updated build of Linux Mint "KDE", a version based on Ubuntu's latest long-term support release: "The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 17.1 'Rebecca' KDE. Linux Mint 17.1 is a long-term support release which will be supported until 2019. The previous version of Linux Mint used KDE 4.13. In this release, KDE is upgraded to version 4.14. Support was added in MDM and in the session for the KDE wallet to be fully integrated with Linux Mint. Although a Wallet Manager is present for configuration purpose, no interaction is needed for the KDE wallet to work. The wallet is created automatically with your first login, and it opens automatically in the background with every new session. The Update Manager now groups packages together according to their source package."

From Linux Mint 17.1 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

I downloaded the 64-bit Linux Mint 17.1 KDE ISO, 1.6 GB in size, for this review. I created a live USB using Linux Mint Image Writer (which supports UEFI Secureboot as well), on a 4 GB pendrive. I did a live boot on my test laptop, Asus K55VM. The details of the hardware is given below.

Read more!

Linux Mint 17.1 "Rebecca" Mate Review: Simply awesome performance!

I guess I discussed sometime back in my blog that Linux Mint won't pursue Ubuntu's schedule of releasing a new distro every 6 months and instead focus on Ubuntu's LTS releases. True to their promise, they have released an update to the Linux Mint 17 LTS, nicknamed "Rebecca". The release notes states of the following incremental improvements: "The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 17.1 'Rebecca' MATE. Linux Mint 17.1 is a long term support release which will be supported until 2019. It comes with updated software and brings refinements and many new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use. Linux Mint 17.1 MATE edition comes with two window managers installed and configured by default: Marco (MATE's very own window manager, simple, fast and very stable); Compiz (an advanced compositing window manager which can do wonders if your hardware supports it). Among the various window managers available for Linux, Compiz is certainly the most impressive when it comes to desktop effects."

From Linux Mint 17.1 Mate http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

I downloaded the 64-bit version of Linux Mint 17.1 Mate, 1.557 GB in size. I tried Mate first as it seemed more enticing because of the presence of compiz. Please note, I did not upgrade from Linux Mint 17 to Linux Mint 17.1 and it cannot be done via terminal using sudo apt-get dist-upgrade. This specific blog from Linux Mint talks of the upgrade process using MintInstall. Mint 17.1 ships with Linux kernel 3.13.0 and Mate DE 1.8.1. It is based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS release.

I created a live USB using Linux Mint Image Writer on a 4 GB pen drive. I booted the distro on my Asus K55VM and post live boot, installed it on a 50 GB partition.

Read more!

Linux Mint 16 KDE Review: With KDE 4.11.3 and offers superb performance!

It is not easy for a distro to stay number 1 in Distrowatch ranking for last 2-3 years displacing operating systems like Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, etc. And Linux Mint is doing the same release after release, each release beating previous releases in terms of functionality and performance. The latest release from Mint stable is Linux Mint 16, code named "Petra". First the Cinnamon and Mate spins got released followed by KDE and XFCE spins. I have already reviewed Cinnamon and Mate releases. In this review, I am taking up the KDE spin. I plan to write a comparison of the best XFCE releases of 2013 and plan to cover the Mint 16 XFCE there.

From Mint 16 KDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

For this review, I downloaded the 64-bit 1.3 GB Mint 16 KDE ISO. It ships with KDE 4.11.3 and Linux kernel 3.11.0. I created a live USB using Mint Image Writer (I am currently using Mint 16 Cinnamon on my production laptop). I first did a live boot on my Asus K55VM laptop (2.3 Ghz Core i7 3610QM processor, 8 GB DDR3 RAM and 2 GB NVIDIA GeForce 630M) and once satisfied, installed on a 70 GB partition.

Read more!

Linux Mint 16 "Petra" Cinnamon and Mate Review: Mint has done it again!

We have all seen Ubuntu 13.10 and the incremental improvements that it brought. Though the distro in itself was really good but it wasn't something tempting enough to actually leave Ubuntu Precise, the LTS one with support till April 2017, and adopt Ubuntu Saucy Salamander, with 6 months of support. At that point in time, I thought Mint would make it's release pretty soon. So, ultimately, on the last day of November 2013, the Linux Mint 16, named Petra, is out with it's home grown desktops, Cinnamon and Mate. I thought still 4+ months support is remaining for Saucy and hence, possibly worth trying.

Cinnamon Desktop From Linux Mint 16 Petra http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

I downloaded the 32-bit ISOs (with pae kernel and hence, works very well with 64 bit machines), each about 1.2 GB in size and installed them on separate partitions on my two machines:

• Asus K55VM laptop with 2.3 Ghz Core i7 processor with 8 GB DDR3 RAM and 2 GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M hybrid graphics
• Asus K54C laptop with 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor with 2 GB DDR3 RAM and Intel HD 3000 graphics

From Linux Mint 16 Petra http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

Like Ubuntu Saucy, Linux Mint 16 ships with Linux Kernel 3.11.0 with Cinnamon 2.0 and Mate 1.6 desktop environments. Except for the difference in DE, there is little to differentiate between the two distros. First I take up the incremental improvements that are in the release notes and additional improvements that I experienced during my usage.

Read more!

Linux Mint 15 "Olivia" XFCE Review: Mint does it again, another exceptional XFCE release!

If I think of any distro which just works without any issue month after month, year after year, it is got to be Linux Mint. I am using Linux Mint 13 XFCE (with LTS support) on my netbook and it's been a trouble free 1.5 years - with absolutely no issue. Everything just working as it should work and I keep it on most of days at night to download Linux distros or movies - no heating problem till date. Linux Mint 13 XFCE was and still is so amazingly efficient!

With that prelude, I thought of writing a review based on my experience. I have been using Mint 15 XFCE for a week before the final release. It is installed in my Asus K54C laptop with 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor and 2 GB RAM. It's experience ranks actually better than my experience with Mint 13 XFCE, primarily because of the exciting new features.

From Linux Mint 15 XFCE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

The release notes of Linux Mint 15 XFCE states:

"The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 15 'Olivia' Xfce. The highlight of this edition is the lightweight Xfce 4.10 desktop. Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment which aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly. It embodies the traditional UNIX philosophy of modularity and re-usability. It consists of a number of components that provide the full functionality one can expect of a modern desktop environment. They are packaged separately and you can pick among the available packages to create the optimal personal working environment. The default menu used in this edition is Whisker which features quick access to your favorite applications, categories, system shortcuts, recent documents and recently used applications."

The 32-bit ISO which I downloaded is about 992 MB. I created a live USB using Unetbootin to first live boot and then install in my laptop. Mint 15 XFCE comes with XFCE 4.10 and Linux kernel 3.8.0-25. Thunar 1.6.2 is the default file manager.

Read more!

Linux Mint 15 "Olivia" Mate & Cinnamon Review: Great aesthetics & superb performance - Almost perfect!

Linux Mint is one of the few Linux distros that I normally recommend to any newbie. It just works! This is possibly the most amazing thing about Mint. Whereas with rest of the Linux distros, I get to hear a lot of complains (even I have experienced for some). But, not a single one for Linux Mint. Any system you throw at it, it will always work! Perhaps this is what separates Mint from rest of the Linux distros that it is numero uno in Distrowatch ranking for quite sometime!

From Linux Mint 15 Olivia Mate/Cinnamon http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

I missed an early review of Linux Mint 15, nicknamed "Olivia", as I was enjoying my vacations. It is a bit late to review Linux Mint 15 but never the less I wanted to review it. As usual, for this test I downloaded the 32-bit ISOs of both Mate and Cinnamon releases.

The release note of Mint Olivia states some significant improvements:

"The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 15 'Olivia'. Linux Mint 15 is the most ambitious release since the start of the project. MATE 1.6 is greatly improved and Cinnamon 1.8 offers a ton of new features, including a screensaver and a unified control center. The login screen can now be themed in HTML 5 and two new tools, 'Software Sources' and 'Driver Manager', make their first appearance in Linux Mint. MDM now features 3 greeters (i.e. login screen applications): a GTK+ greeter, a themeable GDM greeter for which hundreds of themes are available, and a brand-new HTML greeter, also themeable which supports a new generation of animated and interactive themes."

Linux Mint "Olivia" comes with Linux kernel 3.8.0-19 and is supported for 6 months, till Oct'13. Desktop choices are Mate 1.6.0 and Cinnamon 1.8. For installation, I used my Asus K54C laptop with 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor and 2 GB RAM. With Unetbootin, I created live USB's of each, did a live boot to test and finally install. I tried out both the flavors for a week (installed in partitions) and finally decided to write a review. The 32-bit ISOs of both Mate and Cinnamon are around 1 GB and won't fit in a CD. Anyway, who uses CD these days?

Read more!

Snowlinux 4 "Frosty" "Mate" & "Cinnamon" Review: Good but is it better than Linux Mint 15?

Snowlinux is a distro which I follow with close attention as it brings out good usable spins of Debian stable, with easy installation. I was very impressed with the Snowlinux Crystal and Glacier series. So, after having a good break and returning from a couple of weeks vacation, I thought of starting up with Snowlinux 4 review. This one, of course, is not based on Debian but Ubuntu 13.04 and comes in two flavors: Mate & Cinnamon. It is released close to another Ubuntu Mate/Cinnamon spin - Linux Mint 15 and obvious comparison would crop up in any users mind. I'll review Snowlinux's latest Ubuntu spin as well as compare it with Linux Mint 15 and the parent distro - Ubuntu 13.04 Unity & GNOME as well. So, stay tuned!

From Snowlinux 4 Cinnamon Mate http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

The impression I got from Snowlinux 4 "Frosty"'s release note is that it is almost similar to the Linux Mint "Olivia" spins:

"The team is proud to announce the release of Snowlinux 4 'Frosty'. Snowlinux 4 'Frosty' is the latest release based upon Ubuntu 13.04. MATE 1.6, the default desktop environment, and Cinnamon 1.8 run perfectly. While MATE 1.6 was mostly improved technically, Cinnamon 1.8 was improved with an unified control center and an own screensaver. Snowlinux 4 'Frosty' uses the latest technologies and has an updated package base. New features: Linux kernel 3.8; MATE 1.6 and Cinnamon 1.8; Snowlinux Metal theme; Nemo 1.8; Caja 1.6; Firefox 21.0 and Thunderbird 17.0.5; Cinnamon control center and screensaver; Snowlinux Full HD backgrounds."

Snowlinux 4 "Frosty" comes with Linux kernel 3.8.0-19 which updates to 3.8.0-23 upon installation. It is supported for 6 months, till Oct'13. Desktop choices are Mate 1.6.0 and Cinnamon 1.8, same as Linux Mint 15. For installation, I used my Asus K54C laptop with 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor and 2 GB RAM. With Unetbootin, I created live USB's of each, did a live boot to test and finally install. I tried out both the flavors for a week (installed in partitions) and finally decided to write a review. The 32-bit ISOs of both Mate and Cinnamon Snowlinux are around 900 MB and won't fit in a CD. Anyway, who uses CD these days?

Read more!

Linux Mint 201303 "Debian" Cinnamon Review: Debian simplified and offers impressive performance!

One thing I really like about Linux Mint is the refinement and completeness they render to each and every release. I have been using Linux Mint since 2009 and except for the repetitive art-work, I have never been disappointed so far. Normally Linux Mint releases mimic Ubuntu and mostly require fresh installation. I tried upgrading a few but with no luck and hence, had to do a fresh installation to make things work. However, in 2012, Linux Mint deviated from convention and brought a semi-rolling release LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition). LMDE is based on Debian testing and doesn't require ever to re-install the OS. I tried the Mate version in 2012 and was highly impressed with aesthetics as well as performance.

From Linux Mint Debian 201303 Cinnamon http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

This time with the release of 201303 LMDE update, I thought of trying out the Cinnamon version. LMDE is available in both 32 and 64 bit versions - I downloaded the 1.3 GB 32-bit version. Those who are using LMDE Cinnamon already, need to just update and upgrade the system to 201303 and need not to do a fresh installation. The 201303 update comes with Cinnamon 1.6, Linux kernel 3.2.0, and Gnome shell 3.4.2. Nemo 1.1.2, forked from Nautilus, is the default file manager. Both Cinnamon and Nemo being lighter than Gnome 3, render a sense of lightness to the overall feel of the distro. For this testing, I used my Asus K54C laptop with 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor and 2 GB RAM.

Read more!

Bridge Linux 2012.12 Review: Arch Linux a bit simplified

I haven't tried out Arch Linux yet but I plan to do so next year. Mostly my experience is concentrated on Ubuntu, Fedora and their derivatives. Now with every passing release all these distributions are getting heavier and resource consuming. Puppy is a definite saving grace, no doubt. But, as an user I want to create my own lightweight all purpose operating system using Arch. Further, the rolling release of Arch is a definite advantage, once you set your system, you don't need to re-install every alternate year.

KDE Bridge Linux 2012.12

Bridge Linux is kind of an intermediate step between Arch and Ubuntu. It provides all the resource friendliness that Arch is characterized by and in addition provides an out of the box system with most of the things like soundcard, touchpad, graphic display, a desktop environment, etc. configured to save your time and energy. 

LXDE Bridge Linux 2012.12

XFCE Bridge Linux 2012.12

Bridge Linux has a release every four months and for December 2012, it had to offer four flavors - Gnome 3.6, KDE 4.9.3, XFCE 4.10 and LXDE. I downloaded 32 bit versions of all four but could run only three - the Gnome 3.6 won't boot to a GUI and failed every time I tried. For the rest three, I live-boot all of them on my Asus K54C with 2.4 Ghz Core i3 processor and 2 GB RAM. I installed only the XFCE version on my system to try it out.

Live-Boot
Why I kept this separate section unlike my other reviews? Because a live-boot of Arch Linux runs into all kinds of trouble, if you use Unetbootin. I tried quite a few but none of them would work. So, I started my Windows 7 OS after quite a few months and installed Universal USB installer but that too failed! Finally after a brief search, I got reference of Linux Live installer for Windows OS and it worked! Though the interface is not simple and it may start downloading virtualbox, but I found it works for Arch. Bridge was not one of the specified distros in its list, however, given it works for Arch Linux, it worked for Bridge Linux as well. I created live boot of all the four ISOs that I downloaded.

Comparison

Parameters	Bridge KDE	Bridge XFCE	Bridge LXDE
ISO size	1 GB	696 MB	547 MB
Linux kernel	Linux 3.6.7-1-ARCH
Desktop	KDE 4.9.3	XFCE 4.10	LXDE
File Manager	Dolphin 2.1	Thunar 1.4.0	PCManFM 1.1.0
CPU Usage	2-10%	2-5%	1-3%
RAM Usage	330 MB	130 MB	80 MB
Installation	30 min	30 min	30 min
Programs – Internet	Chromium, Kopete, Bittorrent client, Kmail, Internet Dial up tool	Chromium, Thunderbird 17, Transmission	Chromium, Transmission
Programs – Multimedia	Amarok, Dragon Player, Kmix	AudioMixer, DeaDBeef, Xfburn	Exaile, Gnome Mplayer, Xfburn
Programs – Office	Complete LibreOffice 3.6 suite, Okular	Abiword, Gnumeric, Dictionary
Programs – Graphics	GIMP 2.8, Gwenview, Ksnapshot	GIMP 2.8, Shotwell	Imageviewer
Programs – Others	Qtdesigner, Archiving tool, Nepomuk backup, Kate, Kwrite	Archive manager, bulk rename, calculator, Leafpad, Screenshot	Archive manager, calculator, Leafpad
Wifi detection	Immediate	Immediate	Immediate

LXDE version is the lightest but thin on application as well. KDE version is the most complete with KDE centric applications and Chromium browser. In fact, all Bridge Linux versions have Chromium as the main browser.

All three of them boot pretty quickly and are very smooth to use. Given there is no package manager (pacman) on live-boot, user experience is pretty limited. Even flashplugin is not by default, neither multimedia codecs - so, the best option with bridge is to install and then try it out.

From Bridge Linux 2012.12

One thing about the KDE distro that surprised me, is there are no Restart or Shut down buttons. It has only options for logging out or locking the screen! A bit amusing, how am I supposed to shut the system down?

Luckily XFCE and LXDE editions had the conventional options of restart and/or shut down. XFCE is my preferred desktop these days and hence, to further check the OS, I installed XFCE version on an 8-GB partition.

Installation
Installation is simple, though not as simple as a Ubuntu or Linux Mint. It will ask for Language, Location, disc to partition (create two partitions - one for boot and another for swap, else things may not work as you desired), target for installation, installation of grub and finally configuring root and user. It took me about 30 min. to complete the installation without any major/minor hiccups.

Post-installation
After installation, I ran the post installation script and it downloaded pacman, plus updated the OS. However, I didn't find any pacman GUI and so, resorted to terminal to download my favorite applications. Arch forums and documents really helped me for the same. You can download all the desired applications, Adobe flashplugin, etc. using Pacman via terminal. I tried downloading the pacman GUI but none of the packages given here could be downloaded.

From Bridge Linux 2012.12

From Bridge Linux 2012.12

However, for experienced Linux users, terminal is not an issue. I downloaded VLC, codecs, Adobe flashpluginInkscape, Teamspeak, Skype 4.1, Quastrocam, etc. from the repos. All of them worked with my hardware. Linux kernel, desktop environments and applications are all latest and up to date, no complains there.

From Bridge Linux 2012.12

CPU and RAM Usage
The table in the comparison section already highlights that LXDE is the lightest and KDE the heaviest of the versions. Presumably, Arch Linux is supposed to be among the lightest Linux around. If I take the KDE 4.9 version and compare to the 32-bit operating systems that I used in 2012, definitely XFCE and LXDE versions score above the rest in terms of low RAM and CPU usage.

RAM Usage (32-bit)	KDE 4.9	XFCE 4.10	LXDE
Bridge Linux	330 MB	130 MB	80 MB
Ubuntu 12.10	300 MB	160 MB	134 MB
Linux Mint 13	300 MB	160 MB	-
Manjaro 0.8.2	440 MB	160 MB	-
OpenSUSE 12.2	340 MB	-	-
Sabayon 10	270 MB	-	-
Linux Lite 1.0.0	-	140 MB	-
ROSA 2012	-	-	122 MB
Zorin Lite 6.1	-	-	130 MB
Peppermint 3	-	-	135 MB

CPU Usage (32-bit)	KDE 4.9	XFCE 4.10	LXDE
Bridge Linux	2-10%	2-5%	1-3%
Ubuntu	2-10%	1-5%	1-5%
Linux Mint	2-10%	1-5%	-
Manjaro 0.8.2	5-7%	0-8%	-
OpenSUSE 12.2	1-5%	-	-
Sabayon 10	5-10%	-	-
Linux Lite 1.0.0	-	1-5%	-
ROSA 2012	-	-	1-10%
Zorin Lite 6.1	-	-	5-8%
Peppermint 3	-	-	1-5%

LXDE is surprisingly low (80 MB), most of LXDE distros I used consumed about 120-130 MB to load desktop with task manager running. KDE too is at par with other operating systems, if not lower.

From Bridge Linux 2012.12

From Bridge Linux 2012.12

From Bridge Linux 2012.12

Overall
I definitely recommend the XFCE and LXDE versions. Both of them are resource friendly and customizable. I really liked the KDE version, KDE 4.9 looks damn smashing but where the hell restart/shut down buttons go? Else, it is recommended. Gnome 3.6 version didn't work for me and hence, not recommended from my side. From both out-of-the-box applications and resource friendliness point of view, XFCE version seems to the most balanced and best of the lot.

The heading of the article says a bit simplified because even Bridge doesn't simplify Arch enough for a newbie and it takes a bit of Linux knowledge to get going on bridge. Manjaro is better for a newbie. However, for an experienced user, I would safely recommend Bridge over Manjaro for being a lighter distro. Manjaro seems to be a bit heavy for an Arch distro!

All in all, I am quite contented with both XFCE and LXDE versions and will use XFCE installation as the main distro in one of the machines I have. It is damn good!

You can download Bridge Linux from here.

Read more!

SolusOS 1.2 Review: Now Mint has got serious competition

I guess SolusOS is to Debian what Linux Mint is to Ubuntu. Plus, the lead developer of SolusOS contributes a lot to Linux Mint. All these information actually hyped up my expectations of SolusOS before I began my testing with Solus. And that commonality shows, those who are familiar with Linux Mint, will feel at home in SolusOS. Only difference may be that Solus is still using Gnome 2 whereas Mint has moved to Mate and Cinnamon.

From SolusOS 1.2

Once the release note came in Distrowatch, I downloaded the 32-bit ISO from the solusos site. I guess it is great work from the developers that they limited the ISO to only 1 GB even after including almost all the desirable apps. Additionally, the installation process doesn't require any additional download apart from what is in the DVD - highly commendable!

The details of my evaluation are given below:

Evaluation Parameters	SolusOS 1.2 32-bit
Computer on which tested	Asus K55VM
Processor	3rd generation core i7
RAM allocated	4 GB
Release Date	17-Aug-12
ISO Size	1 GB
Live boot option	Yes
Booting time (live boot)	45 sec
Questions asked during Live boot	None
Ease of installation	Fairly simple, with Solus automatically picking up the Location, time zone, etc. For keyboard, force select USA. Entire thing takes about 20 minutes.
Installation time	30 minutes, to be conservative
Booting time (installed to HDD)	15 sec
Desktop Manager(s)	Gnome 2.30.2
Chosen Desktop Manager	Gnome 2.30.2
Linux Kernel version	3.3.6-solusos
File Manager	Nautilus 2.31.1
CPU Usage (with system monitor)	0-4%
RAM Usage (with system monitor)	150-160 MB
Applications
Office	LibreOffice 3.6.0.4
Multimedia	Gnome Mplayer 1.0.4, Totem Movie Player 2.30.2, VLC 2.0.1, Rhythmbox 0.12.8, Openshot video editor 1.4.2, Minitube 1.8, Cheese 2.30.1
Internet	Firefox 14.0.1, Pidgin chat, Dropbox, bittorrent client, Xchat IRC
Graphics	GNU paint, gThumb
Accessories	Calculator, Archive manager, gedit, terminal, root terminal
System tools	Deja dup to backup, config editor
Others	Wine, PlayonLinux
Flash support	inbuilt Adobe flash 11
Restricted codecs	inbuilt gstreamer good, bad, very bad, ugly, etc. Good enough for most of the media types
Java	sun-java-6
Repository	Debian repository through Add remove software and/or synaptic package manager
How easy or difficult to install an app?	Very easy through synaptic and Add remove software
Richness of repository	Shares debian repository and is very rich
Parent OS	Debian stable
Upgradeable	Yes, rolling update
Internet connection	Picked up wifi easily and easy to configure Wired connection
Sound	Poulsbo driver already present, faced no issue with sound
Shutdown time	5 sec

I tested it two ways - on live-boot as well as installation. Just like Linux Mint, Solus works out-of-the-box! All the free and non-free multimedia codecs are present and straight away you can plugin your favorite movie and watch or listen to your favorite songs.

From SolusOS 1.2

From applications point of view, except for the graphics section where I miss GIMP 2.8, rest of the application sections are quite rich, especially the multimedia section. It almost seems like overabundance in the multimedia section. For example, Solus has Gnome, Totem and VLC for video playback and I tested all 3, all of them works! But why three? Wouldn't only VLC been enough? 

From SolusOS 1.2

From SolusOS 1.2

From SolusOS 1.2

Apps are all of latest version - I haven't used Minitube earlier and really liked it. You can play youtube videos or channels directly in Minitube. Once you give a search category, Minitube will automatically load and play all videos in that category without any manual intervention.

From SolusOS 1.2

Overall, the desktop looks great and feels very good to use. Solus installation is actually easier than installing Debian squeeze. I could install it at one go within 20 minutes without any hassles. Gnome 2 desktop over Linux kernel 3 means a very fast and responsive desktop. With only task manager running, it uses only 150-160 of RAM which is pretty low.

Once installed, it could pick up the LAN connection and/or Wifi pretty fast. I didn't face any problem with sound or graphics, etc. post installation. From novice point of view as well, desktop is easy to use, programs are very to locate. Additional apps can be downloaded from repository via add/delete software or synaptic package manager. I downloaded, installed and used skype 4.0 successfully without any hassles (ok, with usual hassle in skype of configuring camera and mic!).

From SolusOS 1.2

So, what appears to me in nutshell, that Linux Mint now has serious competition. I found SolusOS a very refined Linux distribution which will definitely find a lot of takers even from the Linux Mint admirers. The OS works out-of-the-box without any hassles (rarity in the Linux world). Definitely Solus is the distro to watch out for and is recommended for a try out. I bet you'll like it. Given the close similarity between Linux Mint Maya and SolusOS 1.2, expect a comparative review between the two distros sometime pretty soon.

Read more!

Install Firefox 13 in Linux: I installed in Debian squeeze

Debian Iceweasel is not Firefox, even if it is derived from Firefox, sadly. Once I updated the default flash player to Adobe flash player, Iceweasel crashed more often than not.

So, the best option was for me to install Firefox and what's better than the latest version! I got considerable help from this site. Essentially the instructions are simple:

1. Download Firefox from Mozilla channels www.mozilla.com/firefox/channels/

2. Store it in the Downloads directory. Exit Firefox.

In case of Debian, uninstall Iceweasel by
#apt-get remove iceweasel

3. Move to the directory and extract the contents
#cd ~/Downloads/
#tar xjf firefox-13.0.tar.bz2

4. Go to your /opt directory, in case /opt/firefox already exists, remove it by
#rm -r /opt/firefox
Use 'sudo' for Mint or Ubuntu. In case of Debian squeeze, execute all the commands from  Root Terminal.

5. Move the extracted firefox to /opt
#sudo mv firefox /opt

6. Create a symbolic link of the new Firefox by
#ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/bin/firefox
Use 'sudo' for Mint or Ubuntu. In case of Debian squeeze, execute all the commands from  Root Terminal.

Now once you start Firefox, the previous icons will be updated and you'll have the brand new version of Firefox.

In my case, I added Linux mint debian repository and downloaded Firefox but it was in Dutch! I uninstalled for Firefox (Dutch) and Iceweasel and hence, couldn't find any /opt/firefox directory. To install Firefox 13, I reinstalled Dutch Firefox and proceeded with these steps.

Read more!