Linux Mint-An Update

Linux mint is trying to forge away from Ubuntu, Kubuntu derivatives and that is a very encouraging change since they are going back to basics.

Go back to Debian base and forge ahead.

Reason being the change of canonicals to Unity.

I am one who is in favour of Mark Shuttleworth's smart move.

Yes it is a smart move by him.

He is doing a Bill Gate to Linux Community.

I wish him success.

Linux missed the opportunity for netbooks and I do not want to see it misses on tabloid too.

Like iPads, tabloid is the future.

We must not let only Apple to dominate the market.

Google's Android has shown the way and Ubunbtu should not miss this opportunity come what it may.

I am highlighting Linux Mint here since it overtook Ubuntu head and a nose recently in downloads at DistroWatch and Ubuntu in the last week or so putting its nose ahead again.

Linux Mint did not miss time in promoting both Ubuntu 10 and Ubuntu 11 base.

Not only that it did not forget the Debian and out came Debian Mint in Last December.

Linux Mint was thinking ahead and getting ready for all the consequences resulting from Unity experience and not forgetting the community they were with.

Like PCLinux Linux Mint gave variety of options and Long Term (LTS) support and rolling editions and also brand new version based on Debian for the newcomers and the newbies.

This is what was lacking with Ubuntu.

They did not have two versions but with too much enthusiasm promoted Unity only.

They can reverse this by supporting their community who were with them when Microsoft was dominating the field.

It is not too late, let the user decides the trends of the future what canonicals and Mint and Debian should do is to be ready for all the eventualities including brickbats were call in our country.

God Luck to everybody in Linux and especially the developers and without you we do not have a customer base,too.

In any case innovation is the future for IT both hardware and software.

Warning to Linux Newbies-Swift Linux and JULinux

When I looked back over the last 18 months it is with some comfort I report to you that only once I had to warn the newbies about a distribution.

That was a derivative of Linspire and came out as freespire under the shadow of a proprietary operating system and with a script attached to its iso that interfered with my iso images download.

Since then, I have been using as moderate firewall but not paranoid about security but unlike Microsoft uses take it as a sore throat but not a sore mind or a disaster at work.

But the perennial problem of download speed of our Telecoms (guys in Sri-Lankan telecoms are the best in the service sector but their political directors who have no idea how to improve the services are the real pests) also I have sorted out by using torrent and keeping my isos accessible as seeders (especially the old version of isos) for global community.

Thank you guys and girls in torrent community and the service providers in which LinuxTracker is leading the pack.

I detected it in three hours and traced the culprit to India who had taken the freespire iso and modified with some bad intent.

Since then I have downloaded more than 200 iso files without a problem but just this week I found two iso files with some serious bugs.

One is TaylorSwift (AntiX derivative) and the other is JULinux (Just Use Linux-an Ubuntu derivative).

Please note that I did not have problem with JULinux (Christian Edition) any problem with JULinux except the image presently at LinuxTracker Version 8 Stable.

I could never boot up Pixie Linux in spite of downloading three different versions which is a derivative of Gentoo Linux. Problem with Gentoo is if one is without (having) a good internet connection one can never install it. Many in the third world has no internet connection and even if they have one the download sped is painfully slow.
It is imperative these poor guys and girls should not be deprived of the use of a good Linux distribution, simply because there is no install script.
It (Pixie) does not have installation script which is a minor matter  for a developer to include in a distribution having worked so many hours fixing minor bugs and making a fully fledged distribution.

I hope Pixie will fix this until then I cannot make any comment stating that it is good distribution in the third world context.

Now that canonicals is discontinuing the free distribution of Ubuntu by post it is time other distributions take note and include a installation script.

I think of giving minus points to all the Live distributions (CD/DVDs) without (would be a good  move all reviewers should consider and follow when writing reviews) a install script in view of the hassle they cause newbies who want to install a particular distribution having tested a Live CD/DVD.

Swift Linux had some problem with its server lately and their download was hopeless to say the least and now the images are transferred to free software foundation download site.

Both of them booted up with only graphic images and without keyboard functionality and keyboard keys were missing and only graphic images were there.

With Swift Linux of course I tried to use a different language but the result was the same.

No alpha numeric letters to type, either due to wrong keyboard configuration or abiword not having fonts installed.
Old distributions have a special directory where fonts and Unicodes are installed and I had to get Sinhala fonts in the correct place to get keys I type had a meaning at the display terminal some 12 years ago.
When I got it it was some exciting adventure and soon Mandrake (not Mandriva) introduced auto-installation of fonts.

Either way it will discourage the newbies downloading or trying a Live CD, until the developers fix the bugs.

Sometime due to haste the developers upload the image (sometime without instructions for name and password to log in) without seriously checking, the functionality.

I think my decision to write at least 100 Linux distributions instead of best 10 to 20 was a useful exercise to me and to all newbies all over the globe.

I am going to wind up downloading and  testing after downloading all Debian and Mint CD/DVDs and would be concentrating on Sinhala and Tamil Linux, for  while.
But if the industrial action continues I will have no option but to continue this exercise to keep me intellectually occupied instead of being bored.

Hope readers pass any messages of this type to my site and then I will download them and test them myself and write a review for a larger Linux Audience.