"Light" Distro?

[beaker_]

I'll put in a hollar for Linux Mint (Debian Edition) and antiX. Though I'm leaning more towards antiX.

[RupertPupkin]

Originally Posted by hadrons123

how do you enable RPMfusion while you install fedora?

Before the package selection begins there is a screen where you can enable other repos, including ones that you can manually enter. It's explained in more detail here: http://rpmfusion.org/EnablingRpmFusi...gFedoraInstall

[smr54]

Right around the spot where you choose what you're going to install--this doesn't apply to the liveCD, I _think_, but I haven't used the live CD in several releases, so it may have changed---you'll see an option to add additional repos. In the installation guide that I see (available as pdf, so can't link to the specific page) it was shown in section 9.17.1

You would give it a name, e.g rpmfusion, specify the url----meh, did a quick check to get the URL and I see rpmfusion has their own handy guide. ....

http://rpmfusion.org/EnablingRpmFusi...gFedoraInstall

[sonoran]

Originally Posted by hadrons123

Nothing works out of the box in arch linux

Everything that's in the Arch box works - it's just a very small box.

[witek]

Best are: Saline - Debian derivative and Salix - Slackware derivative

[patrick013]

Why not use the LXDE Fedora spin ? Setup a 1 GB SWAP on the
target drive prior to install, install VLC later, and be happy ?

You'll very rarely use the SWAP anyway.

[deanej]

You'll still need to install codecs with VLC, at least that's been my experience; the Linux version doesn't include them for some reason (making me wonder why it required RPM fusion if it's not better at playing patent-encumbered formates after installation than something like Rhythmbox).

[hadrons123]

I have been using liveCD all this time, and now I have to learn it doesn't have all the options from the DVD.

[patrick013]

Originally Posted by deanej

You'll still need to install codecs with VLC, at least that's been my experience; the Linux version doesn't include them for some reason (making me wonder why it required RPM fusion if it's not better at playing patent-encumbered formates after installation than something like Rhythmbox).

My VLC plays everything. VLC 2 is supposed to have all the
plugins installed even.

[deanej]

Well, I haven't seen VLC 2, so maybe the Linux version has finally included them; I don't see why not, since the Windows version does.

[Dan]

Originally Posted by kona0197

So here's what I need:

* Lightweight distro
* MP3, MPEG, all of the other "dirty" codec installed out of the box or easy to install
* Wireless support
* Ability to read/write NTFS/FAT hard drives

To be installed on:

Pentium 4 2.0 GHz CPU
512 MB memory
Onboard Intel graphics
DVD-ROM

So what distro should I look into?

Evening, Terry.

* Lightweight distro

MINT10, Bodhi Linux, Puppy LUPU 5.28. The heaviest Being MINT 10.

* MP3, MPEG, all of the other "dirty" codec installed out of the box or easy to install

MINT 10, Puppy LUPU 5.28, Bohdi Linux. The easiest being MINT 10.

* Wireless support

MINT 10, Puppy LUPU, Bohdi etc. The easiest being MINT 10.

* Ability to read/write NTFS/FAT hard drives

MINT 10, Puppy LUPU, Bohdi etc., etc.. etc. The easiest being MINT 10.

Hmmm. I'm starting to see a pattern here. <....>

Pluses:

• MINT 10's default install and user tools are simplicity designed. The interface is going to be closer to what you are used to using.
• Puppy is similar and has the benefit of sheer size, speed and simplicity.
• Bodhi is small, fast, simple and beautiful.

Minuses:

• MINT 10 is a bit on the heavy side. It will run on low specs, but with such a small RAM supply, it could end up thrashing away at the swap partition, and that's always a little frustrating.
• Puppy tends to speak a linux dialect all its own, which can be a bit confusing to a beginner.
• Bodhi uses the Enlightenment desktop, which is lightweight, elegant, and extremely customizable/powerful, but it is also unfamiliar to some and may present some challenges to a new user unfamiliar with it. Especially those who mentally try to force it to become something such as Windows or Gnome. That's not where its strength springs from, nor where it's flexibility and power are to be found. It is something new and interesting and is best taken on those terms with more curiosity than pre-conceived ideas.

So ... for what it's worth, all three are available on LiveCD, so you can try-before-you-buy.


Have fun, and enjoy the exploration.

[kona0197]

Well here's what I did.

I tried Bodhi Linux. Easy to use, I'm a big fan of their internet based click-and-install software apporoach. However no matter how I tweaked the desktop I didn't care for the way things looked or worked so I choose not to use Bodhi.

I tied Lubuntu. This distro loaded quickly and without much fuss yet lacked support for my wireless card I am using on this machine, go figure. Never cared for any Ubuntu mix or Ubuntu itself anyhow.

I also tried Xubuntu, anded up with a kernel attack. Must need more RAM to run that operating system.

I didn't run Puppy, had bad experiences with it in the past. I didn't have a blank DVD to try Mint.

So I install the LXDE version of Fedora and all is well. Snappy system, far better than Windows XP on the same machine.

So far with the help of Google I have:

- Installed all of the "Dirty" codecs. My MP3 and MPEG files play just fine.
- Installed Flash and got the games on Facebook running nice and fast.
- Installed other programs such as VLC player.
- Reported a few bugs that Fedora had while runniig on my system to Bugzilla.

Only issues I have are:

- Playing .wav sounds.
- Automatically mounting the NTFS partition on boot.
- Adjusting the clock to 12 hour format, I don't know the codes.
- Adding programs to the bottom bar next to the "F" start menu.

Very happy with this setup. Fast, simple, solid, stable. I probably wil stick with it until I buy a better system. Thanks!

[sea]

Thought .wav files should be able to play anyhow?

Mount your ntfs:

lsblk
su -
nano /etc/fstab

Add at bottom:

/dev/sdX     /mnt/ntfs   ntfs   defaults 0 0

Where as X is the number of your partition holding the ntfs.

Add progs to menu bar:
1) right click on the first app of the launcher
2) application-starter-properties
3) add / remove programs from the right menu

Clock:
I guess this should work:
1) right click on the clock
2) digital clock properties
3) change the clock value to: %r %p


Hope this helps

[Dan]

Well ... that doesn't exactly fit the starting priorities ... but that's pretty typical of most plans which do not survive contact with the enemy. <....>

Welcome to F16. I use Enlightenment rather than LXDE, but barring the vunderbork updates, it's been a good ride. Enjoy, and I'm glad you're happy.

[Gareth Jones]

Originally Posted by kona0197

Only issues I have are:
- Playing .wav sounds.

That's rather odd. .wav files are essentially raw samples, without any compression or encoding, so don't require any codecs to be installed.

Do you see any errors when trying to play them? Does "play file.wav" in a terminal work, or give any useful feedback?