Technology Linux Elive

[MechE]

Does anyone use Linux Elive? I a video of it on youtube and it seems really cool, but I'm wondering how complicated is Linux to use (for anyone less than a computer programmer ).

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[pcproduct]

Depending on the distribution, Linux is very to use. It's not and isn't supposed to be Windows or Mac, so a small learning curve may be required. I recommend Ubuntu for all beginners. Installation is simple, the forums are great for help, there's tons of software that's easily available for it, and best of all, Ubuntu is totally free.

As far as Elive, I've heard of it but never given it a go. Elive is based on Debian (same as Ubuntu), so I'm guessing it's very easy to use too. The major difference is that it uses E-17, instead of Gnome or KDE like most other Linux distributions.

 

[jimmj43]

Does anyone use Linux Elive? I a video of it on youtube and it seems really cool, but I'm wondering how complicated is Linux to use (for anyone less than a computer programmer ).

In my sharply limited experience with Elive, I've learned it stands out as flying in the face of conventional wisdom within the Linux realm. Having finally reached the breaking point with Windows, I decided to 'wade in' to Linux, in general, and Ubuntu, in particular. Burned a copy of Edgy Eft and it refused to run or install. After a couple of weeks Feisty Fawn became available so I tried it. And it worked. With respect to the steepness of the learning curve, I don't know that it's "small" so much as it's "different". It makes my head hurt. It seems there are way too many ways to fix glitches - either via mouse clicks or code, The flipside is that the Ubuntu help forums is awash with friendly folks falling all over themselves to try to help. I would recomend an Ubuntu distro in much the same context I would recommend welding - it's one of those things you have to get a hands-on "feel" for in order to become adept.

After months of using Feisty with more-or-less success I was led by a genuine computer geek to Sabayon. Which is, admittedly, a smooth, slick, stable OS. I might have stuck with it except for the dirth of help I encountered. So I set out to explore . I'm currently running Gutsy Gibbon, which displaced Feisty Fawn as the newest, latest and greatest Ubuntu distro (with multiple unresolved problems). Not for long, I think. After getting my feet wet with Puppy, MINT, DSL (DamnSmallLinux), and MiniMe in addition to the forementioned, I tried the unstable version of Eline. <--It blew my door off! I elected to try the unstable version first because it was readily available. You CAN get a free stable version, but you have to jump through some hoops. You can also get the stable version with a donation.

Just a few highlights: Aside from the eye-pleasing, minimalist desktop, connecting to the internet was a 1-click process: Click on the Iceweasil browser icon = connected. Go to Youtube to discover that a flashplayer is already installed. Other common video formats also play, right from 'go'. There's more, but just the video player issues serve to contrast against Ubuntu distros, where it's necessary to enable various video formats. And just to put a finer point on the conventional wisdom face-slap: Elive seems to present a more vibrant, alive, animated screen experience where other OSs would overwhelm resources = drag down RAM, choppy, freeze up. And I'm on an old, practically steam-powered machine: 566MHz CPU, 256M RAM, 6.5G HD.

For myself, I intend to engage in some hoop-jumping to acquire the stable version which is available here: http://www.elivecd.org/Download/Stable

To avoid the hoops and depleting wallet resources, I'd suggest taking a free, painless test drive with the unstable version, which is available here: http://linux.softpedia.com/progDownload/Elive-Download-3180.html

FYI: No need to install! You can test drive from the CD.

1. Download iso
2. Burn to disk (slow burn speed recommended to avoid corruptions)
3. Shut down, insert CD, restart.

Sidenote: As with any Linux distro it pays to do your homework. I now have 3 otherwise perfectly good Lexmark printers that have been relegated to doorstops. Some manufacturers (Like Lexmark) take their proprietary driver information very VERY seriously. The result is that some hardware simply won't work with Linux.

Good luck!