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Thread ID: 64704	2005-12-24 00:04:00	After Xandros, what next?	Hhel (8073)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
415601	2005-12-24 00:04:00	Firstly, Merry Christmas to all readers and their families I have been using Xandros 3 OCE for most of this year - latterly single booting after I booted XP off the drive. Machine is a 2.4 gHz Celeron with 512 megs of ram and a 40 gig hard disk. Most commonly used software packages include Firefox 1.5, Thunderbird 1.07, Mailwasher Pro V 1.1.2 (the linux version) and Digicam. The first three have been installed on the /home partition rather than /usr or whatever. I have found that it is easier to install updates that way. In addition, Mailwasher finds it easier to call up Thunderbird if it is in the /home/jim/thunderbird directory. I have been studying the forum notes on linux distros and have read up the reviews from other sources. I am keen to progress but, to what? I am used to Debian and KDE. Have played around with the latest Knoppix from the DVD with "our" magazine's latest issue. However I don't wish to use a live CD approach and would prefer to work from an installed version. I did, earlier, use Mandrake 10.1 from DSE (both installed and Move) but didn't like it as much as Xandros. In view of my other comments, it would seem that SuSE and Simply Mepis are likely candidates. Would either of these be able to access my /home directory with the profiles for Firefox and Thunderbird? Also, I mustn't lose the many photos of our four grandchildren that Xandros brought across from XP quite happily. They are all in the /home partition. I don't know if Ubuntu would suit as it is Gnome based. Chilling would, no doubt, push for Gentoo but at my age, I don't think I want to go the Gnome way. Comments please folks Kind regards, Jim ;)	Hhel (8073)
415602	2005-12-24 00:12:00	The guys that made Ubuntu now also have Kubuntu which is based on KDE	bob_doe_nz (92)
415603	2005-12-24 00:17:00	The guys that made Ubuntu now also have Kubuntu which is based on KDE If you want KDE, and something easy Kubuntu may be the way to go	Dannz (1668)
415604	2005-12-24 00:41:00	You will need to be careful about the /home directory if you change or upgrade the system. This is one reason why backups were invented. ;) Terminology is important here. Your /home directory might be mounted on a partition of its own. But not necessarily. It will be a bit safer if it is. But even then, if a new version wants to put /home on a partition, the installer will ask if it can use the existing one. If you say "yes" it is likely to wipe it. If /home isn't on its own partition, it will almost certainly be wiped by the installation process.	Graham L (2)
415605	2005-12-24 01:40:00	Thanks for the replies. My current set up has two partitions plus the swap partition. One's mount point is / and the other is /home. When I have done a fresh install of Xandros, I have been able to do a custom install that only affects hda1 and leaves the /home intact. My question about eg Simply Mepis would be could it install into hda1 and leave hda6 unaffected? I also forgot to mention that Santa is going to attempt to slide a new 80 gig Seagate drive down the chimney this evening. Hence my wondering about my next step - if any. I am still very happy with Xandros and, maybe, I might stay there. However, 4X CD burning is a bit slow in the open source verion and I didn't want to shell out about $130 for the deluxe version if SuSE or Mepis could achieve all I want for less outlay. Cheers, Jim	Hhel (8073)
415606	2005-12-24 04:06:00	The first three have been installed on the /home partition rather than /usr or whatever. I have found that it is easier to install updates that way. In addition, Mailwasher finds it easier to call up Thunderbird if it is in the /home/jim/thunderbird directory. I would have thought it was the other way around. I am not overly familiar with the Xandros/Debian package management system, but installing apps anywhere other than the intended partition (usually /usr) is a bad idea from a security, stability and upgrading point of view. Are you doing this to get around the root account? As for which distro - Debian is probably the best choice if you are familiar with it already. Since you have installed apps in non-standard locations, upgrading or moving to a different distro, even if it is Debian-based, is going to be painful for you. As always, back up at least the following: /home, /etc and maybe /var/db if applicable.	vinref (6194)
415607	2005-12-25 22:18:00	Thanks for the replies. My current set up has two partitions plus the swap partition. One's mount point is / and the other is /home. When I have done a fresh install of Xandros, I have been able to do a custom install that only affects hda1 and leaves the /home intact. My question about eg Simply Mepis would be could it install into hda1 and leave hda6 unaffected? Your set up is very similar to my own. As Graham says, care is needed when installing as otherwise you may find yourself installing an all new /home where your settings and files are currently living, or installing your new system over the /home partition. Do not click OK, OK, OK, without first being very sure what you are saying OK to. You'll end up kicking yourself bigtime if you get a all new install and overwirte /home in order to save the minute or 2 that it takes to make sure you fully understand what is about to happen before it does. ;) I'm not sure about having programs such as thunderbird and mailwasher running from the /home partition. Mepis will come with firefox, but that will install itself in various parts of the "/" partition, leaving only personal preferences in the /home/jim/ directory There are of course ways to alter things from the default, but i recomend the default way as it ensures that when someone else uses your machine, they will have the same programs available without needing to access your stuff.	personthingy (1670)
415608	2005-12-25 22:46:00	I am still very happy with Xandros and, maybe, I might stay there. However, 4X CD burning is a bit slow in the open source verion and I didn't want to shell out about $130 for the deluxe version if SuSE or Mepis could achieve all I want for less outlay. Cheers, Jim You could just install K3b the kde burning app as it should run at full speed, unlike the xfm based one that comes with the Xandros oce version I think the interface is a bit different If your happy with something, then don't change just try replacing the feature you aren't happy with guide to using k3b here (fedoranews.org) may be a bit bit old but if you can't find a newer guide should give you an idea of what it looks like	Morgenmuffel (187)
415609	2005-12-25 23:43:00	K3B rocks, there were some issues with it a month or 2 ago, as it's just had a bit of a rewrite, and there were bugs, ofcourse. These bugs seem to have disapeared now, so it's the best time to grab a copy of all the needed packages and enjoy. K3B has been called a nero clone, but i think thats putting it down :)	personthingy (1670)
415610	2005-12-26 07:17:00	:thumbs:Once again, thanks for the helpful comments folks. We are currently at our son's place for Christmas so my replies have had to be brief. However, once back home, I will get a chance to study all of your words of wisdom and take it from there. Happy New Year to you all Jim	Hhel (8073)
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