abf
07-27-2006, 02:19 AM
I was tempted to try the Mezzo desktop (see Symphony OS) on my perfect Ubuntu install....something was just begging to go wrong and it did, my entire graphical side of ubuntu got shafted.... A few days ago i gave away my Ubuntu install disk to a friend so I was without a paddle. Figured I'd give the new Mepis 6.0 (now based on ubuntu) a try.
Since at the core Mepis is now ubuntu, stuff actually worked from the get-go, which is good, because previous releases (3.xx series) had massive trouble on my hardware. The livecd booted, the installer was quick and easy to use (similar to the ubuntu installer in many ways)...total process took no more than 15 minutes.
I reboot and everything worked fine, but the screen was in wrong res (1024x768). A quick trip to xorg.conf fixed that. Using the mepis config tool I setup fglrx, it literally took clicking 1 button, and then rebooting, easiest FGLRX setup ever (nvidia also available). Wireless worked out of the box. To configure what wasn't already part of mepis I got Automatix 6.4 for Mepis. Same exact script we've come to know and love in ubuntu...slightly different package selection though to better meet the KDE environment and mepis's already included generic choice of apps. Automatix took another 1/2 hour about to get the rest going. Laptop mode (ie...power save and reading battery %) works out of the box too, even sensors worked! (something i never got to work on any other distro, even ubuntu).
Unlike ubuntu which strictly recommends sticking to ubuntu packages, mepis is a dirty mix of ubuntu, debian, and mepis flavor package builds....would figure something will go wrong in stability terms in the long run.
One big problem that bothers me is ram usage. I have a gig of ram and 2 gigs of swap, currently 809mb of ram are being used and I have only Kopete and Opera open. Ubuntu on the other hand with gaim and firefox open took no more than 300mb....this worries me. I did some googling and it would seem that it has to do with preloading, kde just likes to make the most of all available ram and just preloads what it can for faster performance, even though more ram is being used....so as a test i opened like 10 different programs and ram use went up to 950mb but the system still felt stable...though the runaway process catcher was having a field day.
Highs: fast install, easy to set up nvidia/fglrx, ubuntu hardware detection and package pool :banana: , recent packages (kde 3.5.3, xorg 7.0, kernel 2.6.15)
Lows: ram use is through the roof (if you have less than 512mb dont even think about it), synaptics is loaded but not working right, run-away processes galore, really small and weak community and docs compared to ubuntu.
Verdict: :moon: :moon: :moon:
If you like KDE and Ubuntu....try Kubuntu first, if all else fails Mepis will always be there. Generally speaking not a bad distro, but I am not a fan of KDE. Although the system is generally stable, its the little things that give it an unstable-feel. Huge step forward from 3.xx days...but still has room to grow.
now i am off to download and burn myself another ubuntu disk to restore my loses
EDIT: seems there is a MASSIVE memory leak. the review was written after a few hours of up-time. on fresh boot the system uses 370mb (still almost 100mb more than ubuntu)...but just after a few hours its 800+mb....horrible
Since at the core Mepis is now ubuntu, stuff actually worked from the get-go, which is good, because previous releases (3.xx series) had massive trouble on my hardware. The livecd booted, the installer was quick and easy to use (similar to the ubuntu installer in many ways)...total process took no more than 15 minutes.
I reboot and everything worked fine, but the screen was in wrong res (1024x768). A quick trip to xorg.conf fixed that. Using the mepis config tool I setup fglrx, it literally took clicking 1 button, and then rebooting, easiest FGLRX setup ever (nvidia also available). Wireless worked out of the box. To configure what wasn't already part of mepis I got Automatix 6.4 for Mepis. Same exact script we've come to know and love in ubuntu...slightly different package selection though to better meet the KDE environment and mepis's already included generic choice of apps. Automatix took another 1/2 hour about to get the rest going. Laptop mode (ie...power save and reading battery %) works out of the box too, even sensors worked! (something i never got to work on any other distro, even ubuntu).
Unlike ubuntu which strictly recommends sticking to ubuntu packages, mepis is a dirty mix of ubuntu, debian, and mepis flavor package builds....would figure something will go wrong in stability terms in the long run.
One big problem that bothers me is ram usage. I have a gig of ram and 2 gigs of swap, currently 809mb of ram are being used and I have only Kopete and Opera open. Ubuntu on the other hand with gaim and firefox open took no more than 300mb....this worries me. I did some googling and it would seem that it has to do with preloading, kde just likes to make the most of all available ram and just preloads what it can for faster performance, even though more ram is being used....so as a test i opened like 10 different programs and ram use went up to 950mb but the system still felt stable...though the runaway process catcher was having a field day.
Highs: fast install, easy to set up nvidia/fglrx, ubuntu hardware detection and package pool :banana: , recent packages (kde 3.5.3, xorg 7.0, kernel 2.6.15)
Lows: ram use is through the roof (if you have less than 512mb dont even think about it), synaptics is loaded but not working right, run-away processes galore, really small and weak community and docs compared to ubuntu.
Verdict: :moon: :moon: :moon:
If you like KDE and Ubuntu....try Kubuntu first, if all else fails Mepis will always be there. Generally speaking not a bad distro, but I am not a fan of KDE. Although the system is generally stable, its the little things that give it an unstable-feel. Huge step forward from 3.xx days...but still has room to grow.
now i am off to download and burn myself another ubuntu disk to restore my loses
EDIT: seems there is a MASSIVE memory leak. the review was written after a few hours of up-time. on fresh boot the system uses 370mb (still almost 100mb more than ubuntu)...but just after a few hours its 800+mb....horrible