The Five Best Desktop Linux Distributions

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Colonel Panic · #16 Post by **Colonel Panic** » Sat 02 Jul 2011, 10:27

nooby wrote:
Colonel Panic wrote:I'm posting from Swift Linux (which is based on AntiX, but has some additional features such as Open Office) now.

I like it a lot, but as far as I know there isn't even an option to do a frugal install in either it or AntiX (which I also have). though you can do a full install to hard disk.
Well AntiC the Dev is kind guy so he has described how to do frugal on the forum so one need to search there I managed to boot both AntiX and Swift on NTFS but being a "Live" iso them are set up to make the partition them boot from to be a Read Only boot partition so one can not save anything to it. No permissions even of one are root. Maybe one can be some extreme SuperUser Root but they did not tell how to do that. So it sure booted but no writing to that disk

Porteus allowed it and Knoppix does allow it too and even TCL now when them have reconsidered the NTFS thing.

Thanks for the info. I don't really use AntiX or Swift Linux at home (where saving settings would matter), but if I did I'd copy your post down and use it there.

Best,

CP .

nooby · #17 Post by **nooby** » Sat 02 Jul 2011, 13:19

I don't want my confusing text to give the wrong impression.

Nothing wrong with Debian or Simply Mepis and noting wrong with AntiX neither because all of them are true to how all Unix variations are set up. The mare true to the Unix spirit

Them got constructed way before computers was so easy to afford that almost every middle class can have their own in the family and the Linux was constructed some 20 years ago on a University setting so obviously them had to be non-root to not get annoying pranks sent to them all the time from fellow students destroying all their work.

So it is as it should be with AntiX. As I get it all Linux is supposed to forbid such writing to the disk one boot up from.

I remember way back in say 2008? or earlier? SliTaZ Dev or some high up in the hierarchy at their Forum answered me that Slitaz was not supposed to save on a HDD at all only on USB for to protect the user.

So this "behavior" is a very long tradition among Linux Devs so Barry is an exception allowing us to not only be root but to be super admin of our own computer.

Only Knopper had same attitude maybe. Who else? Is there any other distro that can be used in the way Puppy can? Maybe Nimblex and he got much heap thrown on him for being root.

Stripe · #18 Post by **Stripe** » Mon 04 Jul 2011, 03:50

@ nooby

most of the people that I know who use linux will not entertain anything but running as root, as they want control over their pc and not have a piece of software telling them they are not authorized to make changes on their own computer.

cheers
Stripe

DaveS · #19 Post by **DaveS** » Mon 04 Jul 2011, 04:58

Is there a way to run any of 'the big five' as root? Guess you have to log in as root or something similar................

James C · #20 Post by **James C** » Mon 04 Jul 2011, 05:11

DaveS wrote:Is there a way to run any of 'the big five' as root? Guess you have to log in as root or something similar................

Not sure about all of the main "big" distros but for most just login as root at the login screen ......naturally there is usually an entirely different desktop to indicate the danger of running as root. Usually involving a lot of bright red.

Stripe · #21 Post by **Stripe** » Mon 04 Jul 2011, 05:16

@ daves

I know slackware is/was run as root,
with ubuntu and mint you specify an admin password and have to enter it quite often (nearly every time) you want to change, install or remove something. I can normaly last for about 10 mins before I get sick, even with the root/admin password there is still things you cant change.

hope this helps
stripe

DaveS · #22 Post by **DaveS** » Mon 04 Jul 2011, 05:39

Stripe wrote:@ daves

I know slackware is/was run as root,
with ubuntu and mint you specify an admin password and have to enter it quite often (nearly every time) you want to change, install or remove something. I can normaly last for about 10 mins before I get sick,

hope this helps
stripe

X2

nooby · #23 Post by **nooby** » Mon 04 Jul 2011, 07:04

I know too little and I have promised to not post in every thread.

But root is a pet thing for me.

I guess if you do full install then you can do a lot being root.
But on some or many Linux distros if you are running "Live" even as frugal install then even root don't allow you to save things on the HDD that you frugally installed on.

That partition get set as "Read Only" and can not be changed in any way.

Some tell me that there is some kind of thing above root named Super User or Admin or something but even Anti at Antix failed to tell me how to do that thing. That is how I remember it.

http://antix.freeforums.org/post21048.html#p21048

I wrote this

quote Newbody writes:
I gave it a test again today but it failed. when one use grub4dos iso booting then the software set the hdd as read only even for root.

What si the code for booting a normal frugal install on ntfs hdd?

It worked well for my other computers but seems to fail for this Acer D250 not sure why.
Have tried to find the right code but failed.

Any suggestion would be heartly welcome
/quote ends here.

That way back in June 12 2011, have not asked them further.

AFAIK Slitaz was set up that way too. And other distros that I have tested.

But sure if one do full install then most likely then one own that partition.

d4p · #24 Post by **d4p** » Wed 06 Jul 2011, 01:00

“Can Mepis do what AntiX failed doing in frugal install.
To write to the partition one booted from in frugal install
was not allowed even if one was root.

Colonel Panic · #25 Post by **Colonel Panic** » Mon 09 Jul 2012, 14:19

Stripe wrote:@ daves

I know slackware is/was run as root,
with ubuntu and mint you specify an admin password and have to enter it quite often (nearly every time) you want to change, install or remove something. I can normaly last for about 10 mins before I get sick, even with the root/admin password there is still things you cant change.

hope this helps
stripe

Me too, and it's the main thing which puts me off using a Debian- or Ubuntu-based distro as my main installed one.

linuxbear · #26 Post by **linuxbear** » Tue 10 Jul 2012, 19:13

Any full sized distro which does not have enlightenment E17 installed as a desktop is (IMHO) too slow

linuxbear · #27 Post by **linuxbear** » Tue 10 Jul 2012, 19:18

Colonel Panic wrote:
Stripe wrote:@ daves

I know slackware is/was run as root,
with ubuntu and mint you specify an admin password and have to enter it quite often (nearly every time) you want to change, install or remove something. I can normaly last for about 10 mins before I get sick, even with the root/admin password there is still things you cant change.

hope this helps
stripe
Me too, and it's the main thing which puts me off using a Debian- or Ubuntu-based distro as my main installed one.

It is very easy to create a root login for Ubuntu. Simple instructions can be found with a quick web search.
As to installing, what is so hard about apt-get install "foo" from the terminal and then entering a password when required?

Colonel Panic · #28 Post by **Colonel Panic** » Sat 28 Jul 2012, 11:39

linuxbear wrote:It is very easy to create a root login for Ubuntu. Simple instructions can be found with a quick web search.

Thanks for your advice. I'm using Anti X RC2 at the moment, which is based on Debian Testing.

You have to press Ctrl_Alt_F2 at the login prompt;

http://ananthgs4geeks.blogspot.co.uk/20 ... lenny.html

linuxbear wrote:As to installing, what is so hard about apt-get install "foo" from the terminal and then entering a password when required?

I hadn't heard of foo until now, but here it is;

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions ... oo-468303/

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The Five Best Desktop Linux Distributions