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Welcome to the second installment of My Distro Review page. I realized that I will post more and more reviews as time goes on so I figured I had better expand. On both pages the distros are reviewed in the order that I tried them out. Again, I gave all the distros I reviewed "grades" based on how newbie-friendly I felt they were.



Featured Distros

  1. TinyMe
  2. Linux Mint 5 Elyssa


    3. TinyMe

    Website
    Facts:
    • TinyMe comes with KDE desktop
    • TinyMe is based on PCLinuxOS
    • TinyMe is comparable to Puppy Linux, Damn Small Linux (DSL) or AntiX, which are all very small Linux distros meant for computers with limited resources

    What I liked:
    • Fast like lightning on my machine
    • The desktop looks great despite no actual desktop environment. TinyMe uses Openbox Window Manager.
    • he TinyCC is a control center just for TinyMe that allows you to fully customize your TinyMe
    • Despite the size, most of the applications I use every day were already right on the desktop
    • An app for killing frozen applications (like Gnome's fabulous force-quit)

    What I didn't like:
    • Conky (a system monitor application) on the desktop (can be removed but it is not a newbie-friendly process
    • I had some confusion as to what was in the control center and what was in TinyCC--mostly just my short-term memory issues not a serious problem but a minor annoyance for me

    Summary:

    I was sorely, sorely tempted to install this to harddrive and I may still install it with the option for dual-booting..I give it a B for looks and an A- for functionality (for my purposes anyway). I am just a “baby geek” after all and I do absolutely love deb and mint packages and I likely won’t want to give that up but this distro tempts me like no other!



    Linux Mint 5 Elyssa

    Website
    Linux Mint 5 (Elyssa) Facts:
    • Linux Mint is the project created by Clement Lefebvre.
    • Linux Mint started out as a fork of Ubuntu
    • Linux Mint has the slogan "from freedom came elegance" and is often touted as "Ubuntu done right"
    • Linux Mint has several versions: KDE, Fluxbox, Lite, Xfce and a Debian testing version. All versions are closely related and maintained by members of the Linux Mint community

    What I liked:
    • First of all, Wow on the new artwork! There is a new, talented Linux Mint user named "Jernau" out there who made the default artwork; it just has that perfect Minty look–polished and elegant..minty! There are all new wallpapers which is a nice change
    • MintMenu improvements include a greatly lessened memory usage and an uninstall (apps) feature on right-click, as well as the option to open as root (not recommended but nice to know you can)
    • Mint Install now comes with the options to install .deb (Debian) and APT (Aptitude) packages right from the mintInstall
    • Opening applications or working in root is less dangerous with the addition of Xfe, a file browser with a completely different look than Nautilus, so you won't forget you are working in root
    • There is a simple Compiz-Fusion settings manager for lovers of the Cube! It is now easier than ever to wobble your windows to your heart's content
    • Firefox 3, with its slightly reduced memory usage is included; Rhythmbox and Brasero replaced Soundjuicer and Serpentine and Transmission is now the torrent client.
    What I didn't like:
    • Rhythmbox
    • The WildMint theme (that Windows-blue border ack!)
    • That's pretty much it

      • Summary:


      I absolutely loved the improvements made from Linux Mint 4-Daryna to Linux Mint 5-Elyssa (even the name is better!) Everything had that Minty elegant look and the best Mint features were all improved. This is the OS I have installed on my computer currently. I imagine it will stay that way until Linux Mint 6. I give this distro an A for looks and an A for performance and performance-related improvements.