XFCE distro with the following specifications

RevenNL · 2012-01-22 09:08:14

Hello all!

Over 6 months ago I made a topic to help me pick a distro. The topic has now been hyjacked, so I've decided to make a new one. I now got a better view on what I want to do, so hopefully you guys can jump in with some advice.

-XFCE with Ambiance theme
-Able to run 'Docky' & 'Conky'
-.deb packages
-Easy to setup, but extremely configurable once the base install has been completed. I don't mind if I need to work a bit in order to get it working, but it shouldn't be all pieces and puzzles such as with Arch-Linux.
-If possible, rolling-release. This in order to prevent outdated packages and breakage of installation when upgrading. (The ubuntu story)
-Up to date & clear wiki. Quite a lot of distro's don't have an updated wiki, causing me to search through pages of forum topics without finding the actual solution or having to pick a solution from a vague -random- blog.

That's basically all I've for now. What would you guys pick with those requirements & why?

demosthenese · 2012-01-22 11:36:19

Debian testing or Debian Sid are rolling releases. Install the apt-listbugs package to get warnings about known bugs before you do upgrades.

Ambiance can be got from deviantart, you will need the murrine and unico engines from the repositories.

Docky and conky are in the repositories.

.deb packages - check.

The current installers are vastly improved, but you may need the nonfree and contrib repositories for nonfree firmware. The installer will warn you if they are needed.

wiki: Debian wiki
Forums: here and here
Other Help: AskDebian

testing cd: amd64, or i386. You only need the last cd in the list - the one with xfce in its name.

And finally, read the installation how-to

You might want to have a look at mint-debian edition, or mepis. But unless they provide something specific that you want I can't see an advantage over debian.

Last edited by demosthenese (2012-01-22 11:43:33)

RevenNL · 2012-01-22 12:52:04

Isn't SID unstable in corresponding to Testing? Like Testing has the same stability as Ubuntu (Ubuntu is based on testing) and SID breaks more often? Also, when is testing usually updated? Once a month?

secipolla · 2012-01-22 16:54:21

With .deb packages and 'rolling release' you would need Debian testing.
But then it's not so simple as you may expect and Ubuntu's or Arch's wikis are probably much 'clearer' than Debian's.

In short, you either adapt your expectations or you won't find any suitable distro.

demosthenese · 2012-01-22 17:45:48

RevenNL wrote:

Isn't SID unstable in corresponding to Testing? Like Testing has the same stability as Ubuntu (Ubuntu is based on testing) and SID breaks more often? Also, when is testing usually updated? Once a month?

The testing installation cd's are weekly builds. Once installed, updates arrive as and when they are uploaded to the repositories - possibly several times per day.

Stability refers largely to how often it is updated. 'Unstable' means a moving target rather than buggy and crash-prone, which Sid (Unstable) isn't. Yes, Debian declares a lot of caveats about running Sid, and it is not suitable for a production server, but it breaks less often than many other distro's stable release. Packages only arrive in Unstable when the developer and packager believe it to be release-ready.

If you really want to live on the edge, then you can pull packages into Sid from the Experimental repositories - but that really is asking for breakages as these are not release-ready.

Apostate · 2012-01-23 10:50:53

I run Sid/XFCE without any problems. Gnome would occasionally break but even then not very often.

lifeinthegrey · 2012-01-24 15:19:25

This is just my opinion, so take it for what it is.

I have created several HTPCs for clients (I have a custom PC business on the side) using Debian Testing XFCE, and actually set up cron scripts to automatigically update on a routine basis. "Sid or Testing" is a fierce debate, however I prefer Testing because even though fixes to issues don't come as quickly, issues themselves come far less often. And as aforementioned, it is still repaired faster than most stable versions of other distros.

The cron scripts that I write do a safe-upgrade daily (does not remove old packages, only updates old ones or installs new ones), and does a full-upgrade monthly (install and remove packages as necessary, along the lines of dist-upgrade). There is a slim chance that I catch the Testing repo at a bad time with the monthly full-upgrade, but VERY slim, and doing the safe-upgrade daily keeps the little programs up-to-date. This setup has worked beautifully for my clients, and if you are worried about the possibility of breakages, I would recommend this frequency for you.

Last edited by lifeinthegrey (2012-01-24 15:20:20)

RevenNL · 2012-01-24 17:41:22

lifeinthegrey wrote:

This is just my opinion, so take it for what it is.
I have created several HTPCs for clients (I have a custom PC business on the side) using Debian Testing XFCE, and actually set up cron scripts to automatigically update on a routine basis. "Sid or Testing" is a fierce debate, however I prefer Testing because even though fixes to issues don't come as quickly, issues themselves come far less often. And as aforementioned, it is still repaired faster than most stable versions of other distros.
The cron scripts that I write do a safe-upgrade daily (does not remove old packages, only updates old ones or installs new ones), and does a full-upgrade monthly (install and remove packages as necessary, along the lines of dist-upgrade). There is a slim chance that I catch the Testing repo at a bad time with the monthly full-upgrade, but VERY slim, and doing the safe-upgrade daily keeps the little programs up-to-date. This setup has worked beautifully for my clients, and if you are worried about the possibility of breakages, I would recommend this frequency for you.

Any chance you going email me a guide on how you recommend the installation of Debian Testing + how to utilize the script? It sounds like a perfect solution to me.

lifeinthegrey · 2012-01-24 18:48:18

RevenNL wrote:

Any chance you going email me a guide on how you recommend the installation of Debian Testing + how to utilize the script? It sounds like a perfect solution to me.

I can email you the script setup (it will work on any Debian or *buntu setup), and I can give you a basic rundown of how to set up DT. Undestand 3 things (which are pretty well-understood in the world of DIY):

1) If it doesn't work for you, if something breaks, if you cat starts vomiting bullets at high velocity that happen to kill your other cats ... I can help only so much. (this is the general DIY disclaimer)

2) the scripts i created will automatically update everything in the background, and you will have ZERO control over what is updated as long as those scripts are in place. this means that in the very small chance that a major breakage hits testing and in borks your system ... it is what it is. (this is the system disclaimer i give my customers, but for them i can do on-site repairs ... for a nominal fee tongue )

3) i can tell you the basic process in terms of installation of the base system, what extra packages you can install, and how to set up the scripts. after that, it pretty much becomes a taste thing, so you can further customize it as you see fit. smile

not trying to be difficult or anything, just kind of giving the standard disclaimers. eventually i plan to create my own distro based on this setup (if i can ever figure out how to do it correctly), so maybe down the road you can pay me back by being a tester. tongue

PM me and well get rolling.

RevenNL · 2012-01-24 19:20:14

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#1 2012-01-22 09:08:14

XFCE distro with the following specifications

#2 2012-01-22 11:36:19

Re: XFCE distro with the following specifications

#3 2012-01-22 12:52:04

Re: XFCE distro with the following specifications

#4 2012-01-22 16:54:21

Re: XFCE distro with the following specifications

#5 2012-01-22 17:45:48

Re: XFCE distro with the following specifications

#6 2012-01-23 10:50:53

Re: XFCE distro with the following specifications

#7 2012-01-24 15:19:25

Re: XFCE distro with the following specifications

#8 2012-01-24 17:41:22

Re: XFCE distro with the following specifications

#9 2012-01-24 18:48:18

Re: XFCE distro with the following specifications

#10 2012-01-24 19:20:14

Re: XFCE distro with the following specifications

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