| Seven Linux distros fight over one old ThinkPad: PCLinuxOS snapshot |
(Oct. 5, 2006)
PCLinuxOS P93A "Big Daddy"
Distro overview
PCLinuxOS is an offshoot of Mandrake Linux. In its brief three-year history, it's been striving to become a strong desktop contender in its own right.
Observations
Pro's:- Lots of great apps included
- Fully customizable look/feel, with minor issues
- Nice system configuration utility
- Uses Synaptic downloader/installer/updater even though it's not a Debian-based distro; extensive packages available from designated repository
Con's:- Small community, but leverages Mandriva
- Requires LCD/CRT toggle at the login screen prompt on the old ThinkPad (not a major concern)
- Has some odd desktop icons for standard apps like OO.o and GIMP; probably could fix, given some googling
- WiFi detected local WLANs but was unable to "connect"
- Can't they come up with a better name?! ;-)
Screenshots
PCLinuxOS's default desktop
(Click to enlarge)
System configuration tool
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WiFi configuration tool -- detected, but not connected
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Synaptic app downloader/installer/updater works well!
(Click to enlarge)
My PCLinuxOS desktop, essentially the way I like it
(Click to enlarge)
Scorecard
| PCLinuxOS Scorecard | | Installation | 5 points | | Customizable | 5 points | | Hardware/multimedia support | 4 points | | Apps included/available | 5 points | | Total: | 19 points |
Bottom line
A nice, easy-to-install, easy-to-configure, and easy-to-use distro, particularly for someone who's used to SUSE or Fedora Core, but wants something smaller and quicker. Given its performance vs. that of Mandriva, I'd have to say it's "a better Mandriva than Mandriva." I didn't spend the time to locate alternative desktop background images to the "lovely" default desktop scenery, but I'm sure they're readily available. My compliments to the PCLinuxOS team!
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