[Cialug] Upgrading to Ubuntu 13.10

[Brian Wood]

Ralph Kessel:

> Well after trying some of the options you presented, I took the cowards
way out > and reinstalled Ubuntu 12.04.    Those who build Ubuntu cores
have to take into > account smaller, older machines.  13.10 was like
driving a truck in quck sand.
> I was sinking fast and I didn't know what to throw overboard.
> Learned my lesson but still need to know what I could do
> install a newer release on an older machine.

There's a guy by the name of Jason Hsu in the Twin Cities
that knows a lot about that.  The following is some info he
posted here last November.


I've been using distros based on Debian Wheezy the last few years (in Linux
Mint Debian Edition, antiX Linux, and Snowlinux), and it has really won me
over.  Wheezy has LibreOffice in its software repository instead of
OpenOffice (which Squeeze had), and several apps (like Keepass) seemed much
more polished in the Debian Wheezy version than in the Debian Squeeze
version.  I intend to stick with Debian Wheezy now that it has become
Debian Stable.  (It's easier to keep Debian Stable up-to-date than Debian
Testing up-to-date.)  Debian Wheezy as the new Debian Stable must have won
over many other people as well, as it has climbed to #2 on Distrowatch over
the past several months.

As a result, I've been looking for a Linux distro based on the new Debian
Stable.  I'm trying out CrunchBang Linux in VirtualBox, and it's winning me
over.  I have Linux Mint Debian Edition currently installed on my laptop,
but I plan to switch to CrunchBang shortly.  I currently have Snow Linux
installed on my desktop, and I intend to switch to CrunchBang here as well.

I first tried CrunchBang Linux a few years ago, but the lack of a DE turned
me off.  I still don't like the default look and feel, but all I had to do
was install LXDE to get my desktop.  (Given that CrunchBang comes with the
OpenBox window manager, LXDE is the most logical DE.  ROX pinboard would
work as well, but that requires some tweaking.)

In my opinion, CrunchBang Linux is the best distro under-the-hood.  Here
are the advantages I see over its competition:
1.  Over LMDE: CrunchBang is lighter than LMDE, which is available only
with MATE or Cinnamon.  Yet CrunchBang comes with codecs, which provide
out-of-the-box DVD-playing capability.  CrunchBang's speed and
memory-saving advantages would be greatly appreciated by anyone using a
10-year-old computer.  Remember also that LMDE is based on Debian Testing,
so that means it requires more updates than CrunchBang, which is based on
Debian Stable.  It also helps that CrunchBang 11 Waldorf is a much more
central to CrunchBang than LMDE is to Linux Mint and thus seems to get
better support.
2.  Over antiX: CrunchBang Linux plays DVDs out-of-the-box, but antiX Linux
doesn't.  Also, keeping CrunchBang Linux (based on Debian Stable)
up-to-date is much easier than keeping antiX Linux (based on Debian Testing
and released only once a year) up-to-date.
3.  Over Puppy Linux: CrunchBang Linux has a MUCH larger software
repository than Puppy Linux.  According to Wikipedia, CrunchBang offers up
to 23,000 software packages, compared to only 700 for Puppy Linux.

Yes, LMDE, antiX, and Puppy offer a more polished and user-friendly default
interface.  However, it's much quicker and easier to correct CrunchBang's
weakness (just install LXDE) than it is to correct the weaknesses of LMDE,
antiX Linux, and Puppy Linux.  With LXDE added on, CrunchBang Linux can be
just as user-friendly and polished as its top competitors while blowing
them away when it comes to the under-the-hood aspects.

------------------------------

By default, the LXDE desktop includes icons to all folders within your home
directory, and you cannot remove a folder from the desktop without deleting
it.  To correct this, follow the procedure described at
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=175&t=104518 .

--
Jason Hsu <jhsu802701 at jasonhsu.com>

-- 
Brian
Ebenezer Enterprises - In G-d we trust.
http://webEbenezer.net