“Anyone who dislikes the non-standard desktops of many distributions will feel right at home with Libranet, and the .deb packaging system will keep the Debian nerds happy. Those of you searching for a server-oriented distribution should look elsewhere, but if you’re searching for a strong desktop/multimedia distribution, Libranet is one of the best choices available.” Read more at NewsForge.
My workstation OS: Libranet
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
Quite nice article, but I miss one thing: screenshots.
there are more than enough here:
http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=133&slide=1
I’m a big fan of Libranet. I purchased the last stable version (2.8 I believe) over a year ago and used it for a long time. Now though, if I do a clean install and do a dist-upgrade first thing, it always fails getting everything installed.
I should go back and check it out since other people are doing it without a hitch it seems.
keep up the good work.
-adam
Those screenshots seem to show off such up-to-date features as GNOME 2.2, kernel 2.4.x and KDE 3.1. I didn’t know people used those anymore! I mean, with kernel 2.6 stable and GNOME 2.10 and KDE 3.4 fast approaching, why stick to the old versions?
At least this is better than the last author who wrote “My Desktop OS: FreeDOS”…
You were really angry at someone for loving his OS, didn’t you? God, do you really think you are so clever as to know what other people should choose for themselves? Just leave it, really; the point of this series is not to convince you that these OSes are the best ones OVERALL, but simply that some people found that they really fit with them. It shows the variety of purposes and likings in the OS world, just get out of your mentality that there is One True OS.
like debian but want it new and for desktop purpose..at the moment the solution is UBUNTU (ubuntulinux.org) i switched to it some days ago after having been on debian for several years.. i very like it; but support in gui lays on GNOME, so all KDE-ppl have to use universe-packages (means debian (sid) .debs) -> but that works fine, too
sorry, i don’t know much about libranet
As a Libranet 2.8.1 user, I would say that the distribution is getting too old to install now. Yes, it can be fully updated via APT, but it’s a fair amount of work. I have not switched to Ubuntu, because, unlike Libranet, it doesn’t work well with the Debian repository. Simply Mepis has better Debian integration, but lacks things like source code or headers for its kernels. Plus, I have been updating continuously via APT over the 1.5 years it’s been out. Consequently, I have a very modern system.
The good news is that Libranet 3.0’s release is just a few weeks away. “Weeks, not months” is what the main developers say.
I’ve been using Libranet since its version 1.8. I’m also a reigstered user. The last version that I purchased was 2.8 and I’m very happy with it. I upgraded my kernel to the latest and upgrade the system almost every day. I have not run into any problem with upgrading my systems at all. Apt-get tool is very powerful. I have to tell you that I have 6 Debian based distros(Libranet, Ubuntu, Knoppix, Mepis, Kanotix, Xandros) and Slackware installed on my machine. I’m very happy with all of those. These are my personal choices. With a Debian system, you only install once and then just upgrade the system. I really recommend Libranet to novice and experienced users alike.
Just to remind users that Ubuntu and Libranet are apples and oranges. Ubuntu is derived from Debian, but maintains its own, sometimes incompatible repositories. Libranet is Debian, with additions (installer, adminmenu). Libranet maintains its own archive too, but only for the sake of freezing or rolling back packages to stable versions, and so usually it is just a mirror of the Debian archives.
If you want to be 100% Debian compatible, Libranet is the best option right now. I run it on my desktop (though at this point I’ve upgraded my apt repositories to unstable, since sid is actually pretty stable). I run Ubuntu on my laptop, and it has its merits, but the two aren’t exactly comparable.
I have to tell you that I have 6 Debian based distros(Libranet, Ubuntu, Knoppix, Mepis, Kanotix, Xandros) and Slackware installed on my machine. I’m very happy with all of those. These are my personal choices.
My gosh MAG… why do you have so many distros installed? Do you actually run any of them? 🙂
This scolding of yours although quite nice doesn’t have anything to do with my point. Maybe where you come from people are persecuted for their OS choice all the time. Or maybe you’re just frustrated and wanted someone to yell at regardless of if you had a real reason to or not.
I understand its probably my fault for not clairfying what I didn’t like about the last article on FreeDOS – what I meant in terms of of the article itself, things like readability and depth. The last one wasn’t exactly easy to read, nor did it give any real reasons as to why he prefered FreeDOS compared to other things he tried. In this article while I still don’t have a good view of why he prefers it for everyday use, at least the author goes into some detail about the particular things he likes and its not confusing to read.
So next time you want to martyr yourself for someone else’s OS choice make sure thats what someone is _actually_ complaining about. It less embarassing for you than assuming something and trying to put words in my mouth like:
“You were really angry at someone for loving his OS, didn’t you? God, do you really think you are so clever as to know what other people should choose for themselves? Just leave it, really…”
I especially like the part where you start lambasting me for thinking I’m so clever as to know what is best for others – when you don’t even know what I was particularly complaining about.
“All I really want in a desktop operating system is a standard KDE desktop (not heavily modified like Mandrakelinux and Red Hat), decent packaging, and a filesystem hierarchy that makes sense. Libranet fits my exact needs. “
Hey there is another OS for you
LFS!
Before this degenerates in a useless flamewar, let me make a few points:
– Most people who answered to the FreeDOs article were “lambasting” the guy who wrote it because his OS was a “wimpy” one (cannot run XYZ, no power, no multitask)
– I might have misread your comment and failed to see that the target of your comment was regarding the writing of the article, but I don’t think the context was so clear as to entail that I am just an illiterate idiot. The FreeDOS guy was writing about his love for an OS, not claiming for its superiority, and many, many people failed to see that.
– I am not an OS martyr, and have a lot of fun with a mainstream OS. I think however that most people seem to be unable to understand the difference between deeming an OS as appropriate, and loving an OS. Perhaps it was so badly written for the present illiterates that they themselves couldn’t see its point, but then I am not a native English speaker and got his point pretty clearly.
I will bite on the irony that after I got angry at misreaders, I am myself the misreading one, but whatever, big deal.
>Just to remind users that Ubuntu and Libranet are apples and oranges. Ubuntu is derived from Debian, but maintains its own, sometimes incompatible repositories. Libranet is Debian, with additions (installer, adminmenu)
Nice that you point that out. Libranet sounds about right, too bad that “being” Debian (stable), it will (always?) be out of date for (what I consider) desktop use.
“Before this degenerates in a useless flamewar”
Sigh, all I can say in response to this is, leave it to the Canadians to be level-headed and sensible rather than adding fuel to the flames. Yes that is a compliment.
As for the comments others made on the FreeDOS author’s article, I never bothered to read those either. There is a correlation that the subsequent posts to an article will be at best only 10% as coherent and sensible as the post that sparked them. So obviously I didn’t feel I had much to look forward towards in reading on.
Admittedly, like I said before — I was not as clear as I should have been; given the context you were comming from I can certainly see your point on the matter.
dimosd,
Libranet is a mix of stable, testing, and unstable debian branches. It can be as up to date as you want. That is the best thing about it being completely debian compatible. You can set it up according to your needs. Your desktop can be bleeding edge, but a server can be very stable. Libranet is whatever you want it to be. Adminmenu makes administration of the system easy and the user forums are very friendly and helpful.
This adminmenu tool looks pretty nice. What license is it released under?
Libranet is a very good distribution overall. I was quite happy with its performance until I ran into the dreaded USB malloc() bug that I’d heard so much about.
That in itself was a showstopper for me.
Chuck-
Pixelmonkey,
I’d like to try out different distributions, especially those based on Debian. Yes I use them all. By the way, I have to make this clear that every distro that I have installed (Debian based) points to the unstable Debian branch. I never use distro’s own archives. That way I get more latitude and consistency across the board. As you mentioned that Libranet has a very good tool(Adminmenu). So I heartily recommend this distribution.
Quote: Nice that you point that out. Libranet sounds about right, too bad that “being” Debian (stable), it will (always?) be out of date for (what I consider) desktop use.”
Umm no. I’ll be rude in saying before you make a comment read a bit first before opening your mouth. The majority of Libranet 2.8.1 (base install) is from testing, with some Woody thrown in. Yes, 18 months down the track from the release of 2.8.1, it’s showing its age, and of course is not up to date. How long ago was Ubuntu released, 4 months? Of course it will be more up to date, it doesn’t take a genius to realise that.
You can keep your Ubuntu and its bastardised repositories, and i’ll keep my Libranet that I know *works* with Debian. Add to that that Ubuntu has no real extras – uses the Sarge installer, no administrative tools, just a flashy Gnome 2.8 desktop and more up to date packages that have been prepackaged by the Ubuntu developers.
I’m getting mighty sick of having Ubuntu shoved down my throat to be honest.
Dave
Quote: “This adminmenu tool looks pretty nice. What license is it released under? ”
As far as I can see there is no license mentioned. But all the scripts are easily findable and readable. So…you have a good question!
Dave
is c64s.
does it take a genius to figure out that 18 months is a redicules release cycle for a linux distro? or that a snapshot of sarge with security fixes that get rolled back into the main tree is far from being “bastardized”? or that gnome 2.8 has most of the administrative tools you would need? or that just because there is a new ubuntu review for every day of the week, unless you have the willpower of a teenager, that does not constitute anyone “shoving ubuntu down your throat”?
but hey, you can keep your sarge without regular security updates, gnome 2.2, and admin menu. ill stick with ubuntu with its free cost, up to date packages, regular releases, security updates, and ~90% debian compatibility.
ubuntu is overhyped, but so has every distro of the day since time immemorial. lindows, knoppix, mandrake, gentoo, and yes, even debian have all had this kind of attention and religious following at one point or another, the trick is to take five minutes to understand why everyone is so excited, then take another five to decide if this is something you should be excited about too. not flame things you obviously have very little understanding of.
If you are tired of having Ubuntu (or any other distro) shoved down your throat, then I suggest you keep your mouth shut.
Quote: “If you are tired of having Ubuntu (or any other distro) shoved down your throat, then I suggest you keep your mouth shut.”
Oh dearie me. This was a article on Libranet. Libranet. Read it. Comprehend. Get it? I guess not. If this is an article on Libranet I don’t necessarily like getting Ubuntu shoved down my throat. You like it, fine, go use it. I dislike it for a variety of personal reasons.
If I wanted to know more about Ubuntu i’d damn well go and investigate myself, not rely on osnews.com to give me the lowdown.
As to keeping my mouth shut, possibly you could take that advice?
Dave