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    Mint so popular for so long ...

    so I decided to install MX 19.4 KDE version as a VM in qemu-kvm. I had to use the Generic distro model because qemu couldn't recognize the ISO as one of its listed options.

    Knowing it is not a good idea to install a BTRFS COW into an qemu qCOW2, I decided to try anyway, setting up BTRFS the rootfs on the install. For that I had to use the manal partition option. I created an 8MB unformatted partiton, sda1, with the grub-bios option, and gave the rest to / as BTRFS on sda2. While using the installer I ran into a repeatable "Tab" bug, which is strange because I wasn't clicking on any tab.

    After the install was complete I opened a Konsole and did
    btrfs fi usage /
    and was presented immediately with the message "/ is not a BTRFS file system".

    The mount command showed that qcow2 VD was formatted as an EXT4 file system
    Was I careless in setting up the partitions?

    I repeated the process CAREFULLY, noting that the "proceed" message stated my intention to use BTRFS.
    After the install was complete the mount command showed that the file system was ... EXT4.
    Apparently the MX 19.4 installer won't let you install BTRFS as the rootfs on a VM.

    So, I went ahead and played with the KDE Plasma that MX 19.4 installed. I change to the Breeze Light and my choice for an Icon set, and my favorite wallpaper, and I was looking at Kubuntu 5.15, or was it KDE Neon 5.22? I couldn't tell, Plasma 5.15+ looks the same to me, regardless of the distro it is running on.

    FireFox 87, Thunderbird 68.12, LO 6.1.5 and Muon were all pr-installed. So is systemd-shim, which allows systemd and SysVinit both to be installed. Snap, flatpak and systemd are not preinstalled but can be installed, if the user wants them, after the main installation is complete. The "sudo apt .." commands work as you'd expect.

    I installed TimeShift and made an rsync snapshot of / and /home. It took 6 minutes for the 10GB of info on the 60Gb virtual drive to snapshot.

    MX is praised for its stability, but that is a property of most if not all of the top 100 distros on DistroWatch. My experience with Kubuntu and KDE Neon, using BTRFS as the rootfs, has been one of rock solid stability. Like most Debian based distros it benefits from the *.deb package protocol, which is how most non-distro specific packages are released. So why is it #1 on DistroWatch? Probably two reasons: it doesn't come with systemd or flatpak preinstalled, which appeals to all those old-time Linux users who hate systemd. And, it comes with most other frequently used packages preinstalled. 1.9GB worth. The documentation is supposedly well integrated into the system and is complete, but I never tested that, since I use the man command in the Konsole, mostly. So, what else? Probably word-of-mouth from previous Windows users who switched to from WinXX to Linux, choosing Mint because of the ease-of-use hype.

    Of course, ease of use AND power when you need it, is the halmark of the KDE Plasma desktop, regardless of which distro it is running on.
    Last edited by GreyGeek; Oct 03, 2021, 03:52 PM. Reason: misnamed distro maker
    "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
    – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.

    #2
    MX (Mint),
    ??

    MX Linux has nothing to do with Mint.
    it is Debian, for sure, 10 to be exact, and that means the crusty oddball Plasma 5.14 (not even an LTS version)
    Think Kubuntu somewhere between 18.10 and 19.04.



    We all know that Distowatch number mean jack squat.




    MX (Mint) is praised for its stability
    By whom? You don't believe every oddball opinion out there on the interwebz, do you

    Comment


      #3
      MX Linux

      Origin

      MX Linux began in a discussion about future options among members of the MEPIS community in December 2013. Developers from antiX then joined them, bringing the ISO build system as well as the Live-USB/DVD technology. The name ?MX? was chosen to combine the first letter of Mepis with the last of antiX, thus symbolizing their collaboration. In order to be listed on DistroWatch, MX Linux was presented as a version of antiX and released its first version in March of 2014. It received its own DistroWatch page as a separate distribution with the release of the first Public Beta of MX-16 on November 2, 2016.
      Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007
      "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes

      Comment


        #4
        MX Linux https://mxlinux.org/ is what developed after Mepis stopped development. It was the first distro that I was able to fully install and use. Remember when wifi and networking was a pain?

        Comment


          #5
          Yup, You caught me wildly jumping to conclusions about the source of MX Linux. BTW, I used run Mepis and it was a great distro.

          I deleted the MX vm and installed Elementry OS. It took less time to delete it. Then I installed Zorin 16. It allowed me to install BTRFS as the root filesystem. It has the vague look & feel of plasma, which I am going to explore by trying to configure it as Plasma.
          Also, I installed TimeShift, just for grins and giggles, and noticed that instead of creating storage points beneath / and /home it created them under /run/timeshift. The effect is as if they had mounted /dev/sda1 on /mnt and gives them direct access to @, @home and timeshift/snapshots, etc... All the snapshots are stored in one subdirectory, snapshots, under /run/timeshift/ and if you set up hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or ondemand their directories contain links to the actual snapshots under /run/timeshift/snapshots.
          TimeShift aside, so far, Zorin 16 is looking and running great. On to explore more.
          "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
          – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.

          Comment


            #6
            Well, adding the Plasma-desktop was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I installed muon, which required a ton of libqt5 libraries, and then using it I searched for "plasma-desktop", which was easily found. But, lo and behold, beneath it was "Kubuntu-desktop".

            I installed it and a half and hour later (slow process) I logged out. At the login prompt I hit the setting gear and chose "Plasma", listed just above gnome, then I logged in. There it was, a Kubuntu desktop, but in the wrong theme, etc. I changed to my prefered theme and icons, etc., and I was looking at my old Kubuntu desktop. When I say old, I mean it. Checking with the info app I found that it was Kubuntu 16.
            with the 5.12 plasma and similar numbers.

            My curiosity satisfied, and no sense running a cheap imitation when I can use the real thing, I logged out and then deleted Zorin.

            Now what to test
            "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
            – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by GreyGeek View Post

              Now what to test
              Well, not your patience!
              Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007
              "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes

              Comment


                #8
                Elementary --- \
                Mint --- - \
                Pop! OS --- - + Plasma = = Kubuntu, quite literally
                UbuntuStudio --- - /
                Zorin --- /

                Comment


                  #9
                  While we were in a State of Emergency and my business was closed, I tried a few distros on my old ThinkPad but kept coming back to KDE Neon! The one I hated most Was OpenSUSE!

                  I've got one more to try, and that's Deepin. For some reason I like the Deepin desktop but the Ubuntu Deepin Remix doesn't work for me. Since the SoE has been relaxed and I can open for business it will have to wait until the sixth wave hits next month and I have to close again!

                  It's been years since I used Fedora and I may give that a go again sometime!
                  Constant change is here to stay!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I've always liked debian and debian based distros. Never had very much luck when it comes to RPM based distros I've run both suse and mandrake in the before time. Ran kubuntu as my main distro for 10 years or so but then first Mir and other NIH projects of Ubuntu started to effect the ability of the kubuntu maintainers to do some updates At that point i started to look more at other distros and after playing with a few I've been using Arch w/ Plasma for (7? years) now and I really like it, I can see how it may not be for everyone but for me its great. I think if arch was using something like Calamares for the installer it would be more popular (and very unarchlike for it to impose) . Manjaro (also plasma) is also alright so far I have this on a my Pinebook Pro and Pinephone its arch based and i think easier to install the Pbp Came w/ it preinstalled and i've not had to reinstall it in the year i have had that laptop.
                    Mark Your Solved Issues [SOLVED]
                    (top of thread: thread tools)

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Snowhog View Post
                      Well, not your patience!

                      I just saw a video that reminded me of an app called Ventoy, which installs on a disk or USB and then allows you to merely drop an ISO on that disk or USB and when you boot from it a menu is created of all the ISO's you've dropped on the disk, Choose one and you are running it as a LiveDISK or LiveUSB, or something. It has scripts to allow you to create persistent folders for most ISO's.
                      From now on I am going to be using that method to test distros and not be creating a VM all the time.
                      Ventoy-1.0.53 is here. I chose the tar file.
                      "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
                      – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I might have tried Arch a few years ago, when I had more brain cells, but not today. I'm not as bad as Joe, but I'm catching up with him quicker than I want to.
                        "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
                        – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.

                        Comment

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