MEPIS Community Forum

I finished installing W7 on my Dell 15R N5010 laptop and I just want to vent a little. I'll keep it short and just say it's a long process of waiting for the status bar to move, many reboots and almost 2GB of drivers and updates. Initially it has the common problems of not supporting sound, the touchpad or wifi. Aquiring Dell drivers is cumbersome because without wireless I can't connect to the internet.

In the end I can't turn off the touchpad when a mouse is plugged in without editing the registry. I struggle with the interface, the file manager is lacking, and it's really frustrating to have to double click on everything. I will say that the Aero theme is really pretty but the best part is I am done with my taxes and I can forget about W7 for another year.

All this has me appreciating all that Warren, the community and everone on these forums do to make Mepis the OS it is.

To be fair:
Yes, installing W7 from scratch is a pain. That is why it is pre-installed with new computers with the drivers and all the functionality built in.
Linux is generally intended to be after market installed so must do much better with drivers and and ending with a functional system.

For me it's a few reasons... number 1 is this community, number 2 is because it's Debian based, number 3 is because with my skill level and the great folks from number 1 I am able to own and operate computers that do what I want them to do when I want them to do it. Try as I have I have never been able to achieve that elsewhere and for me that spells FREEDOM.

For me it is this site and the people here that are willing to help someone like me who struggles with even the simple things sometimes. I have not seen any other distro that has the friendly, capable and willing support that Mepis has. Thank you all.

Cost, fast upgrading, lack of viruses, community, versatility, configurability and constant improvements.

For me it is simple: I know my way around, and I am one fine creature of habit


It's like that old coat that fits best, even though you have five newer ones, this old one is the one you love.

Good analogy Eadwine Rose. I like the sports-car feel. That's the it-does-what-I-want kind of feeling.

Many of you know that I regularly use and enjoy other distros besides Mepis. But I've been using Mepis longer than I've been using any of the others.

I keep Mepis mainly because it's an easy way to get something close to Debian Stable. The closest distro I've found to that is SalineOS, and while I think it's a very nice distro, its developer, Anthony Nordquist, hasn't been at it as long as Warren has. It does look like SalineOS is turning out to be a nice alternative to Mepis, though, for folks who like a Stable-based distro (and who like Xfce).

The Mepis live CD (now DVD) has been my favorite live Linux CD/DVD for years, whether I'm using it for maintenance or to do an installation. I like Knoppix DVDs, too, but the Mepis DVD seems better for getting right to work on whatever it is I need to work on.

Mepis always seems to install on various machines easier than any other distro I've tried. Whenever a new computer comes my way, Mepis is always the first distro I try on it. That's been a routine here for a long time now.

The community is really hard to beat. You folks are the closest thing to family that I have out on the internet.

I get frustrated by the lack of communication from Warren, but time and again he puts out a very solid product, in the end. Dude has skills.

Another reason that I keep Mepis is that it was the first distro I installed myself, and I'm very familiar with it after using it for so long. Sentimental feelings are a factor, definitely. I want to keep enjoying it for as long as Warren keeps putting it out there.

W7's install is much quicker and complete than XP's.

Now using it is another thing altogether.

Wait till you try Windows 8. You can download a developer release from m$ site.

Yes there IS a registry thing that makes it just like win7, the trick is to work with what you get.

If you can't.. think tablet. Makes things a LOT easier.