Testimonial 1
I had never heard of PCLinuxOS 07 until I was introduced to it as part of a free DVD with Linux Magazine. I have had only casual contact with Linux in the past - having installed and played around a bit with RedHat and Suse distributions. Previously my impression of Linux was that it was great as far as it went, but that it was complicated to configure even for someone with above average computer experience, and that I could never introduce it to any of my less computer-oriented family members as a realistic alternative to Windows.
So, it was with low expectations that I stuck the PCLinuxOS live DVD into my old Pro Star laptop. I was absolutely shocked to see that it automatically recognized all of my laptop's hardware, including the wireless card, and within five minutes I was up and running with all the functionality that I could desire. The desktop was attractive and uncluttered, and had a nice "windowsy" feel for those of us who are used to it. I had already been sold on open source applications such as OpenOffice and GIMP and was delighted to see those included as well.
The next thing that impressed me was the high-speed/low-drag feel of the OS. Even though I was running off a live disk it had an intangible feeling of stability and efficiency which I don't get with Windows. I always feel that XP (and I assume Vista whenever I get around to trying it) is "trying too hard" to help me do what I want to do, and getting in my way half the time by jumping to conclusions...
Anyway, I was on an extended trip overseas with my wife. We both had our laptops (My old Pro Star and her generic Intel unbranded laptop). Hers was acting up badly and I couldn't re-install windows because I didn't have the software. I did, however, have my PCLinuxOS disk. I booted live to the PCLinuxOS (which immediately recognized all of her hardware as well), backed up all her data onto an external drive, then installed PCLinuxOS on her laptop. I was able to install the OS, set her up on my wireless network, and configure network printing in about 15 minutes despite the fact I'd never installed PCLinuxOS before. It was a truly refreshing experience! After a short familiarization tour my wife (a bit of a technophobe) was happily using PCLinuxOS and even she admits she may not need to go back to XP.
I can't compliment the developers of PCLinuxOS enough on their fantastic distribution. Although for the forseeable future I'll probably always have a windows computer or two in the house, I'm going to devote a much greater proportion of my sytems to PCLinuxOS. Thanks again for your dedication to the project!
OldeEnglish
Testimonial 2
I have a old computer that runs a AMD Sempron 1gig chip. 512 MB of ram and a 32 gig hard drive. It was an old system that ran with Windows 98 version C. I wanted another computer so the kids could go online and not mess up the main computer that my wife and I use for everything from writing to paying bills to reading news to......etc.
I had tried to install Freespire and it failed due to compatibility problems with the old system. I did so quick research and found PCLinuxOS KDE 2007. I downloaded the ISO and burned it to a CDRW. Within 40 minutes I had PCLinux running on the AMD system with an internet connection via cable modem!!! The next test was with the kids. My kids are young so websites such as CartoonNetwork.com and PBSkids.org are important. These websites were great with this OS using Firefox. The house is filled with the sounds of online computer games!!!
I have always wanted to run Linux but had to wait so that Linux could grow up a bit and RUN with my computers using AMD chips. All except for one computer have AMD chips.
I also had fun deleting and using something other than a Microsoft product even though it was an old one. Wink
- My kids have a safer internet environment in which to use.
- I was able to keep a very good but older computer operational without spending more money.
- The main computer in the house is safer
- If the kids mess it up all I have to do is reinstall PCLinuxOS
Next Project a older laptop with wifi Grin
Doc
Testimonial 3
Hi guys,
I've been using PCLinuxOS for about three months but have only now gotten around to joining the forum. Like many other Linux newbies it was curiosity that brought me here.
I can't remember exactly what it was, but I think it was the realization that my laptop was two years old that got me thinking of upgrading. Naturally Vista was an option, but being a fairly avid tech reader I knew better. OS X appealed to me visually (the current laptop was very nearly a PowerBook), but the cost of the hardware and the way Apple locks you into their hardware/software wasn't to my taste either. Besides, with Apple using Intel chips, I figured there was no hardware advantage.
Long story short, I started reading up on Linux (vaguely recalling seeing Red hat Linux in a shop years ago). Well as it turns out, things have changed quite a bit! I ended up getting PCLinuxOS as a LiveCD with a magazine and I can say without a doubt that it is the best thing ever.
As I was still settling into my new place, things were sort of on the backburner but one day I installed it, with no problems at all! Most of my hardware was recognized, although getting the wireless to work was a bit tricky (needed a software button fix). Although no problems anywhere else.
After three months, I can safely say that I will never go back to Windows, at least for my personal computing. Linux is definitely a better OS and from what I've read and experienced, PCLInuxOS is one of the more solid and user-friendly distributions out there. The fact that so much is included from the getgo is a huge bonus (like music support for instance). One aspect of Linux I particularly like is the level of customization; which is to say, very high.
Now that I have Skype working, there's only one program I need Windows for and hopefully I'll have a replacement for that lined up shortly. I admit I was a bit skeptical when about reading people who claimed that after a month they deleted their Windows portion entirely, but now I may have to change my opinion!
As mentioned above, the LiveCD is a great invention. I have already taken the laptop into the office once. I had a couple of takers for a demonstration. Most were kind of non-committal; until they saw Compiz-Fusion that is. Well, suddenly there was a bit more attention paid to this new "Linux" thing. My LiveCD has already gone to two different people although I would like to do a general luncheon demo so that more co-workers can see why I constantly rave about it!
So, hats off to Texstar and the gang for doing me the biggest computing favour in years (no need to upgrade the laptop now); and although I'm not much of a salesman, I spread the word about PCLinuxOS to everyone I meet.
IrishGuy
Testimonial 4
Wow! Where do I start?
I'm a relatively noob to the Linux Community. Initially, I purchased an inexpensive, refurb'd, off-lease desktop computer (P4, 2.8 GHz, 512 MB, 40 GB HD, DVD-RW). Growing tired of adding to the Gates family fortunes with the "latest, greatest" version of Windows (I have been a Windows user since Win31 ... Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95 Beta Tester, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP (SP1 and SP2)), I decided to give Linux another try after hearing/reading about all the hype about the various releases of Ubuntu. I had previously tried to run Fedora RedHat 5.2 many years before, without much success.
Needless to say, my initial foray into the Ubuntu world was not pain free. I labored and labored to try to get DVD playback working. I toiled and toiled (without success) to get my "Made for Windows" USB wireless adapters to work. The things that I could do in Windows with a minimum of effort were now making me go bald! Couple that with the fact that the Gnome desktop felt very foreign to me and somewhat unpolished, compared to the commercial offerings that hailed from Redmond. It simply was not designed to fit the work habits and patterns I had developed after being a Windows user for over 15 years.
Next, I discovered the KDE version of Ubuntu, named Kubuntu. Now THIS was more like it! It was laid out in a fashion that felt familiar (as a long time Windows user), and really fit in with the work habits and work patterns I had developed over the years. In fact, it was so much more comfortable, that I decided to install it on a few older computers that I had "re-built" for relatives and friends.
Also, during this time period, I started to download and explore various other Linux distribution Live CDs. openSUSE, Mandriva, Xubuntu, gOS, and PuppyLinux all got a trial. And yes, I know that other Linux distributions are out there; the downloading/trials of the various distributions has been a "work in progress" for me. This led me to purchase a refurbished laptop just to run Linux on. I'm currently writing this testimonial on that laptop: an IBM T23 (P3, 512 MB, 30GB HD, DVD-ROM). However, what good is a laptop without the ability to be truly portable? The seller of the laptop included a "free" Encore Wireless G card. And, the laptop came installed with Windows XP Pro. I tried and tried ... for four (4) hours total ... to get the Encore wireless adapter to run, without any success. Even less than 6 feet from my wireless router, the card could/would not detect the wireless network. I gave up and set up my "Made for Windows" USB wireless adapter on WinXP in under 5 minutes. Because I knew that adapter was not compatible with the Linux distributions I had tried, I felt locked into keeping Windows XP installed. This thwarted my efforts to run Linux on the "new" refurbished laptop.
Finally, I decided to get another wireless card for the laptop, and chose the Siemens Gigabit 54 from Amazon.com (less than $30). I plugged it in ... and it worked almost instantaneously under Windows XP! So, it made me start to think that perhaps my desire to run Linux on this laptop was not hopeless. Digging around, I discovered that the chipset in this wireless card is the Atheros 5211, and fully supported (at least) by the madwifi project in Linux. Still, I was reluctant to abandon Windows on the laptop, still unsure if Linux could utilize my new wireless adapter.
Then, one night while browsing through various Linux forums, I read a post from someone wondering the very same thing. The reply to his post was to try the Live CD, and if the wireless adapter worked with the Live CD, chances were very high that it would work on a full installation.
Meanwhile, on my personal desktop Linux box (where I had replaced the previously-installed copy of Ubuntu with Kubuntu), things just kept breaking. Programs that used to run during one computer session would cease to respond during the next session. Even with the improved work flow of the KDE desktop in Kubuntu, frustration was mounting again. My search heated up again for a Linux distribution that worked for me, as Kubuntu just wasn't "cutting it" for me with things always seeming to break.
I had been looking at PCLinuxOS for a while. I was concerned about the smallish size of the PCLinuxOS community, which pales in size when compared to the HUGE Ubuntu community. This concerned me about getting assistance in the forums, should I run into troubles. After a little more digging around, I read (time and time again) that although the PCLinuxOS community was small, they were very helpful and knowledgeable. So, I relented and downloaded the "Live CD" for both PCLinuxOS 2007, and PCLinuxOS Gnome.
I could never get the Gnome version to load from the CD, so that got quickly shoved aside. (I did approach this with an open mind, despite not really favoring the Gnome desktop the first time around). Next, I tried the PCLinuxOS 2007. Even from the first splash screen, everything looked very polished and finished; not unfinished, raw, and a "work in progress," like some Linux distributions tended to look to me (given that I was used to the more polished and finished look of the Redmond products).
Even from the Live CD, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and PCLinuxOS all were able to detect my new wireless card and connect to the internet! And given the more polished and finished look of the PCLinuxOS 2007, it quickly became a favorite, battling in my mind with thinking about installing the minuscule Xubuntu. But compared to PCLinuxOS 2007, Xubuntu looked hacked and amateurish, and a LOT unfinished, despite running extremely fast. PCLinuxOS 2007 managed to detect all of my hardware and properly configure it, and it just worked! Amazing! A Linux distribution that not only worked, but also appeared to be finished and polished. Windows users, like myself, are used to things "just working" from the outset. And this is what PCLinux 2007 delivered.
My wireless card and connection "just worked" right from the start. Setting up DVD playback took all of 5 minutes (or less) through Synaptic Package Manager. Very little else needed to be configured! EVERYTHING I wanted (almost) was installed by default ... OpenOffice, Firefox, YouTube videos ... nearly everything! There are a few programs I want to install from Synaptic, just because they are the ones I'm most familiar with, as opposed to the equivalents that were installed by default. But ... the functionality and ease of use that I have become accustomed to is there and included from the start, without having to drill down through layers and layers of "linux-ese" to install.
This is NOT to say that I don't have some concerns about PCLinuxOS 2007. I have found some minor annoyances. Here's my list of those things that can/could/should be corrected or addressed in the next release of PCLinuxOS:
- Windows users are accustomed to using ALT + Spacebar to open the current window's menu, then being able to press "X" to close that window. I'm missing that useful and frequently employed Windows shortcut
- My IBM TrackPoint "scroll button" does NOT work ... at all.
- My IBM "ThinkPad" button does not work ... at all.
- The relative "infrequency" of releases. PCLinuxOS has the polish and class to go head-to-head with Ubuntu in winning dominance among Linux desktop distributions/users. But, with the Ubuntu crowd rolling out a new release every 6 months, who is going to "get the press?" And, with more frequent releases, won't that put the PCLinuxOS crowd in playing "catch up" with the "latest-greatest" Ubuntu release? I cannot even find any information on the NEXT scheduled release of PCLinuxOS.
- The "smallish" PCLinuxOS community. Can I get assistance when I need it?
I'm hopeful, given the operability, polish, and finish of PCLinuxOS 2007, that these minor annoyances can and will be addressed. If anyone can assist me with answers to my above concerns, I welcome them!
To those of you who created this shining gem in the Linux community ... I bow before you ... I tip my hat ... I crown you with olive branch laurels. And, as testament to what you have created, I am now going to re-install PCLinuxOS 2007 on this laptop and completely get rid of Windows XP. PCLinuxOS 2007 has definitely filled the void and given me a viable and stable Linux platform for my older, refurbished laptop. Hurray!!!
parnote
Testimonial 5
A lady of my acquaintance is a very bright and beady-eyed Guyanan writer of 80 years. She has been using a computer now for about ten years and has worked with Win98SE and Win2k. She uses the computer mainly for her writing; also for emails, research on the net and for looking at her photographs. Some months ago when she was wanting to upgrade from her ageing and ailing Win2k machine, I refurbished for her a 2 years old Dell PC which I had sitting around. It had XP on it and she was well-pleased with it - for a while. Until her grandson of 12 got at it. Though she had kept her antivirus pretty-well up to date, he managed to download over a period of Sunday visits to Grandma enough viruses and trojans to virtually bring the machine to a standstill. She asked me if I could take it away and clean it up. As I was going to have it for about a week, I offered to lend her meatime - not without a certain guile - another small machine on which PCLOS 2007 is installed. 'See how you get on with it,' I said. 'It'll keep you going until I get the Dell back to you.' And as she sat there and watched as I plugged it in etc., her eyes widened as she saw it identify correctly all her hardware and use her broadband connection to get on the net. Within ten minutes everything she wanted was up and running. I left with fingers crossed.
I'd had the Dell back at my place for about five days when she rang up - 'Can you please take Windows XP off that computer and put PCLOS on it for me?' I was, as you can imagine, delighted. It had worked - I'd hooked her. I installed Minime plus the programs she would need and took the Dell over to hers. After she'd had it a couple of weeks I dropped in to see how she was getting on with it. She said a number of things which I think the members of this forum and the devs should hear.
- "It's easier on the eye."
- "It looks more professional. Like it's there to do a job."
- "It's simpler to use. (Relating to all the security hassles she'd been used to.)"
- "I feel as though I've got back control of my computer."
- "I don't feel any longer as though I have somebody looking over my shoulder all the time."
- "I feel as though I now have a friend in the corner of my sitting room."
It really made me feel good that this lady living on her own had had her life enhanced just a little by the efforts of the devs of this distro. Once again, my thanks go out to all of you for creating such an OS. I only wish your efforts could be acknowledged far more widely than, as yet, they are. One day. One day.
besonian