My thoughts about Elementary OS

I started off wanting to test Elementary OS because of all the good press they have been getting lately. I don't have a background with Mac OS and I don't really mind if my desktop looks like I am using a Mac or not.

That being said, I was able to do something I have not been able to get right with any version of Linux to date. I was able to use Bluetooth tethering between my phone and netbook, so that I did not have to plug into a wired network connection to install wifi drivers. Why does this matter? Well, for a lot of people they get stuck here, without an Internet connection you can't really go very far. I usually plug into my router with a network cable, but this was nice too.

I formatted my beloved Peppermint 5 installation and installed Elementary OS, which was a quick and painless install.

Something I missed, was a program called Task Manager. When I had a problem with Dropbox (the panel icon disappeared and my whole Internet connection basically froze while it tried to download 2 GB), I was not able to open Task manager and close Dropbox. I could have Googled what the Terminal command for this would have been, but my Internet was otherwise occupied.

I found their forum weird, not bad. Just very different from what I am used to.

With even their settings menu modelled after the look and feel of Mac OS, I am very surprised that Apple has not sued them for replicating their system too closely (I mean, remember this story).

All and all, because Elementary OS is based on Ubuntu and Debian I found installing applications easy, and I was able to get work done. The majority of my Linux experience has been with Ubuntu derivatives and at this point - I don't want to relearn everything I have learnt.

Considering that I did a blog post showing how to make Peppermint look very close to Mac OS, I don't really see the need to install an OS just because of the way it looks. What happens when I get tired of the "look"? What happens when I want to change the look?

The Elementary team has worked very hard to make a distro that is light and looks good and they have done a good job. Something about it just did not feel right to me. I would still encourage you to test it, because you might love it more than I did.

I have since formatted my HDD again and have installed Peppermint 5 again. Home sweet home. Going on a holiday is nice, but it is great when you get back home to your own house. Your bed, your tv everything set up the way you want to have it.

Do you distro hop? What have you tried recently?