WARNING! This thread was started over six years ago, and much of it is no longer useful. I use only Mint or Kubuntu now. Drag and drop can be dicey with xfce distros, so I avoid those. These two selections update well and don't use too many resources.
{Questions can still be asked at the end of the long thread.}
I use a virtual Linux distro on my relatively new laptop without affecting my boot management system, mostly because it'ss easy to install, experiment with, or remove. And the best distros seem to operate as well as I'mm used to with a full install.
I allocate two cpu cores, and 2 gig of ram. I also use about 50 gig for the virtual hard drive.
I have a number of tests â€" ease of install, drag and drop with Win 10, graphics such as TuxRacer and Kpatience, desktop sophistication/practical nature, ability to handle heavy use and quickness. A perfect score would be 20.
Mageia 6 Plasma (A descendant of the great Mandrake)
Install: 1. Probably the most awkward and lengthy of the five distros.
D and D: 0. I couldn’t get it to work, even after looking for files on Synaptic.
Graphics: 3. Kpat wins stutter. Tux worked fine.
Desktop: 3. Seems fine. Usual KDE.
Heavy Use: 4. Never used it enough to find out too much. TOTAL: 10.
So because of the inability to use drag and drop, useless to me.
Xubuntu (A little gem!)
Install: 4. Simple and quick.
D and D: 2. I suppose a 2. I could only get it to go Guest to Host, and not the reverse.
Graphics: 4. Perfect.
Desktop: 3. Fine.
Heavy Use: 4 No tie ups.
The one way drag and drop makes it less than ideal for moving media file to it. So no. TOTAL: 17.
Deepin (An astonishing distro.)
Install: 4. Easy and quick.
D and D: 2 I suppose. Again, as with Xubuntu, it’s one way. Odd.
Graphics: 3
Desktop: 4. Superb. Everything you need is connected to the screen in some way. Takes a while to figure out though.
Heavy Use: 1. As a virtual machine it has a tendency to slow down!
Quite amazed as how positive I am about this distro now. But not as a virtual distro. TOTAL: 14.
Mint Linux (Popular for a reason.)
Install: 4. Simple.
D and D: 4. Worked once I found the vm files on Synapic.
Graphics: 3. Kpat celebrations stutter.
Desktop: 4. Lovely. Used the theme Jason demonstrated. Very attractive and productive desktop.
Heavy Use: 1. I have actual frozen the desktop with too much running.
For me Mint has always been a bit heavy. In virtual this is accentuated. TOTAL: 16.
Ubuntu Mate (Pleasant but not exciting.)
Install: 4. Simple.
D and D: 4. Worked from the get-go.
Graphics: 4. The only distro that handled everything perfectly.
Desktop: 3. Functional, easy and reliable. Ho hum.
Heavy Use: 4. Never saw a problem. Pretty smooth.
One odd quirk, in my full install and the virtual install of Ubuntu Mate, ‘magnet links’ don’t call up qBittorrent. I had to create a desktop icon for qBittorrent and I use drag and drop. Works fine, but a bit clunky. TOTAL: 19.
Conclusion: I can use Mint or Ubuntu Mate for everything, but prefer Mate for what we loosely call work. Deepin and Xubuntu are fine except as a ‘complete’ system, though Deepin can slow down on you. And poor Mageia sadly doesn’t work well enough as a daily use distro in virtual.
Virtuals are an easy way to use Linux if you still need Windows, and you don’t want complications.
Thanks for sharing, Harry! Were you using Virtualbox to do the testing or VMWare?
VMWare. Seems the easiest and I know it. Quick and easy for me because I've used it so much. Solid.
Been playing some more with Deepin. Surprisingly good desktop tricks and shortcuts. Very rich and creative. Keep being surprised. Seems unusal - but very good. The magazine 'LinuxVoice' says it's their choice as best Linux for beginners.
Hope the attachment works.
Nice screenshot. Looks like Numix icons (I think?) that Mike likes and I have to admit, look pretty good here.
Btw, you can click Preview before you save a post to see how it looks. It should show the attachment, too.
And another surprise. For me a rare event with virtual machines - Win 10 and Deepin see each other over the local 'lan'. They see each other under 'Network". File movement is easy both ways. (No communication between Deepin and our other computers.) Be cool to communicate between a virtual and a real other than the host.
Quote from: buster on October 01, 2017, 10:13:06 AM
Be cool to communicate between a virtual and a real other than the host.
You can do this. You need to change the guest to Bridged Networking mode under Network settings:
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Player/12.0/com.vmware.player.win.using.doc/GUID-D9B0A52D-38A2-45D7-A9EB-987ACE77F93C.html
Nice review, Harry; I really like your Deepin screenshot. Bear in mind that using a VM means you don't test the distro's use of the hardware, i.e. a distro that works well on a VM could still have trouble on bare metal. Having used VMware Fusion on my Mac, I never had a problem with any Debian-based distro. But if you tried something like Arch or Solus, you might find that the additions don't work very well. Incidentally, I once tried Deepin on my iMac and was unable to get it to install.
Mike (who should have been hiking in this beautiful weather rather than playing with computers :) ) wrote:
"a distro that works well on a VM could still have trouble on bare metal"
I understand Mike, but my current practice is NOT to install. If the virtual performs exceptionally well, and if in fact I can have files from host and guest on the screen at the same time, it is a huge advantage for me, and far less work. Two, or three I suppose, OS's running side by side, with only one machine booted, is not only cool, but also cheap.
And there is not as much clutter around the room for Marilyn to complain about.
Virtuals have a bright future at our house.
This is wierd! In order for the attachment to show, I have to login to the Forums. Otherwise, the attachment does not display??
Quote from: buster on September 30, 2017, 04:23:08 PM
Been playing some more with Deepin. Surprisingly good desktop tricks and shortcuts. Very rich and creative. Keep being surprised. Seems unusal - but very good. The magazine 'LinuxVoice' says it's their choice as best Linux for beginners.
Hope the attachment works.
Quote from: ssfc72 on October 02, 2017, 09:33:10 AM
This is wierd! In order for the attachment to show, I have to login to the Forums. Otherwise, the attachment does not display??
That's strange. Thanks for pointing this out. I'll look into it.
I was tempted to fix it and then claim you were getting senile Bill, but I didn't because I'm a nice guy ;-) It should be working now.
Thanks for fixing it Jason,
I thought that was the way it had to be with your forum software.
By the way, I don't think Deepin is suitable for use as a practical virtual OS, unless you are careful. It will tie up when overloaded with activity.
Continuing with virtual installs with Win 10 (Thank you Jason) as host:
#1. My simple upgrade to Ubuntu Mate 17.10 resulted in so many after install problems it was easier to delete and reinstall 17.10. Very nice system with lots of easy ways to change the desktop theme through tweaks. Everything works. Better than previous edition.
#2. The new Linux Lite 3.6 works very well in virtual. Does everything you need and pretty quickly too. Good appearance. Drag and drop to win 10 doesn't work both ways, but copy paste does.
Very nice, Harry! And you must be one of the only people to still have a copy of Windows 1! Must be some sort of insider, huh?
Tried the vanilla install of Ubuntu 7.10. Can't get Synaptic to open after installing. Found out it's a common problem. Useless to me with out Synaptic. So it's gone.
Use Mint a lot in virtual, as well as Ubuntu Mate. Like Linux Lite because it's peppy and easy. The rest have disappeared.
Synaptic works fine in 17.10 but in xorg, not Wayland. Wayland is the default, but if you log out, you'll get xorg as an option.
*AHEM*
Because it's so cold outside, tested 2 more distros:
#1. MINT XFCE. Pretty good as are all Mint products. BUT, if you wish to use xfce, I think you're better off with Linux Lite. More polished, graphics work better. And that is the only desktop they use, so everyone who works on the distro tweaks everything for that particular desktop. So after a trial, Mint xfce is gone. Pretty good system though not as good as Mint Cinnamon in my opinion.
#2. openSUSE Leap. As does probably Jason, I have a huge fondness for this distro, and so with a huge 4.2 gig download, and a great history and acceptance, I was ready to give it every break I could.
The install is meticulous and long, but graphically clear and simple. Felt the way installing a good Linux system should. Very encouraging.
After downloading over 4 gig, surely they have desktop backgrounds other than a lightbulb. Maybe thousands of them. But they don't. And no simple way to 'download more from the Internet'. So I switched to a plain colour. I'll solve that later.
Drag and drop between Win10 and Suse worked!
Probably I don't know much about Gnome, but I miss the - + on windows for minimizing.( Right click does it but...). And I miss dragging and dropping icons on the desktop. Someone might like to take me aside and point out all the tricks.
Used gnome-tweaks to change something (?) and then the desktop froze. And this wasn't the first freeze.
TuxRacer worked well and Kpat was fine. (Added the Packman repositories earlier.)
With a heavy heart, and a lessening Linux-install-pain-tolerance as I age, I sent my vm Suse install to the great unknown.
OK, so openSUSE Leap with Gnome was a huge disappointment. But it seemed a waste to throw away the Suse download, so....
I reinstalled Suse using the KDE option. Gave it 2 gig of ram and 50 gig of space. Twice it had trouble installing something to do with printing, but in both cases the 'try again' option solved it. And again I added the Packman repository, and added qBittorrent, VLC, Extreme Tuxracer, and Kpat. To change the wallpaper there were many to choose from with a button that said 'for more wallpapers from the Internet, click here'.
The disto is quick and straightforward. Runs beautifully in virtual. Icons can easily be put on panel or desktop. Tux races superbly and Kpat flourishes perform better than most distros. The music brings up Amarok, which is easy to work with. Downloads flawlessly and (trumpets!) drag and drop works out of the box!
I may have a new favourite here: openSUSE Leap 42.3.
(The attachment does not show for me in the preview, so I hope it works.)
You must tell us what you're downloading there, Duck Sou...p?
Duck Soup is a legendary comedy from 1933 with the Marx Brothers. Unfortunately, this download is in German. However, it showed that drag and drop worked, as well as that qBittorrent is efficient in the vm Suse.
Cool. And glad you like openSUSE. I'm starting to like the look of KDE now, it may be something I take another look at.
Further on openSUSE Leap:
#1. During the install, the recommended amount of ram is quite small. I jumped it up to 2 gig. Whatever the cause, the extra ram or their engineering, the system is as quick as Linux Lite! Boot time and shutdown are no heck, but the opening and closing of programs is quick, especially for vm. Whole system feels 'lite'.
#2. The detail work is good, like the automatic check for 'updates' that goes on line once a day, and then goes off line. Yast is clear and complete. The wallpaper app is easy. It doesn't feel like the old, solid but clunky Suse from years ago.
#3. It feels like a desktop distro, rather than a business distro with lots of makeup.
I no longer go with the recommended RAM that Virtualbox suggests for a guest unless it also makes sense to me. I always look at the requirements suggested for the distro on their download page or do a quick google search to find it in their documentation. Or, I just give it 4 GB. Unless I'm running an Android emulator or more than a couple virtual machines, I don't believe it affects host performance.
So while sitting quietly in Suse with an empty desktop, I accidentally touched a key and voila! all the programs that start with that letter appeared in a box at the top of the screen!!!! And you could click any to open.
Is that magic or what?
The letter 'a' produced 11 clickable items, some system settings. I chose Amarok and found they had included a free Joni Mitchell song (and that would be legal for a company like this). Does the wonder never cease with this distro?
AND.... with the click of a button while in a window, you can get a split screen which is great for moving things from one place to another without opening another window.
(Just discovered this minutes ago.)
May put it on a real honest-to-goodness hard drive. Or as Mike would say, 'On bare metal'.
I think I'm most impressed with the free Joni Mitchell song, but the other stuff is cool, too.
"And glad you like openSUSE. I'm starting to like the look of KDE now, it may be something I take another look at."
Thought I should include a picture of my clean, efficient openSUSE KDE desktop that I use now.
I like the clean look of the title bar and buttons but don't like those icons in the file manager, myself. It has an outdated look. In fact, I wonder if those are the icons from the class KDE 3.x desktop.
I got the Elementary OS 0.4.1 and installed it the usual way (2 gig ram, 2 cpu cores, 42 gig of storage).
#1. Tiny bit of trouble with the mouse during the install. (Back to that later.) And after it was installed I had to figure out how a mac mouse works. Sure miss the right click that seems to solve anything.
#2. Managed to get screen resolution I wanted by my usual scientic approach - poke about and click. Took a bit of time.
#3. System froze for some reason. This is not a big deal to me. The OS has get get used to living here. Generally problems like this just solve themselves over time.
#4. After rebooting and installing Synaptic I downloaded a few things and went to make tea. When I got back the screen had shrunk to about 1/4 the size and froze. No biggy - early days.
#5. Hard reboot, installed gbittorrent, kpat, tux racer and vm guest stuff. Files transferred well, torrents worked, movie and music right out the box worked. Smooth, clean system.
#6. Mouse stopped working. Hard reboot.
#7. The two tests - TuxRacer worked really well; the celebrations for a kpat win didn't even complete. Worst I've seen.
As far as I can tell, in a virtual machine, there is a huge demand for ram or the graphics overwhelm the memory. Don't know. Much like deepin. And probably as an install on a hard drive would be fine.
For someone coming from a mac machine it would be perfect. For a Windows devotee, I think it's foreign - I'm talking beginner here. I"ll get back after I use it a while.
You didn't say if you had installed the updates. I'm sure there were lots. I found the system requirements here, which should be fine for your system, maybe not so good for the author's system that wrote the review you mentioned earlier. I believe he was using a system from 2009. Not sure if it was i3 or better.
https://elementary.io/en/docs/installation#installation
Btw, how much RAM did you allocate for video? I think if you allocate too much it takes it away from the system RAM that is allocated. So for example, if you have it set to 2 GB and you set 512 MB to video, then you actually only have 1.5 GB. Not totally sure about this. Just seem to recall reading something about maybe in the Virtualbox manual. Video RAM is one thing I try to play with when choosing settings for Virtualbox. Again, I think I remember reading that allocating too much can really slow things down.
Keep us updated anyway.
Thanks for the comments Jason.
Did install updates, though the notifier never suggested there were some. And the notifier was not in the' do not disturb' mode. It froze during updates requiring a hard reboot. The downloaded DVD is a 0.4.1 from their site.
The laptop has an i7 cpu.
VMWare does not ask you to allocate ram for video. I never have done it except in VirtualBox.
qBittorrent does its job slowly. Am in the process of downloading a season of an old show. Did some episodes in Elementary and some in SUSE. No comparison really. SUSE is 3 to 4 times faster. Odd discrepancy considering they are both virtual machines.
That wasn't the only review I read.
Maybe it will sort itself out as time passes.
Oh, for some reason I thought you were using Virtualbox but I see you mentioned now at the beginning it was VMware. I like Virtualbox for the snapshot feature though maybe the free version of VMware has that now.
VMware has better wizards that address allocating what it thinks are the right defaults based on the distro. It will even make choices during the install for some distros so you don't have to but a Virtualbox doesn't ask how much video to allocate either during the setup for the machine but it's something you can do later and was something I remember you like to mess with.
I also prefer to use open source if it has the features I need. Otherwise, I'll be happy to use closed source programs.
Getting torrents is really hard to compare performance because so many factors are at play. If the show isn't as popular as it was when you grabbed the downloads, then, you're going to have fewer peers and therefore lower download speeds. Also depends on who the peers are. Some minimize their upload speeds to as little as 1 KB/s perhaps because of bitcap restraints. So unless you downloaded the same show in one distro and then right away in another, it's difficult to compare. If you do that or have done that and noticed a big descrepancy then it could be related to CPU/memory constraints like if the CPU is being burdened since building the torrent files can require a lot of processor tasking.
I'm going to give elementary a try again right now a Virtualbox VM and see how it goes.
"Getting torrents is really hard to compare performance because so many factors are at play. If the show isn't as popular as it was when you grabbed the downloads, then, you're going to have fewer peers and therefore lower download speeds. Also depends on who the peers are. "
Jason, the downloads weren't randomly chosen. It was a season pack, same seeders - over 40 of them. So on Elementary I downloaded an episode, logged out and into a different OS and downloaded an episode FROM THE SAME SEASON PACK. Used 3 Distros. Repeated the process because it seemed so odd.
Elementary was consistently much slower. And it also had the freezing problem on my system.
Whether you leave it or not on your list of beginners' choices is not a big deal to me. But in my eyes it's not bullet-proof like the other OS's on the list.
An edit later in the day: the specs say it needs '1 GB of system memory (RAM)', but I gave it two, and just sitting idle it uses about 950 mbs. When I open either browser, it uses about 1500 mbs ram. A torrents program boosts this up to 80 or 90 % of all the ram. My guess is that it's not handling ram well, or default programs in the background are eating up ram.
Quote from: buster on January 28, 2018, 10:04:34 AM
Jason, the downloads weren't randomly chosen. It was a season pack, same seeders - over 40 of them. So on Elementary I downloaded an episode, logged out and into a different OS and downloaded an episode FROM THE SAME SEASON PACK. Used 3 Distros. Repeated the process because it seemed so odd.
I didn't mean that they were randomly chosen though I admit I probably wasn't that clear. I assumed you used the same torrents but I didn't know you downloaded one right after the other as you didn't say that when you posted. As the eminent Lady Gaga once said, "Can't read minds, can't read minds..." :-) But you can't either so I understand and my writing often isn't very explanatory as I'm not a very good writer. But I did say following that it might not apply to your situation and acknowledged that it could be related to the CPU being overburdened. Your testing seems to show that. It can only do torrents as fast as the CPU can process them (that's the bottleneck).
QuoteSo unless you downloaded the same show in one distro and then right away in another, it's difficult to compare. If you do that or have done that and noticed a big discrepancy then it could be related to CPU/memory constraints like if the CPU is being burdened since building the torrent files can require a lot of processor tasking.
You seem a bit irritated with me (the all caps) but maybe that's just how it comes across online. Please understand that when I write, I'm writing to you, but not only you. If it was only you, I'd send a message or an email. Other people reading might not know how torrents work or that you did one right after the other. I'm not trying to be difficult or trying to show anybody up.
QuoteWhether you leave it or not on your list of beginners' choices is not a big deal to me. But in my eyes it's not bullet-proof like the other OS's on the list.
I realize that. I'm not trying to be argumentative for the sake of arguing. I appreciate your concerns. I'm been giving the distro another look and checking out if I'm getting some of the same behavior you're describing. I spend a couple of hours on it yesterday doing various tasks and taking notes and I have found a few things that concern me (crashes with the AppCenter when updating or trying to update). The reason I liked it as a beginner distro was because it has a small number of applications (beginner, less choice can be good). Low number of menu options, again something that can be very helpful for beginners.
RAM usage I don't really see as as a big deal though I notice most reviewers are always going on and on about it. I mean that a system using 50% of 2 GB of RAM is not at all unusual isn't going to cause a performance drop. My experience has been that most distros unless super light require at least 2 GB for reasonable performance and I usually assign 4 GB to a VM. Linux will use more RAM if more is available though once you get over 80%, there might be a problem, as you say. That, I acknowledge.
Remember that I used the distro for probably a year or more as my main distro on an older computer, a 1.87 Ghz Core 2 Duo that I had been using for about 10 years with only 4 GB of RAM. So I put it on that list reflecting not just that but also Fox's experience. He was also the guy that got me into using elementary. I very much appreciate your comments though and am investigating. I wouldn't bother to if I didn't think you might have some valid concerns.
Curious. What are you using to measure how much RAM is used in elementary?
I'm using System Monitor and allocating 2 GB of RAM and just starting up, I'm getting only 32% of memory being used right after startup according to the Monitor program that I had to install in the VM. Using the CLI free -h command shows only 463 M/1.9 GB being used (or 25%). The difference is in buff/cached RAM which is another 622 MB. I think so, anyway; I haven't done the calculations. Cached RAM is what I mean about Linux using more RAM if it's available. If I had a 4 GB system, it would probably be "using" even more when it's not really.
That's why I disagree with reviewers talking about how much RAM a distro uses. If they're not using a tool that shows the difference between used and cached, they're going to get different results depending on how much RAM is in the system. Also, the whole point of having RAM is to have it used. RAM is faster than hard drive reads/writes. The OS knows this and tries to plan ahead via caching. If you run a bunch of applications and then shut them down.
Started up Monitor, Terminal, Firefox, Spotify, Files, Transmission (doing 3 torrents now) and System Settings. Monitor reads 83% "used" RAM. However, free shows that 1.3 GB is used (about 70%), and 615 MB is cached. CPU usage is fluctuating between 23 and 29% after watching it for a few minutes. Realized just now that I should have been adding the 'shared' amount of RAM in buff/cache in free. It started out small but is growing in size as I open more things while buff/cache actually dropped after increasing for a bit.
Started up AppCenter which also handles updates. CPU usage shot up when it first loaded but not over 85%, going to use free mem values for now on. Using 1.4/1.9 GB. Installing LibreOffice Writer, that should be a memory pig after I run and also a way to check the AppCenter when it's installing something. Up to 1.5 GB used in free now (when installing, not downloading). The actual installing part of Writer seemed to make elementary less responsive but forgot to note CPU usage. Clicking on Windows takes longer to focus them. The Applications menu took longer to come up. After installation, 'used' drops to 1.3 GB. Monitor app reads 83% for anybody keeping tabs. Installed another program, some educational program, and CPU never went over 55% installing it.
Closed everything except Transmission, Monitor, and Terminal. Free reports 544 MB used (and 800 MB cached/shared). Monitor reports 36%. An HD video torrent downloaded. Going to try it now. This might hurt. Full screen at HD is too laggy to watch. CPU is at 95-96%. That's probably why. Monitor reports 42% usage. Free shows 653 MB RAM used. Curiously, pausing the video only causes CPU usage to drop to 63-67%. Well, that's enough for now. Try VLC later and see if that's better than their homebrew video player.
Update: Forgot to try LibreOffice Writer and did so now. Surprisingly, it barely changed memory usage, even in Monitor.
"Curious. What are you using to measure how much RAM is used in elementary?"
If you can click Plank in the right spot, you get the option to add a cpu monitor applet. When you hover the mouse over it, the ram usage is shown.
Quote from: buster on January 29, 2018, 10:23:42 AM
"Curious. What are you using to measure how much RAM is used in elementary?"
If you can click Plank in the right spot, you get the option to add a cpu monitor applet. When you hover the mouse over it, the ram usage is shown.
Clever. Didn't notice that.
This sounds like a good demo for the next plug meeting.
When you choose applets to add to Plank, be very careful not to add a bad one, or all of them will stop working, because, as everyone knows
"One bad applet spoils the bunch."
(By the way, it is bad manners to groan.)
Quote from: ssfc72 on January 29, 2018, 11:37:29 AM
This sounds like a good demo for the next plug meeting.
Do you mean Buster showing his concerns with elementary OS or me just showing off the distro generally?
Quote from: buster on January 29, 2018, 04:33:48 PM
When you choose applets to add to Plank, be very careful not to add a bad one, or all of them will stop working, because, as everyone knows
"One bad applet spoils the bunch."
(By the way, it is bad manners to groan.)
No groaning here. That was pretty funny and clever actually! Have to steal this one.
A demo of the Elementary Distro and how to allocate resources with the VMWare or Virtualbox and that Plank thing and CPU usage. :-)
Quote from: Jason Wallwork on January 30, 2018, 02:28:10 AM
Quote from: ssfc72 on January 29, 2018, 11:37:29 AM
This sounds like a good demo for the next plug meeting.
Do you mean Buster showing his concerns with elementary OS or me just showing off the distro generally?
Over the last two days I have had a malfunction or a freeze under heavy use of Elementary
Many many features I like. But for some reason, which I attribute to poor memory usage by the distro, it clogs up. Very odd because it's so closely related to the other Ubuntu children, and they seem fine. Could be a quirk with VMWare and this distro. If it's a quirk with VMWare, nothing really matters. If it's a young distro's uncorrected minor flaw, that is serious.
It also seems to occur when dragging and dropping to Win10. But none of the other virtual machines I have react the same way.
Ah well.
I'd be willing to cobble together something but I think it's be a lot cooler if Buster did it even if just to outline the problems he has with it. Not every presentation has to make out that a distribution is great. It's good to know what to avoid as well.
Or Buster could do his thoughts on elementary and I could do mine and then members can draw their own conclusions. I'm not sure. What do you think Buster?
Or just showing how to use VMware (Buster) and Virtualbox (me) using whatever distros we want as examples. It's pretty easy though.
Buster wrote me back. I have to talk to Bob to check in case he already had something planned and to get the go-ahead. Otherwise, we'll coordinate a co-presentation on elementary OS in a virtual machine (specifically VirtualBox to demo, vmware differences to be discussed) and, time permitting, plank, updates and VM extensions. I'll use my laptop unless Buster has more RAM on his, but we'll both talk about what we like and don't like about elementary and our experiences. Should make for a thought-provoking night!
Best distro as a guest in win10 has consistently been Mint 18.3 Cinnamon. Have finally wiped the others. I suspect they have a crew at Mint that works on the virtual machine aspects of the distro. Consistently good as a virtual machine and it's interactions with Microsoft.
So there you have it: VMWare plus Mint equals satisfaction. For now - case closed.
Thanks for your latest results on running a linux Distro, as a guest on a Win 10 box, Buster!
I think that Ubuntu works pretty hard to make sure their distro works well on VMs. I think that because offer support contracts for virtual desktop/server instances of Ubuntu. Mint may be benefiting from that work. Or it could be a result of VMware working hard to make sure they offer packages to work with one of the most popular Linux versions.
No doubt Canonical does work on vm excellence, however, I suspect Mint does more.
Because of the release of 18.04 Ubuntu, I put into virtual plain Ubuntu, Ubuntu Mate, and Beta Lite, all based on 18.04. So which worked best with Win10? Come on, take a guess...
Ubuntu Mate is gone already. Besides needed a totally unexpected slew of updates, my install found it hard to co-operate with Win 10. Ubuntu is going next. I think it needs another cup of coffee or something. Sluggish is a kind way of saying it. And drag and drop with Win10/Ubuntu was often dodgy.
But Linux Lite Beta works a charm. Took a bit for it to settle in. But it's quick and friendly with Microsoft.
In comparison, Mint always works with the vm host. I suspect Mint sees virtual as a way to pull in even more desktop users. Been my experience anyway.
This is an old, old thread, but I thought I would update it anyways - at least my opinion of what is best, since it has changed over time.
At the present moment, using vmware in Win10, for Buster, the very best choice is Kubuntu 20.04.
The very worst cholice is Buzladomp 17.8920005. (Curious to know if anyone else found this one totally inadequate as well.)
Quote from: buster on September 28, 2020, 05:12:39 PM
The very worst cholice is Buzladomp 17.8920005. (Curious to know if anyone else found this one totally inadequate as well.)
Is this a test to determine how alert we are? Or are you trying to lead us down a dead-end path?
I liked version 17.8920007. :-)
Quote from: buster on September 28, 2020, 05:12:39 PM
This is an old, old thread, but I thought I would update it anyways - at least my opinion of what is best, since it has changed over time.
At the present moment, using vmware in Win10, for Buster, the very best choice is Kubuntu 20.04.
The very worst cholice is Buzladomp 17.8920005. (Curious to know if anyone else found this one totally inadequate as well.)
"I liked version 17.8920007"
I should in all fairness give this a try. But my last experience was so disappointing. The rebooting every 13 minutes was the most astonishing. Apparently from the forums this has been corrected.
Maybe you could give a review Bill. Or just write an email and I'll start a new thread with your findings.
I'm going to wait for the final release 18.1337 particularly as the developers behind it are the Corps D'elite of the Linux community. It should be the first-of-the-class in Linux distributions. You'll have no reason to even consider anything else. 2021 be the year that Linux will make it on the desktop.
You get points if you know what the point release above actually means although I've hinted at it. And you can use those points to trade in for bars of gold-pressed latnum which is a smart investment nowadays.
Anyone diddling with " ReactOS " ?
Quote from: kalabaster on April 20, 2021, 05:57:03 PM
Anyone diddling with " ReactOS " ?
"Diddling?" Does your wife know you do that with OSes, Kalabaster? But no, I haven't tried it. If it's Linux-related, it'd make a good post in the distros board under Linux-related. If it's not, you could post about in the general discussion area.
Would like to add Quark as a viable option for a virtual machine in Windows. A build by Q4OS using a Plasma Desktop, and it is camouflaged as a Win10. Surprisingly quick and stable. Have used it for a few weeks now. Seems quicker than Kubuntu, though very similar. Worth a try.
And here's a picture of the default desktop:
This by the way how the guest and host can be side by side for dragging and dropping. And it's easy to slide into whichever system you want full screen.
What did you think of Borat Subsequent Film?
Quote from: buster on May 07, 2021, 06:31:46 PM
A build by Q4OS using a Plasma Desktop, and it is camouflaged as a Win10.
How dare you soil this fine Linux User Group with your heresy! We will hear your confession and dispense our punishment.
Looks good, anyway. Q4OS should be faster. Isn't the desktop environment, Trinity, based on KDE 3.x? Updated sure, but still a descendant.
" Isn't the desktop environment, Trinity, based on KDE 3.x?"
Yes I believe so. Quark swaps out some of the ancient K apps and puts in more popular ones if I'm remembering correctly. Most impressive is the speed and reliability of the system.
Yeah, that's what I thought. KDE 3 is older and it ran on machines back in the 2000s, I believe. So it should be blazing fast even though they've likely added enhancements to the engine.