How to install Linux or Turn your PC into kind of Apple Because Mac OSX is a Linux distro to.

SolydX and SolydK are Debian-based distributions with the Xfce and KDE desktops respectively. SolydXK aims to be simple to use, providing an environment that is both stable and secure. SolydXK is an open-source alternative for small businesses, non-profit organisations and home users. The project started as an unofficial variant of Linux Mint's "Debian" edition with KDE as the default desktop, but it was later given its own identity as SolydK. SolydX was added after Linux Mint dropped its Debian-based flavour that used the Xfce desktop. Distrowatch

Installation

The installation procedure for SolydX is actually fairly straight forward. It doesn't use the Ubuntu installer so for this review I will run through the installation instructions. (you will be able to see how complicated my partitioning is beginning to get).

 

1. Choose your language.


2. Choose where you are (I have to say that the map contains a nice level of detail).


3. Choose your keyboard layout


4. Enter a username, password and hostname. You can also choose your icon or take a photo of yourself.


5. Choose the disk you want to install SolydX on to.

  

6. Now comes the dreaded partitioning bit. Actually I find this quite easy now because I have done it so many times. Don't be put off by my set up. As I regularly review distros I have five 50gb partitions specifically put aside so that I can switch distros in and out as required.

In general for a single distro setup I recommend setting up a 30 gigabyte partition for the main distro, an 8 gb partition for swap space and the rest for home. The optimum partitioning of a disk causes many debates.


7. Finally click "Install".

First Impressions

The SolydX layout is fairly clean looking with a crisp looking background image and a single panel at the bottom.

If you read my review of Mint XFCE edition last week then the main difference between SolydX and Mint XFCE from a look and feel point of view is the choice of menu system. SolydX uses the standard XFCE application menu whereas Mint uses Whisker.

I think that to get the best use of the XFCE desktop you need to have two panels but both SolydX and Mint have gone with a single panel.


By default you are greeted with a welcome screen which you can prevent from appearing on subsequent boots by unchecking the "show at startup" box.

The welcome screen has 4 menu options down the left:
The welcome option shows a standard welcome message and tells you that SoldyX is based on the Debian testing branch.

The drivers option shows a list of drivers that have been loaded.

The community option shows links to the project's homepage, forums, tutorials and chatrooms.

The contribute option shows how you can get involved or donate to the project.

Solydx - I want a non-Ubuntu, Debian based distro with the XFCE desktop
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