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MEPIS has announced the release of antiX 7.2, “Vetëvendosje.”

Built using the MEPIS Linux 7.0 core including the MEPIS 2.6.22 kernel and utilities, along with selected additions from Debian Lenny, this lightweight OS is especially appropriate for older hardware and users who like a very fast functional system.

Pre-configured window managers Fluxbox and IceWM, as well as Conky and ROX Desktop, come
ready to use. The search tool catfish and the video player gxine have been added now; a list of applications is found here: http://antix.mepis.com/index.php/Applications_used_in_antiX-M7.2

• Read more: A New Update of antiX 7.0

We tested openSUSE, Ubuntu 8.4, PCLinuxOS, Mandriva Linux One, Fedora, SimplyMEPIS, and CentOS 5.1. All performed well, and each had at least one truly outstanding feature.

In the last couple of years, desktop-friendly Linux distributions have taken enormous leaps — they’re easier to install, better maintained, and more powerful than ever before. There’s also that many more of them — which means that many more possibilities to sift through.

In this roundup I’ve looked at seven Linux distributions, all mainly aimed at desktop users. Some ought to be household names; some are less widely sung but still worth looking at. All are meant to be top-of-the-line, “throw-and-go” distros for general use, so I paid careful attention to how they behaved on a fairly broad range of hardware — how display, networking, or other default configurations were set to behave both out of the box and after an update (if one was available).

Each of these distributions was installed on five machines:
Read more at InformationWeek

The long awaited SimplyMEPIS 7.0 was finally released just before Christmas, and it was worth the wait. In this mature and sometimes underrated operating system, everything looks good and works well.

Because I was familiar with previous MEPIS versions, the first thing I noticed in 7.0 was the lovely new artwork. The tasteful theme begins at the live CD boot screen and continues through the boot splash and login screen to the desktop. Developers add a air of professionalism to their distributions when they include a matching theme throughout. It shows attention to detail and indicates that an enjoyable user experience is one of the main priorities. I get this feeling when using SimplyMEPIS.

Read more at Linux.com

MEPIS has announced the release of antiX-M7.01 “Lysistrata” , a lightweight derivative of SimplyMEPIS 7.0. antiX is built and maintained by MEPIS community member anticapitalista, as a free version of MEPIS for very old 32 bit PC hardware and is designed to work on computers with as little as 64MB RAM and Pentium II or equivalent, but not AMD K5/K6 processors.

antiX has a unique set of default user applications: fluxbox and ice window managers, rox-filer, rox-desktop, idesk, lighttpd, Abiword, Gnumeric, Scite, Nano, Iceweasel, Sylpheed-claws, Pidgin, Xchat, streamtuner, mtpaint, xmms, gmplayer, synaptic, brasero and many more all squeezed into 310MB!

This updated version of “Lysistrata” is built using the MEPIS Linux 7.0 core including the MEPIS 7 updated and security patched 2.6.22.14 kernel and upgraded MEPIS utilities, Debian security upgrades and application upgrades since antiX-M7 was released on Oct 29. Livecd scripts have been improved, extra cheatcodes added and bugs squashed. Kernel headers are now included and antiX uses Xorg 7.2 from the Debian Testing repos. This release contains the new grub menu theme developed and contributed by the MEPIS community.

Read more at MEPIS

MEPIS has released SimplyMEPIS 7.0. The isos for the 32 and 64 versions are in the released directory at the MEPIS subscriber site and public mirrors. MEPIS 7.0 offers up to date user applications delivered on top of a Debian stable core.Some of the important packages included with the 7.0 release are: an updated and security patched 2.6.22.14 kernel, Xorg 7.1.0, KDE 3.5.8, OpenOffice 2.3.0, Firefox 2.0.0.11, Thunderbird 2.0.0.6, Digikam 0.9.2, Sun Java 6.00, Amarok 1.4.7, mplayer 1.0.rc1, fuse driver 2.7.0, ntfs-3g 1.710, madwifi-ng Atheros driver 0.9.3.2, wpa-supplicant 0.6.0, ALSA sound drivers 1.0.15, libglib2.0 2.14.0, libgtk2.0 2.10.13, and QT 4.3.1-1.

Some of the additional packages in the MEPIS 7.0 pool include: acroread 7.0.9-0, icaclient 10.6-1, evolution 2.10.3, NVIDIA driver 100.14.19-1, NVIDIA legacy drivers 1.0.9639 and 1.0.7185, AMD fglrx driver 8.43.2-1, libgnome2 2.18.0, compiz 0.6.3, and compiz-fusion 0.6.0.

Read more at MEPIS

MEPIS has announced RC1 of SimplyMEPIS 7.0. The isos and deltas for 32 and 64 bit processors are available from the testing directory at the MEPIS subscriber site and public mirrors.The final cleanup of 7.0 begins with some updates: kernel 2.6.22.12, Firefox 2.0.0.8, Thunderbird 2.0.0.6, and OpenOffice 2.3.0-4. The final release is expected to take place in the next few weeks.

The ISO images are in the ‘testing’ subdirectory at the MEPIS Subscriber’s Site and at the MEPIS public mirrors. For immediate access to new releases, and to support the ongoing development of MEPIS, why not go to the MEPIS store and become a MEPIS subscriber?

Read more at MEPIS

After a one month hiatus, Warren Woodford has returned with a 6th Beta of SimplyMEPIS 7.0. The isos and deltas for 32 and 64 bit processors are available from the testing directory at the MEPIS subscriber site and public mirrors.This Beta includes updates to KDE 3.5.8, kernel 2.6.22.10, and Skype 1.4.0.118. And icaclient 10.6 was added to the MEPIS pool.

The first RC is scheduled to be released around Nov 10 and a second RC around the 17th. Final is tentatively scheduled for Nov 24.

The ISO images are in the ‘testing’ subdirectory at the MEPIS Subscriber’s Site and at the MEPIS public mirrors. For immediate access to new releases, and to support the ongoing development of MEPIS, why not go to the MEPIS store and become a MEPIS subscriber?

Read more at MEPIS

MEPIS has announced the “Lysistrata” release of antiX, a lightweight derivative of SimplyMEPIS 7.0. AntiX is built and maintained by MEPIS community member anticapitalista, as a free version of MEPIS for very old 32 bit PC hardware. The antiX web site is at antix.mepis.org and an antiX forum is hosted at www.mepislovers.orgThis version of AntiX is built using the MEPIS Linux 7.0 core including the MEPIS 2.6.22 kernel and utilities, but mostly it has a different set of default user applications: fluxbox and ice window managers, rox-filer, rox-desktop, idesk, lighttpd, Abiword, Gnumeric, Scite, Nano, Iceweasel, Sylpheed-claws, Pidgin, Xchat, streamtuner, mtpaint, xmms, gmplayer, synaptic, and brasero.

AntiX is designed to work on computers with as little as 64MB RAM and Pentuim II or equivalent AMD processors but not K5/K6 processors. After installation, even 32MB RAM has worked. The new ISO images are available in the ‘released/antix’ subdirectory at the MEPIS Subscriber’s Site and at the MEPIS public mirrors.

Read more at MEPIS

The MEPIS management has reached the conclusion that this forum should be merged with that at www.mepislovers.org in an effort to avoid duplication, eliminate confusion and consolidate resources. This forum will therefore be closed to posting on November 1, 2007, though it will remain available on a read-only basis. Please note that mepislovers.org requires separate registration in order to be able to post.

Thank you, and see you over at mepislovers.org!

MEPIS

Anti and Warren announce the 7.0 RC 1 release of antiX, a lightweight derivative of MEPIS. AntiX is built and maintained by MEPIS community member anticapitalista, as a free version of MEPIS for very old 32 bit PC hardware. The antiX web site is at antix.mepis.org and an antiX forum is hosted at www.mepislovers.orgAntiX 7.0 RC 1 is like AntiX 7.0 Beta2 except that the look has been updated including the wallpaper and the packages have been updated to be in sync with MEPIS 7.0 Beta 4. Anti also reports that he has fixed the reported bugs that are unique to AntiX.

AntiX is designed to work on computers with as little as 64MB RAM and Pentium II or equivalent AMD processors. ISO images and deltas are available in the ‘testing’ subdirectory at the MEPIS Subscriber’s Site and at the MEPIS public mirrors.

Read more at MEPIS

Warren Woodford has decided to release a 5th Beta of SimplyMEPIS 7.0. The isos and beta4-beta5 iso deltas for 32 and 64 bit processors are available from the testing directory at the MEPIS subscriber site and public mirrors.The big change that resulted in another Beta release is the availability of OpenOffice 2.3. In addition, ksynaptics and spamd were added to the iso images; and Firefox, 915resolution, and the ALSA Utilities were updated. And the latest version of Audacity was added to the MEPIS pool.

Good news for MEPIS users! The MEPIS documentation team has released a new MEPIS User’s manual under a Creative Commons License. With over 60 pages, the manual covers many questions from installation, to network configuration, to using applications. Upon reviewing the manual, Warren said “I am very grateful to the documentation team. I’ve wished for a long time, that MEPIS would have a manual like this. One that will help new and old users alike to get the most out of MEPIS Linux.”

Read more at MEPIS

The 4th Beta of SimplyMEPIS 7.0 has been released by Warren Woodford. The isos and beta3-beta4 iso deltas for 32 and 64 bit processors are available from the testing directory at the MEPIS subscriber site and public mirrors.The kernel in Beta4 is version 2.6.22.6 which contains more patches from the Kernel Development Team. The MEPIS kernel was tweaked to eliminate some boot time warning messages. The fglrx ATI video driver was updated to eliminate an annoying AMD watermark bug.

Wireless-tools and wpasupplicant were updated. Configurations were adjusted to improve k3b, wireless networking, keyboard and language support, video defaults and boot options.

In the MEPIS pools gnome-games, sylpheed-claws, evolution, and gtk-qt-engine were updated in response to user requests. The MEPIS OSX Assistant was recompiled and tested for OSX Leopard and to use the 0.10 version of rEFIt.

Read more at MEPIS

MEPIS has announced the 7.0 beta 2 release of antiX, a lightweight derivative of MEPIS. AntiX is built and maintained by MEPIS community member anticapitalista, as a free version of MEPIS for very old 32 bit PC hardware. The antiX web site is at antix.mepis.org and an antiX forum is hosted at www.mepislovers.orgAntiX 7.0 beta 2 is very similar to AntiX 6.5 except that it is built using the MEPIS Linux 7.0 core including the MEPIS 2.6.22 kernel and utilities, but mostly it has a different set of default user applications: fluxbox and ice window managers, Abiword, Gnumeric, Leafpad, Scite, Nano, gimp, xpdf, Firefox2, Sylpheed-claws, Dillo, Links2, Gaim, Xchat, gftp, Pan, Irssi, Raggle RSS reader, Gtk-Gnutella, bittorrent, flash, mozilla-mplayer, xmms, mplayer, audacity, xine, Midnight Commander, rox-filer, xarchive, xcdroast and graveman.

AntiX is designed to work on computers with as little as 64MB RAM and Pentuim II or equivalent AMD processors. ISO images and deltas are available in the ‘testing’ subdirectory at the MEPIS Subscriber’s Site and at the MEPIS public mirrors.

Read more at MEPIS

MEPIS has released Beta3 of SimplyMEPIS 7.0. The isos and beta2-beta3 iso deltas for 32 and 64 bit processors are available from the testing directory at the MEPIS subscriber site and the MEPIS public mirrors.The kernel in Beta3 is version 2.6.22.5 which contains minor patches from the Kernel Development Team. The ipw3945 driver was updated. The MEPIS System Assistant was repaired to fix a problem when formatting USB keys. Package updates include xine 1.1.7, kino 1.1.1, kmplayer 0.10.0, k3b 1.0.3, kipi-plugins 0.1.4, knetworkmanager 0.2, and dcraw 8.77.

Due to user requests for updated compiz and other important gtk related packages, gtk was updated to version 2.10.13 and in the MEPIS pool metacity was updated to gnome version 2.18.5 Mepis-looks was updated to be compatible with gtk 2.10. Other gtk app updates are planned for Beta4.

Read more at MEPIS

Technalign, developers of both the community and commercial Pioneer Linux operating systems, recently announced the release of Pioneer Explorer 1.0 and the Programs folder.

In the past, Technalign built its Linux distributions from Ubuntu, Debian and MEPIS codebases. While this new distribution still shows its Ubuntu/Debian roots, it’s now going in its own direction.

According to CEO, Dianne Ursini, for the last “five years, we have been attempting to work with other Linux companies and producers to deliver a solution for consumers as well as business. In those five years we’ve found major disconnects between those companies and what customers were asking for. We had no choice but to address this major disconnect, apply it to a new direction.”

Read more at DesktopLinux.com

MEPIS has announced the upload of the first official Beta of the upcoming 7.0 release of SimplyMEPIS. Version 6.9.60beta1 for 32 and 64 bit processors is available from the testing directory at the MEPIS subscriber site and the MEPIS public mirrors.Since the prebeta of 2 weeks ago, there have been several changes which are included in Beta 1, a 2.6.22.3 kernel, kernel drivers for the ralink family of wireless cards, other updated drivers, KDE 3.5.7 updates, better appearance of splashy, and the latest Debian Etch security updates. The LiveCD now offers an option to boot with the aufs rw filesystem but this is not yet well tested.

• Read more: MEPIS 7.0 Beta1 is Available For Testing

In order to verify the future  Mepis 7.x’s   compatibility  with  KDE 4,  Warren Woodford  of MEPIS  has released

the  first  two  Live DVD iso  images of beta quality on 10th  of August 2007 for testing. They are MEPIS-KDE4

-LIVE-DVD_6.9.53_32 (963MB)  and MEPIS-KDE4-LIVE-DVD_6.9.53_64 (956MB). These iso images were built

using the Mepis 7.0 Etch core. Although this is a beta software according to Warren, I beg to differ. Alpha1, yes!

Read and look more at Linuxseekers

Warren Woodford of MEPIS has built KDE4-Beta1 Live DVDs to verify the compatibility of KDE 4 with SimplyMEPIS 7.x. The 32 and 64 bit DVD isos are available from the testing directory of the MEPIS subscriber site and the MEPIS public mirrors.

• Read more: MEPIS Releases KDE 4 Beta 1 Live DVDs

SimplyMEPIS 6.9.51prebeta is a preview of upcoming SimplyMEPIS 7. It is available from the MEPIS subscriber site and the MEPIS public mirrors.MEPIS has discontinued using Ubuntu binary packages in favor of a combination of MEPIS packaged binaries based on Debian and Ubuntu source code which is combined with a Debian Stable OS core and extra packages from Debian package pools.

Warren Woodford of MEPIS explains the change “By using the latest Debian and Ubuntu source code for building user applications, we can provide the best latest versions of the applications users want the most. And by building on top of a Debian Stable core, we can provide a release that has the the stability and long life that users want.”

Warren continues “Most Linux users are tired of having to reinstall every 6 months in order to have up-to-date applications. We expect that with this approach MEPIS can offer a superior user experience that will be incrementally upgradeable for 2 years without reinstallation of the OS.”

Read more at MEPIS

SimplyMEPIS, a very popular desktop Linux, is going to change back to using Debian Linux for its core from Ubuntu. In March of 2006, MEPIS founder Warren Woodford, decided to switch to Ubuntu from Debian for the next version of SimplyMEPIS, version 6.0.

The plan was to use Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Long Term Service), aka Dapper Drake, as MEPIS’ foundation.

• Read more: MEPIS to switch from Ubuntu to Debian