PCLinuxOS Gnome


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PCLOS Gnome Remaster 2008.1 Facts:
  • This version of PCLinuxOS is a special Gnome remaster of the normal version of PCLOS, which is a KDE-based distro
  • PCLOS claims to be "radically simple"
  • PCLinuxOS Gnome is built on the official PCLinuxOS MiniMe 2008 distribution, which is based primarily on Mandriva, although it incorporates traits from several distros (see above review)
  • PCL-Gnome uses the Draklive Installer (which the normal versions of PCLOS use as well as Mandriva

What I liked:
  • It's a beautiful version of Gnome! There is a dark theme, with smooth lines and color blending
  • Compiz-Fusion (the eye-candy of Linux) settings right in the menu and ready to Cube!
  • The MAJOR issue that has been plaguing Opera, the latest Flash Player update, has been addressed with its own entry in Synaptic with an option for Flash Player 8 for Opera, even telling users about the potential (although very unlikely) security issue.
  • All the applications I wanted, like Opera, VLC, and Brasero were all right there in Synaptic, just waiting to be installed

What I didn't like:
  • In order to install to hard drive, I had to log back out and back in..and it got stuck on this step..I repeated this a few times and finally it worked properly
  • I was unable to change the color resolution from 16 bits to 24...never could figure out why
  • I opened Firefox and realized I was not connected to the internet; This is only the second distro I have ever tried that didn't detect my ethernet automatically (the other was Puppy Linux.)
  • I tried to install Opera, Brasero and VLC from the repository and for some reason I got an unknown error message and only Brasero downloaded

Summary:
I was a little disappointed in this distro. As much as I had loved MiniMe-PCLOS, I was eagerly awaiting this Gnome remaster and after all that, several things didn't work right. Also the fact that my ethernet connection wasn't automatically connected would be very difficult for a newbie to figure out the fix for. Additionally, the main menu would not refresh after installing or removing applications. Sorry PCLinuxOS Gnome, I had to pass on this one; too many annoyances and disappointments, even though it was amazing to look at. My older MiniMe was far better and I don't even like KDE.  I give it a C- for performance, and A for appearance.

***Please note that this review is for the 2008.1 version..the beta of 2008.2 is now out and may have addressed these issues..I will probably be reviewing it in the near future***