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Month: October 2019

Re: [trinity-users] Advice for distro without systemD - my list

From: "William Morder via trinity-users" <trinity-users@...>
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2019 21:55:13 -0700

On Friday 18 October 2019 20:01:17 Larry Stotler wrote:
> Hello folks,
>
> Been using TDE on openSUSE for a while(and S.u.S.E since v5.3  *sigh*)
> but I think it's time to move to a non systemD infested distro.  I'm
> not here to debate the merits of it, I've made my decision and I'm
> looking for advice from those that run TDE on distros that don't use
> systemD.
>
> There's Devuan(never really been a fan of Debian or uBuntu tho).  I'm
> just afraid that Devuan won't be able to keep up.
>
> Would love to go back to Slackware, but it seems the lastest version
> is 3.5.13ish??
>
> Anyway, if you use a non-systemD distro, please let me know how TDE works
> on it.
>
> Thanx
>

Hi there. Here is a list of those of which I have at least some experience. I 
hope this helps. 

Bill


I went through several attempts, none totally successful, to run TDE with 
Debian on an old machine. There is a whole list of them here: 
https://devuan.org/os/partners/devuan-distros

1. ExeGnuLinux - TDE is the default 
The first no-systemd OS I heard about was ExeGnuLinux, based on Devuan. They 
say all the right things, and their installer *seems* to work pretty well 
(although it is quite different from the minimalist "classic" Debian-type 
installers); however, I never could get it to run properly, or even to boot 
up at all after installation. 
http://exegnulinux.net/

2. AntiX - TDE is the default
Also, AntiX was pretty good, and I believe I remember that it is no-systemd. 
It was small, fast, not unattractive, seemed stable, etc. However, it would 
not let me configure internal SATA hdds on a Frankenstein desktop that I 
build out of spare parts; I might have been able to do that using gparted or 
parted, etc., after installation, but that's a bother. It seems that this 
distro was developed by, and for, people who run laptops or similar setups, 
who maybe cannot imagine anybody out there who is still running a desktop. 
And last, it changed the permissions in my home folder; perhaps for the 
better, but again, I like to be in control, even if I sometimes mess it up. 
https://antixlinux.com/

3. Devuan NETINST - no TDE choice in menu - I use MATE during installation. 
I tried Devuan as soon as it came out, but it wasn't until I tried the NETINST 
CD that everything seemed to click, and I haven't had any major problems for 
a year or more. For me it works best when I install TDE later, after pretty 
much everything else. 
https://devuan.org/os/
https://devuan.org/os/documentation/install
https://files.devuan.org/?ref=/os/download

I have almost no complaints, as it is a very stable system. I would like to 
see a Devuan installation disc (esp., a NETINST CD), so that I could have my 
TDE desktop right away, then continue with installing the rest of my 
packages. When I upgrade my distribution, as just recently, some of my 
personalized configurations are changed; for example, my customized login 
screen, as well as some other niggling but nagging quirks or maybe bugs. I am 
forced to bounce back and forth between using tdenetworkmanager and wicd-gtk 
as to control my network connection and settings. For some reason, about 
every third time I reinstall, I have to change from using one or the other. 
There are a few other weird things that I am trying to figure out, but they 
are not irritating enough that I should tell all the readers on the TDE 
mailing list. Over all, this has been my choice now for quite a while, and it 
has been maybe 6 months since I've had to reinstall my system or deal with 
any major problems. 

4. Linnix - based on Devuan, no TDE, but supposed to be for users who "like to 
customize" their desktops. I have a disc of the latest release. Again, it 
sounds good; but I only sort of half-remember booting it up, then going back 
to my stable Devuan system. 

https://sourceforge.net/projects/linnix/
https://sourceforge.net/projects/linnix/files/

5. Heads - the Devuan version of Tails 
I tried out Tails a few years ago, and it worked pretty well. I would hope 
that the Devuan version, Heads, works as well or better. I don't have a 
system to set up with Heads at the moment; I don't know if it's possible to 
install Heads or Tails in the way of most Linux systems. I did try booting it 
up, but I would have needed to change my partitions, etc., so I didn't 
continue. I was thinking of giving it another try, once I manage to put 
together a few other machines into a network. Seems to work like Tails, 
though. 
https://heads.dyne.org/