Information about Trisquel
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Greetings, I'm a Slackware user who is interested in knowing some things about Trisquel.
I know that the "fsf" is very proud about this OS and continously share out copies of Trisquel in their campaigns:
https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/gnus-trick-or-treat-at-windows-8-launch
I also saw Chris commenting that Trisquel is one of the best GNU Distros.
In my point of view, Trisquel seems not to be anything else but Ubuntu with the nonfree programs purged from the repository.
The reason why I am creating this post is because I know for sure that I'm completely wrong and I want you to open my eyes and see why is Trisquel so loved.
¿What have trisquel that Ubuntu does not? I want you to answer that question.
I want to make clear that I want "practical" reasons because I know the ethical ones; thats why I'm interested in OSes that respects our freedom.
Thank you
I think you're right in your observation; it's basically Ubuntu without nonfree software. The main advantage of Trisquel, as far as free distros go, is that it's very easy for beginners to use.
If you're a slackware user, maybe you should take a look at Dragora. I've read that it's comparable to Slackware, though I haven't used it myself. It's an independent distro based on KISS.
Alternatively, Parabola is a free distro based on Arch. I know some people here use it.
I know about Parabola...
I used Arch and it was one of the worst experiences I had an distros.
Be on the bleeding edge means a pool of blood, blood of the users
Yeah, Parabola isn't for everyone by any means, though I think it might be for me if I could figure out how to install it.
But basically, the free distros to choose from that are worth looking at are Trisquel, gNewSense, Ututo, Dragora, and Parabola. BLAG is horribly out-of-date, dyne:bolic is out-of-date and not meant to be installed, and Musix is not meant to be installed and focused on one application.
Out of those distros that are worth looking at, they each have certain niches:
- gNewSense is a Debian-based distro, and it supports non-x86 architectures. It's a little out-of-date at the moment (the "beta" is based on Debian 6 "Squeeze") because of a delay involving developers leaving or something, but it's picking up speed recently, so I guess it will catch up to Debian Stable soon enough.
- Ututo's information is all in Spanish, I think, so I don't know much and haven't tried it, but it's based on Gentoo.
- Parabola is the bleeding-edge distro, based on Arch.
- Dragora is an independent KISS distro, supposedly similar to Slackware in its design.
- Trisquel is a stable beginner and intermediate user's distro, based on Ubuntu.
The reason Trisquel is so widely recommended and supported is not because it's inherently better or more special than the other major choices. Each of these distros I've mentioned have their own niches, and Trisquel's is being very easy to install and use and stable, but not too old for most people, which makes it perfect for recommending to people in general. But that doesn't mean that it's the best choice for everyone; actually, some people here prefer to use Parabola. If you use and like Slackware, I think you might want to give Dragora a shot.
Hi there,
>Be on the bleeding edge means a pool of blood, blood of the users
You should refrain from such comments. Even if your experiences with Arch might have not been optimal (I do not know the details), Arch is still a fine distribution and rarely breaks if you understand the KISS principle behind it.
Arch is not suited for everyone and does not aim to do so. I used Arch for over two years and had less issues than I had with Trisquel / Xubuntu.
Of course using "bleeding edge" comes to a certain price sometimes but for those who want consistency there still is something like Debian.
Just my two cents,
Holger
Perhaps I was rough with that comment. Arch is very usable and very elegant in a lot of ways.
I was using Arch for almost a year and I was impressed for how flexible it is but the fact of having the latest packages can cost the life of the system:
I was using Arch in the worst moment possible... when they switched to systemd.
I switched too early and it caused the system break.
Sorry for saying that. I supposed I offended some Arch/Parabola users with that childish and not well thought comment.
No problem...I was not really offended but just thought one should not devalue another distribution since it might scare off other users which want to try out Arch / Parabola.
IMO there is not "the" optimal GNU Linux distribution. They all have different cons and pros and you have to choose which meets your requirements. This is what many people forget when they defend "their" distribution against "the other" distributions :)
I can understand your frustrations...I screwed up several installations with various distributions for various reasons as well.
I can not tell this for you but for me in a lot of cases the issue simply was PEBCAK :D
You are right, I will be careful With some things i say from now on.
I can give my opinion on a distro without devalue it.
Thank for your advice.
I remember this case because it was not my fault it crashed, It was package that required more testing. In any case, that commentary should not scare people who is interested in Arch / Parabola because things like this doesn't happen often.
All distros follow its own Philosophy... If you want something, you have to sacrifice another.
I use a distro that I would be happy to recommend to other people.
My main checklist points for this are usability, .deb packaging and stability.
Trisquel can be viewed as just Ubuntu with non-free removed, but it is so much more than that.
Default Interface http://i.imgur.com/1uddJH9.png
The default Trisquel interface is the cleanest and most concise PC UI that I have used so far(several decades of GNU+Linux/mac/wind). The main points on my UI checklist are a taskbar at the bottom of the screen, a main-button in the bottom left, a clock in the bottom right and a main menu that includes programs, add/remove programs, settings and shutdown/logoff. These are the immediate places I look for these tools/options and where the majority of novices would too.
Trisquel tracks stable releases, so a new user will not have bleeding-edge crash issues.
Trisquel has a great desktop layout and stability that I would be confident recommending to a novice PC user.
Other considerations are the community and a commitment to a fully free distro.
Thanks to everyone who contributes to Trisquel.
Well, the Gnome fallback in all distros can be modified to look like that.
I have to agree that the art style of this distro is very well choosed.
"Trisquel tracks stable releases, so a new user will not have bleeding-edge crash issues."
As well as Ubuntu.
"Other considerations are the community and a commitment to a fully free distro."
I agree, the community is awesome as well as the ethics of a fully free distro.
Still not enough information but thank you a lot.
Thank you for the reply.
I still think that some information is missing... The fsf is very proud about Trisquel and i don't think that is only because is based on Ubuntu.
Please keep posting, I want to know if my observation is wrong.
Thank you Trisquel comunity.
Well, you have to bear in mind that there aren't so much very recommendable free distros für the majority of users.
Gnewsense is very old, parabola is based on arch and (though I don't have any experiences with it) may be unapropriate for beginners, dragora has an exotic packet management system and so on.
You see, trisquel is just a clean, solid, well maintained and easy to use distro.
It is ubuntu with the lack of the bad and annoying things. First is proprietary software (bad), second are things like unity, the software center or the apportgtk thing (never encountered it in trisquel).
In my opinion, trisquel did nothing magical, but the right thing. So the changes applied to ubuntu are not huge, but they are well chosen. And thus it's no wonder the fsf is proud of it.
I'm just happy it's there.
I used to use Slackware exclusively until I found out about the freedom issues surrounding it. I then tried GNUSense and I liked it but it wasn't as smooth a user experience as I had hoped for.
To me Trisquel is just a smooth and nice user experience with the perk of being all free software. I don't really try to compare it too much to Ubuntu though I know that's what it is based on. I'm sure there are a couple other good free distros out there that I didn't try.
I too was once a Slackware user, and one thing I hated about it was installing dependencies (I bet you know how fun that is). Trisquel uses dpkg which automatically installs all dependencies and that's one of the main reasons I love it. I'm sure switching will not be hard.
It is not very different from Ubuntu besides the repos. One big difference is the WM, which doesn't use Unity. Also there isn't the big Amazon botnet/spy tracking all your searches. Overall I would also say it is faster than Ubuntu, and definitely uses less RAM on idle.
As for why the FSF is so proud of it, it is probably because it is the most up to date. Compared to the old '98 interface of gNewSense (also known as gNuisance), Trisquel is far superior. That is my guess as to why it is FSF's prized distro of choice.
A better question would be; What does Trisquel do better at compared to the other free distros?
Trisquel has:
1) An easy to use GUI
2) An active community which are helpful
3) Access to Ubuntu PPAs and .DEBs
4) A reputation for being very stable
5) A consistent appearance across each release
6) A consistent release cycle (which has now changed to LTS releases only)
7) Documentation that is created and updated by fellow Trisquel users.
perhaps the most important point:
8) An out of the box experience that showcases utility and polish instead of just complying with the free system guidelines.
This makes Trisquel a great choice for the novice computer user!
It is no surprise that Trisquel is the FSF's distro of choice to promote in their campaigns.
It is also a concern of Triquel to offer universal accessibility. The default UI and the web browser are Orca compliants.
Does Trisquel have it's own packages(made by the Trisquel developers)?
Please tell me more.
NOTE: I know about "Abrowser".
On 30/06/13 20:45, javiparpe wrote:
> Does Trisquel have it's own packages(made by the Trisquel
> developers)?
>
> Please tell me more.
>
>
> NOTE: I know about "Abrowser".
Ruben and other developers build package helpers, which are scripts
which automatically patch programs to only recommend free software.
There's a wiki page on package helpers:
https://trisquel.info/en/wiki/package-helpers
Andrew.
On 2013-06-29 18:46, name at domain wrote:
> Greetings, I'm a Slackware user who is interested in knowing some things
> about Trisquel.
[..]
Hello, and welcome here!
> In my point of view, Trisquel seems not to be anything else but Ubuntu
> with the nonfree programs purged from the repository.
That is not exactly correct. See below.
> The reason why I am creating this post is because I know for sure that
> I'm completely wrong and I want you to open my eyes and see why is
> Trisquel so loved.
>
> ¿What have trisquel that Ubuntu does not? I want you to answer that
> question.
>
> I want to make clear that I want "practical" reasons because I know the
> ethical ones; thats why I'm interested in OSes that respects our freedom.
Trisquel is also this amazing community, where you can ask very
technical or very non-technical questions about gaining control and
freedom on your PC.
I haven't found this anywhere else.
Unfortunately if you have this mindset and use Ubuntu, you won't get
very positive comments on that community. In fact you'll be treated like
you should be "pragmatic", less "extremist", etc.
Even if you use another distribution, I invite you to stick around this
forum/list, and perhaps decide along the road what will be best for you.
Cheers,
Fabian
--
Fabián Rodríguez
http://fsf.magicfab.ca
If i tell you the truth, even if I'm using Slackware, I spend more time in the Trisquel forums than in the Slackware one.
The reason about this post is because I know Trisquel is heavily supported by the community. With frequent donations, a lot of memebers who care about the project, support from ThinkPenguin... and the list go on. This means that Trisquel is not just Ubuntu without the nonfree stuff, is more than that and i want to see the evidences of the work done by Ruben Rodrígez and his team; and I know the have done a lot.
Thank you for your kind reply.
"If i tell you the truth, even if I'm using Slackware, I spend more time in the Trisquel forums than in the Slackware one."
Sounds to me like you already have one foot in Trisquel. Come in with both and join us. You will not be disappointed.
Thank you.
I will switch to Trisquel eventually; the community have given to me plenty of reasons to use it.
I have to say that I'm still not prepared to renounce to all the nonfree stuff. One of the reasons is because my actual system have nonfree hardware components.
I will stick with Slackware at the moment, but I will do the switch in the future, when I need a new laptop because I want to buy one from Chris.
Another question:
The Debian administrator's handbook is adequate do learn Trisquel administration?
I found a limited quantity of documentation about this kind of stuff on Trisquel.
I am a member!
If I said Trisquel was the best distribution it was probably in relation to its broadest appeal and ease of use as far as free software distributions go. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for all users.
As others are saying it's relatively stable, it's compatibility is excellent (has the same patches applied as Ubuntu, but to linux-libre kernel), has a sane user interface, is well supported (ie the best, see libre.thinkpenguin.com, every component/system supports Trisquel or will "out of the box"), etc. Note: my point here is just that there is a clear and broad set of hardware which will work well. Comparatively most distributions will point you at a list of hardware that may or may not work (because they are out of date and once worked, with a chipset, but no longer because of the changes to the product, and/or other issues). Also a little disclaimer. I'm the CEO/Founder of ThinkPenguin. Trisquel isn't the only distribution we support although it is one of the small handful we make a point to actively support because of its free software status. Basically that means we make sure new free software firmware/fixes get into it ASAP. Other distributions we may not worry about getting stuff upstream or it may take the entire life of the product before we get it up-streamed (The AR9170 USB N chipset just got support on Fedora/Redhat, as an example, mainly because I met up with a Redhat developer somewhere, and sent his boss an email later about it, but otherwise would have let it go.. until/if there was time, despite this was a known issue for many years, I think we did file a bug report, although it never got fixed, and we never pushed it).
Comparatively it has advantages over Ubuntu in that you can be confident that the hardware you buy will continue working. When your dependent on non-free components your dependent on the companies in control of those components for security updates, fixes, feature improvements, and updates that make it compatible with the current kernels, etc.
There is a lot of hardware out there which we (the community) have no control over as far as support goes. If we want to change that we need to move away from it and not towards it. It's not just a hardware thing.
There are lots of examples where users have been hurt: Adobe discontinued flash support for non-Chrome browsers, Oracle retracted its non-free license such that distributions couldn't bundle the version of Java that most companies test again/write for, etc. All of these things have had a major negative impact on users. While many people here didn't run into that problem because they chose not to use sites/non-free components more people need to take that stance for it to make positive difference.
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