PCLinuxOS preview 9 out!

[davecs]

OK This is a shameless plug, but at least it's for a free Linux OS.

There are two versions of the iso, one includes "alt" in its title. Use the alt if your computer has an nforce2 chipset or if you are loading onto a laptop.

I've posted a couple of issues on this site in the announcements page, but for the vast majority of people it will "just work".

The real beauty of this distro is what it does out of the box. Eg, go to the bbc site and listed to the radio or play a video clip. Everything you need is already integrated into Firefox. All the mplayer codecs are loaded, the only things you really need from Synaptic are libcss and libdvdcss to play encrypted DVDs and you have a great multimedia machine.

The old Mandrake Control Centre has had a major makeover and the new PCLinuxOS Control Centre is far superior.

This is primarily a "Home User" distro though it can be adapted for any situation, all the software missing from the disk is at the repositories. Where it really stars is as a system to impress potential converts who think there is no alternative to making Bill rich!

[jlarue]

I upgraded, through Synaptic, from 8.1 to 9.1. Worked like a charm. And I have to say that PCLinuxOS continues to be the best looking distro out there. This of course, is a matter of personal preference. But having all the browser plugs work, and wireless, is a significant bonus!

[davecs]

I upgraded, through Synaptic, from 8.1 to 9.1. Worked like a charm.

The same initially happened for me, but as a regular contributor to this site, I loaded .9 and .91 just so I could report in. There were a few hiccups with .9, but .91 has dealt with them. .81, in terms of getting it installed, was a real beauty! .91 is very, very good for installation, too.

And I have to say that PCLinuxOS continues to be the best looking distro out there.

PCLOS has a volunteer in South America, Venezuela I think, called Jose Rangels, who is a master of graphic design, regularly donating graphics. Whilst KDE is known for being a bit lary, Jose's contributions keep PCLOS's KDE implementation tasteful and very attractive without going overboard.

I have actually deleted a painstakingly set up Gentoo partition because PCLOS is so good!