antiX-M8.2
Once again Brian has weighed in with a good distribution review request. Up this time is antiX, a light-weight version of Linux based on SimplyMEPIS. antiX is geared toward older systems but it’s also quite usable on more modern hardware. antiX is maintained by a guy who goes by the moniker “anticapitalista.”
What’s New In This Release
There’s quite a bit new in this release and here’s a sample of what you’ll find:
- Increased localization, supports 10 languages right out of the box.
- All MEPIS tools updated and adapted for antiX
- MEPIS 2.6.27-25 kernel
- Improved antiX-Control Centre, new scripts for screenshots, phonebook
- Improved and extended themes and artwork for icewm and fluxbox
- Much improved localisation
- meta-installer to install kde4 (if wanted)
- iceweasel 3.0.11 supporting 11 languages
- X.org 7.4
- Rox-filer 2.9
- fluxbox 1.1.1
- wicd 1.6.1
Requirements & Installation
antiXi is ideal for older computers and needs the following as a minimum requirement:
64MB old PII 266 systems with pre-configured 128MB RAM with 1.2GB hard disk size.
The antiX install is really, really fast and quite easy. Mine finished in just a few minutes and I had no problems with it. I’d classify it as probably one of the fastest installs I’ve seen and probably one of the easiest.
Here’s what you can expect to encounter during the installation:
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Ah yes, another member of Brian’s triumvirate of distros. I’ve always thought there was a good ancient Rome joke here. “Hello Antix Maximus. What brings you to Mepis? Oh you know, Oedipus Sidux, just hangin’ out.”
I do agree with your assessment of the IceWM menus. Puppy Linux suffers this same affliction. You would think since they are going for the lightest weight possible that they would strip out the excess here.
Antix is still a good enough distro, but I would have to give the latest version of Puppy the nod for interface design, newbie friendliness, as a utility/repair distro running from a LiveCD, and as an install on older hardware.
I could not get Antix to even boot up on an old 500mhz Celeron with 64mb ram. Puppy ran fine, albeit a little slowly due to heavy use of the swap file.
I have had good results with the MOST RECENT versions of both Puppy and antiX, tlmck, but I had quite a few problems with both the 4.1.2 and the 4.2 versions of Puppy prior to the 4.2.1 release, which finally fixed the issues.
I suspect it would be possible to muck around with boot options and get that Celeron going on antiX, but what’s the point? It’s good that you have a solid distro to use on that old box, and Puppy, being even smaller than antiX, is perfect for that gear.
Jim, I am glad to see you getting around to reviewing antiX. Now you see why I am so high on it and evaluate it so well. I consider it “Best in Class” as a full featured Live CD that can be used as a Live CD, as a regularly installed system that can be used on older hardware, as an on the move system (to carry around, as Mandriva advertises with their USB model), or to install in BASE form and use as the basis for your own customized system.
Only Puppy, of the distributions that I can think of, competes on so many levels. TinyMe, MiniMe, and PCLinuxOS are about the next closest, and they are pretty good too.
Jim, I think you should review MORE distros that you can’t whine much about. I noticed somebody else was looking for a SimplyMEPIS 8.0 review. There have not been very many of them since it was released. There HAS been a quiet 8.06 update; it simply fixes a few things that were not 100% perfect, discovered after the initial release; .06 was a June 2009 update.
SimplyMEPIS will not stun or impress you with much of anything, unless you are impressed by stuff that just works. SimplyMEPIS DOES provide a desktop – the aging, classic, STABLE KDE 3.5.10 desktop.
The SimplyMEPIS community has also created a number of respins – a couple from KDE 4.2 already, one from XFCE, another from LXDE, and it is a vibrant community. It does not get anywhere near the noise or publicity that Mint, Ubuntu and others get. If I am correct, the average age of the MEPIS Lovers Forum participants is a good deal older than many other distributions, which may account for the civility, politeness, and helpfulness in the forum (though age certainly does not guarantee such things – some people are cranky and impolite regardless of their age).
Anyway, antiX is great! How about SimplyMEPIS next – then you will have reviewed my “trilogy of systems”, and tlmck will have some more material for which to write his artistic prose! :-)
Hope you can try it, and I hope we get a lot of discussions and activity over here! :-) I will send my friends over!
Puppy isn’t nearly as good for one reason: AntiX uses and has access to all of Debian’s repositories. Puppy has the worst repository this side of Slackware.
That’s why it’s worth using.
I agree with the last comment. Mepis is Debian only with the most desired codecs and browser plugins already in place but still uses the “huge” Debian repository of software.
Ubuntu is based upon Debian as well but with major code changes and the inability of logging in as “root”, which makes it difficult to manage.
If you have an older computer try “Anti X”, you won’t be disappointed.
I would question your rating of antiX as a distro usable by a beginner unless by a “beginner” you mean somebody with some Linux experience. To somebody coming from the Windows environment, antiX would a total culture shock and totally incomprehensible. By excluding KDE and Gnome, antiX excludes a lot of the handholding and crutches those two desktops provide to a newbie/beginner. I have tried antiX and found it confusing. I have set it aside for another day when I have more time to play with it.
I agree with Brian on SimplyMEPIS. It is a distro that just works. In the past couple of months I tried 10-15 different distros looking for one that I can live with long-term. SimplyMEPIS is that distro for now. It is not the prettiest, it is not the fastest, it does not have the all latest technical improvements but it is the one that satisfies most of my criteria.
Installed antiX-M8.2, Impressed with its responsiveness and appearance but my netbook’s ethernet and wireless could not be detected. Goodbye, antiX.
@ masinick:
I’ve installed various editions of Puppy Linux many times, only to uninstall them each time. Why? Because PL wasn’t saving my wifi settings and I could not remove the bundled applications as the files are read-only. Why should any distro developer decide what programmes I should keep and use? This goes against the grain of Linux. Not acceptable.
While I agree that antiX may not be for rank beginners, it is well thought out and easy to comprehend for those with even just a little Linux exposure. And it’s fast and compact.
Oddly enough, I have never found SimplyMepis itself to live up to expectations, for beginners or enthusiasts. Having revisited it several times over the years, there always seemed to be something in the way: if not poor wireless support, then sound card issues, or missing codecs, or obtuse installers, or (still) confusing menus and slow refresh schedules. Mind you, the documentation has improved over time and the forum support has been good. But it never seemed to “just work”.
The antiX formulation, though, seems to be a more energetic and focused project.
@windmonger: Dude. Why do you go around to every review of this distro ranting about the Wi-Fi? Get a grip, man!
Not only are Wi-Fi firmwares not free (according to Debian, which this is based on), but they aren’t really the highest priority in a distro for OLD COMPUTERS.
AntiX is a great piece of work. I enjoyed using it, and may install it on a box or two around the house.
@windmonger: Just about any distro these days, both Puppy and antiX included, can run wireless just by grabbing wireless drivers – either from Windows wireless drivers (what is needed are the .inf files) or from numerous “non-free” firmware sites. antiX has access to both. Many, if not most, of these are actually INCLUDED with antiX, but if they aren’t, armed with either a wired connection or a USB stick containing the needed drivers, they can be easily installed.
Proprietary OS do not always include every driver either. Sometimes you have to go to the vendor and either get a CD, DVD, USB , (or floppy in the old days) or download from their site. It is only pre-configured computers sold by companies who have put everything in place that come with all the needed drivers FOR THAT PARTICULAR SYSTEM.
antiX does a very credible job of including many, if not MOST, hardware drivers. The Linux Hardware Database can help you find whatever additional device drivers that may be missing. I’d like to know what they are though – I have not seen anything missing.