Linux Deepin

[Remah]

I tried Deepin and I am deeply disappointed that it's not a very attractive option for converting from Windows despite the obvious advantages of a simple install process and the attractive desktop. I really liked the settings panel and other features but it all feels like many of the design choices are counterproductive. In comparison, ChaletOS has a more WIndows-friendly set of applications at install:

• It removed my ChaletOS boot record when it installed. I'm not sure if that was a competitive feature or a bug. Thankfully it left Windows 8.1 alone.
• It was slow and regularly maxed out both cores for many activities. Watching YouTube videos in Chrome would occasionally stutter at 320p, regularly at 480p, and all the time at 720p - both cores were 100% for 720p video playback.
• There appear to be a lot of small bugs/problems in just about everything I tried. For example, it started with no sound even though the devices were setup; the sound settings would then change arbitrarily when I restarted Chrome. Chinese language sometimes turns up where it should be English.
• Deepin Store is rather limited. Update locked up the first time and had to restart it.
• Couldn't access NTFS drives out of the box.

I gave up at this point.

[MidnightCowboy]

Your findings match pretty well with Dedoimedo's review.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/d...-2-review.html

Youtube videos:

My first moment of shattered innocence happened when I tried to play Youtube in Chrome, the default browser. The screen went blank, even though the audio played. The only way to recover was to force-boot the system. After this, I installed Firefox and Flash Player separately, and then, the playback worked fine. So, there, a bug.

Resource use:

One weak side of this distribution is its resource utilization. The extra beauty and polish have their price, and so do all the little transition effects. Overall, the CPU hovers around 6-7%, and the memory usage is about 460-470MB on idle. These numbers do not tell the whole story, because it's definitely more sluggish than quite a few other distros with a similar upbringing.

He mentions this again in his comparison/conclusion.

I currently have Deepin installed on two desktops. One is an i5 8G off the shelf Semp Toshiba which Deepin now shares with Linux Mint 17.1 KDE. Deepin is the sole occupant of the other machine which is a 5 year old custom built low-end spec AMD Athon + 2G. The older rig has a variable speed cooler which will kick in under stress. Even so, I've not had Deepin trigger this under normal load, including videos, but admittedly not the online type which likely would.

I also had no issues with the updates or Deepin Store, but I have experienced these intermittently with other distros so could just have struck lucky with Deepin (so far )

IMO "and now for something completely different" I am happy for it to occupy some of my space. Certainly on the i5 machine I don't feel in any way penalized on performance.

[Remah]

It has got many hot keys that match Windows which is a first (PS, a first for me). Are their any others with Windows hotkeys? ChaletOS doesn't have them.

It is a shame that Deepin requires too much oomph which will be a problem for people with old XP machines. The rough edges make it unattractive for almost anybody.

I really wanted it to be much better because I need real options for basic Windows users. I have an idea for an article on that topic which should be a lot different to the many articles that I have read. Those reviews usually ignore substantive analysis and the need to provide equivalent Windows features like matching hotkeys. Instead they focus too much on novel and quirky interfaces which the reviewers seem to think will work like candy or catnip for Windows users. After all, it is obvious that "Windoze" users are a bit retarded so you have to make it really simple with pretty pictures.

I've also read a lot of reviews that gloss over the problems. This makes me think that the Linux reviewers/users still have too high a tolerance for the sort of issues that will stop the average Windows user moving to Linux.

So I'll keep working my way through the products that are recommended. I'll try Zorin and Mint next.

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by Remah

It has got many hot keys that match Windows which is a first (PS, a first for me). Are their any others with Windows hotkeys? ChaletOS doesn't have them.

My use of hotkeys is strictly limited so I'm not the best source for a Windows/Linux comparison. In addition to what might come as standard with various distros, there is a way by which you can create your own set.

http://www.maketecheasier.com/autoke...cuts-in-linux/

The comprehensive tech-type reviews that delve into the inner most flaws of a product are fine if you are this way inclined but the biggest majority of potential users will never encounter most of these so they could be put off using it for no good reason.

90% of the users I see only want:

• internet/social media
• email
• music/video
• word processing
• games

Home based workers have greater needs on the office software front but as this moves more into the cloud, the loss of MS Office as an installed product becomes less of an issue.

Internet and social media interaction using Linux is pretty much identical apart from the format of some browser addons unless you're a die-hard ie fan (in which case you're in for a treat anyway ).

Email too has cross platform clients such as Thunderbird, Seamonkey, Claws, Evolution and others although a lot of folks prefer using webmail.

Music and Video can be the first potential hurdle depending on the distro. By far the biggest majority will now play all of the normal formats out of the box thanks to the likes of VLC, although for streaming audio the addition of extra codecs might be necessary to cover apps such as Clementine.

Word processing & installed office apps in general will present users with a different interface but WPS Office comes close.

http://www.wps.com/linux/

Otherwise, Abiword, LibreOffice or Calligra will provide the goods, depending on the distro defaults, and a more simple text editor is usually included too.

Games is an area where I have zero knowledge but it is my understanding that the gap between Windows and Linux for what is possible is narrowing all the time.

https://www.playonlinux.com/en/supported_apps-1-0.html
http://store.steampowered.com/browse/linux/

Wine is not included as standard in some distros, but it can be added from the repositories.

https://appdb.winehq.org/

I also love the title of this one "Gaming on Linux: A guide for sane people with limited patience".

http://www.pcworld.com/article/20259...-patience.html

To appeal to the majority of potential crossover users from Windows therefore, I would be inclined to concentrate on the above, rather than bemoaning the fact that Samba shares don't work.

[MaikL]

deepin 2014.3

The deepin development team has announced the release of deepin 2014.3 which brings new updates to the project's Ubuntu-based desktop Linux distribution, together with a new website domain (deepin.org) and a new product name - now spelt with a lower-case "d". From the release announcement:...

"This time, we focused on fixing and optimizing Dock and Control Center to make the experience and stability of deepin 2014.3 greatly improved."

http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=08921


Tried deepin before I left XP and settled on Linux Mint. Thought it was beautiful but when the next beta was announced it took a-g-e-s for it (the beta) to arrive, so I moved on.

[MidnightCowboy]

I upgraded my Deepin system today using the necessary command.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install deepin-os-upgrader -y && os-upgrade

Everything went quickly and smoothly. No errors.

Please note: Do not use the Deepin Store (software centre) to perform an upgrade otherwise you will likely break the system and render it unbootable.

[MidnightCowboy]

Deepin 15 has now moved into beta. Now based on Debian instead of Ubuntu which is likely to please a lot of folks. Picture preview here.

http://linuxbsdos.com/2015/12/01/dee...n-of-the-year/

So long as the final release works, I too can subscribe to this being the best distro of the year.

[Remah]

I'm drooling over the very attractive interface and Control Centre.

I hope this version has fewer bugs when it comes out of beta.

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by Remah

I'm drooling over the very attractive interface and Control Centre.

The "look" of Deepin is very individual, won't suit everyone and options for further customization are limited but certainly the Control Center is what sets it apart. Looking forward to the final release.

[kendall.a]

Deepin or Q4os for/with an older (4-5 years) laptop? I've read some great things here about both of them lately. How do they compare to Mageia?