Mini Distro review [Sidux]

I recently decided to try something new. I was using ubuntu 9.10 and was really impressed with what the ubuntu team and community have done with bringing Linux to the masses, So much in fact my partner swapped over to ubuntu when she had her new laptop.

I have always been tempted to try Sid, Which is the unstable branch of the Debian distro. but when I think about It come to the conclusion that maybe “unstable” isnt for me. And that it’s just too cutting edge. Well I was wrong.

I downloaded the latest version of Sidux (Sidux-2009-03)and opted for the KDE-lite version, Now I’ve not used KDE4 since it was released and always stuck with what I know which is Gnome. I fired up the live-cd and got to work installing the distro. The install dialogs are very clearly explained and easy to follow. I seemed to be through the process in completely installed in a little under five minutes.

After a quick reboot I logged in with my details and was presented with a tidy looking desktop. The next thing to do was get the wireless up and running and after looking through the applications presented to me I found a program called Ceni after going through a few easy to understand dialogs I had my wireless up and running. This for me has to be the easiest way so far in any distro I’ve tried to get wirless working. It was even easier than ubuntu in this regard. After installing a few necessary applications Iceweasel,Icedove and abiword I was left with a very capable desktop that everything worked fine including sound etc.

One thing for me that sets sidux apart from most distros I’ve tried is the manual. It seems all distro’s have their own manual or documentation but sidux’s really shines for me I quickly found myself making my way through it. It really is written well and is easy to find with a nice link to it on the desktop.