“Enigma” may be the nickname of the latest release of the Netrunner Linux distro, but there’s actually nothing enigmatic about it. In fact, Netrunner 13.06 — also known as “Netrunner 5” — delivers one of the most satisfying out-of-the-box desktop experiences I have had in quite some time. I spend an inordinate amount of time testing and using different Linux distributions. My experiences with these sometimes-obscure distros and other Linux applications are the subjects right here in this weekly Linux Picks and Pans report.
Correct, Netrunner is awesome, especially for new Users. There new rolling branch is also very fine and there are just 2 Distros, who can reach this Level for me: PCLinuxOS and KaOS, maybe PC-BSD.
So they bundle links to pay services both common (Dropbox) and obscure/proprietary ("Runners-ID"?) and that's supposed to be a GOOD thing?
Ugh. Seems more like a bug than a feature. If I wanted crapware and trialware and proprietary branded services bundled with an OS I'd stick to Dell Windows machines or Ubuntu.
Thanks for the article; it's good to know there's a non-Canonical distribution that still uses KDE and Debian, but still I think I will end up with Mageia. They still make it possible to have a fully 'free' version, while still offering the non-free components if desired. It looks as if NetRunner isn't even making that effort.
(I'm not inclined to go purely free, but it's good that it's available.)
But maybe I'm wrong. I think I'll be trialing both -- thanks for the review, Jack!
JohnJark, can you describe NetRunner's userbase and viability? (I think those should be a big part of LinuxInsider's reviews.)
I'm also trying to find a good KDE distribution, and despite research I hadn't even heard of NetRunner until this review. The closest I found was SolydXK, which worries me because I don't think it has a very large development community or user base behind it.
Mageia, on the other hand, seems like a much better supported platform. It's Mandriva, but I'd prefer to stick with a Debian variant, so NetRunner does pique my interest.
Can I offer my thoughts on your observations of 'commercial' options?
Yes - there are 'commercial' options in NetRunner. But Linux has been criticised in the past for being commercially blind to 'paid' options. I think this is limiting - take advantage of the 'paid' options if you wish (who doesn't use cloud, and social these days?) but encourage Linux to sit above this with free and open source and sensible commercial options integrated.
This gives greater freedoms to us all.
I would also qualify the NetRunner offering in that it also gives you free cloud Runners-ID. So NetRunner stands above and is inclusive - a nice totality I think.
Attractions for me to move to NetRunner included:-
- it is Debian/Ubuntu based so capitalised on my experience + the user/dev base of both.
- it has Blue Systems behind it which is a key contributor to KDE with the commensurate dev expertise.(BTW - Blue Systems provides KDE to Ubuntu)
- my early experience of using the support community was first rate - relevant answers quickly - but just a small sample I hasten to add.
I tried Mageia also, but the installation process was not good - trashed a partition for me - so a bit averse here.
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Netrunner Sprints Ahead of the Linux Distro Pack
Posted by: Jack M. Germain August 14, 2013 05:00 AM“Enigma” may be the nickname of the latest release of the Netrunner Linux distro, but there’s actually nothing enigmatic about it. In fact, Netrunner 13.06 — also known as “Netrunner 5” — delivers one of the most satisfying out-of-the-box desktop experiences I have had in quite some time. I spend an inordinate amount of time testing and using different Linux distributions. My experiences with these sometimes-obscure distros and other Linux applications are the subjects right here in this weekly Linux Picks and Pans report.
Ugh. Seems more like a bug than a feature. If I wanted crapware and trialware and proprietary branded services bundled with an OS I'd stick to Dell Windows machines or Ubuntu.
Thanks for the article; it's good to know there's a non-Canonical distribution that still uses KDE and Debian, but still I think I will end up with Mageia. They still make it possible to have a fully 'free' version, while still offering the non-free components if desired. It looks as if NetRunner isn't even making that effort.
(I'm not inclined to go purely free, but it's good that it's available.)
But maybe I'm wrong. I think I'll be trialing both -- thanks for the review, Jack!
I'm also trying to find a good KDE distribution, and despite research I hadn't even heard of NetRunner until this review. The closest I found was SolydXK, which worries me because I don't think it has a very large development community or user base behind it.
Mageia, on the other hand, seems like a much better supported platform. It's Mandriva, but I'd prefer to stick with a Debian variant, so NetRunner does pique my interest.
Is there a good community and support options?
Can I offer my thoughts on your observations of 'commercial' options?
Yes - there are 'commercial' options in NetRunner. But Linux has been criticised in the past for being commercially blind to 'paid' options. I think this is limiting - take advantage of the 'paid' options if you wish (who doesn't use cloud, and social these days?) but encourage Linux to sit above this with free and open source and sensible commercial options integrated.
This gives greater freedoms to us all.
I would also qualify the NetRunner offering in that it also gives you free cloud Runners-ID. So NetRunner stands above and is inclusive - a nice totality I think.
Attractions for me to move to NetRunner included:-
- it is Debian/Ubuntu based so capitalised on my experience + the user/dev base of both.
- it has Blue Systems behind it which is a key contributor to KDE with the commensurate dev expertise.(BTW - Blue Systems provides KDE to Ubuntu)
- my early experience of using the support community was first rate - relevant answers quickly - but just a small sample I hasten to add.
I tried Mageia also, but the installation process was not good - trashed a partition for me - so a bit averse here.
But an update. Netrunner now runs on KDE 4.11 - probably the first distro to get this out to the users.
Just a delight to use - I agree completely with you.
We moved to NetRunner from Kubuntu some months ago. Canonical has moved itself from asset to liability - Gnome, Mir, Unity without much sharing.
We love KDE and spent a lot of time looking for a distro where KDE is cared for, and likely to survive past Mir.
NetRunner does this + gives a wonderful desktop to boot.
Never mind trying out KDE on NetRunner - just move to NetRunner and enjoy the total experience.