alternative OS's

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there are lots of operating systems out there, i was wondering if anybody knew off some really inventive OS's.

Ive been looking around and most look like windows or linux -

does anybody know of any that are 'original' in that sense?

also, what is the lightest weight OS you guys (and gals) know (boots fast and runs faasssst)?

Thanks.
 
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there are lots of operating systems out there, i was wondering if anybody knew off some really inventive OS's.

Ive been looking around and most look like windows or linux -

does anybody know of any that are 'original' in that sense?

also, what is the lightest weight OS you guys (and gals) know (boots fast and runs faasssst)?

Thanks.

If you're elitist, try BSD (UNIX-clone from Berkeley)

If you want something stable, fast and lightweight, go for Linux Mint.
 
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Puppy linux is very light and fast.

I like red hat (I think you have to pay for it now)

I used Ubuntu for a year, I think it is pretty good (VERY fast boot time and fast overall)

I think it is all down to personal preference, do you like KDE or GNOME?

Linux Mint is supposed to be good, it is based off of Ubuntu.

My only issue with linux is the word processing, I don't like Open Office very much and didn't like the other options.

I suggest trying a bunch of them out, if you have spare blank CDs or even a flash drive you can try them out.
 
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Xubuntu is a variant of Ubuntu that uses XFCE as a desktop manager rather than Gnome that Ubuntu uses. It's much more lightweight so you get that extra performance boost, but you can still use familiar apps like Firefox and OpenOffice.

It reignited an old Dell SX260 I had that struggled with Windows XP. It's great!
 
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If you are after an original OS, then Be might be of interest.

While it doesn't have support for modern browsers, and is an older OS from the 90s that apple almost bought to replace OS9. Apple bought NextStep instead that became OSX

Its an interesting OS from a historical perpective - but not activelly developed like Linux, but is now only kept alive by an enthustiasts group

Haiku Project
 

cwa107


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How about AROS? An x86 compatible reverse-engineered version of Amiga OS.

AROS Research Operating System

It even comes on a Live CD, so there's no need to modify your computer in any way.
 
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Personally I like red hat, kubuntu, and solaris. I would suggest them along BSD if you are feeling a bit on the adventures side.
 
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A friend of mine uses Ubuntu with a mac OS theme. I personally could hardly notice the differences, when looking at screen shots.
 
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Yes you can use an OS X theme with AWN and Global Menu. You can install a stacks plugin for AWN.
 

vansmith

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My favourite topic! :)

You could also try Syllable on top of the recommendations by louishen and cwa107. Take a look at the list here to see some more. I recommend Syllable myself because it runs really fast. I think it booted up in ~ 10 sec in a VM but YMMV.
 
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wow guys thanks for all the quick replys.

i have previously used Ubuntu but nothing else.

can anyone tell me how i could get these OS's on an 8gb flash drive?
 

vansmith

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can anyone tell me how i could get these OS's on an 8gb flash drive?
Depends on the OS and whether booting from a flash drive is supported. What OS are you looking to boot from the flash drive? If you are looking for Ubuntu instructions, try these.
 
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Depends on the OS and whether booting from a flash drive is supported. What OS are you looking to boot from the flash drive? If you are looking for Ubuntu instructions, try these.

thanks but is there a way to put ubuntu on your memory stick from os x.

i want to avoid putting another OS directly on my imac :)

Thank you :)
 

vansmith

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i want to avoid putting another OS directly on my imac :)
Live USB Creator does the trick. You run it from the Ubuntu live CD. Instructions are about a third of the way down the page I linked to in my previous post.
 
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Small and fast? Syslinux or D.S.L. will run on a USB drive and are both pretty fun (and portable).
 

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