Desktop Usage
One issue that I have come across with
some Linux operating systems in the past is lack of ability of properly
managing dual displays out-of-the-box. I can gladly say that SolusOS
handled everything with ease and I witnessed no dramas during my test
time and on a system with only moderate specifications.
SolusOS sits on a GNOME 2.30.2 desktop
environment. Although GNOME 2 is beginning to show signs of its age, it
certainly doesn’t show in SolusOS. In fact, SolusOS’s polish is so
impressive, GNOME 2 feels shiny and new once more. But no matter how
much you dress it up, there’s no changing the fact that there will be no
more support or updates for GNOME 2. So what the long term decision
will be for its inclusion in SolusOS is unknown to me. But I can see the
potential for easily converting the desktop to a MATE base. Which
really would be not much effort considering MATE’s heritage goes right
back to GNOME 2.
The Menu System
One particular feature that I really
enjoyed using in SolusOS was the Main Menu. I don’t know whether it’s a
custom version of Mint Menu or something else, but the best way I can
describe it is a blend of functionality from Mint Menu and the KDE4
Menu. It’s very functional, responsive and is well designed. It is a
pleasure to use and to quickly find what you searching for. Whether it
be an application or location on your system.
Package Selection
Software selection was nice. There is a
good balance of applications. Most of them bog standard that ship with
most GNOME based distributions, but there are some extra goodies thrown
in to the mix. PlayOnLinux and WINE add for an extra layer of
compatibility. I had time to test out WINE by booting up a quick game of
Plant vs. Zombies and it worked a treat. I didn’t really have the time
and resources to tinker around with PlayOnLinux. But I did take a quick
sneak peek at its GUI and it looks like a very capable package.
PlayOnLinux+WINE are a nice addition to have shipped with SolusOS.
Multimedia
There’s a strength and focus on
multimedia support with SolusOS. Default packages include VLC Media
Player and GNOME MPlayer. And of course there’s also the usual packages
you find shipped with almost all GNOME based distribution. Totem and
Rhythmbox are both included with the addition of all required codecs.
That’s something that always eases the pain for most new users with
Linux.
The Missing Piece
When browsing the available and installed
applications in SolusOS, I couldn’t help but notice something a little
odd. And I have to admit it did bug me a little. Taking the final ISO
size into consideration, I expected GIMP to be installed by default.
Looking through the menu you’ll find that it’s not. Instead, there is
GNU Paint installed. Why GNU Paint has been put in place of where GIMP
should be, really, strikes me as not making sense. Unless there is some
personal connection with the developers and GNU Paint, I just don’t
understand it. Or perhaps it’s just time that I stop expecting GIMP to
be installed on every Linux distribution available.
Conclusion
Considering SolusOS comes from a very
small development and support team, (in fact, it’s the work of just a
few people) there are no signs of this when you use SolusOS. The small
development team has done a fantastic job with SolusOS and it’s a real
professional Linux distribution that is more than capable of meeting the
requirements of even the most demanding Linux user.
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