Using Puppy as primary OS

Puppy related raves and general interest that doesn't fit anywhere else
Message
Author
User avatar
Eyes-Only
Posts: 1043
Joined: Thu 10 Aug 2006, 06:32
Location: La Confederation Abenaquaise

#16 Post by Eyes-Only »

Puppy has been my sole operating system since around version 1.0.2 starting with Grafpup - and approximately a year before officially joining this forum. ( I tend to lurk around a forum for a year or more before joining. ;) )

Before Puppy I was using a mix of Windows 98se and AstonShell - a desktop environment created for Windows which, when selected, "puts Windows to sleep" and then itself runs upon the Windows .dll files, sort of a "mini-OS" in and of itself and nothing like LiteSTEP and other shells made to operate upon Windows in place of the Explorer.exe.

Before that I used a pre-alpha version of what later became known as Windows 95 - a friend of a friend was an alpha/beta tester/programmer for Redmond who used to "lose" his disks. ;) And before that - and for years at that - I was an Apple IIe user. I guess I really date myself here? Although I know Sage ( amongst a few others here ) have been using computers, and coding, for far longer than I. LOL!

Still... in all of my 26+ years of using computers I've found nothing with the beauty, inside and out, of Puppy!

My default is 3 Headed Dog while my wife and grand-kiddos use Lucid-Pup 528.005 and love it immensely.

Cheers/Amicalement,

Eyes-Only
"L'Peau-Rouge d'Acadie"
*~*~*~*~*~*
Proud user of LXpup and 3-Headed Dog. 8)
*~*~*~*~*~*

User avatar
tubeguy
Posts: 1320
Joined: Sat 29 Aug 2009, 01:04
Location: Park Ridge IL USA
Contact:

#17 Post by tubeguy »

At home I'm on Puppy 90% of the time, sometimes I have to use Windows for Photoshop and Dreamweaver, and I do remote support for friends and family with CrossLoop. I suppose I could fart around with Wine but I have several machines and it's just easier to use a KVM and have a separate Windows box.

At work I am on Windows all the time. :roll:
[b]Tahr Pup 6 on desktop, Lucid 3HD on lappie[/b]

User avatar
dk60902
Posts: 230
Joined: Sun 26 Sep 2010, 22:34
Location: In front of my computer

#18 Post by dk60902 »

Depends on my computer. I have 6 different computers that I use.

For my old HP a800n, Puppy 5.2.8 (frugal install) is my primary OS. I tend to use this computer the most among my home computers because it's the most fun. I picked it up off of Craigslist for $35 and had to put in a hard drive. This is also my test box. This computer is setup for multiple boot, with WinXP, several puppies and Ubuntu 12.04. WinXP doesn't run as quickly for web surfing (especially Chrome browser), and Ubuntu is still buggy. Puppy runs like a dream surfing the internet. For the internet, no other OS is as fast. Puppy is the most fun and rewarding. I love how easy and quick it is to install. I like how Puppy runs off of RAM, and the Hard Drive rarely spins. Bootup and shutdown is very quick. If I mess something up, it's easy to delete my save file, and replace it with my backup.

My piece of shit work computer struggles on WinXP, but runs fairly well on Puppy. I have to hit ctrl-alt-backspace a couple times during the day when it freezes up on Puppy 5.2.5.

There are a few issues though. It doesn't support multiple monitors, as far as I know. I can't get wireless printing. It may be possible, but so far I haven't figured it out. I use Vista, Win7, Ubuntu 12.04 and MacOSX 10.6.8, and with these other OS's, it was easy to setup wireless printer support. I don't do a lot of printing, so it's not that big of a deal. I also cannot get Google Chrome, Chromium, Iron to install on 5.2.8. USB wireless support can be a little frustrating, but I do have a wireless USB dongle that is plug and play. I purchased a different wireless USB which has linux driver's on the manufacturer website. However, as a novice Linux user, I haven't been able to figure out how to get it to install/work. It would be cool for Puppy to have a suspend or sleep mode. Maybe there is, but I don't know how to set it up.

User avatar
rcrsn51
Posts: 13096
Joined: Tue 05 Sep 2006, 13:50
Location: Stratford, Ontario

#19 Post by rcrsn51 »

dk60902 wrote:I can't get wireless printing. It may be possible, but so far I haven't figured it out. I use Vista, Win7, Ubuntu 12.04 and MacOSX 10.6.8, and with these other OS's, it was easy to setup wireless printer support. I don't do a lot of printing, so it's not that big of a deal. .
Why not post a request in the Printers section.

User avatar
dk60902
Posts: 230
Joined: Sun 26 Sep 2010, 22:34
Location: In front of my computer

#20 Post by dk60902 »

rcrsn51 wrote:
dk60902 wrote:I can't get wireless printing. It may be possible, but so far I haven't figured it out. I use Vista, Win7, Ubuntu 12.04 and MacOSX 10.6.8, and with these other OS's, it was easy to setup wireless printer support. I don't do a lot of printing, so it's not that big of a deal. .
Why not post a request in the Printers section.
Because if I need to print something, I'll use another computer. As I said, I don't do a lot of printing, so it's not a major issue.

2byte
Posts: 353
Joined: Mon 09 Oct 2006, 18:10

#21 Post by 2byte »

I use Puppy 99.999% of the time at work. 100% at home. All day, every day.

The ONLY time I use Windows 2k Pro is for PLC programming which uses proprietary Windows only software. Even then, it's within a vmware virtual machine in Puppy 412 :)

Most of my time at work and home I use Lucid Puppy 5.11.


rmcellig
Posts: 965
Joined: Sat 19 Nov 2011, 15:18
Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada
Contact:

#22 Post by rmcellig »

Seeing that I am spending a lot of time lately booted from my Puppy DVD, I was wondering if anyone has installed and used Dropbox while booted in from the Puppy DVD.

I am a heavy user of Dropbox and was wondering if it is possible for me to still use it even though I started up from the Puppy DVD.

User avatar
TheAsterisk!
Posts: 406
Joined: Tue 10 Feb 2009, 08:52

#23 Post by TheAsterisk! »

I've used Puppy as my primary OS since the 421 release (412 was the first I tried, but it stayed only in limited use). I've used 421, 430, 431, 511, 525, 528 and 531 as my primary OS so far, and I usually try to migrate all of my computers to new versions (if/when I upgrade) all within a day or two of each other. A common base system across all my hardware makes maintaining my installed applications and tweaking my system(s) a bit easier.

Right now I'm still running Slacko 531 on two towers and a laptop, and also have 531 installed to a USB flash drive and a USB hard drive. (I've tried migrating to 533, but have managed to botch it twice now. Might try again soon.)

Puppy is perfectly capable as a primary personal OS provided you aren't afraid of spending some time on the setup. The speed and control afforded by the system once appropriately tweaked is worth it, in my opinion, and the tiny footprint on the hard drive leaves more room for my pack rat file-saving habits.

rmcellig
Posts: 965
Joined: Sat 19 Nov 2011, 15:18
Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada
Contact:

#24 Post by rmcellig »

When you talk about tweaking, are you talking about cosmetic tweaking like the right background etc..., or it it more the fundementals of the OS?

jsl06
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri 02 Mar 2012, 11:25

My use of puppy linux

#25 Post by jsl06 »

I am using slacko-5.3.1 on usb. The other system is windows 7 with ntfs. I have a slow connection to the internet, thus, I mostly access the internet with lynx. I think I would use lynx anyway to avoid the billboards. I use seamonkey for this discussion group and e-mail. I use cli and puppy linx about 99% of the time.
James

ndujoe1
Posts: 851
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 01:06

Using Puppy as Primary OS

#26 Post by ndujoe1 »

I use Puppy Linux Lupu 5.25 as the only OS on my machine. I do have a laptop that has Windows XP on it for those time when I am usually helping others with their computer

User avatar
dk60902
Posts: 230
Joined: Sun 26 Sep 2010, 22:34
Location: In front of my computer

#27 Post by dk60902 »

rmcellig wrote:Seeing that I am spending a lot of time lately booted from my Puppy DVD, I was wondering if anyone has installed and used Dropbox while booted in from the Puppy DVD.

I am a heavy user of Dropbox and was wondering if it is possible for me to still use it even though I started up from the Puppy DVD.
Icyos has a custom Slacko 5.3.2.4 with Dropbox already installed. This may be it:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzHvBhl ... RTUQ/edit#

linuxbear
Posts: 620
Joined: Sat 18 Apr 2009, 20:39
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

#28 Post by linuxbear »

Puppy 5.2.8 @ work and Win 7 @ work on different machines.
Puppy 5.2.8 on keychain pendrive. XP and Bodhi 1.4 on the desktop @ home
XP and Bodhi 1.4 on an older lappie which is destined to become my new file server. Vista and Bodhi 1.4 on the newer, faster (oldish) laptop

linuxbear
Posts: 620
Joined: Sat 18 Apr 2009, 20:39
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

#29 Post by linuxbear »

dk60902 wrote:
rmcellig wrote:Seeing that I am spending a lot of time lately booted from my Puppy DVD, I was wondering if anyone has installed and used Dropbox while booted in from the Puppy DVD.

I am a heavy user of Dropbox and was wondering if it is possible for me to still use it even though I started up from the Puppy DVD.
Icyos has a custom Slacko 5.3.2.4 with Dropbox already installed. This may be it:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzHvBhl ... RTUQ/edit#
Has anyone tried to install apps on a Puppy distro which is living on a read-write DVD? I'm guessing that would work (?)

...If that does not work, you can still login to dropbox from a web page and get your files

User avatar
TheAsterisk!
Posts: 406
Joined: Tue 10 Feb 2009, 08:52

#30 Post by TheAsterisk! »

rmcellig wrote:When you talk about tweaking, are you talking about cosmetic tweaking like the right background etc..., or it it more the fundementals of the OS?
Neither, really. :D Maybe somewhere in between...

I tend to make and install a lot of my own packages, and I tend to botch things a few times before I get it right. The whole idea with keeping my installations the same is that once I've gotten things steady then I can more reliably avoid programs or dependencies interfereing with one another, or causing instability. There is also a 'settings & preferences' and a cosmetic component to it, but that's secondary.

Put more simply, once I have one copy up and running smoothly, I basically just copy the save file and SFS files over to the second system, so that I don't have to do it over again. Updates for applications are the same thing: do them all at once, all the same way. (If I don't, it tends to make future updates more unpredictable, less uniform.) The only differences in packages installed between them come down to drivers.

User avatar
tuxtoo
Posts: 173
Joined: Tue 14 Dec 2010, 19:45
Location: Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, UK
Contact:

#31 Post by tuxtoo »

Wary-512 on P4, 2.5ghz. 1.25gb ram, 80gb HD and dual boot with XP on a 1.6ghz, 1gb ram, 160gb netbook, although I very rearly use XP on the netbook. Just prefer Puppy

Been using Puppy for about four years as my main OS. Puppy just does everything I need faster and with less fuss than Windows. So unless there is a Windows program that you must have, and even then there is Wine to run Windows programs and that is improving all the time.

While Windows needs to be all things to all people, from the corporate to individuals. Puppy, I believe, is aimed at individuals and to me Puppy beats Windows hands down as my primary OS.

Just my two pennies' worth.

Eldon
Posts: 110
Joined: Thu 09 Sep 2010, 19:29
Contact:

#32 Post by Eldon »

I'm in Texas, and my air conditioning isn't the best.

All sumer I've was using Slacko 5.3.1 most of the time so I could unplug my hard drive and reduce the wear on it and keep the PC and my house cooler when it's 105 degrees.

I loved it.

Today I had a problem, and my flash drive I had it on wouldn't boot, so I decided to try and install 5.3.3 and see how it goes.

Now I can't get my bt keyboard to work so I may switch back to 5.3.1.

But for surfing and many tasks, I like slacko more than windows for sure. Still have windows on my HD, but I don't use it nearly as much as I used to.

User avatar
dk60902
Posts: 230
Joined: Sun 26 Sep 2010, 22:34
Location: In front of my computer

#33 Post by dk60902 »

I know that I may take some flak for giving props to M$, but recently, I scored a great deal with a used desktop with a dual core processor and 8 GB of RAM. Win Vista SP2 is on the computer. I tuned it up and it's running great on Vista. The one thing that I like is that there are 2 video outputs, and I love running dual monitors. That may be possible with Puppy, but I don't know how to do it. Ubuntu or Linux Mint may have dual monitor support, and I'll test it out one of these days. Also, with 8 GB of RAM, there's lots of headroom, and although Vista is resource hungry, it runs well on this machine. Despite the negativity with Vista, I find it be a good OS. Personally, I think it's beautiful. The other thing that I like is that wireless printer setup is a breeze, it found my scanner automatically (xsane scanner on Puppy doesn't recognize my scanner, although I know that a driver may get it running). Getting the wireless USB adapter on my Windows box was also very easy. File sharing between this computer and my Win 7 laptop was fairly straightforward, as was remote desktop.

I did configure Slacko 5.3.3 PAE with Compiz and Saluki 22 with Compiz to run on my machine. I have it running off of a USB stick. I still enjoy Puppy very much.

Lately, I've been using my Win Vista box more that I have Puppy because of the dual monitor setup on Vista.

I sold a couple other desktops (test boxes) in the last month that had Puppy installed on the HD. I used Puppy as my #1 OS on these machines and WinXP very rarely (when I needed to scan a document).
Last edited by dk60902 on Wed 05 Sep 2012, 04:43, edited 1 time in total.
HP Pavilion Mini Pentium 1.7 GHz Dual Core 12 GB RAM 120 GB SSD Linux Lite 3.8 64-bit w/ Kensington Slimblade Trackball
Bionic8.0 Xenial64 Tahr64 USB frugal install
Samsung Chromebook Plus
LG V20 LG Xpression Plus Huawei Ascend XT2

User avatar
ally
Posts: 1957
Joined: Sat 19 May 2012, 19:29
Location: lincoln, uk
Contact:

#34 Post by ally »

I've been using puppy for about 18 months as my only os

I've tried many flavours but find slacko (5.3.3) best for me, works well with my default lenovo t61

also have 2 t21's an amd dual core desktop running slacko, one t21 as a thin client attached to the hifiwith wake-on-lan and vnc for control, the second t21 is used for testing new distro's

I have recently discovered the eeepc and have 2, one running xp (a stripped down version) which is destined for my parents and the other running jemimah's wonderful puppeee1.0

all machines can be vnc'd using x11vnc and tight vnc and the hard wired machines brought up using the wol

the only problem I have had is with the high mem version of slacko which doesn't appear to run very well for me for some reason

for all out there who haven't donoted to barry et al please think about doing so

puppy linux really is the dogs b@ll@cks!

:)

EDIT: also have puppy running on raspberry pi

EDIT: eeepc windows removed in favour of puppeee1.0 on folks machine
Last edited by ally on Fri 07 Dec 2012, 14:37, edited 3 times in total.

starhawk
Posts: 4906
Joined: Mon 22 Nov 2010, 06:04
Location: Everybody knows this is nowhere...

#35 Post by starhawk »

TinyXP...? Might not want to be broadcasting your use of that... ;)

See here. Last paragraph is especially important.

Post Reply