Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

Jaraldo · 2015-12-12 00:35

I didn't see this posted anywhere when I checked, so figured I'd bring it up.

I bring this topic up because a good amount of posts I've read this year related to Q4OS all have a similar start: "I stumbled across", "I found a reference on a random site" or "I was out of opinions and willing to try anything", these reasons shouldn't be why Q4OS is downloaded; certainly not as a last resort.

Most people know Distrowatch is where you end up when trying to find a new linux OS. I think one of the main reasons that Q4OS doesn't have the popularity it clearly should, is that it's missing some tags in the Category section for quite awhile.
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=q4os
(Many "new to linux" people I know tend to search via popularity and then by tags)

As I gave my experience here, aswell as others,
http://q4os.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=19
and it works remarkably well on older machines, not to mention it's somewhat of a "XP replacement", so having the tag "Old Computer" might help it get some more downloads. I'd personally give it the "Beginners"tag now as its come a long way from a year ago and 1.4.4 seems pretty user friendly from installation to day-to-day usage.

I know I would have never even known about it without a randomly suggested youtube review of it a year ago.

It would be convenient if the download link on Distrowatch took you right to download page on aswell, but that's nitpicking :x

Just a few updates on the DistroWatch Q4OS page needed, but thought it was worth pointing out to help more people find this great OS.

Cheers

P.S, should probably add RPi to the tags sometime aswell. I can't wait to try it!

Last edited by Jaraldo (2015-12-12 00:35)

Jaraldo · 2015-12-12 04:20

I agree it's doing well and was just giving a few suggestions on improvements. (I didn't see the mentioned threads with same discussion, my bad)

I didn't mean for Distrowatch to be the "only" site to go to, but if you do lots of googlin' for different linux distros, it's usually one of the top hits; which is why I emphasized the importance of it.

I'm sure it will end up very close to the top 10-15 if it progresses at this rate and I'll do my best to help it get there.

I'm glad it's being picked up more now with review articles as I saw while searching around last month. My main point was, it seems even from the early stages it was quite good compared to even some developed distros and a few reasons might be lack of updated info. (so far that's all I've noticed)

Again, great OS, looking forward to more new developments

P.s I think I remember DistroRatings (just checked web.archives), but I was fairly new to linux in general so lots of terminology was way over my head then. It did help me pick out my first distro though, Mint 13 KDE.
Thanks for the help

Last edited by Jaraldo (2015-12-12 04:29)

q4osteam · 2015-12-13 12:30

Jaraldo wrote:

... so having the tag "Old Computer" might help it get some more downloads. I'd personally give it the "Beginners"tag now ...

Thank you for the suggestions, we will think about the 'Beginners' tag to add. We don't want to mark Q4OS by 'Old Computer' tag, as Q4OS works on the newer hardware pretty well too.

DavidB · 2015-12-13 21:42

Maybe, when there's a call for entering a fix or solution using the command line, it would a good habit to use the "Run Command..." option in Trinity's main menu. Then, you can avoid the use of the terminal, but still issue a simple command, if need be.

I have to admit that, when I want to enter a direct command, it's just a reflex to open up a terminal. But, with having the "Run Command" option in the main menu (just like WinXP by the way), I am finding it very convenient and breaking the habit of opening up a terminal window.

Not saying GUI-centric solutions aren't better or needed, just saying if running a command is a simple means to a solution, then non-technical users may find the "Run Command" option less intimidating.

q4osteam · 2015-12-13 22:05

The most straightforward way to solve user's issues is to run set of commands in terminal. Terminal commands are perfectly unambiguous and possibility of back-reporting terminal output is key advantage over silent GUI-centric procedures and mouse clicking on widgets. We agree, it would be nice to have more GUI tools in Q4OS, however they will never be so effective for remote assistance.

q4osteam · 2015-12-13 23:41

crosscourt wrote:

... but here in the forums we must try and look to offer a simpler/GUI approach when possible.

Agree, we have to decide case by case and pick the best approach up. We understand, some people could be discouraged, when they see terminal commands.

JimW · 2015-12-14 03:22

A bit off topic, but...
I first started using computers with DOS. I hated it when I was forced to use Windows 3.1! So, I feel more comfortable in the terminal most of the time. But then again, I may be a bit weird!

Jaraldo · 2015-12-14 03:23

q4osteam wrote:

Jaraldo wrote:
... so having the tag "Old Computer" might help it get some more downloads. I'd personally give it the "Beginners"tag now ...
Thank you for the suggestions, we will think about the 'Beginners' tag to add. We don't want to mark Q4OS by 'Old Computer' tag, as Q4OS works on the newer hardware pretty well too.

Fair point and I can understand your reasoning behind it. I know you don't want to make Q4OS seem "Old", but at the same time I think that's where the OS shines; on older computers.

Almost every article I've read is usually referencing Q4OS is terms of an WinXP replacement. WinXP is old and now "official done", people are trying to find a way to keep their older machines without having to spend $ upgrading. I think it's actually a big loss to not try and fill this niche because XP has quite a dedicated following and anything that can "successfully" replace it, I imagine will receive grand applause and the same following.

When looking at the "Newer Hardware" audience, if we start to compare Q4OS with all the aged, fully developed, heavily supported distros, (or even the newer "Flashy" ones) it's entering a large pool and becomes the very small fish here.

I mentioned putting the Beginners tag, because I'm by no means an advanced user, with barely anything close to terminal experience under my belt and this has been the easiest distro to set up/use out of the 15 or so "old" ones that I tried. Beginners, whether with old or new hardware just "want something that works" and I think Q4OS does a good job.

Far be it from me to tell a team how to run their product, but from what I've seen from reviews and my own experience, I would label Q4OS as: Beginner friendly, XP replacement, Minimalist/Basic.
Maybe the long-term goal for Q4OS is newer hardware and "strong foundation for complex third party applications", but right now you are getting considerable notice from people who are amazed by the reliability of your OS with old/low spec'd computers and that is not to not shy away from.

That'd be my conclusion from a Consumer/Customer point of view. Hope it's somewhat beneficial for the team

P.s For most basic computer users, the Terminal is like blackness of Space and until they how it works, how it is beneficial or have an easy reference on how to use it, they will continue to be scared of it. GUI is certainly the simpler solution for this, but as mentioned maybe not the best one.

DavidB · 2015-12-14 05:56

JimW wrote:

A bit off topic, but...
I first started using computers with DOS. I hated it when I was forced to use Windows 3.1! So, I feel more comfortable in the terminal most of the time. But then again, I may be a bit weird!

Nope, not weird, as far as I'm concerned. I started with and still use (well I did before going off the grid) my Commodore 64. Nothing but command line for that PC! LOL But, that's just what we're used to using, so it's a comfortable environment for us. When you know what you're doing, the command line is a lot faster than messing around with a GUI.

The worst thing about a GUI (as far as I'm concerned) is word processing. Talk about frustrating when working with tables and paragraphs with different margins and such. Remember when word processors were not WYSIWYG? The formatting commands appeared as characters along with text. You did not see the finished product until you printed, or previewed. Much simpler to do all sorts of complex formatting, when you just have to type what you want and not fight the interface.

Who, besides me, would prefer word processing on a C64 in this day and age? Now talk about weird! LOL

Anyways, sorry to get off-track, but I just had to reply to JimW's comment.

DavidB · 2015-12-14 06:00

Jaraldo wrote:

Far be it from me to tell a team how to run their product, but from what I've seen from reviews and my own experience, I would label Q4OS as: Beginner friendly, XP replacement, Minimalist/Basic.

You make a good point. I began using Q4OS to see if I can get more life out of my older PC. Now that I've used it and liked it, it will be going on all of them at some point. If it wasn't for that fact, I'd probably have just left the old PC in the drawer and continued on using ElementaryOS.

Q4OS Forum

#1 2015-12-12 00:35

Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

#2 2015-12-12 04:20

Re: Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

#3 2015-12-13 12:30

Re: Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

#4 2015-12-13 21:42

Re: Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

#5 2015-12-13 22:05

Re: Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

#6 2015-12-13 23:41

Re: Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

#7 2015-12-14 03:22

Re: Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

#8 2015-12-14 03:23

Re: Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

#9 2015-12-14 05:56

Re: Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

#10 2015-12-14 06:00

Re: Q4OS/Distrowatch suggestion

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