I've got to be the most conservative user on this forum. I have an antiX 6.5 (Spartacus) install on a P3 Dell laptop and an antiX 7 (Lysistrata) install on a P4 Dell desktop.

I've kept both installs absolutely unchanged. No upgrades, no changes in the repos. My main use is to add applications carefully through synaptic or occasionally with a deb package from places like Linux App Finder.

This is partly from some old Windows advice I got long ago:"Get your system set up the way you like and then LEAVE IT ALONE!"

But I have another reason: I'm still a pretty new user and want to see just how far I can go with a Linux distro before I start feeling the pinch of having to change something. At what exact point is what I've got not doing the job? I went through this before with earlier Mepises, especially MepisLite. I think I was the longest surviving MepisLite user. But finally it became impossible because the repos no longer functioned effectively and...well...things became more, rather than less, complicated by trying to keep using outdated applications.

Okay, the situation now: my experience with using both versions of antiX a *lot* over the months shows that you can do pretty much anything you want, and *if* you are a new user nervous about keeping your system running and *if* you pretty much leave it alone--you will have *no* problems. (Sorry for the asterisks, but I do want to emphasize this amazing stability.)

I get *no* freezes or crashes or slow downs or non-boots. I use my systems off and on pretty much all day long. They are not new.

Why am I making big deal out of this? Simple: New users scanning the discussions on the forum will get the impression that antiX (or any Linux) is riddled with glitches. Problems from end to end. But this is an illusion. What the forums fail to show is the massive silent population of users happily working without glitches becaue they simply leave their systems alone.

I'm not saying that leaving the system alone is a virtue. In fact, the attraction to Linux starts with the joy of fiddling with your box. But Linux can also accomodate folks who only want to work efficiently and have fun with their computer without glitches. And I've found that they can do this. Just leave the basic set-up alone. Enjoy nirvana.

My only regret is that this limits my experience with the OS and confines me to answering about three basic questions to those coming here for help...

Still running the original Lysisrata with sid upgrades. There is an occasional package problem but they don't last long.

What's this sidux kernel? Is it any better or just different?

eriefisher