Good MX review

[masterpeace]

How did i find MX Linux if i knew nothing about it ? Luck

It was sheer coincidence , what i know about Linux back then just Ubuntu or Mint ... and also Manjaro (i search youtube with query "best linux 2019") , and so my friend who knew about MX but still skeptic decide to intervene . He made me a lab rat , but since MX work flawlessly that it resurrect the xxxxxxx 18 yo dual core machine i was so happy that i forgot about the 3 distro i want to install . So when he confessed that he was trying to use me , i forgave him .

But yeah while Manjaro KDE work flawlessly too albeit slower , and both Mint and Ubuntu don't do the job , i decided to ditch them . I then try to install Manjaro XFCE , but still slower than MX 18.3 , so yeah i never looked back both to Win7 (i pay A LOT of money to do my job) and Mint/Ubuntu , and keep Manjaro to see which system crashed faster .

[mx-2018]

In my opinion, MX would have been #1 long ago if the default panel bar location was not on the left edge of the screen. Many beginners to Linux come from Windows style menu bar, and the default panel position in MX simply adds to the things a beginner has to get adjusted to.

That was my personal experience when I was trying Linux for t he first time. Back then it was MX-15 which looked intimidating to me. Good thing I decided to distro-hop (multi-boot) as I learn more about Linux and revisited MX Linux (current version then was MX-17.1).

...
Conclusion: I don't think so, that vertical or horizontal panel makes (or not) a number 1 position (especially that it can be changed with two mouse clicks)...

I was referring to complete beginners who had no previous Linux experience. You can't expect them to readily know how to do those mouse clicks to move the panel, do you? First impression is very important, especially to those getting introduced to a new idea (i.e. Linux). With so many distros to choose from, guess which one a total beginner would pick? Yes, the ones that look closest to what the beginner had gotten used to. If you don't understand that, you won't understand why Windows is still the most popular desktop OS (despite how bad it is). There maybe a few who would have different impression to the vertical panel (like in your example), but that is more of an exception than the norm.

That is why I think the #1 spot could have been achieved sooner by MX Linux if the panel was positioned at the bottom (just like Windows) by default. I'm not saying horizontal panel alone makes a #1 position, but it can contribute by not scaring a total beginner away.

Ever wonder why Linux Mint overtook Ubuntu in popularity, and was at #1 spot in DW ranking for a while?

[Eadwine Rose]

I doubt that was just because of the panel.


I started out on Mepis, I do believe it was horizontal there, yes, but when we switched to vertical I thought it an interesting look. It was something different from the norm. But I wanted it horizontal nonetheless. Know what I did at the time? I asked on the forum, because the installer told me where that forum was.


You have to give a user SOME credit that they will figure stuff out. If you are starting out on Linux you're bound to put in a little effort. If you're not down with that, there is windows to go right back to, or another distro to pick. :)

[richb]

Panel has no impact on Ditrowatch position. Remember they are just page hits. They may not have even seen MX when they go to Distrowatch, see it listed and then proceed to check it out. The page hit is already recorded whether they keep MX or not.

[Adrian]

I guess we need to keep the panel where it is, we don't want MX rank on Distrowatch to reach the Moon...

[Head_on_a_Stick]

The reader reviews probably give a better idea in respect of popularity, MX manages 10th place for distributions with a decent sample size (>100 reviews):

https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resou ... average100

antiX is at 6th place though, which is interesting.

[richb]

Ratings are more significant, But one must take into account the number of ratings as well. Of the top ten MX has more ratings by far, MX jumps to third when sorted by number of votes.

[asqwerth]

I really don't get all the fuss about the vertical panel. Ubuntu's Unity and Gnome's Dash are on the left as well. It's as if no other DE or distro has ever done this in history or something.

And MX has the ability, being XFCE, for users to move the panel, just like in MATE or KDE4 or Plasma.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

But one must take into account the number of ratings as well.

Yes indeed, a bigger sample size increases the likely accuracy of the score.

[Adrian]

I think MX is still largely unknown by the general public, actually that's what increases the number of clicks on DistroWatch. Ubuntu and Debian and the like are well known so people go directly to their sites, no need to search for them on Distrowatch.