Curious about MATE

WetGeek

[unknown] I couldn't get it working back in the day due to the install ISO crashing right after login.

If you haven't been around the forum much for a while, you might not realize that the installer .ISOs are all obsolete, and about to be republished soon. The one I've had trouble with is GNOME. I even failed to create a VM using that one, and after a short while gave upon it.

I only wanted the VM so that I could double-check advice I might give to GNOME uers in the forum. I get the impression that nobody uses GNOME anymore, anyway, so I didn't put a lot of effort into it..

h3o

anxiously awaits @WetGeek's thoughts on Mate
Mate is one that I always liked the idea of but never found it to be a great user experience. Ultimately just felt it was too dated, though I guess that's kinda the point. I still like giving it a spin every once in while though.

WetGeek

[unknown] I just do not write every day

I just wanted to point out that the .ISO files are soon to be updated, and if you had trouble with one, it might be worth waiting a bit and trying again. But I'm sure you already knew that.

Harvey

[unknown] I still intend to look into creating monthly unofficial ISOs..

Doing it for yourself is one thing, but distributing it would not be permissible.

Solus Project permits the usage of our brand assets, specifically the usage of the terms “Budgie Desktop”, “Solus”, and the associated Solus image(s) and/or logo(s) for non-commerical use only. The distribution of modified Solus ISOs, for commercial or non-commercial purposes, is not permitted.

Source: https://getsol.us/branding/

Brucehankins

[unknown] I'd never paid attention to the window manager MATE uses on Solus. I'd assume it's macro or X and Compton as the compositor. It worked great for me, but the Gnome2 thing just isn't my vibe. I really prefer the Qt based DEs like Plasma and LXQt.

synth-ruiner

I've always liked Mate in theory, but sadly every time I've tried Solus Mate I've had massive graphical issues and crashes. but I'm currently using Openbox and the Mate default programs work really nicely with that (caja, eye of mate, mate-calculator, etc.)

riffer

I used Solus Mate on a crappy throw away laptop I used for travel a few years ago. It was the only distro that got any performance out of it.

I tried it last month on my good laptop but I couldn't figure out how to work with a monitor and just gave up. I think Gnome and Budgie spoil us in this regard. Everything works the way I want it out of the box.

No loss as I am a Gnomie, but it is still a pretty good DE.

DataDrake

[unknown] The big issue is that it's a copyright violation and we haven't granted you permission to distribute ISOs. Even if the ISO is unofficial, the packages on it are not. They are still under Solus' copyright. There's also the matter that ISOs are now tied up in OpenCollective so you'd be providing effectively a perk for free which is a bit problematic.

The reason we made those tools private in the first place is that it was being used by an OEM for installations and they were generating custom installs with prepopulated passwords and an unofficial default repo that had conflicts with the Solus official packages. Lots of bad juju.

Harvey

[unknown]
You have been told twice now that it would be considered a violation, that is the end of it.

Now, lets get this thread back on topic please.

WetGeek

Harvey Now, lets get this thread back on topic please.

My MATE VM is working just great after today's update. I've installed Terminology on it, and set up Restic in order to back it up prior to the update.

DataDrake

[unknown] No. The packages contain binaries and files which are distributed under many different open-source licenses which are GPL-compliant, but Solus package metadata and additional files used to install them are protected under the copyright of Solus and permission has not been granted to redistribute them. Generating an unofficial ISO in any capacity without the express permission of Solus would be a violation of this copyright. No "ifs", "ands", or "buts".

Brucehankins

DataDrake just curious, but if you were to create a custom Solus .iso to have it built with your own theming, packages, etc. and only used for yourself (not distributed), would this still be a violation? I would assume this would be no different than using a tool like Clonezilla to create identical drives that you would then install in various machines. Alas, I don't have the technical wherewithal or the copywrite knowledge to know the answer to that one.

DataDrake

Brucehankins Correct. The issue is much more unauthorized distribution and reproduction. Your proposed used is not dissimilar to backing up your DVD or CD collection by archiving them as digital files on storage media or the cloud.

WetGeek

[unknown] You can install Solus from any distribution.

Huh? That got my curiosity going, for sure. How does one install Solus, for example, from any (non-Solus) distro?

DataDrake

WetGeek He means by downloading an ISO and installing from that.

DataDrake

[unknown] You don't need Solus to install Solus, this way it's not even redistribution.

That's not what redistribution means. We have already distributed the packages to the repository. Any access to them after is redistribution. This includes ISOs.

[unknown] Said and done, I never wanted to get in this discussion in the first place.

You brought it up and I simply replied to you with the response we would to anyone interested in distributing their own ISOs. I realize that you may have asked for permission, but I also responded knowing that would be a likely outcome for you or others, had I not been blunt about it.

You're right. I could have mentioned the ISOs available through OpenCollective, and I will make a mental note to do that first moving forward. This may actually be the first time someone requested building ISOs without customization or OEM bits.

I'm sorry that you feel that you need to leave. This was a pretty mild discussion compared to ones I've had in the past about this stuff, but I understand if that's what you feel you need to do.

WetGeek

DataDrake He means by downloading an ISO and installing from that.

Thanks for clarifying that. Based on what he wrote, I thought he meant he could install Solus from any distro without needing the .ISO fie. That's what made me curious. I couldn't imagine how that could be done.

It's sad to lose any member, but in this case he's removed a distration that you just don't need at ths time.