TheWatchWorks

LINUX MINT 6 FELICIA XFCE CE - BALANCED PERFECTION

2009-04-01T00:43:00.000-07:00

I have tried a lot of Linux distros (flavors) like Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Fedora, OpenSuse, Mandriva, Dreamlinux, Crunchbang, Debian & AntiX among a few and I can say as a semi-newbie in Linux, it is the Linux Mint 6 XFCE CE that has become my favorite.

My personal opinions on why I say that Linux Mint 6 XFCE CE is my favorite:

1) It uses XFCE desktop environment which is lighter and faster than Gnome and KDE.

2) In terms of "completeness", XFCE is more complete than the lighter LXDE desktop environment (my second favorite DE).

3) Linux Mint 6 XFCE CE comes with a lot of "out-of-the-box" extras which makes it much much much easier for newbies to enjoy Linux instead of having to download packages just to get things going. Please note that another "out-of-the-box" Linux would be Mandriva One 2009 which also comes with a lot of extras that you will not find in other distros.

4) The Linux Mint Forum Community is friendly, helpful and concerned for you. They want you to have the best Linux experience and will go out of their way to help you out as they have helped me when I was a newbie. Other great Linux Forums that are very helpful would be the forums of Ubuntu and Mandriva. I tried Debian in the past but I found the community to be too techie... they expected you to know everything... not newbie-friendly at all.

5) Wifi - wicd is simply the best for wifi in my opinion. Gnome's Network Manager had some inconsistent wifi performance (at least for me) as compared to wicd. Besides, when using Ubuntu, a "key-ring password" would always be asked if you had your own secure network. I found this annoying but I believe that there is a work-around for that. Would a newbie want to trouble themselves with a work-around or would they want everything to be user-friendly? The only problem with wicd is that the signal-strength bar is not very legible unlike that of Gnome's Network Manager. Wicd should come-up with a more legible signal-strength indicator or bar. And I believe that the none-Gnome-dependent distros should use wicd instead of network manager. Xubuntu for one should use wicd.

6) Linux Mint 6 XFCE CE comes with OpenOffice. The other light distros come with the Abiword wordprocessor & Gnumeric spreadsheet program. Abiword and Gnumeric have a lot less features than OpenOffice. When I used Crunchbang which is a very nice and fast distro, I simply removed Abiword and installed OpenOffice.

7) Linux Mint updates - makes sure that you have the latest updates to keep your system secure and brand-new.

I am biased towards Debian or Ubuntu-based distros simply because I am used to synaptic, sudo apt-get and aptitude. Prior to using Linux Mint XFCE, I was using Crunchbang... I love it but I found it to be a bit "techie" and not-so newbie-friendly. I mean... openbox is not really newbie-friendly and then to make things a bit nicer... configuring your desktop would be difficult for newbies too... like conky etc. The nice thing about Crunchbang Linux is that it too came with a lot of goodies out-of-the-box and the Crunchbang Community is very helpful and this is the main reason as to why Crunchbang is moving-up the Distrowatch charts. Crunchbang is actually the distro to watch.

I did a Debian LXDE installation in the past using a wired-connection and installed the Intel drivers plus wicd... it was the perfect speed-racing Linux desktop for me but LXDE was not as complete as XFCE.

I have also tried Debian with Fluxbox and IceWM and found them too light and not user-friendly or intuitive. But it is not the fault of Fluxbox and IceWM... their objectives are really to keep it light and simple... and so, completeness and intuitiveness may come in secondary. They are targetted for lower-spec machines and Ubuntu has a very good tutorial for those low-spec or Low Memory System machines.

Finally, if a newbie would ask me what distros I would recommend to him or her... i would first ask... what is your system or machine specs? If his or her specs can satisfy the requirements of user-friendly distros, I would recommend:

1) Linux Mint XFCE CE (or Linux Mint Gnome)

2) Mandriva One Gnome - includes the best in hardware detection and support

3) Ubuntu - a consistent favorite. if you have a problem... just visit their forum

If the newbie is willing to learn a bit and does not mind some configurations, I would recommend:

1) Crunchbang - newbies might get shocked by the all-black and bare desktop at first

2) Dreamlinux - nicest eye-candy and Mac-like desktop

3) OpenSuse - one of the Linux cornerstones and has a very large following

4) Fedora - another favorite but not so out-of-the-box.

5) Kubuntu - KDE is somehow a bit more confusing than Gnome

6) Xubuntu - not the fastest & most complete XFCE out there

If the newbie has only a bare-bones low-spec machine... these little guys would be helpful

1) AntiX - very nice and fast. the developer did a very good job to make it as complete and light as possible.

2) Crunchbang - not as light as AntiX but not as heavy as Ubuntu

3) TinyMe - tries to be as light as possible and will be based on Unity Linux.
4) Puppy Linux - a top-favorite but not as complete as the heavier AntiX and Crunchbang
5) Damn Small Linux - another old-time light-weight favorite.
6) Tiny Core Linux - a good review can be found here

Now if the newbie is willing to take some time to learn and go thru some hoops, loops and obstacles...

1) Debian - has the largest compilation of software packages. a bit slow on release schedule and does not always have the latest and greatest system but is number one in pure stability. So far, the LiveCD's of Debian cannot be installed and that is one drawback.

2) Arch linux - really fast and light but needs a lot of learning and hanging-out in the forums. Highly-configurable too.

Good luck with your Linux adventure. The best Linux Distro or Flavor for you would be a matter of your personal taste. We are lucky to have sooo many flavors to choose from. And the best part is... they are all FREE!

My last tip would be... look for a distro that has a LiveCD that is installable.

SEIKO 6117-6400 WORLD TIME 1972 - FOR SALE

2008-06-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

SEIKO 6117-6400 World Time

Price: $180 (already sold)
Payment: Paypal (we will ship only to your verified paypal address)
Shipping: FREE FEDEX Shipping to your Verified Paypal address

SEIKO 6105-8110 VINTAGE DIVER'S WATCH 1976

2007-06-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Already sold on Ebay. Thank you.

SERIAL: 611513 dates this to January 1976

DIAL: Original dial and original hands with strong lume.

CRYSTAL: Brand-new thick crystal.

CASE: Original in good condition.

BEZEL: Brand-new bezel insert.

STRAP: Brand-new Z-20 Rubber Diver's Strap.

MOVEMENT: Original Seiko 6105B which has been overhauled and keeps time.

We are in no rush to sell this beautiful Seiko 6105-8110. We want this to go to a good home.

Please take a look at the pictures of this beautiful Vintage Diver's Watch.

The Dial and Hands:

The Strong Glow:

The Case and Crystal:

The Movement:

The Back-Case:

More Pictures:

Price: $340 (Price includes FEDEX Fees) Additional FEDEX fees if shipped to Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia and "FEDEX Out of Delivery" areas.

Payment:
We accept Paypal via Xoom. Please go to www.xoom.com and sign-up for free then click on the Payment Button below.

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SEIKO 6138-0040 BLACK BULLHEAD VINTAGE CHRONOGRAPH

2007-06-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

(Already sold on Ebay-Thank you)
Seiko 6138-0040 Bullhead #2 ($300 excluding FEDEX fees)
It has its original dial and brand-new bezel insert. Original case which has been slightly brushed to remove scratches. Original Seiko Stainless Steel Fishbone bracelet without its full links. Original movement which has been serviced and all chronograph functions work and re-sets to zero.

SEIKO 6138-0040 BLACK BULLHEAD VINTAGE CHRONOGRAPH

2007-06-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have 2 6138-0040 Black Bullheads for sale right now. They are priced differently simply because one of them has more links than the other.

(Already sold on Ebay-Thank you)
BULLHEAD #1 (Price: $310 excluding FEDEX fees)
Original movement has been cleaned and serviced and all chronograph functions work and re-set to zero.

Original Dial and brand-new bezel insert

Original Case has been slightly brushed to remove scratches.

Original Seiko Stainless Steel Fishbone bracelet slightly brushed to remove scratches.

Thanks for looking!

SEIKO 7016-7000 VINTAGE CHRONOGRAPH (1977) - For Sale

2007-06-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

(Already Sold on Ebay - Thank you) Here is another rarely-seen Seiko Vintage Chronograph. This Chronograph has a rare feature: the single sub-dial has two hands. It is sometimes called "2-in-1" or "5 Hands". This feature is what makes this watch striking and it does make it a "conversation piece". This rare chronograph also features the rare Arabic/English Day-Date Calendar.

The watch has elegant lines and a classy dial which makes this pass as a Luxury Dress Chronograph Watch.

The "2-in-1" hands up close:

All the functions of this rare watch work properly and re-set and align to zero.

Some pictures of the various angles of the case to show the elegant shape.

It comes with a custom-fitted brand-new Seiko Stainless Steel bracelet which comes with a protective blue film on the clasp. With its full-links.

And for the back-case:

This rare Seiko Vintage Chronograph is for sale at $135 excluding FEDEX fees.

We accept Paypal via www.xoom.com
We accept www.moneybookers.com

Thank you for looking. www.thewatchworks.org

SEIKO 6138-0011 VINTAGE CHRONOGRAPH (1976) - Already Sold

2007-06-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

ALREADY SOLD on December 11, 2006--Thank you.. This is another Seiko Vintage Chronograph which is gaining in popularity and price. We feel that it is currently under-rated and therefore currently under-priced. This is a huge watch at approximately 45mm. This watch has a larger diameter than Seiko's most popular Vintage Chronograph which is The Seiko Bullhead 6138-0040/0049.

Due to its large diameter and double sub-dials (sometimes called Big-eye Small-eye due to the sizes of the sub-dials), this watch is very striking on the wrist.

This watch has also been nicknamed "UFO" because of its streamlined or aerodynamic oval shape.

This Vintage Chronograph also uses a Seiko Solid Stainless Steel bracelet (not folded stainless steel) which is quite heavy and which makes this watch feel super solid. You will definitely know you are wearing a heavy-duty watch.

And of the back-case...

Here is the original "clasp"

The serial number of this watch dates it to the year 1976

This is for sale for $135 excluding FEDEX shipping fees.

We accept Paypal via www.xoom.com
We accept www.moneybookers.com

Thank you for looking! www.thewatchworks.org

SEIKO 7015-7010 VINTAGE CHRONOGRAPH (1973) - Already Sold

2007-06-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Already sold on Ebay---Thank you.

Here is an all-original Seiko 7015-7010 Vintage Chronograph.

It has its usual slight dents and scratches found in vintage watches.

It has a fully-functioning inner rotating ring which is controlled by the crown.

It has a Kanji/English Day-Date calendar

It has an all-original Seiko 5 Sports Stainless Steel Bracelet without its full-links of course.

It has a nicely-shaped solid case which is very masculine.

And here is the back-case area.

The serial number of this watch dates this to the year 1973.

This magnificent watch is for sale at $215 (excluding the FEDEX shipment of $28 for the USA area, $35 for Europe and $20 for Asia).

We accept Paypal via www.xoom.com
We accept www.moneybookers.com

Thank you for looking!

Thank you for looking. www.thewatchworks.org