GNOPPIX: Bootable GNOME CD

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Posted by michael on Friday September 12, 2003 @07:55AM from the sincerest-form-of-flattery dept.

ubiquitin writes "While KNOPPIX has been around for some time, the GNOPPIX project has only recently made its first release. The main difference is that it lets you boot into the GNOME desktop environment. Usually forks are more trouble than they're worth, but given the limits of what you can compress onto a single CD, separate projects makes sense to me. Hopefully more widespread recognition will also bring about a few more mirrors."

20 of 380 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Why is this useful? by ViolentGreen · 2003-09-12 07:56 · Score: 0, Insightful

I guess I just don't get it.

--
Not everything is analogous to cars. Car analogies rarely work.
1. Re:Why is this useful? by AchmedHabib · 2003-09-12 08:03 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  OS on a CD can be very useful when you try to rescue a system. Having a fully working system with all the tools at hand and access to the broken one, can save hours of work.
  You boot the CD and get everything including network access, I have sometimes attached a USB (v2!) harddisk and transferred data to that one, or maybe a partition(with partimage).
2. Re:Why is this useful? by kubla2000 · 2003-09-12 08:56 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I was about to moderate a comment in this thread but this pissed me off:
  
  Having said that, I found this statement humorous: "but given the limits of what you can compress onto a single CD, separate projects makes sense to me.". Given the limits??? A CD has, what, 740MB? Yeah, they really had to push to fit into the tiny confines of a CD. I find it intriguing how the same community that endlessly used the term "bloat" to describe Microsoft software now can keep a straight face when describing the space on a CD as "limited".
  
  Fella, if you think you can fit Windows, IIS, Office (twice over, Knoppix comes with OpenOffice as well as Koffice and several components from the Gnome office suite), MSSQL, several web browsers, email clients, development tools, network and security analysis tools, photoshop plus several graphics viewers, several multimedia suites, an advanced audio editor / mixer, games, etc. etc. etc onto one CD, you're smoking a more refined blend of crack cocaine than Darl.
  
  Knoppix/Gnoppix showcase what you can get with Linux. I think it's astonishing what Klaus and the other developers have managed to fit on to this disk. The only "bloat" in Linux is in the choice department.
3. Re:Why is this useful? by Wavicle · 2003-09-12 09:09 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Some of us have crawled out of the primordial ooze and left our vestigal floppy drives behind.
  
  Bootable rescue CDs are useful to me. Rescue CDs with a bunch of useful stuff on them are even more useful to me.
  
  --
  Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.
  Edward Everett (1794 - 1865)
4. Re:Why is this useful? by believekevin · 2003-09-12 09:17 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  because you can go into a university library and have full access to the machine. especially if you have network drive space. uhm.. theoretically.
5. Re:Why is this useful? by i_really_dont_care · 2003-09-12 11:07 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Knoppix already once saved my ass. At home, I use Linux, but I had to make a presentation (built with OpenOffice) the next day on my laptop, which runs Windows 2000 because I need some Windows apps there. I wanted to export the presentation as PDF, but that failed. So, just 2 hours before the presentation, I downloaded Knoppix. So I could start Linux from the CD, which includes OpenOffice and do my presentation.
  
  Knoppix is also useful for marketing Linux. You can easily give Knoppix away and guarantee that it doesn't do any harm to the system. Most people actually are quite impressed by it.
  
  Since Linux is all about choice, a Gnome Knoppix distribution is surely a thing that will be useful for a lot of uses.
6. Re:Why is this useful? by Roberto · 2003-09-12 11:27 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I do run Linux on a P75, with 16Mhz of RAM.
  It can do web browsing (graphical), play MP3s, read email (using mutt).
  
  It even works as a mail server for use when disconnected (masqmail).
  
  It has development packages (gcc), fancy text editors (fte).
  
  It also has a 800MB disk.
  
  It is a Toshiba Libretto 50ct.
  
  Now, you may say, so what? Well, it's just as much a Linux as any other Linux. It's just not KDE or GNOME.
  
  So yes, it is choice that makes Linux require a larger box. Because if you choose carefully, you can use a smaller one, too.
  
  Here's the URL for how I did it:
  
  http://www.pycs.net/lateral/stories/4.html
Who needs mirrors? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-09-12 07:57 · Score: 1, Insightful

When you can use bittorrent!?
Troubleshooting Potential by mnmlst · 2003-09-12 07:58 · Score: 3, Insightful

This could be just the thing for checking a system for broken hardware and/or connectivity. A tech could walk up, insert their GNOPPIX CD, boot into a GUI environment, check things out and then go. The cost for this versus propietary alternatives would be VERY attractive.

--
In principio erat Verbum.
1. Re:Troubleshooting Potential by Anonymous Coward · 2003-09-12 08:01 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  This could be just the thing for checking a system for broken hardware and/or connectivity. A tech could walk up, insert their GNOPPIX CD, boot into a GUI environment, check things out and then go. The cost for this versus propietary alternatives would be VERY attractive.
  
  Gee... sort of like Knoppix which has been out for over a year.
2. Re:Troubleshooting Potential by JanneM · 2003-09-12 08:09 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Yes, I really feel I want to become part of a community that spends so much time spewing hate over other people's preferences.
  
  --
  Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
Pronounce... by Creedo · 2003-09-12 08:02 · Score: 2, Insightful

Wouldn't those be pronounced the same way? Makes it a little confusing to talk about.

--
All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
Any BitTorrent Mirrors? by billstewart · 2003-09-12 08:06 · Score: 3, Insightful

That's really the way to distribute things like this without getting Slashdotted...

--

Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Usefulness of Bootable Linux Distros by sremack · 2003-09-12 08:06 · Score: 5, Insightful

Bootable Linux distros should not be looked at as standalone OSes. Instead, they should be used for some specific purpose. One could test hardware configurations, recover some aspect of an old Linux partition, or even do a complete forensic investigation. I really like how you can create your own bootable Linux distro using Eagle Linux . One example is the bootable Linux project, FIRE (on sourceforge).
This is excellent by Idimmu+Xul · 2003-09-12 08:11 · Score: 3, Insightful

for people interested in getting into Linux but are not ready for formatting and installing Linux themselves. It gives them a taster for what it could be like! Bravo!

--
The problem with slashdot is that most of its users were bullied and stuffed into lockers as kids!
Re:Live CDs by billbaird · 2003-09-12 08:17 · Score: 2, Insightful

Gentoo has live cd's for PPC (KDE & Gnome), but i'm not too sure about x86
Re:How about "Toppix"? by devphaeton · 2003-09-12 08:18 · Score: 3, Insightful

I know a pile of guys that have essentially made thier own rescue disks with everything but X servers and X apps on it.

I prefer the text-only model for rescue.

On the other hand, you bring up another interesting point about "fitting it all on a CD".

Just a couple of years ago a CD was considered ENORMOUS. Hell, i remember several years ago when you could fit an entire OS on a floppy.

I think a lot of developers are getting complacent these days and are less efficient when writing code. I'm noticing a lot of bloat in software today compared to about 6 months ago. Even more from just a year ago.

I have video games where version 3 runs bishin on a 300mhz amd k6-II with 128mb of ram. Version 4 (which comes out 3 years later) is jittery and sluggish and struggles to run on my 1.533Ghz Athlon w/ 512mb of ram. Looking at the 2 games, the graphics aren't really that big a step, nor is the gameplay so much.

--

do() || do_not(); // try();
EASIEST DEBIAN by Anonymous Coward · 2003-09-12 08:33 · Score: 4, Insightful

This is now the easiest way of getting a debian system because the knoppix\morphix installer is so much better.

It creates a working system from the CDROM then gives you the option of installing to hard disk. Then with the setup version of APT the rest is childs play.

This should have happened to Debian ages ago -- it kicks the pants out of Redhat and its update proceedures. If you haven't tried it do....
Consider waiting... by Anonymous Coward · 2003-09-12 08:34 · Score: 1, Insightful

And not just because the site will be Slashdotted.
I was seriously considering downloading this when the announcement appeared on GnomeDesktop.org, but decided to hold off until the next release.
First, this was announced the same day that Gnome 2.4 was announced. That sort of put a damper on things. I already had a (mostly) Gnome live CD via Morphix Heavy, and it wasn't clear that Gnoppix offered anything new.
Then there was also the issue of the English option being broken.
From what I've seen, the Gnoppix haven't been keeping as current as Morphix. I'm hoping that this changes in the near future, because Gnome 2.4 is starting to convince me that it's a viable desktop. In the mean time, I'll continue playing with Morphix.
Re:Game specific Live CDs? by stormcoder · 2003-09-12 08:58 · Score: 1, Insightful

How about Gentoo Enemy Territory CD
Should do what you want.

--
Sorry my bullshit sensor overloaded.