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GNOPPIX: Bootable GNOME CD
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."
I prefer spooning with my software..
forking, you gotta stay the night, and feel awkward that morning at breakfast..
pm
** "It's not my job to stand between the people talking to me, and the ones listening to me." -- Pego the Jerk
That's why I use chopsticks.
There are other knoppix remasters of gnome. See the full list, or try a few direct (morphix has had gnome for a while) links.
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.
morphix.sourceforge.net
>Currently, iso's with XFCE4, Gnome2.2, KDE3.1 and a game iso are available for download! Morphix is an Open >Source/Free software project, based on Debian GNU/Linux and Knoppix. For more information, check the FAQ
Now had it been Gnome 2.4... that would have been news. :)
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
Yet another linux live-cd with essentially the same spoken name.
"Hey, what are you running?"
"'noppix!"
"which one?"
(note: i know some people say it "gah-nome, gah-noo", but where i'm from the G is silent in front of an N. Same with the K in Knoppix)
do() || do_not();
This story posted for your enjoyment by a KDE Zealot who wanted to kill the Gnoppix project and melt it's webserver beore it had a chance to gain in popularity.
Beep beep.
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).
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).
I've handed out a number of copies of the CD, too, to friends & colleagues who aren't brave enough to go through the whole repartition shindig to put a dual boot installation on their Windows box but who are curious about Linux. Knoppix has raised more than a few eyebrows around here. While I'm not exactly a "Linux evangelist," I do enjoy watching people expand their horizons. KNOPPIX (and now GNOPPIX) can be useful tools for winning "converts," if that's important to you.
GNOPPIX means that now I can hand 'em two CDs & say, "This one brings up the KDE desktop & this one brings up GNOME, so you can see what all the brouhaha is about."
That is, I'll be able to do that after the GNOPPIX site recovers from being /.ed or puts up a few gazillion more mirrors ;-) It may be faster just to wait for the KNOPPIX folks to finish their DVD image...
"Obviously, I'm not an IBM computer any more than I'm an ashtray" (Bob Dylan)
It would be really cool to take KNOPPIX to the next level: DVD-RW knoppix, where you can actually save your changes on the disk. (albeit slowness) Theoretically, you could write a certain amount of information to it, until you have filled up the disc, then have a mechanism to write a new clean DVD-RW with just the most modern information. That with a very driver heavy Linux kernel should allow for your "desktop" being exactly the same on any machine you insert the disc into!
Linux in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition
Knoppix
DamnSmallLinux
Knoppix Mini Cd
OpenGroupware Live CD
Moppix
Gnoppix
Quantian Scientific Computing Environment
Freeduc
L.A.S.
BlueEyedOS
Oralux
and others I can't presently remember.
*sings* "You say k-noppix, I say g-noppix"
Eh, let's call the whole thing off...
Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
Support is included in the lates Knoppix 4.2 release.
Help fight continental drift.
To increase the relevance of SCO in the current IT market, they put out a new press release regarding this Gnoppix CD:
Dateline 9/12/2003 -- a day after the anniversary of a great tragedy, the terrorists have struck again by continuing to disrespect our Intellectual Property. The Gnoppix CD is in clear violation of everything we stand for. It should be stopped.
In response to Gnoppix and its predecessor Knoppix, our last programmer (since we've turned to a litigation-based business model) was asked to create SCOppix with which you could try our operating system without having to install it onto your hard drive, thus avoiding violating our IP. Users of SCOppix will not be targeted in any of our litigation.
All users will be required to click through our EULA which states that by clicking, they agree that SCO owns Linux, the user's computer, the user's house, the user's underpants (UNDERPANTS? isn't that just silly? Guess it hasn't stopped us before so why not), and all his base, and will thus be forced to become indentured servants of SCO. Furthermore, by accessing the CD with their computers, they will immediately be charged $699 anyway.
We are firm in our resolve that our Intellectual Property rights will be enforced to the far reaches of the planet. Every human, every penguin, every gnome (are you sure this is good to mention?) using our IP shall be charged until we can all sleep soundly at night knowing our children are safe from these terrorists. (and our bank accounts profit from this great pump-and-dump business model).
Hope this becomes a new trend; especially with DVDs. Then we can get rid of OS from hard drive entirely and just use a universally recognized file system on the HDD. You can boot whatever OS you want with the DVD and get the work done. Imagine four different people in your home using the same machine with four different OSs. The ultimate Virtual Machine!
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....
I saw this posted on Debian Planet a few days ago and already downloaded a copy.
Unless you speak German, or are very familiar with the GNOME interface you're going to have a hard time using this. Booting with lang=en and setting your session type to en_US still won't switch the language to English. Now I have a nice coaster with "GNOPPIX 0.5" written with a Sharpie on it.
Too bad too. The only reason to get this over Knoppix or Lnx-BBC is for GNOME. Save your bandwidth for a few versions at least until the English support gets fixed. This is really a "too early to be slashdotted over" release, and they're going to lose a lot of potential users because of it's current condition.
It's also missing vital tools that all other live cds have, namely the ability to set up TCP/IP. The GNOME Network thingy didn't work, dhclient didn't work, there's no pump.
Gnoppix has potential to fill a nice little niche in the community, and when it's ready it'll be cool. But unless you're planning on helping out as a developer, wait on this one.
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.
anyway, Gnoppix will be using Morphix's install/configuration tools. I've talked to Sven of the Gnoppix team, and it seems like they don't like inventing the wheel again, so we'll work on them together (now just to convince them on using our modular design, but we'll leave that for another day). You can read his notice here.
Currently we have the (gtk2) installer and a few configuration tools, but a (gtk2) partitioner is nearing completion which will replace cfdisk, together with a few new tools bundled together in a control-panel-thingy. Debian is too nice to be user-unfriendly :)
This sig is intentionally left blank
It's also great for installing Linux yourself, because it's got some of the best hardware detection capabilities around.
With Knoppix you can just enter
at the boot prompt and it gives you a wonderfull Gnome2 desktop.
--
One by one the penguins steal my sanity...
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