Knoppix v3.4 Hits The Mirrors

zxflash writes "SolidZ.com reports the latest update to KNOPPIX; the popular Linux based OS has just been released. Version 3.4 includes the version 2.6.5 Linux Kernel and improved hardware detection. It can be downloaded from one of the mirrors listed on the KNOPPIX homepage..." rduke15 adds "Koffice has been dropped for space reasons, as well as LaTex. From the forum: 'Download using bittorrent tracker at http://torrent.unix-ag.uni-kl.de:6969/. Remember: Leave your bittorrent client running after the download is finished!' And this is the complete list of included packages."

Comments

check out MAME

[Kiro]

If you're gonna check out Knoppix then have a look at KnoppiXMAME too.

Not just a new kernel

[NamShubCMX]

Not just a new kernel:

KDE 3.2.2
OpenOffice.Org 1.1.1
Gimp 2.0

Im burning right now... but I just wished they wouldn't have removed KOffice :(

Custom Knoppix

[smiley2billion]

And for those looking for a custom version of Knoppix with a few different tools built in check out this site:

http://www.knoppix-std.org/

From the site:
STD focuses on information security and network management tools. It is meant to be used by both the novice looking to learn more about information security and the security professional looking for another swiss army knife for their tool kit.

Bittorrent

[Anonymous Coward]

Please try to atleast have a ratio of 1 before disconnecting your client.

Have some manners :P

Hit the mirrors?

[skogs]

Not the FTP mirrors...though now that we've slashdoted the damn thing they'll never get updated. Way to go poster dude. The torrents may be out, but the regular ftp/http sites are not synced up yet.

Guess I'll just have to wait. Tried every server across the globe and saw no version 3.4

Oh well.

Re:Hit the mirrors?

[user32.ExitWindowsEx]

Not all of us have upstream providers that let BT run...and not all of us can change upstream providers either...

Re:Hit the mirrors?

[shadowmatter]

Is bittorrent suited for slashdot size downloading?

BitTorrent is ideal for Slashdot-size downloading. Typically hordes of users trying to download a file at the same time works against you -- with BitTorrent, it works for you, since everyone downloading the file can also distribute it prior to its completion.

If your download is slow, I'd first say be patient and see if it improves. If that doesn't work, make sure that ports 6881 - 6999 are open on your firewall/NAT (typically they aren't for DSL/cable users). If they aren't, your firewall/NAT is interfering with normal BitTorrent operation, because can only find new peers to download from by getting their IP addresses from the tracker. If they are open, however, you can find new peers by getting their IP addresses from the tracker and by them connecting to you (since they received your IP address from the tracker). After opening/forwarding these ports, its not uncommon for people to double their download speed.

- sm

Re:What's New?

[H4x0r Jim Duggan]

You're looking for morphix - modular knoppix.

TurboTax Online

[mr_zorg]

...except TurboTax on my wife's laptop.

Here's a tip: next year try TurboTax online. I can tell you it works fantastically, I've been using it for a few years now.

Yes, NTFS write support included

[greppling]

"captive" is mentioned in the package list, so it seems they included it.

Re:DVD Distro?

[MarkWPiper]

I believe there was a DVD distro of version 3.3, that was handed out only at a some various Linux conferences. There were bandwidth concerns, so it was never placed on the official mirrors.

IIRC, the DVD was given out at Linux-tag, in Germany a few months ago. If you google around, you might be able to find it.

Changes in V3.4

[Necroman]

These are from the comments on the torrent page for KNOPPIX

* V3.4-2004-05-03 (experimental)
- switched from syslinux to isolinux (no emulation) boot method
- Kernel 2.4.26 (default) and Kernel 2.6.5 (as boot option) with ACPI enabled (use knoppix acpi=off in case of problems, knoppix26 to try Kernel 2.6)
- New wireless drivers for: ipw2100 ("Centrino"(TM)), madwifi, hostap
- captive-ntfs installer
- live-installer by Fabian Franz
- KDE 3.2.2
- kdevelop3
- OpenOffice 1.1.1 (german and english)
- gimp 2.0
- Had to remove the entire latex system (101MB) because of space reasons
- Removed KOffice for the same reason
- /dev/modem setup tool supporting serial, USB, bluetooth and irda devices
- gprs connection tool
- lots of improvements in the hardware detection and new boot options, please check knoppix-cheatcodes.txt.

Re:Changes in V3.4

[mst76]

You can always burn a TeXLive cdr. The demo version is a complete functional TeX distribution that runs from cdrom on win32, linux and macos.

Re:acroread?

[mabhatter654]

He's already check out most of the stuff on the disk as redistributable. It's been out for over a year now. Several companies have made exceptions so he can put the stuff on the disk and have it be redistributable. Note, Knoppix isn't about being "pure" OSS. It's meant to work and show off how good Linux can be... not turn everything on the disk into OSS. Klaus has banged on a lot of doors to get cool stuff put on the disk. Hint: Tell your favorite packages [flash, Nvidia drivers, etc] to get on board!!!!

Re:PPC?

[njchick]

Now, about the PPC versions for us Mac crowd...?

Gentoo LiveCD
KNOPPIX PPC (unofficial)

Re:My only complaint

[Anonymous Coward]

You have to throttle.

If you don't set a max upload limit, bittorrent will suck every bit of upload bandwidth available, and you will not be able to do anything else (including downloading that same bittorrent). Try setting your max to 35kbps, or something about 5kbps below what it's showing your max is now.

That will give your connection some breathing room to actually get a decent download speed.

Shameless Plug

[CedgeS]

Sigh. I guess it's about time for me to update the Knoppix data rescue guide on how to use knoppix to rescue data off dying windows machines.

Re:Slashdot and Bittorrent

[kyhwana]

Try throttling your upstream on your BT client (Or get a better one if it doesn't let you) to 1/2 or 2/3 your total upstream bandwidth.. If you use all your upstream, you're downstream speed will suck ass..
I'm on comcast cable, which (in real life) has 24-25K upstream, so I set my upstream throttle in Azeurus to 16K, and i'm now maxing out my downstream with just the knoppix DL.. (400K/s)

running it now

[sewagemaster]

i'm running this right now off the CD. boot times might be a tad slower than v3.3, but all the apps run really fast. perhaps it's the newer version of kde it's using... but i'm guessing it's because of kernel 2.6.5 that it's using. (i've tried installing kernel 2.6.x before and i just got a bit tired of recompiling and recompiling. in the end i always end up with some bloated kernel that makes my system slower than before with kernel 2.4)...

one glitch when detecting SCSIs on my comp. got a seg fault during the detection... setting noscsi in lilo resolved this problem.

one thing i noticed is missing is the hard drive hdd install script/program that used to be there in all the older versions.

the c't preview version didnt have it either and google shows this link for a script for that version http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8171

anyone had any luck installing the new 3.4 on their comps?

Throttle your upstream , and use Wondershaper

[Hungry Admin]

kyhwana is right - you need to throttle your BT upload speed so that there's room for the acknowledgement packets you are sending to people you are downloading from. On my ADSL connection I have 1.5Mbps down and 256kbps up, so my uplink is theoretically able to handle 256/8 = 32 kbytes/sec, ignoring protocol overhead. I am using the wondershaper script on my firewall, so that gets eroded to 220kbps or about 27 kbytes/sec max throughput.

On a fast torrent I hit my max download speed (120 to 140 kbytes/sec) which uses about 6-8 kbytes/sec of my upload bandwidth for ACKs. So I can run up to 19 kbytes/sec uploading before I see congestion and slowdowns. I usually throttle it back to 15 kbytes/sec to maximize my downloading while allowing me to do other things online while BT is active. BT is set to allow a 10:1 ratio for your download speeds from other leechers. So, if you are uploading at 15 kbytes/sec, you should be able to download at 150 kbytes/sec. If you are downloading from a seed, then the ratio doesn't matter :-).

If I am only seeding, I can just let BT use the maximum uplink speed of my connection, since there isn't anything else downloading. The wondershaper script on my firewall is set up to give low priority to BT packets. Activity on my other machines will get placed at the front of the queue, if there is a queue. The price I pay for low latency for ssh, web browsing, email, and gmaing is the loss of about 15% of my max bandwidth. It's a worthwhile tradeoff.

\LaTeX Removal

[d-Orb]

While I tend to use LaTeX for everything, I understand that after all, Knoppix is a distro that enables loads of new users to try Linux for the first time and so on. They are not going to use LaTeX. Otoh, LaTeX (and a flurry of other scientific applications) would benefit from their own liveCD. And you know what? It exists!!!! It's called Quantian, and hopefully, a new version (based on Knoppix 3.4) will be out soon. Loads of math/engineering programs, TeX, LyX, Texmacs, scipy... Unfortunately, this project is not as visible as Knoppix (it's a derivative, after all).

Re:What's New?

[bmsleight]

Morphix is definitely interesting, but it's not for the faint of heart. Building a Morphix ISO is one part education, one part command line voodoo, and one part dumb luck. ;-)

For help building a your won Modular Live-CD, have a look at the Morphix How Tos, we have updated them.

To start off there is how to do simplest morph, then how to build a Mini-Module, then how to Add Modules to the Live CD. Then how to do bigger changes in by changing one of the Main-Modules.

The How Tos inlcude all the command line voodoo. It even possible to make a live-cd (image) by using the live-cd. There are different pre-made CD images with a whole range of (currently GUI-cantered) software. It also has an easy-to-use installer.

Better Torrent than Slashdot's

[FreeUser]

Slashdotters appear to be a bunch of leaches unwilling to leave their sessions open for others to download with.

Fortunately, for those of us who weren't reading slashdot last night, suprnova.org has a far better torrent available (which still works the morning after):

http://66.90.75.92/suprnova//torrents/1681/KNOPPIX _V3.4-2004-05-04-EN.iso.torrent

After getting 0kB/s via the torrent provided to slashdot, I was gratified to be getting 79kB/s via the suprnova.org torrent.