Slashdot Mirror
18 Live Linux CDs -- In A Row
prostoalex writes "OSNews carries "a quick roundup" of 18 (they are not kidding, eighteen) live Linux distributions. Among those who made the list: Basilisk (based on Fedora), BeatrIX (based on Debian/Knoppix/Ubuntu), Berry Linux (based on Fedora), Damn Small Linux (based on Debian), FreeSBIE (based on Free BSD), Gnoppix (Knoppix/Debian plus Gnome, now merged with Ubuntu), Kanotix (modified Knoppix/Debian), Knoppix (the first big live CD, based on Debian), Luit (Debian/Xfce, rox filing system), Mandrake Move (based on Mandrake), Mepis (Debian), Morphix (modular Debian), PCLinuxOS Preview (a Mandrake fork), Sam (Mandrake/Xfce), SLAX (Slackware), Suse 9.1 and 9.2 (rpm-based), Ubuntu Live (Debian), Xfld (Debian/Damn Small Linux and Xfce). To call it a review would be a stretch, although a helpful paragraph on each operating system's claim to fame is provided."
They overlooked Quantian.
Really?! Eighteen?! EIGHTEEN??!?
Why is FreeBSD listed? It's not Linux.
Here's what I want:
- A linux liveCD without any X server installed whatsoever
- DSL doesn't count, since it has to hack a bunch of things up to work within 50MB
- If possible, i'd like it to be debian-based
Any ideas?
I've tried re-mastering Knoppix over and over but it seems like the minute I uninstall KDE/X the whole system craps out.
GUI frontends for partition editing, portage (Porthole IIRC) and the Gentoo file browser are there by default on top of the usual suspects and a few extra net/security apps.
We have a torrent up for it here if anyone is interested:
The Linux Mirror Project - NavyNos 2005.01 torrent
Homepage here:
http://navynos.linux.pl/
This is the only Gentoo based Live CD that I'm aware of, if anyone knows of another, please enlighten me.
She's built like a steak house, but she handles like a bistro....
The ability to have an entire operating system work fairly well off a cd without having to load anything on the hard drive is an impressive feat. I have had a look at a couple of live distro's that i though would of met my needs but there are still one thing lacking that would be really nice to have especially on the ones that are designed specifically for a graphical work station. The thing that I would love to see is the inclusion of KPovModeller plus povray rendering engine. If this was included then I would be set. Is there any live distro's around that have KPovModeller installed in them? I have looked around and tried a few not had this particular program.
what we need is a quickie questionaire that helps you decide which distro suits your needs, then burns the ISO for you, sort of like the weird quizes on bbspot.com only serious.
"...that's as white as it gets; all the bits are on..."
Make one yourself! All you need is a 10GB partition and 2GB swap (Google cache of howto): http://tinyurl.com/4chb9
Oh well, what the hell...
You don't want a liveCD; you want a tool to create a customized liveCD. Something like Catalyst, for instance.
That way you could have all (and only) the features you want, and you could go ahead and put your configuration files and served websites and whatnot on the CD itself instead of a floppy.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
While I agree that an imposed linux distro would spoil the flavour of the movement, I think there is a solution for "Joe Six Pack." One of the reasons that windows works so well is that there is simple choices; one calculator, one text editor, one RTF editor, one paint program, etc. All simple programs, by no means that strong, but if someone wants to type a quick letter, write.exe is the choice (we are talking default programs, so winword.exe doesn't count ;-)
A simple distro, with one program for each task (and limit the tasks, not everyone needs to calculate the astronomical position of the earth on April 4, 2063), just sort of a starter version. Gets people used to the GUI (doesn't matter which one, just the fact that it is non-windows gets them thinking outside the microbox) file structure, etc. Base it off a standard distro so when they get used to it and braver, they can easilly add all the other choices and options and spread their wings a bit.
With less programs, bootable from a cd, maybe save files/settings in a simple file on thier windoze partition without installing, the eventual plung to fully reinstall won't be so hard. Good intro (think for dummies style) documentation and tours would be easier to write with less programs, just adding some subnotes to those interested that hte programs presented are not the only ones able to do the job.
While it is true this linux with training wheels would probably not remain on their desktop as their permanent Linux OS, it would be that link between win32 and the current linux world.
But then that's just my opinion, I may be wrong. . . .
coLinux runs inside a Window in Windows. When people are trying Knoppix they could be running coLinux.
http://www.colinux.org/
I use it to serve my ext3 & reiserfs partitions.
Cavats I know of at the moment:
- TAP virtual interface very slow
- not quite a double-click install but close
- virtual filesystem doesn't shrink and grow automatically
A blog I run for the wealth
Yes, that's true, but having to compile everything can be annoying, and the benefit is often indistinguishable.
WeRelate.org - wiki-based genealogy
Well, unless you have a machine that is very, very old and weak, you really never notice it. The install (if you compile everything from scratch, stage1) does take a bit of time....and you don't have to do that. You can start off quickly with stage2 or stage3....you do have a choice.
I find that once the system is installed and working....emerging new packages or updating old ones runs in the background, and really doesn't impact on my work while it is going.
Now...one caveat...the older, slower systems that will most likely benefit the most from custom compiled and tuned apps...take the longest to compile...but, if it is that freakin' slow for you, I think it is time for you to come out of the dark ages, junk that 486....and pony up some cash for a real computer...
Heck, at the very least...get on eBay, get an old Sun box...prices are dirt cheap...and if you get a dual processor box...they run pretty quickly. A brand new athlon can be put together for near nothing from new egg....the last one I did for my media box, screams...I'm often using it as a pvr while compiling new packages in the background...no problem.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
With Debian or ubuntu and synaptic, users don't NEED to install software isn't included in the distro. EVERYTHING is included. The stuff that isn't included falls into 2 categories:
1) obscure software, which is usually stuff that only power users need anyway (yeah, i build my wmi window manager from source on debian, but no non-tech user is going to want it).
2) stuff that's non-free/not-quite-legal like non-licensed audio/video codecs. But once linux starts becoming more popular, mp3 players will start to support ogg, etc.
There are things like java and goddamn flash players that are more of a pain, but this stuff will be fixed with time.
I think even in the past year gnu/linux has become a lot more usable for newbies. IMO most (not all) of the remaining complexities/obstacles will be resolved within another year or 2 at most. Others may disagree, but I think that both gnome and kde are easier to use for a newbie than e.g., OSX. (I have to click in a million places to figure out where stuff is in OSX when people at my job ask me to help them with it, and it's smb support is buggy -- worse than gnu/linux for sure).
I wish that was true. I have trouble with 1 in 3 applications becasue the all assume they will only be run by administrator. Maybe you are always logged in as administrator, so you've never notice this. There are dependency problems in windows too. The dll scheme is a total mess and when it goes wrong it's almost impossible to fix. Same with the registry. Today I'm reinstalling a windows machine because it's just become slow and bloated over the years. Yes, I know how to clean them up, but that only work for the first few years.