News from the LiveCD World
Linux Magazine Online reviews Knoppix 6.0.
Knoppix has always been regarded as one of the most versatile Linux distros out there, but the latest version of the venerable Live CD Linux distribution has got yet another trick up its sleeve. Thanks to its excellent hardware detection, blazingly fast boot process, and the lightweight LXDE desktop environment, Knoppix 6.0 makes a perfect distro for netbooks.
The winner to LifeHacker’s Best Live CD poll is the excellent security focused Backtrack.
Lifehacker readers apparently love a live CD that is all work and no play. Backtrack, a security-oriented live CD packed with useful tools, took home the crown for top live CD.
Engadget HD gives a shout out to the new version of GeeXboX.
It’s been two years and a few days since the last CD release of Knoppix, but the wait is over, and Knoppix 6.0 is out!
Klaus Knopper has released KNOPPIX 6.0, a brand new version of the popular Debian-based live CD, now with LXDE as the default desktop and ADRIANE, an audio desktop for the visually impaired.
TechRadar takes Fedora 9 and Ubuntu 8.10 and installs them on USB flash drives.
You’ll need a flash drive with at least 1GB of free space, and ISO images of either Ubuntu 8.10 or Fedora 9. It’s likely there are other distros out there that work with similar or perhaps even identical instructions, but Ubuntu and Fedora are the big two so we stuck with them.
LifeHacker’s featured download today is pure:dyne, a LiveCD developed for media artists.
Lifehacker took four Linux distros, put them on USB flash drives, and ran a Lifehacker Faceoff.
Today we’re detailing four no-install distributions—Damn Small Linux, Puppy Linux, Xubuntu, and Fedora—and helping you decide which might work for that spare thumb drive you’ve got lying around, or as just a part of your multi-gig monster stick.
Linux.com has a review of Minisys Linux.
Unlike Puppy Linux, which is available in a single 96MB edition, Minisys Linux comes in four versions: Live, Mini, Server, and Embryo. The Live version uses 690MB and is stocked to the gills with applications for every task imaginable.
Linux Magazine Online lets us know that Debian will have official LiveCDs with the 5.0 release.
More news about Lenny is that the Debian-Live team headed by Daniel Baumann is working on official live images. With these distributions users can employ Linux off the CD without needing to install it.
Things go wrong. Hard disks fail and whole servers crash. Luckily, many Linux-based distributions are available to help systems administrators handle minor catastrophes. We looked at four of the most portable, all of which fit on a 210MB mini CD — SliTaz, Parted Magic, GParted, and RIPLinuX.
LinuxHaxor.net has a list of useful tasks for the GParted LiveCD.
We all fill up our hard-drives from time to time, but thanks to Gnome GParted, rearranging disk partitions isn’t as terrifying as it used to be. In fact, armed with a GParted Live CD, there’s a swathe of disk space fiddling jobs I can tackle without gnawing my fingers to the bone:
The Defensive Computing blog at CNET News has a great introduction to LiveCDs and their practical uses.
Now, another emphatic endorsement – all Windows users should have a Linux Live CD, and, know how to use it.
Tectonic takes a look at the new release of Puppy Linux.
Its been been six months since Puppy Linux 3.01 was released and today Barry Kauler announced Puppy 4.00, aka Dingo. Clocking in at a minimal 87MB download, Puppy 4.00 is a lightweight desktop Linux alternative ideal for low-end machines, or for users who want a little less clutter and more speed from their desktop.
Sun has released the free OpenSolaris LiveCD. Includes all the interesting parts of Solaris, including ZFS, DTrace, containers, etc. Also, you can sign up to have them ship you a CD for free.
Highlighted by the latest Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter (#88), there’s a great tutorial in the Ubuntu forums for transforming an Ubuntu install into a custom LiveCD/DVD.
This HOWTO is about making a live CD/DVD from the main system on your hard drive. This might be desired if you have customized your system and want to have it on CD. It can be useful also if you want to create a recovery CD from scratch, as you can make a minimal system using debootstrap and transform it into a live CD.
Red Hat Magazine has an interview with Jeremy Katz of Fedora, about Live CDs.
In Fedora 9, one of the new features is persistence for Live USBs. Based on the impression I get, this is a feature that is in high demand and probably has quite a number of uses. Where did your motivation for working on this feature come from; was it the demand from the users, or were you scratching your own itch?
Linux.com has a quick review of Puppeee.
Puppy Linux (and, by extension, Puppeee) was written from scratch with two goals in mind: speed and ease of use. Puppy Linux is, indeed, lightning fast — even when running on low-end machines like the Eee PC.
After a long wait since 5.1.1, KNOPPIX 5.3.1 is out as an official public release.
HowtoForge resets the root password of a Linux system with Knoppix.
LifeHacker has an excerpt from the second Knoppix Hacks Book, and asks for comments about everyone’s favorite LiveCD.