News from the LiveCD World
IBM’s developerWorks has another thorough article about LiveCDs. This time it involves modifying LiveCDs and turning them into screensavers for Windows.
There is sufficient free and open source software available nowadays to enable Linux to install and run as a Windows screensaver. This article shows you how to construct an appropriate CD or DVD, and in doing so, demonstrates that the “free” and “non-free” sides of the software Grand Canyon are not so far apart after all.
Linux.com brings us a brief review of Tao Live.
Tao Live CD is a live CD based on rebuilt Red Hat Linux source RPMs.
Marcel’s Linux Walkabout has an article about klik on their website.
The inspiration for klik has its origins with Knoppix (and Kanotix). In fact, the original name for klik was KLIK (all caps), which stands for “KDE-based Live Installer for Knoppix Kanotix”.
DistroReviews.com has posted impressions, or a short review, of the new Ubuntu Linux 6.04 Flight 2 release. Included with the review are screenshots.
Ubuntu has released its second test point, dubbed “Flight 2”, of Dapper Drake, Ubuntu 6.04. Scheduled to be finalized in April 2006, this test release has buckets full of new features for both the installed version, and LiveCD versions, which are available for download. Some of the new features of the Ubuntu LiveCD include:
For a better description and screenshots, check out the official description.
After a year without updates, Quantian 0.7.9.1 has been released. Quantian is one of the most complete LiveDVDs available for scientific work, including over 800 R packages and clustering support.
OS News has a review of the Amiga Forever Premium Edition, which comes with a LiveCD, although this article did not talk about it much.
You can boot into this emulator in two ways: you can launch it from Windows, or use it as a live CD. The latter uses KX Light (a modified version of Debian/Knoppix) to boot the Linux version of UAE, running AmigaOS 3.x.
DesktopLinux.com reports that LaCie is now selling a USB 2.0 hard drive that allows PCs to boot off it into Mandriva Linux. Hopefully this is the beginning of a new trend.
The Deccan Herald Internet Edition is running a story about LiveCDs. It is aimed at Windows users interested in trying out Linux, and covers everything, from how they work, how to get them, advantages of running them over normal hard drive installs, and even several more specialized LiveCD projects.
One of the first live CDs to manage this was Knoppix, which is so good at sniffing out strange hardware and configuring it that sceptical Windows users are regularly bowled over by the sight of their machine being turned into a powerful GNU/Linux system in minutes.
NewsForge brings us a review of the BeleniX LiveCD. While it does take forever to boot, it’s fun to play with once it’s done.
When the CD-ROM disk light stops glowing, you are staring at a beautifully done XFCE desktop running on top of xorg. This is auto-configured using the ddcxinfo utility ported from Knoppix. Essential devices like the monitor, keyboard, and mouse (synaptic, PS/2, and USB) work properly. Wired network cards are auto-configured through DHCP and USB sticks are auto-mounted.
DistroWatch’s Featured distribution of the week this week is the Archie LiveCD, a LiveCD based on Arch Linux. Check out the screenshot, it looks really nice.
Archie is unique in the sense that it is not based on any of the big “top-level” distributions with their live CD offshoots, such as Debian/Knoppix, Slackware/SLAX or Mandriva/PCLinuxOS, which currently dominate the live CD scene.
NewsForge has an article about OpenSolaris and a few derivatives that have come from the project. In it several OpenSolaris LiveCDs are mentioned, including SchilliX and BeleniX. It talks about some of the licensing issues that exist, and is worth reading for anyone interested in seeing what may happen with regards to integrating CDDL OpenSolaris code with GPL Linux code.
Ghosh has been working for Sun for two and a half years, but he is not a part of its OpenSolaris team. He started working on BeleniX in his spare time — what he said was three months of weekends and late nights to figure out how to get the live CD to boot. Calling it “a great learning experience,” Ghosh spent that time filling in the holes left by pieces of Solaris whose code has not yet been released to the community.
Nothickmanuals.info has a How To published on remastering PCLinuxOS. Thanks to Lxer.com for the link.
When the system is installed and you have rebooted your computer, you are ready to customise PCLinuxOS. As with any Linux distribution, you can customise virtually every aspect of PCLinuxOS, and your options are limited only by your imagination and level of expertise.
Here are some more links on remastering LiveCDs.
All about Linux has a review of Damn Small Linux. Includes some ideas of how and where to use DSL.
All aspects of configuration, which includes wireless network, mouse, keyboard, printer setup and most other services can be achieved via the DSL (Control) Panel.
SearchOpenSource.com has an intro to Knoppix and LiveCDs aimed at the business PC user. The article explains what a LiveCD is and what it can do in an accurate and understandable way.
It’s easy to take Linux for a test drive. Some Linux versions have been tailored to run from a CD. You just put the CD into the drive, reboot your machine, and Linux will be up and running. No installation is required; nothing will have to be written to your hard disk. When you’re done, take out the CD and reboot your PC again, and you’re back in Windows.
Knoppix, the most well known LiveCD, is holding a contest for new graphics to include in future releases. A great way for anyone to promote their name. I’m sure I’ll be looking at it lots, and everyone I demo Knoppix to will also see it.
You send us a graphics package for inclusion in Knoppix, and, if the package is accepted for a Knoppix release, we promote your website or business via a link that you can place on the desktop wallpaper (see below) in return.
ASE Labs is currently being slashdotted for bringing us an article on reviving an old computer by installing Damn Small Linux. There is good information in this article, including what to do if the computer doesn’t have a CD drive.
While this laptop might seem old and out-of-date now, it is small and light. I needed something I could easily carry around, so I figured I would see what I could salvage out of this dinosaur. Windows would have a hard time running on this low-spec laptop, but there are many distributions of Linux that will work exceptionally well. The one we’ll be using today is Damn Small Linux.
I just stumbled upon this from the Wikipedia page on QEMU, it’s a combination of Qemu-Saver for Windows and GamesKnoppix to provide a LiveDVD screensaver. Cool stuff.
this time with a bonus. A screensaver based on QEMU; leave your Windows box alone for a couple of minutes and it virtual-boots Linux, all the way to ‘xsnow’.
Henry The Adequate has a humorous review of the new Damn Small Linux 2.0 release.
Now this is a bit of a problem. How do I put the CD in before starting the computer?
OSDir has screenshots of Visopsys 0.6 Preview. Visopsys is an open source operating system, not based on Linux or anything else. It is available as a downloadable LiveCD.