News from the LiveCD World
Linux.com reviews Digipup.
Puppy Linux is a lightweight live Linux distribution that you can boot and run from a CD, USB stick, or DVD. One of its features is the ability to create specialized “pups” — new versions of Puppy Linux geared toward a specific purpose. Digipup is one such example, with a focus on amateur radio. I spun it up, and found Digipup to be a great way to check out amateur radio utilities for Linux.
Linux.com reviews BackTrack 2.
BackTrack is a live CD Linux distribution that focuses on penetration testing. A merger of two older security-related distros — Whax and Auditor Security Collection — BackTrack bundles more than 300 security tools.
CLICK reviews Puppy Linux 2.15CE.
DistroWatch Weekly has an overview of Knoppix as part of their “Top 10” Linux distros feature.
Linux.com reviews the multimedia monster LiveCD named Dyne:Bolic.
The Dyne:Bolic distribution is a live CD designed for creating, broadcasting, and publishing all kinds of audio, video, and graphic content. It includes some of the best free and open source tools with which you can compose music, mix video streams, and create 3-D animations.
Wired’s Compiler blog has a brief overview of Damn Small Linux.
We’ve written about portable apps quite a number of times in the past, but why bother with just apps when there’s a whole OS that’ll fit on a 50MB USB stick? Damn Small Linux, sometimes abbreviated DSL, is a 50MB mini desktop Linux distribution.
tuxmachines.org reviews the new GoblinX release.
GoblinX developers released their 2007.1 Premium version of GoblinX Linux recently and I was able to obtain the 1-cd version for testing. GoblinX has always been a very interesting project to watch with their odd-looking almost macabre-themed XFCE distro. It’s based on Slackware, so you know they have a good foundation and XFCE is coming into its own. With new versions of GoblinX being released about once per year, it’s hard to pass up the chance to test it when a new one arrives on the scene.
LINUX ON DESKTOP reviews Puppy Linux.
CLICK reviews SLAX.
Slax is a live CD that I’ve been very anxious to try. Any distro that claims to be light on hardware — yet features the KDE desktop — is something I’ve got to try. I’m beginning to think KDE gets a bad rap. It runs pretty darn well in this distro, as well as in MepisLite. And I think KOffice is a terrific package, with KWrite being one of the best programs out there for writers.
Geeks.com tech-tips has an intro to Linux LiveCDs.
A Live CD is a great way to test out Linux without worrying about what it may do to your computer.
Linux.com takes Dreamlinux 2.2 for a spin.
When it comes to choosing a Linux distribution, people tend to stick with the major players, such as Ubuntu, SUSE, or Fedora. However, every once in a while a distro comes along that offers a look at Linux in a new and fun way. One such distribution is Dreamlinux, a Morphix-based implementation of Linux that can be run from a single CD or installed on a hard drive. Dreamlinux 2.2 aims to offer a full range of desktop applications while providing a wealth of multimedia tools for easy production of professional-grade media.
OSWeekly takes a look at some kiosk LiveCDs.
TriedIT takes the Sabayon Linux 3.3 LiveDVD for a spin.
Sabayon Linux aims to give users all the bleeding edge software of SimplyMEPIS and PCLinuxOS but is based on Gentoo and uses Portage as its package management system. I haven’t used Gentoo for a couple of years now, but Sabayon’s popularity is continually increasing and with a new release it’s now time to give it a try.
DistroWatch Weekly looks at a new version of Wolvix, and talks about the collaboration between them and Ultima.
Informit.com checks out Moka5.
I’ve got Damn Small Linux (DSL) running, trying to debug a thorny UNIX application issue. And I’m doing all of this from my iPod Photo.
Open Addict reviews Damn Small Linux 3.2.
Under the hood, DSL features the 2.4.26 kernel compiled with SMP support. The system had no trouble recognizing the hardware on our test laptop and booted to the desktop in around 30 seconds. DSL is committed to remaining useable on older hardware. In fact the minimum system requirements for this distro are just a 486DX with 16MB of Ram.
TriedIT reviews the Enlightenment-destkop-based Elive 0.6.5 LiveCD.
TalkBMC takes Knoppix 5.1.1 for a spin on a cartload of different laptops.
Back to the drawing board: what LiveCD distro is out there that uses KDE as the primary desktop, but is stocked with best of breed apps appropriate to the questions the lab is asking and answering? Knoppix would seem to be the obvious answer.
Polishlinux.org reviews the Metisse window manager recently made available by Mandriva on a LiveCD?
Linux.com reviews the Sidux LiveCD.
Sidux aims to be the best Debian sid-based live CD — and it succeeds. It offers a clean, easy hard disk install and a fast release cycle.