18 Live Linux CDs -- In A Row 412
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."
Lacking a Major Player? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Lacking a Major Player? (Score:2, Insightful)
OTOH, It would provide a nice base to create a livecd, however, given that only necessities can be added in and it can be stripped down a whole lot (like compiling the system with dietlibc or even uclibc.)
[tt] Re:Lacking a Major Player? (Score:3, Funny)
Gentoo... (Score:5, Informative)
Seriously, for those who'd like to play with creating their very own custom Live CD, Gentoo's catalyst makes it really easy. It takes a bit of time, and could use some better docs, though.
Re:Gentoo... (Score:2)
So which one... (Score:5, Funny)
Has the scariest startup screen to go along with the words "Hey, you'll loves this, I just wiped your system and installed Linux!"?
Re:So which one... (Score:5, Funny)
But have you seen the GNU logo? Scary looking thing it is.
Article Text (Score:2, Informative)
Well, there are four main reasons.
* You want to test drive Linux (or that particular distribution). You want to give it a look, and see what programs it offers.
* You want to test your hardware. Will it work with Linux?
* You want to install Linux to your hardware. If you like it, you might want to make the leap right then.
* You want to do real work.
What does real work consist of? Usually, it means:
* Surf the web, meaning "look at html pages." On occasion, it's also handy to hav
Re:Article Text (Score:2)
What we need (Score:5, Funny)
more than 18 (Score:5, Informative)
FreeSBIE? (Score:2, Insightful)
chart, please! (Score:5, Insightful)
Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:5, Insightful)
I have RTFA, btw, and it was pretty approachable, but it still didn't make it much easier for the user to pick out something to replace his E-Mail checking/Web Surfing/Occasional Media playing (pr0n) computer. Perhaps the Linux community should get together and make a serious effort at a unified "desktop" launch. Personally, I think it'd go a long way towards getting more people off XP and involved in Open Source, all these fractured distros aren't really helping..
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2)
What'd be nice is if there was a set standard between all distros for file location, system layout, base installed libraries, universal package format, standard config tools, and a universal format for configuration text files. LSB should help with some of these, but I'd like even more unity.
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2)
Novell, in desktop linux 9, decided to install only a very base set of stuff. Just the OS, office, web and email. Everything else should be optional installs. Blow off about 2 gigs and store it in a compressed special directory, to be installed later, without needing the CD
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:5, Insightful)
This seems to pop every once and again, in different varieties: "there's too many distros/desktop projects/widget sets/web browsers/Hello Kitty squid cookies to choose from. Why can't we have just one?"
A few questions:
* Who, exactly, would do the picking? Based on what criteria? And who would decide that person/organization actually was a good choice to pick an alternative?
* What did you have in mind for enforcement? Selective assassinations of developers and users that refuse to go along?
Users pick different distros/desktops and so on because they have different needs and different preferences. And developers develop a particular option for all kinds of reasons - becoming popular may not even be on the list at all.
So, let's say "we" decide on Redhat with XFCe as the new standard for Linux. Will that mean that Debian will close their mailing lists, Novell immediately liquidates itself and all gnome and kde developers quietly rm their development directories and take up the torch of XFCe? Nope. If anything, an attempt to mandate one option out of many will antagonize a lot of people and make that option less popular then before.
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:3, Insightful)
It's too confusing for Joe 6-Pack to be able to decide on a linux distrobution to use. Lets Look at Joe's thoughts.
"I've had to remove even more Viruses and spywares off my computer. I thought that Anti-Norton-Virus was supposed to protect me." (Note, as someone who helps Joe 6pack too often, yes, they call it the anti-norton-virus, instead of NAV)
"What's this Linux thing I read about?" (Followed by a search from one of his pay-per-click toolbars. See's ads to i
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:4, Insightful)
Who is going to say to, for example, the Mepis developers that they are not welcome to develop their distro anymore? And what do you suggest when they say "f**k you" and redouble their efforts, and most everybody else sees you as a posterior opening for trying to dictate what other people do with their time?
As for Joe:
Joe will get whatever flavour his geeky friend Billy recommends him - the same friend that in practice will work as support and mentor until Joe is up to speed on his new system. It really doesn't matter which distro Billy hands over; all the modern ones are good, and the informal support network is a much more important factor than any details of the particular distro anyway. Or, he will buy a desktop with Linux preinstalled and will run whatever came with the machine.
By the time Joe really discovers the wealth of alternatives out there, he does so because he's been delving deeply enough into the Linux world that he is perfectly capable of choosing himself.
People who aren't interested in computers aren't stupid, or dense, or uneducated. They just aren't interested in computers.
History of industry (Score:2, Insightful)
Fast forward to now. Auto manufacturing is a mature industry with only a few US manufacturers and a few more world wide.
Linux has been around, as a viable desktop OS for, oh, let's be generous, 5 years. Because it is not created and controlled by a monopoly, it is still a vibrant, changing market place
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't care what Joe does, I want my computer to do what I want it to do. I don't care what MS does, as long as they don't stop me from doing what I want to.
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Is Red Hat Linux "the best"? Who knows, but it is one of the most talked about in the media and it is on the shelf at CompUSA so why not give it a whirl?
OR...
Same reasoning, but he ends up downloading Fedora for free from one of the mirrors after going to the Re
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:4, Insightful)
The only reason people can use Windows and MacOS, but they "can't" use Linux is that Linux doesn't come pre-installed on a desktop system from any of the major players. People never have to install OSX or Windows, and that's a major advantage.
Ordinary people are perfectly capable of using a modern Linux desktop once it's installed. There are plenty of people here giving testimonials like, "my mom uses Linux, now that I set her up with it." The problem is that 99% of PCs are sold with Windows installed, and 100% of Macs have MacOS (assuming you want Linux to take over there, though I don't know why you would).
If Linux had 95% of the PC marketshare and came preinstalled on all PCs, and Windows were struggling, and nothing else were changed from how it currently is,* I doubt you'd see people having terrible problems, and people would be talking about how 'Joe Sixpack' can't handle Windows because it's too hard to install it separately and it's 'non-standard' so it's hard for people to use. "It doesn't look like Linux, so no one will ever switch."
KDE and Gnome aren't unusable by any reasonable standard. They're not even that different from Windows and OSX. At least, they're not any more different than the differences between cars or beers. We don't have radically different paradigms for web browsing and word processing on Linux. They just look a little different and shuffle the menus around, and that's not anything you can't get used to quickly.
Linux doesn't deliver. What it delivers is an ugly conglomeration of strange actions and odd command lines.
I don't know where you got this idea, but it's bullshit. If you're doing what everyday people are doing, you can do it in one, consistent environment (pick KDE or Gnome, I don't care which), and without a command line. Hell, I could do most of my 'power user' stuff without a command line if I wanted.
* Well, maybe change the fact that most hardware manufacturers would rather shove bamboo under their fingernails than release specifications for their hardware so that open source people can support it, rather than spending their time reverse-engineering the interfaces. I bet people could swing that if Linux had 95% marketshare.**
** Anal-retentive hardware companies are probably the #1 reason Linux users want other people to use Linux (other than altruism or something). I know that if hardware companies wouldn't be such bastards about releasing specs (they don't even need to write drivers), I wouldn't even consider caring what other people use (not that I care a lot now).
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Linspire uses KDE, but GNOME is essentially the same to a beginning Linux user.
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:3, Insightful)
That and because its trivial to install other software under Windows and MacOS, while its almost impossible for the normal user to install something under Linux when it doesn't come with the distro. Moving from 'I have seen some software on some webpage' to 'I can
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:3, Informative)
If you go to linux.org and click "Download", it brings you to a page that mentions a) that you don't have to install Linux to the hard drive and b) that Knoppix is the most popular Live CD.
I'm not saying it's not a valid point - people are easily confused by "this Linux thing" if they haven't done any research bu
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2)
An absolutely valid (and good!) point. However, there is some merit to having one good di
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:5, Insightful)
I suppose a would-be Windows refugee could ask the geek that lives across the street or see if there is a LUG in town. The only way Linux can be what you want is if order is imposed on it. If order is imposed, Linux would cease to have what attracts so much development. Fast and competing development is how this has to work or it won't work at all.
I even maintain my own Knoppix builds (not for DL unfortunately...they have Captive drivers and MS fonts installed). The reason I can make a Knoppix that the stock one doesn't provide is because anyone can roll their own. Nothing has been done to make this difficult for the sake of having a unified market. A chaotic ever evolving Linux may never be able to unseat the likes of MS. A staid controlled Linux never will because very few will want to develop for it.
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, and decided the point has validity.
"Perhaps the Linux community should get together and make a serious effort at a unified "desktop" launch."
No, they shouldn't.
KFG
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Number of things you can build with a Meccano set (or Lego, for you youngsters): Limited only by your imagination.
Of course if all you really want is a model of a '57 Corvette you should just go buy one of those. Or is it an '84 Ferrari GTO you're after, well go buy one of those. Not into cars, huh? How about this lovely Mosquito nightfighter kit? Or a Charles W. Morgan in full running rigging? It can be built with just standing rigging too, if you want to do a diarama of it in
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2)
A new user moving from Windows shouldn't have to know (or care) if they use KDE/Gnome/Fluxbox/etc or 2.4.x/2.6.x. They should just be able to use a machine and be done with it.
Good luck getting support, though. How many times you think people will get a reasonable response when grandma calls Earthlink support to get help and, after telling them that she has LiiNucks, getting the stan
A strawman! (Score:3, Insightful)
Don't you see, new users don't need to care! Pick any good, general distro and install it for them. Don't talk about KDE vs. GNOME. Don't talk about 2.4 vs. 2.6. They will use the one that is installed and be happy!
You (and many Linux advocates) create an issue that does not matter to the new user, and then claim that it hampe
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2)
Oh, I dunno (Score:3, Insightful)
A given car manufacturer may easily produce a subcompact, a compact or mini, a regular car, a hatchback, a saloon and/or an SUV, with anywhere from zero to infinite customizations and extras, in budget, standard and luxury price ranges.
True, it wo
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2)
I'm not knocking serious distros or Live CDs, which actually do serve a useful purpose. But most do not.
Back in the 70s, when most stereos were strange expensive bulky things with an ungodly number of vacuum tubes, there were High Fidelity fanatics who could bore you silly arguing over what was the best preamplifier
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2)
Since you're not installing anything, you could have one for all the use cases possible (with some more "all-around", like knoppix)
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2)
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2)
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:3, Insightful)
I agree on some of the things you are saying, but do you honestly think that the general public really gives two shits about open source?
Will they save money?
Its it easier to use?
Can they do everything they need to do for fun and for work?
These are the things people care about, not open source.
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:2)
No. I run Lesbian [lesbian.mine.nu] but a lot of people wouldn't be ok with running an operating system based on the male interest in female homosexual relations. An extreme example, but there are many like it.
Too many brands. (Score:3, Insightful)
My friend says "Why don't you just pick o
Re:Inevitable comment, but valid point.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Because I don't see the current ones going away that easily...
Error (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Error (Score:2, Insightful)
But it barfs on new and cutting edge hardware.
i.e. no netcard detection, improper clock speed detection, etc. It still works, just not as well as it could.
on a personal note- woo! DSL!
It's really not that confusing. Most people get the hang of it quickly.
Re:Error (Score:2)
FreeBSD? (Score:2, Insightful)
Since when is FreeBSD a Linux distro?
FreeSBIE is not Linux (Score:3, Insightful)
I suspect that the author is not familiar with FreeBSD, and assumed it would be the same as Linux. In many ways FreeBSD is similar to Linux, but the fact that he could not get Printing or Wireless running tells me he really didn't know what he was doing. Both of these tasks would take me 15 minutes.
On a last note, this is only the second release of FreeSBIE, and it's based on the somewhat criticized 5.x line. Problems of one kind or another should be expected. Give them a few more releases and I'm sure they'll have the bugs worked out.
Having a tough time getting worked up over this. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Having a tough time getting worked up over this (Score:2)
Actually, it is I who ought to be offended, because I wish I were less of a geek. OS X just isn't geeky enough for me.
Re:Having a tough time getting worked up over this (Score:2)
Let's call it ... (Score:2)
Please find me a liveCD (Score:4, Interesting)
- 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.
Re:Please find me a liveCD (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Please find me a liveCD (Score:4, Informative)
You bootstrap Debian (stable, testing, unstable), pack it up into a compressed file, and plop it into your Morphix directory and generate the ISO. It can be as bare-bones as you want it to be.
You do all your work within a Debian chroot, so you get to use all the wonderful Debian tools.
Re:Please find me a liveCD (Score:2)
Re:Please find me a liveCD (Score:2)
Knoppix =! first "big" live CD. I don't think. (Score:2)
Hope they're not running their server... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Hope they're not running their server... (Score:2)
In a row? (Score:5, Funny)
I'm not even supposed to be here today.
Cheers,
IT
Re:In a row? (Score:3, Funny)
Would you like some making fsck? Berzerker!
My Linux distro is ticking clock. Berzerker!
Would you like to fsck my
Re:In a row? (Score:5, Funny)
PAMELA: That was Gentoo.
KLAUS: Why do you call him that?
PAMELA: Linus made it up. It's a live linux CD thing.
KLAUS: What do you mean?
PAMELA: After he boots a live CD, he likes to download and compile new binaries from source. It's called gentooing.
KLAUS: He requested this?
PAMELA: He gets off on it.
KLAUS: Linus can be talked into anything.
PAMELA: Why do you say that?
KLAUS: Like you said - he gentooed him.
PAMELA: Linus? No; I gentooed him.
KLAUS: Yeah, right.
PAMELA: I'm serious...
KLAUS: You booted that guy's live CD?
PAMELA: Yeah. How do you think I know he liked...
KLAUS: But...but you said you only installed three distros! You never mentioned his!
PAMELA: That's because I never installed his!
KLAUS: You booted his live CD!
PAMELA: We went out a few times. We didn't install, but we fooled around.
KLAUS: Oh my God! Why did you tell me you only installed three distros?
PAMELA: Because I did only install three distros! That doesn't mean I didn't just live-boot with people.
KLAUS: Oh my God-I feel so nauseous...
PAMELA: I'm sorry, Klaus. I thought you understood.
KLAUS: I did understand! I understand that you installed three different distros, and that's all you said.
PAMELA: Please calm down.
KLAUS: How many?
PAMELA: Klaus...
KLAUS: How many live CDs have you booted?!
PAMELA: Let it go...
KLAUS: HOW MANY?
PAMELA: All right! Shut up a second and I'll tell you! Jesus! I didn't freak like this when you told me how many distros you installed.
KLAUS: This is different. This is important. How many?!
PAMELA: Something like seventeen.
KLAUS: WHAT? SOMETHING LIKE SEVENTEEN?
PAMELA: Lower your voice!
KLAUS: What the hell is that anyway, "something like seventeen?" Does that include mine?
PAMELA: Um. Eighteen.
KLAUS: I'M EIGHTEEN?
PAMELA: I'm going to class.
KLAUS: Eighteen?! My girlfriend booted eighteen live CDs!
RMS: In a row?
Where is d y n e : b o l i c ? (Score:5, Informative)
While knoppix each day has less and less apps, this one is getting more and more. And the machines which typically hang with knoppix (or knoppix based), even using all the "no" options, dynebolic loads happily. Not to mention 64mb ram machines, thankfully window maker based desktop for us in poor countries where these kind of machines abund.
So how many of these can... (Score:3, Insightful)
If you have a "live" CD then updates take as little as burning the updated CD and rebooting the server with it. Configuration files can reside on a floppy to avoid unwanted changes, facilitate backups, etc. Processes can run on sandboxes to avoid total system compromise in case of a hack attack.
I mean, how many out there? Domainix sounds good but still needs a lot of typing. Not easy enough to brag about infront of windows only people. Slax has an add-on for samba and it is small enough... But how many out there??
If there would be one that does all that.. I would even pay for it!!!
Have a good one.
Re:So how many of these can... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:So how many of these can... (Score:2)
Have done this from scra
Re:So how many of these can... (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
repeat after me.. (Score:5, Funny)
Seems like ever since Distrowatch started tracking FreeBSD, everyone seems to think that FreeBSD is just another Linux distro.
The Linux community should tar and feather those who mix up ye unholy non-GPL software with the almight GNU/Linux distros!! Down with Distrowatch! Down with OSNews and James LaRue!! hehe..
of course... (Score:2)
hey! try not to recompile any kernels on the way through the parking lot! hey... get back here!
Gentoo Live CD (Score:4, Interesting)
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 [tlm-project.org]
Homepage here:
http://navynos.linux.pl/ [linux.pl]
This is the only Gentoo based Live CD that I'm aware of, if anyone knows of another, please enlighten me.
Linux? (Score:3, Informative)
Surf on over here [freesbie.org] for the torrent file.
What i would love to have on a linux live cd (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:What i would love to have on a linux live cd (Score:2)
minimalistic w/ firefox for shopping? (Score:2, Informative)
I've been usin Slax and a few others 250 MB but often it takes over 5 minutes to load. This is, virtually the same result on a P3 800 w 640 MB RAM to a 3 GHz A64 w/ 1 GIG RAM. The CD drive is a Lite-on combo @ 40 x or higher read speed.
Ideas?
DSL (Score:2)
Popped a copy of DSL into a USB CDROM, and BAM!
Luckily, it was only a 10 node cluster....
But DSL booted up quick fast, and found the onboard ethernet. Ran ifconfig, and I was done.
I really like it.
emerge GnoppixUbuntu? (Score:2)
What exactly happened, and what does it mean to those of us looking to try one of their live CDs?
Re:emerge GnoppixUbuntu? (Score:3, Informative)
I got the same offer from Mark, to more-or-less merge Morphix and Ubuntu, but decided not to do it. Oh well, free world et al. And it means one liveCD less to try out (either one or the other :)
Choice of Name?! (Score:2)
Okay, so it's not OS X but "kills you when you look at it" is exaggerating just a bit and not exactly the best impression you want to give people
Honestly, when it comes to looks I've seen far [slashdot.org] worse [slashdot.org]!
Eighteen and Live? Wasn't that a Skid Row song? (Score:2)
Ricky was a young penguin, he had a heart of ice.
Lived 0 to 255 and coded his fingers to the bone.
Just barely got out of school, came from the edge of Stanford.
Fought like a router so no one could take him down.
He had no patents, oooh no good at home.
He surfed the 'net a soldier and he fought the world alone
And now it's
18 and live you got it
18 and live you know
Your crime is time and it's
18 and live to go
(repeat above)
TCP in his heartbeat, his veins burned HTTP.
It kept his browser running but it never kep
Atheros support? For real? (Score:2)
Snøfrix. (Score:2)
Snøfrix has gained quite some popularity recently, as quite a few libraries are now distributing Snøfrix, in addition to it being mentioned in the largest Norwegian TV channel (NRK), on a program dedicated to protecting consumers right -- this time comparing Linux to Windows.
The name is a mix of "Knoppix" upon which is it based, and "Snøfrix", the name of the 11 (or so) year old
Linspire Live (Score:2)
And the left out the best one!! (Score:2)
LiveCD for VirtualPC/QEMU? (Score:2)
coLinux sorely overlooked (Score:3, Interesting)
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
Knoppix (Score:3, Informative)
Old versions of Knoppix didn't work properly on my laptop. Recently I tried it on my laptop again, and I was amazed. I basically tested how quickly I could get everything working.
About 15 minutes later I had succesfully set up my local network, internet via ADSL, printer, Samba, and Cd-Writer. As an encore I connected to the internet through GPRS via my cellphone, via the ir port - something that I have never been able to do in Windows.
Best of all: I saved the configuration to a USB key, so now everything is set up correctly as soon as I boot.
plan9 boots from CD (Score:3, Informative)
http://plan9.bell-labs.com/plan9/ [bell-labs.com]
Re:plan9 boots from CD (Score:3, Informative)
----
7. EXPORT CONTROL
Recipient agrees that Recipient alone is responsible for compliance with the United States export administration regulations (and the export control laws and regulation of any other countries).
----
On 9th Jan the GNU foundation and in particular RMS. change [gnu.org]
Re:no gentoo? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:no gentoo? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:no gentoo? (Score:3, Interesting)
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 quic
Re:no gentoo? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:no gentoo? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:no gentoo? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Can a .22 rifle shoot though 18 Live Linux CDs? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Live CDs (Score:2, Funny)
I can't fit more than three discs in my drive.
Re:18? (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.ph
Re:Linux on grandma's desktop? (Score:4, Informative)
For some recomendations I would check out SLAX [linux-live.org] and Ubunutu [ubunutlinux.org] (Live cd download is here [ubuntu.com]
I personally use SUSE, but their Live-CD sucks. If you decide to go with a KDE based distro that is what I would choose. If you like GNOME more I would go with Ubuntu. Also, although a lot of people seem to like Knoppix, I have never really liked it too much (mostly because of the messy menu structure). So there you go, try them out. What have you got to lose (besides some time downloading, bandwidth, and a couple blank cd's)?
Re:Linux on grandma's desktop? (Score:4, Interesting)