Mint, Mythbuntu alpha top week’s releases, Mar 10, 2008

The Mint Linux team made a final release this week for its community edition distribution, while Mythbuntu and Ubuntu both added new alphas in on the way to Hardy Heron’s release in April.

If you need to repair PCs, even if you don't use Linux as a rule, you should have a Linux repair CD. These self-booting Linux distributions give you all the software tools you need to bring all but the deadest computers back to life. The best of these distributions is, hands-down, SystemRescueCd.

Linpus Technologies has long been known in Taiwan for its Linux distributions. Now, it wants to become a player in the global Linux market with its new Linux distribution Linpus Linux Lite, which features a dual-mode user interface. One mode is for people who may never have used a computer before; the other is for experienced Linux users.

Ubuntu and Red Hat are the most used Linux distributions among the 35,000 members of content-management vendor Alfresco's community, the company found in its second survey of trends in enterprise open-source software usage.

Version 6.0 of Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) represents a change of direction for Terra Soft Solutions. Fedora has been largely replaced by CentOS as the basis for the distribution. This should make it easier for the distributor to maintain the distribution for Power Architecture, as the CentOS development team maintain their distribution significantly longer than Fedora, which is more focused on new software.

All in all, Ulteo looks promising, and it offers a few important advantages compared to Web-based office suites like Google Docs and Zoho.

Actually, I'm sticking with Ubuntu. But there's no denying that one of the appeals of Linux is the DIY spirit behind it. While many find the number of distributions daunting, it's also evidence that anyone, even you, can build their version of Linux just like Linus and friends did in the beginning.

The developers at Fluendo have been working on an open-source, cross-platform media center application called Elisa. Version 0.3.3, which was released last week, includes a complete user interface overhaul that dramatically improves usability.

Whether you want to customize Knoppix, respin an existing distribution of the open-source operating system, like Puppy Linux, or are intent on creating your own package from scratch, we'll walk you through the process.

A little more than a year ago, David Liu was sitting in a lecture hall at UCLA. After graduating, Liu worked as an IT contractor for several months before starting Good OS.

While Linux remains popular among enthusiasts, its adoption among casual PC users lacks the power to really threaten Microsoft Windows. However a small handful of groups still create operating systems designed to make the transition over to Linux a little bit easier and less intimidating.

That was fast. Only two months ago, Good OS, a startup Linux distributor, exploded on the scene with gOS 1.0, an Ubuntu-based desktop Linux with dedicated links to Google applications. Now, the company has announced that it will release the next version, gOS 2.0, Rocket, at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas on Jan. 7.

Pardus developers describe the Linux distribution as advanced yet easy to install and use. Let's see how well it lives up to the hype.

While there are some Linux users who still insist on running free software exclusively, a growing number are more than happy to mix and match open-source and proprietary software. For these latter users, Ubuntu 7.10-based Mint 4.0 is a distribution made in heaven.

I am increasingly convinced all of the arguments between Linux distributions are going to become moot very soon. If they aren't there already.

gOS, the hot new Linux distribution, has been generating a lot of buzz because it comes with the Everex Green PC, sold at Wal-Mart for $200. Linux reviewers are totally in love with it, and are praising it to the skies. Naturally, I had to find out if it lives up to the hype.

The three biggest community Linuxes are Fedora, OpenSUSE and Ubuntu. They're all popular. They're all good. But which is the best?

Microsoft's rivalry with Google heated up considerably this past year when rumors surfaced that Google might release its own operating system to compete with Windows. Has Google finally jumped into the fray with its own OS?

Some distributions of the open-source operating system are bloated, but Puppy Linux, Knoppix, SLAX, NimbleX, and -- yes -- Damn Small Linux will get you up and running fast.

Many people still question whether Linux will ever make it fully into mainstream computer acceptance. A $199 computer now available on a major superstore's shelves just in time for Christmas might change all that. Anyone who wants a computer to just to send email and instant messages and watch YouTube videos should like the Everex gPC, which is powered by a nifty Linux distribution called gOS.

The world is on the verge of something stupendous: recent times have seen the launch of two customised Linux distros which just plug and play. Everex released the gPC, running gOS, based on Ubuntu, and well-known hardware vendor Asus unfurled the Xandros-based Eee subnotebook. Want to get in on the action? Here’s how to make your own special PC.

If Wal-Mart's recently released $200 PC sounds like a potentially great deal but you're not sure about ditching your current operating system for the inexpensive, Linux-based Ubuntu box, head over to the developer's web site and download the bootable gOS LiveCD

StartCom has updated its multimedia-oriented Linux desktop with new features targeted at audio/video fans. While it can also serve as a general purpose desktop, StartCom MultiMedia Edition version ML-5.0.6 comes preloaded with a variety of tools to hear, view, edit, mix, dub, finish, and share music and video projects, the company says.

Myah OS creator Jeremiah Cheatham has issued the first preliminary release of Myah OS 3.0. The gaming- and multimedia-oriented live CD Linux offering is built with an "efficient" Xfce 4.4.1 desktop, and bundles Internet, office, graphics, development tools, and numerous other applications.

When I downloaded Freespire 2.03 for review, I wasn't sure what I was going to get. The company behind it, Linspire, was in disarray, it had shifted from Debian to Ubuntu for its foundation, and the development of its key feature—CNR (Click 'N Run) download and install—seemed to have stalled out.

After reading colleague Alexander Wolfe's piece about a Linux distro called "Vixta" that apes the look and feel of Windows Vista, I confess to having mixed feelings about the whole thing. Mostly negative ones.

Guest columnist Howard Fosdick has previously used Puppy Linux to successfully revive "mature" PCs. Now, he takes a broader, deeper look at the parsimonious distribution and its potential value on normal desktop PCs, covering its features, flexibility, capability to peacefully coexist with Windows, ease of use, and limitations.

Booting Linux from an external drive with the applications and settings of your choice has never been easier after this week's release of Puppy Linux 3.0.

A very small Linux operating system, known as Puppy Linux, has had a "major upgrade" after version 3.0 hit the streets this week.

GNU/Linux offers a bewildering variety of flavors -- or distributions, as they're called. To a newcomer's eye, many of these seem virtually identical to each other.

The Foresight Linux Project is proud to announce the release of Foresight Linux 1.4.

Ingres has delivered a business intelligence appliance of its Icebreaker database and Linux combination, after teaming up with JasperSoft for its open source business intelligence (BI) suite.

Technalign, developers of both the community and commercial Pioneer Linux operating systems, recently announced the release of Pioneer Explorer 1.0 and the Programs folder.

The Ark Linux team have announced the release of Ark Linux 2007.1, the latest version of its multi-purpose desktop operating system.

A project aimed at building a Linux distribution for media center PCs has achieved a major new release. LinuxMCE 0704 is based on Kubuntu, and offers lots of flashy features, such as whole-house high-definition video distribution, optional alpha-blended graphics, gyroscopic remote control, and much more.

I don’t think the broad number of Linux distributions out there is a bad thing, except in the sense that it makes it difficult to choose where to begin.

For quite a few pundits out there, the fact that there are so many Linux distributions is a bit troubling to them. I am not sure why this argument keeps coming up, but it goes something like this: there are X Linux distros out there, which is too many to choose from for users, and creates a strain on developer resources.

Precisely how many distros there are is probably unknown, since anyone with a some spare time on his hands can create one.

... what follows is a list of some of the more common distributions, grouped into several basic categories. The list is not exhaustive, and may sometimes be idiosyncratic, but should give at least some idea of the variety available.

The Damn Small Linux (DSL) team today released DSL 3.4, a live CD featuring a 2.4.26 kernel and lightweight Fluxbox window manager.

The Scientific Linux project last week announced the release of Scientific Linux 4.5, an install-only distribution rebuilt from source code for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.

There are many good reasons to be concerned about security and privacy online. For example, Internet banking can be at risk if there is any possibility of malicious software on your computer's hard drive. Banks even expressly warn that before using their systems you should ensure you have taken steps to ensure your personal security.

People who are new to Linux are often confused by the large number of distributions to choose from. The good news is that you can safely ignore most of them. This article helps you choose a distribution for getting started with your Linux exploration—and helps you understand just what it is you've just chosen.

Back in January I wrote a review of Vector Linux 5.8 Standard. The fact that as I write this, over five months later, that review is still in the O’Reillynet Blogs Hot 25 says a lot about just how much interest there is in this up and coming Canadian distribution, a user friendly derivative of Slackware.

Granular Linux is a Linux distribution based on PCLinuxOS and features the XFCE4 and KDE desktops. It appears to have been in development since about the beginning of 2007 and has had one previous release. The developers of Granular have recently released a test of their upcoming .90 and I thought I'd see what it offered.

Has anyone besides me noticed that Linux has become the oddest "flavor of the day product ever marketed to the computing community?

The Zenwalk project today released Zenwalk Linux 4.6 (code-named Red Pill). The lightweight distribution utilizes a cutting-edge 2.6.21.3 Linux kernel with KVM support, along with the relatively new Xfce 4.4.1 desktop environment.

The "Minipup" project is aimed at diskless hardware such as sub-$100 PCs.

Update 5 of Pie Box Enterprise Linux 4 was made available today. This update includes the following enhancements:

Texstar and the Ripper Gang are pleased to announce the final release of PCLinuxOS 2007. Featuring kernel 2.6.18.8, KDE 3.5.6, Open Office 2.2.0, Firefox 2.0.0.3, Thunderbird 2.0, Frostwire, Ktorrent, Amarok, Flash, Java JRE, Beryl 3D and much much more.

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