At 98MB, it is not exactly the smallest distro around (DamnSmallLinux is only 50MB), but it serves a purpose. It allows you to boot up quickly on any computer and be able to browse the web. Need to surf in the cybercafe while on a holiday but afraid that there are viruses/malware/tracking tools installed in the computer? BrowserLinux could fill that niche.

After you have downloaded BrowserLinux, you can either burn it into a CD and use it as a Live CD or create a bootable USB drive. If you need persistent data (storing your session or save files), it is best to create a bootable USB drive.

When you boot into BrowserLinux, it will first ask you to setup your video card.

The default method is to select the “Probe” option. If the monitor detection is not successful, simply choose from a list of generic monitor setting.

This is what you will see on the main screen. As can be seen, there is only a Firefox browser icon on the desktop.

Hovering your mouse at the bottom will show a menu dock where you can access the file manager, text editor and the terminal.

Clicking the “More Apps” option also reveal several other pre-installed apps like gFTP, music player, pdf viewer, image viewer etc.

Conclusion

Since it is a lightweight distro, it loads pretty fast and doesn’t take up too much of the resource. Minimal setup are required and it works right out of the box after you boot it up, so that is really great for bringing it on a USB drive. If you really need a distro solely for browsing, then BrowserLinux is one distro that you can consider. For everything else, you might consider installing PuppyLinux or Ubuntu on your thumb drive.

BrowserLinux

Introducing Gnome 3 and MGSE

The most notable differences in Linux Mint 12 is the MGSE, also known as the Mint Gnome Shell Extension. As its name implies, this is a Gnome Shell extension built on top of Gnome 3 and I can tell you – it is awesome! The MGSE brings back the bottom panel and the popular MintMenu. It allows you to use Linux Mint the traditional way without losing the functionality of Gnome 3.

The MGSE menu comes with a left shortcut sidebar where you can quickly access your favorite applications, such as Firefox, Banshee, Gnome Tweak Tool, Terminal, Folders etc. One thing though, the shortcut bar doesn’t seem to be configurable. You can’t add/remove applications to/from the list. There is also a search bar where you can search for app.

Update: The items at the shortcut bar is configurable. It is a reflection of the “Favorites” items in the Gnome Shell windows overview. You just have to add applications to the “Favorites” for it to show up at the shortcut bar. Thanks to @Steve Furches for the update.

Most of the desktop features in Linux Mint 12 are just Gnome Shell extensions and you can easily turn them on or off, depending on your preferences. If you want a native Gnome Shell experience, simply deactivate all the extensions with the Gnome Tweak Tool. The Gnome Tweak Tool is a must-have tool for Gnome 3 users and I am glad that it comes pre-installed in Linux Mint.

Mate – The answer to Unity 2D

In Ubuntu, if your computer does not support 3D acceleration, there is always the Unity 2D fallback mode. In Linux Mint, Mate is the 2D fallback mode for the MGSE. The Mate desktop is a fork of Gnome 2 that is compatible with Gnome 3. You will see a bottom panel with the usual Mint menu, icons and system tray. If you prefer the old Gnome 2.x style, Mate is the one for you.

You can choose “Mate” from the login page.

New Themes in Linux Mint

The default theme used in Linux Mint 12 is Mint-Z and it uses the default silverish grey as the background with shade of transparency in the Gnome Shell top panel and Activities overview.

Software Manager

The Software Manager is similar to the Ubuntu Software Center except that it is more organized and the categories are well laid out. I never like the Ubuntu Software Center because it is heavy, slow and displays too much information on the screen. On the other hand, the Software Manager in Linux Mint loads fast and is less taxing on the eyes.

Applications

Banshee is now the default music player and popular apps like GimP, Synaptic, Pidgin, Gdebi and VLC still come pre-installed in LM12. For commercial reason, the default search engine in Firefox has been changed to DuckDuckGo instead of Google Custom Search engine.

Conclusion

In one word, Linux Mint is gorgeous. It is still as user-friendly as before, and the MGSE does give its users the best of both world: Gnome 3 and Linux Mint. Kudos to the developers of Linux Mint. While it is a derivative of Ubuntu, you can’t find any trace of Ubuntu in it, not to mention the Unity desktop. If you are sick of Ubuntu, particularly the Unity desktop, Linux Mint is definitely the best alternative.

Download Linux Mint 12 (RC)

The Pinguy Desktop

This is where I have some mixed feelings. The theme is lovely, the titlebars and menus look clean, simple, and beautiful, but the desktop layout leaves a bit to be desired.

Notice the three docks/panels on the top, left, and bottom. Each panel has its purpose, but in this author’s opinion it seems a silly waste of space to use up three portions of screen space, especially when each is left mostly empty. Much of the screen space for maximised applications ends up useless. Since Docky in this instance is doing little, if anything, that can’t be done by Gnome Panel, why use all all that extra space?

The standard Ubuntu menu has been replaced with MintMenu, a change likely to be welcomed by many users.

While the usage is pretty straightforward, this author had some trouble getting the menu to work properly. For instance, when entering a search term, the menu would display the correct result, but seemingly does not launch the application when you hit enter, even when there is only a single result in the search box.

Finally, much like the heated titlebar buttons on left or right debate, we’ve got the issue of where to place the application menu, ie File, Edit, Help, etc. Most Windows and Linux users are used to each application window having its own menu. Mac users, however, may welcome Pinguy’s decision to integrate the application menu into the system panel, as shown here.

Unfortunately, whether you like or dislike this approach, it doesn’t always work. Some applications appear to be compatible, while others leave the menus inside the application window. Until this can be consistent, it seems unwise to run that as the default configuration.

Applications

Like just about any Ubuntu remix, it’s got the same core set of utilities you’ll find on most Ubuntu (and by extension Debian) based systems, but the user-facing applications have nearly all been replaced or reconfigured. The following includes a few of the most prominent additions and replacements:

• Adobe Flash
• Pinta image drawing/editing
• Conky system monitor
• Granola resource management tool
• PlayOnLinux Windows game manager
• Rapid Photo Downloader, Shotwell, and Simple Scan for image management
• Deluge, Dropbox, Frostwire and Giver for file transfers
• TED: Torrent Episode Downloader
• OpenOffice
• Thunderbird and Empathy for email and chat
• DeVeDe and Handbrake for DVD processing
• VLC, OpenShot, GTKPod, Rhythmbox and MPlayer for multimedia

And a WHOLE lot more. In fact, it’s somewhat astonishing to count the additional applications installed on Pinguy. The ISO is twice the size of a standard Desktop Edition Ubuntu CD, and even Firefox has been loaded full of extensions.

Usability

In addition to including some useful software, Pinguy’s developers have made a few system tweaks. This goes for minor things like setting Brasero as the default application for ISO files to somewhat major hiccups (like Flash’s full-screen troubles). This, in the author’s opinion, is the least visible yet most valuable aspect of Pinguy. I have personally seen Flash problems cause new Ubuntu users to give up and go back to Windows on multiple occasions, and remembering to make these background tweaks can sometimes be difficult when you’re setting up a new user. Even Samba, nearly always a pain to configure, is ready virtually out-of-the-box in Pinguy.

Conclusion

It’s the usability changes that make Pinguy worth using. Panels can be moved and settings changed, but when a new user has to spend days with Google and the command line just to watch Flash videos in full screen, they’re a lot more likely to give up and go back to Windows. Pinguy’s developers have taken the time to fix a few of the “tiny papercuts” that have plagued many other promising distributions, and that alone makes it worth recommending. Next time you’re about to hand out a new Ubuntu CD, try Pinguy instead. If it can play ColbertNation without any freezes or hiccups, it’s already better off than a lot of others.

A Bit About Bodhi

As an Ubuntu spinoff, it’s got the same behind-the-scenes software as your average Ubuntu remix. The two design principles behind Bodhi could be summed up as:

1. Users should make their own choices
2. E17 is cool

It doesn’t bundle in hundreds of helper applications, and the things it does include are generally pretty light. This keeps the ISO around 400MB.

Setting Up the Bodhi Desktop

When you boot the live CD, you’ll notice that you’re given a couple extra options on boot. This is part of the first principle mentioned above – there’s not one default Bodhi desktop, there are several, for different needs.

Once you’ve got past the language screen, you’ll choose which style of desktop you’d like.

We’ll be going with Desktop Light for the examples here, which looks something like this:

Whereas, for the sake of comparison, the Fancy Dark looks like this:

After that you’ll get to an Applications selection screen, but as it’s only got one option (XTerm), it doesn’t take much explanation.

The Quick Launch screen, however is a bit more complicated, as many of the choices are named similarly and give no detailed explanation as to their function. For example, if you wanted to open Nautilus, would you want File Browser, File Management, or File Manager? For the records, File Browser will get the job done.

These applications will be available on a OSX-style dock at the bottom of the screen.

Modules

Much of E17′s functionality is contained in modules. Modules can be controlled from the Module Settings screen (Main Menu -> Settings -> Modules) and control nearly all the interactive aspects of your desktop. The taskbar, desktop monitor, clocks and even the main menu itself are all modules.

Some aspects of E17′s modules can be a bit confusing (such as remembering the difference between and iBox and an iBar) but they all have a purpose. Remember that many modules can exist independently on the desktop as well as from within other modules (like the iBar).

To create a new dock-type launcher bar, for example, you’d open the main menu by left clicking the desktop. From there you’d go to Desktop -> Shelves -> Add a Shelf. Your new shelf will show up on your desktop, where you can right-click it to view it settings and change the contents.

This modular, layered approach leaves Enlightenment open to nearly unlimited flexibility, but can often cause confusion and frustration when trying to get used to the system.

Conclusion

It’s hard to separate Bodhi as a distro from Enlightenment, its defining characteristic. Ubuntu is clearly a quality base to build on, and E17 has been improving for a (very, very) long time now. Along with Elive, Bodhi seems to be one of the few E17-based distros able to make a thoroughly useable system. While there are a few rough spots here and there, Bodhi seems worth while. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort to master Enlightenment (pun intended), this might the the distro for you.

Linux Mint

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. Linux Mint is an extremely popular Ubuntu variant, and for good reason. Mint provides several desktop solutions including Gnome, KDE, Fluxbox and XFCE, and what they all have in common is a solid software base with several of Linux’s “trickier” packages already installed. This includes some non-free software so that you have support for MP3, DVD, and Flash right out of the box.

Saner Defaults Remix

This is a fairly new project, but it’s beginning to gain a following. The basic idea of the Ubuntu SDR is that the stock Ubuntu is great, but some of the decisions regarding included software may not be ideal. While that is of course subjective, it’s hard to argue with some of the enhancements found in SDR.

Some of the changes you’ll find include:

• Empathy IM replaced with Pidgin
• Min/Max/Close buttons moved back to the right
• Evolution mail replaced with Mozilla Thunderbird
• Simple clean blue (Clearlooks) theme
• Gufw firewall included and activated on install
• All Mono-based apps removed (includes GThumb for photos and Gnote for notes)
• Multimedia repos enabled by default

and more

Ubuntu Ultimate Edition

While some (including this author) find the intensity of the color scheme to be a bit jarring, Ultimate Edition does have a bit working for it, and one of those things is speed. Several of the existing applications have been removed in favor of smaller and faster alternatives. Additionally, UE gives you some help with a few of the more legally or technically complicated packages like Flash and DVD support, either by bundling in to the default system or providing install helpers.

Ultimate Edition is clearly the most “home made” of those on the list, but if you’re willing to tolerate or change the visual theme, it can quickly become a useful desktop.

Lubuntu

One common complaint about the normal Ubuntu release is that can sometimes be a bit slow, especially on older computers. Lubuntu aims to solve that by replacing the normal Gnome desktop with LXDE. Gnome apps like Nautilus and Gnome Terminal have been replaced with the liked of PCMan File manager and LXTerminal. The system is also designed to reduce power usage over the standard install, making Lubuntu and excellent choice for laptops.

There are certainly several other Ubuntu forks worth checking out, including Super OS, gOS, and wattOS. There’s certainly no shortage of high-quality Ubuntu variants out there, so if you’ve got any others to recommend, let us know in the comments!

Using DoudouLinux

To get it working, you have to download the LiveCD (.iso file) or the USB key image (.img file) and burn it into a CD/USB drive. Once that is done, all you need to do is to boot your PC from the CD/USB drive.

On starting up, you will see two choices on the screen: “Start DoudouLinux” and “Start DoudouLinux without persistence“. With or without persistence will determine whether the configuration, settings and data are saved during shutdown.

In the usual login screen, you will see a list of games that the kid can quickly access (While there is a login field at the bottom of the screen, you don’t really have to login at all).

Gamine is a small game to teach the kids to discover the mouse. It is a plain drawing board where a color trail will appear when the kid moves the mouse. A left or right click will paste a star to the board.

(If you are wondering, the graffiti above is a failed attempt to draw the word “MAKETECHEASIER”)

Pysycache is a series of games that teach the kids how to use the mouse. It can be as simple as wiggling the mouse across the screen to reveal the underneath image or to drag an object and drop it at the correct place.

Childsplay, TuxPaint and Gcompris are popular educational software that need no further introduction here.

If you choose to login to the desktop session, you also have a choice of Tiny DoudouLinux or the Whole DoudouLinux. The Tiny DoudouLinux session is a streamlined version that includes more games and the ability to make some system adjustment like volume, sound and mouse settings.

The whole DoudouLinux session will include applications like browser, media player, terminal, file manager etc.

Conclusion

It is always interesting to see how Linux is used in various aspect of our life. DoudouLinux is definitely one of such interesting project that deserved to be commended. It is dead easy to use, so let your kids try it out and let us know if he/she likes it or not.

Download and Installation

ISO files for Qimo (pronounced “kim-oh”, as in “eskimo”) can be found on their Downloads page.

If you wish, you do not have to actually install Qimo to try it out. It’s a fully functional Live CD based on Ubuntu, so you (or your child) will have the opportunity to test the software yourselves to see if it’s what you want.

As Qimo is an Ubuntu variant, the installation process is nearly identical to the standard Ubuntu install. For details on that process, see the documentation provided on the Ubuntu Desktop Download page.

The Qimo Desktop

As noted above, Qimo runs on a custom version of the XFCE desktop environment. XFCE has always been a fast, simple, and reasonably lightweight package, so it makes sense to use as the basis for a desktop where simplicity is key.

That said, it’s somewhat disappointing that it’s just a customized XFCE setup. Don’t get me wrong, XFCE is a nice system, but I can’t help but feel that the developers are missing out on an opportunity to do something a little simpler and possibly more interesting.

Included Software

Qimo’s greatest benefit is that it’s packed with some of the top software available for kids on Linux. Many of the most notable packages include:

GCompris: Arguably the closest thing Linux has to a “killer app” for kids, no junior distribution would be complete without GCompris. This package includes dozens of games and activities, including several that aim to teach toddlers and young children how to use the mouse and keyboard. I can speak from experience as to the effectiveness of some of these, as I recently watched a 2 year old go from zero mouse skill to browsing YouTube after spending about 15 minutes in one of the GCompris mouse skill games.

Child’s Play: Along the same lines as GCompris, Child’s Play is a collection of games and activities. It does not have the number of games that GCompris has, but there are a few interesting activities (like a sound association game) that do not have counterparts in GCompris.

TuxPaint: This is an application we’ve mentioned more than once, so I won’t go into much detail here. TuxPaint is a fun and flexible drawing program for kids that includes simple shapes and stamps. A must-have for any young artists.

Tux Math: Tux Math is a game requiring quick thinking, and as the name implies, a bit of math skill. Comets fall from the sky and it is the player’s duty to save the igloo homes of your penguin brothers. Tux Math also has a multiplayer mode, where up to four people take turns battling the incoming comets.

Laby: For older kids, Laby could be a lot of fun, and a great gateway into the world of programming. Levels are created as puzzles, and the player must “code their way out” using simple instruction like left, right, and forward. By default, Laby uses a small custom Python subset to act on the game elements, but the design appears to allow room for alternate languages.

Conclusion

While the basic Qimo desktop isn’t particularly inspiring, the system does have a few shining tidbits, such as the excellent software selection and the fact that nearly all games and applications are set to start in full-screen – much more convenient for young ones. To find out for sure just how fun and simple it was, I set my 2.5 year old toddler down at the computer in front of the Qimo desktop earlier today. I’ll let you know when he gets down.

Test Drive is a package for Ubuntu that allows you to test drive the daily build of Ubuntu with little effort on the user side. With a single click (Well, to be exact, there are several clicks on the first run), you can get the application to download the ISO from the web and run it in your virtual machine. While it is meant for non-technical Ubuntu users to test and provide feedback on the current Ubuntu release under development, it can also be used for any Linux distro as long as you provide it with the ISO URL.

Installation

For Ubuntu Lucid users, you can easily install with the following command:

sudo apt-get install testdrive

For users using older version of Ubuntu, open the sources.list file

gksu gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/testdrive/ppa/ubuntu YOUR_UBUNTU_VERSION_HERE main

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/testdrive/ppa/ubuntu YOUR_UBUNTU_VERSION_HERE main

Lastly, type the following to install:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install testdrive

Usage

Once installed, you can find the entry at Applications -> System Tools -> Test Drive.

At first run, it will configure your system and check if you have Virtualbox installed. Next it will prompt you to download the Ubuntu version that you want to test. Currently there are Ubuntu 10.10 desktop, server, netbook edition etc.

if you intend to test other Linux distro, you have to enter “6″ when prompted, and enter the URL of the distro’s ISO file.

When you have selected your ISO image, testdrive will download the image to your system. You will need to have at least 1GB of free disk space to contain the ISO image.

One good thing about TestDrive is that it uses rsync to download the file, so the next time you run this application, it will only download the part that have changed since last download.

When the download is completed, it will automatically launch Virtualbox and run the ISO. No configuration is required. One thing though, it only works with Virtualbox 3.0.x or 3.1.x. If you are using the version 3.2, you will have to downgrade your Virtualbox to the older version.

Once it is running in the Virtualbox, you can choose to install to a virtual disk or simply run it in LiveCD mode.

* In case you are wondering, the ISO image are stored in the /home/username/.cache/testdrive/iso/ directory. You can delete the ISO file after you have finished testing to free up some hard disk space.

Has this software been useful to you? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Toyota UK

Whatever the reasons, we all now that it is not an easy task to build your own Linux distro, unless you deem yourself an expert in the field. Well, with Novo Builder, things starting to become a whole lot easier. And I seriously mean it when I said easier.

Novo Builder is a Debian GNU/Linux tool for creating your own up to date Ubuntu variants (only Ubuntu variant for the time being) customised to include the programs, themes and customised settings that you want. You don’t have to learn all the codes or any of the technical process. With a few mouse clicks and a long waiting time, you can quickly create your very own OS (and probably boost it to your friend).

Getting started

Note: Before you start, please be forewarned that the building of the OS can take up to 40Gb of hard disk space. Make sure that you have sufficient space before you start.

Download the installer.

Extract the tar file and double click the script to run it. When prompted, select “Run in Terminal“. The installation will take quite some time, depending on your Internet speed. In some situation, the script might not works well. When this occurs, you can use the command to install Novo Builder:

sudo apt-get install novo-builder novo-preset-lastos

Running Novo Builder

Run Novo builder (Applications -> System Tools -> Novo)

There are mainly two options for you: Pick from the preset setting, or create your own based on an existing distro. The easiest way is to pick from the Preset.

Choose a base distro from the Preset field. Click the “Prepare” button. Wait for some time (you might want to go and grab a coffee).

When it is done, the first column of Edit/View button will be enabled. You can now edit the sources.list to include your custom repository, or to add in some scripts for the startup process. You can even Add/Remove/Edit the kernel, the GUI or even some of the default apps. Ignore this if you know nothing about coding.

When you are done, click the “Build Base” button. Prepare for another round of waiting.

Once the build is completed, the Post Build option will be enabled. This is where all the fun starts. From here, you can open the Synaptic to install/remove your favorite applications. Of course, the more applications you install, the bigger the final ISO file will be.

The Chroot GUI button enables you to run your custom distro in a virtual environment, much like in your Virtualbox. This is a great way to check out your distro before finalizing it.

The last step is to create the ISO file with the Build ISO button. When it is done, you should be able to find the ISO in your “/home” directory (Note: It is the “/home” directory, not “/home/username“).

To clean up the mess and free up the hard disk space, you might want to click on the “UnMount/Del” button to delete the img file. This will free up as much as 20Gb of space.

Do also check out the documentation file for more help on Novo Builder.

Have you tried Novo Builder? Let us know how it works for you.

Image credit: programad

1. GCompris

If you’ve looked into free software for children, you’ve likely come across GCompris. This is a suite of over 100 games and activities for children aged 2-10. The activities are devided up between sections such as Math, Reading, and Amusement. The entire suite is available in the standard repositories of most major Linux distributions

To install:

sudo apt-get install gcompris

or search for “Gcompris” in the Ubuntu Software Center.

2. Sugar Desktop

The good folks working on the One Laptop Per Child effort have come up with a unique, simplified desktop system called Sugar. It was originally designed for their XO laptop series but it can be run on a home PC as well. If you install the complete package (instructions here) you’ll also get the included tools like a paint program, a few games, and some educational activities.

3. KDE Education Project

The KDE team has also produced a nice collection of educational software. This pack is aimed at an older crowd than GCompris, and includes tools like Kbruch for working learning fractions and Kturtle, a modern implementation of the Logo programming language for kids. To install look for the kdeedu package in your distro’s repositories

To install:

sudo apt-get install kdeedu

or search for “kdeedu” in the Ubuntu Software Center.

4. Tux Paint

What MS Paint was to many of us growing up, Tux Paint can be to our kids. It’s got all the normal drawing tools (pen, eraser, spraycan, etc) as well as dozens of additional shapes and patterns. It includes far more than MS Paint ever did, and should be a favorite for any young artists in the house. This is another common package that should be in your distro’s standard repositories.

To install:

sudo apt-get install tuxpaint

or search for “tuxpaint” in the Ubuntu Software Center.

5. Tux Typing

Typing can be a difficult skill to learn (I’ll be honest, I sometimes look at the keys) but fortunately there are software programs out there to help with the job. One such application for kids is Tux Typing, a fun a popular typing tutor game. There are multiple play modes such as Fish Cascade (spell the falling words before they fall off screen), Comet Zap (quickly type the letter on the incoming comet) and Lessons (match what’s on screen without looking at the keys).

To install:

sudo apt-get install tuxtype

or search for “tuxtype” in the Ubuntu Software Center.

Bonus: Children’s Linux Distros

Some individuals and organizations have realized the importance of free educational software, and have created complete Linux distributions specifically for schools and homes. Probably the best known of these is Qimo, which is also Ubuntu based. Qimo is more focused on use in the home on a standalone computer, as opposed to Edubuntu’s networked, institutional approach. It runs a custom XFCE desktop with large simple icons and emphasizes easy navigation.

There’s also Foresight for Kids, a children’s edition of Foresight Linux. It comes with several of the applications covered here such as Tux Paint, GCompris, and Tux Typing, as well as several multimedia applications for more serious use.

If you know of any other great Linux applications for kids, please share them in the comments below.

Lubuntu is a Ubuntu variant built using the LXDE desktop, which is in turn based on Openbox. It’s designed to be a lightweight and easy-to-use desktop desktop environment.

The development of Lubuntu goes as far back as 2008. Then, it was only available as a desktop package to Ubuntu Intrepid, Jaunty and Karmic. It is only in Ubuntu Lucid that it releases its own stable version for download. According to Mario Behling, the man behind Lubuntu:

“As a first step Mark [Shuttleworth] invited us to become a self-maintained project in the Ubuntu community. This means we will be able to manage LXDE inside Ubuntu, ultimately offering an Ubuntu derivative, ergo Lubuntu.”

What I read from here is that Lubuntu will receive support from Ubuntu and would probably integrate into Ubuntu family in the future.

So what about Xubuntu? isn’t it supposed to be the lightweight equivalent of Ubuntu?

Sadly, that is a thing of the past. The truth is, the supposed lightweight equivalent is not lightweight at all. While Xubuntu is using the lightweight XFCE desktop environment, it had been bugged down by several heavyweight applications and also the integration with GNOME desktop also makes it lose its advantage.

On the other hand, those who have tested Lubuntu have commented that it runs faster than Xubuntu and use half as much RAM (I have not tested this personally. Can anyone verify this?). This is what I truly call “lightweight”.

Installation

As an Ubuntu derivative, it is not surprising at all to find that the installation process is exactly the same as Ubuntu. To me, this is already the simplest installation process of all the OSes out there, so there is really no need for them to reinvent the wheel.

Desktop environment

If you are coming from the Windows background, you will find that the LXDE desktop environment is very much similar to your Windows interface. You got a Menu bar (akin to the Start menu in Windows) on the left bottom corner and the taskbar on the right. Since it is a lightweight desktop manager, you won’t find much (or any) eye candy or special effects on your desktop.

Applications

The applications that come with Lubuntu are the one that really caught my attention. Taking a quick glance at all the applications, you will find that none (or most) of the apps in Ubuntu are available in Lubuntu. Almost all of them are replaced with a lightweight alternative:

Gnome -> LXDE
Nautilus -> PCManFM
Rhythmbox -> Aqualung
Terminal -> LXTerminal
gEdit -> Leafpad
Firefox -> Chromium
GIMP -> mtPaint
OpenOffice -> Abiword, Gnumeric (no Presentation alternative)
Evolution -> Sylpheed/Osmo
Brasero -> Xfburn
Totem ->MPlayer
Eye of Gnome -> GPicView
eVince -> ePDFViewer

Most of the system settings are still the same. There is no Ubuntu Software Center nor Ubuntu One integration. Installation of software is still done through the Synaptic Package Manager.

Lubuntu netbook desktop

One interesting thing about Lubuntu is that it comes with a Lubuntu Netbook desktop that you can log into. When you are logging in, choose the Lubuntu Netbook from the Desktop dropdown field.

What it does is to sort your applications in various tabs and display them in your screen. You won’t be able to see your desktop from here. Compared to UNE, it is definitely less polished, and also kind of ugly, which make me think I am back to the Win95 era. I would much prefer to the usual interface.

Hardware support

I have tested it in my old PC (Intel Celeron 2.3GHz, 1GB ram and onboard graphics) and all the hardware work out of the box, except for the wireless card. This is the one major problem for Ubuntu – their wireless support sucks. I have not been able to get my wireless card to work for all iteration of Ubuntu, so I am not surprise that it don’t work for Lubuntu too.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a lightweight alternative to install in your old PC or netbook, Lubuntu is a great choice. You won’t get any eye candy or special graphical effects, but what you get is fast speed at a low cost. It’s time to put your old PC back to work.

DO let us know what you think of Lubuntu. Is it good enough for you? What features do you like to see in the future releases?

I’ll be using the testing branch for the info this article, which SliTaz calls cooking. The cooking and stable branches are both available for download from the SliTaz websites as ISOs.

Package Management

SliTaz uses its own homegrown package manager, Tazpkg, to handle software. It’s written in plain shell script but manages to cover just about everything you’d expect in a modern package tool, like online repositories and dependency handling. Some of the more useful Tazpkg commands are as follows:

tazpkg get-install (package name)    #To install a package from online "wok"

tazpkg install (package name)        #To install a local package

tazpkg remove (package name)         #To uninstall a package

tazpkg search (package name)         #To search for a package

tazpkg list                          #To list currently installed packages

tazpkg recharge                      #To refresh list of available packages

tazpkg upgrade                       #To run a system-wide package upgrade

Of the things that screenshot can tell you, there are two that I find surprising. One is that Tazpkg required a full “yes” or “no” on the question about replacing the symlink. I had previously just hit “y” and noticed afterward that it had gone to the default of “no”. The other surprising thing (to me at least) was that SliTaz didn’t already have bash. I guess when you’re squeezing things down to 30MB you’ve got to cut down even on the shell.

While there aren’t many packages in the SliTaz wok (package repository), it contains a few bonus scripts for adding in some of the more useful things like Flash, Skype, and Java that can sometimes be a pain on other systems. To see them all, enter the following at the command line:

tazpkg search get-

…and you’ll see some packages such as get-flash-plugin and get-wifi-firmware.

Generating “Flavors”

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, one of the more interesting features of SliTaz is that it’s set up to allow easy creation of remixes (or as SliTaz calls them, flavors). You’re provided with tools to create CD or USB images based on your desired config. You’ll find both the CD and USB tool in the System Tools folder off the main menu.

And remember, since SliTaz runs in RAM, you can remove the CD or USB device you booted from to create or test your new flavor.

Software Included

If you’re curious about exactly what makes up this 30MB wonder, here are some of the more notable packages:
version: cooking-20091104

• Linux Kernel 2.6.30
• X.org 7.4
• OpenBox 3.4.7.2
• Busybox 1.12
• Shiretoko (stripped-down Firefox 3.5)
• GParted 0.4.6
• SQLite 3.6.16

Conclusion

With the fact that everything run in RAM and the low number of packages in the online wok, I doubt you’d want to install SliTaz as your main desktop OS, but I don’t think that’s what it’s for. I’ve used distros similar in design philosophy (such as Damn Small Linux) to do things like system recovery, partitioning and virus scanning, and that’s just the place SliTaz would shine as well. Grabbing some additional packages and rolling a new USB flavor could easily add some power to any tech toolkit.

About Arch

Arch does not come as a complete, all-in-one pre-built shiny desktop OS. This is on purpose. The idea behind Arch is that upon installation, you’ve got a fast, light, minimal OS to use as the base to make your own shiny desktop. If you don’t like the idea of putting together your own version of what Linux should be like, then Arch may not be for you.

Installation

The Arch website provides torrent links here. The FTP ISO is the “netinstall” version, where packages are downloaded as needed during the install. The Core ISOs include the core packages on the disc, so that you can complete an install without a working internet connection. Download whichever you like, and burn to CD to begin the install. I’ll be using the FTP ISO for this article. That’s the recommended method, as it will download the newest available versions of all packages, instead of installing old ones from the CD which must be upgraded later.

Once you boot the CD, you can begin the installation process by entering

/arch/setup

at the command prompt. You’ll be taken to a text-based installer. Most of the installer should be fairly easy to navigate for an experienced Linux user (Arch’s target audience, and therefore the target audience of this article) so I won’t cover the installation in much detail. The Arch website offers a comprehensive install guide that you can use if you run into any trouble. I will, however, include some screenshots of the installer so you can see what you’re getting in to.

Package Management

Once the install is complete, it’s likely the first thing you’ll want to do is install some new packages (like Xorg and a desktop environment). First, let’s make sure pacman is aware of all the available packages. By default, it will use whatever mirror you chose during installation. To tell pacman to refresh that list, enter

pacman -Sy

If you have any problems with that, try changing the mirror by editing /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist. Comment out your current mirror and choose another from your region. Make sure that you see extra in the sync. That’s where you’ll find many of your common packages. If all went well, you’re ready to install some packages. The command to do that is

pacman -S (package name)

Here’s an example of pacman installing my favorite window manager, Window Maker.

Some common pacman options include..

pacman -R (package name)     #To remove a package

pacman -Ss (package name)    #To search for packages

pacman -Si (package name)    #To get info about a package

pacman -Syu                  #To sync with mirror and update system

pacman -U path/to/package    #To install a local package file

System Config

Before starting X, there are a few things left to take care of. You may have noticed that the install never called for a non-root user to be created. Now’s a good time to create that user manually, and install some other useful apps like sudo.

There are a few packages you’ll probably want to install before starting X.

• xf86-input-keyboard
• xf86-input-mouse
• hwdetect
• xf86-video-(your video card type)

Finally, generate an X.org config by running

X -configure

and copy the resulting config to /etc/X11/xorg.conf.

Also, it’s quite possible that you’ll need to tell X to load your desktop of choice by entering that executable into your new user’s .xinitrc file. On mine, for example, I had to include

exec wmaker

Optional

Arch has a tool called hwd that does a great job of detecting hardware and configuring X. It’s part of a group of packages called AUR, which are unofficial and created by users. Unfortunately, getting AUR packages set up can be a rather complicated process. There’s a useful tool called aurbuild that makes the process much simpler, but that too is also an AUR package itself, so it’s kind of a chicken-and-egg situation. I’ll list out the process for acquiring aurbuild as well as I can here, but I make no promises as to whether or not it will work.

pacman -S python fakeroot make gcc patch
wget ftp://ftp.berlios.de/pub/aurbuild/aurbuild-1.8.8-1-any.pkg.tar.gz
pacman -U aurbuild-1.8.8-1-any.pkg.tar.gz
aurbuild -s ddcxinfo-arch
aurbuild -s hwd
hwd -xa

If I’ve missed any steps, please let me know in the comments and I’ll update this section.

Conclusion

It’s hard to come up with an opinion about Arch, since Arch is what you make of it. I like that it gives so much control to the user when it comes to system configuration, but at times it feels like a little too much control. There are a few things that make you think “come on, does this HAVE to be manual?” but the developers are clearly just trying to follow the Arch philosophy of giving the user all the control. In particular, it would be nice to have tools like hwd and aurbuild as part of the system, or at least available for installation through pacman. That may happen at some point as packages in AUR have a chance to be worked into the community repo eventually. Overall I think I like Arch and pacman, and I can see how it would make a great choice for systems that should be kept fast and clean.

Jolicloud is a new Linux distro based on the Ubuntu Netbook Remix, but specifically optimized for netbook devices. What make it stands out from the rest is its Web services that delivers a whole new Web-centric experience to its users (we will discuss more on that later).

Jolicloud is currently at closed alpha testing stage and only offer download on an invitation basis. The download is a LiveCD installer of around 600MB, distributed in iso format. You will have to use a USB creator software to mount the iso file on a USB drive before you can use it to install on a netbook.

When you first boot up the OS, you will see a Ubuntu-like grub splash screen.

Similarly, on the home screen, you will find the familiar UNR user interface.

On further exploration, you will also find that many of the standard software suite found in UNR (like Open Office, GIMP, Rhythmbox) are no longer available. Even Ubuntu signature app installer: Synaptic Package Manger, is missing. There is a good reason for that. Jolicloud stripped out all the heavy-duty and redundant applications in the system and allows you to customize fully what applications you want in your computer.

This is also where Jolicloud Web Services plays its part.

Click on the My Jolicloud icon (or the Get Started icon in Favorites tab) to launch Jolicloud Web Services. This is basically a Mozilla Prism application that connects you to the Jolicloud server.

Jolicloud Dashboard

This is essentially the starting point of your Jolicloud Web-centric experience. The dashboard contains news information and notification of the software update for your netbook.

Jolicloud Application

The application panel functions just like the iPhone App Store where you can choose the applications you want and install it in your netbook, easily and quickly. You are not restricted to install only desktop based application. Most of the popular web-based apps such as Google docs, Zoho office, YouTube can also be installed in your system (basically they are just customized build of Prism). Who says you need to know command line to install applications in Linux?

Jolicloud Settings – the social media stuff

The Settings panel is where you can follow other Jolicloud’s members (in Twitter style) and get update on what they are installing in their system. One thing though, for those who are concerned with their privacy, (unfortunately) I have not found a way to prevent others from following you. I strongly hope that Jolicloud can fix this up and allow more privacy control to the users.

Conclusion

For an OS that is still in alpha testing, Jolicloud is impressive. Surely there are plenty of bugs still need to be sorted out, but for the simple, yet user-friendly and easy to use interface, it really worth the praise.

Things that I hope to see improvement in future release:

1) Privacy control for the end-users
2) Support for a wider range of netbooks (currently it only works on certain models)
3) Better hardware support

Have you tried out Jolicloud? If not, apply for the invitation code here.

Elive is a Debian-based Linux distro, customized with Enlightenment e17 desktop manager. It is designed with the aim of providing a stable, fully functional and beautiful operating system that can run with minimal hardware requirement.

The current stable version is based on Debian-etch while the version that is under development is based on the recently released Lenny. Knowing the stability and versatility of Debian and the elegant and simplicity of Enlightenment, there are little things that Elive can go wrong.

Testing it out

As the same as any other distros, Elive comes with a live CD that you can use to boot up (and test) in your computer. When you first boot up the Live CD, it automatically detects your hardware and auto-configures it for optimum setting.

If you are using hardware that requires the restricted driver, such as broadcom wireless card and nVidia graphics card, Elive will also prompt you to install the necessary drivers so you can use your hardware straight away. I was happy that it is able to configure my Broadcom wireless card correctly during the boot up. This is one of the few distros that I can boot it up and connect to the Internet straight away, without any configuration or driver installation.

In addition, if you are dualbooting with a Windows partition, or are testing out Elive on your Windows-only computer, Elive will ask if you want to mount the NTFS partition on boot up.

The Frontend

Once you reach the desktop, you will be greeted with the familiar Enlightenment desktop environment (or unfamiliar if you are used to Gnome or KDE). The first thing that you will find missing is the panel (aka as menu or application bar). In case you don’t know, there is no application bar in Enlightenment. You simply click your mouse anywhere on the desktop to access the menu and applications. In my opinion, this is a much cleaner and faster way to manage your applications.

The layout of the desktop is well designed, with clever use of the various corners.

At the bottom of the screen is the e17 iconbar (also known as IBar) that serves as a dock for your frequently used applications.

The left bottom corner is the Xpad where you can quickly fire up to input a short note or access your todo list.

The right bottom is where all the gadgets reside. You are free to add/remove any of the gadgets from the shelf. I particularly like the Internet Configurator that cleverly detect my wireless network without much configuration.

The top right corner is where you can access any of the 12 virtual desktops in Elive. Note that you can easily move an active window to any of the virtual desktop by dragging it to the edges, including the corner. The transition from a desktop to another is seamless. You don’t even notice the differences. Also, one of the best thing that I find it difficult to implement in Gnome is that you can set a different wallpaper for each virtual desktop.

Accessing minimized windows

As mentioned above, there is no menu bar in Enlightenment. When you minimize a window, it will turn into an icon on the desktop instead. To retrieve the window, simply click on the icon and it will maxmize back to its original size.

The following screenshot shows the iconify windows, Xpad todo list, active windows in different virtual desktop and accessing the menu by mouse-clicking on the desktop.

On the application side, some of you (especially me) might be disappointed by the exclusion of OpenOffice. Abiword is used as the default office suite instead. Luckily this distro is Debian-based, so installing OpenOffice on it is just a breeze. The file manager used is Thundar, which is a great replacement for the commonly used Nautilus. Other applications include:

• XMMS
• Mplayer
• Iceweasal (a Debian rebrand of Firefox)
• GIMP
• aMSN
• Skype
• Transmission torrent client
• Avidemux
• Acidrip
• xine
• poedit
• scite text editor
• and many more

On the gaming side, I am surprise to find a collection of several good and interesting games. The Torus Trooper and Tuxpack are two great games that I have wasted countless hours playing. Yes, if you are missing your old console games, the ZSNES Nintendo Emulator, ScummVm and Dosbox emulator are also included.

The backend

On the configuration side, Elive has created beautiful and user-friendly GUI for its user to configure and change any of the system setting. It might take some exploration to find out where all the configuration options are, but once you got that sorted out, everything is just a simple click and select.

On the IBar, there is the Elive Panel where you can access and configure most of the system stuffs. The configuration options are categoried into three main areas:

• Look and feel setting – the place where you customize the desktop theme and overall look and feel.
• Personal settings – the place to personalize your settings, like which applications to load on startup.
• Systems settings – This is where you configure the system setting.

All the configuration options are nicely laid out and there are little chance that you need to hit the terminal to fix things up.

Installation

There are three mode of installation that you can select from: Novice, Normal and Advanced. I must admit that even the Novice mode is not as straight forward as Ubuntu. There are several things that Elive do before installing: partition your hard disk, download the installer file, verifying the system, verifying the installer source. At times, it will prompt you to enter information such as the security code, your username, password etc, which can be quite a hassle.

Various version of Elive

There are currently two version of Elive that are under development: standard Elive and Elive Ecomorph.

The Ecomorph version is a special version that is coupled with Compiz. If you think that Debian + e17 is great, then Debian + e17 + Compiz is even better.

Here is a video on Ecomorph:

Both the development versions are free to download, but are not stable enough for daily usage.

For the existing stable version of Elive, it is more of a donation-ware rather than a freeware. You have to donate (any amount) before you can download the LiveCD.

Invite

Alternatively, you can get invitation codes from your friends who used Elive. For MakeTechEasier readers, on courtesy of EliveTeam, we have 5 invites ready to be given away. If you are interested to try out and install Elive (stable), be among the first to leave your comment below. Remember to include your name and email address.

Conclusion

Elive is a great distro that gives you functionality, stability and beauty. While there are a few other distros that are based on the Enlightenement desktop manager, this is so far the most elegant distro that I have ever encountered. I am pretty impressed by it and I guess it will remain on my computer for a much longer time than any other OS.

For those who want to try out Elive, here are the links:

Elive (stable)

standard Elive (development)

Elive Ecomorph (Compiz)