It’s been nearly six months since the arrival of the eeePC, and while there have been options to replace the default Xandros OS (baby mode) with another distro for nearly as long, none come close to the latest release of Mandriva ‘One’ 2008.1 (KDE). The latest iteration of Mandriva has only been out a day, but news that it would work without any configuration (i.e., ‘out of the box’) has been around since late February/early March.

Claiming to work without any config and actually doing so are two very different beasts however (as a number of failed distros will attest to); but when the folks at Mandriva state this capability then one is wise to take notice. And indeed the Mandriva 2008.1 delivers, and in grand fashion; booting up the live CD from an external usb CD drive attached to the eeePC loads the desktop in a very short time, and with the odd desktop resolution on the 7″ screen perfectly displayed.

Installation itself is an equally speedy affair, with the installer doing its initial work in around eight minutes, dividing up / and /home into 2.4GB and 1.2GB slices respectively; following installation one removes the live media (and in this case the cd drive) and is asked upon reboot to offer a root password, a name/user name/password before finding oneself in the newly installed system.

Everything does indeed work as advertised ‘out of the box’, from wireless (identified as Atheros 5006, though it is in fact 5007) to webcam to all of the fn + Fx keys (volume up/down, wireless on/off, etc.); Mandriva 2008.1 ‘One’ goes the Xandros one better in the suspend/hibernate category by not losing the wifi connection upon sleep, a small detail but nice nonetheless. Another big improvement is the use of PulseAudio, in this case with driving a large external monitor/TV; while the Xandros system provides a tinny sound at very limited volume, the Mandriva system really cranks out clear loud sound, making one fear for the tiny eeePC built-in speakers, and in the case of the external monitor/TV one has to actually reduce the sound on the external device itself, while in the Xandros system maxing the sound on it allows one to hear the action (unless someone nearby is crunching on some popcorn, slurping a drink, or humming).

Whatever you use the eeePC for, be it as an alternate lightweight notepad, wifi browser, or media centre for a larger external monitor/TV, Mandriva 2008.1 has made it significantly better, to the point that you will be wondering if they somehow packed a hardware upgrade in that tiny 697MB CD in addition to the excellent system on offer. If you have an eeePC and are tired of the limitations put on it by the default system, then this is a highly recommended choice: effortless to install and several upgrades that bring even more out of this little appliance.

The second beta of Dreamlinux is out, this time with more goodies in store; DreamLinux has always used the xfce window manager, which is still evident, though this time around they have added the option for a GNOME DE; what with the recent Nokia buyout of TrollTech (qt) and the uncertain future of KDE, I thought it best to re-familiarize myself with the incredibly complex GNOME environment. Heh.
The XFCE window manager is much the same as before, though a bit speedier, featuring the avant-window-navigator (much similar to the OSX Tiger Dock); it appears in the GNOME environment as well, and both are packed with all that you need for general online computing. DreamLinux has long been one of the Linux Distributions that comes with all of the non-free bits included at startup, so the fact that they have added an easy install of those (in a nifty control panel) was a bit of a surprise–now, through the easy install CP you can add Nvidia drivers, win32codecs, Google Earth, Skype, Opera, DVD playback and the like.
DreamLinux retains all of its previous speed and good looks while adding GNOME; this test was done in a VM using 256MB RAM as I have no test machine available currently–startup and shutdown were very rapid and the added convenience of deciding how pure you want your Linux install is a nice touch as well–many will opt for the non-free bits, but the fact that they now let you choose is a welcome innovation. Greatly looking forward to the final release of this second beta, at which time I will take a look at how much improvement (if any) the team at DreamLinux have made in their previously very nice and intuitive installer. This live cd is very much worth a look even you decide in the end not to install; indeed one could use the livecd on many older computers, saving work to a usb key and then rebooting into your underlying installation (hopefully Linux).

Is a minimal version of PCLinuxOS that comes with just the bare bones, allowing you to install exactly what you need; the liveCD is a very fast boot, and true to its Mandriva roots is extremely easy to configure through the Control Centre. I downloaded this 279MB distribution at a netcafe, burned the iso file and connected to the hotspot there in a matter of moments, all without installing a thing–were it not for some files that needed backing up on my installed system, I would have installed it right then and there.
There is really no tougher test for a Linux distribution then starting it cold from an outside wireless hotspot and configuring it via liveCD mode; that it was able to do so in such an effortless manner is a testament to how much the team at PCLinuxOS continue to hone their skills and make an excellent easy to use distribution even better. I installed Asian language support in a flash (not sure how that is possible in liveCD mode, but it worked) and was quickly browsing the web with the default Konqueror web browser.
If you’re just going to use the system to browse the web, watch movies, listen to music and get email, perhaps do a bit of text editing or creating spreadsheets, then it is already for you; the excellent Abiword and Gnumeric come ready to go, though you can easily add Open Office if you so desire.
The tendency of Linux distributions to get bigger and pack more and more into their liveCD/DVDs (e.g., Sabayon, MIB Games Mandriva remaster) while convenient can slow your system down considerably; it’s nice to see that some see the need for a more bare bones effort that allows you to pick and choose for your particular needs.
Well worth the download and test drive; see if you can resist making your system a dual boot with this very zippy and configurable effort from TexStar and company and all the fine developers at PCLinuxOS.

Would seem to be an oxymoron for the ages; Slackware by its very nature is not ‘easy’; interesting to see the new release of DarkStar Linux, which is targeted at beginners in an installable liveDVD. There seems to be a great deal of interest in this distribution, if torrent speeds are any indication; the 2.34GB download is flying (fingers crossed). Another distribution that I have long been curious about (obsessed even) is Vixta, now with release 0.98.1; though that has no seeders and will apparently take infinity to download. Worth the wait? Time will tell. More as they are downloaded and iso’s burned to disk.

MIB Live Games is a treasure trove for Linux gamers; at last count over 100 games, 48 in arcade alone. As it is based on Mandriva 2008, the setup (and possible installation) are a breeze; to say that everything is included out of the box on this remaster of Mandriva 2008 ‘One’ would be an understatement indeed. It can be installed or used as a liveDVD (3.4GB); as there was already a Mandriva on my test box I just ran it in liveDVD mode, and even using an underpowered Intel video card all the 3D compiz-fusion eye candy and games worked flawlessly. Not that I tried every one of the games. Heh.
For foreign language support both this remaster (as well as the original) of Mandriva 2008 ‘One’ is rivalled by only Ubuntu for ease of set up and input as well as number of languages supported. Not that other modern distributions cannot do it; but for new users some of this can be rather daunting, and when you toss in the fact that it is a non-native language initially then the difficulty level rises considerably.
My only gripes with this particular remaster were the odd screen glitch at restart, as well as hanging for an extended period of time (i.e., not responding) while in screensaver mode.
For those in Asia, using the original Mandriva 2008 ‘One’ Asia edition is preferable as this remaster only offers major European languages at the starting configuration screen, though again they are not that difficult to add once the system is installed.
Just wish this distro had been around when the test box was my only computer; the graphic card support is superb–eliminating a lot of the xserver reconfigure settings needed in the not too distant past. All in all a fine first effort from the unofficial Italian branch of Mandriva–much more to look forward from this group of knowledgeable individuals.

This is a Linux distribution from Taiwan that really puts the Xandros default on the eeepc to shame; the colorful desktop icons in the easy mode are very well crafted and contain the same useful categories (internet, work, learn, play and settings) as well as an easy way to switch between the easy and normal desktops via a clicker on the lower left panel.
For all its good looks it lacks seriously in the net connection department–it failed to find a wired or wireless connection on both a thinkpad and the eeepc; on the eeepc it ran for about a minute before freezing up completely.
Excellent start up time, flashy icons, and general ease of use; a very good proof of concept, but nowhere near ready to be used on systems planning to be used on the internet.

is out. You have been warned. Hahahaha

Pardus has come a long way since the last time I tried one of their fine Linux distributions; it was an excellent system nearly a year or so ago, and has just gotten much better in the meantime. It stands out as a system that is wonderful to use, either in the liveCD (Calisan) or the installed version (Kurulan) and is friendly to speakers of many European languages across a broad range of hardware.

There are systems that you try for a while and then get sidetracked with the bling from one of the major distro releases, and somehow I got lost and didn’t find my way back to Pardus, though the system and name stayed with me as a very positive one, a system that I would definitely like to stick with and learn more about.

I had been planning to run the livecd and then if it worked out to install the full system, but got caught up in a game of lbreakout on the livecd and lost track of time. When you first enter the grub login screen you are asked to choose your native language from a long list (numbering around ten), the first being Turkish (naturally, as Pardus is a product of Turkey), followed by English, and then a number of other European languages, both major and minor.

The splash is slient, so there is a minute or two of seeming inactivity with just the outline of a flashing cursor at the top of the otherwise dark hued screen, followed by a couple of xserver adjustments as the system sought to find the correct resolution (1024×768) for this R60 Thinkpad with the intel 945 integrated graphics card.

The most excellent Tasma control center launches as you enter the KDE desktop, and gives you a wealth of choices as to menu style (four nifty choices there), wallpaper, internet connection, and the package manager Yali. Once you have finished making your selections, you can either head back into Tasma for more customization right away, or finish and delve further into the choices on offer on the lovely KDE desktop, one that the Pardus developers and graphical artists have truly made their own, with a number of eye-pleasing alterations.

First stop was Firefox, which loaded very quickly, to head over the various spots one would normally go when accessing the internet– youtube, a streaming mp3 site, and a site that streams non-flash video–all of them passed with flying colors, all of the various codecs ready to go from the livecd without a hitch.

Just as a livecd it is a very fun and responsive system–one can only imagine how much speedier it must be in the installed version. All of my hardware was recognized, including wired/wireless, core duo processor, HP all in one printer, and external (fat32) hard drive.

This lynx comes loaded with tons of games, all the graphical tools for media/content creation you could imagine, something for every internet need, music/video playing, as well a full (one might say over brimming) office suite of tools–whatever your content creation, work, entertainment or internet needs, Pardus 2007.3 has something for you–and the configuration tools are as fine as any system I have tried, comparable to those on offer in PCLinuxOS and Mandriva ‘One’ 2008, all this in a tiny 688MB livecd package. It’s amazing how much they were able to pack into this single disk.

If you are looking for a system that is fun, fast, easy to set up and run, easily customizable and using the KDE desktop environment, then there is hardly a better choice out there than Pardus 2007.3, one of the dark horses in this year of stellar Linux distribution releases. Try the livecd and see if you don’t agree–you may find it’s hard not to queue up the installer disk on your torrent list as you zip around in livecd mode. Highly recommended.

Exciting Nightmarish new distribution Ultumix combines the best of PCLinuxOS with the Vixta look and feel. With added codecs! Looking forward to installing this system as soon as the torrent arrives. Details soon. Update: if you were one of the unlucky folks to download this “distro” then don’t bother even trying to install it–PCLinuxOS with a Vixta look–pshaw. It could not even get my very common ethernet card (never mind the even more commonplace wireless card), and the torrent has mysteriously disappeared from LinuxTracker without an explanation. All you get with this one is a terminal, no internet of any kind, and no way to install anything. A total bomb.

With the rave review in the interview featured in the latest issue of DistroWatch of Paldo Linux (bound to top the charts of Distrowatch rankings, or somesuch–talk about pressure) I just had to download it and try it out. While I did not install it (not a huge GNOME fan) the live cd was nonetheless quite fast. A very nice assortment of apps for every purpose–no bloat here–and quite responsive in accessing everything. The keyboard layout was a bit off, as several keys (z for y, for example) were incorrectly laid out.

Not having installed it, I can’t make any judgements as to how excellent the installer is, though by all accounts so far it is quite good indeed, though some have mentioned a glitch here or there, not surprising since this is a distro created afresh, something not seen so often these days.

That being said, there is certain to be a number of folks trying this (at the very least in livecd mode), and if you are a fan of the GNOME desktop then there is alot to like about this speedy Linux distribution. Well worth the download and (if you choose) install. Of particular note is the integration of WPA and WPA2 in the wireless gui configuration device, a nice touch and something sorely lacking in even the major distros. All of my relevant hardware was recognized, correct monitor resolution was set, bluetooth enabled out of the box (though this is a GNU distro as far as I can tell–so will need to add those nasty codecs).

It will be interesting to see where Juergbi and his team take this in the next couple of years, and seems likely to set the course for other distros to follow. Well recommended.