Feb 27, 2010

Simmbook:A netbook for Rs 13,999

Simmtronics Semiconductors has introduced a new compact and lightweight netbook named as “simmbook”.It is powered by the incredibly small, amazingly smart Intel Atom processor which delivers the performance needed to enjoy popular activities like streaming videos or music, emailing, web surfing or instant messaging.

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It is specifically designed keeping in view the requirements of the mobile computing. Priced at Rs.13,999, the Simmbook is now available in India through the company’s 16 direct sales offices.The netbook is powered by a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor and presently it comes in a black,blue and red color chassis with a 10.2 inch LCD screen. some more features include:

  • 160 GB SATA hard disk
  • 1GB  DDR2 RAM,
  • a 1.3 MP camera,MMC/SD/ card reader
  • and three USB 2.0 ports.
  • It weighs about 1.2 kg with a three cell battery pack.
  • for more details visit http://www.simmtronicssemi.com/simmbook.php

close-red-simmbookred simmbook

close-black-simmbookblack simbook

close-simmbook-blueblue simbbok

  close-simmbook-white white simbbok

Feb 24, 2010

Haiku:An open-source OS specifically for personal computing

This post introduces you to an operating system called Haiku,which can be used as a starting point for aspiring students of computer science and for those who are interested in hacking operating systems.

Haiku is a descendent of the popular BeOS.It is a POSIX-compliant operating system project that started in 2001.It was initially named OpenBeOS since it was inspired by BeOS. it mainly intended for personal computing space. A clean interface and highly responsive kernel are the striking features of Haiku. It will be a wonder to know that it took almost took nine years to get the fist alpha release of the OS out on September 14,2009.

The key highlights that distinguish Haiku from other operating systems include:

  • Specific focus on personal computing
  • Custom kernel designed for responsiveness
  • Fully threaded design for great efficiency with multi-processor/core CPUs
  • Rich OO API for faster development
  • Database-like file system (OpenBFS) with support for indexed metadata
  • Unified, cohesive interface

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personal computing

Just like BeOs,Haiku also delivers an open source OS with simple,yet attractive user interface,and supports x86 based architecture. Many applications that are developed for the BeOs are available for Haiku.

Kernel

Unlike other Linux distributions,Haiku does not use the Linux or any other existing kernel.The Haiku project has built its own custom kernel using C++ language.This kernel is highly responsive while running user applications on top of it.The kernel is so designed to exploit the features of modern day processors.

The filesystem

Haiku uses a 64-bit journaling filesystem capable of handling volumes close to 2 exabytes (1 billion gigabytes),with a maximum single file size of 260 GB. It is a database-like filesystem that supports indexed metadata.

The ISO image of Haiku is 380 MB, and is easy to install it on a hard disk using a few simple steps. The ISO  image  can also be used to evaluate the OS in live CD mode.

image desktop of Haiku

features of the Haiku:

  • simple user interface
  • Takes less than 10 minutes to install the OS to the hard disk.
  • booting takes less time.
  • The required icons are available on the desktop.
  • Comes with Fire fox web browser.
  • Other applications like PDF viewer,paint,document editor are also available.
  • Developmental tools for the Haiku are also included.

In spite of the above features there are some in Haiku.These are:

  • No boot loader and partition editor.
  • Wireless support is not available.
  • Many hardware drivers are missing.

Overall,Haiku looks like a promising and simple OS. The project has a well-established collaborative environment for development,ranging form mailing lists to bug trackers and version control.

download Haiku at http://www.haiku-os.org/

Feb 21, 2010

Bayanihan 5 Desktop: Kalumbata

Codenamed "Kalumbata", the latest version of Bayanihan Desktop features an easy-to-install single CD distribution.

This edition has the following features:

  • New graphical installer
  • Integrated office productivity applications, web browser, antivirus, CD/DVD burning tool, firewall utility, and many more!
  • Improved out-of-the-box support for various wireless devices, peripherals and printers, as well as plug-and-surf capability for popular 3G wireless devices
  • You can now use the LIVE CD to install Bayanihan 5

Minimum hardware requirements:

  • 32-bit (486):
    • Pentium 1 to Pentium 2 processor
    • at least 128MB RAM
    • at least 3GB hard disk space
    • monitor with at least SVGA resolution
    • standard keyboard and mouse

32-bit (686):

    • at least 500MHz Pentium-class processor
    • at least 128MB RAM
    • at least 3GB hard disk space
    • monitor with at least SVGA resolution
    • standard keyboard and mouse
  • 64-bit:
    • at least 1GHz 64-bit-capable processor (AMD64 or EM64T)
    • at least 1GB RAM
    • at least 5GB hard disk space
    • monitor with at least SVGA resolution
    • standard keyboard and mouse

http://www.bayanihan.gov.ph/index.php/products/bayanihan-desktop

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CDlinux:A compact distribution from GNU/Linux

CDlinux is a compact distribution of GNU/Linux. The name is a synonymous of “Compact Distro Linux”. It is small in size, yet rich in features.

You can use CDlinux as your “Mobile OS”. Install it onto a USB key, take it anywhere and turn any PC/Mac that supports booting from USB to your own workstation, with the same user interface. CDlinux ships with an up-to-date version of the Linux kernel, Xorg, Xfce, and many popular applications, like Firefox, Pidgin, GIMP, and even Java and Wine. Just work anywhere like at home.

You can also use CDlinux as a handy admin/rescue tool. For this purpose, the much smaller “standard” edition is enough. The standard edition bundled with a lot of popular admin/rescue tools, like parted, partimage, partclone, testdisk, foremost, ext3grep, e2undel, e2fs/jfs/hfs/ntfs/reiserfs/vfat/xfs tools, and much more. Enough for your routine admin/rescue work.

Features:

CDlinux has good i18n/locale support. Currently de_DE, en_CA, en_GB, en_US, fr_CA, fr_CH, fr_FR, ja_JP, ru_RU, zh_CN, and zh_TW are fully supported. And users can easily configure CDlinux to support their own locales.

CDlinux can automaticly detect on which device it is installed. It can be installed on, and boot from CD, DoC, Flash, HD, or MD drive, via ATA, SATA, SCSI, USB, or IEEE1394 bus.

CDlinux can be installed on many kinds of file systems. You can install it on ext2, ext3, jfs, reiserfs, xfs, isofs, udf, as well as hfs, hfsplus, fat, ntfs, etc., as long as the Linux kernel supports them. CDlinux will figure it out automaticly.

It can be extended to run as your desktop OS, or tailered to fit your embedded system. It can also be used as a handy administration or rescue tool for system administrators as well as general users. Just customize it as you wish!

http://www.cdlinux.info/wiki/doku.php/about

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BeleniX: A first class OpenSolaris environment

BeleniX is an OpenSolaris Distribution with a Live CD (runs directly off the CD). It can be installed to harddisk and is free to use, modify and distribute.

BeleniX is essentially a first class OpenSolaris operating environment with very little modifications to the base. It is also very stable and very compatible with SUN’s OpenSolaris having derived packages out of sources from JDS, SFW, FOX, G11N, Caiman and other repos plus it’s own repo. It is also a full-blown OpenSolaris development environment being completely self-hosting. Every package delivered for BeleniX is built on BeleniX including the base OS (ON).

The BeleniX LiveCD allows you to test drive OpenSolaris in less than 2 minutes. BeleniX can also be installed to USB thumb drive in LiveUSB mode. BeleniX provided the foundation for SUN's offical OpenSolaris distro.

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KDE desktop screenshot

Background & Philosophy

BeleniX is a *NIX distribution that is built using the OpenSolaris source base. It is currently a LiveCD distribution but is intended to grow into a complete distro that can be installed to hard disk. BeleniX has been developed out of Bangalore, the silicon capital of India, and it was born at the India Engineering Center of SUN Microsystems. But BeleniX is not a SUN project. It grew out of a personal passion of a couple of guys who happened to work for SUN. BeleniX is now a community project with contributors both inside and outside of SUN. There were a variety of other considerations:

  1. An easily available OpenSolaris distribution is needed to popularize OpenSolaris among the BIG Indian Open Source community.
  2. In interactions with the community, it was pointed out several times that a LiveCD initially and a full distro later on will go a long way in spreading OpenSolaris.
  3. Official Solaris is now an Open OS. In fact it is a complete OpenSolaris distribution that is highly tested and very stable. Many people will want to use this. However there are many folks in the OSS community: students, hackers, power users and professors who are quite interested in having a distro developed by the community for the community. They are always willing to try out bleeding edge stuff not bothering about stability etc. So, I developed BeleniX as community member in an attempt to meet this interest.
  4. No technical documentation was available on how to go about building bootable LiveOS CDs for OpenSolaris, or even, what is required to have self-hosting pure OpenSolaris environment without depending on Solaris Express - This was the situation when I contemplated this project.
  5. No open-source tools and scripts were available that enable people to easily build OSS packages on OpenSolaris and generate CD images as well - Again this situation existed when I began.

BeleniX was conceptualized and developed over a period of 3 months and it demonstrates the fact that Solaris is now a truly Open Source operating system.

Visit http://www.belenix.org/home for more information and download

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DeLi Linux: A Linux distro for old computers, from 486 to Pentium III

DeLi Linux stands for "Desktop Light" Linux. It is a Linux Distribution for old computers, from 486 to Pentium III or so. It's focused on desktop usage. It includes email clients, graphical web browser, an office programs with word processor and spreadsheet, and so on. A full install, including XOrg and development tools, needs not more than 750 MB of harddisk space.

The trick is, that DeLi Linux uses only "lightweight" alternative software. If you are looking for the newest KDE, GNOME or Mozilla, DeLi Linux will not make you happy. The test computer is a PII laptop with 64 MB RAM, and all apps which comes with DeLi Linux are running smoothly.

"Why the heck make a Linux for such old crap ?" you may ask. There are still many computers around with the configuration mentioned above, it would be a shame to waste them. Many people simply cannot buy a 4 Ghz machine for 1000 $ or more, but they can buy a Pentium I 133 for 50 $ from ebay. Many people are still happy with the computer they bought five years ago. Especially in the so-called third world, new hardware is not affordable. Well, there's still Windows95 or Windows 3.1, which will  run on these machines, too. But these versions are not supported by MS anymore, they are no longer in production, and finally, you will not get any software for this old Windows version.

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Screenshot of DeLi linux

What people say about DeLi Linux

"I can't stop playing with it. So, don't throw that old computer away, install DeLi Linux." (Susan Linton, tuxmachines.org in a Distrowatch review)

"DeLi Linux surprised me by turning the old 486 into an usable system [...] the Pentium III was extremely responsive, being even faster than my main AMD64 system running Fedora Core 6 [...] As far as lightweight Linux distributions go, DeLi is one of the best." (Stefan Vrabie on a review at linux.com)

"I still have my first Intel machine, a 486DX2 66MHz system [...] it currently runs DeLi Linux as a workstation for my mother who, despite being technophobic, loves it and has no problems." (Usenet post)

Is Deli Linux a turkish distribution? First let me say, that DeLi Linux is an international distribution and you can configure DeLi Linux to "speak" the language you want, but its main language is english. Some users from Turkey may think, that Deli Linux is a turkish distribution, because "deli" is the turkish word for "wild" or "crazy". That's one reason I chose this name. It's an abbreviation for "Desktop Light Linux", but it also means "Crazy Linux" in turkish - which was a nice coincidence, I thought. If you're interested: I'm not turkish, ama Türkiye çok seviyorum. Ben Türkiye'de her yil.

To download visit http://www.delilinux.de/

Dreamlinux Desktop 3.5

Dreamlinux Team is proud to announce the final
version of Dreamlinux 3.5.

Dreamlinux is a Linux distribution based on
Debian Stable (Lenny) with several customizations
and many additions.
Continuing the tradition started with Dreamlinux
series 3.x, this 3.5 release is ready to meet the
requirements of a regular desktop user.
An extensive list of libraries, utilities and applications needed to support multimedia, graphics design and
office tasks, come packaged in a CD-sized iso image.
A DVD iso image with more applications is also
available.

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http://www.dreamlinux.com.br/desktopedition.html

If you're searching for an operating system that allows the freedom of worldwide communication; to use the same types of material produced by a worldwide community to read, write and produce art, drawings, images, music etc... better yet; to easily, quickly and safely share them all, you will now have no excuse to not give Dreamlinux 3.5 Desktop Edition a try.

Dreamlinux Desktop Edition 3.5 is a complete redesign of the distro, now supporting a totally independent architecture named Flexiboost* , based on overlaid modules.

This Flexiboost modules' feature allows the co-existence of two or more window managers (currently Gnome and Xfce) and to share the same customized appearance. Both desktop working environments share all the applications available.

Packaging the best office, image, design and multimedia OpenSource Software (OSS), Dreamlinux 3.5 Desktop Edition allows you to produce professional-quality contents.

Integrating the test-proven Linux OS base with a well organized and clean Desktop, you will experience a new way of interacting with and utilizing your
computer.

Epidemic GNU/Linux:An extremely simple to use debian based distro

Epidemic GNU/Linux: a completely free Debian based operating system that’s fast, efficient, modern in every way, plus extremely simple and easy to use!

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Epidemic GNU/Linux is distributed as a LiveDVD. Simply burn the downloaded .ISO file to a blank DVD, boot from it, and instantly enjoy the operating system! Computer hardware is automatically detected and configured, even while running Epidemic directly from the DVD. All the programs accompanying it (office suite, audio players, video games, web browsers, p2p applications, etc.) may be run directly from the DVD without installing the system on your computer’s hard drive.

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If you prefer,  in just a few minutes you can create a LivePendrive version of Epidemic, which can be used in the same way as the LiveDVD. This includes the option to save (persistent data) any changes you make while using it.

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Epidemic uses Easy Channel, an exclusive web based application installer. With it the installation of programs such as Google Earth, Opera Browser, Alien Arena, Picasa, Skype, VirtualBox, Wine Doors, etc., can be accomplished with just a few mouse clicks.

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Epidemic utilizes the latest in modern desktop environments, KDE 4 with Compiz Fusion. Even when running from the DVD this combination provides an easy, intutive and fun way to interact with the operating system. It also provides speed and utility, together with special effects that will leave you and your friends impressed!

clip_image012Fast and Easy System Installer

You can of course install Epidemic directly onto your computer, providing a much faster OS that permits customization through the installation or removal of select programs, desktop themes, etc.  eInstaller is a fast and easy to use system installer developed by the Epidemic Linux Development Team. It provides maximum ease of installation either directly on your computer, or if you wish the creation of a Live Pendrive version of Epidemic in just minutes.

clip_image008[1]Open Source

Epidemic is free software, based on the Debian Project, and is distributed under terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). It may be freely used, redistributed, or modified with proper credit given.

Download Epidemic GNU/Linux at http://www.epidemiclinux.org/

gOs(good OS)

Founded in early 2007, Good OS is an operating system software company based in Silicon Valley, California, USA and Taipei, Taiwan. Our mission is to enable cloud computing through software.

Products

Good OS currently has two products:

  • Cloud - A browser operating system for web, email, and chat, and toggling into a different operating system such as Windows or Android.
  • gOS - Currently at its third major release, gOS 3 Gadgets is a full desktop operating system perfect for desktops and notebooks.

History

On November 1, 2007, Good OS debuted its first product, gOS, a Linux operating system for consumers, at Wal-Mart stores on the widely publicized $199 Everex gPC.

Since its debut at Wal-Mart stores, gOS has been developed into its third major release–gOS 3.0 Gadgets featuring widgets powered by Google Gadgets–and has been pre-installed with additional PC OEM's on desktops, notebooks, netbooks, and shipped across more major distribution channels such as Circuit City, CompUSA, NewEgg, TigerDirect, and more.

In December 2008, Good OS announced its second product, Cloud, a small browser operating system, to be shipped on the GIGABYTE Touch-screen Netbooks which will run Cloud and Windows XP together.

In January 2009, Good OS released gOS 3.1 Gadgets, an updated version of its Linux operating system with an improved user experience.

Philosophy

Good OS's mantra is "Be good" because of our goal to be a good partner to PC companies, and to make good software for PC users.

gOS is an easy-to-use, Ubuntu-based distribution designed for less technical computer users. Its main features are the use of Enlightenment as the default desktop and tight integration of various Google products and services into the product.

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Improving the Linux user experience...
Since its debut in 2007, gOS has been praised for being the most beautiful and easiest to use Linux operating system on the market. Now with its third and best version of gOS, it has carried on its effort to create a Linux for the rest of us.

...with Google Gadgets
Turn on your computer to a desktop full of your favorite widgets, fresh with live, personalized content just for you. All thanks to the Google Gadgets for Linux team for their efforts.

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Google Gadgets
Enjoy a desktop full of live, personalized data

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Google Picasa with WINE 1.0
gOS 3.1 pre-installs WINE 1.0, which makes it capable of running some Windows software. For example, Google Picasa for Linux runs like it does on Windows thanks to WINE 1.0.

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Google Mail and Calendar
Easy to use mail and calendar programs that are totally web-based so you can take it anywhere

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Google Documents, Spreadsheets, and Presentations
Great web-based office suite that can open Microsoft Office document formats and PDFs

To download visit http://www.thinkgos.com/company/index.html

Granular

Granular is a Linux-based operating system, also called a distribution (or distro, for short). It is based on PCLinuxOS and aimed at providing an easy-to-use, stable, and functional Linux experience to the end users.

Starting from Granular 2 (Wolverine) onwards, Granular will be based on Unity Linux.

granularproject.org is the central place to find everything there is related to Granular.

What is Granular Linux?

Granular is an easy to use Linux operating system which is suitable for the newbies in the world of Linux as well as the regular users. Featuring more customizability and user-friendliness, Granular is ready to use for all the daily chores like creating documents, collecting images, surfing the Internet, making presentations & spreadsheets, playing games, communicating with mates, and much more.
Granular comes as a
LiveCD, which means you don't have to install it to try it.

The literal meaning of the word Granular in the computing world is :
"The degree of modularity of a system. More granularity implies more flexibility in customizing a system, because there are more, smaller increments (granules) from which to choose."

Granular also contains a lot of customizable themes, splashes, wallpapers, and other stuff that helps to customize Granular according to your needs. Another notable feature is the presence of two desktop environments -- KDE and Enlightenment (E17).

To learn about some key features in Granular, click here
Also see what others are saying about Granular.

The K Desktop Environment is a powerful desktop environment which is extremely flexible and customizable with all the good looks. The E17 environment on the other hand is a light-weight desktop environment which is faster than KDE but less flexible than it. E17 is also known for its eye-candy and is delightful to use.

The most important aspect about Granular is that it is intended to be a community-oriented project which would derive its features from the contributing members. So we, the present members of the project, urge you to come ahead to join Team Granular and make your contribution in whatever way you can. Help improve Granular and make it the easiest to use Linux distribution.

General Screenshots

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GRUB Menu in Granular 1

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Granular 1.0 booting

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Granular login screen

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Compiz Fusion in Granular

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Amarok playing an audio file

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SMPlayer playing a video

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Document opened in AbiWord

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Installation of uTorrent using Wine

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uTorrent running

KDE Screenshots

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Default desktop (KDE)

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Granular's Menu (Kickoff)

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Granular StartPoint

Enlightenment (E17) Screenshots

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E17 Desktop

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E17 Menu

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E17 Desktop 2

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KateOS:A simple yet fully functional and fully-featured OS

What is a KateOS?

KateOS is a free (as in freedom) multitasking operating system targeted toward intermediate Unix users. It combines the most popular Open Source software with its own original solutions. KateOS has a simple yet fully functional and fully-featured TGZex package system which makes system administration and updating a breeze. KateOS also has a set of text-mode and graphical tools for system configuration, user-friendly text-mode and graphical installation systems, a unified PAM authorization system, and many more solutions which make system maintenance a lot easier while preserving the classical Unix structure of the system. The main foci of KateOS are efficiency, security, reliability, and low system requirements. Support for common multimedia is also included.

Why KateOS?

The first thing to realize about Unix systems is that there is a division between three basic types:

  • desktop - aimed primarily at home users, often lacking security and requiring powerful hardware
  • server - focused on safety and efficiency, but with no multimedia programs
  • general purpose - distributions that contain hundreds of packages with wide dependencies. They often have high system requirements.

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http://www.kateos.org/index.php

KateOS aims to combine the advantages of all these basic types. In the case of system configuration, KateOS does not often hold the user's hand as most desktop distributions do, but the stability and efficiency of the KateOS system are incomparably higher.

How much does KateOS cost?

The system is completely free-of-charge and legally so, as it contains only free software. Everyone can download the CD ISO images and use KateOS on an unlimited number of computers.

What about commercial applications?

Many market leaders provide binary versions of their Unix software for Linux. All of these applications work on KateOS without problems.

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LadyBug:A French GNU/linux system

LadyBug is a french GNU/Linux Live System base on PCLINUXOS and SAM. It's a installable LiveCD or LiveUSB. It uses Mandriva tools, PCLINUXOS base, synaptic, xfce4 and mklivecd script. You can make your own modification and remaster it simply.

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http://ladybug.du-libre.org/doku.php

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LAMPPIX

LAMPPIX is a Linux live CD originating in Germany, based on Knoppix and Damn Small Linux. It comes with the XAMPP web server, MySQL database, PHP and Perl scripting languages, as well as other tools to run PHP-driven web pages directly off a CD-ROM.

The Linux Live CD booting a webserver. LAMPPIX allows you to burn your web projects (i.e. PHP presentations or Perl scripts) onto a CD-ROM and give them away to others. They will only have to insert the CD and reboot -- if you configured LAMPPIX right (and this is really easy!) they can view your project.

http://lamppix.tinowagner.com

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pdaXrom-ng

pdaXrom-ng is a build system for creating bootable GNU/Linux images with preinstalled software. This is an universal and easy build system. It can be used to build firmware for network routers, the Internet and multimedia terminals and much more.

http://pdaxrom.org/index.php/Main_Page

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VectorLinux : Speed, performance, stability

Speed, performance, stability -- these are attributes that set VectorLinux apart in the crowded field of Linux distributions.The creators of VectorLinux had a single credo: keep it simple, keep it small and let the end user decide what their operating system is going to be. What has evolved from this concept is perhaps the best little Linux operating system available anywhere. For the casual computer user you have a lightning fast desktop with graphical programs to handle your daily activities from web surfing, sending and receiving email, chatting on ICQ or IRC to running an ftp server. Power users will be pleased because all the tools are there to compile their own programs, use the system as a server or perhaps the gateway for their home or office computer network. Administrators will be equally as pleased because the small size and memory requirements of the operating system can be deployed on older machines maybe long forgotten.

http://vectorlinux.com/

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Zenwalk Linux: A modern,fast,rational,complete,evolutionary OS

Zenwalk Linux - overview

Zenwalk is a GNU/Linux operating system, designed to provide the following characteristics:

 Modern and user-friendly (latest stable software, selected applications)

 Fast (optimized for performance capabilities)

 Rational (one mainstream application for each task)

 Complete (full development/desktop/multimedia environment)

 Evolutionary (simple network package management tool - netpkg)

Hardware Requirements

Zenwalk GNU/Linux is optimized for the i686 instruction set, but backward compatible with i486. These are the minimal hardware requirements to run Zenwalk in Xwindow mode, with correct performance (some lower configs work - ie : PII - , but might be slow) :

  • Pentium III class processor
  • 128 Mb RAM
  • 2Gb HDD

http://www.zenwalk.org/

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Screenshot of zenwalk Linux desktop

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Zorin OS: A gateway for windows users to the try Linux

Zorin OS is a multi-functional operating system designed specifically for Windows users who want to have easy and smooth access to Linux. Zorin OS is a gateway for Windows users to the exciting world of open source software. It is based on Ubuntu which is the most popular Linux operating system in the world.

Zorin OS gives Windows users more flexibility. It allows them to use Microsoft Windows alongside Zorin OS or run Windows applications in Zorin OS with the help of WINE and PlayOnLinux. Tests show that most Windows applications run faster in Zorin OS than in Microsoft Windows. Zorin OS replicates the Windows graphical user interface which makes it easy for Windows users to operate Zorin OS alongside Windows or migrate to it.

Zorin OS is an out-of-the-box solution to all your software needs. It comes pre-installed with the OpenOffice suite including a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software, the Firefox web browser, the Evolution e-mail client, the Rhythmbox music player, the Totem video player, the GIMP image editor and much more.

Zorin OS uses the GNOME Desktop Environment. Zorin OS is open source, which means that anyone can modify anything in the operating system to suit their liking.

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Its many advantages include the following:

  • Zorin OS is safe as it has practically no risk of getting viruses or malware.
  • Zorin OS is a stable and robust operating system as it is based on Ubuntu Linux, one of the most reliable systems in the world.
  • Zorin OS is an out-of-the-box software solution
  • Zorin OS is a very fast operating system. It is tested to be around 4 times faster than Windows 7.
  • Zorin OS is available in over 55 languages.
  • Zorin OS is a fully customizable operating system.

Zorin OS was built with the help of the community, so even you can contribute to the Zorin OS project! (See the Forums page). We have mentioned only a few features and advantages of Zorin OS here but you can get a bigger picture by viewing the Screenshots, Videos, or by simply getting it.

Feb 20, 2010

BasicLinux

BasicLinux is designed specifically for old PCs.  It uses a small kernel and busybox to provide a low-RAM Linux, capable of browsing the web, doing email, and functioning as an X terminal.  The current release of BasicLinux is particularly suitable for old laptops -- it has PCMCIA capability and includes MagicPoint (a presentation tool similar to PowerPoint).

The current release of BasicLinux is 3.50.   It comes in two versions:  one boots from a

DOS harddrive, the other boots from floppies.  Both versions have the option to install themselves to a Linux partition on the harddrive.

DOS  VERSION   3.50

FLOPPY  VERSION   3.50

This version comes as a 2.8 mb zip file.
It unzips to a directory on drive C:
BL3 boots from DOS and runs in a loop file.

Minimum requirements
Intel 386 or compatible
3 mb RAM
DOS (or Windows 95/98 in DOS mode)

This version comes as a 2.8 mb zip file.
It contains two files that are copied to floppies.
The floppies run BL3 in a ramdisk.

Minimum requirements
Intel 386 or compatible
12 mb RAM
two 1.44 mb floppy disks

DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD

Additional components for BasicLinux
BasicLinux has a slim IDE kernel and a small set of common modules.   Additional modules and alternative kernels are here.

Add-ons for BL3 are available here and here.   It is also possible to install packages from Slackware 4.0 (using the pkg command).   You will find the packages in the /slakware directory.   Note:  packages from later Slac

ANIMUX:An open source OS for animators and artists

                               
Welcome Home, Animators!
ANIMUX is an absolutely FREE animation based toolset which can handle tasks from creative development to post-production stage of your creative project.

Animux's journey starts in Chapter 1: Genesis (coming into being) trying to provide a tool that will help animators visualize their dreams into creative reality.  It is our coming into being phase in the public conscience, but we have been around for quite sometime doing some incredible things while it was still unknown. Right from chapter 1 of its life, it will strive to adhere to 3 main goals of

  1. Pipeline Integration
  2. Digital Asset/Workflow Management
  3. Infrastructure Efficiencies
In its prologue, Animux has been used to create a DVD with 3D animation for Bassam Kurdali's Mancandy, helped a bunch of animators from around the world to participate in a 48 hour film project, creating a 5 minute 3D animation short in 48 hours.  We are curretly working on an animation short called "Prince Harming to Prince Charming" to test our pipeline and tools included in animux. 

The people behind "Animux" are right now working on "ADAM" the  "Animation Digital Asset Manager" which will help animators manage assets and workflows that help in easy pipeline integration.

We hope that you would hang around to see this absolutely free software called "Animux" mature into something valuable to both novice and professional animators.


Features
Animator centric Goals

  1. Pipeline Integration
  2. Digital Asset/ Work Flow Management ...(wip)
  3. Infrastructure Efficiency
Because we are animators or friends of animators...

Most of the people in Animux are animators or technical wizards with a passion for animation. So whatever we do/add to animux is because we think it will help the general animator population.

Our vision has always been to grow the animation population by making it easy for hobbyist and professional animators alike in setting up their studio. We want to take out the role of technical administrators from the animators required skills so that they can concentrate on bringing their creative dreams alive.

In short we say, "Let creativity be your only limitation, all the others leave it for your buddy's at Animux to solve."

Over 60 Animator specific Tools
Animux includes 60 tools that handle various tasks from preproduction, production and post-production work. Also with access to over 24000 applications you can add applications to your machine that may suit your needs.

Pretty and Productive desktop environment
Animux made the decision to go with the XFCE desktop enviroment because it is lightweight and fast. We wished for the animator to have the system resouces available for the animation task at hand without having to hog on it to run itself. We did not compromise of stability for this as XFCE is stable.

Compiz-Fusion can help boost your productivity by creating an intuitive desktop that you can customize using a easy to use configurator. With over 30 plugins you can definitely you can choose to increase the visual appeal of your desktop or add some very neat shortcuts that will cut time to do your day to day job.

Easy-to-user installer
Animux comes with a easy to use installer on the LiveUSB or LiveCD. Boot into Animux from the LiveUSB or LiveCD and if you like Animux just click on the "Installer" or "Autoinstall" icon. Once you are done with this process you will have Animux running on your machine.

Renderman Complaint Renderers
Animux comes with 2 renderman complaint renderers. Aqsis and Pixie.

EIGHT Renderers included
Animux includes 8 renderers which the animator has a choice to use to create his final render. Aqsis, Lucille, Lux, PBRT, Pixie, Yafray, Sunflow, Blender

Easy to Use
Animators no longer need to compile and configure it to make it work for different architectures. We have done that for you.

NVIDIA Drivers with SLI without compiling
With Animux you do not need to compile the NVidia drivers. We have done that for. All you need to do is download the driver and follow the simple 3 step instruction to install it.

Real-Time Linux Kernel
Animux comes default with RT kerne which is a must have for the sound engineering tasks on your animation project. The other benefit is that the operating system is very responsive. We ran benchmark tests on Animux and you would be pleased to know that the latencies in the OS in the micro seconds.

Animux supports Virtualization
We at Animux believe that virtualization is like shot of steroids for an animation studio. It will go a long way in helping you get the infrastructure efficiencies you are seeking of your invested hardware. Some of the benefits of virtualization are (rendernode consolidation, migration/sharing pipelines become easy, sharing of rendernodes for different project become easy without having to have a complex setup ...) and a bunch of other benefits.

Easy to set up renderfarms
You have 3 renderfarm managers included in Animux. Based on what your technical comfort level is you can pick the simple/easy to set up one for a quick start on a short project or you could have a complex set up with for a long term use. We are also working on a technical guide which should be out soon to guide you through setting up a working renderfarmer that will stand the test of time and need.

GUI based Digital Asset Management Tools
Right now Animux comes with tools that help you locate your digital assets on your machine easily. You can search for your digital assets with tools just like that a text search where you can search for based on similarity to a particular image. It also comes with GUI based backup and restore tools that help you safely store your assets. You can all use tools that create snapshots of your assets in time that can be automated.  These backups you can burn on a CD, DVD or move them to an external hard-drives or network location.

The work on Animation Digital Asset Management (ADAM) has been started to come up with an asset manager that takes care of the needs in the animation world. The people working on this project right now have a collective of 50 years in DAM and we are excited about what it can accomplish.

Mass Deployment/Configuration Tools
When you are working on a renderfarm, we understand you cannot install/upgrade the OS, applications one machine at a time. It can be done, but who does it now a days. We have included tools that help you install/upgrade/configure all from a single point.

Feb 19, 2010

7Linux is a small fast distribution built from scratch

7Linux: a small, fast distribution built from scratch


7Linux is a fast distribution,  comparisons to other distributions have showed it to be noticeably faster than them. Clearly speed is not everything and we also try to keep up to date, but maintain stability and provide best of breed applications.


7linux is NOT Slackware based but compiled entirely from scratch with a few exceptions such as Firefox Thunderbird and OpenOffice.org. Although these examples have been all compiled from scratch and optimized previously (with significant speed improvements in OpenOffice.org in particular), they are currently binaries from their respective projects as it saves us a lot of time, particularly with the fairly frequent updates of the Mozilla stuff and huge task of a source compile of OpenOffice.org. Some tools from Slackware are used for package management etc.


7linux uses 7z compression on packages and it is fast. A modified slaptget style system is intended for use with package management but is not fully implemented yet as I type. We have also been trying jigdo for iso updates so you can get the latest iso by only downloading the changed parts that you have not already downloaded. This seems to work very well and should make a big difference to people on slower connections.


The installer is text based and uses whatever kernel is currently our latest so it helps to keep hardware detection during install that way. There are scripts that setup stuff such as timezone, users, x, keymaps, networking etc., so no file editing is required for these. The installer is subject to improvements as the need / desire arises and is currently being tweaked for improved modular package installation e.g. server packages, a compact desktop install, graphics stuff, loaded with everything on cd. To give an idea of speed of boot the install cd boots from lilo prompt on an elderly cd drive on an Athlon XP1700 in 22secs. Within this time all normal udev style hardware detection has been done, appropriate modules loaded and cdrom located for install purposes etc.


Various versions have been in use by individuals, companies and charities that we know of (some from as far back as 7v4 a few years ago). We have also built requested packages for people including some quite specific in appeal ones.


Often a lot of discussion of the project happens on irc and is not documented on these forums.
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Feb 6, 2010

Slax - your pocket operating system

Slax is a modern, portable, small and fast Linux operating system with a modular approach and outstanding design. Despite its small size, Slax provides a wide collection of pre-installed software for daily use, including a well organized graphical user interface and useful recovery tools for system administrators.

The modular approach gives you the ability to include any other software in Slax easily. If you're missing your favourite text editor, networking tool or game, simply download a module with the software and copy it to Slax, no need to install, no need to configure.

If you are a beginner or you're just too busy to make it yourself, follow a few steps to build your own customized operating system by using web-based interface.

click here to download slax