Archive for the ‘reviews’ category

10

Sabayon 5.4 review

Sabayon 5.4, released at the end of last month (September, 2010), is the latest version of the Gentoo-based, multi-purpose Linux distribution. This is the third release this year. The other two releases, Sabayon 5.2 and 5.3 were released in March and June respectively. Going by the recent history of this distribution (there were four releases [...]

Published by on October 4, 2010 4:36 pm
3

Linpus Lite 1.4 review

Linpus Lite is the distribution for netbooks and smartbooks developed and maintained by Linpus Technologies, Inc. of Taipei, Taiwan. The company’s flagship Linux distribution used to be Linpus Desktop until it decided to focus on the Lite and QuickOS line. Linpus Lite 1.4, announced on July 30, 2010, is the latest update, and also the [...]

Published by on September 21, 2010 6:56 pm
2

Momonga Linux 7 review

Momonga is a Linux distribution based on Fedora. It is a community-developed distribution with roots in Japan (the name is derived from a species of flying squirrel found in Europe and parts of Asia). Like Fedora, it is a multi-purpose distribution, a Free distribution, with a script that makes it easy to build and install [...]

Published by on September 16, 2010 11:51 pm
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Linux Mint Debian review

Linux Mint Debian is the latest addition to Mint’s suite of Linux desktops. Mint has long promoted itself as a distribution based on Ubuntu and Debian, a claim that I have long discounted as misleading. This release, while still experimental, is one, as the name implies, that is truly based on Debian. The package manager [...]

Published by on September 8, 2010 2:16 am
0

Zentyal 2.0 review

Zentyal, formerly known as eBox Platform, is a multi-purpose Linux distribution based on Ubuntu server. It can function as a network gateway, unified threat manager, office server, infrastructure manager, and a unified communications server. It is developed and maintained by Zentyal, a software solutions provider based in Spain. Zentyal 2.0 is the first stable release [...]

Published by on September 6, 2010 6:29 pm
1

Jolicloud 1.0 review

As the name suggests, Jolicloud is a cloud-based operating system. It is derived from the desktop edition of Ubuntu 9.04, and is the first stable and publicly downloadable, Linux, cloud-based distribution that I am aware of. Version 1.0, the first stable edition, was released several weeks ago. This review, the first for Jolicloud on this [...]

Published by on August 26, 2010 8:30 pm
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Alpine Linux 2 review

Alpine Linux is a distribution designed primarily for use as a router, firewall and application gateway. The latest stable version, Alpine Linux 2.0, was released last week (August 17, 2010). This review is the first for this distribution on this site, and also marks its first listing in the Firewall & Router category. Installation: Installation [...]

Published by on August 23, 2010 7:25 pm
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PC-BSD 8.1 review

PC-BSD 8.1 was released on July 20, 2010, roughly five months after version 8.0 was released. Some of the suggestions made in the review of PC-BSD 8.0 have been carried out in this latest release. In fact, the changes were made within one month of that review being published. It is an encouraging example of [...]

Published by on August 17, 2010 4:07 pm
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Mandriva 2010 Spring review

Been awhile since Mandriva 2010 Spring was released. Considering the company’s financial woes, and the rumored takeover negotiations, we thought they might never release it, but they did. Mandriva Linux 2010, aka Mandriva Linux 2010.1, was made available for download on July 8, 2010. There are three versions: Mandriva One 2010 Spring – the free [...]

Published by on August 10, 2010 12:38 am
7

Sabayon 5.3 review

Sabayon is a multi-purpose, Gentoo-based Linux distribution. It is part-source, part-binary distribution. I just call it a hybrid distribution. The latest update, Sabayon 5.3, was made available to the public in early June. Installation images are available for the GNOME, KDE, LXDE and Xfce desktop environments. This review is based on the GNOME edition. The [...]

Published by on July 25, 2010 5:30 pm
81

PCLinuxOS 2010 review

PCLinuxOS is a APT-ified, Mandriva-based Linux distribution. It’s one of those distributions that offer a separate version for virtually every existing desktop environment. Four of them – Enlightenment, LXDE, Openbox and Xfce are recommended for intermediate to advanced users, while the GNOME and KDE versions are recommended for all user levels (beginner to advanced). If [...]

Published by on July 20, 2010 12:32 am
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Linux Mint 9 review

Mint 9, aka Isadora, is the latest update to the desktop-focused, Linux distribution based on Ubuntu (10.04). It is one of the more exciting desktop distributions, with a nice selection of custom-developed graphical management utilities. Because it is based on and closely tied to Ubuntu, Linux Mint versions are always released after Ubuntu has been [...]

Published by on June 8, 2010 4:34 am
11

Ubuntu 10.04 review

We are in the middle of another release cycle. Folks in the community are updating their systems, and demoing distributions that hold promise. Should Ubuntu 10.04, Lucid Lynx, be on your demo list? I can’t answer that for you. The best I can do to help you decide, is present to you a list of [...]

Published by on May 26, 2010 10:09 pm
0

ClearOS 5.1 review

ClearOS is a network and gateway server distribution derived from RedHat and CentOS. Formerly known as Clark Connect, it is developed and maintained by the Clear Foundation, an IT solutions provider based in Wellington, New Zealand. Installation: ClearOS is designed to be installed to a hard disk. The installation program is ncurses based and offers [...]

Published by on April 16, 2010 3:36 pm
2

Vine Linux 5.1 review

Vine Linux is a Japanese, RPM-based, multi-purpose distribution. It is developed and maintained by Vinecaves, and it’s based on an earlier version of Fedora. It is one of those distributions that excludes non-free (proprietary) applications from its default installation. Unlike similar distributions, however, it has developed a smart method to make installing non-free applications very [...]

Published by on March 1, 2010 2:43 pm
25

PC-BSD 8 review

PC-BSD is a FreeBSD-based desktop distribution, with KDE as the default desktop environment. It is the most actively developed of the BSD, desktop distributions listed on this site. This review is of PC-BSD 8, the latest stable edition, which was released earlier this week. Installation – PC-BSD 8 sports a redesigned graphical installation program. It [...]

Published by on February 26, 2010 7:48 am
7

Parsix 3.0r2 review

Parsix is a Linux distribution based on Kanotix and Debian. It is purely a desktop-focused distribution. The last major release was Parsix 3.0r0 (aka Kev). This review is of Parsix 3.0r2, the second update release of Kev. Installation – Parsix is the second distribution reviewed and listed on this site with a menu-type installer (the [...]

Published by on February 12, 2010 1:23 am
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Pardus 2009.1 review

Pardus is a Linux, desktop-oriented operating system developed by Onur Küçük and his team from Turkey. At a time when nearly every new Linux distro is based on or derived from Ubuntu, Pardus is a rarity. It is an original, not based on or derived from any other distro. As such, its package manager and [...]

Published by on February 1, 2010 1:27 am
9

Linux Mint 8 review

Linux Mint 8 (aka Helena) is the latest version of the popular, desktop-oriented distribution. Helena was actually released late last year, but I’ve just gotten around to reviewing it. As with prior releases of Mint, Helena is based on the latest version of Ubuntu, which in this case is Karmic Koala. For this review, I’ll [...]

Published by on January 6, 2010 12:59 am
1

Simply Linux 5 review

Simply Linux is the Xfce-based distro from the same team that publishes ALT Linux. It is optimized for usage on the desktop. The major distinctions between Simply Linux 5 and ALT Linux 5 Ark Desktop are mostly limited to those between Xfce and GNOME desktop environments. I think it would make more sense to call [...]

Published by on December 24, 2009 9:28 pm
2

ALT Linux 5 Ark desktop review

ALT Linux is an APT-ified, RPM-based distribution developed and maintained by the ALT Linux Team (ALT is recursive for ALT Linux Team). It was originally based on Mandrake (now Mandriva) Linux. There are two main development branches, “ALT Linux 5.0 Ark, a suite designed for making integrated solutions, and ALT Linux 5.0 School, a suite [...]

Published by on December 23, 2009 8:16 pm
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Fedora 12 review

Fedora 12 is the latest major update to Fedora, the Linux distribution that counts RedHat as a major sponsor. Fedora is Free Software and as a consequence, it is not one of those distros that we expect to “just work” out of the box. So if you are new to Fedora, don’t expect the same [...]

Published by on November 19, 2009 1:20 am
0

Ubuntu 9.10 text-installer review

Ubuntu 9.10, also known as Karmic koala, is the latest version of the popular Linux distribution published by Canonical Ltd. Aside from Ubuntu Netbook Remix, the netbook edition, Canonical also publishes the Live CD edition, and the alternate or text-installer edition. The Live CD edition is the edition that most users are familiar with. Though [...]

Published by on November 9, 2009 2:16 am
3

Sabayon 5 GNOME review

Sabayon is a Gentoo-based, multi-purpose, GNU/Linux distribution. The latest version is Sabayon 5, released October 2, 2009. Two iso images, Sabayon 5 GNOME and Sabayon 5 KDE, are available for download. This post is a review of the GNOME edition. As always, let’s start with the installer…

Published by on November 2, 2009 4:05 am
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Hymera Open review

Hymera is a Debian-based, GNU/Linux operating system. It is a relatively brand new distribution developed and maintained by Hymera Engineering S.r.l., an Information Technology outfit based in Milan, Italy. Hymera Engineering publishes four versions of their Linux distribution – Hymera Open, Hymera Desktop, Hymera Evolution, and Hymera Server. This review is of Hymera Open, the [...]

Published by on September 28, 2009 1:18 am
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Zenwalk 6.2 Review

Zenwalk 6.2 is the latest version of Zenwalk, a Slackware-based, desktop-oriented Linux operating system. The last review of Zenwalk on this site was of Zenwalk 6. That was just six months ago. What changed between Zenwalk 6 and Zenwalk 6.2? Where the changes of a cosmetic or bug-fix variety, or where they much more substantial? [...]

Published by on September 21, 2009 12:12 am
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Sabayon Linux 4.2 KDE Review

Sabayon is a Gentoo Linux-based, multi-purpose distribution. Previous releases of Sabayon came in one huge DVD iso image with the option to install your favorite desktop. However, the latest release is available in iso images distinguished by desktop environments. For example, we have Sabayon 4.x KDE, Sabayon 4.x Gnome, etc. This review is based on [...]

Published by on August 15, 2009 5:16 am
25

Pardus 2009 review

Pardus is a Linux, desktop-oriented operating system. The latest release, Pardus 2009, was made available for download a few weeks ago. This review, my first of any version of Pardus, also marks the first listing of Pardus on this site. As with all reviews on this site, I’m coming at this from the view point [...]

Published by on August 3, 2009 12:48 am
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PCLinuxOS 2009.1 Review

PCLinuxOS is a Linux distribution based on Mandriva Linux. The most recent update, and the first since the last update in 2007, was released last week. This review will be the very first review of PCLinuxOS on this site.

Published by on March 22, 2009 3:17 pm
10

Zenwalk 6 Review

Zenwalk 6, the latest upgrade to the Slackware-derived Linux desktop distribution, was recently released to the public. As with every major distro release, Zenwalk 6 comes lots of changes, and to make it easier for you to decide whether this distro is worth trying out, we offer this review.

Published by on March 16, 2009 9:29 am
11

Debian GNU/Linux 5 Review

Debian 5 is the latest release of Debian GNU/Linux, one of the original Linux distributions. Known for it’s rock-solid stability, more Linux distros are derived from Debian, either directly or by proxy, than any other Linux distro. If you are new to the world of open source operating systems and are trying to decide whether [...]

Published by on February 27, 2009 2:42 am
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Foresight Linux 2.0.6 Review

Foresight is a Linux distribution built around the Conary package management system. The Foresight dev team maintains separate DVD install images for Gnome- and XFCE-based desktops for 32- and 64-bit architectures. There is also a CD install image, the Lite edition, a Kids edition, and a Mobile edition for netbooks and ultra mobile PCs. For [...]

Published by on December 2, 2008 3:52 am
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Mandriva Linux Powerpack 2009: Gnome Desktop

Mandriva Linux Powerpack 2009 was first reviewed here on November 4, 2008. As with all the reviews we conduct, we based that review on a default configuration; what you get when you follow all the defualt options of the Mandriva installer.

Published by on November 7, 2008 5:22 pm
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Mandriva Linux Powerpack 2009 Review

Mandriva Linux Powerpack is one of three editions of the Linux desktop published by Mandriva, the French Linux software publisher. The others are Mandriva Linux One and Mandriva Linux Free, both of which are free to download and use. Mandriva Linux Powerpack is the commercial edition, and costs 49 EUR, or 62 USD. In this [...]

Published by on November 4, 2008 5:58 am
0

Zenserver

Some Linux distro developers maintain one iso image per architecture that may be used to install a desktop or server system. Some others have a separate iso image for a desktop installation, and a different iso image for a server installation. The Zenwalk team belongs to the latter group.

Published by on July 6, 2008 11:03 pm
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