Linux100-gNewSense-94

Another distribution with almost pure Gnome and free software.
Ubuntu based and relatively fast to boot and install.

Ephiphany as a web browser and Brasero as CD burner.

 

Neat , sleek and effective distribution preserving its Debian and Gnome origin,

Good one if you are a purist of Free Software Foundation.

Linux100-GNUSTEP–91

This is the purest of the pure of Gnome and free software foundation (F.O.S.S) distribution. It follows the rules of the foundation and include utilities without compromising foundations goals. 

In fact only a handful of them follow the rules to the letter.

It is a very good distribution with lot of utilities and I could not find gParted in the lot.

This distribution follows the principles and it should be a benchmark of Linux and Gnome.

Note my words. there is a difference of Gold Standard and the Benchmark.

Benchmark is the Guiding Principle but Gold standard is the utility Status whether you are a Gnome fan or an average consumer fed up with Microsoft and its franchises.

Interestingly it has Blender in its fold so it gets very good average score from me.

Linux100-Fedora-13-54

Writing or avoiding writing something on Redhat or Fedora was not my intention.

I waited till I have scored, half a century (in short reviews) to write about Fedora.

It is a long story but I cut it short lest you get bored.

My entry into Linux started with Redhat 8.

Then I graduated to Redhat 9.

What was good about Redhat was it’s book base.

Every time a new edition came, there was a plethora (pathological term for excessive congestion of blood) of books from little to big.

All those books were the only resources, I had and I never had a proper Linux Guru.

The plethora was a blessing in disguise to me.

Evey time I had a problem I could sort it out by reading a Redhat book.

Then they, the Redhat left me high and dry with the entry of Fedora.

I went up to Fedora 3 and I already had Mandrake installed in parallel with Redhat and decided to give them a boot (to Redhat and Fedora).

By then I have mastered Debian too (it took almost 6 months for me to come to term with it but it was worth the trouble) and booting Fedora and Redhat out was almost reflex action and automatic, with no regrets.

All the books were thrown to the attic.

Mandrake and Debian are well known for not having books written on them.

Debian, of course, because of its slow release cycles (of change) and the extensive online documentation (only a few access them for information) did not have to bother about the market forces but went on churning out (now over 42 CDs) package after package to boost the online community.

So I followed their progress to Lenny and when Mandrake became Mandriva I was fed up again.

I was left high and dry again.

I knew there were many equally frustrated like me out there.

I only knew that people who go with the market forces will fall with the market forces and I looked for new avenues.

I found an ally, that was PCLinux-2007 (of course Knoppix and Puppy Linux were there for my comfort).

I knew and believed that the next innovation has come to town (also the Flash Drive boot Pendrive Linux).

What happened with Redhat and Mandrake is now the dead past.

I thank them both for their diversion from the original philosophy.

They have given me the freedom of choice, lest I get hooked to any one of them for life.

This time not by market forces but my own choice.

Recent stock market crisis brought on by the greed is a reminder that profit making is not the only goal in life.

The sustainability in the minds of the users, here, there and   all over  is the golden rule.

Few rich people or a few powerful politicians do not make this world better or make it go forward.

The rich philosophy of course will take us there.

I have already downloaded over 200 Live Distributions.

Picking the fifty (50) or hundred (100) is no mean task.

I have already 53 in the fold and Fedora 13-54 (CD) is also among them.

I suppose that I have made amends with Fedora, the CD I downloaded few days ago is good for any occasion.

Mind you I download every possible Debian both live and install (12 out of the 40 odd series is with me).

Why I do not write anything on Debian is, it is the God Father of Linux, anybody who wants to master should try Debian.

Live Debian is one among many and writing only about Live CD does not do justice to Debian Community!

Linux100-SuperOS-33

SuperOS is a distribution that I have mounted on my laptop but rarely used, just to have the feel of Ubuntu for demonstrations.

It has Wine and Skype.

Open office is the hindrance to it’s development.

Could have been abiword instead and added few more utilities with the new release.

I was waiting for the new release to write home about it but hardly anything new with only a graphic face lift.

The is the price one has to pay when trying to emulate Microsoft.

It probably has something for the laptops but not way above others.

It is of the middle weight category and slow to boot but I prefer it rather than Ubuntu.

 

Linux people should never have the Megalomaniacs names like what you get in the commercial counterparts.

It should shed some of its graphic weights and open office (get open office from its repositories) weight and include blender and gambase (Visual basic counterpart but much better) mobile media converter (like PCLinux genome edition) and iTune compatibility.

If they think like Linux mint and have few more versions including OEM edition surely it can live up to SuperOS .

I think they should drop this megalomaniac name and go something similar to Mint, Peppermint, Imagine, Element and the like.

English names are disappearing very fast.

Grab hold of one before it is too late.

My humble contribution is to go for Sensation instead.

Vanity is another name which may foot the bill but not Superman or Spiderman or Batman.

They only have a historical value.

Linux is too mature to go for Super mentality.

Linux is super anyway!

Linux100-Unity-30

Mandriva based 238 MiB Live CD lives up to the SAM-2007 origin.

It is sleek, boots up fast, has its own Browser named Web or is it NetSurf.

It’s package manger is called smart but has a limited number of packages listed.

This is good for a newbie to understand the inner working of a system that is really working and it is more than a base system.

The surfer is basic and has its own lack of cookies.

I cannot highlight a line and change the font colour (I am booted now with it but not rooted!) right now.

Hence, the font is in black.

I would have given it more marks / points if it had kept below 200 MiB so that I could have it in my shirt pocket mini CD.

It has openbox and number of other window mangers included in the smart package manager.

I would prefer this to be called the Mini Version but keep it under 200 MiB should be the aim.

I think guys / girls in the developer suite should develop this Unity (Call it Manchester United -or it’s city of origin – to satisfy the football fans) into a more robust Light Weight category and then the Middle weight category and never Heavy Weight (but slow) like Mandriva and Suse.

Should take some cues from Peppermint and Element and decide when and where to dress it up for the next party or is it the next release!

It has root permission unlike in Ubuntu derivatives (which is a sad lack in spite of many derivatives of Ubuntu).

Overall it is a good distribution and I cannot find anything negative.

Now is the time to go up-staging and dress up for the party.

Thanks for your effort.

Follow the track laid down by PCLinux which is my Gold Standard and become its healthy rival.

You have your own package manger to increase your repository and talents.

Think of an O.E.M version like Untangle.

Then you are on the road to success.

Your Net-surfer is the key to success.

Good Luck.