openSUSE "Leap" 15.2 - Any Good?

This is a review I've been wanting to write since forever. Having tried many iterations of SUSE Linux over its long life before, during and after the Novell era, it always left me feeling ambivalent. And I really wanted to like it. The last time I set out to write a review but then canned the idea was for 12.3, when images would work in VMware Player but did not boot on my real hardware. Now THAT is a long time ago and it also means a lot may have changed, hopefully for the better.

VSIDO - A Debian-Sid Tracking Distribution with Fluxbox

There are a lot of distributions, spins, customizations and modifications of distributions out there. Not all of them are listed on Distrowatch, such as MiyoLinux I just wrote about a week ago. I once started a series about light weight distributions using window managers such as Openbox and IceWM or lighter desktop environments. Vsido which is utilising Fluxbox certainly fits the bill so let's see.

Kanotix 'Silverfire' - Underappreciated but still going strong

Kanotix is one of those Linux distributions I keep coming back to. I last reviewed it in 2011 when Kanotix 'Hellfire' based on Debian 6 was new. Since then it's been rather quiet but the project is still going strong but it might have slipped under the radar of many Linuxers over the years. Kanotix is always based on the latest Debian stable but development builds are also available and it still has some tricks under its sleeve.

The Acer 13" Chromebook (Nvidia Tegra K1)

A little over four months ago I bought one of these slim devices when my main workhorse laptop showed signs of nearing retirement. A little Chromebook seemed just the ticket for streaming videos, checking web mail, browsing, researching, downloading and uploading and editing documents online. Of course it's not a full laptop, but as a backup device it did just fit the bill and I have since found it's really all I need when travelling or on the go.

Overclockix Revived: Debian-based Distro Nostalgia

Overclockix, like KNOPPIX STD (remember that one?), is one of those rare use specialist distributions that will always prevent it from widespread adoption, but that's not the point. It was discontinued in 2005 and has recently been revived by several enthusiasts on the Overclockers forum. Read the full announcement here. Back then it was built around the KDE 3 desktop, but the new development team have held a poll where Gnome Shell came out top as preferred environment.

Fastidious Elegance - Slackware 14.1: Why take a closer look?

Today I would just like to link to another Slackware user's blog. Aaron W. Hsu has written a review that is slightly different from recounting the usual installation and which applications are included routine. Entitled "Slackware 14.1: Why take a closer look?" it's definitely worth a read for anybody interested in running Linux at all, even if in the end they decide against it.

AntiX 13.2 - More Modern But Still Some Quirks

Blimey, it's been a long time since I reviewed antiX already and it's about time to give it a second look. The overall judgement may have been a bit harsh last time around and I'm going to see whether we can write a more positive piece this time. Some of the issues raised seems were valid though as the distribution has changed a bit since then. Enough of that, let's hop right in.

Whatever Happened to Zenwalk Linux?

In the world of Linux distributions new ones are springing up all the time. Some wither away and go stale or disappear completely. Fuduntu and Kongoni are examples of distributions that have either officially folded or in the case of the latter have not had a release for over two years and is pretty much abandoned, at least for now. Many of these are mainly one man shows. Zenwalk seems to be on the way to abandonment as well, slowly fading into glorious history.

Fedora 19 - Of Schroedingers Cat and Mixed Blessings

Fedora is one of those distributions I try from time to time but that ultimately fail to stay around, usually when it comes to the upgrade process. I last used Fedora 14, after brushes with 12 and 10, the KDE spin of which got slower with every point update to the desktop but whose LXDE spin actually got used for quite a few months. So let's see how Fedora 19 pans out, featuring GNOME Shell 3.8.2, and how/if that has improved since I last tried the Shell when it was freshly released on the unsuspecting public.

LXpup – More Than Just Puppy Linux With LXDE

In case it wasn’t evident from the name, LXpup is a custom distribution spin made from Puppy Linux with the LXDE user interface. I should say by default, because the developer also distributes modules of several other popular desktop environments, but more about that later. Just remember that the user can substantially change the look and functionality of the desktop, so even if LXDE is not your thing this spin might still be for you. Read the full story over at Muktware.com.

Slax 7.0 - Slax Is Back

December 2012 saw the final release of Slax 7.0 after more than three years without an update, quickly followed by several bug-fix point releases. In 7.0.3 the ability to act as PXE server was re-introduced, which had been present in earlier versions but was missing from the early 7.0 branch. I tried it in VMware Player, VirtualBox, from Live CD as intended and installed to external USB connected to an Acer 5551 laptop with ATI graphics, 4 GB Ram and a Phenom II X3 processor.

Slax 7.0 Getting Closer

Since the announcement that he has secured some major corporate sponsors for taking up the development of Slax again Tomas M has been hard at work. You can read about the ongoing updates on his blog if you want to follow how the next Slax is taking shape.

Absolute Linux 14.0 - Still Needs Refinement

I haven't upgraded to Slackware 14 yet and in a moment of madness obliterated my old install to start all afresh. That leaves some room to try the new release of Absolute Linux first which of course is based on Slackware. So here we go.

CrunchBang 'Waldorf' - Second Time Lucky

As we all know 'Waldorf' is the testing branch of CrunchBang Linux based on the upcoming Debian 'Wheezy'. Two weeks ago I wrote a shortish post about how the latest testing image failed to install, and promptly an update got released with the release announcement pointing to a known bug in the Debian installer. So, time to try again now that we're back home.

CrunchBang 'Waldorf' R20120806 - What a Shame

Good morning, dear reader. This past weekend I felt a bit experimental again after openSUSE cocked up what was otherwise a nice installation. You see, I'm not normally an openSUSE fan but when 12.2 came out I immediately grabbed a copy and loved it. Nice stable KDE 4, polished, good looking artwork, understated but beautiful, Yast2 for easy graphical administration, the works. Unfortunately, it didn't stay like this.

Calcalute Linux Desktop 12 KDE - Keep It Rolling, Baby

Well, I wasn't going to do any reviews until later this year, but several of a recent flurry of releases caught my attention and my  interest and I made some time for checking them out. One of them is Calculate Linux. Others have reviewed it before and found themselves inundated with offers of Russian brides and other more vile advertisements, but I won't let that put me off because, as I can reveal, I like the product itself very much.

Cooler Than Arch, More Flexible Than Gentoo

Bedrock Linux will let you run several distributions side by side, on real hardware, in an integrated, chroot'd environment and all at once. Here's the interesting and informative discussion thread on Slashdot.

The Linux Action Show, Series 23 Episode 02. Find the original, higher resolution version and show notes on this page.

Ubuntu Shootout - 10.04 LTS vs. 12.04 LTS

Although I'm mostly writing about Slackware and Arch Linux related distributions I've got nothing against Ubuntu. I used it back with 5.10 'Breezy' and was quite impressed. It even detected and configured all multimedia keys on the cordless Logitech keyboard, including the volume wheel, no mean feat at the time. That was when Debian Sarge was too old to be useful and X burped on my hardware, and I did not know enough to run Testing or Unstable branches.

Slackel, Custom Slackware Current with Newest KDE 4

Just a few days ago I was writing about getting a newer version of KDE 4 with Porteus or from Eric Hameleers' Ktown repository, and I have also been checking Chakra GNU/Linux to see what KDE is up to. Now we have another distribution, or custom respin, of Slackware current branch on the table that's at least news for me.

Porteus, The Portable Community Linux

Porteus grew out of the fan project that gave us the Slax Community Remix, a continuation of Slax 6.1.2, the last official Slax release for quite a while, dating back to August 2009.
As the team grew more adept they put their own stamp on their interpretation of what a Slackware based Live system should be like and slowly moved away from the old Slax base and from some of its design principles.