Puppy Linux 1.0.4 tested: Outstanding!

Puppy Linux has been my favorite small Live CD in the size category that can easily load completely into RAM. This distribution is so carefully optimized that it still has room to install the gigantic Mozilla mail, news, and Web browser suite into memory along with the Linux kernel and a carefully chosen set of utilities. If you have never run an entire operating system directly from RAM (Random Access Memory) before, you are in for a treat!

Running from CD is slow, running from disk, though the norm, is still pretty slow. Booting a moderate sized system live from CD, then loading it into memory and running it is quite the treat.

This latest version of Puppy contains a beta test version of Mozilla that runs better than anything I have ever seen. Starting up a browser directly from memory is downright fast, and so are rendered pages.

I had no problems whatsoever during the entire time that I ran Puppy Linux. Granted, I did not beat every application into a pulp, but I did run the browser for a long time and I attempted (successfully) to install several additional applications during my testing, and they installed and did not adversely affect the running system!

Congratulations to the developer of this fine software!

KateOS Live CD tests successful

Those tests that I did a few days ago with Kate OS proved to work out very nicely indeed.

I also quickly downloaded DSL 1.3 and tried it out; not much different than the previous version I tested, but quite solid, usable as a Live CD, also installable to disk.

CD Puppy is up to V1.0.4, and I downloaded it this past evening. I have also downloaded White Box Linux 4 and Lineox 4, both Red Hat Enterprise Linux replacements. I have not tried any of these last three distros yet; will probably try Puppy next, simply because Puppy is small and doesn't take much to try it out.

Successfully loading and using Kate OS Live CD

Not only am I using the Live CD, I have also created my own user account, whose information I have stored on a Kate OS saved context file. This means that I can use it just as if everything were saved to disk. The revelant config files and home dir stuff is saved.

So far it is working very well.

Downloading and testing KateOS 2.1 Live CD

I downloaded another Live CD to test out. This time, it's called Kate, and it comes from a development effort in Poland. The software claims to be lightweight, easy to use, and based on Debian GNU/Linux software packaging and the XFCE desktop. Should be interesting.

I want to find out if I can easily install this to disk without having to create my own hack or if KateOS, like many distros these days, provides an easy way to install to disk. If this edition does not easily install to disk, they do have other versions freely available as well.

Anyway, I am burning the CD now; will probably wait until Sunday evening or Monday to actually try it out.

Been off the air for a while

I had my Internet service cut off for nearly a week. Bills have been piling up because of a lack of income... in between jobs, the one I had hoped to be working for the past three or four weeks did not materialize. Will have to regroup and set new goals and new employment targets.

xref to another blog

Ian Murdock on the Debian Core Consortium and Ubuntu Foundation by ZDNet's Joe Brockmeier -- Yesterday, I promised a follow-up on the Ubuntu Foundation and comments from Debian Founder and Progeny Chairman and Chief Strategist Ian Murdock. One of the things that was up in the air yesterday was the possible creation of an "enterprise" Debian distribution. An eWeek story last week cited sources "close to [...]

Good wrapup on PCLinuxOS

I had a good time testing and installing PCLinuxOS the other day, but I stayed up way to late doing it. I do recommend it as an excellent alternative to Mandrake/Mandriva. It is based on Mandriva LE 2005, but it is actually more current and even easier than Mandriva to install.