MiyoLinux - A Devuan base to build your own

A couple of weeks ago somebody drew my attention to Miyo (Make it your own) Linux, a small custom base distribution based on Devuan I had not been aware of. Separate builds are produced for the i686 and x86_64 architectures, and one for EFI installations. You can also choose whether to run with a build based on Devuan Testing, i.e. `Beowulf' or Unstable, i.e. 'Ceres' or use the older but stable builds based on Devuan 'Ascii'. MiyoLinux comes with various window managers.

Nomadic Working with NomadBSD 1.0.1 - BSD on a stick

Recently I found a bit of time to poke around in the world of Linux and BSD distributions and possibly even get back in to the reviewing business now and then. NomadBSD seemed like an interesting project to try for somebody partial to the Slackware and BSD way of doing things, but still searching for a BSD that is actually working as a day to day OS while being reasonably responsive, i.e. not bloated and running well on old hardware. That means trim and fast, without the desktop environment and a browser gobbling up all the resources.

VirtualBSD was a fine piece but since its demise there hasn't been anything similar to dip your toes into FreeBSD to my knowledge, let alone the other flavors. I reviewed it here seven years ago. How many? Yes, time flies. To say it right away in order not to waste anybody's time, NomadBSD works, and it works beautifully. Well, with a small caveat in terms of connectivity, but we'll come to that.

As alluded to, "NomadBSD is a 64bit live system for USB flash drives, based on FreeBSD®. Together with automatic hardware detection and setup, it is configured to be used as a desktop system that works out of the box, but can also be used for data recovery" according to their website. It fits on a 4GiB USB flash drive and can be booted via BIOS and UEFI. Which is just as well as an old 4GiB Corsair Flash Voyager pen drive is all I had. Additional information on their Github account.

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.

From ArchBang to SlackBang

If you looked at the ArchBang website over the last few days you would have read that founder WillXtreme is retiring from the project leadership due to changes in real life and other pursuits. A few people also involved in the development and who were quite active in the forum for example and with tips on their own blogs, like pablokal, will continue the project.

Inspecting the Gentoo 12.0 Live DVD

Following a recent request I downloaded the Gentoo 12.0 Live DVD for a test drive. I tried Gentoo many years ago but gave up after a few hours due to the time involved, and my knowledge back then was a lot more rudimentary than today. Gentoo is a source distribution that is supposed to be configured and compiled from stage 2 or stage 3 tarballs, although images are available that allow you to cheat and skip the early part of kernel compilation etc. via minimal install images.

Semplice Linux, An Exercise in Simplicity

Semplice Linux is a very young project that has only recently made its debut on Distrowatch with Release Candidate 1 for their upcoming 2.0 code-named 'Emily' getting listed. This means there must be a support structure in place, a website, bug tracker, documentation and user forum. The distribution originates from Italy and is based on Debian unstable, using only the Openbox window manager, a handful of applications and a blank background. It will not surprise you then that semplice means simple.

Updated CrunchBang Statler Images, More Like ArchBang

Corenominal has announced the release of an updated build of CrunchBang Linux 10 "Statler", with some significant changes since the last release. CrunchBang is a lightweight Debian-based distribution featuring the Openbox window manager. The Xfce edition has been discontinued to focus on the Openbox edition. The Gnome Display Manager (GDM) has been removed in favor of the SLiM login manager, as inclusion of the in Debian repositories upcoming move to GDM 3 was deemed undesirable.

One Year of Rolling with Arch/Bang

It's just a little over a year now that I first installed ArchBang with 2010.09 that had just been released. In comments to my following review a poster expressed the opinion it would be interesting to see how this would develop and if it would still be working in a year from then. So here we are. I've tweaked the install and kept it updated at my leisure, and it is still working fine. Over time the ArchBang base I started out with has turned into Arch Linux, as you would expect it to when pointing at Arch repositories.

ArchBang 2011.10 Released

Hooray, yet another ArchBang release barely a month after the last. I think Will likes to give us options as he keeps changing things around.
Chromium is out again and Firefox Nightly is now the browser of choice. The Openbox Applications menu now has icons. Not sure if that might slow loading time down a bit. You can now edit keyboard layout configuration while installing ArchBang, and the Getting Started help has been updated. Read the release announcement here.

Archbang 2011.09 Released

Keeping up the schedule of a new release roughly every six months, a new and updated Archbang live/install image with the 3.0 kernel is out, 2011.09. Read the release announcement and see a screenshot here. As always it is available for i686 and x86_64 architectures. The images are a handy download size of 526 MB and 531 MB respectively. If you already have it installed there's no need to get this as of course Arch is rolling, but good for if you want to update a copy on your USB stick for newer hardware.

ArchBang 2010.09 vs 2011.02 - What's Changed?

ArchBang is a spin, or custom install media, based on Arch Linux and is inspired by CrunchBang, which is currently based on Debian stable. As such both are using the Openbox window manager, and ArchBang seems to follow closely looks wise and in choice of applications if you compare it with screenshots here. Even the Openbox menu is matched closely. Basically, it tries to be to Arch what CrunchBang is to Debian, but as it follows the Arch rolling release model it is a lot more up to date.

Two Non-buntu Alternatives for your Netbook - Part 2: ArchOne

Yesterday we looked at Fluxflux-sl for a Slax based solution on your netbook that is using both modules and Slackware packages.
Today however it is the turn of ArchOne, as the name says a customization of Arch Linux specifically aimed at use on netbooks, in live mode from USB or installed. It is intended for people who "want to try or install Arch Linux" on netbooks "without wasting time with post configuration" and comes with an optimized netbook kernel.

Two Non-buntu Alternatives for your Netbook - Part 1: Fluxflux-sl

Chances are several of you, or somebody close to you, got a new netbook over the festive period, and now you are faced with the agonising question what to put on it to make it usable. Chances are the version of Windows that it came with does not really do it for you.

I've dug out two lesser known distributions that are for once not based on Ubuntu or using its repositories, and have nothing to do with Nokia, Intel or Google either. Independent is

Experiencing Arch Linux with the ArchBang Live CD

So I got my new laptop ready for some hardcore multi-boot action, and one of the distributions I’ve always wanted to test is ArchBang. I’ve tried Arch before and installed it a couple of times just for fun, both in a virtual environment and on disk, but haven’t been serious about it. It was just to practice the installation and play around.

A couple of months back ArchBang caught my eye, when it was first announced on Distrowatch.com. ArchBang is a live CD distribution of Arch Linux that is light on resources. Arch is known to apply no to, and only if absolutely necessary, minimal patching to upstream software, which usually results in a high degree of stability and an experience as intended by the developers.

Linux light - PCLinuxOS 2010.7 Openbox

Why go lean when you can go leaner? Ok, there are smaller, leaner distributions out there like Tiny Core or these two if you prefer a system that's in many ways similar, but PCLinuxOS Openbox is pretty good while still providing a full set of applications for the consumer desktop, incl. flash, multimedia codecs, wireless. More on that later. I thought of that line while deciding whether to go for the Openbox or the Lxde version. I've had a look at both, but Lxde (short for the light weight desktop environment) is always the same set of apps and the panel strikes me as not quite as elegant. I like the flexibility of modularity and in this case dropped for the Openbox version with the Tint2 panel.