Over the last couple of months, I’ve received more and more of these type of questions. I remember when I first started this blog, I think I was using Ubuntu 7.04 and had just reinstalled Ubuntu 8.04. Today I’m using Ubuntu 10.04, with the following hardware (also changed since I first started using a Linux based OS):

Asus VH242H 23.6 1920×1080 LCD
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Socket AM2 CPU
Kingston 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz
Seagate 750GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G
Shuttle SA76G2 Socket AM2+ Barebone
LG 22X DVDRW SATA
ASUS VH242H 23.6in Wide 1920×1080 5ms LCD Monitor
SB Audigy 2ZS 24-Bit Surround 5.1*
Logitech Quickcam Fusion
Creative Inspire 5200 5.1 Speakers

*The Shuttle board already has integrated sound, but I preferred to use the Audigy soundcard that was on one of my old systems.

While this is by no means the most powerful desktop, it gets the job done for me. Needless to say, the following is a list of applications I use on this hardware. Because I do a lot of web and design work (as well as networking and technical support) the list leans towards such related applications (but I have included some “fun” ones).  Hopefully this resource will help new Ubuntu users. If I missed something you think should be included, please let me know in the comments below, thanks. I worked hard to put this post together, so if you like it, please bookmark it or link to it from your site, or social favourites, and let me know. – Thanks!

Here are the Applications:

OpenShot | apt:openshot | http://www.gimp.org/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install openshot openshot-doc

I use it as a quick way to join video segments together, to create transitions and effects. It also allows me to slice out specific segments of existing video and use them to create a new one. I like it because it’s simple fast and useful.

GIMP | apt:gimp | http://www.gimp.org/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install gimp gimp-data-extras

I use this for quick editing (as well as advanced) or to open TIFF, JPG, PNG, PSD files. It is NOT a replacement for Photoshop, but after I got used to the interface, it became easier to use. Main uses (for me), photo editing and enhancement, photo retouching, graphic creation, logo creation, etc. I do not use this application for vector graphics work. There is a plugin registry at http://registry.gimp.org/

Inkscape | apt:inkscape | http://www.inkscape.org/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install inkscape

I use this for vector graphic creation. It is not a replacement for Illustrator, however it’s a great alternative. Main uses (for me), vector editing and manipulation, graphic creation, logo creation, etc. I do not commonly use this application for raster graphics work. Inkscape does provide some tutorials, which greatly help users become familiar with the interface and tools: http://inkscapetutorials.wordpress.com/

Dia | apt:dia | http://projects.gnome.org/dia/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install dia dia-libs dia-common

I use this for Dia to document network layouts in a visual manner. I do this when I create or change a network for my clients. There are all kind of icons (Server, Desktop, Database, Router, etc.) that make it easier for clients to understand their network documentation – Again, they key being that it’s a visible diagram. This application reminds me a lot of Visio, which I used when I worked in a predominately Windows based environment. Personally, I’m not too happy with the interface (same issue with GIMP), but the application gets the job done for me.

Fonty Python | apt:fontypython | https://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/fontypython

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install fontypython

In terms of design and graphic work, this application is a gem! All my fonts are stored in one large directory. Fonty Python helps me gather different fonts and structure them into collections, specific to each project. I don’t have to copy fonts, I still leave them in the large directory! If I remember correctly, I think Mac and Windows users have something similar called “Suitcase”? Bottom line, when I’m ready to work on a specific project, I activate the font collection for that project, start up my application and work.

Hugin | apt:hugin | http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install hugin hugin-data

I use this simply to stitch photos together for “panoramic” views. Several tutorials are available at http://hugin.sourceforge.net/tutorials/index.shtml

PDFmod | apt:pdfmod | http://live.gnome.org/PdfMod

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pdfmod-team/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install pdfmod

I use this to edit PDF documents. Reorganize them, add or remove pages, and so on. Very useful when you’re in a pinch!

RawTherapee | apt:rawtherapee | http://www.rawtherapee.com

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rawtherapee/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install rawtherapee

A package for editing RAW images as well as a RAW converter and digital photo processing application. Again, very useful; when a camera is plugged in and the images are in RAW format.

Skype | apt:skype | http://skype.com

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install skype

Video conferencing and calling. One thing I did experience – No video? Try this: Install v4l2ucp and change the preview program via v4l2ucp to skype instead of mplayer. Start preview, Skype loads, and video works.

HandBrake | apt:handbrake-gtk | http://handbrake.fr/

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-snapshots
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install handbrake-gtk

Video transcoder / decoder. A handy tool to have when you’re working with video files. One thing I like about it is that it works with almost any media as it uses libavformat to read and libavcodec to decode – And it’s cross-platform!

Transmission | apt:transmission | http://www.transmissionbt.com/

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:transmissionbt/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install transmission

A great tool to download Ubuntu or other Open Source related CDs. Select and set the download to run and it just works. Easy!

Chrome | apt:chrome-browser | http://www.chromium.org/

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/ppa
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install chromium-browser

I’ll be honest – I don’t like this web browser. Personally I find the interface “old fashioned” in appearance, I find it assumes too much, in terms of what I want to see in a browser, and so on (I’m a Firefox user). However, others may not agree. This is a good alternative browser and it’s also fast.

ISO Master | apt:isomaster | http://www.littlesvr.ca/isomaster/

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install isomaster

If you need to update or otherwise edit ISO files, this application will provide the features you need. This means you can add, remove or deleted files from an ISO. Additionally, other formats are also accessible, such as NRG, IMG, etc.

Trimage | apt:trimage | http://trimage.org/

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kilian/trimage
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install trimage

I use this to compress image file sizes – Lossless!  It supports PNG and JPG. And again, one feature I like is that it’s cross-platform friendly.

Gmount-iso | apt:gmountiso | https://launchpad.net/gmount-iso

Terminal:
sudo aptitude install gmountiso

Sometimes I don’t want to install a CD. This application allows me to easily mount a CD image.

RecordMyDesktop | apt:gtk-recordmydesktop | http://recordmydesktop.sourceforge.net/

Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/gtk-recordmydesktop
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install gtk-recordmydesktop

Need to create a screencast? This tool does a good job for me. I like that I can record the whole screen, or just one area. The ability to tweak the video and sound quality is also a nice feature. Output files are in .ogv format, but they can be converted to other formats.

DropBox | apt:nautilus-dropbox| http://www.dropbox.com/

Terminal:
sudo apt-key adv –keyserver pgp.mit.edu –recv-keys 5044912E
sudo aptitude install nautilus-dropbox

A great tool for online backup, file sync, and sharing. For me at least, it’s the easiest way to store, sync, and, share files online. All I have to do is drag and drop files right from my desktop or folder. Also, they have a rewards system to get more space: Automatically sync a folder across computers with Dropbox! Use the following link to receive an extra 250MB for free as I’ll also get extra space too! We both win!

Clonezilla | Download | http://clonezilla.org

While I don’t normally use applications that have no repository (actually this is the only one I made an allowance for). I found this application to be very worthwhile. Why? Once I install Ubuntu and then install all my applications (and configure their settings), I can use Clonezilla to create an image of the disk. This way, if disaster strikes, I can simply restore the image. One caveat – MAKE SURE you have regular backups of all your important files (as you’ll probably not be recreating disk images all of the time). Again there’s no repository (that I’m aware of), but this application is useful.

More applications, etc. will be uploaded when I have extra time. I’ve been very busy on many projects, for the last several months, so it’s good to come back and find a bit of time to blog about Ubuntu related things; something I enjoy!

What applications would you include, what apps do your enjoy, which ones deserve your mention? Feel free to include them in the comments below!

Why am I posting about this? It’s very difficult (at times) when new Linux (Ubuntu) users ask me how to do something and I cannot show them. Sometimes I’m far away, at other times it’s difficult to talk them through the necessary activities on the phone, often I do not have remote access to their systems (so they can watch what I do), and at other times there would be too much to write. Often the person I’m trying to help might not be technically savvy enough to follow my direction, but they do know how to use a web browser.

That’s where screencasting comes in!

I think many of us are aware of some of the commonly mentioned packages:

Istanbul – Every time I’ve tried it, it’s broken. Is it even in development anymore? Last news post on the site is in 2007.

Xvidcap – I often encounter problematic output (maybe a codec issue?). Is it in development anymore?

Wink – While Wink does work on the systems I’ve tried, I find it just looks horrid, especially the note explanation boxes you can add. They look cheap and tacky, not something I would use for a business (or personally). One issue that may effect Open Source enthusiasts, it that the source is closed.

recordMyDesktop – I often get sound problems with it. What is happening with development? It appears the developer bowed out in January 2009, and a new one took the reins in May 2009, but are there any changes, updates or fixes?

ffmpeg – I did try the solution presented by Embrace Ubuntu (where ffmpeg was patched), and while it did work, I found that ffmpeg (in this case) did not provide as stable an output as I expected.

Screenkast – I could not get it to work properly. Is it under development anymore? (Last update was in 2007).

As I mentioned, the above (I think) are the common tools that many of us may already be aware of. I also think the above tools are listed and discussed at length on several other sites, that’s why I chose to not go into any detail, discussing them – Been there, done that, we’ve seen them all before…

Suffice to say, I felt that I was at an impasse, I just wanted something that will work. Something that could save a screencast in FLV format for streaming across a web site. Granted the FLV format is proprietary, I wanted that because it’s a current web standard. Also, I did not want to have to manually convert the video file (as an extra step).

There are online tools such as ScreenToaster (which a reader suggested to me), but I prefer to do the work myself because the PCs I use sometimes don’t have a web connection. After asking around someone suggested vnc2swf, which I found has since moved on in development to the newer vnc2flv. It seems to me to be much more promising. I’m not suggesting that this is the ultimate solution, but it does have some great merits (and it works too).

vnc2flv

Without reading the installation notes, I tried a quick sudo aptitude install … command, but it’s not in the repositories (8.04, Hardy), and the developer does not seem to host a repository either.

I found there are a couple of requirements:

1) x11vnc

2) Python (2.4+)

The install itself is not too difficult:

Download the package from the developer at http://www.unixuser.org/~euske/python/vnc2flv/index.html#install extract the archive and (as the developer explains on his site), use python to install the app as:

python setup.py install

After which the installation script will run.

Currently this application is run off the command line. I tried this on an older test box (it has an earlier version of Ubuntu on it) and it seemed to run quite well. I should add that the developer indicates (I think) that the sound aspects are handled by a different application, using a script that automatically joins the video and audio.  Here’s the original video from the developers site:

While I’m mentioning the developer’s site, you’ll also get a lot more information (usage info) from it. I plan on installing this on my primary Ubuntu workstation after I’ve played a bit more with it on the test box. – Hopefully, this will result in some good screencasting…

Hopefully there’ll be a full GUI at some point? Either way, give it a try and tell us what you think.

As the name implies, it’s a python based application used to manage fonts – Great if you have a lot of fonts that you’d like to manage and preview. The first thing that grabbed my attention was that users can create what the developer calls “pogs”, as the developer indicates, the name comes from “tyPOGraphy”. In general, I can create a pog which filters a listing for just the fonts used on that site (I think Mac does something similar with font management?).

Best of all (for me at least), I found it’s really easy to install and use.

Installing is as simple as the terminal command:

sudo aptitude install fontypython or Firefox users can click the apt link: apt://fontypython

Once installed, creating a “pog” is easy. I created one called ac2a.com (in the screenshot below) by clicking the “New Pog” button and following along.

To add fonts to the pog:

1) Use the left side “Source Folders” to surf to the directory containing the fonts.

2) On the right side panel, click to activate the pog (you want to add fonts to),

3) In the middle panel select your fonts by clicking on them and then (when you’re done) click the “Put…” button (at the bottom).

Now when I need to go back and look at which fonts were included in a logo, web site, etc. I don’t have to look through source files, CSS files, etc.

If you need to remove a font from one of the pogs you created, simple select the pog and font as seen the the screen shot below:

From the developers site, it’s indicated that once you surf your folders and select a font to add to any particular pog, it will automatically install the font for you, placing it in the ~/.fonts folder – I great feature!

Another way this can be used (I think) is to avoid installing an excessive number of fonts, just the ones you want.

Finally, one thing I do hope is that Fonty Python develops extensions so that “pog” can have their fonts automatically included in any “pog project” when using tools such as Gimp, Inkscape, Blender, and so on.

Hope some of you enjoy this post. Suggestions, other ideas? – Please feel free to comment below.

Cheers!

It is a mistake to think that only “big” things (supported hardware, multimedia codecs, office applications and data conversion) matter when you want to successfully switch to an alternative operating system. For true happiness^TM, the small things are as, or even more, important – the things that make your daily work routine run smoothly and that you’ll only miss once you don’t have them anymore…

Taking screenshots is one of these small things. Everybody who develops digital tools and applications for end users will sooner or later reach the point where good visual documentation is needed – no matter how intuitive the user interface might be. And everybody who ever had to compile such an illustrated manual or wiki knows just how helpful a good screenshot tool is.

Running linux, this was one of the small things I always missed…

Enter Shutter

Shutter (formerly known as GScrot) has recently been released in version 0.70.2 and is, despite its short history, already the best linux screenshot tool around, IMO. But let’s have a closer look at what makes Shutter a screenshot tool deluxe:

Basic functionality: taking screenshots

With shutter, you can

• capture a selected area from your screen. You have two options:
  • in  simple mode, you click in the screen, hold the mouse button and draw a rectangle. On releasing the mouse button, the selected area is captured. For better orientation, Shutter zooms the region around the cursor and shows the coordinates and the dimensions of the area selected so far.
  • in extended mode, you also draw a rectangle area as described before, but you can modify its dimensions before it is captured. For better orientation, Shutter fades out the parts of the screen that you did not select.
• capture your entire screen.
• capture single windows. And it is easy, instead of having to arrange them manually on your desktop, Shutter offers you a list of all existing windows and you simply pick the one you want to capture.
• capture window parts. With this option, Shutter lets you easily select only parts of a window, e.g. Firefox’s navigation bar.
• capture a complete website. All you need is the URL of the web page you want to capture. Shutter takes a screenshot of the whole page, no matter what size – so no more patching of multiple screenshots for long pages.

You can fine tune these basic functions. If you need to arrange something on your screen before you capture it, define a specific delay time. If you need to take a whole series of screenshots that document a specific process, define a wildcard naming pattern – Shutter offers you auto-increment wildcard values as well as timestamps. If you need the mouse cursor in your screenshots, turn it on – if not, turn it off. All these preferences can be saved to your profile(s).

All taken screenshots will be added to a session where you can quickly access them for further editing.

Advanced functionality: editing screenshots

Shutter not only lets you take screenshots, it also offers basic image editing capabilties. These cannot replace full-featured graphic applications like GIMP, but offer a toolbox with very useful functions that help to emphasize the point you are trying to convey with your screenshot:

• Annotations: put your comments in your screenshot
• graphic symbols: choose from a plenitude of symbols to add to your screenshots (e.g. arrows, exclamation marks) – or import your own
• graphic primitives: draw lines, rectangles or ellipses to highlight certain parts of your screenshot
• Censorship: blur sensitive information in your screenshot to render it illegible

An example:

These functions will suffice in most cases – but should you require more advanced image processing, you can always launch the desired application (e.g.  GIMP) from within Shutter.

The bonus: more functionality through plugins

Shutter is extensible through a plugin architecture and already comes with some plugins that you can apply to your screenshots. Depending on your needs you might use them more or less often, but they are definitely nice to have. At the moment there are > 10 plugins available, providing PDF export functionality, stylish frames and nice effects.

The result of the Polaroid plugin:

For the potential and advantages of a plugin-based application desgin one only has to look at the Firefox Webbrowser and the activity it has sparked in the developer community.  It will be interesting to see what other Shutter plugins will appear in the future – the developers welcome creative ideas.

Install Shutter

Shutter packages exist for most popular Linux distributions, and Ubuntu users can even add the project’s Launchpad repository to their sources and receive updates. Links to the packages, as well as to Shutter’s Launchpad site, can be found on the Shutter download page; in addition, there is a detailed guide on how to add the repository to your Ubuntu sources.

Happy documenting!

Article written by Gregor Geiermann of openinformation.org and licensed under BA-SA 3.0.

Criticism aside, I just wrote a couple posts about turning your Linux (Ubuntu) computer into a multimedia system, which touched on the topic of videos:

Build a Web Developer PC and Enable Most Media Playback Using Ubuntu Linux

Building a Web Developer / Designer PC Using Ubuntu Linux – Revisited

While the focus of the above posts leaned more towards playback and web development, I did mention at least a couple video applications. In my opinion the state of video application development in Ubuntu Linux – For that matter all Linux distributions has a long way to go. In most of the current video application, I’ve found that the functionality is lacking, or that the user interface (UI) is so complicated that it makes the application a labour to use. I’m more familiar with applications such as Adobe After Effects which is Mac and Windows based (where are the Linux versions of your products Adobe? ) and I use it in a production environment. Additionally smaller “quickie” applications such as “MPEG_Stream Clip” or quickie video converters are not available in Linux with the same ease of use and functionality.

I appreciate that some may argue that After Effects is complicated. In the beginning, when learning, it is. But after you’ve been using it for a few years, it’s not as complicated. In all honesty, I use applications (such as After Effects) as my guideline to compare. There are so few available, and in my opinion, not one of the truly provides an adequate, complete production grade video application.

Video Conversion:

I operate several video streaming sites. These are sites with similar functionality to Youtube. They allow users (my clients) to upload their videos and the videos are converted by the server to flv files for streaming across the web. To accomplish this, I install various codecs and other tools on the server, most importantly ffmpeg.

ffmpeg means “Fast Forward MPEG”. It’s a command line application that is built and uses open source libraries and software. It also uses the installed video (and audio) codecs, mux/demux library, etc. to convert video’s from one format to another. As such, I’d highly recommend installing this in a Linux PC, if you’re using that box for video work.

It’s easy to install via aptitude (or apt-get):

sudo aptitude install ffmpeg

or: apt:ffmpeg

PHP scripting on the server uses much the same similar commands that we would use on our computers. Here’s a quick command (to get you going):

ffmpeg -i testvideo.mov -vcodec wmv2 -sameq -acodec wmav2 -f asf testvideo.asf

The above command specifies:

• Take my “testvideo.mov” file  (The “i” switch means “input file”),
• Convert it to the wmv2 video codec (“-vcodec”) and the wmv2 audio codec (“-acodec”),
• Use the same quality as the original video file (“-sameq”),
• Force the converted (output) file to asf (“-f asf”),
• Name that converted file “testvideo.asf”

The MAN page for ffmpeg allows you a more detailed explanation of the switches and other that are available for use.

I did a search on Youtube and found a great ffmpeg video (below):

Video Applications:

AvideMux is okay for cutting existing videos, stripping audio or video, capturing video, etc. It does not provide the functionality that some of us are familiar with in applications such as After Effects or Final Cut Pro. More information can be found on the Avidemux wiki-documentation site.

Installation:

sudo aptitude install avidemux

or: apt:avidemux

Cinelerra-CV is (the UI) closer to what we’d expect in a video production application.The functionality is much closer to those of the professional production environments, but in my opinion, it still needs work. I’ve tried Cinelerra three times now, and I don’t use it. Why?:

1. It’s a pain in the rear to get installed and working properly (at least it was for me).
2. The interface, while it does have better functionality, is still horrid (VERY ugly and not intuitive) to try and work with (which takes more time).
3. When I last tried it, Cinelerra used the “floating windows” interface (like GIMP does), which was horrible to work with (as there was no locked parent window).

However, it may work well for your environment (they way you work), so you should give it a try. To install it via aptitude, you’d need to add the appropriate repositories to your sources.list. For installing on Ubuntu Hardy (8.04) – The following is directly (Copy & Paste) from their site:

For all x86 (full working on 32 and 64 bits), by Paolo Rampino:
deb http://akirad.cinelerra.org akirad-hardy main

Installation notes:

• For your convenience you can install a package for detecting your version of Ubuntu, installing akirad repository and keeping it updated.
• Just double click on the link http://akirad.cinelerra.org/pool/addakirad.deb and install it with GDebi Package Installer.

Alternatively, use the following terminal command:

wget -c http://akirad.cinelerra.org/pool/addakirad.deb && sudo dpkg -i addakirad.deb

To update the repository information press Reload in Synaptic Package Manager (Adept for Kubuntu) or use the following terminal command:
sudo apt-get update

7 are the packages available in the akirad repository:

• cinelerra (x86 and x86_64 without opengl 2.0 video card)
• cinelerra4-repack (Heroine Virtual version)
• cinelerra-generic (all x86 and x86_64 with opengl 2.0 video card)
• cinelerra-k7 (amd32 without opengl 2.0 video card)
• cinelerra-k7gl (amd32 with opengl 2.0 video card)
• cinelerra-k8 (amd k8 optimized with opengl 2.0 video card)
• cinelerra-swtc (extra Shape Wipe Transitions)

Ubuntu Hardy moved to Pulse Audio Sound driver. Since it comes with a PulseAudio ESD compatibility layer, Cinelerra can be set to work with PulseAudio. Simply open Cinelerra and go to:

Settings->Preferences->Playback->Audio Driver

Select ESound and set the following parameters:

Server: Port: 7007

• These packages set shmmax to 0x7fffffff and add non-English language support for Cinelerra.
• Please, report any package bug to akir4d at gmail dot com

for i386 (not working on amd 32 bits), by Valentina Messeri:
deb http://giss.tv/~vale/ubuntu32/hardy ./

Installation for other systems: http://cinelerra.org/getting_cinelerra.php

Video editing in Ubuntu Linux using Cinelerra (below):

If you’d like to see the full series of the above video here is Part 1 and Part 2.

Side note: Speaking of PulseAudio (above), this is what caused my 5.1 surround sound not to work. But I posted a fix: Enable 5.1 Surround Sound on Linux – Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy.

Kino, I use more for video capture than anything else. I wouldn’t really call it a video production application. It can export different formats and has some effects. You can stich video files together. You can use it to render a dv file as well as a few other features.

To install:

sudo aptitude install kino

or: apt:kino

I think Kino is great for putting together a medley of clips with nice transition effects between them. Check out the how to video below:

The above video is using Kino in a KDE environment.

KDEnlive, I think is another great potential (I’ve not used it as I’m in a Gnome environment). Don’t get me wrong, if you’re also using Gnome, you can still try KDEnlive as all the KDE dependencies will be installed – And quite frankly, if you’re going to do that, it may be better to simple use KDE (such as Kubuntu). If you already have tools like ffmpeg installed, this one can be a bit tricky to install. Either way, here a preview video below that shows some of the features:

Realistically, the state of video development (at least on our Linux desktops) is still in its infancy. We’ve got a long way to go before we have an open source application that rivals the likes of Final Cut or After Effects. For those interested in experimenting further, one promising distribution is worth looking at: Ubuntu Studio. From their site:

“…is aimed at the GNU/Linux audio, video and graphic enthusiast as well as professional. We provide a suite of the best open-source applications available for multimedia creation. Completely free to use, modify and redistribute. Your only limitation is your imagination…”

I certainly hope that this multimedia type distro can spearhead and pave the way to better video editing applications in Linux. I’d love to write a post about the Top 10 Video Applications, but right now we don’t really have 10.

Feel free to include any video applications or solutions you use, in the comments. :)

First off, there some other applications I use, namely:

xVidCap. This facilitates screen capturing video so that I can create tutorial videos. After which ffmpeg can be used to convert the captured video to flv format for web streaming.  If you’re interested, they have a couple instructional videos: Video 1 and Video 2. To install it, the command is:

sudo aptitude install xvidcap

Also, to be able to quickly find the differences between file versions I use TkDiff File Comparison and Meld. Both allow me to open different versions and display where files differ. These are particularly helpful if you access files from different locations and then need to troubleshoot changes. To install:

sudo aptitude install tkdiff

sudo aptitude install meld

In my personal case, this became more useful when I tried out Unison. As explained on the Unison web site:

“…Unison is a file-synchronization tool for Unix and Windows. It allows two replicas of a collection of files and directories to be stored on different hosts (or different disks on the same host), modified separately, and then brought up to date by propagating the changes in each replica to the other…“

While I’m mentioning Unison, I should point out that I had a horrible experience with it (Note: I did not read the manual). In my opinion it’s a great idea, and I am truly waiting for the latest versions, however I did have issues (which I have not been able to resolve yet):

It advertises that synchronization can also occur between Linux and Windows systems (or Linux to Linux systems).

My reality with regards to Windows :

• Linux can connect to Windows, but then the connection is lost with an error message after supplying the correct password.
• Window can connect to Linux and does begin searching for changes, but then the application freezes, becomes unresponsive, network traffic is almost zero and CPU load shoots to 100% if you try to stop.
• For it to work the same version needs to be installed on both machines.
• Compiling from source did not work on Ubuntu 8.04 as it indicated there were errors in the make file (yet the sudo aptitude install unison-gtk command does succeed – So I know all dependencies and libraries are already available)
• Currently it does not work. (However other solutions like rsync etc. work without any issues or much hair pulling).
• There is no option to delete a profile.
• Importantly, the FTP synchronization option is not available.

I really hope I can get this going – But it’s slow as it’s taken me almost 5 hours to try and get it working – to no avail. I wish there would be the same updated versions for all platforms available as packaged binaries (I think this would make things easier).

imgSeek is another useful tool that manages graphic collection and has the unique search capability where you can provide a rough sketch of the image you are looking for – And the results will be returned. No more having to use tags! In my opinion that is a great feature. You can view the screenshot of the search feature.

Many of the other web design and development related tools are also Firefox extensions:

Codetch allows me to edit files right inside Firefox. It’s a little bit like Bluefish.

Copy Plain Text gives you the ability to copy and paste text without all the formatting.

W3C CSS Validator does exactly that – validate that your CSS is formatted to the correct standards.

CSSViewer allows you to hover your mouse around a web page and see a small box that clearly shows all the CSS element in effect for any object or area.

EditCSS allows you to edit the CSS of any web page in real time and see the immediate changes, then you can simply copy and paste the change into your final style.css file.

Firebug is a robust extension that allows you to live debug and monitor CSS, HTML, JavaScript, etc. actions and results. It’s a good tool for troubleshooting issues.

Web Developer provides a tool bar with lots (and lots…) of development tools! If you’re only going to check one of these extensions, this is the one to look at!

Side note: I’ve often been asked what the “Ubuntu Firefox Modifications” extension does (as there is no ability to edit the preferences for it). It’s function is to allow installation of Firefox add ons via the Ubuntu package manager, however I’ve not played with that yet.

Finally, one issue I’ve found very helpful is to tweak how Firefox operates, in other words making it function faster. The video below provides a good guide to tweaking Firefox for speed improvements:

Hopefully the revisit of this topic helps answer questions as well as improving the web developer and designer productivity in an Ubuntu Linux environment.

In some ways I was bothered about this. Why? I work best with Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Dreamweaver, WinSCP, Flash and so on. I felt like I was going to lose all the productivity these applications provided. I enjoy being able to double click media and play it automatically, same goes with DVD movies, etc. In Linux, I’ve often encountered problems with media playback as the media usually includes restricted formats, MP3 for example. On the developer/designer side, I was not looking forward (nor do I have time) to a steep learning curve.

This post (hopefully) will show the desktop user how to enable all the restricted media playbacks (movie DVD, music MP3, etc.)

It will also show web developers and designers some of the issues, applications and work arounds – Or at least the current state of them.

First off, let’s deal with the media issues. I built this PC using Ubuntu 8.04 LTS 64Bit (Hardy). I did try installing 8.10 64Bit but found that the network cards did not properly work. After much investigation, I also discovered out that I would benefit best using a release with LTS “Long Term Support”, as apparently there was better hardware support – So I’m waiting for 9.04 (still in alpha 6 release as of this post).

One of my favourite tools is aptitude. I used to prefer apt-get, however I found out that aptitude does a better job in removing applications. Aptitude will also remove the dependencies when a package is removed. apt-get will not do that (and I don’t think synaptic will either – someone please correct me if I’m wrong). I almost always use aptitude, this way my system (and hard drive space) is keep cleaner whenever I use aptitude to remove packages.

In order to install some of the applications and enable some of the media formats, we’ll need to edit your sources.list file. You can use nano, gedit, etc. An example terminal command is below:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

The above command will open a window with the gedit application containing your sources.list file. MAKE SURE that you have no mistakes (syntax or otherwise) in the file. If you do, you’ll get an error message when using aptitude and will have to edit the file. Therefore, make a BACKUP of the /etc/apt/sources.list file that you can later revert back to BEFORE editing it.

Below is a copy of my sources.list file – As you may see, I’ve added some addresses (sources) to it:

# Main and Restricted
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy main restricted
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security main restricted
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-updates main restricted
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy main restricted
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security main restricted
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-updates main restricted

# Universe
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy universe
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security universe
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy universe
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security universe

# Multiverse
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy multiverse
deb http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security multiverse
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy multiverse
deb-src http://ca.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security multiverse

# Canonical
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ hardy partner

# Medibuntu
deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ hardy free non-free
deb-src http://packages.medibuntu.org/ hardy free non-free

# Third Parties
deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian hardy non-free

If you have a repository in your sources.list file (that I do not, remember to make sure that you include it!

A couple things about the above edit:

I use ca. within the URL because I’m in Canada. Change the ca. to whatever your country is. Also, Ubuntu Linux 8.04 is called “Hardy”, if you are using 8.10 “Intrepid” (or earlier versions) then change “Hardy” to the name of your distribution.

As seen above, we added the mediabuntu repository source, but we still have to add the public key. If we don’t we’ll get a message from aptitude that indicates the source cannot be verified. Here’s how to add the public key via terminal commands:

Download the key:

wget http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg

Add the key:

sudo apt-key add medibuntu-key.gpg

Now let’s make sure that we update the repositories with this command:

sudo aptitude update

And then let’s upgrade everything:

aptitude full-upgrade

The above command can also be issued as aptitude dist-upgrade (the old name – which still works).

***Warning***
This command will attempt to upgrade packages. It is aggressive with solving dependency problems. It will install and remove packages until all dependencies are satisfied. Because of this, it is possible that undesirable things may happen to your system and/or application. Therefore you should be careful when using it! Back up FIRST.

Now we’re ready to start installing some media playback and file sharing capabilities. Particularly:

• Multimedia Codecs.
• DVD playback.
• Java plugin.
• DVD (and CD) burning.
• Some Compilers.
• File/Printer sharing.

All the following commands are using aptitude via terminal commands.

Let’s start with the codecs:

sudo aptitude install ubuntu-restricted-extras && sudo aptitude install w64codecs

For 32 Bit users, use substitute this codec command:  sudo aptitude install w32codecs

Don’t forget to install the restricted extras:

sudo aptitude install ubuntu-restricted-extras

Now let’s get that DVD movie playing capability working:

sudo aptitude install libdvdcss2 && sudo aptitude install libdvdnav4 && sudo aptitude install gxine && sudo aptitude install libxine-main1 && sudo aptitude install libxine-extracodecs && sudo aptitude install libxine-ffmpeg && sudo aptitude install vlc && sudo aptitude install mplayer

And some DVD/CD burning software. I prefer K3B – But you can substitute any other one you prefer:

sudo aptitude install k3b

Let’s enable compiling:

sudo aptitude install build-essential

(If you want documentation, install it too: sudo aptitude install manpages-dev glibc-doc).

Let’s install a couple extra things like NFS (Network File Sharing), NTP (Network Time Protocol) and NIS (Network Information System) like so:

sudo aptitude install nfs-common && sudo aptitude install ntp && sudo aptitude install nis

Were pretty much done with the multimedia, but there are a couple application related things we’re going to install:

Flash player for Firefox can be obtained from Adobe by  downloading the .deb version (Adobe Flash Player version 10.0.22.87 as of this post). This will allow you to save a file called “install_flash_player_10_linux.deb”. Simply double click the file to begin installation.

While we’re working with Firefox, let’s turn it into a web developer tool with the following extensions:

Installing the Web Developer Toolbar, allows for the inclusion of some productive tools, such as:

• Editing CSS.
• Disabling CSS.
• Outlining images or finding broken ones.
• Displaying ID and Class details.
• View response headers.
• Edit HTML.
• Outline tables, elements, etc.
• And tons more!

Let’s also install Firebug so that you can edit, monitor and debug various web site scripting.

The use of MeasureIt helps in that you use it to  obtain width and height form any element you draw in your browser screen. It’s like a drag and stop (width/height)  ruler.

When developing or editing files displayed in my browser screen, I often copy and paste content. Unfortunately, Firefox will also copy the formating that’s been applied to the text. The extension, Copy Plain Text fixes this for me, now I get exactly what I want – Text only.

I do like using Shutter to capture full web page screen shots, so here’s how we install it according to the Shutter web site like this:

Include the repository and key:

wget -q http://shutter-project.org/shutter-ppa.key -O- | sudo apt-key add -

The above is for the stable releases. For more installation information or other methods you can visit Shutter Downloads.

In terms of development tools, many of them have already been listed in our Top 100 of the Best (Useful) OpenSource Applications post. However, there are a few that I’d particularly mention below.

Blender, Gimp and Inkspace. I’m not suggesting that Gimp or Inkspace are substitutes for Photoshop or Illustrator, rather they are an option. While they can produce the same resulting artwork, I find they require a steeper learning curve. Particularly steep in that the keyboard shortcuts are different, the names of many of the interface tools are different and/or they function in a different way. I’ve found several site with some great tutorials for both Gimp and Inkscape, however I don’t have the time (or motivation) to learn new applications. In my personal opinion, the GIMP interface is a horrid mess, but that is probably because I am used to the Photoshop interface. I think GIMP would be adopted much more readily if they improved the interface to be more intuitive and similar to Photoshop – But that’s simply what I think, I’m not the GIMP expert here.

One tool I use to enable continued use of Photoshop, etc. is VirtualBox. VirtualBox provides a virtual environment in which I can install a Windows based environment and any applications I wish (including Flash, etc.) – Hopefully Adobe will soon release Linux versions of their software as I think it is a huge market for them to tap into. After I’ve configured that environment, I can take a snapshot. If the virtual Windows installation or applications ever fail or become corrupted, I can simply restore the snapshot to bring the environment back to a working state – Voilà a quick 2 minute fix instead of reinstalling everything. Also, the virtual environment facilitates an optional shared directory on the host OS (that’s the Ubuntu Linux installation), so that I can access and store input and output files. If the virtually installed OS crashes, I still have that data within the Linux host installation.

To install VirtualBox, please follow the guide posted here: Installing VirtualBox 2.0.0 On Ubuntu 8.04 Desktop. Or use sudo aptitude install virtualbox as the repository is already in your sources.list file (above).

As web development is no longer simple HTML pages, but rather full multimedia, below are more of the development tools I’d suggest exploring:

• Bluefish Editor – Script editor – apt:bluefish
• Meld Diff Viewer – apt:meld
• Ardour – Audio editor – apt:ardour
• Audacity – Audio editor – apt:audacity
• Avidmux -Video editor – apt:avidmux
• Kino -Video editor – apt:kino
• Gftp – FTP client – apt:gftp
• Kompozer – Script editor – apt:kompozer
• puTTY – SSH client – apt:putty

The above applications are all available via aptitude or getdeb.net or by clicking the “apt” links above.

Finally, in order to have fonts consistent with Windows (and other) users, we may want to install some of the Windows based fonts like this:

sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts

This will install the True Type Fonts (TTF).

Now simply update the shared font  directories with this command:

sudo fc-cache -f -v

If you’d like CTF (Clear Type Fonts) the How to Install TTF and CTF Fonts in Ubuntu post will help you with that.

This just about covers most everything. These further resources can help you:

Medibuntu.

Converting MP3s to Ogg-Vorbis.

Enabling 5.1 Surround Sound.

Playing Blu-Ray and HD DVD Video.

If you think I’ve missed anything or you’ve an idea, feel free to comment about it! – cheers! :)

I did have two issues to fix after the initial install.

1) The integrated network card did not seem to work.
2) The integrated video was showing poor graphics.

The fix to get ethernet working was easy. Here’s how I got it functioning:

The specifications of the Shuttle SN68SG2 said that the embedded network card was a Marvell 88E1116.

We can use modeprobe in a terminal to try loading it:

sudo modprobe marvell
sudo modprobe marvell 88e1116

After the above command, the network card started to work and I was able to connect to the network.

The second issue, poor video because the drivers were not loaded, had already been solved by Alberto Milone in Italy. I found his solution, on his web site: http://www.albertomilone.com/nvidia_scripts1.html. And I used the instructions to install EnvyNG via apt-get (for this Ubuntu Linux 8.04 – Hardy installation).

As indicated, I needed to ensure the “universal” repository was enabled (and it was by default) and then ran the commands:

sudo apt-get install envyng-gtk

After the install, I found the “EnvyNG” configuration application in System tools (Under applications in the GUI). I selected the nVidia drivers and the script completed successfully. Both the network and the video issues were easily fixed.

Now I’m ready to install VirtualBox, so that I can virtually host testing environments for different operating systems, browsers, applications, etc. The terminal command:

sudo apt-get install virtualbox

will download and install the package. After the installation is complete, you will find “VirtualBox OSE” within Application -> System Tools in your GUI (in the same place the launcher for EnvyENG was found). Just launch VirtualBox and follow the prompts. Easy!

The above may seem like it’s over simplified, perhaps it is, but only in the respect that I’ve not included the many different fixes I tried. Instead, I’ve just posted the network card and video card fixes that worked (without subjecting you to a lengthy rendition of what did not work). ;)

Needless to say, I’ll soon be installing various virtual environments with this great new tool.

I hope this post and the “Part 1″ post are of help to some of you!
Enjoy…
:)

[tags]shuttle, linux ,ubuntu, video, network, drivers, fix, how to, SN68SG2, ethernet, virtualbox, marvell, envyeng, nvidia[/tags]

“A CD-ROM that contains a working copy of an operating system or other application that is run without installing it. Used for demonstration and evaluation as well as system recovery, the software runs intact from the CD.” Source: http://dictionary.zdnet.com/definition/LiveCD.html

While I was fast to mention and provide the LiveCD for Ubuntu Linux, I was asked if there are other versions of Linux or Linux based applications that offer down loadable LiveCD’s and what the primary function (of the CD) focused upon. Well, I’m by no means the know-all expert of Linux and its LiveCD distributions, I was however, able to find almost 300 and have done my best to put them in alphabetical order with a brief blurb.

Hopefully this will provide an initial list from which to jump off and explore different versions. It was a lot of work to put this together, but it was worthwhile and fun!
Some of the distributions are in other languages so I translated what I could into English (so please forgive any grammar mistakes). :) Additionally, I’ve found that several of the CD’s could be placed in more than one category, but to save constant repeats, I’ve tried to keep them in their primary focused category. I also included a couple BSD mentions or so. ;)

If you have (or are aware) of a LiveCD we’ve not included below and you want included, please feel free to comment (below) or contact us.

You might want to book mark this list and revisit it later. ;)
Enjoy…

Clustering LiveCD

Providing tools for creating cluster server environments.

Bootable Cluster CD
http://bccd.cs.uni.edu/

For clustering. From their site: The BCCD was created to facilitate instruction of parallel computing aspects and paradigms. Part of the difficulty instructors face is lack of dedicated resources to explore distributed computing aspects lack of time to preconfigure and test the supporting environment. The BCCD image addresses this problem by providing a non-destructive overlay way to run a full-fledged parallel computing environment on just about any workstation-class system…

Clusterix
http://clusterix.livecd.net/

Clusterix is a modular, live-cd Linux distro based off of Morphix, Knoppix, and Debian GNU/Linux. This means all you need to do is download the .iso, burn it to a cd, and reboot your computer. Clusterix will automatically start to boot without using your hard drive in anyway. Used for clustering.

ClusterKnoppix
http://clusterknoppix.sw.be/

Used for clustering: ClusterKnoppix is a modified Knoppix distro using the OpenMosix kernel.

dyne:bolic
http://www.dynebolic.org/

A practical tool for multimedia production: you can manipulate and broadcast both sound and video with tools to record, edit, encode and stream, having automatically recognized most device and peripherals: audio, video, TV, network cards, firewire, usb and more; all using only free software!

You can employ this operating system without the need to install anything, and if you want to run it from hard disk you just need to copy a directory: the easiest installation ever seen!

It is optimized to run on slower computers, turning them into full media stations: the minimum you need is a pentium1 or k5 PC 64Mb RAM and IDE CD-ROM, or a modded XBOX game console – and if you have more than one, you can easily do clusters.

ParallelKnoppix
http://pareto.uab.es/mcreel/ParallelKnoppix/

ParallelKnoppix (PK) is a fast and easy way to create a HPC cluster for parallel computing. It is designed to be easy to use for people new to parallel computing, but it is also suitable for serious work.

PK is normally used as a “live CD”, but it can also be used very productively from your usual operating system, through virtualization. The PK master node can be booted in a virtual machine, then you can network boot other computers to make a real (nonvirtual) Linux cluster in minutes. The cluster is ad hoc, it does not install anything to any of the computers it runs on. This way, when you shut down the cluster, the machines are in their original state.

Desktop LiveCD

For desktop environments.

3Anoppix
http://tavi.debian.org.tw/index.php?page=3Anoppix

Primary focus is an easy to install desktop system and is a Chinese localization of Knoppix

ABC Linux
http://www.abclinuxu.cz

A localized desktop version for Czech.

Adios
http://linux.softpedia.com/get/System/Operating-Systems/Linux-Distributions/ADIOS4-21188.shtml

A desktop version that has support for UML (User Mode Linux) virtual machines which can run LIDS (Linux Intrusion Detection System) or SELinux (NSA Security Enhanced Linux).

The ADIOS live CD uses a compressed loopback filesystem and can also start with LIDS enabled. It is a custom installation of Fedora 3.0 running kernel 2.6.10 and supports X11 windows desktop environments of KDE and IceWM.

AliXe
http://alixe.org/

A Québécoise desktop version of Linux. It consists of a customized version of the live CD SLAX, (itself based on the Linux Slackware distribution). AliXe is a bootable CD-Rom. When introduced in the CD drive of your computer, it will mount a Linux system so you can try, all without altering the content of this disc in your machine.

Ankur
http://www.bengalinux.org/new/

A desktop version providing support for the Bangla(Bengali) language on GNU/Linux operating system.

Antemium
http://www.antesis.org/index.php?lang=en

A desktop version for old PC’s (ANTEMIUM PC Agé) is the light version of Antemium. It is designed to work on old computers, (but not too old), work begins with Pentium that have 64MB of RAM. It is reported to have been working with less RAM, but they don’t guarantee anything.

The liveCD takes it’s linux kernel from the latest Knoppix; with the launching scripts. Everything else is a custom Slackware on a liveCD! The latest Knoppix introduce UNIONFS, a system to allow compressed read-only data on the CD to be merged with a portion of the RAM. It allow to modify anything on the liveCD, changes are saved on RAM. The CD gains in memory usage, flexibility, and power. It is also possible to install new software on the liveCD ! But beware of RAM shortages ;)

aquamorph
http://aquariusoft.org/page/main/

A desktop version based on Morphix’ Lightgui, aquamorph is a complete, up-to-date environment, in which the user can comfortably browse, program and generally just do his work, while not having to worry about configuring and installing things. It features programs like Mozilla’s Firefox browser and Thunderbird e-mail client, X-Chat for IRC chatting, Gaim version 2 for Instant Messaging, Abiword and Gnumeric for doing office work, Wireshark [formerly Ethereal] for doing forensic research, Graveman for burning CDs/DVDs etc. It also packages some nice fonts and audio/video codecs.

Arabbix
http://www.arabeyes.org/

An arabic based desktop version. This project is tasked with bringing forth a fully Arabized Live-CD distribution. This version appears to still be in Beta.

Archie
http://user-contributions.org/archie.html

A desktop version (also in beta). A complete live Arch linux system (v0.7) to be run from a cd/usb, built with the KISS philosophy in mind. No packages have been stripped to provide a full Arch linux system, yet deliver fastest performance with no extensive bloating. Archie uses its own hw-detection tool (lshwd) ideally to support a wide range of hardware with low detection time. Archie also provides extended features like multi-lingual, nesting capabilities and hd-install.

Augustux
http://www.zaralinux.org/proy/augustux/

A Spanish version that (as stated on their web site) is: “The Linux made by the world for Aragon. Augustux is a set of programs with free licenses that run from CD and who has been given a touch “Aragonese”.

There are lot of tools: word processor, spreadsheet, email clients or web browser for the Internet. To use Augustux there is no need to install anything on a hard drive, but boots directly from the CD-ROM.

Simply put the CD into the drive and boot the computer.

Austrumi
http://cyti.latgola.lv/ruuni/

A regional desktop CD. AUSTRUMI (Austrum Latvijas Linukss) is a business card size (the current release size is 65 MB) bootable live CD Linux distribution. It is based on Slackware Linux. It was created and is currently being maintained by a group of programmers from Latgale region of Latvia. The current official release of Austrumi Linux is 1.6.0. It requires limited system resources and can run on any Intel-compatible system with a CD-ROM installed. The entire operating system and all the applications run from RAM, making Austrumi a fast system, and allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system starts.

Baltix
http://baltix.akl.lt/english

Baltix is GNU/Linux desktop distribution, based on Debian and Ubuntu for Lithuanian and Latvian people.

Basilisk
http://www.linux4all.de/livecd/basilisk/1.40/index.htm

A desktop version. The livecd images on this site use redhat/fedora rpms, fedora related repositories (eg. atrpms or. freshrpms) as well as non -fedora software of several other open source projects.

These livecd’s use transparent zisofs compression on a container image instead of cloop. This allows the usage of nearly any precompiled kernel but the image container cannot be read or extracted from non-linux systems even if written on cd.

BeatrIX Linux
http://www.softpedia.com/get/UNIX/Distributions/BeatrIX-Linux.shtml

A desktop version that is a less-than-200-MB Debian/Ubuntu Linux that is a live-CD/installable to hard drive distribution featuring kernel 2.6.7, Gnome 2.8.1, Firefox 1.03 w/AdBlock, Evolution 2.01, GAIM 1.03, Open Office 1.1.2, Apt, PDF viewer, image viewer, plus much, much more.

BerliOS MiniCD
http://developer.berlios.de/projects/minicd/

A desktop MiniCD is (as the name suggests) a live MiniCD Linux distribution designed to run off 185MB CDs. It features automatic hardware detection, a full desktop (KDE) and is based on Mandrake Linux.

Berry Linux
http://yui.mine.nu/berry/

A desktop version that is a bootable CD, which features automatic hardware detection. It supports many graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI, USB, and other peripherals. If you have network devices, DHCP is auto-configured so you can use the Internet. You can enjoy OpenOffice, the MS Office compatible office suite. The GIMP can be used to edit pictures and is included in Berry Linux. Berry Linux can be used as a Linux demo, Educational CD, or a rescue system. Based on Fedora.

Blin Linux
http://blin.zp.ua/

A desktop to work in the office and at home; that includes Cyrillic support for Russian speaking people. Easy to use, requires no installation works directly from the CD. Provides support for a wide range of modern equipment. Immediately after launch, the user receives a tailored, ready to work in the local network or Internet system with a rich set of license-net programs.

cdlinux.pl
http://www.cdlinux.pl/

A Polish language based LiveCD. Hopefully a Polish speaking person could tell us more about it?

Cool Linux CD
http://emergencycd2.sourceforge.net/

A desktop CD. Cool Linux CD is a bootable CD with Linux operating system, containing a 2.4 kernel and many free software packages.

Damn Small Linux
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

Damn Small Linux is a very versatile 50MB mini desktop oriented Linux distribution.

DSL was originally developed as an experiment to see how many usable desktop applications can fit inside a 50MB live CD. It was at first just a personal tool/toy. But over time Damn Small Linux grew into a community project with hundreds of development hours put into refinements including a fully automated remote and local application installation system and a very versatile backup and restore system which may be used with any writable media including a hard drive, a floppy drive, or a USB device.

Feather Linux
http://featherlinux.berlios.de/

Feather Linux is a Linux distribution which runs completely off a CD or a USB pendrive and takes up under 128Mb of space. It is a Knoppix remaster (based on Debian), and tries to include software which most people would use every day on their desktop.

Flash Linux
http://www.flashlinux.org.uk/

It’s a FREE (GPL-2) customized Linux distribution initially designed to be run directly off a 256Mb USB key or other (similar) forms of bootable flash memory. It has subsequently (also) become a Linux distribution that runs directly from a CDROM, typically known as a Live-CD.

Gentoo
http://www.gentoo.org/

A special flavor of Linux that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need. Extreme performance, configurability and a top-notch user and developer community.

Gnoppix
http://www.gnoppix.org/

Gnoppix is a linux live cd based upon Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 (woody). It can be compared to Knoppix but GNOPPIX uses GNOME as desktop environment.

GoblinX
http://www.goblinx.com.br/en/index_home.htm

GoblinX is a Live-CD that is based on the excellent Slackware, developed and maintained by Flavio de Oliveira a.k.a Grobsch and created by using Linuxlive scripts.

It is directed towards those users whose appreciate quality applications and a workspace that is both practical and beautiful. It contains some of the most often used and praised applications for Linux, a completely operational Linux system inside a single CDROM, runs from any CDROM drive without requiring an installation and can be easily customized by anyone. It also can be used inside a Pendrive or other bootable device.

GoboLinux
http://www.gobolinux.org/

GoboLinux is a modular Linux distribution: it organizes the programs in your system in a new, logical way. Instead of having parts of a program thrown at /usr/bin, other parts at /etc and yet more parts thrown at /usr/share/something/or/another, each program gets its own directory tree, keeping them all neatly separated and allowing you to see everything that’s installed in the system and which files belong to which programs in a simple and obvious way.

Kaboot
http://www.kaboot.ainkaboot.co.uk/

Kaboot Linux Operating system aims to provide an operating system which you can take anywhere and has all your favourite programs on. Available as a Live CD or Live USB you can take with you anywhere.

A number of different versions are available, two optimized for size or speed, one for functionality, and one science based. All containing a host of useful programs able to boot virtually any computer (meeting the minimum requirements) from CD and USB.

Kaella
http://kaella.linux-azur.org/

Kaella is a (French) Linux distribution that will fit on a CD and it works without having to install on the hard drive of your PC. It is a complete operating system, provided with all the necessary software for PC use: Internet browser, mail, office suite, media players (images, photos, sounds, videos), games …

Kaella is based on the Knoppix distribution: Some software was deleted, others have been added.

Kanotix
http://kanotix.com/index.php?&newlang=eng

Kanotix is a rock-solid Linux based on Debian, which contains the newest packages and recognizes more modern hardware than any other operating system in use today.

Kanotix is assembled for 32 Bit i586 and for AMD 64 using the most up-to-date kernel with unique patches.

Kanotix will run as a LIVE-CD on practically any computer — automatically detecting and configuring virtually any piece of hardware. It is ideal for analysis, data rescue, forensic work, removal of viruses on Win-PCs – or simply for safe surfing and mailing in an internet cafe. It installs to your hard drive in just a few minutes and is ideal for use on your desktop workstation or notebook, or as a server.

KateOS
http://www.kateos.org/?lang=en

KateOS is a free (as in freedom) multitasking operating system targeted toward intermediate Unix users. It combines the most popular Open Source software with its own original solutions. KateOS has a simple yet fully functional and fully-featured TGZex package system which makes system administration and updating a breeze. KateOS also has a set of text-mode and graphical tools for system configuration, user-friendly text-mode and graphical installation systems, a unified PAM authorization system, and many more solutions which make system maintenance a lot easier while preserving the classical Unix structure of the system. The main foci of KateOS are efficiency, security, reliability, and low system requirements. Support for common multimedia is also included.

Knoppix
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

KNOPPIX is a bootable Live system on CD or DVD, consisting of a representative collection of GNU/Linux software, automatic hardware detection, and support for many graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI and USB devices and other peripherals. KNOPPIX can be used as a productive Linux system for the desktop, educational CD, rescue system, or adapted and used as a platform for commercial software product demos. It is not necessary to install anything on a hard disk. Due to on-the-fly decompression, the CD can have up to 2GB of executable software installed on it (over 8GB on the DVD “Maxi” edition).

Kubuntu
http://kubuntu.org/

Kubuntu is a user friendly operating system based on KDE, the K Desktop Environment. With a predictable 6 month release cycle and part of the Ubuntu project, Kubuntu is the GNU/Linux distribution for everyone.

LG3D LiveCD
https://lg3d-livecd.dev.java.net/Web-Site/Welcome.html

A 3D livecd that appears to be based upon slax (unconfirmed).

Linux from Scratch
http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/livecd/

The LFS LiveCD is geared specifically toward providing a reliable host system for the purpose of building Linux From Scratch http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/index.html. Therefore, it may not be what you would envision as a “perfect” Linux system. It should, however, provide you with a comfortable enough environment so that you can, in turn, build your own “perfect” system. Linux From Scratch (LFS) is a project that provides you with step-by-step instructions for building your own customized Linux system entirely from source.

Luit Linux
http://luitlinux.sarovar.org/

Luit Linux is a small bootable live CD distribution based on KNOPPIX and DamnSmall Linux. Mission is to make a small compact live distribution with tools and applications for day to day needs, without compromising on its looks and feel and ease of use.

Mandriva
http://www.mandriva.com/en/product/mandriva-linux-one

Linux. A full Linux operating system on a single CD for both new and experienced Linux users, it is fast to download and install, and also safe to try with a live mode. One is really the one CD you need!

MiniKazit
http://kazit.berlios.de/mini-kazit/

MiniKazit is a live CD image, small enough to fit into a MiniCD (180M). It is based on Morphix, base module version 0.4-1e and Debian Sid.

NetMAX DeskTOP
http://freshmeat.net/projects/netmax/

NetMAX DeskTOP is a Linux-based, Windows applications compatible, intuitive graphical environment that works right out of the box and offers unrivaled compatibility with any personal computer. It is designed to be usable by people who are not computer savvy. It eliminates the problems with viruses, spyware, adware, and bugs that plague the Windows platform. NetMAX DeskTOP also works as a PC repair and recovery system. It boots from CDROM and does not modify the target PC volumes unless directed to do so.

NimbleX
http://nimblex.net/

You can build your own custom OS with a couple of clicks. As easy as it gets! NimbleX is a small but versatile operating system which is able to boot in various fashion, like from a small 8 cm CD but also from flash memory (USB pens, Mp3 players, …), from hard drives and even from the network. Because it runs entirely from a CD, USB or network it doesn’t require installation or even a hard drive. NimbleX is based on Slackware with the use of linux-live scripts and is has a lot of this distribution advantages. One of them is the availability of thousands of free software that can be found in the form of packages. The beauty of it is that even if is small it has a beautiful graphical interface and also a lot of built in software for browsing the internet, writing documents, listening to music, playing movies and many more. You even have basic server functionality.

Onebase Linux
http://www.ibiblio.org/onebase/

The Onebase Project, is a Linux kernel based operating system with its own package management and administration tools.

Parsix
http://www.parsix.org/html/index.php

Parsix GNU/Linux is a live and installation CD derived from KANOTIX and based on Debian. It is a complete GNOME centric desktop oriented distribution. Beside of the dozens supported languages, Parsix GNU/Linux also supports Persian keyboard and users can switch to Persian with Alt+Shift keys. You can install and use Parsix GNU/Linux as your PC’s operating system. We have also included xFarDic multilingual dictionary and Persian free fonts from FPF project.

PCLinuxOS
http://www.pclinuxos.com/

PCLinuxOS is distributed as a LiveCD, and can also be installed to a local hard drive. LiveCD mode lets you try it without making any changes to your computer. If you like it, you can install it to your hard drive. Locally installed versions of PCLinuxOS utilize the Advanced Packaging Tool (or APT), a package management system (originally from the Debian distribution), together with Synaptic, a GUI front end to APT.

PCLinuxOS has a script called mklivecd, which allows the user to take a ‘snapshot’ of their current hard drive installation (all settings, applications, documents, etc.) and compress it into an ISO CD/DVD image. This allows easy backup of a user’s data and also makes it easy to create your own custom live CD/DVD.

Puppy Linux
http://www.puppylinux.com/

Puppy really is small, the live-CD typically being 85MB, yet there really is a complete set of GUI applications. Being so small, Puppy usually loads completely into RAM, which accounts for the incredible speed.

Sabayon
http://www.sabayonlinux.org/

A highly, scalable and community driven Linux distribution. Based on the Gentoo distro.

Shinux
http://shinux.org/

With Shinux you have a complete operating system comes with a suite of software quality standard for computers compatible PC. Shinux aims to enable individuals or professionals to carry the equivalent of their laptop in a medallion, a watch or a simple USB Flash Drive. With Shinux in your pocket you can from PCs to boot your office, your bookmark, preferences, mail, files and carry with you your applications.

sidux
http://sidux.com/

sidux is an operating system based on the Linux kernel, Debian’s most modern branch (called “Sid”) and many free and open source applications.

According to wikipedia sidox “…is a desktop-oriented Linux distribution based on Debian unstable, which uses the codename Sid. The distribution consists of a Live CD (bootable CD-ROM) for i686 or amd64 architecture and can be installed to a hard drive through a graphical installer…” and “…The aim of sidux is to make Debian Sid/unstable usable for average users. Therefore it puts Debian Sid packages together and adds its own programs. sidux’ own repository avoids packages which are currently defective in Debian Sid. The sidux system management program “smxi” also holds sidux fixed packages until a repaired version from Debian appears in Debian Sid…“

SimplyMEPIS
http://www.mepis.org/

SimplyMEPIS as a Live CD or DVD allows you to run the Linux operating system and all the programs from your CD or DVD drive before you install. There is no need to backup all your data, delete the whole hard disk and install the system, just to find it doesn’t meet your needs and expectations.

Insert the SimplyMepis disc in your drive and reboot your computer. Simple menu choices will quickly load SimplyMEPIS Linux allowing you to login. You’ll have a SimplyMEPIS desktop just as it would be when you install it to your hard drive. Test the included software, see if it supports all your hardware, and assure that your internet connection works. You can also use SimplyMEPIS as a recovery CD for troubleshooting computers and providing the tools to save your valuable data.

Slax
http://www.slax.org/

Slax is a modern, portable, small and fast Linux operating system with a modular approach and outstanding design. Despite its small size, Slax provides a wide collection of pre-installed software for daily use, including a well organized graphical user interface and useful recovery tools for system administrators.

The modular approach gives you the ability to include any other software in Slax easily. If you’re missing your favourite text editor, networking tool or game, simply download a module with the software and copy it to Slax, no need to install, no need to configure.

SLYNUX
http://www.slynux.co.nr/

SLYNUX is a user friendly GNU/Linux Operating System for beginners. It can be run completely from CD without installation. There is also options to install to hard disk. The main feature of this operating system is that, any person who is familiar with Microsoft Windows OS can handle this operating system very easily. The desktop of this operating system is arranged so as to make it friendly to the user. Also it has a wide range of application programs which are pre-installed. SLYNUX is a live Linux distribution which includes content of about 2GB made available by using transparent compression. This is a debian based GNU/Linux developed from Knoppix (Credit of most features of this Distro goes to knoppix). This can be used by beginners of Linux OS. SLYNUX makes to familiarize Linux technology. This is also a complete suite Linux OS. This provides all types of needed software.

Stanix
http://stanix.sourceforge.net/

Traditional Chinese support. Stanix provides a simple, stable, Comfortable environment for your desktop without deluxe decorations, easy to use directly, don’t worry about system crashes or infections by viruses.

Stux
http://www.gpstudio.com/stux/

STUX is a bootable CD with a collection of GNU/Linux software, automatic hardware detection, and support for many graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI and USB devices and other peripherals.

STUX 2007 is based on Slackware Linux 11.0 (for packages) and Knoppix 5.0.1 (for kernel, modules, scripts).

Symphony
http://symphonyos.com/cms/

SymphonyOS is a whole new type of Operating System, based on an advanced GNU/Linux base system Symphony provides Linux’s renowned stability and immunity to Windows viruses along with what we consider to be the easiest to use interface out there, our Mezzo Desktop Environment. You can breathe new life into old hardware as all of this is designed to work on much lower end hardware than KDE or Gnome.

T2
http://www.t2-project.org/

T2 started as a community driven fork from the ROCK Linux Project with the aim to create a decentralized development and clean a framework for spin-off projects and customized distributions. Another goal was to provide a more continuous release stream for stable security updates.

With T2 you can define targets for various purposes, ranging from embedded linux systems with a few MB of size over server configurations to a full desktop system featuring X.Org foundation, KDE, Gnome, OpenOffice.Org and many more. Those targets can be compiled for use on the most common architectures: Alpha, ARM, HPPA (incl. HPPA64), IA64, MIPS, PowerPC (incl. PowerPC-64), SPARC (incl. SPARC64), SuperH, x86 (incl. x86-64) – theoretically any GCC/Linux supported one.

T2 comes with many predefined targets (desktop, router, live CD…) and over 2000 package descriptions ready to build.

Tao Live
http://www.nanotechnologies.qc.ca/propos/linux/

This distribution is ideal for beginners. Tao Live is a bootable CDROM with a collection of software and automatic hardware detection. It is not necessary to install anything on your hard disk to use Tao Live.

Tilix
http://tilix.org/

Tilix is a Bulgarian Linux based operating system, easy to use for beginners and for advanced users. The distribution can work directly from CD or can be installed to you hard drive. The distribution can work directly from CD or can be installed to you hard drive. The hardware recognition is automatic. The hardware recognition is automatic.

Ubuntu
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Ubuntu is a community developed, Linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need – a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.

VectorLinux
http://vectorlinux.com/website2/

Speed, performance, stability are the attributes that set VectorLinux apart from the crowded field of Linux distributions. The creators of VectorLinux had a single credo: keep it simple, keep it small and let the end user decide what their operating system is going to be. What has evolved from this concept is perhaps the best little Linux operating system available anywhere. For the casual computer user you have a lightning fast desktop with graphical programs to handle your daily activities from web surfing, sending and receiving email, chatting on ICQ or IRC to running an ftp server. The power user will be pleased because all the tools are there to compile their own programs, use the system as a server or perhaps the gateway for their home or office computer network. Administrators will be equally as pleased because the small size and memory requirements of the operating system can be deployed on older machines maybe long forgotten.

Xfld
http://www.xfld.org/

Xfld – ‘Xfce live demo’ – is a liveCD , demonstrating the latest version of Xfce desktop environment and providing a complete Gnu/Linux operating system (based on Ubuntu), which could be run directly from the CD. In contrast to the Xubuntu install CDs, the Xfld CD contains all tools and applications necessary for both productive usage with graphical interface and command line interface. Furthermore the main purpose of Xfld is demonstrating the latest Xfce.

Education LiveCD

Providing a collection of educational programs and/or used in and education or seminar environment.

Bioknoppix
http://bioknoppix.hpcf.upr.edu/

This LiveCD is for education and bio research. Bioknoppix is a customized distribution of Knoppix Linux Live CD. With this distrubution you just boot from the CD and you have a fully functional Linux OS distribution with open source applications targeted for the molecular biologist. Beside using some RAM, Bioknoppix doesn’t touch the host computer, being ideal for demonstrations, molecular biology students, workshops, etc.

Fiubbix
http://moin.lug.fi.uba.ar/FiubbixDistro

fiubbix is a Live-CD (booteable distribution and 100% usable from a CD-ROM) derivative of Knoppix, adapted for use by students of the Faculty of Engineering at the UBA (though probably useful for other universities and engineering in public Overall).

Freeduc
http://www.ofset.org/freeduc-cd/

Until now — and probably for a while in most heads — the GNU/Linux system at school has been perceived as a good replacement of other proprietary servers. However the server is probably the least important things in term of freedom in a school network. It doesn’t allow a teacher to share a workstation software with students. Supporting GNU/Linux in the workstation side can grant higher freedom and liberty between users in a school.. Therefore, OFSET has setup Freeduc, a tool to help to list, to evaluate and to package only free — non GPL exclusive – edu soft.

LUC3M
http://crisol.uc3m.es/content/view/12/30/

Spanish education based livecd. LUC3M (read ‘Lucem’, accusative of Lux, or “Light”), being developed by the CRUCIBLE group (information resource centre and free software), staying within the Computing Service of the Univerity Carlos III of Madrid. Its aim is to develop a distribution to facilitate teaching, including applications for conducting practices and content development. Although, in principle, it’s aimed at students, teachers and administrative staff and includes applications that can meet the needs anyone.

The DVD versions of old boots LUC3M distribution Live allowing work as if it were installed on the hard drive. A main advantage is that to run from the DVD drive, there is no need to install, and therefore can be tested without changing the configuration of equipment.

Skole Linux
http://www.skolelinux.org/en/

Skolelinux is a complete tailored software solution for the needs of any educational institution or school. It is a ready computer system were your school does not need to piece together the components.

What makes Skolelinux unique is that any teacher can kickstart a whole network of computers within an hour. Experts and teachers have together handpicked the software that any school would need for it’s daily education of pupils and packaged it for a tailored solution for schools and educational purposes, made easy to install.

Entertainment LiveCD

Providing audio, video (multimedia) environments.

AmaroK Live
http://amarok.kde.org/wiki/Amarok_Live#Amarok_Live

An entertainment LiveCD version. Amarok Live is a stripped down LiveCD with a fully functional Amarok music player bundled with the tracks commissioned last year by Wired Magazine, which are distributed under the Creative Commons Sampling Licenses.

Insert the CD and boot. In most cases, you can just hit return at the ISOLinux boot prompt. There are various cheat-codes / boot-parameters, that you can use if case of hardware trouble.

ByzantineOS
http://byzgl.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

A software internet appliance with a home entertainment bias. It is based on a networked Linux distribution/bootable system with Mozilla providing access to a range of services and applications. Fits in 32MB (or 48MB) of media and should work on any x86 based PC.

GeeXboX
http://www.geexbox.org/en/index.html

GeeXboX is a free embedded Linux distribution which aims at turning your computer into a so called HTPC (Home Theater PC) or Media Center. Being a standalone LiveCD-based distribution, it’s a ready to boot operating system than works on any Pentium-class x86 computer or PowerPC Macintosh, implying no software requirement. You can even use it on a diskless computer, the whole system being loaded in RAM.

Despite his tiny ISO image size, the distribution comes with a complete and automatic hardware detection, not requiring any driver to be added. It supports playback of nearly any kind of audio/video and image files and all known codecs and containers are shipped in, allowing playing them through various physical supports, either being CD, DVD, HDD, LAN or Internet.

GeeXboX also comes with a complete toolchain that allows developers adding easily extra packages and features but that might also be used to give birth to many dedicated embedded Linux systems.

MoviX
http://movix.sourceforge.net/

MoviX is a light media distribution that supports streaming, TV cards, slideshows, internet radio, infrared controllers and others. MoviX can boot from CDs, HDDs, USB Flash Drives, CompactFlash cards and network. MoviX2 is a spin-off project that features X alongside the usual MoviX configuration.

eMoviX is a tiny GNU/Linux distribution that plays video files when booted, based on MPlayer. It is utilised by MoviXMaker-2 and K3b.

MoviX distributions are very compact. In fact, smaller than Damn Small Linux.

Musix GNU+Linux
http://www.musix.org.ar/en/index.html

It’s a 100% free multimedia operating system intended for music production, graphic design, audio and video edition, and all kind of tasks. It contains an enormous collection of free (as in freedom) programs that can replace Windows.

Mayah OS
http://myah.org/

Myah OS is a performance desktop operating system. Made for home use with a focus on Internet, Office, and multimedia. Myah OS has been optimized for i686 processors for fast performance. Myah OS is an original Linux distro, compiled from build scripts written by Jeremiah Cheatham.

StreamBOX
http://streambox.org/

StreamBOX-LiveCD is a selfmade, KNOPPIX based Boot-CD, which is specially designed to stream MP3. Also there are some programs to stream in the OGG-Vorbis-Format.

Wolvix
http://wolvix.org/

Wolvix is a LiveDistro built from Slackware and the Linux-Live scripts. It’s a desktop and multimedia oriented Linux distribution designed to suit the needs of regular to advanced desktop users. Wolvix comes with the Xfce desktop environment and the Fluxbox window manager and includes a carefully selected group of development, graphics, multimedia, network and office applications.

Firewalls LiveCD

Providing firewall solutions.

Formilux
http://formilux.ant-computing.com/

Formilux is a very light and secure Linux distribution. It is targetted at internet servers, routers, firewalls and semi-embedded systems. It requires a very limited administration but needs fairly skilled administrators. Installing a secured proxy or a firewall just requires about 12 MB and a few minutes.

Linux LiveCD Router
http://www.wifi.com.ar/english/cdrouter/

Speed-up your Internet connection! Linux LiveCD Router allows you to share, firewall and optimize your broadband connection. You can use DSL, ADSL, Cable Modem, T1, Fixed IPs, Dial-Up, WiFi and more. Includes traffic priority settings for VoIP and other apps. Can avoid ISP traffic limiting.

m0n0wall
http://m0n0.ch/wall/

m0n0wall is a project aimed at creating a complete, embedded firewall software package that, when used together with an embedded PC, provides all the important features of commercial firewall boxes (including ease of use) at a fraction of the price (free software). m0n0wall is based on a bare-bones version of FreeBSD, along with a web server, PHP and a few other utilities. The entire system configuration is stored in one single XML text file to keep things transparent. m0n0wall is probably the first UNIX system that has its boot-time configuration done with PHP, rather than the usual shell scripts, and that has the entire system configuration stored in XML format.

redWall Firewall
http://www.redwall-firewall.com/

redWall is a bootable CD-ROM Firewall. It’s goal is to provide a feature rich firewall solution, with the main goal, to provide a webinterface for all the logfiles generated!

Sentry Firewall CD
http://www.sentryfirewall.com/

Sentry Firewall CD-ROM is a Linux-based bootable CDROM suitable for use as an inexpensive and easy to maintain firewall, server, or IDS(Intrusion Detection System) Node. The system is designed to be immediately configurable for a variety of different operating environments via a configuration file located on a floppy disk, a local hard drive, and/or a network via HTTP(S), FTP, SFTP, or SCP.

The Sentry Firewall CD is a complete Linux system that runs off of an initial ramdisk, much like a floppy-based system, and a CD. The default kernel is a current 2.4.x series kernel with various Netfilter patches applied. An OpenWall-patched current 2.2.x kernel is also available on the CD.

Forensics LiveCD

Providing environments that contain forensic tools.

F.I.R.E.
http://biatchux.dmzs.com/

FIRE is a portable bootable cdrom based distribution with the goal of providing an immediate environment to perform forensic analysis, incident response, data recovery, virus scanning and vulnerability assessment.

Also provides necessary tools for live forensics/analysis on win32, sparc solaris and x86 linux hosts just by mounting the cdrom and using trusted static binaries available in /statbins.

Helix
http://www.e-fense.com/helix/

Helix focuses on Incident Response & Forensics tools. It is meant to be used by individuals who have a sound understanding of Incident Response and Forensic techniques.

Penguin Sleuth
http://www.linux-forensics.com/

Penguin Sleuth Kit, based on Knoppix, is a virtual computer forensics and security platform.

Gaming LiveCD

Providing gaming platforms.

AdvanceCD
http://advancemame.sourceforge.net/

A gaming version on a bootable live CD, DVD and USB disk of a minimal Linux distribution containing the AdvanceMAME emulator.

Freduc
http://www.ofset.org/freeduc-games

French. With GNU/Linux can be fun! Thet offer a special edition of Freeduc-cd dedicated to video games. Uses XFCE and is based on KNOPPIX/Debian, which allows them to easily add and develop additional software packages.

KnoppiXMAME
http://sourceforge.net/projects/knoppixmame/

KnoppiXMAME is a bootable CD/DVD image with hardware automatic probing and configuration for playing MAME games. No games are included, but they can be added to the ISO image, as well as new versions of X-MAME, gxmame, and the Linux kernel.

Medical LiveCD

Providing medical systems or applications.

CDMEDIC LIVE CD
http://cdmedicpacsweb.sourceforge.net/cdmedic_en.html

Full featured free PACS based on ctn, dcmtk and mysql,with remote administration using apache mod perl and imaging processing capabilities using ImageMagick, Grevera’s dcm2pgm DICOM converter and AFNI, running in a Knoppix based live CD in less than 5 minutes without hard disk installation, with interesting programs CTSim, XMedcon, Amide, FSL and Slicer. This is medical based.

OIO System
http://www.txoutcome.org/

Open Infrastructure for Outcomes (OIO) system enables clinicians, researchers, and other non-programmers to create and maintain flexible and portable patient/research records. It aims to achieve the ” Holy Grail ” of data portablity as elegantly described by John G. Faughnan.

The major components of the OIO system are the web-accessible OIO Server and OIO Library. OIO Server is a highly flexible web-based data management system that manages users, patients, and information about patients. (Of course, the same system can just as easily manage information about customers, invoices, shipments, and accounts.)

Toophpix
http://truth.positive-internet.com/~mpreston/tp/tp0412intro.html

Based on Knoppix, it sets up a LAMP server in RAM and facilitates various dental resources.

WorldVistA
http://sourceforge.net/projects/worldvista

Furthering the cause of affordable healthcare information technology worldwide by advocating, championing, and employing the open source paradigm to expand the use and collaborative improvement of the VistA electronic health record.

Public Livecd

Providing environments that can be quickly launched for general public use.

Firefox LiveCD
http://linux.softpedia.com/get/System/Operating-Systems/Other/Firefox-LiveCD-4686.shtml

Firefox LiveCD is LiveCD similar to LiveKiosk, but with original binary version of Mozilla Firefox. No changes were done to user interface and everything is set to Firefox defaults.

LiveFirefox is intended for people who want to have custom Firefox based LiveCD, but find LiveKiosk unsuitable for this purpose.

KioskCD
http://www.kioskcd.com/

Your PC boots from the CD and a web browser appears — that’s it! Use wherever you want to supply Web access to people, without worrying about what they will do to your computer.

MorphixLiveKiosk
http://www.morphix.org/

MorphixLiveKiosk is a Morphix CD, based on the previous LiveCDs released by LiveCD.net. It is a LiveCD that contains a locked down version of firefox-browser. Boot the computer using the LiveCD and you can use the browser – nothing else (well apart from a screensaver), close the brower and all the viewing history is deleted from memory.

Rescue LiveCD

Providing tools needed for data rescue and recovery.

Crash Recovery Kit for Linux
http://crashrecovery.org/

A rescue disk. Crash Recovery for Linux sounds a bit superfluous. Linux is regarded as one of todays most stable Operating Systems. In the case of some hardware failure like a broken disk it can however be handy. Of course your machine doesn’t have to have linux installed to make use of the CRK kit. There are several uses and purposes for the CRK to be used. To name a few:

Recovery of a trashed LILO boot record. How many times does it happen that some person installs windows 98/95 after he/she installed linux? Well in that case windows 9X just overwrites the MBR record and linux won’t be able to boot anymore.

Backup over the network in the form of tar.gz tarballs. Both FAT16, FAT32, ext2 and all filesystems which Linux supports in a read/write fashion can be taken care of. The strong part of the CRK is when a disk is replaced or repartitioning is being done. The CRK boots a complete mini linux with networking where all possible hardware which is inside the Linux kernel is available.

Testing hardware of new intel based machines.

Detecting versions and types of hardware. The Linux kernel holds a large database of hardware supported. Booting a linux kernel doesn’t only resolve if the hardware is ok, it also show its specs. This can be handy if one wants to check-out an old/new PC which is for sale.

Recovery of a misconfigured or hacked Linux system. Well that can happen. /etc/fstab can be wrong or the root password is unknown etc.

Make a tape backup of a disk which can’t be booted anymore.

The CRK is based on RedHat Linux.

FreeBSD LiveCD
http://livecd.sourceforge.net/

The FreeBSD LiveCD Tool Set has a main goal, which is to allow one to generate their own custom FreeBSD Live CDs.

Hiren’s Boot CD
http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd

Appears to be primarily focused on WIndows systems. Therefore it may be an exception to this list. :)

Julex
http://julexlinux.sourceforge.net/

Julex is a Knoppix Based Linux distribution aimed at users that want to get files back from their hard drive after their computer fails to boot, Troubleshoot their pc, Get on the net in a hurry or just as a small light (no bloat) distro to use on their old (or new if so inclined) computer.

PLD Rescue CD
http://rescuecd.pld-linux.org/

PLD RescueCD is a bootable disk that contains a live Linux distribution based on PLD Linux (2.6.24.3 modular kernel) made in Poland. Furthermore this version uses transparent compression (squashfs) to fit about 180 MB of software onto a single mini CD in usable form.

PLD RescueCD can be used to rescue ailing machines, perform intrusion post-mortems, act as a temporary secure linux-based workstation (using ssh, vpn connecting to remote host – other networking clients are also supported), install PLD Linux, and perform many other tasks that we haven’t yet imagined. It provides a much nicer rescue environment than your average rescue floppy.

PLoP Linux
http://www.plop.at/page_en_4.html

PLoP Linux is a small distribution that can boot from CD, DVD, USB flash drive (UFD), USB harddisk or from network with PXE. It’s designed to rescue data from a damaged system, backup and restore operating systems and more.

RIP
http://www.tux.org/pub/people/kent-robotti/looplinux/rip/

(R)ecovery (I)s (P)ossible Linux rescue system. It’s a regular ISO used to created a system rescue CD. Make sure the program you use to download it understands it’s a binary file. If it’s downloaded as a text file it could get corrupted and be unusable.

SystemRescueCd
http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page

SystemRescueCd is a Linux system on a bootable CDROM for repairing your system and recovering your data after a crash. It aims to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your computer, such as creating and editing the partitions of the hard disk. It contains a lot of system utilities (parted, partimage, fstools, …) and basic tools (editors, midnight commander, network tools). It is very easy to use: just boot the CDROM. The kernel supports most of the important file systems (ext2/ext3, reiserfs, reiser4, xfs, jfs, vfat, ntfs, iso9660), as well as network filesystems (samba and nfs).

Trinity Rescue Kit
http://trinityhome.org/Home/index.php?wpid=1&front_id=12

Trinity Rescue Kit or TRK is a free live Linux distribution that aims specifically at recovery and repair operations on Windows machines, but is equally usable for Linux recovery issues. It is possible to boot TRK in three different ways: As a bootable CD which you can burn yourself from a downloadable isofile, ffrom a USB stick/disk (optionally also a fixed disk), installable from Windows or from the bootable TRK cd, from network over PXE, which requires some modifications on your local network.

Ultimate Boot CD
http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/

You need the Ultimate Boot CD if you want to Run floppy-based diagnostic tools from CDROM drives, Free yourself from the slow loading speed of the floppy drive, Consolidate as many diagnostic tools as possible into one bootable CD or Run Ultimate Boot CD from your USB memory stick. When you boot up from the CD, a text-based menu will be displayed, and you will be able to select the tool you want to run.

The selected tool actually boots off a virtual floppy disk created in memory.

Security LiveCD

Providing various network security type tools.

Arudius
http://www.fosstools.org/

A security based Linux version. An information assurance (IA) Linux live CD, used by information assurance professionals to help them assess systems and ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data. The CD is loaded with with tools for penetration testing and vulnerability analysis. Information assurance has many other aspects besides network security. However, it seems that the mainstream public identifies information assurance primarily with securing network-accessible systems, so they decided to go with the mainstream and call Arudius a tool for information assurance. The CD consists of a Zenwalk Linux base on top of which a large collection of network security testing software has been installed – including tools listed on Insecure.org Top 75 list plus many other tools listed on Freshmeat, Sf.net and other information assurance sites around the world.

BackTrack
http://www.remote-exploit.org/backtrack.html

A security related Linux LiveCD that is touted as the most Top rated linux live distribution focused on penetration testing. With no installation whatsoever, the analysis platform is started directly from the CD-Rom and is fully accessible within minutes.

BSI OSS
http://www.bsi.bund.de/produkte/boss/index.htm

Security based. The Open Source Software BOSS (BSI OSS Security Suite) essentially builds on the proven security scanner Nessus. The BOSS addition to the Security Local Auditing Daemon (SLAD), ensures the integrated management of local security software takes over.

Frenzy
http://frenzy.org.ua/eng/

Frenzy is a “portable system administrator toolkit,” LiveCD based on FreeBSD. It generally contains software for hardware tests, file system check, security check and network setup and analysis. Size of ISO-image is 200 MBytes (3″ CD).

grml
http://grml.org/

grml is a bootable CD (Live-CD) originally based on Knoppix and more recently based on Debian. grml includes a collection of GNU/Linux software especially for system administrator and users of texttools.

grml provides automatic hardware detection. You can use grml (for example) as a rescue system, for analyzing systems/networks or as a working environment. It is not necessary to install anything to a harddisk; you don’t even need a harddisk to run it. Due to on-the-fly decompression grml includes about 2.1GB of software and documentation on the CD.

Insert
http://www.inside-security.de/insert_en.html

INSERT is a complete, bootable linux system. It comes with a graphical user interface running the fluxbox window manager while still being sufficiently small to fit on a credit card-sized CD-ROM.INSERT contains a multitude of useful tools to be at your hand in a variety of situations.

Navyn OS
http://navynos.linux.pl/

Navyn OS is a gnu/linux distribution based on Gentoo. Gentoo isn’t a typical distribution like Debian or Slackware, it doesn’t even have an installer, it is similar to making your own distribution. The main part of Gentoo is portage, a set of scripts for installing and removing programs.

Network Security Toolkit
http://www.networksecuritytoolkit.org/nst/

This bootable ISO live CD is based on Fedora. The toolkit was designed to provide easy access to best-of-breed Open Source Network Security Applications and should run on most x86 platforms. The main intent of developing this toolkit was to provide the network security administrator with a comprehensive set of Open Source Network Security Tools.

Plan-B
http://www.projectplanb.org/

Plan-B is a bootable Linux environment without the need for a hard drive, it runs entirely in ram or from the cd, based on a basic, stripped installation of Red Hat Linux and the fundamental workings of the SuperRescue CD.

STD
http://www.knoppix-std.org/

STD is a Linux-based Security Tool. Actually, it is a collection of hundreds if not thousands of open source security tools. It’s a Live Linux Distro, which means it runs from a bootable CD in memory without changing the native operating system of the host computer. Its sole purpose in life is to put as many security tools at your disposal with as slick an interface as it can.

STD is meant to be used by both novice and professional security personnel but is not ideal for the Linux uninitiated. STD assumes you know the basics of Linux as most of your work will be done from the command line. If you are completely new to Linux, it’s best you start with another live Distro like Knoppix to practice the basics.

WarLinux
https://sourceforge.net/projects/warlinux/

A linux distribution for Wardrivers. It is available on disk and bootable CD. It’s main intended use is for systems administrators that want to audit and evaluate thier wireless network installations. Should be handy for wardriving also.

Servers LiveCD

Providing server systems.

ATMission
http://www.atconsultancy.nl/atmission/

A server and desktop Linux LiveCD. The main advantage of ATmission compared to other Live Linux CD’s is its flexibility. You can modify any file on the ATmission Live CD. This implies that you can: create user accounts, install additional RPM’s, start a database on boot, configure a firewall, etc… anything you can do with a normal Linux system, and preserve your changes in a file located on hard disk or a USB memory stick

Devil-Linux
http://www.devil-linux.org/home/index.php

Devil-Linux is a distribution which boots and runs completely from CDROM. The configuration can be saved to a floppy diskette or a USB pen drive. Devil Linux was originally intended to be a dedicated firewall/router but now Devil-Linux can also be used as a server for many applications. Attaching an optional hard drive is easy, and many network services are included in the distribution.

The system is designed to install without the use of a hard drive. It requires the use of a CDROM and a write-protected floppy. The CDROM provides the operating system, and the floppy provides the configuration information, via a tarball that is unpacked into the /etc directory. In this way, the system is fully configurable, yet the running system has no writeable device.

ffsearch-LiveCD
http://ffsearch.packetstorm.ch/

ffsearch-LiveCD is a modified Knoppix-Linux with Fast File Search running on top of it. This way, no installation is required! You can download an Iso, burn it on CD, put the disc in you CD-drive and boot it up. It crawls the net for SMB and FTP shares and provides you with a web interface for searching these files.

LAMPPIX
http://lamppix.tinowagner.com/

LAMPPIX allows you to burn your web projects (i.e. PHP presentations or Perl scripts) onto a CD-ROM and give them away to others. They will only have to insert the CD and reboot — if you configured LAMPPIX properly (and this is really easy!) they can view your project.

SoL
http://www.sol-linux.com/

It’s a server based system. There are tons of options, visit their site to learn more.

Zeroshell
http://www.zeroshell.net/eng/

Zeroshell is a small Linux distribution for servers and embedded devices aimed at providing the main network services a LAN requires. It is available in the form of Live CD or Compact Flash image and you can configure and administer it using your web browser.

[tags]linux, ubuntu, livecd, 130, desktop, lamp, open source[/tags]

Last month we posted a great idea “Make Your Own Plug ‘N Play Zone Using Ubuntu Linux!“, discussing and introducing the concept of a “zone” where laptop (or other) users could plug their units into and have Linux automatically installed upon boot up.

“…It’s a simple 3-step method. Users plug their laptop into one of the two ports and boot off the network. Go away, come back later and it’s all done…“

Some readers have asked me about the actual “code” or parameters – this means the PXELinux Boot Loader – for the auto install feature that would be on the TFTP server. If you’re not familiar with the “Plug ‘N Play Zone”, please do read that earlier post first. ;)

One specific question asked:

“This is a nice how to, but I’m a little confused on one point. It may have to do with me not actually doing the steps … but I have used netboot images before, both on Ubuntu and on Debian.

My problem is that the netboot images I’ve always used just launched an installer. I know you can kickstart autoinstall, but I don’t see that step here. Has netboot changed in the last year, or am I missing something?“

The netboot.tar.gz file that you download, contains the PXELinux boot loader. In my case the boot loader points to this directory: ubuntu-installer/i386/ (because I’m using Ubuntu Linux). The tar contains the following:

pxelinux.cfg
pxelinux.0
ubuntu-installer (the directory with files in it).

When you look in the ‘ ubuntu-installer’ directory, you’ll see the i386 I mentioned above, as well a Linux kernel, initrd image (in the initrd.gz file). To clarify, the boot loader (netboot.tar.gz) gets placed on the TFPT server in /var/lib/tftpboot (and don’t forget to chown it, I forgot the first time and did have trouble because of it).

To automate the Plug ‘N Play Zone (so that you just need to set the BIOS to boot of PXE and walk away, you should add a configure a preseed file. Preseed is pretty much like Kickstart, where the file can contain the information you would normally be prompted (on screen) during an installation. Things like timezone, language, keyboard, package selection, repositories, etc. would be included in that file. We would call the file “preseed.cfg”. An example of a preseed file is pnpzone-generic.cfg. If any of you wonder why it’s referring to Debian in that sample preseed file, that’s because Ubuntu Linux is Debian based.

One nice feature is that you can locate the preseed file anywhere you want. For example, you can control your Linux Plug ‘N Play Zone, but allow authorized personnel to edit the preseed file to fit the needs of the batch of units receiving the Linux installation; then they simply ftp the revise file to the web server and it gets used. Easy customization! :)

Here’s the rub…

In order for the installation (PXELinux et al) to be able to get the preseed file (in my case plugnplayzone.int), we need to tell it where that file is; at which point it will download the file for use. Here’s how we do that:

(Using the command line), go back to /var/lib/tftpboot and look for ‘/pxelinux.cfg/default’ to edit it, something like this:

sudo nano /var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/default

Find this:

LABEL server
kernel ubuntu-installer/i386/linux
append base-installer/kernel/linux/extra-packages-2.6= tasks=standard pkgsel/language-pack-patterns= pkgsel/install-language-support=false vga=normal initrd=ubuntu-installer/i386/initrd.gz --

Change to this:

LABEL server
kernel ubuntu-installer/i386/linux
append locale=en_US console-setup/layoutcode=en_US netcfg/wireless_wep= netcfg/choose_interface=eth0 netcfg/get_hostname= url=http://plugnplayzone.int/preseed.cfg vga=normal initrd=ubuntu-installer/i386/initrd.gz --

In the above example, you can see I actually forced the US keyboard layout, etc. But you can leave all your preferences in the preseed or override them in the ‘default’ for pxelinux.cfg. Also, ‘plugnplayzone.int’ is just the domain created on a web server, yours will be different.

Hopefully this helps to further round-out the original post and gives some of the less experienced a little more insight.

Above all…
Have fun!
:)