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Knoppix 3.4 Has Landed

The Knoppix live CD has justly earned a reputation of staging a mini-revolution in our Linux world. By delivering an instant and portable Linux operating system that anybody could use without having to go through a sharp learning curve, the Knoppix developers have not only provided a superb rescue tool for Linux power users, they have also created the best possible advocacy tool to entice computer users not yet familiar with Linux. And although more than a hundred Knoppix clones have sprouted all over the Internet in the last year alone, none of them has surpassed the popularity of the original king of the Linux live CDs. The much awaited Knoppix 3.4 was released last week, inclusive of all the latest software packages, and for the first time, kernel 2.6.

What's new in Knoppix 3.4? The lion's share of the development work is done by Klaus Knopper (the founder of Knoppix), Christian Perle and Fabian Franz, and much of their effort goes into one of the following four areas: software updates, hardware auto-detection, the "cloop" compressed files system, and the "knoppix-installer".

• Software package updates. Although Knoppix releases are essentially snapshots of the Debian Sid (unstable) branch at the time of the release, it is still a pleasure to see so much up-to-date software on the CD. As an example, the latest release of Knoppix comes with some of the best desktop applications, including OpenOffice.org 1.1.1, GIMP 2.0.1, Gaim 0.77, xine-lib 1-rc4 and XMMS 1.2.10, all of which are the latest available versions at the time of writing. As for server-specific packages, their versions are just slightly behind, in line with Debian's policy of using only well-tested packages for important tasks. There is a choice of two kernels now, the default kernel remains at 2.4.26, but unless you have a problem with a particular piece of hardware, there is no reason not to boot into the shiny new 2.6.5 (by specifying "kernel26" at boot prompt). The default desktop is KDE (version 3.2.2). Back in the days of Knoppix 3.1, it was possible to fit both of the two most popular desktop environments onto the CD, but with the rapid growth of KDE and GNOME, plus the inclusion of two kernels, the choice of desktops is now limited to KDE, and a handful of low-resource ones, such as Fluxbox, IceWM, WindowMaker, and XFce (version 3.8.18). Unfortunately, some applications that were present in Knoppix 3.3 had to go; the most noticeable victims of the "downsizing" process were KOffice and TeTeX.

• Hardware autodetection. The hardware autodetection modules were the main reason of the instant popularity of Knoppix and it is nice to see the scripts are being continuously updated to include some of the latest devices from hardware manufacturers. While the Knoppix changelog tends to be dry and skimpy on details about support for newly added hardware, you can rest assured that this is one aspect of Knoppix that won't get neglected. In those cases where a particular piece of hardware is not detected correctly, it is best to get in touch with the developers on the debian-knoppix mailing list and provide information about the specific hardware - in most cases it will be added to the hardware database rather quickly.

• Cloop compressed file system. Cloop is a kernel module that ads support for a compressed, read-only block device. Thanks to cloop, the Knoppix CD normally holds almost 3 times as much software as is the physical capacity of the CD. This fact not only enables the developers to place more software on the disk, the compression also speeds up data transfer between the CD-reading device and RAM. Cloop was originally developed by the LNX-BBC project, but has now become an integral part of the development of Knoppix. And despite the existence of other compressed file systems (e.g. SquashFS, CramFS, JFFS2...), cloop has become a de facto standard among many Linux developers thanks to the popularity of Knoppix and Knoppix-based live CDs.

• Hard disk installer. Although the experimental hard disk installer is not officially endorsed by the Knoppix project (after all, the primary purpose of Knoppix is to serve as a bootable live CD), many users find it hard to resist the desire to give Knoppix a permanent home on their hard disks. The curses-based menu-driven installer has undergone substantial changes since the early days and, unless one chooses the expert route, installing Knoppix on the hard disk is a very simple and straightforward procedure. The installation is largely automated; the installer even sets up lilo with the choice of either of the two available kernels, as well as Windows, if present on the hard disk. Bear in mind, though, that once you boot Knoppix from a partition on a hard disk, it effectively becomes Debian Sid, so any future requests for help should be directed to Debian mailing lists, rather than to Knoppix forums.

Knoppix 3.4 comes with several new features. One of them is a newly-added support for writing to NTFS partitions made possible with the help of the Microsoft Captive NTFS driver. Also new in this release is the "Knoppix-Live Installer", a set of scripts capable of downloading extra packages from the Internet and "installing" them into RAM (or the swap partition) so that they can be used as if the applications were present on the Knoppix CD. The current list of available software includes the NVIDIA driver, Macromedia Flash plugin, Microsoft True Type fonts, F-Prot virus scanner, Quanta Plus, Tuxracer, and a handful of other applications.

Knoppix 3.4 continues in the tradition of excellence by providing many of the latest open source packages on the Knoppix CD, by continuously adding new hardware to its extensive hardware database, and by developing interesting new features. As the undisputed leader among Linux live CDs, Knoppix is an indispensable rescue disk, a demonstration tool, and a quick Debian installer all-in-one. An already remarkable product has just gotten better.

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Distribution News

Astaro Security Linux

Astaro Corp. has announced the availability of Version 5 of its Astaro Security Linux, which now includes Intrusion Protection and added Virus Protection for HTTP and FTP. Click below for more information.

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SUSE LINUX 9.1 is available

SuSE has announced the general availability of SUSE LINUX 9.1. Click below for details.

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Debian GNU/Linux

The Debian Weekly News for May 11, 2004 covers the New York version of PacMan (PacManhattan), EU patents, Debian OASIS membership, documentation, the Debian-Installer release process, a draft proposal for modification of the Debian Free Software Guidelines, Debian trademarks, Debian Day at LinuxTag, and several other topics.

The upcoming stable Debian release (sarge) will feature fully integrated XML support. Multiple toolchains for XSL(T) processing, a fully standards-compliant XML catalog system, and a Debian XML policy document for both Debian developers and users provide the backbone of a complete, out-of-the-box system for XML developers and authors.

Here's some information about the DebConf key signing party.

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Fedora News Updates

Fedora News Updates #11 is available; it features a message from project leader Cristian Gafton, notes on the Fedora Core 2 Test 3 release, an update on Fedora Legacy, and more.

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Gentoo Weekly Newsletter

The May 10 Gentoo Weekly Newsletter is out; this issue looks at the status of the Gentoo Documentation Project, proposed changes in how kernels are handled in Portage, and various other topics.

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Xandros Desktop OS

Xandros has announced that the Xandros Desktop OS serves as the core framework for the new line of ION laptops from Element Computer. Element customized the Xandros Desktop OS with their ION Parchment icon theme, the new Mozilla Firefox browser, and "Unbreakable Upgrade" support. Click below for press release.

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DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 48

The DistroWatch Weekly for May 10, 2004 looks at source based distributions and other topics.

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Mandrakelinux

Mandrakelinux updates:

• A number of bugs have been fixed in evolution for ML 9.2.
• A kdepim update fixes an endless loop in kaddressbook for ML 10.0.

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Slackware Linux

This week the slackware-current changelog shows upgrades to lots of GNOME packages, with a few old ones removed; KOffice has been upgraded; Linux kernel 2.6.6 is in testing; and there are bug fixes and upgrades to several other packages.

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Trustix Secure Linux

Trustix has fixed a bug in rsync 2.6.1 dealing with the sorting of the filenames.

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New Distributions

OpenLab GNU/Linux

OpenLab GNU/Linux is a product of South Africa's DireqLearn, an organization that seeks to make a significant positive impact on education in Africa. It is a thin client-enabled Linux distribution based on Slackware Linux, and is designed with an educational focus. It features unique desktop themes for maximum user friendliness without sacrificing compatibility, integrated thin client support that requires no complex setup, the 2.6 series kernel for maximum desktop performance, many DireqLearn enhancements, a unique system administration interface, KDE, and Dropline GNOME. OpenLab joins the list at version 3.0.5, released May 11, 2004. (Thanks to Joe Klemmer)

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Minor distribution updates

KnoppiXMAME

KnoppiXMAME has released v1.3 beta 19 with major bugfixes. "Changes: This is a preview of what 1.3 will be like, minus the features of NTFS write access and arcade monitor support. VIA AC97 sound is fixed, and the NVidia binary driver is now supplied."

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Lineox Enterprise Linux Desktop

Lineox has released v3.0 of the Lineox Enterprise Linux Desktop. Click below for more information.

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Onebase Linux

Onebase Linux has released 2004-r3. "This release features a number of package updates including improved kernel driver support and hardware detection. The installer itself has been given more polish and some issues were resolved. The most noted item of this release is OLM version 2.2.1, which comes with a significant amount of improvements."

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PLD Live CD

PLD Live CD has released v0.95 with major bugfixes. "Changes: [0.94] is mainly a bugfix release, in which some packages and a few script mistakes were fixed. New features include new packages (KDE 3.2.2, GNOME 2.6.1, and many more) and improved autodetection (more PCI IDs for network, IDE, and SCSI controllers and better PCMCIA controller detection). Some unusual screen resolutions for laptops are now supported. [In 0.95] The kernel has been upgraded to 2.6.6. It works on nforce2 and i865 chips now."

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ThinStation

ThinStation has released v2.0 with major feature enhancements. "Changes: The Dillo and Mozilla Firefox Web browsers were added to the contribs section. The Samba options were improved, and a USB keyring can be mounted as a Samba share. VT220 and TN5250 terminal emulators were added. rdesktop was upgraded to version 1.3.1, which features 24-bit color and sound. XFree86 was upgraded to 4.3.99.rc2. A bootable CD that works everywhere (like Knoppix) can be created. Lots of new keymaps were added. A boot splash screen with a progress bar was added. A Web Management package was added. Most software was updated to the latest versions."

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XoL - Diskless X office Linux

XoL has released v18.00 with major feature enhancements. "Changes: This version features a full desktop and OpenOffice environment in both English and German. The unique USB-TO-GO feature offers you the freedom to continue your work on any other system using XoL and a USB storage device. KDE and GNOME are included. The entire distribution fits on one standard 700MB CD. Multimedia software includes voice and video-over-IP applications, DVD-players, MP3 players, and many more. XoL can also be installed onto a hard disk."

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Distribution reviews

SuSE Linux 9.1 Personal Edition Review (JemReport)

The Jem Report reviews SuSE Linux 9.1 Personal Edition. "Personal Edition includes all of the basics: CD playing, ripping and writing software and other multimedia tools; office software in the form of the much-acclaimed OpenOffice.org suite; the KDE desktop environment; photo and graphics editing software; and the Konqueror web browser with built-in plugins for Macromedia Flash and the Sun Java Runtime Environment. In other words, you have everything you need for a standard home computer."

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Review: The Sun Java Desktop System (UnixReview.com)

Unix Review looks at the Sun Java Desktop System. "I've had JDS installed for more than two months, and I've used it off and on since then. Overall, it's a solid distribution but I can't say I was "wowed" by it. I had seen screenshots of Sun's JDS prior to actually installing it, and I was pleasantly surprised when I sat down and started using it. The screenshots I had seen certainly didn't do it justice."

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