For those that follow Zenwalk linux, you know the Zenwalk team members decided to go in different directions a few months back. The result is a new distribution named Salix OS, available in 32 and 64 bit torrent and iso files. Added 12/30/09: This review is of Salix64 13.0.2a
I chose Salix OS 64 bit XFCE torrent to download and install. I had trouble with Transmission on my Mac which gave me a ‘password’ error for the torrent file, so I opted for an iso file from SourceForge which downloaded quickly.
I set up my hard drive partitions using System Rescue CD with a /root, /home and /swap partition before installing Salix OS 64 iso. I may have cheated, or bypassed a possible install problem, but I doubt it. Installing any Linux distribution is not a complicated process, and almost anyone who has installed any OS should have an easy time with the Salix OS install.
Salix OS install is interesting because the opening screen give you three choices for install. The first choice is a ‘Full’ install which loads everything that is included in the iso. The second choice is a ‘Basic’ install, installs only the XFCE desktop, Firefox web browser, and Gslapt package manager. Third choice is the ‘Core’ which installs only the essentials for a console system to start.
I chose the ‘Full’ install which installs a complete operating system using one program for each application. The install was fast. The Salix OS home page states it takes “less than five minutes” for the full install on any modern pc. Installing Salix OS on my laptop was a fast install, but honestly I did not feel a urge to time it.
The only ‘issue’ I had was choosing to have ‘Numlock’ to be activated during bootup. Not a good choice for a laptop keyboard. It took logging in couple of times and getting kicked out before I realized what I did.
One dislike I have of Salix OS is using Lilo for the boot loader. Grub is in transition to Grub 2, so Lilo is the best boot manager choice at the moment. Grub 2 is available in the repositories if you wish to use it.
One treat I found was during the Salix OS install is I was given the option of creating a usb stick boot loader which when used at boot up brings you to the login screen bypassing the normal Lilo boot screen.
 Salix OS uses XFCE desktop which I am partial to. XFCE is simple to navigate, allowing one click access to the menu system. XFCE desktop for Salix OS is more complete and polished than Debian’s XFCE desktop. Whether this is important or not is for you to decide. Kde desktop is also available.
Multimedia functions I mainly use are flash, mp3 rip and playback, and youtube videos. While I completed updating to the most recent packages, I installed Lame so I am able to convert .wav files into .mp3 files.
Gslapt package manager is different, but that does not mean it is bad. Salix OS is a child of Slackware – which I have not tried. Salix OS claims there are as many or more tested and immediately usable packages in the Salix OS and Slackware repositories than are available for Slackware itself. As far as total number of packages available, there should be enough choices for most users.
If you are a newer Linux user the installed apps should meet most if not all of your your needs. Repositories available via Gslapt have more than enough programs to generally meet your needs. If you still are not satisfied, you probably can roll your own programs directly from the source.
Salix OS appears to be every bit as solid, dependable, and fresh as one would generally want in a Linux distribution. Salix OS is backwards compatible with Slackware but more user friendly with some tuning already done for the user. The repository contains all programs which I need or want, though your requirements may be different.
I am really undecided about Salix OS. Due to it’s lineage, it is a well put together distribution. Salix OS competes on its own with Debian and uses newer package versions. Differences between Salix OS and Zenwalk are not obvious to me, although it is what is under the hood that is different and not necessarily what I see as a user.
In wrapping up, Salix OS is not a flashy distribution like some, at least in my opinion. Salix OS is solid. Each installed applications does the job it was picked for very well. If you want more bling, you will have to install it yourself. If you are looking to move away from Ubuntu or Ubuntu’s children, or another ‘beginner type’ distribution you will find Salix OS a system that is rock solid and dependable.
I have Debian as my primary Linux, but I find myself booting into Salix OS and playing around because exploring and changing settings in Salix OS is a simple matter. If you decide to give Salix OS a try, I do not think you will be overwhelmed, frustrated, or disappointed. I think you will decide you have made a good choice.
I decided it was time to play around with newly released Linux distros the other night night. I know it is not the greatest decision as far as computers go, to play with the operating system when it is late. Getting to bed at four in the morning reinforced that thought.
It started out simply enough, I thought I would check out the new Linux listings at Distrowatch
and see what distributions are popular. There has not been a lot of movement in ratings of different distributions but there were some new releases. I broke out some blank cd’s and off I went.
I started out innocently enough thinking about a recent conversation I had at a local netboook show and tell. One of the people there also uses Linux and we talked about our choices. One distro we both had used in the past was PCLinuxOS and we both agreed PCLinuxOS is a solid distribution. I had moved on to Minime which became obsolete, and he has moved on to Tinyme for his netbook which he runs off a xd card and does not use his hard drive.
He mentioned a recent release of Minime was out. That was my starting point. I found the updated Minme torrent download, downloaded the iso and copied it to cd. Minime said it could not run as a live cd. Oh well, that was fun, not.
Mepis released a new beta iso, and I thought it may run well on my netbook. I downloaded the iso, copied it and started it up. It ran fine as a live cd, so I installed Mepis to my hard drive. mepis installed quickly, and ran okay except it would not shutdown properly. That should have been a hint to stop for the night.
I thought, well maybe Debian would now work with my netbook wireless. Repeat, to install. Debian made it to the wireless configuration but does not support my wireless card. In the past Debian made no changes to my hard drive, but this time that was not the case. Grub was gone and Windows was in jeopardy.
This is where the fun began as midnight came and went. As Zenwalk worked before, except for my wireless card, the new beta may have caught up. Repeat download install sequence. Being a beta, or more likely my Debian almost install and abort, Zenwalk loaded and ran, but Windows was still missing.
 One o’clock in the morning was now in the past. I got on the net and looked for an easy was to fix the MBR so Windows could load. That was a wasted forty minutes except I read a method to use Ubuntu to rewrite the Windows loader. Three o’clock in the morning was now history. I had downloaded Ubuntu and repeated the install.
Ubuntu not only loaded painlessly, it found Windows and added it to Grub! The world or at least my netbook was safe once again. It was now almost 3:45 am. The Ubuntu file update notification showed up and I decided I may as well spend a few minutes updating Ubuntu. Wrong thought, thinking it would be a few minutes. The update was quick and painless, but not fast.
Mepis works on my Asus netbook. Debian’s install, and also tells so you before you start. Ubuntu saved the day for me. It may be Ubuntu loads and runs faster than previous releases. Ubuntu is well polished and stable.
In wrapping up, do not seriously think about toying with your computer’s operating system when it is late, or you are tired. Linux Beta’s are not really ready for prime time, or at least dual booting. They make it clear in their release announcement, and they mean it. Staying up later to fix earlier mistakes is not really a good solution.
Linux is a great OS, and the problems were all my doing. Towards the end, I thought perhaps I should download a server version which is pretty stripped down, and add programs I want. After seeing four in the morning, I decided enough was enough for one night.
 Dreamlinux is installed on my Asus eeepc netbook this week. Dream Linux is a distribution coming out of Brazil. Dreamlinux is based on Debian Linux which is one of the largest distributions in the world, so compatibility and software repositories is never an issue.
I started out with a Debian net install which went well and everything installed as it was supposed to. Using Debian it was time to start the tinkering. A few years back, no matter what Linux distribution installed, it took some tinkering. The amount of tinkering Debian needed just to get it to the point of being similar to Dreamlinux, made it a no brainer to download Dreamlinux and install it.
I have mentioned before, there are a number of Linux distributions anyone can request, or if you know how to burn an iso, download and burn to cd. These distributions are what is called a ‘live cd’ which means you can boot from the cd. When you boot from the cd, the version of Linux you are trying out loads and runs, and makes no changes to your computer or Windows.
The advantage of live cd’s in my opinion is they are a free try before you buy plan. If you like the cd you are trying out, it is a simple matter to install it to your hard drive. If you do not like the Linux distro you are trying out, you are out a few dollars from the cd request, or the cost of a cd that you burned yourself.
The biggest advantage to using Linux is the amount of software available once you have a distribution installed on your computer. No matter what your interest, or desire, you can bet a programmer somewhere has made a program that meets your needs. I use cd cataloging software, photo cataloging and photo manipulation software. There is even a Photoshop clone, and an Office clone. Most Linux programs are free or donation ware. So if you find you are using a program and a Linux distribution, you are encouraged to send them a few dollars so they can eat dinner the next day.
As for hardware requirements, if it runs windows, it will run at least ten versions of Linux without having to make any changes. Even if you have an old box sitting in the closet, there is a Linux distribution that will bring it back to life, possibly running faster that it did when you retired it.
I went to the Asus eeepc website and see Asus has released a newer lighter laptop. The specs say it has a 10.2 inch display and weighs about 2.5 pounds. Looks like a hit to me, well if I was looking to upgrade my Asus 1000 hd.
Netbooks and Linux were made for each other. If you run windows and are tired of viruses, defragging and general maintenance tinkering, check out a Linux live cd. You may find Linux and you were made for each other. If you are looking for a laptop, check out netbooks. They are not desktop replacements of course, but how often do you need the cd rom, or the horsepower your desktop has?
On my Toshiba Satellite 305 laptop I have Microsoft Vista. While Microsoft prefers I think their OS is complete, Microsoft does not think it is until I spend even more money on virus protection. I also would add other programs that I think Vista needs to make it complete. I do not run a virus protection program on Vista and when I boot into Vista, Vista of course makes it known there is a problem with my system.
There is no problem that I am aware of. If I do not have virus protection installed that is not a problem, to me that is an OS that has a deficiency. As I have nothing on my Vista partition except a few games, I am not really concerned about any virus, although Microsoft is.
Which brings me back to Linux. Linux for reasons covered in detail other places is a solid generally virus free OS. For many older computers any distribution or flavor of Linux will work as well as any other. The differences between Linux distributions are small and very individual. Package management, looks, and available programs are the main reasons that make individual preferences the reason for using one Linux distribution over another.
Normally, those are the reasons why one person runs one Linux distribution on their computer and someone else runs another distribution. In the case of new computers, both laptops and desktops, the Linux distribution that handles the newest hardware is generally the Linux distribution people use. I have found this to be true in my particular case, so I am sure it is true for most people who can install Linux, but do not have an in depth understanding of what goes on under the hood so to speak.
I confess, I am something of a Linux distribution junky. If there is a new Linux distribution, I want to try it. I may like it a tiny bit better than the distribution I am using at the moment. My laptop though has thrown a wrench into the works and has caused me to slow down on the amount of Iso’s I burn.
The problem is hardware based. In a year or so when the hardware that Toshiba decided to place in my flavor of the the 305 becomes standard, or at least more prevalent and understood as to how it functions, the world of Linux distributions will open up. In the mean time I have tried the following mostly because I have used them in the past on an older desktop and enjoyed them. I tried to use:
Ubuntu – Loaded and works fine, it is the Linux flavor I am currently using.
Debian – Could not configure my card. The newest live cd never made it past the splash screen.
DreamLinux – Installs and works fine except for shutting down completely. Dies when trying to
accomplish system update.
Fedora – Did not run as a live cd.
Mint – Did not run as a live cd.
Mepis – Did not run as a live cd.
Pardux – Did not run as a live cd.
PCLinuxOS – Did not run as a live cd.
Vector – Ran as a live cd, but could not configure my network card.
Zenwalk – Did not run as a live cd.
Mepis and PCLinuxOS were over a year old when I downloaded them so I expected problems with the hardware configurations.
The Linux distros that would not load all appeared to use the same loader, and the loader seems to have a conflict with the laptop hardware. Debian which was one of my main Linux choices in the past, seems not to have caught up on the hardware end yet, no surprise there.
For now, I am enjoying Ubuntu and have had absolutely no problems that I know of. Generally though I like to change my flavors of Linux frequently, but I am unable to do so now. Ubuntu works well, and does everything I need it to do. I keep watching Distrowatch for updated and new Linux distributions that I wish to try out.
|
Salix OS uses XFCE desktop which I am partial to. XFCE is simple to navigate, allowing one click access to the menu system. XFCE desktop for Salix OS is more complete and polished than Debian’s XFCE desktop. Whether this is important or not is for you to decide. Kde desktop is also available.