Live linux distros

The modern PC is a marvel of technology. One of its more useful capabilities is the ability to use the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive as a boot disk. Many Linux distros use this feature to launch their installers, but if you can boot off the CD, why can't you run off the CD? In fact, you can. The cool thing about all this is that you don't have to install anything on your computer.

In our other articles this week, we've looked at distros that had to be installed to your hard disk before you could use them. But that's not always necessary--there are Linux versions out there that let you just pop a live CD in, boot your computer, and go. They give you a chance to use Linux without the headache of installing everything. If you're totally unfamiliar with Linux, these offerings are a great way to get a taste of Linux and use some Linux-based applications. If you decide you don't like Linux, just take the CD out, reboot your machine and you'll be back in Windows once more.

Some of these versions aren't for everybody, so read carefully before deciding to play with one. All you'll need to try them out are some recordable CDs, an Internet connection, and a CD burner. You won't even need you credit card--every one of these distributions is free for the downloading.

Note: These are not full-blown reviews. Rather, they are geared toward giving you a sample of what you can expect from each distro, particularly if you are a Linux newcomer who just wants to see what they're like.

When using these distros, bear in mind they aren't running off your hard disk. So, sometimes it might take a bit longer to load an application off the CD than it would if you had actually installed the OS. If you decide to take the plunge with Linux using a distro like SuSE, Xandros, or Ark, you'll probably find that a hard drive-based Linux and assorted applications will load a lot faster.

You can install some of these onto your computer directly, rather than running them off the CD, but we're primarily interested in what kind of experience they provide by just booting off the disc. If you want to try installing them directly, be sure to check each site for specific instructions.

One last note: You should make sure your system is set to boot of the CD drive. This is a setting in your system BIOS setup, which you can access during the boot process. Most systems default to booting from either the floppy disk drive or the hard drive. You'll need to make sure the CD drive is the first boot drive listed in your BIOS setup. These settings are handled slightly differently from one system to the next, so consult your system or motherboard manual for specifics.

Knoppix is the granddaddy of live Linux offerings. It has spawned a number of offspring, some of which we cover below. A great way to experience Linux for the first time, Knoppix comes with plenty of applications and requires nothing more on your part than putting the CD into your drive, booting your computer and hitting "Enter" at the command prompt.

Booting

We loaded Knoppix on our little Microtel test box (800MHz, 256MB of RAM) and it worked very well for us. It took just a couple of minutes for Knoppix to boot into a slick KDE desktop. If you're totally new to Linux, KDE will remind you somewhat of Windows, and it's very easy to use once you've had a chance to explore it for a little while.

KDE Desktop & Applications

Knoppix comes with a lot of software. Here's a sample of what you'll find:

KDE 3.1.4 OpenOffice.org KOffice GAIM KMail Wine Mozilla Konqueror Games XMMS Xine

There's quite a bit more, which is quite amazing considering it's bundled onto one CD. Most everything you need to get a reasonably good taste of the Linux desktop is here, ready to go when you boot to the KDE desktop.

We don't have much in the way of criticisms of Knoppix. It did what this kind of distro is supposed to and it did it well. We didn't bump into any problems the way we did with Gnoppix (see below). It was stable and ran well, even on our relatively slow test box.

We recommend Knoppix for those totally new to Linux. It's an easy way to get their toes wet without installing or configuring anything.

Product: Knoppix

Web site: www.knoppix.com Pros: Slick KDE desktop; lots of applications. Cons: None really. It worked well for what we wanted to do with it. Summary: This distro is a great way for the curious to check out Linux without installing it on their current systems. It gives newbies a taste of some of what Linux has to offer. Price: Free Score:

Another offshoot of Knoppix, Feather Linux redefines minimalist distros by weighing in at a petite 70MB. Yup, you read that right--only 70MB. When you boot into Feather Linux, you get to choose a few options such as your mouse and preferred screen resolution. You are then dropped at the command prompt.

If you want to work via a GUI, you'll need to type startx at the command prompt. From there, you'll see the Feather Linux desktop. If you are comfortable with the Windows desktop, KDE, or Gnome, you might be a bit freaked out at how truly minimalist the Feather Linux desktop is. There are just a few apps and not much else. It helps if you've already used some of the lightweight window managers that are available in Linux as alternatives to Gnome and KDE.

We don't recommend Feather Linux for complete Linux amateurs. It's not really geared toward that audience and doesn't offer much in the way of hand-holding. It also doesn't really give you an idea of what to expect from a full-fledged Linux install. For one thing, there aren't that many apps. You don't get to use Gnome or KDE, as you would with Gnoppix or Knoppix, so it's best that newbies probably try one of the other offerings.

If, however, you are a developer or other experienced user and you want a svelte distro you can quickly fire up, Feather Linux hits the mark. For its tiny weight, it packs a pretty good punch for those who know what they want to do with it. It's a good alternative to some of the chunkier Linux live offerings.

Product: Feather Linux

Web site: featherlinux.berlios.de/

Pros: Extremely light (weighs in at 70MB)

Cons: Not many applications; minimalist desktop environment

Summary: This is a good offering for experienced Linux users who know exactly what they need, but not so great for newbies.

Price: Free

Score:

Gnoppix is based on Knoppix. The big difference is that it's a Gnome-only environment. You won't find KDE on this CD. We were very excited when we downloaded Gnoppix-- we loved the idea of just popping a CD into our PC and booting right into Gnome. Unfortunately, we ran into a few problems.

Booting

Gnoppix comes with a full-blown Gnome 2.4 environment. When you put the CD in, Gnoppix starts to load automatically. After you pick the language you want to work in, you'll be taken directly to your Gnome desktop. Boot time was reasonable, even on our slower test machine, though it does take a while for apps to load and the rest of the desktop to appear (more on that later).

The Gnome desktop is ready for you to start to work on it immediately. Just click the Applications menu at the top of your desktop and you'll find a well-organized selection of menus. Here's a sampling of Gnoppix's wide range of applications:

OpenOffice.org Mozilla GAIM Evolution Bluefish XMMS Xine GIMP gFTP

Pretty much everything you need to do the usual computing tasks is there and ready to go when your Gnome desktop loads. It's a solid selection of software.

Problems with Gnoppix

We couldn't get Gnoppix to connect to the Internet. It found our router and we could connect to our Windows box via Samba after logging in, but we weren't able to access the Web. We tried changing the network settings but nothing worked. This was quite disappointing, since we had been really looking forward to using Gnoppix.

Additionally, Gnoppix sometimes takes a while to load apps, even on our fast box with 700MB of RAM and a 2GHz Athlon XP. At times, things just stopped working altogether and nothing would load at all. Given that Gnoppix is still in beta, we're going to be kind and not harp on this point, but we sure do hope it gets a lot better than this.

Right now, we wouldn't bother with Gnoppix unless we needed a quick way to show somebody Gnome who had never seen it before (with the caveat that Gnoppix performance isn't indicative of what Gnome is like in other distros that get installed to your hard disk). We need to be able to use the Internet and we need to have apps load reliably and reasonably fast, particularly given that we had it on a fairly fast box during our test.