For Linux fans, Puppy 5.20 is out. Best yet, I think. Free, small (127 mb), fast. Puppy Link
Has a ton of features ... will play IMDB videos in Opera browser ... couple of open source office suites can be installed. Can save files to an external usb device.
Will run perfectly off a mini DVD, I have it on a 4 gb usb stick, set to only save changes when I tell it to.
This post by a very knowledgeable member of their forum tells how to do that. Just kidding, of course. I know less about Linux than I do about windows, if thats possible. But that little trick worked.
I think puppy is a really cool idea, and I liked it the few times I tried it.
The problem I have is that it doesn't really feel(to me anyway) like a robust OS experience like I would get out of windows(or even another linux distro like ubuntu or fedora).
I think its a really neat but I couldn't imagine trying to use it as my daily OS.
Maybe its the really low feature desktop their using, maybe if they went for gnome or something it would feel more like a full feature OS.
Puppy is a great little thing for anyone who has never used Linux before and is too scared to try it.
The fact is you only have to download the iso, burn it to disc and then pop it in your machine and reboot.
This allows you to try out Linux without worrying, as when you've had a try you just shut your machine down. Another cool thing is because it can run in memory (until you reboot) you can take out the cd once Puppy is running and it will still work.
I haven't reached the dizzy heights of Login123 but will admit to trying out loads of different linux iso's.
I think puppy is a really cool idea, and I liked it the few times I tried it.
The problem I have is that it doesn't really feel(to me anyway) like a robust OS experience like I would get out of windows(or even another linux distro like ubuntu or fedora).
I think its a really neat but I couldn't imagine trying to use it as my daily OS.
Maybe its the really low feature desktop their using, maybe if they went for gnome or something it would feel more like a full feature OS.
No, it doesn't feel like a "real" OS to me either. It does know some tricks though. Old dog, new tricks...never mind... What I have always looked for is an OS which won't "change" unless I want it to. Puppy seems a step in the right direction.
I have a question about that security issue. When I have Puppy running in memory, and connect to the internet, is it possible for evil-doers to get to my "real" C: drive or other hardware? Is it easy for them? Never have been quite comfortable about that. I remember a long ago post by you, rridgely, about a Mint machine and a public wifi access and exposed files.
This allows you to try out Linux without worrying, ...
I haven't reached the dizzy heights of Login123 but will admit to trying out loads of different linux iso's.
Yes, it is lonely at the top ...
If you hadn't spoken well of it I would never have tried it. And when that black screen with all those dots showed at startup, I kept saying "Hazelnut said this will work...Hazelnut said this will work...And it did.
And since there is very little time and money at risk, one can experiment a bit.
I've wanted to set my grandma up with a linux distro for ages, it'd run faster on her 1gb of ram than Vista does, and all she needs is an internet client and an email client..
I've wanted to set my grandma up with a linux distro for ages, it'd run faster on her 1gb of ram than Vista does, and all she needs is an internet client and an email client..
This reviewer says a lot about it HERE. Don't know how much is fluff.
Edit: for the price of a usb stick you have an operating system. With your skills you can fix it up for her if anything does go wrong. I set up the firewall as suggested by Hazel, and it gets a report as good as Outpost.
For speed alone it completely smokes Windows! However I just can't get used to it, that and like all linux distros I have no audio.
Well, thats a pain. :-( There are some options in that setup menu, but I don't know anything about them. Might be necessary if you have an extra sound card?
Also, did you notice that it has GParted? As dangerous for me as a machine gun in a museum, but a great app.
I should mention here that I tried editing the shut down code as recommended on the Puppy forum and it gummed up the usb installation completely. Looks like maybe it was a mistake on my part.
Try running the ALSA Sound Wizard to setup your sound card, if that doesn't work then buy a USB audio device like this one from Amazon based on the CM108 chipset.
If anyone decides to try to lock Puppy down, may I humbly suggest that you don't go beyond the 3 line edits mentioned in that first post linked above, and then set the save session interval to zero. None of the other stuff I have tried has worked...does seem to work for others, but not for me.