EmailDiscussions.com - View Single Post

hadaso · 23 Jan 2005, 07:42 AM

Mentioning a Linux distribution is stretching the meaning of "freeware" a bit. I just tried Knoppix this week, and it was amazing. In just a few minutes (2 or 3) I had a full OS running, with tons of applications, games, etc. all ready to use (and an open browser and working connection to the internet).

The reason I thought about mentioning it in this thread, apart from its being doftware and its being free, is that for a Windows user it is not so m,uch harder to use than just any downloaded app. You just put it in the CD-rom, and let the computer boot from the CD-rom drive, and in a few minutes you can, say, play asteroids.

For anyone that doesn't know what Knoppix is: it is a Linux distribution on a bootable CD. You just download the CD image, burn it, set your computer to boot from the CD-ROM drive, put the disk in the CD, and in a few minutes you have a new operating system running, without making any changes to whatever you already have installed on your computer. After you take the CD out and restart your computer, you have your old OS and applications.

On the same PC I have Windows 98 installed. I still have to find a few hours to sit down and run all the instalation CDs for all the hardware, then setup the network and install the applications. At least half a day of work. I also have another Linux distro installed on that machine that for some strange reason refused to recognize the old and quite common ATI graphics card, and so works only in text mode. But then I put in Knoppix, and in less than five minutes It booted, recognized the hardware, installed all the needed drivers without needing to put in a dozen different vendor CDs, and installed hundreds of apps, again without the ritual of having to put in dozens of vendor CDs and run dozens of instalation programs manually. Amazing!

23 Jan 2005, 07:42 AM	#156
hadaso The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Holon, Israel. Posts: 4,863	KNOPPIX Mentioning a Linux distribution is stretching the meaning of "freeware" a bit. I just tried Knoppix this week, and it was amazing. In just a few minutes (2 or 3) I had a full OS running, with tons of applications, games, etc. all ready to use (and an open browser and working connection to the internet). The reason I thought about mentioning it in this thread, apart from its being doftware and its being free, is that for a Windows user it is not so m,uch harder to use than just any downloaded app. You just put it in the CD-rom, and let the computer boot from the CD-rom drive, and in a few minutes you can, say, play asteroids. For anyone that doesn't know what Knoppix is: it is a Linux distribution on a bootable CD. You just download the CD image, burn it, set your computer to boot from the CD-ROM drive, put the disk in the CD, and in a few minutes you have a new operating system running, without making any changes to whatever you already have installed on your computer. After you take the CD out and restart your computer, you have your old OS and applications. On the same PC I have Windows 98 installed. I still have to find a few hours to sit down and run all the instalation CDs for all the hardware, then setup the network and install the applications. At least half a day of work. I also have another Linux distro installed on that machine that for some strange reason refused to recognize the old and quite common ATI graphics card, and so works only in text mode. But then I put in Knoppix, and in less than five minutes It booted, recognized the hardware, installed all the needed drivers without needing to put in a dozen different vendor CDs, and installed hundreds of apps, again without the ritual of having to put in dozens of vendor CDs and run dozens of instalation programs manually. Amazing!