Much of the company and community work that goes into Fedora will find its way into Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the commercial Linux version used by governments and businesses around the world. You might compare the relationship between Red Hat and Fedora to Novell and openSUSE.

For this reason, Fedora is a well respected and highly popular distribution, even if their development may skew towards the enterprise. Thus Fedora might be considered geared for the more experienced and power user. While many aspects of this American-based operating system are quite user-friendly, other areas might require some prior Linux knowledge to fully appreciate.

One area in which Fedora excels is the implementation of the latest technology in Linux and Open Source software. In fact, many characterize Fedora as cutting-edge. This policy sometimes yields unexpected or undesired results, but the many users who prefer to live on the edge receive a new version once or sometimes twice within a calendar year, although several recent releases have slipped passed their scheduled release date due to issues in the system. While some become impatient waiting for releases, Fedora is one of the few major distributions to delay releases if some major bug is found, which speaks to their level of commitment to excellence as opposed to marketing.

Despite all efforts, all software projects end up releasing with some bugs and Fedora is not immune. The latest bruhaha came with Fedora 12 and its released ability to install new software without giving the root (system administrator) password. First filed as a bug and later a publicized as a feature, whatever the true intention, this has been patched for those who update to now required the root password to install new software. While skipping the root password for new software installation is a feature in several desktop distributions, Fedora, like its openSUSE counterpart, is used by many small and home business owners for its relationship to the parent-company’s commercial product yet with a low or no cost implementation. Thus any security lax is undesirable.

Version 12

In addition to Fedora’s commercial uses, it remains a favorite of many desktop users. The latest hardware support and software innovations go into Fedora making it one the most desirable distributions for those who regularly update their hardware or crave the latest in software goodies.

For example, this release of Fedora uses one of the newest versions of Xorg X Server, which provides the graphical platform for window environments. This brings lots of useful and fun goodies. One of these is the ability to use multiple pointing devices, such as two mice or a mouse and a tablet, at the same time. This could be convenient for those who switch devices often or in the case where two users might want to work on the same desktop at the same time. Official descriptions sound as though two pointers might appear on screen although tests here showed only one. However, multiple devices did control the single pointer.

Speaking of video cards, in the past, if one’s video card supported it, multiple displays resulted in a cloned desktop (same one desktop used on all monitors) while many others, especially with NVIDIA hardware, had only one working display by default. But now with Xorg X Server 1.7.1 included in Fedora 12 many hardware combinations boot to a Xinerama desktop (one larger desktop scaled across two or more displays). This even includes NVIDIA-based machines thanks to Fedora’s use of the Nouveau video driver. Other X improvements include enhanced DisplayPort support for Intel users while ATI/AMD users can enjoy Kernel Mode Setting out-of-the-box and install 3D support through Fedora’s package management.

More hardware improvements this release include better webcam, tablet, and Bluetooth support. Bluetooth now has plug-n-play on-demand capabilities – enabling upon plug-in and disabling upon extraction. Webcam support has been added for lot of additional models and extra features in the underlying code with emphasis on v4l and v4l2 interoperability. Tablet support has been increased in many popular applications used with tablets such as Inkscape and GIMP. Some improvements include velocity and pressure control and handwriting recognition.

Some additional software improvements include i686-optimized performance, faster software and update installation, and networking software improvements. The i686 optimization allow Fedora to run faster on most hardware. Faster software installation has been improved by using a more aggressive compression ratio and updates have been further quickened by providing just the differences in packages rather than having to download and install entire packages. Networking has been improved to add more profile and hardware options.

Software

YUM is the package management solution found in Fedora. It’s quite powerful at the commandline, but a graphical front-end is included. Software Management is found in the menu and activates PackageKit. At first I was a bit skeptical due to previous experiences with it, but it proved to work admirably in Fedora. The first use of it did seem to stall on updating the databases and after 20 minutes or so, I closed it thinking it broken. However, my second attempt found it functioning normally – installing software, resolving dependencies, and making menu entries. The update function is also handled with PackageKit and I found it to work equally as well.

This release features KDE 4.3.2, GNOME , Linux 2.6.31.5, Xorg X Server 1.7.1, and GCC 4.4.2. It includes the KOffice office suite, Empathy instant messenger, Evolution PIM, Juk music player, and lots of games. Fedora’s repositories contain tons of other popular software as well. For non-OSS and other goodies, perhaps easyLife can be of service. It allows users to install and configure extras such as “sudo,” proprietary graphic drivers, non-free software like Flash, java, and multimedia codecs, and Skype.

Personal Experiences

While Fedora has a large and loyal userbase, I’ve never had much luck with it. Previous versions wouldn’t even install due to errors in detecting my hard drive’s geometry and partitions as configured by other partitioning tools. I never really found Fedora very attractive either and I’ve always felt that their software stack was either lacking or just not in sync with my needs. I admit I’m not a Fedora fan, but I can certainly acknowledge its worth and popularity with others and admire its cutting-edge philosophy.

This particular release didn’t complain about my hard drives and installed into a usable system. The live CD uses Ext4 by default and while many others have written about the performance advantages of Ext4, I’ve found Ext4 to be slow on my hardware. I’ve spoken with a few others experiencing this and we have no idea why other than to speculate it’s due to older hardware.

However, I still had issues with Fedora’s bootloader install. Given the choice where to install its GRUB (boot loader), I chose the first sectors of the root partition (where Fedora was actually installed) so that I could just chainload from my existing bootloader. This was because I already had several Linux installs that Fedora didn’t detect and (ok, I admit it’s mainly) because my current bootloader was quite attractive. However, Fedora messed up and corrupted or otherwise rendered my currently bootloader unusable while not installing its bootloader either. To some new users, this could be catastrophic. However, I seem to be a lone sufferer of this condition as I didn’t see any other reports of it. If one leaves the bootloader configuration at default or chooses to install on the MBR, then it’s likely to work just fine.

My first impression of Fedora was “whoooo.” I thought the login screen was pretty and I was tickled to see the expanded dual-monitor desktop. This feeling remained through login when I saw the actual desktop spanning across both my monitors. I was soon disappointed that the secondary 17 inch display was detected first and auto-configured to be the main screen and that it was rendered in a resolution of only 1024×768. For the first time using my hardware setup, the font sizes were actually rendered differently on each display as well. This was unsettling. I tried to adjust the monitor size in KDE’s System settings, but this confused X and after some overlapping and reverting, it gave up. It then just gave me a cloned setup. I have confidence I could manually adjust this if I wished to use Fedora, but I wonder if new users would just run screaming in the night.

Fedora has some individual configuration tools (like for a firewall or networking), but its far from complete and they offer no control center as found in Mandriva or openSUSE. Most things are auto-configured these days, but there are times when individual customization is needed.

Final Thoughts

Although my experiences with Fedora over the years have been riddled with installation issues, humdrum looks, and a lack of tools and default software, I seem to be in the minority. What works really well for me, my work flow, and my hardware may not work that well for you – and vise versa. This is why a particular distro may receive a bad review from one writer and a glowing review from another. It all boils down to personal experience. I’m reminded of this every time I try to use Fedora.

I know in my heart of hearts that Fedora is a good distro, even if it’s not my cup of tea. It’s backed by Red Hat, it is the first to include the latest in hardware support and new software technologies, and its developers seem more concerned with quality than marketing. It has a large userbase and always receives good reviews. Appearances can be pimped, software can easily be added, and most hardware is auto-configured. The only way to be sure is to try it yourself. It just might be the distro for you.

It created a lot of buzz and quickly became a favorite distribution with its initial release of 10.0 in October of that same year. Controversy followed and the openSUSE Linux distribution saw its popularity fall and rise over the years, but according to poll results it is the second ranking distro with tuxmachines visitors and it usually sits at about second or third at distrowatch.

openSUSE is geared toward new to advancing users all the way to power users, with a unique combination of ease-of-use on the surface and advanced options little further in.

openSUSE Linux Characteristics

openSUSE is a popular distribution of Linux for new users for good reason. Hallmarks of openSUSE are professionalism, polish, and stability. Everything about the openSUSE project is very professional; from the website, to the press releases, to development and information, to bug handling, to releases, and the look and feel of their operating system.

It’s obvious from the start that this isn’t a few guys hammering out an OS from their mama’s basement (not that some good work hasn’t come from independent developers). Professionalism is a side-effect from being sponsored by Novell and having an actual budget to work from. The accomplishments achieved from openSUSE development will likely find their way into Novell’s commercial system, SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

Never underestimate the worth of polish. Fonts that look good out of the box, widgets with equal and symmetrical spacing and placement, nice window decorations and wallpapers at first boot, attractive boot and login splashes, tidy menus, and utilitarian panels all add up to enhance user experience. No one wants to use a GUI that needs a complete redesign the first thing. Most have actual work to do and would like an attractive interface until they have time to find that really great wallpaper or applet.

openSUSE has always been rock solid. Even their developmental releases were stable, much more so than other distribution releases. This is actually the most important element of any operating system. One of the first things to bash Microsoft’s reputation was the rash of operating system crashes and it subsequently became the longest running joke of the Internet and business world. Somehow openSUSE developers found the magic recipe for stability.

Outstanding Features

The best two features of openSUSE are the installer and YaST Control Center. The installer is a graphical wizard that walks the user through an easy installation and contains many advanced options for the power user as well. So many distributions are trying to dumb down their installers to accomodate new and migrating Windows users these days.

While this may be fine for the majority of home users, there is a large class of users that need, for example, Linux Volume Management, RAID setup, static IP addresses, etc. The best thing about it, these advanced options are available and easy to find, but not in your face. openSUSE always finds the perfect blend of ease-of-use and customizable installs.

The YaST Control Center is one of the best in the business, if not the very best. They really only have one rival and YaST offers many extra advanced configuration options. Even the most experienced system administrator can sometimes appreciate the convenience and ease of graphical wizards and configurations. Home users may never even need to access some of these modules, but may wish to configure a TV card, scanner, printer, or camera that possibly wasn’t detected or setup during the install. It’s rare, but it happens.

In addition, from YaST one can back up and restore their system, tweak their bootloader, set up users, manage security features, set up Virtualization, and lots more. Also, the YaST Control Center is the one centralized hub for all things software management. While the actual software installer can be launched straight from the menu, YaST includes media configuration, Online Update wizard, Add-On Products setup, Media Check, and Webpin Package Search (that searches all known openSUSE repositories like the build-service and community contributions).

openSUSE 11.2

These features and characteristics have been the mainstay of openSUSE for the last five years, one could count on it – until 11.2. The last two years in Linux have seen a flux in desktop development due to the KDE’s complete redesign and rewrite of their popular desktop environment. The transition has been extremely difficult for distribution developers as well as the end user. Each release brings more stability and features back to the desktop environment, but many issues remain.

Some of the side effects of this can be seen in this release of openSUSE. Their KDE environment just feels rough around the edges. Some KDE applications are unstable, some stemming from the upstream project, such as the newsfeed client and some settings don’t take effect requiring second and third attempts. The fonts are not as pretty as they usually are and this release is missing a nice window decoration like former releases.

There was a lot of heavy coding required for this release and it just feels like developers didn’t have time before the scheduled release to polish the appearance as much as usual. Having said that, there are many opposing opinions. Many feel this release of openSUSE is just as polished and stable as any that came before it. In addition, the GNOME interface did get a sleek new theme and appears just as nice as any previous release – perhaps moreso.

The stack of applications is, as always, quite impressive. If not in the default install, openSUSE repositories contain one of the largest collections of software in Linux. Some applications include OpenOffice, the best office suite for Linux that rivals Microsoft Office on most fronts; the Firefox webbrowser, the most popular browser for Linux; and the GIMP image manipulations suite, the most capable and most used image software that is often compared to PhotoShop.

openSUSE offers a choice of applications for most every task. There are instant messengers, blogging clients, audio and video players, downloaders, email clients, games, word processors, accounting software, a thesaurus and dictionaries, …just about anything you’d need you’ll find.

One thing you won’t find is restricted code needed for some audio and video playback and proprietary graphic drivers. Legalese aside, this can be somewhat inconvenient and discouraging for many users. Ubuntu has their Restricted Formats utility but openSUSE has Webpin Search and Installer (shown in the image below) and the community maintained 1-Click Collection.

Conclusion

I would have preferred to have a bit more of a shiny version to introduce, but overall through the years openSUSE is the most consistently stable and polished desktop Linux available. It and its big brother SLED are used by government agencies, big businesses, education departments, security specialists, and everyday desktop users like yourself. One release with a few rough edges does not negate its otherwise exemplary track record.

openSUSE is available in several formats. The install DVD is a large 4.3 gigabyte image with lots of software and your choice of desktop systems. The popular live CDs come in KDE and GNOME varieties and offers a nice stack of apps to get started. You can learn more at the openSUSE Website.

What do YOU think of openSUSE 11.2?

Others may use them for bragging rights on that new top-of-the-line gaming machine. Whatever your interest, computer benchmarks certainly are fun. However, obtaining system benchmarks can be tedious. In the past, installing benchmarking applications could be expensive or, with some systems, difficult and time consuming.

Phoronix has been providing free and quality benchmarking software for Linux for several years and adding support for other architectures since. Free BSDs, OpenSolaris, and MacOS are among those supported and Windows support is in the pipeline. As nice as these packages are, they still require time and the right software support in order to install and function.

One way to address these inconveniences is to use PTS Desktop Live, a live CD built on Ubuntu containing the test suite which removes any operating system or software requirements for the target machine and avoids having to install any extra software permanently onto your system. Just boot the live CD and you’re ready to go.

The Phoronix Test Suite live CD comes with 52 individual tests and 10 different preconfigured profiles to test the different elements of your system hardware. Profiles, which can be toggled from the menu, are a subset of tests geared toward one particular area such as testing database performance, video encoding, or BSD systems. You can run one test, a subset of tests, or a batch of tests and options.

The point-and-click interface makes obtaining your computer benchmark so easy to do, even for the average Joe. Just in case, an introduction opens at boot with basic information and links to the home site where much more information is found. But no special information is really needed. Just click on the big green “P” on the panel or “Phoronix Test Suite” in the Applications menu under System Tools. At that point merely click on any of the tests to get basic information as to what it benchmarks and then click Install to download and install the test.

Since using Ubuntu as its base, the tools are now delivered as binaries eliminating the need to compile making the process much quicker. The user will be asked if and where to store the results and if they’d like to upload to Global. Remember that this is a live CD and all data will be lost upon shutdown unless moved to a more permanent storage medium. All computer benchmark information is stored in the

.phoronix-test-suite

directory.

One of the recommended Profiles is Favorites. This is a nice collection of general purpose tests commonly used by Michael Larabel, the founder and lead developer of the Phoronix Test Suite. When the test suite is installed, just click the “Run Test” button. When asked what to name this particular test and the Test Identifier, just pick something you’d remember easily.

After completion of the tests, data can be viewed in the included Web browser and displayed in easy-to-read graphs. You can choose to compare the results with other machines listed on the Phoronix Global site and you can upload your results for others to use for comparison or for future reference.

One of my favorite activities is to compare new hardware with old after an upgrade. One of yours might be to show your best friend how much better your machine rocks than his (or vice versa). Remember, the best feature of the Phoronix Test Suite Desktop is the FUN!

What benchmarking tools do YOU use? Let us know all about them in the comments.

They may think it’s too difficult or too much to remember. But once a user becomes accustomed to using the command line interface, it soon becomes the preferred method in many tasks. Not only is it much quicker to accomplish just about any given task at the command line, it opens a whole new world of possibilities. It allows the user to begin to understand how an operating system is structured and functions. It gives the user very powerful tools to do the things graphical interfaces will never be able to reproduce. And best of all, it’s just fun.

There are several shells, the interface between the user and the system, with their own set of built-in functions and commands. The most popular is probably Bash, which is an improved clone of the Unix Borne Shell. Not only does Bash include lots of handy built-in commands, but a user can execute (or fork) a multitude of other application executables from within it.

There is a short list of commands that one can learn to get started. With this short list, you can begin to build your toolbox and with the help of a few good reference sites, become a command line master yourself. Not only will this enable you to feel comfortable running just about any Linux distribution available, but every programmer working today began with that first command.

But how might one go about trying to use the dreaded command line? Once open, the user stares at the prompt wondering what to do first. They know folks work from the command line all day every day, but what do you do? Fortunately, you’re not on your own. There are a plethora of sites with all the information you’ll need to take you from beginner to advanced user or anywhere in between.

LinuxCommand

One of the best places to get started is LinuxCommand. This site gently introduces the first time user what a shell is and how to use it. Then, if desired, it will instruct the user on how to write their first shell scripts.

The homepage of this site is very relaxing. It merely shows an image of a terminal and reassures the user “Don’t worry, we’ll show you what to do.” Its Table of Contents addresses usage in an task oriented manner. Instead of listing the command and explaining what it does, it lists an operation one might want to perform.

For example, the first thing any user might want to learn is navigation. With a reference to the graphical hierarchy, it begins the user with the first babysteps of moving around their system with the command line.

Then one is taken on a tour of the Linux filesystem hierarchy and shown how to manipulate files such as renaming, moving, or deleting, and permissions. Once you learn this beginning information, you are already on your way to fixing a Linux system on which the Graphical User Interface is broken.

Next the site gets more involved walking the user through writing shell scripts, first easy then more and more complicated. If you finish this latter section, you are already almost a master.

O’Reilly’s Linux Command Directory

O’Reilly’s Linux Command Directory is a wonderful quick reference chart-like guide. This page lists not only the built-in commands, but also many little utilities commonly included in all Linux distributions. This is great for the beginner or even more advanced users as the listed commands are links to full information as to what the command is and how to use it.

While this information may be available right on your system as Main pages, it comes in handy for those who forgot the command or perhaps doesn’t know which to use. For example, you’d like the current system date and time, so you visit this page and see the command

time

. This must be it, so you click on it and find out that

time

is actually used to measure the elasped time of a given process. So, you know that isn’t it. Then you scroll down and spot

date

. Ah yes, that’s the one. What was that command to quickly check to see if a certain word or phrase is in a file? Oh yes, you remember now that you see the command

grep

listed.

By clicking it you’ll find all sorts of ways it can be manipulated to output just what you need. A favorite activity is just reading through the list for unfamiliar or forgotten commands and learning what they do. This is just a particularly handy site to bookmark.

The Linux Cookbook

The Linux Cookbook fits in somewhere between LinuxCommand’s Learning the Shell and Writing Shell Scripts. It takes the user from logging in to as deep as they want to go.

However, its best resource is its intermediate instruction. After learning a few commands one might want to know how to edit a file and the cookbook features introductions to common text editors.  It also tells a user things such as how to change their password, listing directories in color, and how to understand help files and documentation.

Later, it instructs on how to configure the X Windows System, how to start X, and all other aspects of using X.  Then it even goes further into using the graphical interface and includes things like audio, printing,  networking, and communications.  It basically gives the user a full overview of using Linux.

This site is the online version of a hard copy book sold in many stores and featured on Amazon. Once you complete this book and the LinuxCommand.org instruction, you’ll be a Linux Kung Fu Master.

Do you have any favourite websites for mastering the Linux command line?   If so, let us know about them in the comments.

Image Credit : Slashcrisis

Although many changes have occurred to the company over the years, and ultimately they’ve lost their crown, Mandriva Linux remains a solid choice in an alternative operating system.

Introduction

Mandriva is primarily a KDE distro, although they do give GNOME and others almost equal development time. This release features KDE 4.3.2 and GNOME 2.28.1 as well as several lighter choices. Linux 2.6.31.5, Xorg X Server 1.6.5, and GCC 4.4.1 form the foundation underneath. Traditionally, the outstanding features of Mandriva are its installer and system control panel – which are rivaled by few, but this release hopes to offer some amenities to appeal to users of newer trends in technology such as semantic desktop and netbook support.

The Mandriva Linux installer sets the standard in user-friendly Linux installers. They were the first to use a pretty framebuffered graphical interface but perhaps the most useful element was the partitioner. To this day it remains the easiest to use due to the manner of the visual representation of your hard disk layout. Many others have used Mandriva’s installer for inspiration in their designs, but Mandriva’s reigns supreme.

The Mandriva Control Center again was ground breaking at it the time of its unveiling and again, it has few equals to this day. From within the control center a user can perform the whole range of Linux configuration. From hardware to software to kernel to boot to users, it can be found in this handy compact system tool.

The Mandriva Software Management system is capable and easy to use as well. It will install software from a aptly stocked software repository, apply package and system updates, as well as removing unwanted software. Packages are categorized by function and can be sorted by their install status, package classification, or by search results. Information such as release data, changelog, and included files can be reviewed for each package. Checking the tick box and clicking apply is all that’s required to install a package or set of packages.

The software manager also includes a System Tray applet to check for updates and inform the user of any available. When available the applet icon will will alert the user and upon clicking a window will open listing the updates giving the user the choice of applying them or not. At first boot the user will be asked to configure a remote update and software source, which entails just a few mouse clicks.

Mandriva Linux is available in three basic formats: an installable live CD, a free install DVD, and an all-inclusive commercial PowerPack edition. The installable live CD comes in your choice of KDE or GNOME, your choice of languages, and ships with some convenient proprietary code such as Wi-Fi drivers, 3D graphic drivers, Flash, and some browser plugins. This is the recommended version for most users.

Advanced users may wish to use the free install DVD because it provides more desktop environments, several kernels, support for various hardware architectures, and developmental tools; but lacks proprietary drivers, codecs, and Flash. The commercial version has all sorts of extra goodies and is available at Mandriva Store.

All Mandriva Linux formats come with a nice set of applications. Web browsers, email clients, office programs, multimedia players, chat and messaging clients, photo and image management and manipulation apps, games, and utilities are found in the menu. The online software repositories contain thousands more waiting to be installed. Mandriva is one of the largest and most complete Linux distributions available.

2010 Improvements

For those familiar with Mandriva this release brings some great improvements. The best two so far have been the increased stability and performance. Mandriva may have had a reputation for being a bit crashy in the past, but it appears those days are gone. In the several days since a fresh install only one application crash has occurred here, and this application is known to be unstable across distributions. This new-found stability comes with even better speed as well. Not only does Mandriva boot quicker, but desktop performance has improved noticeably. Applications open and function faster, including the two heavyweights OpenOffice.org and Firefox. There is virtually no graphic artifacting and redraws are immediate. In addition, the 2010 graphics are just beautiful.

Some new features include a Live Upgrade for current users which allows them to update to 2010 without doing a fresh install. The installer now features a handy graphical initial partition layout screen before starting the actual partitioner, and the partitioner now has a file browser that lets you look at your current partitions’ data before making any decisions. Most of Mandriva’s original tools have seen lots of improvements in usability and efficiency and Ext4 is now the default filesystem. New guest user allows you to let others use your computer without risking your data.

Conclusion

This really is a banner release for Mandriva. It’s been a long time since I could recommend it too much, but it’s moved way up my list with 2010. For new users the complete experience with Mandriva One live CD will convince you better than my words and for loyal users, well, you already know. It might be too soon to say, but it feels like this release will go down as Mandriva’s best ever – and perhaps it just might be the best Linux release of the year.

GoblinX began life as one of the strangest looking distros available. With its goblin logo, Halloween colors, gawdy window decorations, and strange wallpapers it surely gave its users a unique experience. Today, GoblinX tries to appear more mainstream, but they still refuse to bow to the tide.

The developers include little that’s not Open Source, which means no proprietary drivers, codecs, or plugins. What they do is provide a nice stable environment with handy applications. Most hardware is detected and auto-configured, but some wireless Ethernet cards may need manual configuration. Fortunately, unlike some distros, they have included Ndiswrapper for those who require Windows drivers to activate their wireless network interface controller in order to access the Internet.  GoblinX includes some graphical configuration tools as well for things like Wireless Protected Access and printer set up.

GoblinX offers several configurations. The most recent release was of their G:Standard. This standard version ships with KDE 4 and applications such as Abiword, Pidgin, KOffice, and MPlayer. Under the hood is Linux 2.6.27.6 and Xorg X Server 1.6.3.  GCC 4.4.3 is installable. Other versions are G:Noblin which features GNOME as the desktop environment, G:Mini which uses Xfce 4, and G:Micro that ships with Fluxbox. While these versions and their source code are free to download, GoblinX developers also produce a version for USB memory sticks with GNOME and a netbook interface similar to Ubuntu Mobile that can be obtained for a nominal fee.

GoblinX G:Mini with Xfce 4

The hard drive installer is relatively easy. The compact nature of the interface limits the options making it easier for the new user.  However, you may need to create a partition first using the included partition manager. The installer does have configurations for options such as user accounts, root password, filesystem, run level, and language.  Running from the live CD has the option to save users’ configuration to a partition or removable media.

The GoblinX partition manager and installer

Being based on Slackware, it inherits Slackware’s package manage system. However, the much more friendly slapt-get and Gslapt graphical front-end are set up with GoblinX repositories and contain many other popular applications such as Firefox and OpenOffice.org.  Gslapt resembles and functions very much like Synaptic.  Find the application, mark it for installation, and click Apply is all there is to it.

The GoblinX package management - Gslapt

With this being a point-0 release, there are a few bugs. For example, the Gslapt package manager has problems completing its tasks at times and OpenOffice.org has dependencies missing from repositories.  These will no doubt be fixed in updates. In the mean time, OpenOffice.org from www.openoffice.org is an easy install and slapt-get at the commandline functions just fine.

slapt-get operates almost like APT.  Whereas with APT one might

apt-get install <package name>

, with slapt-get one types

slapt-get --install <package name>

. The other functions are similar as well.  Type

slapt-get --help

for more.

For those wishing to use Ndiswrapper to extract and format their Windows drivers for their wireless Ethernet cards, the procedure is very simple. First mount your Windows partition, then point Ndiswrapper to the driver .inf file.  So, for example, one might:

1. 

mkdir /mnt/sda1

2. 

mount -t auto /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1

3. 

ndiswrapper -i /mnt/sda1/SWSetup/WLAN/bcmwl5.inf

Then to use it simply:

1. 

modprobe ndiswrapper

If you have still have difficulties with certain Broadcom chips found in many laptop brands, perhaps try:

1. 

echo "blacklist b43" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

2. 

echo "blacklist ssb" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

3.  Then reboot your machine.

Another thing many folks may miss is the Adobe Flash Player.  While GoblinX repositories have Gnash, a free Open Source flash player that sometimes doesn’t work real well, many users prefer Adobe.  It’s easy to install as well.

1.  Visit Flash Player download and download the tar.gz format.
2. 

tar -zxvf install_flash_player_10_linux.tar.gz

3. 

mv libflashplayer.so .mozilla/plugins/

Other than those previously mentioned, very few if any other problems emerged while using GoblinX so far.  In addition, KDE 4 on GoblinX performs rather well, even on a system with only 512 megabytes of RAM.   Whereas GoblinX may not be “install and go” to some standards, it gives the user the choice to use proprietary code other distros may take away. GoblinX is simply a nice distribution derived from a solid code base that offers the user even something better than choice – something different.  And these days, anything different is good.