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Comparing Linux Releases - Part2

Fig: Comparing Linux Releases - Part2

Part 2: Red Hat 6.1 , Caldera OpenLinux 2.3, CorelLinux and SuSE 6.3  for Intel PCs; LinuxPPC Live  for Mac

Product: Red Hat Linux 6.1 (a list of download sites is here)

From: www.redhat.com

Price: Evaluation version (about 600MB) is freely downloadable, and ISO CD images are available from a number of sources (listed below). The full version (on CDs) is about $50 plus shipping.

Pros: Red Hat has incorporated a version of the 2.2.12 kernel, "patched to make it more stable," as well as Gnome 1.0 and KDE 1.1 into its newest release, and increased the emphasis on plug-and-play configuration and ease of use.

Cons: See our Red Hat Linux 6.0 test report (to be followed by a report on the just-released Q3Test for Linux).

ISO CD images:

  • Use these to burn your own Red Hat 6.1 disc. GZip archives can be opened with WinZip or PowerZip.

Australia: (fast!)

Europe: (Belgium)

USA:

Canada:

For Further Reading:

  • Red Hat Linux 6.0 test report

Another company offering a downloadable version of Linux in ISO CD format suitable for burning onto a CD-recordable disc is Corel. Its CorelLinux, based on the Debian distribution code, is optimized for the desktop and emphasizes the KDE graphical interface for ease of use and plug-and-play setup. It's also available on two CDs for a nominal (US$4.95+S&H) charge. Get it here, and read our in-depth review.

Other Linux distributions available in ISO9660 image format include:

  • Caldera
  • Debian
  • FreeBSD
  • Mandrake
  • Stormix
  • Slackware
  • SuSE
  • YellowDog

Caldera OpenLinux 2.3

Caldera announced OpenLinux 2.2 the week of April 26th and followed it up with a May 3rd announcement that it had signed an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement to integrate PowerQuest's PartitionMagic OEM version into OpenLinux. The company subsequently released OpenLinux 2.3, with a new graphical installation manager that greatly eases the setup process. During the installation process, PowerQuest's patented partitioning technology automatically creates the required separate partition for the OpenLinux operating system, making it easier for customers to set up and use the Linux operating system.

Prior to the 2.3 release, Linux users hade to go through a complex and time-consuming process that involved backing up the entire hard drive, reformatting the drive, repartitioning the drive with FDISK, restoring the backup and then installing Linux and LILO or boot manager. To make things worse, if users wanted to change the partition at any point, they had to repeat the entire process.

PowerQuest's BootMagic, which allows users to boot multiple operating systems on a single workstation, is also bundled with OpenLinux.

And, in case you were wondering whether the product is Y2K compliant, Caldera euphemistically states that it "is working to ensure Y2K compliance for its OpenLinux technologies and products." Guess what that means.

For Further Reading:

  • Calera focusing on "Linux, the product," notes PCWeek.

Product: SuSE 6.3 ("SuSE" is correctly pronounced to rhyme with "moose")

From: www.suse.com

Price: Evaluation version (600MB) is freely downloadable. The full version (6 CDs!) is EUR 46 plus shipping.

Pros: The evaluation version we tested is available in a burn-your-own-CD ISO format that easily and automatically produces a bootable CD on a system capable of recording a CD-R disc from such an image. The updated 6.3 version of SuSE's "YAST" setup program, now known as YAST2, is easy to manage. SuSE Linux also has a "Live" capability, with a 600MB boot image that loads from DOS, similar to the way CorelLinux or the Mac program mentioned below works.

Cons: KDE is the only desktop environment provided on the downloadable eval version (the retail release includes several others). Netscape, StarOffice and many other features found in the full CD-based release are absent from the eval version (but may, of course, be downloaded and installed separately).

The 6.1 and 6.2 versions, released earlier in 1999, included some notable updates updates from the 6.0 release, such as the 2.2.x kernel and the KDE 1.1 and GNOME 1.0 graphical environments mentioned above. As well, the CD release of SuSE 6.2 ships with Corel WordPerfect 8.0 PE and Star Division's StarOffice 5.1a Suite. The 6.3 release, released Dec. 2nd further enhances the product with a GUI-based setup tool and support for the ReiserFS journaling file system. Details on what else is new in 6.3 are at www.suse.com/63newpkgs.html

SuSE provides a database listing compatible hardware. A press release provides additional details on version 6.3

For Further Reading:

  • PC Buyer's Guide: review of SuSE Linux

Product: LinuxPPC Live

From: http://www.linuxppc.com/products/Live/

Price: free. Requires a PPC-based Mac.

Pros: LinuxPPC Live is a special version of LinuxPPC Release 4 that can be booted from the Mac OS without having to partition your hard drive. Live includes the K Desktop Environment (a GUI), and basic disk utilities and commands -- just about everything you need to start learning Linux!

Cons: It is severely crippled. In fact, you can't really do much at all, except look at KDE's menu of options, virtually all of which except the K File Manager are disabled.

Installation

Downloading and installing LinuxPPC Live was relatively straightforward, with one exception. The file called vmlinux must be downloaded as a binary file. Our web browser insisted on downloading it as a text document, which broke the program. We used the binary transfer Fetch 3.03 to solve this problem. After un-gzipping a 40MB gzip file that becomes the 100MB body of the program environment, we followed the instructions and moved the files to a directory called LinuxPPC in the root directory of our system's hard drive. From there, you can boot LinuxPPC Live simply by double-clicking a MacOS program. That's right -- no partitioning or fiddling around with command-lines here. The only annoyance we encountered during the initial configuration of the program were two checkboxes that, when checked, did the exact opposite of what we expected them to. For example, when a checkmark is in the box labeled "no video driver," the system does have a video driver. Whatever!

From there, you see a couple of dozen screens of seemingly obligatory Linux command-line goobledegook fly past, and then the system boots up into the KDE graphical environment. Performance was good on our 240MHz 603E-based Mac, but we were disappointed that virtually all the functions in KDE are crippled in the "lite" 40MB download version. We could find no way to even open a terminal window, and after exiting KDE, the system dropped back to a command line and promptly froze. Next!!

Verdict: lame, but we'd like to see a fully-loaded version that runs from the Mac desktop like this. Windows PC users are lucky to have a similar but superior product in winlinux.)

New Creative Labs drivers:

Creative Labs has released early beta versions of Linux drivers for the SoundBlaster Live! and the 3D Blaster Banshee. The Banshee drivers, the company says, are the first Linux drivers from a Banshee vendor. The drivers were developed by Creative's in-house Linux driver team and are the first of a series for Creative products. As early betas, the drivers are not supported officially; however, Creative is seeking user feedback on the Developer Relations site. For driver downloads and additional information, go here: http://developer.soundblaster.com/linux/

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