Nostalgia-70-Conectiva Linux

Origin: Brazil
Category: Desktop, Server
Desktop environment: AfterStep, Blackbox, Fluxbox, GNOME, IceWM, KDE, WindowMaker, Xfce
Architecture: x86
Based on: Independent
Wikipedia (PT): Conectiva
Media: Install, Live CD
The last version | Released: 10 | July 5, 2004

Conectiva Linux – an independent Linux distribution for the Latin American market. Conectiva Linux was forked from Red Hat Linux, based on RPM packages and used APT to update and install packages.

Conectiva was a company founded on August 28, 1995 in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, by a group of friends, mostly public employees of Banco do Brasil, together with Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo, who was a pioneer in Linux distributions and free software in Brazil and throughout Latin America.

The “Crystal” icons for KDE, which were designed by Conectiva employee Esveraldo Coelho, and the “apt4rpm” port for the Debian GNU / Linux package management, were developed by Conectiva. Conectiva also developed the Synaptic graphical user interface. Conectiva employed a.o. Rik van Riel and the kernel maintainer Marcelo Tosatti.

Conectiva also developed in the area of ​​the Linux kernel, the high availability of Linux and in the area of ​​drivers. Also: XFree86, network protocols, firewall, Linux clusters, performance analysis and optimization, file and resource management.

On January 24, 2005 it was announced that the company MandrakeSoft had acquired Conectiva for 1.79 million euros. On April 7, 2005 MandrakeSoft announced the change of the company’s name to Mandriva and its distributions to the name of Mandriva Linux.

The first version of Conectiva Linux 1.0 Parolin was released October 7, 1997.
The last one version 10 released July 5, 2004.

The live ISO’s user is: default/conectiva/root without password.

Nostalgia-69-College Linux

OS Type: Linux
Based on: Debian
Origin: Switzerland
Architecture: i386
Desktop: No desktop
Category: Server
Status: Discontinued (defined)
Popularity: Not ranked

College Linux is a Debian-based live CD - a fully capable PHP5, Perl and Ruby web server, preloaded with gedit and Vim for editing scripts with syntax highlighting. College Linux includes tools to back up and restore your web site from a USB pen drive or from your collegelinux.org account.

Nostalgia-68-Chapeau

Origin: UK
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: GNOME
Architecture: x86_64
Based on: Fedora
Wikipedia:
Media: Live DVD
The last version | Released: 24 | September 28, 2016
Zobacz po polsku Zobacz po polsku: Chapeau

Chapeau – a high-performance, cutting-edge operating system built from the Fedora GNU/Linux distribution with the Gnome desktop environment.

Compared to Fedora Chapeau adopts an enhanced user experience and a more relaxed approach to software licences and is intended to be just as useful for advanced users as it is easy for those new to using a Linux system.
There is built-in access to third-party software & sources repositories not included in Fedora such as RPMFusion, Steam, Adobe Flash, Dropbox & Oracle VirtualBox.

Chapeau also includes system tools that makes your live DVD or USB disk a handy portable toolkit for repairing Linux and Windows installations as well as a general purpose desktop distro.

Chapeau is available for 64bit x86 PCs.

The project developer is Vince Pooley.

Nostalgia-67-ChaletOS

Origin: Serbia
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: Xfce
Architecture: x86, x86_64
Based on: Ubuntu
Wikipedia:
Media: Live DVD
The last version | Released: 16.04.2 | July 16, 2016
Zobacz po polsku Zobacz po polsku: ChaletOS

ChaletOS – an Ubuntu based Linux distribution and features the Xfce desktop environment. The goal of this project is to let anyone get used Linux.

This system is not too different from Xubuntu, on which it is based, but ChaletOS has a style that everyone knows well, appealing simplicity and an impressive speed. All this will let them to fall in love with this system quickly. Because of its small hardware requirements it will revive some old machines and refresh others, not so old.

The name ChaletOS came from the style of the mountain houses in Switzerland. The concept of these houses is similar to the concept that we had while we made this system: simplicity, beauty and recognizability. Since we want the new users to feel at home, we hope this project will meet this goal.

The project developer is Dejan Petrović.

Nostalgia-66-Buffalo Linux

Origin: USA
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: Blackbox, Fluxbox, GNOME, IceWM, KDE, WindowMaker, Xfce
Architecture: x86
Based on: Slackware
Wikipedia (NO): Buffalo Linux
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: 1.7.3 | May 8, 2005

Buffalo Linux – a Linux distribution, a derivative of VectorLinux and thus also Slackware, and was intended for the 32-bit architecture i686. The target group users is a small companies within the business sector. The distribution came pre-installed with IBM DB2 and Oracle Database, Microsoft products, and CodeWeavers as well. The distribution cost US $ 25.

The distribution supported the i486 platform. It used the Blackbox, Fluxbox, IceVM and WindowMaker window managers and the GNOME, KDE and Xfce desktop environments.

Version 1.05 was launched on December 28, 2003, and the latest version 1.7.5 was launched on May 8, 2005

Nostalgia-65-ByzantineOS

Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: Mozilla
Architecture: x86
Based on: Independent
Wikipedia:
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: 20040404 | April 4, 2004

ByzantineOS – a software internet appliance with a home entertainment bias. It is based on a networked Linux distribution/bootable system with Mozilla providing access to a range of services and applications.

ByzantineOS fits in 48MB of media and should work on any PC.
With ByzantineOS CD-ROM, there is no need of hard-disks, floppy drives and others.
All is needed is a diskless computer with the following parts:
– CPU (Intel Pentium)
– Motherboard
– NIC (Network Interface Card) or MODEM
– CD-ROM drive (or DVD drive to play DVD-Video disks)
– RAM (128 MB minimum for full graphics)
– VESA 2.0 compliant graphic card

 

Nostalgia-64-Bonzai Linux

Origin: Germany
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: KDE
Architecture: x86
Based on: Debian
Wikipedia (ES): Bonzai Linux
Media: Install CD
The last version | Released: 3.2 | January 14, 2004

Bonzai Linux – a small in size Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux.

Bonzai Linux has been build to offer a Debian based Desktop-OS that fits on a 180MB CD-R(W). The Distribution includes the current stable version of KDE and has been modified for easier installation.

The latest version of Bonzai Linux 3.2 was based on Debian 3.0.
Bonzai Linux was known as “miniwoody”, a name which referred to the 3.0 version of Debian codename “Woody”.

Nostalgia-63-Bee Linux

Bee Linux – a Fedora based Linux live distribution which offers French, English and Arabic language support out of the box.

The live system is shipped with the Xfce desktop environment, a set of daily usage application, Wine for supporting applications designed for MS Windows and proprietary graphics drivers as well.

Drauger Game Linux

Drauger Game Linux

1. It is a pretty Good Linux distribution one should try, if one are a Gamer.

2. It is KDE based an neat.

3. No overhead like LibreOffice

4. It has Heroic Game Launcher, Lutris, Proton and Steam

5. It configures WiFi instantly and Firefox is the browser.

What more YOU need?

How the Linux System Boots

I come form a scientific background where standards and uniformity should rule but in the current world it does not happen even in the Linux World. Sometimes, I think Ubuntu is a pain in the but in Linux environment. 

I do not use Ubuntu.

Linux comes from the framework of Unix but with a difference. System, processes not events rule the Linux world. Ubuntu comes and puts words like Events, Compositors and the like and muddy the waters. Whereas, I come from the tiniest of the Linux World, i.e; Puppy Linux and it is the only distribution when there is kernel panic it leaves behind a set of textural information from which one can recover.

That is why, I  have over 20 Puppy Linux derivative (only a few are 64 bits) including Games Puppy in my download folder. 

I wish Puppy Linux guys work hard and get all of them 64 bit compatible. Puppy does not have lot of overheads and it can be done but I am, too old, to invest my time on a such an adventure except write few blog pieces.

How the Linux System Boots 

1. System V Init

System V (SysV) is a mature and popular init scheme on Unix like operating systems, it is the parent of all processes on a Unix/Linux system. SysV is the first commercial Unix operating system designed. Almost all Linux distributions first used the SysV init scheme except Gentoo which has a custom init and Slackware which uses the BSD style init scheme.

As years have passed by, due to some imperfections, several SysV init replacements have been developed in the quest to create more efficient and perfect init systems for Linux.

Although these alternatives seek to improve SysV and probably offer new features, they are still compatible with original SysV init scripts.SystemV is very old boot loader that comes from Unix Multi Frame Architecture dating back to 1983. If I remember right, Suse Linux used, it in the past and it has 6 level of interaction. It is a server based system and Level 1 is the single user level.One looks at the /etc/inittab file to decide the Linux run level.

Following are the available run levels

0 – Halt

1 – Single user mode

2 – Multiuser, without NFS

3 – Full multiuser mode

4 – unused

5 – X11

6 – Reboot

Init identifies the default init level from /etc/inittab and uses that to load appropriate program. Typically, the default run level is either 3 or 5.

2.System D

SystemD is a relatively new init scheme on the Linux platform. Introduced in Fedora 15, it is an assortment of tools for easy system management.       The main purpose is to initialize, manage, and keep track of all system processes in the boot process and while the system is running. Systemd init is comprehensively distinct from other traditional Unix init systems, in the way, it practically approaches system and services management. It is also compatible with SysV and LBS init scripts.

It has some of the following eminent features:

Clean, straightforward, and efficient design

Concurrent and parallel processing at bootup

Better API

Enables removal of optional processes

Supports event logging using journald

Supports job scheduling using systemd calendar timers

Storage of logs in binary files

Preservation of systemd state for future reference

Better integration with GNOME desktop.

SystemD boot is a UEFI boot loader developed as part of the SystemD system and service manager, which was designed to load EFI executable images, such as Linux kernels, initramfs images and other operating systems, such as Windows.

SystemD boot is a relatively new boot loader, but it has become popular due to its simplicity and performance. It is also the default boot loader for many modern Linux distributions.

3. Upstart

Upstart is an event based init system developed by the makers of Ubuntu as a replacement for the SysV init system. It starts different system tasks and processes, inspects them while the system is running, and stops them during system shutdown. It is a hybrid init system that uses both SysV startup scripts and SystemD scripts, some of the notable features of the Upstart init system include:

Originally developed for Ubuntu Linux but can run on all other distributions

Event based starting and stopping of tasks and services

Events are generated during the starting and stopping of tasks and services

Events can be sent by other system processes

Communication with the init process through D-Bus

Users can start and stop their processes

Re-spawning of services that die abruptly and many more.This was the init on Ubuntu installations. However, Ubuntu has  migrated to SystemD.

4. OpenRC

OpenRC is a dependency based init scheme for Unix like operating systems, it is compatible with SysV init. As much as it brings some improvements to Sys V, you must keep in mind that OpenRC is not an absolute replacement for the /sbin/init file.

It offers some illustrious features including:

It can run on other many Linux distributions including Gentoo and also on BSD

Supports hardware initiated init scripts

Supports a single configuration file

No per-service configurations supported

Runs as a daemon

Parallel services startup and many more

5. runit

runit is also a cross platform init system that can run on GNU/Linux, Solaris, BSD, and Mac OS X and it is an alternative to SysV init, which offers service supervision. It comes with some benefits and remarkable components not found in SysV init and possibly other init systems in Linux and these include:

Service supervision, where each service is associated with a service directory

A clean process state guarantees each process a clean state

It has a reliable logging facility

Fast system boot-up and shutdown

It is also portable

Packaging friendly

Small code size and many more

6. s6

This is the latest version of Linux based init system.

s6 offers a compact set of tools for UNIX, tailored for process supervision, similar to daemon tools and runit. It facilitates operations on processes and daemons. Designed as a low level service administration toolkit, s6 provides diverse tools that can function independently or within its framework. These tools, when combined, deliver robust functionality with minimal code.

As I had earlier mentioned, the init system starts and manages all other processes on a Linux system. Additionally, SysV is the primary init scheme on Linux operating systems but due to some performance weaknesses, system programmers have developed several replacements for it.

Syslinux

          This is Windows stuff, please do not confuse with Linux booting methods. While Linux can coexist with any file system and any operating system Apple and Windows try to carve their own capitalistic domains. Fortunately, I did not become a victim or a  prey.

Syslinux is a Linux's variant for FAT file systems. This is the oldest type of Syslinux boot loader. It supports FAT16, and FAT32 file systems. Syslinux is an assortment of lightweight boot loaders that enable booting from CD ROM, from the network, and from hard disks. It supports file systems such as FAT for MS DOS and ext2, ext3, and ext4 for Linux. It also supports uncompressed single device Btrfs.

Syslinux only accesses files in its own partition, therefore, it does not offer multi file system boot capabilities. It is rarely used in current systems and could be categorised as a Legacy Boot System.

Other Varieties

There are various other versions of init as well, especially on embedded platforms. For example, Android has its own init. The BSDs also have their version of init, but one is unlikely to see them on a modern Linux machine. However, some distributions have modified the System V init configuration to look like BSD style.

Identifying init

If one needs to determine theversion of the initsystem, one should look at the configuration files.

If you are not sure, check your system configuration filesas follows:

If your system has /usr/lib/systemd and /etc/systemd directories, you have systemd.

If you have an /etc/init directory that contains several .conf files, you’re probably running Upstart unless you’re running Debian 7, in which case you probably have System V init.

If neither of the above is true, but you have /etc/inittab file, you’re probably running System V init.

If your system has manual pages installed, viewing the init ( ) manual page should help to identify your version of init.

In summary, in Unix based computer operating systems, initialization (init) is the first process that starts during system booting. Init is a daemon process that continues running and until the system is shut down. It is the direct or indirect ancestor of all other processes and automatically adopts all orphaned processes. Init is started by kernel during the booting process and a kernel panic ensues, if the kernel is unable to start it, or it dies for any reason.

Init is typically assigned process identifier 1.

In Unix systems such as System V, the design of init has diverged from the functionality provided by the init in Research Unix and its BSD derivatives. Up until the early 2010s, most Linux distributions employed,      a traditional init that was somewhat compatible with System V, while some distributions such as Slackware use BSD style startup scripts, and others such as Gentoo have their own customized versions.

Since then, several additional init implementations have been created, attempting to address design limitations in the traditional versions. These include launchd, the Service Management Facility, systemd, Runit and OpenRC.

Over the years, many init systems have emerged in major Linux distributions and it is bit confusing to the ordinary user but one should not worry unless system panic does occur during the boot up process.     In my experience, Puppy Linux, probably the only distribution that gives running commentary, of course in  textural form, in a black terminal, if kernel panic is the end result.

Nostalgia-62-GNUSTEP

GNUSTEP Live CD

Web site: aiei.ch/gnustep/
Origin: Switzerland
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: WindowMaker
Architecture: x86_64
Based on: Debian
Wikipedia:
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: 2.5.1 | July 27, 2017
Zobacz po polsku Zobacz po polsku: GNUSTEP Live CD

GNUSTEP Live CD – a live CD based on an operating system, (also known as a distribution) contains a lot of software for GNUstep, a free implementation of the OPENSTEP and Cocoa framework (which was also the base as Cocoa on macOS). It includes an excellent application called Gorm for RAD (Apple Software Design Guidelines).

GNUSTEP Live CD is a Debian-based Linux distribution that comes with the WindowMaker window manager, basic networking, multimedia, and games tools.

GNUSTEP live CD 2.5 was released after 8 years off and is based on Debian of tech stable 9 “Stretch” branch.
Previous versions of the system were based on the Morphix and Knoppix distributions.

Live image comes with preinstalled applications such as: Gorm for RAD (Apple Software Design Guidelines), MPlayer (GNUstep port), Preview, GWorkspace, GNUmail, ProjectCenter, and GNU TeXmacs.

The system used SysV instead of systemd as the system and service manager.

The project developer since 2004 is Alex Myczko.

Nostalgia-61-Morphix

Origin: Netherlands
Category: Desktop, Web kiosk
Desktop environment: KDE, IceWM
Architecture: x86
Based on: Knoppix
Wikipedia (de): Morphix
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: 0.5-pre6 | September 2007

Morphix – a live Linux distribution based on Knoppix.
Morphix is a modular distribution so it means that it consists of a number of parts which together form a working distribution.

Morphix flavours:

Morphix LightGUI – Aimed at lower-end PCs, LightGUI features the XFCE4 desktop and contains a reasonable amount of lighter tools. It was the initial version of Morphix, and the aim has been to keep LightGUI small enough to have it fit on 210MB CDR(W). LightGUI includes Abiword, Gnumeric, Dillo, Firefox, Gaim, Xchat, GIMP.

Morphix Gnome – (formerly: Morphix HeavyGUI) was for some time the only conterpart of LightGUI. Including Gnome, OpenOffice.org, Mozilla, and the kitchen sink, Morphix Gnome was aimed at office users with more recent machines.

Morphix KDE – it contains the whole KDE suite of programs, as well as Mozilla and other applications. Morphix KDE sits inbetween LightGUI and Gnome when it comes to size, and fills up approximately 400MB of space on your CD-ROM.

Morphix Game – An odd-ball in Morphix, this flavour contains the very light IceWM and a very large number of Open Source games: BZflag, Frozen Bubble, Freecraft, and many, many others, as well as it includes one or more demo versions or free full versions of commercial Linux games.

Morphing-Morphix – it provides the quick way to start Morphing and making your own LiveCD. Just boot the CD and start Morphing, no need to install tools, compile applications or switch operating systems. All is required is some space on a connected hard drive.

All the official Morphix live CDs contain the Morphix installer, as stated above. This tool allows users to easily install their Morphix (or derivative) live CD onto a hard disk.

Morphix was under development by Alex de Landgraaf between 2003 and 2007.

There are many derivatives created on the top of Morphix, such as: Dreamlinux, Elive, GNUstep Live-CD, Clusterix, Freeduc-Sup, GNIX, Sork, NepaLinux, TOBIX, ZoneCD, etc.

Nostalgia-60-NepaLinux

Origin: Nepal
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: GNOME, KDE
Architecture: x86
Based on: Morphix
Wikipedia:
Media: Live CD/DVD
The last version | Released: 3.0 | May 25, 2008

NepaLinux – a Debian based Linux distribution localized into the Nepali language.
It features the complete Nepali language, fonts, input method, spell and grammar checker and dictionary.

The Live CD iso image offers the KDE desktop, set of KDE applications and Nepali locale only.
The Live DVD iso image can be run with Nepali or English locale, and uses GNOME desktop environment. There are pre-installed applications from GNOME and KDE desktops which can be run that GNOME desktop environment and vice versa.

The project was supported by the International Development and Research Center (IDRC), Canada and administered through the Center for Research in Urdu Language Processing (CRULP), National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (NUCES), Pakistan.

The distribution was under development between 2005 and 2008 by Madan Puraskar

Nostalgia-59-OpenSolaris

Origin: USA
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: GNOME
Architecture: x86, x86_64, ARM, PowerPC, SPARC
Based on: Solaris
Wikipedia: OpenSolaris
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: 2009.06 | June 1, 2009

OpenSolaris – an open source operating system based on Solaris created by Sun Microsystems. OpenSolaris is a descendant of the UNIX System V Release 4 (SVR4) code base developed by Sun and AT&T in the late 1980s. It was based on Solaris, which was originally released by Sun in 1991.

OpenSolaris uses a network-based package management system “Image Packaging System” (pkg(5)), which could add, remove, and manage installed software and to update to newer releases. It includes a set of free applications, including popular desktop (GNOME 2) and server software.

In 2010, after the acquisition of Sun Microsystems, Oracle stopped open development of the system, and replaced the OpenSolaris with the proprietary Solaris Express. On September 13, 2010 Steven Stallion announcement at his blog, that the development of OpenSolaris is finished.

A group of former OpenSolaris developers forked the core software under the new name OpenIndiana, which is a part of the Illumos Foundation.

There are a few forks based on OpenSolaris, such as: BeleniX, EON ZFS Storage, Illumos, Jaris OS, MartUX, MilaX, Nexenta OS, NexentaStor, OpenIndiana, OpenSXCE, SchilliX, SmartOS, StormOS.

Nostalgia-58-Penguin Sleuth

 Origin: USA
Category: Forensics
Desktop environment: Fluxbox, IceWM, KDE, WindowMaker
Architecture: x86
Based on: Knoppix
Wikipedia:
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: 1.0 beta1 | July 5, 2003

Penguin Sleuth – a Knoppix based bootable CD and a Vmware virtual platform. The Penguin Sleuth Kit adapts a great Linux resource to include tools that are useful when performing a forensic computer analysis & Security Auditing.

The Sleuth Kit (TSK) is a library and collection of Unix- and Windows-based utilities for extracting data from disk drives and other storage so as to facilitate the forensic analysis of computer systems.

Nostalgia-57-Pinguy OS

Origin: United Kingdom
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: GNOME
Architecture: x86_64
Based on: Ubuntu
Wikipedia: Pinguy OS
Media: Live DVD
The last version | Released: 18.04.2 | March 30, 2019
Zobacz po polsku Zobacz po polsku: Pinguy OS

Pinguy OS – an out-of-the-box working operating system for everyone, not just geeks. It is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution aimed at Linux beginners. The system is equipped with tools and facilities for novices, offers support for multimedia codecs and web browser plugins.

Pinguy OS features a slightly modified GNOME desktop and personalized program menu, and a good number of pre-installed additional everyday applications.

The system is available for 32 and 64 bit machines in mini and full version.
As of version 18.04, Pinguy is only offered for 64 bit machines.

Nostalgia-56-Point Linux

Origin: Russia
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: MATE, Xfce
Architecture: x86, x86_64
Based on: Debian
Wikipedia:
Media: Live DVD
The last version | Released: 3.2 | June 21, 2016
Zobacz po polsku Zobacz po polsku: Point Linux

Point Linux – a Linux distribution based on Debian of the stable branch, and focused on personal computers. As default, it is equipped with the MATE desktop – a fork of GNOME 2.

Point Linux provides a traditional desktop, support for many additional devices, easy configuration and system management, and the ability to choose a local language during installation process.

Point Linux is also equipped with Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird products and uses the DuckDuckGo search engine.

The system is available for i686-pae and x86_64 machines in full and core version.

Nostalgia-55-Poseidon Linux

Poseidon Linux – a friendly and complete desktop, based on open source software and aimed at the international scientific community (students, technicians, professors, researchers). This operating system is based on Ubuntu (previously on Kurumin/Knoppix) and inspired by Quantian Linux. It offers several specific tools in the areas of Bathymetry, Seafloor Mapping, GIS and 3D Visualization.

It includes a large number of scientific applications, covering areas such as:
– GIS and Geostatistics
– Visualization 2D/3D/4D
– Mathematics
– Statistics
– Physics
– Chemistry
– CAD / Engineering
– Computer Graphics
– Image Editing and Vectorial Drawing
– Numeric modelling / Simulation
– Scientific graphs
– Scientific Authoring
– Database
– Programming languages
– Audio/Video

The usual software for daily use, such as the LibreOffice suite, Internet browsers, instant messaging and chat clients are also included.

The latest version of Poseidon Linux 9 is based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

Nostalgia-54-Quirky

Origin: Australia
Category: Dekstop
Desktop environment: JWM
Architecture: x86_64, ARM
Based on: Puppy
Wikipedia:
Media: Live CD
The last version | Released: 8.7.1 | September 22, 2018

Quirky – a Linux distribution created by Barry Kauler, that forked from Puppy Linux a few years ago. The original intention was to experiment with new ideas, and Quirky has evolved into an exciting and unique distribution.

Barry Kauler created Quirky as something to keep playing with Linux and to try new ideas. The main conceptual differences with Puppy have emerged as Quirky being a “full installation” only, special snapshot and recovery features, and Service Pack upgrades.

 

Nostalgia-53-Sabayon

Sabayon

Sabayon Linux (previously RR4 Linux and RR64 Linux) – a Linux distribution developed by Fabio Erculiani, based on and fully compatible with Gentoo Linux. It uses the Entropy package management system that was specially developed for this distribution and Portage.

Entropy installs prepackaged packages which shortens the installation process compared to Portage. You can use Entropy with console or graphic user interface Equo or Ringo.

Sabayon supports x86 and amd64 architectures and is a rolling release distro, which means that you don’t have to install it from scratch after a new version is released. There are ready to go Live CDs/DVDs with GNOME, KDE, XFCE, MATE environments, a minimalist version with Fluxbox, which lets you customize the system according to your needs; and a version of SpinBase without a graphical environment.

To install the system on a hard drive, Sabayon uses the Anakonda installer known from Red Hat and Fedora.

Starting with version 16.06, Sabayon is also available for ARM machines (RaspberryPi).

The last version of Sabayon Linux are available for x86_64 machines only.

In November 2020, Sabayon has been rebranded to MocaccionoOS and merged the project with Funtoo Linux.

Nostalgia-52-Trinity Rescue Kit

Trinity Rescue Kit (TRK) – a Linux distribution with a command-line interface, designed as a system rescue. TRK is especially equipped for repairing common problems in Microsoft Windows and Unix-like operating systems.

The project started in 2001 as a bootable DOS-based CD of proprietary software for offline operations (The Vault), and then has been moved to Linux as its base.

TRK is based on Mandriva and includes a set of utilities for:
– repairing damaged files
– recovering data
– resetting Windows passwords
– detecting computer viruses with a few different antivirus scanners
– disk cloning, including cloning Windows installations over the network
– recovering deleted data files
– editing disk partitions

The founder and developer of TRK is Tom Kerremans.

The last stable version is 3.4 build 372 released in April 2011, but there is newer, beta version 3.4 build 396 as of 2014 available too.

Nostalgia-51-Turbolinux

I could never lay hands on the full version and I gave up.
Origin: Japan
Category: Desktop, Server
Desktop environment: KDE
Architecture: x86, x86_64
Based on: Independent
Wikipedia: Turbolinux
Media: Install CD
The last version | Released: 12.5 | August 29, 2012

TurboLinux – a Linux distribution created in 1992 as Pacific HiTech company in Sandy, Utah, USA by Cliff and Iris Miller, as a rebranded Red Hat distribution.

TurboLinux has been sold to Japanese software corporation SRA located in Tokyo in September 2002.
The last version of TurboLinux 12.5 was released in 2012.

Nostalgia-50- Simplicity Linux

 I may have used this but I cannot remeber except the name Simplicity.

Simplicity Linux

 Simplicity Linux is a Linux distribution based on LxPup, which is based on Puppy Linux

Simplicity Linux uses Puppy Linux and derivatives as a base, uses the LXDE desktop environment, and comes in 3 editions: Netbook, Desktop and Media. Netbook features cloud based software, Desktop features locally based software and Media edition is designed to allow people who want a lounge PC to access their media with ease.

Simplicity 13.x is built on Puppy Upup.
A version of 14.1 is based on Slacko Puppy.
Simplicity 14.7 is based on Puppy Precise 5.7.1.
The latest version 16.07 is based on LxPuP.

As of February 2020, a new version of Simplicity Linux 20.1 released.

Nostalgia-49-Unity Linux

 Unity Linux – a minimalist Linux distribution based on Mandriva Linux.

The Live system uses the Openbox window manager as its default desktop.
Its package management is handled via Smart and RPM 5 package managers which can download and install packages from the project’s repository.

Unity Linux was under development in 2010.
In July 2012, the base system has been changed and used packages of ROSA instead of Mandriva, and an Alpha 1 version has been released as the last one by now.

Unity Linux is available for i586 and x86_64 CPU based machines.

There is a few other distros built on the Unity Linux, such as: Granular Linux, Producer Edition Linux, TinyMe, Unite17, SAMity Linux, HUMANity Linux.

Nostalgia-48-Uber Student

UberStudent – an operating system and suite of programs for everyone, especially higher education and secondary students, those who teach them, and their schools.

Based on Linux technologies, UberStudent is a complete, ready-to-go, and “out-of-the-box” platform that is ideal for every computer user, not just newcomers to Linux. Learning UberStudent means learning the tasks and habits common to all high-performing students, while also enjoying immediate user-friendly productivity and learning cross-platform computer fluency for life.

It has support for the Moodle remote learning environment.

The project developer is Stephen Ewen.

Nostalgia-47-UTUTO

UTUTO – a Linux distribution based on Gentoo and consisting entirely of free software. It is a desktop system designed to be used by home and office users.

UTUTO is compiled using Gentoo Linux “ebuilds” and “emerge” software. UTUTO uses Ututo-Get, a tool for maintaining a package database modeled after Debian’s APT, but as other Gentoo-based distros, the system is compatible with Portage.

UTUTO was developed by the Universidad Nacional de Salta in Argentina between 2000 and 2012.

There are a few variants of UTUTO, such as:
– Ututo-R which offered the possibility of operating like a software router
– Ututo-e which was the most important derivative of Ututo

 

Nostalgia-46-Vinux

Vinux – an Ubuntu based, specialized distribution of the Linux system, optimized for visually impaired and blind users.

Vinux provides two screen readers and Braille support. After starting the system and the graphical desktop (Unity), the Orca screen reader allows you to navigate the desktop using the keyboard. The system also has support for blind users which lets you work with the command line.

Vinux is offered in the form of a live media that can be installed on a hard disk.

The system is available for 32 & 64 bit machines.
Vinux 5.1 is built on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

Vinux supports software text to speech and Braille support from boot-up to shutdown.
Users can use installation medium to install independently with no sighted assistance required.
Vinux supports command line environment speech, Desktop environment speech and magnification features.
Vinux comes with an accessible suite of software and has an excellent mailing list support group.

Features

• Gnome-Orca graphical screen reader
• Speakup console screen reader

Nostalgia-45-Vector Linux

VectorLinux – a Linux distribution based on Slackware. The project is founded by Robert S. Lange and Darrell Stavem and is being developed with community help.

It uses ‘slapt-get’ for package management or the “gslapt” GUI. Users have ability to independently control packages by installing packages without dependencies (for advanced users). Vector uses .tlz packages (LZMA-packed), though .tbz and .tgz are supported too.

The system is released for hardware architecture i486, and from July 2012 also for x86_64.
VectorLinux includes pre-installed non-free software and drivers.

Nostalgia-44-Xandros

Xandros (or: Xandros Desktop) – an easy to use, highly compatible Linux distribution for desktop computer users. It provides an alternative operating system environment that is simple to install, configure and use, provides extensive Microsoft Windows OS and network compatibility, and harnesses the power of Linux to provide a viable, highly functional and reliable Linux desktop that is easy to use.

Features:
– Simple, powerful and complete Linux desktop operating system
– The only Linux desktop that installs out of the box alongside Windows XP with NTFS resizing capability (Deluxe only)
– Ability to run many Windows applications via CodeWeavers CrossOver Office & Plugin products (a US$79.95 value included with Deluxe only)
– Free North American shipping and handling for Xandros Desktop Deluxe (limited time offer)
– Xandros Desktop Deluxe Edition only US$99.00
– Xandros Desktop Standard Edition special introductory price only US$39.95 plus shipping and handling.

Xandros Desktop leverages the performance and reliability of a Linux distribution to create a secure desktop operating system that breaks down the barriers between Microsoft Windows and Linux. A simple 5 step graphical installation process and uncomplicated configuration facilities get your system up and running quickly while the familiar point and click interface and easy to use applications get you surfing the Web, sending e-mail, chatting, word processing and printing immediately.

The Xandros Desktop is based on the Open Source, K Desktop Environment (KDE) which immediately gives it a familiar appearance whether you are accustomed to Microsoft Windows or another Linux distribution.

Nostalgia-43-Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil – a Linux distribution developed by Yggdrasil Computing, Incorporated, a company founded by Adam J. Richter in Berkeley, California. Adam J. Richter started the Yggdrasil company together with Bill Selmeier. Yggdrasil was the first company to create a live CD Linux distribution. Yggdrasil Linux described itself as a “Plug-and-Play” Linux distribution, automatically configuring itself for the hardware.

Yggdrasil was a bootable Linux/GNU/X-based UNIX(R) clone for PC compatibles, tentatively named LGX. The system uses version 0.99.5 of the Linux kernel, which is being developed from scratch by Linus Torvalds and an international group of skilled contributors working over the internet to complete the GNU project.

The first release was published in 1994 (an alpha in 1992) as a single CD, the second (and the last) release of Yggdrasil was in 1995 as 4 CD.

Here are some system requirements of Yggdrasil “Case 1993”:
– at least 386 CPU
– 4 MB RAM
– a supported CD-ROM drive
– ethernet card
– IDE or SCSI hard disk

Data of the distribution:
– Linux kernel 0.99.13 (released on September 20, 1993 as the first kernel with ELF support)
– size of the kernel image: 362 kbytes
– X-Window 11 release 5
– incl. TCP/IP and NFS
– software u.a. Andrew System version 5.1 (ez), Emacs, Ghostscript, Kermit, Z-Modem, Postgres 4.1, gcc