Zen-walking with Zenwalk 4.8

Zen-walking with Zenwalk 4.8: Zenwalk, formerly known as Minislack, is a Linux Distribution based on the solid foundation of Slackware. The dolphin (known as fast and intelligent) that is used as its logo, epitomizes its aim to create a lightweight Linux operating system through the integration of the most up-to-date software packages available for a stable release, optimization for specific processor architecture to increase execution speed, and introduces a comprehensive package management system with dependency resolution.

I have been Zen-walking before on my backup computer, until I decided to replace it with Absolute Linux. I’m still happily testing Absolute right now, but I’m already eager to try out the latest Zenwalk release version which is 4.8. So I downloaded the 420MB ‘full version’, and then tested it on VMWare as I don’t want to touch the Absolute partition for the moment. My other reasons for testing an OS using virtualization software can be found in one of my articles HERE.

Test Machine Specs:
Board: Intel Corporation D102GGC2
Processor: 3.40 GHz Intel Pentium D
Hard Drive: Samsung 80GB ATA with 8GB allocated to VM disk
Memory: 2GB DDR2 RAM with 512MB allocated to VM memory
Display: ATI RADEON X1050[Display adapter]


Intro:
Zenwalk Linux was founded in France by Jean-Philippe Guillemin. It was first released on May 21, 2004 as Minislack 0.1. Zenwalk can now be considered as the most popular 'complete' lightweight desktop because of its high ranking in Distrowatch; as of the time being, it is listed at number 13.


Installation:
The ISO image for Zenwalk 4.8 ‘full version’ can be directly downloaded from here. I loaded the ISO as guest OS on the Workstation. Then, when the familiar Zenwalk prompt for adding boot options parameter appeared, I typed ‘scsi’ as the virtual disk is SCSI by default. Next, I was taken to the text-based Zenwalk setup screen. I then opted for ‘Autoinstall’ option, and from there it was smooth sailing. All of the packages were completely installed in less than 15 minutes and the Virtual hardware were properly detected.


Look and Feel:
One of the things I like most about Zenwalk is the fast boot/startup and shutdown speed. My screen resolution was set to 1024x768. Its default XFce desktop is so responsive and very simple-looking, not too sleek but not too rough. I find the desktop very user-friendly because the icons and panels are well-arranged for quick and easy access to essential applications. Plus, some good-looking themes and Zen wallpapers are available if you want to customize the look.


Package Management:
The package management tool used by Zenwalk is called ‘netpkg’. A little overview, netpkg is developed in-house, and it provides the main functionalities of the apt-get variety of package managers. It uses Slackware's .tgz package format, but adds dependency resolution capabilities. A GUI can be used to easily maintain packages in Zenwalk and there plenty of pre-installed free and open-source applications to choose from. This includes IceWeasel web browser, IceDove, Gnumeric spreadsheet, AbiWord, Mplayer, Python, Perl, Samba and a lot more.


Stability:
Zenwalk’s stability can’t be denied since I have used and tested the version 3.0 long enough, and it never failed to deliver the goods. I can say that this new version is also very stable indeed based on the initial tests I made. I opened several applications and tested several programs simultaneously without a single hitch, a proof that it can be efficiently used for a much longer period of time.


Conclusion:
Zenwalk has done it again. I am honestly pretty pleased with this new version. The fast installation and the very responsive desktop is what I love most about it. Its server side capability is also a plus. I would not recommend Zenwalk to Linux first-timers because of its text-based installer, but to those who are persistent enough, using it and setting it up is fairly straightforward. Zenwalk, as the name implies, gives an enlightening experience to its users because it is a joy to use and its reliability is outstanding.

NimbleX: The Diet Slackware

NimbleX: The Diet Slackware - The word “nimble” is an adjective that means quick and light in motion. It is also a quality that the young NimbleX Linux distribution is boasting. Based on Slackware, the grand daddy of all distros, its main goal is to provide the latest and greatest open source applications to those who have lower-end computers.

Recently, I contemplated on replacing Xubuntu from our old Prestigio laptop. Cassandra Mint was a good candidate to replace it but I was looking for an even lighter distro. I tried the very lightweight DSL about a week ago but I find it not suitable for beginners and it still lacks what a complete desktop has. Then yesterday, I ended up reading Tuxmachines’ review of NimbleX which was very positive. So I immediately downloaded the newly released sub 100 version of NimbleX. It took an hour to complete the download and then I was ready to roll. I tested it first on VMWare to know if it really is capable enough to be installed on the old machine. Here is what I found out about NimbleX:

Test Machine Specs:
Board: Intel Corporation D102GGC2
Processor: 3.40 GHz Intel Pentium D
Hard Drive: Samsung 80GB ATA with 8GB allocated to VM disk
Memory: 2GB DDR2 RAM with 512MB allocated to VM memory
Display: RADEON X300/X550 Series [Display adapter]

Intro:
NimbleX is developed in Romania by Bogdan Rădulescu, and is available in either English or Romanian language interface. Being based in Slackware, it uses linux-live scripts with the advantage of having thousands of available free software packages. NimbleX is not yet ranked among the top 100 in Distrowatch.

Installation:
The NimbleX sub 100 version Live CD is only about 100MB in size, thus the name. You can download it directly from here. It doesn’t come with a complete hard disk installer but it is possible to install it manually by following these instructions. A USB installer can be found inside the home directory. They said that it can also be used as a hard drive installer but I tried it without having any success. I didn’t have the luxury of time to install NimbleX manually, but anyway it really is unnecessary as I’m still testing it yet.

Look and Feel:
I was impressed at how NimbleX managed to pack a good looking KDE desktop inside its diminutive size, and made it so responsive that I feel like I’m using XFCE. I tried switching from one screen resolution to another without having some problems. The default theme and wallpaper is fine coupled with few extras. Other eye candies like boot splash and start-up splash screen images are quite pleasing so I would say it was a praiseworthy job by the artwork team.

Package Management:
There are good amount of software installed by default including Xine multimedia player, Guarddog firewall, Kate IDE, Konqueror web browser, a CD and DVD burner, Gimp image editor and plenty more. I was surprised though that it didn’t have Firefox, but I did successfully added it using Kweb2mod as you can see from the screenshot. Kweb2mod is an experimental program that will mount application modules live and direct from the the NimbleX repository. While not plenty, the repo contained essential software like Java Runtime Environment and OpenOffice.

Stability:
NimbleX is fairly stable in my VMWare testing environment and it really is fast for a KDE desktop. The only understandable slow time I had was when mounting program modules from the web. But once mounted, the opened application will run fast enough for functionality. I must admit that I still have to test it for a much longer period of time to really judge its stability; maybe later on the old laptop. I will just keep an update on that.

Conclusion:
The NimbleX distribution has a prospect and is on the right track to be popular. It gives hope to those who maybe are still using Windows 98 today due to their ultra low-end computers; and for goodness sake please burn that rubbish OS. All things considered, I find NimbleX really easy to use but I will recommend it only to novice users for the lack of automated installer. NimbleX is true to its name and is definitely worth a try. It is without doubt one of the fastest Linux distributions available today.

#UPDATE: I have already tested NimbleX on the old Prestigio 109 laptop with 1GHz VIA Nehemia processor and 256MB of RAM; sad to say, it failed miserably. When I chose the normal boot option which is to KDE, the system freezes and I have to hard reset the laptop. Command Line Interface (CLI) mode is the only thing that worked and when I try to login to KDE via CLI there was an X server error. I tried every boot parameter options but without any success. I didn’t want to dig in anymore to find out what’s causing the problem. It’s the job for the developers to figure this out and somehow improve their hardware support; but I don’t want to assume yet that it is poor in this department. I still want to hear those who have also tried NimbleX.

antiX M-7, The Fat-free Simply Mepis

antiX M-7, The Fat-free Simply Mepis: Simply Mepis is a Linux newbie’s dream. It is known for its ease-of-use and its exceptional hardware detection. A new lightweight flavor of Mepis, which is intended for older hardware was released recently. It is called AntiX with a code name “Lysistrata”, and so I quickly jumped into trying it out.

Xubuntu RC is already installed on our old laptop, but I was tempted to also install AntiX on it. So I got the ISO image of AntiX live CD from here, and then burned it on the CD after. I also made sure to copy some of the important files from my laptop using a couple of online backup services and other Linux data backup tools.

Test Machine Specs:

Prestigio 109 laptop

Processor: 1GHz VIA Nehemia

Memory: 256MB RAM

Hard Drive: 20GB

Installation:

The installation can be accomplished with just several steps to take. But, newbies may find it difficult where to begin with as there’s no installer icon present on the desktop. That is why I’m here to help:

To begin the installation, just right click to display the main menu, and then click ADMIN TOOLS → MEPIS ADMIN → INSTALL. A terminal will appear then just type “root” for the password. After this, the installation menu will appear and believe me it will be an uncomplicated process from here.

The installation on my system was fast and flawless. The hardware were well-detected, and everything worked as normal from audio, video, DVD-drive, Ethernet, and USB.

Look and Feel:

I find AntiX slow to boot compared to Xubuntu running on our not-so-old laptop. It is also less responsive considering that it has a lighter Fluxbox desktop. At login, there is an option to use ICEWM but I preferred to use the default FWM for this test. The desktop look is not as polished as that of XFce, but I still like it because of its geeky appeal. Linux beginners will find the FWM unfriendly the first time that they will use it, while the novice will love it for its simplicity.

Package Management:

The very reliable Synaptic will smoothly take care of installing, removing, and updating software applications for AntiX. Also, there are plenty of pre-installed applications on AntiX like Xchat, IceWeasel, gMplayer, Brasero, Flash, and plenty more. As I’ve said, Synaptic is your friend if you want to download and install additional packages.

Stability:

There’s no question about the stability of a Debian based system. Though I can’t really make a concrete judgement regarding AntiX’s steadiness based only from the short period that I have used it, I can declare that it is secure enough for regular computer tasks. I’ve encountered few bugs while using a number of applications, but it is only minor and did not really affect its overall performance.

Conclusion:

I would say that AntiX is highly recommended for those who have older machines because of its dependable hardware detection and its light footprint. While it did not perform as well as Xubuntu on my older laptop, I still consider AntiX as a very promising distro that could easily beat any lightweight distribution in the near future.

A Walk in the Park with Zenwalk 5.0

Zenwalk Linux is probably one of the most if not the most well-known Slackware-based Linux distribution today. It is ranked consistently high on Distrowatch and has a good number of active users and community members. The popularity is mainly due to Zenwalk’s simplicity, ease-of-use, and Slackware-like stability. I can clearly prove this as I have been a Zenwalker before.

My last great Zenwalk experience was with version 4.8, so when 5.0 came out, I never hesitated to get it immediately. I noticed just recently that Zenwalk comes in four different flavors, namely Standard Edition, Core Edition, Live Edition, and Server Edition. You can go to Zenwalk’s website for complete details and to download.

I got the Standard Edition (SE), which I usually do, and then installed and tested it on VMWare Server. I utilized 8 GB of virtual storage (preformatted to IDE), 256 MB of VM RAM, and just a single CPU of my Intel Pentium D 3.4 GHz machine. I’ve been using and testing the distro for several days already, so, here is what I found out about Zenwalk 5.0:

Installation:
Zenwalk 5.0 SE has the same old-fashioned Ncurses-based text-mode installer. The set-up is actually very straightforward that new-to-Linux users shouldn’t fear. It’s even a lot easier if the partition is already prepared. Like in my case, I only selected the “Autoinstall” option because I dedicated the entire VM disk for Zenwalk. The installer took care of creating the root and /home partition, and then copied the necessary system and application files. The whole process took only around 10-15 minutes to complete.



After that, I configured the LILO bootloader, hardware clock and timezone, plus other services. Then, the system rebooted for the first time and midway through booting, some license agreement forms will appear (blah 3x). Lastly, I configured the sound device, language, and the user accounts. I considered the whole installation a complete success as it was pretty much flawless.


Look and Feel:
As always, XFCE is Zenwalk’s default desktop manager. The theme and artwork had a very cool and light aura. The theme now which is called “Zen” is actually different from version 4.8, which I can’t remember the name. It’s rounded and sleeker looking than the previous version. The default wallpaper is just very plain and simple. The desktop arrangement in Zenwalk is its trademark two panels, with the lower panel shorter but a little bit wider than the top panel. I’m not really into this kind of setup as it takes too much desk space, so I easily removed the lower one and just settled for the one on top. XFCE is highly customizable but you may need some patience to tweak everything because it is not as easy to do compare to in KDE or in Gnome. Anyway, the best thing about XFCE is its speed and efficiency.



Software/Package Management:
Zenwalk is packed with free/open-source goodies despite its limited size. It has a wide array of software applications for productive uses such as IceWeasel (Firefox Rebranded) web browser, GIMP image editor, Pidgin IM client, Brasero CD burner, Abiword and Gnumeric office programs, and plenty more. By the way, Flash and Java is not installed by default just like in previous versions of Zenwalk. However, there’s a graphical package manager called Netpkg that will take care of downloading and installing additional packages as well as for removing and updating software. I installed Flash without a hitch and I was watching Youtube in no time. However, I still hate IceWeasel’s HTML rendering in Zenwalk. Anyway, I find Netpkg not as clear-cut as other package management tool like Synaptic for example. Beginners might find it difficult to use at first but will love it for its reliability. Zenwalk has also a handy system tool manager called “Zenpanel” that basically functions like a control center for important hardware devices and system configurations.



Stability/Hardware Support:
For me, a distro’s stability can be first noticed or observed based on how it detects and supports key hardware devices. Zenwalk 5.0 did it incredibly well by correctly configuring my important hardware components like audio, USB, and CDROM. Ethernet was also working immediately after the first reboot without the need for additional setup. My monitor's screen resolution was also properly configured and could be adjusted to my desired size without any trouble. However, I encountered a few minor hiccups while running some applications, but it didn’t affect the overall performance.



Conclusion:
From version 3.0 up to now, Zenwalk didn’t fail to impress me. In fact, I think it keeps on getting better and better after every release. The speed, ease-of-use, and stability were much improved in this latest release. The light footprint and the featherweight desktop still make Zenwalk ideal for low-end computer hardware. I will definitely install it if I have a Pentium III class machine with less than 256 MB of RAM.

Using Zenwalk may not be a walk in the park if used by Linux beginners, but it’s almost there. Minus the installation, particularly the partitioning portion, I would say without doubt that it can easily become a newbie-friendly distro. A little bit of patience and some Linux love are all you need to fully appreciate a wonderful distro like Zenwalk.

SLAX, the Shrunken Slackware

SLAX, the Shrunken Slackware: SLAX is a minuscule version of the well-known Slackware Linux distribution. It is a LiveCD operating system that does not need to be installed on a computer’s hard drive as it can boot and run from either a USB or a CD drive. There is also an option to run SLAX from RAM. So now it's time to take a microscopic look at this tiny distro. But first, some SLAX facts:

SLAX was originated from the Czech Republic, developed by Tomas Matejicek. It is currently ranked #27 in Distrowatch. There are five official versions of SLAX. “SLAX Standard” is the standard distribution for normal personal use. There are two specialized versions; “SLAX KillBill” includes Wine and Qemu to run Microsoft Windows applications. “SLAX Server” supplies additional Internet functionality and comes with pre-configured server applications. In addition, there are two more minimalistic versions – “SLAX Popcorn” and “SLAX Frodo”. SLAX Popcorn uses Mozilla Firefox as the default web browser and the lightweight Xfce as a desktop environment instead of KDE. SLAX Frodo is designed for users with a low amount of RAM and does not contain the X Window System.

For this review, I got the latest "Standard" development release version which is SLAX 6 rc7. I downloaded the 184MB LiveCD directly from here.

I used VMware to test SLAX using only 128 MB of VM RAM at first. After I loaded the LiveCD, I was taken directly to the traditional boot menu where I was given several boot choices. I opted to start using the default KDE option, and then without delay, I was taken to SLAX’s desktop. The desktop was running sluggish as applications were slow to open. 128MB of RAM just can’t handle a KDE desktop well, or perhaps it's just because I'm running SLAX in a VM environment. But, when I increased the RAM to 256MB, it now ran efficiently.



I started with a screen resolution of 800x600, but I successfully changed it to my desired resolution size. SLAX has a good looking and polished artworks, and I love the default desktop theme and wallpaper. Its KDE desktop is ideal for users who want to try out Linux for the first time because it is very user-friendly.



SLAX was excellent in detecting my VM hardware, everything worked from my USB, audio, and Ethernet. I can instantly browse the web without having to configure anything.


SLAX is loaded with valuable and functional out-of-the-box software applications: for office tasks, there is KOffice; for multimedia, there is Kplayer; for web surfing and file browsing, there’s Konqueror; for developers, there’s KWrite advanced text editor. Perl scripting language was included but sad to say Python is not. SLAX is also loaded with networking tools, plus some added games for recreation. I also found out that Flash is already installed by default, so playing videos on YouTube is just a few clicks away. You can also use the “SLAX module manager”, described as a package management beyond your dreams for adding and removing software modules.




The applications were running smooth and steady in SLAX. The responsiveness and the quickness of Slax reminded me of using the even smaller-sized NimbleX distro. Users with older computer machines can indeed benefit from using SLAX.


All things considered, SLAX is without doubt, a distro to beat in terms of speed, functionality, and stability. It is filled with handy applications ideal for productive use. SLAX LiveCD can also be reliably utilized to rescue a broken system or as a backup software, and it can be fully customized if you want to create your own CD or even a SLAX based distribution. Certainly, SLAX fits this tongue twisting description: "SLAX is a shrunken Slackware."

Slax 6.0 on an Ancient Prestigio 109 Laptop

My first good impression of Slax was documented on my Slax, the Shrunken Slackware post. It was with Slax 6.0 RC7, a development release version which I tested under VMWare Server. So recently, I decided to take a closer look at Slax, by getting the latest “Distribution Release” which is version 6.0.3. This time, I’m using our ancient Prestigio 109 laptop to fully check the features and capabilities of this tiny distro. By the way, you can get Slax from their project website HERE.

This old mobile computer of ours has 1GHz VIA Nehemia processor, 256MB RAM, and 20GB hard drive. The hardware specifications may not seem that old to some of you, but if you’ll compare these to today’s laptop specs, you will agree with me. Just a little history of our beloved Prestigio 109 laptop; its original operating system is Windows XP. I decided to install Zenwalk later on after my wife complained that XP is starting to run like a turtle. I then switched to Ubuntu, then Mepis, and then finally settled with Xubuntu.

So how did Slax 6.0 get along with our ageing not-so-portable machine? Read on.


When the Slax Live CD was loaded, I was greeted with the familiar Slax boot options menu screen. I had a choice to start Slax in the default Graphics mode. I also had an option to copy Slax first to RAM to make it run faster, to start it in Text or command prompt mode, or to begin in VESA mode. I opted to start Slax the default way and then let it boot. Without delay, I was taken to the Slax KDE desktop.



The desktop look is still the same since the RC7 version of Slax. It's cool-looking default wallpaper and its splash image are still unchanged. There’s really nothing fancy about its overall appearance, just a simple KDE desktop with very minor customization. But, I don’t want to judge the book (I mean the distro) by its cover alone.



Slax comes with plenty of useful applications to keep the average desktop users happy. Some of its included free/open-source software packages are KOffice suite (contains a word processor, spreadsheet, and slide presenter), Kuickshow image viewer, KolourPaint (where’s Gimp?), Kplayer (video player), JuK (audio player), K3b (CD/DVD burner), Perl scripting language (where’s Python?), KWrite (Text Editor), Konqueror file and web browser (where’s FireFox?), some games, and plenty more. Flash is already installed by default so you don’t have to worry about it if you are into watching Youtube or any other flash-based videos.



There’s a Slax Module Manager with a purpose of getting and installing additional packages, but it seems the modules are not available (see screenshot below) in this distribution release. I find it odd because the modules were available in the “Release Candidate” version without me having to configure anything. I'm sorry to say that I just didn’t have the luxury of time to dig further and find the cause of this problem.


The good thing about Slax 6.0 is that it jelled well with Prestigio 109 laptop’s old hardware. The audio, USB, CD drive, and Ethernet were properly recognized and were functioning the way I want them to function. The display was also correctly set to its default 1024 x 768 resolution. I really had no problem hardware-wise and I can say that it was smooth sailing all along.



Because Slax is fast and lightweight, it is naturally an ideal distro for older computer machines like our ancient laptop. However, I must say that it is still not for everyone. I think it is not yet ideal for Linux beginners since newbies will probably need a distro that is a lot easier to use and has a widespread community support. Also, there are still issues that need to be fixed like the one I said above. But, as I’ve stated before, Slax is a good tool for those who are technically oriented because Slax can be utilized for rescuing a broken system. Or if you are willing enough, it is possible to build your very own Linux distro out of Slax.

Though Slax 6.0 needs a little improvement, I feel that it still a quality, reliable, and stable distribution release. I will be keeping an eye on Slax and hope for the best on their future releases.