On opposite ends
I have recently downloaded two Linux distros and begun playing with them, Libranet Linux and Crux Linux.
Libranet Linux is a commercial distro that seems to be trying to position itself alongside SuSe, Mandriva, RedHat and the like. Unlike some of the others, though, its still freely available for download, and it’s the downloaded version that I have. Its latest version uses the v2.6 kernel.
Frankly, I’m pretty impressed. It has a very simple installation process and it comes with an amazing variety of software, including a big handful of windows managers. KDE and GNOME are represented, of course, but so are Enlightenment, Window Maker, Fluxbox, Blackbox, Openbox, Sawfish, Metacity, IceWM, twm, fvwm, qvwm and others. Nearly every Linux word-processor and text editor I’ve heard of is included, with the same being true for browsers and email clients. Over 100 games are tucked in nicely, too, and sundry other software to the point of frank overkill. If nothing else, it’s giving me the chance to play with software that, for one reason or another, I’d never gotten around to trying.
Despite having that distinct polished edge that most commercial distros have, Libranet does its business in quite a lively fashion. In fact, it’s farily peppy, more so than MEPIS or Ubuntu, much more so than that bloated pig, Linspire. Overall, I was quite pleased.
The fly in the ointment: That was on computer #1 in my stable. When I attempted to load it onto computer #2, it refused to recognize the keyboard at the very beginning of the installation process, bringing things to a crashing stop. That the motherboard in that computer’s not especially Linux-friendly certainly has some bearing on the issue, but it’s disconcerting nonetheless. I’ll be diddling with this more, to see if there may be a solution.
Crux Linux is an expert’s distro and is billed as such. It is a standalone distro; that is, unrelated to any other distro. It’s a smallish installation CD, about 220 meg, and nearly all of that is related to the OS itself, with only a very small number of applications included (Firefox, xchat, emacs, pico…) This is definitely not a distro for the new user, nor especially faint of heart, as it requires that you configure and compile the kernel for your hardware and needs. It only comes with one window manager, Window Maker, and that must be manually installed as well. In terms of installation ease, I place it right alongside a stage 3 Gentoo install, and it’s about as lengthy. While I’m still in the process of getting it set up, I do have it running at the bash prompt and my initial impression is favorable. It seems pretty zippy and is definitely worthy of further consideration. I’ll write more as I go along.
Conclusions: of the commercial and “commercial wannabe” distros that I’ve tried to date, Libranet is most impressive…to me. It’s not as simple to install as MEPIS, not as idiot proof as Ubuntu, but it offers a huge software package, is fast and stable. It’s a good example of how a distro can have a large software stable, with lots of options, yet remain light on its feet.
Crux is a power-user’s minimalistic system that will never be a top hit, but will very likely remain in my stable, if only for the geek factor. This is a good learning distro for those who wish to delve further into Linux’s inner workings.
