CrunchBang Linux 9.04.01
Final Thoughts & Who Should Use It
Sometimes it’s nice to have a distribution that deliberately avoids the eye-candy overload of Gnome or KDE and that takes a different path when it comes to usability and functionality. Frankly, after using CrunchBang, it makes me wonder if we really need to have so much glitz in our desktop environments. It’s not just Gnome or KDE that suffer from desktop overload, it’s also Windows and Mac OS X. Operating systems have gotten so fancy and so…pretty…that it all seems quite unnecessary after using a distribution like CrunchBang for a while.
I recommend CrunchBang Linux for anybody who decides that they want a distribution that isn’t weighed down with desktop bloatware. Those who are running older, slower computers might find CrunchBang Linux a particularly good alternative. Newbies to Linux can also play with it if they want to get some experience with a simpler and faster desktop environment.
I like CrunchBang Linux a lot and I think it’s well worth a download. Even if you don’t use it as your main desktop distro you’ll still enjoy what it has to offer if you just want to experience Ubuntu in a more minimalistic way.
Summary Table:
| Product: | CrunchBang Linux 9.04.01 |
| Web Site: | http://crunchbanglinux.org/ |
| Price: | Free |
| Pros: | Uses the lightweight Openbox window manager |
| Cons: | Doesn’t come with OpenOffice.org included by default. |
| Summary: | Provides the power of Ubuntu but without all of the Gnome or KDE desktop bloat. |
| Rating: | 4/5 |
(16 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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Hey Jim! I guess “great minds do think alike after all”! Wow, the first thing I read this morning is about a fresh review of Crunchbang (#!) Linux, only hours after I suggested it! Terrific!
Only one minor comment: I found a typo, mentioning Linux Minut” (a new, cutting edge French distribution, perhaps) instead of Linux Mint? :-) Morning humor, perhaps, oh ho! :-)
Glad to hear that 9.04.01 does indeed benefit from the recent Ubuntu speed improvements; I suspected that may be the case. Now I have to go out and grab a copy and try it out myself.
Thanks for the quick review! Based on what you’ve said, and based on my tests of the previous release, this release justifies another fresh look at this distro – maybe in my Virtualbox setup.
Glad you liked the review, Brian. I’d definitely stick it in VirtualBox and have fun with it.
Hmmm…I see no typo. I believe you are mistaken there. Look again.
I never do typos. Noooooo, not me.
Here in Virtualbox on Debian Lenny, running TWO Virtualbox instances, one with antiX in one window, another (this one) with Crunchbang Linux, and a Seamonkey nightly instance running on another desktop in Lenny.
It took less than ten minutes to download Crunchbang, and less than that to start it up. I cleaned out my cup, poured a cup of green tea, then Crunchbang was up and running, and in the meantime, Lynch even decided that he had not scooped the world with Linux Minut – it really WAS Mint after all!
Nice fast distro here, worth running and giving it a look!
Thank you for a great review!
Welcome to DLR, Phillip. Nice job on CrunchBang.
I dont believe OpenOffice should be installed by default on any distro. It takes 10 seconds to install it from synaptic if its needed. Use the space on the CD for something more important that more people actually use.
Minimalistic distros like CrunchBang are where its at. If I wasn’t so happy with my Debian with Fluxbox, I’d switch to CrunchBang. Overall they are very similar. CrunchBang would be an easier way to go.
Don’t obsess over how you desktop looks just get to work! Go with a minimalistic desktop!
You guys might want to check out this thread in the forum:
http://desktoplinuxreviews.com/forum/index.php?webtag=DLRFORUM&msg=77.1
It’s about the issue of minimalism versus bloat on the desktop.
CrunchBang deserves the praises you sang. The review, however, could have been more balanced if you had discussed the downside. Not least is that CrunchBang’s minimalist approach, achieved mainly through the use of Openbox, sacrifices functionality and ease of use for simplicity and speed. To cite two examples, one cannot display programmes or launchers on the desktop and configuring the menu isn’t exactly a cinch. Let’s face it. There are other distros (e.g.,Puppy Linux and Antix) that are leaner and faster than CrunchBang but offer the eye-candy that many are not ready to give up.
Thanks for the comment, windmonger. I’ll add Puppy and Antix to my list for later review.