Sometimes I run into a remastered distro that is so odd…so strange…so disgusting…that I don’t even know where to begin in reviewing it. Hannah Montana Linux is one such remastered distribution. Before I get into this review I have to confess that I had no real idea who this Hannah Montana person was before I wrote this review. I’m 40 and I don’t have cable TV. Nor do I bother to listen to very much in the way of today’s crappy music.
So, in order to figure out who Hannah Montana was, I finally broke down and googled her name. She apparently is a character in a Disney TV show. Wow. Who knew?
Here’s the scoop from Wikipedia in case you weren’t in the know about Hannah Montana either:
Hannah Montana is an Emmy Award-nominated[1] American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cyrus) by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real identity from the public, other than her close friends and family.
She apparently warrants her own customized desktop version of Linux for some strange reason that I cannot fathom. So, as always, I will try to put aside my own personal feelings and write as unbiased and objective a review as I can. Well…it’s going to be pretty damn tough in this situation but I promise to try and do my best.
Boot Up & Installation
Hannah Montana Linux is a Live CD version of Linux. So you can opt to use it without actually installing it. If you really need to see what this distribution looks like (as if the screenshots included in this review aren’t enough to ward you off) then I’d say use it as a Live CD so you don’t corrupt your computer’s hard disk by actually installing it.
I opted, as usual, to do the install and didn’t have any problems with it. Since Hannah Montana Linux is Kubuntu you probably won’t have a problem either.
(18 votes, average: 3.61 out of 5)
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hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
great review.
Jim, I got a kick out of seeing this! My ten year old girl just went to Girl Scout Camp for a week, but I *HAVE* to get this one for her – she runs mostly Nick.com and disney stuff when she does get on the computer.
However, my eight year old son is with me now. He’d rather have PCLinuxOS, and his reaction to Hannah Montana Linux was like yours – yuck! :-) He did say though, well, if they have a Hanna Montana Linux, maybe I should do a search and see if they have a Star Wars Linux! :-)
At least we don’t have an iCarly.com Linux or a Drake&Josh Linux or Zoey101 Linux – yet! (Have a ten year year old daughter and you will discover what is “complete non-sense to us”, but what is “so cool” to them)! :-)
Ah, girlie stuff… I still remember some other Ubuntu variation that was supposed to appeal to women, and instead, it created a furor! This one should do no such thing, unless people get concerned about a little girlie system for elementary aged girls “TAKING OVER THE WORLD!”
I think we ought to have a good Scooby Doo Linux myself. Now that one I might use once in a while, though I do not see it replacing any of my main systems!
[...] Hannah Montana Linux, really? http://desktoplinuxreviews.com/2009/07/27/hannah-montana-linux/ [...]
Obviously you have never looked going through the tween girls section at Target on your way to electronics.
Let’s just say Disney Licencing! Brings a tear to my eye thinking of Barbie and Hot Wheels Computers.
But Graven images aside it goes to show you how far we have come that kids (and it had to be) can fully customize the complete look of a distro.
I think the bigger ‘injustice’ here is that you keep referring to it as a distro.
It isn’t a distro, it’s a remaster.
you could just as easily call it “Kubuntu Hannah”
one of the biggest reasons people think there are too many distros is because people don’t know how to tell the difference between a ‘distro’ and a ‘remaster’
It’s a remaster targeted to a particular niche group who prefers that particular decoration/presentation without having to figure out how to do all that themselves.
no big deal.
Big Bear
bigbearomaha wrote:
That’s a great distinction, Big Bear. I’ll try to bear that in mind in future reviews. Thanks for pointing it out.
Agree. I’am sick with so many ‘distro’. The real distro just a little only.
Debian is a distro.
*buntu, sidux, mepisLinux, Dream Linux is Debian fork.
Ultimate edition, satan, uce, sabily, super os, opengeu, CrunchBang, Easy Peasy, PC/OS, *buntu base is ubuntu remaster.
Basicly ubuntu remaster/derivative will have the same bug like ubuntu. One bug with jaunty is ‘soft reset fail’ if boot from USB flash drive. Jim, u never know if just try using virtual pc.
[...] http://desktoplinuxreviews.com/2009/07/27/hannah-montana-linux/ [...]
Yes, Hannah Montana Linux really qualifies more of a “respin” pr a “remaster” of the main distribution, Kubuntu, than deserving of the full title of a “distribution”. We could say that it is a distribution based on Kubuntu. I would consider Kubuntu to qualify as a complete distribution. It has sufficient distinctive features to differentiate itself from its Ubuntu parent and from Debian, the core technology behind it.
Having these special interest systems is something I find interesting. I think that “respins” like this one may very easily be burned into EPROM, USB SSD, or some similar media to create inexpensive, special purpose appliances for specific audiences. I could see selling a $50-75 simple computer with something like Hannah Montana Linux on it and selling it to the third to sixth grade “girl” audience.
I think that if Google does their homework well, they could use either their Android, Chrome OS, or a combination of those technologies, to market custom hand held mobile devices for consumers in a variety of markets.
We’re just experimenting with stuff like Hannah Montana Linux for the fun and novelty of it, but can’t you see the potential for integrators to target specific markets by creating inexpensive devices and actually selling them to their targeted customer base? I think it may happen and I already see it happening on a small scale.
This distribution is not the answer, but it does point to the potential that we are beginning to untap with these creative variations.
I give it 7 ½ starrs! Just for the (bizarre) idea!
Really, if preteen girls are already ‘contaminated’ with that stuff, well, what could be worse than givin’ a Windows computer for them to use? It would break their minds with its (purposeful) nonsense.
HML may be a good system (and get better on the way) and some smart guy(s) made it free for the kids..
Cheer up!
What we have learned from this review is that Jim Lynch is not the giggling 12 year old girl many of us thought he was.:smile:
But seriously, I think they erred by basing this on Kubuntu. They would have been better served tarting up gOS instead. I mean it has most of the icons likely to be used by the target audience already preinstalled on the lower dock. And, based on my experience, young girls seem to prefer a dock like interface for some reason.
As sort of a point of clarification, Miley Cyrus who portrays Hanna Montana, is a one person multi-billion dollar conglomerate. The kid is set for life many times over, and she is not even 18 yet!
I am curious if they had to get permission to do this respin. Perhaps since they are not selling it, the Disney folks consider it free advertising.
Michael Jackson Moonwalk Ubuntu anyone? Get it? It automatically backs up!
I can’t imagine it will be too long until before the creators get an angry letter from Disney for trademark infringement – especially if you start to get any traction.
Now we just need someone to complement this with “Ben 10 Linux”.
They ought to make degrassi the next generation linux. TMNT Linux after that for sure.
This is a very poor remaster. You just downloaded 700mb for a specific background, kde color scheme, and music.
What would have made the joke even funnier is not including any apps of any kind and remove network/internet support making this remaster.That way all you could do is turn on the computer to do nothing more than enjoy the color scheme, background, and music.
Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney had a few issuses with this.