Kahel OS Linux
Networking, Sound and Multimedia
When I tried to play my Superman cartoon test DVD, I crashed the movie player app. Oops! I got the app opened but just got an error message when it tried to play it. It’s possible that certain codecs need to be installed to get DVDs to play. There was no option that I could find to download and install any additional codecs in the package manager.
YouTube videos played fine and the video looked great but I was not able to get sound. This may have been a virtual machine problem since I ran Kahel OS in VirtualBox. I’ll give it a pass because of that on the sound issue.
I had no problem with networking. When I booted into my Kahel OS desktop I was able to connect to the Internet without a problem.
What I Liked Most
I liked the colorful wallpaper and cuteness of the Kahel OS desktop.
Problems & Headaches
One thing I noticed when I went to download Kahel OS is that it’s easy to accidentally download the server version by mistake. The Kahel OS download page at SourceForge defaults to the server edition not the desktop edition.
In order to download the desktop edition you have to click View All Files then scroll down to the September 2009 then click on the .iso file link. I’ll save you the trouble by giving you the desktop download link right now.
One potential problem for KDE users is that Kahel OS uses Gnome as its desktop environment. I personally don’t mind this at all but there is no option to use KDE and I want to note it here in case some of the KDE users are considering Kahel OS.
Note my comments above about the installation. It really isn’t geared toward complete Linux novices at all so bear that in mind. The install needs to be more automated and it needs to move beyond text based menus.
OpenOffice.org and Firefox both weren’t installed by default. I found OpenOffice.org by searching in the Add/Remove Software tool but was not able to find Firefox. I found some plugins listed for Firefox but the actual app did not seem to be available. This is both perplexing and flat out annoying. Epiphany is what it is and perhaps some like it but I prefer Firefox.
When I tried to install OpenOffice.org, I got a message saying that I couldn’t lock the database. I checked the Kahel OS forum and found this thread about it. Managing apps at the command line is no fun at all and not something I would spend any time doing in any desktop distro.
I was also not able to update my system as I got the same “unable to lock database” error.
I was not able to successfully update my system.
(3 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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(4.83 out of 5)
Another good review.
Another way of putting Arch Linux on your system is with the Chakra Project: http://chakra-project.org/ Designed by the folks at kde I believe.
Thank you Jim for this review. I will see if I use this distro in the future.
Will you consider Zeven Os and Kanotix for a new review. Thank you!!
Thanks for the positive feedback, guys. Molen I’ll take a peek at those other distros, thanks for the suggestion.
I’ve used KahelOS, what’s new with it compared to Ubuntu for one is its speed. I’ve never seen Ubuntu go this fast. Also, its much easier to use. Sorry for the generality of what i’ve said. maybe next time i’ll be posting specific things i’ve noticed.
Hi Jim, I see Kahel OS as a starting point for those who want a bit more of a head start than Arch. Neither Arch nor Kahel are intended for beginners; they are intended to be “simple” in structure for those who know what they are doing and can take advantage of a simple structure.
Did you know that a simple command: pacman -Syu is enough to completely upgrade a system? Invest one extra moment, and create this alias in .bashrc, then exec bash to reinitialize your shell:
alias ug=’sudo pacman -Syu’ and you can upgrade by typing in ug and Enter.
To create various other aliases is just as simple. To me, the button pushing and the GUI for installation just slows things down, and are not the sweet spot for a distro like this. I create ug, inst, and other aliases when I operate Debian based systems, too, and unless I use a tool, such as smxi, I tend to use apt-get with those aliases rather than synaptic, which I use primarily for searching for packages and installing individual packages (though I often just use apt-cache seach | more to do my package searching.
Regarding Zeven Os and Kanotix for a new review, I have not previously heard of Zeven – would like to hear more. Kanotix was once a great distro – morphed to sidux. Has the Kanotix project resurfaced? Last I saw, 2006-7 was its last activity. Am I mistaken about that?
[...] #KahelOS Produced Out of #Arch #GNU #Linux http://desktoplinuxreviews.com/2009/10/16/kahel-os-linux/ [...]
@ Brian Masinick:
Hello!
‘only wanted to add a little notice concerning “Kanotix”: It is not ‘dead’ at all, the creator only decided to work things out in “the IRC-underground”; you especially only get a link to freshest .iso’s on this way. Just log in and show your interest. Kanotix is still the ‘ultimate Debian-way’ !
greetings,
Christian Oelte
Hello!
What’s nice with this distro is that, when I viewed their Issue tracker, all your comments regarding KahelOS are already posted there to be reviewed!
KahelOS Linux (Desktop Edition) Installer version: 12-25-2009
Sharing and giving, that’s the Spirit of Christmas. And so on this very day of “Gift-Giving”, three months after our first installer release 09-09-2009, we give you the new KahelOS Linux (Desktop Edition) Installer Version: 12-25-2009 . Download installer at http://www.kahelos.org/downloads.php
KahelOS Linux now has Kernel 2.6.32, Xorg 7.5 and Gnome 2.28.2 by default..
We are merry and proud to impart the new KahelOS Linux Installer developed to make it much more simple, easier and refreshing to use:
* Fast, simple and rolling-release Linux Desktop OS.
* Based on Arch Linux
* Faster Bootup Utilizing KMS (Kernel Mode Setting)
* Included familiar apps for mainstream users
-Firefox 3.5.6
-OpenOffice.org 3.1.1
* Added Enhanced and Stable Features for advance Users
* GCM (Gnome Color Management) is installed by Default
* Evolution Groupware
* i686 and x86-64
* Multilingual
* Only 1 CD Installer
For more details on this release: http://www.kahelos.org/newsdetails.php?newsid=39
Happy Holidays!