Where To Get Help
You can always post a note in the Desktop Linux Reviews Forum and we’ll do our best to offer feedback or at least point you in the right direction. You might also want to check out the Kahel OS Wiki or the Kahel OS Forum.
Final Thoughts & Who Should Use It
I like Kahel OS in some ways but it has some serious problems that make it ill-suited for most desktop users with the exception of very experienced Linux users.
I do not recommend it to new users at all because of the installation routine and the software management/system update problems I noted above. Newbies are far better served with one of the Ubuntus than with Kahel OS.
I hope that Kahel OS changes over time and that a more automated, slicker install routine is added and that the software management bugs are all worked out. At that time I’ll be happy to take another look at it but as it is right now I really cannot recommend it to anybody for a regular desktop distro.
Kahel OS does have promise though and I think that with some more work it may eventually become a great way to get Arch Linux on your desktop. I’ll be watching to see how it develops in the future.
Summary Table:
| Product: | Kahel OS Linux |
| Web Site: | http://www.kahelos.org |
| Price: | Free |
| Pros: | Attractive, colorful wallpaper and Gnome desktop. Reasonable software selection. Clean, uncluttered desktop. |
| Cons: | Potentially difficult install routine for some users. Also has software management bugs. Lacks OpenOffice.org and Firefox in default install. |
| Suitable For: | Very experienced Linux users that simply want to play with it and check it out. |
| Summary: | Kahel OS is a good start on making Arch Linux accessible to regular desktop users. It has some serious drawbacks right now though that make it mostly unsuitable for desktop users who aren’t Linux gurus. Hopefully the developers will fix some of these issues in future releases. |
| Rating: | 2.5/5 |
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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!