I’ve reviewed so many different Ubuntu remasters that I’ve more or less become numb when I see a new one. After all, aren’t they all pretty much the same? Well no, not really. Different remasters offer different things. This week I decided to look at Pinguy OS. Pinguy OS is a strange blend of Ubuntu, Linux Mint and a bunch of other stuff all rolled into a unique package. It contains the default Ubuntu features and a whole lot more including a ton of multimedia codecs, additional desktop goodies, and a great range of default software.
Before I get into the review, you’re probably wondering what Pinguy OS is and why it was made. Here’s a brief bit of background from Antoni Norman where he explains why he created Pinguy OS and how it’s different from Ubuntu:
Ubuntu is a great OS and undoubtedly the most popular and easiest Linux based Distro to use but even with its default setup and chosen programs it’s still lacking functionality and ease of use for most new users. So what I decided to do was build a Distro that looks good, could do everything most user would ever want to do and that was very simple to use.
I started out by listening to what my friends and family wanted to use their PC for and found the most user friendly programs for the task they wanted to do. After a while I got a good idea what most people use their PC for and what programs where the easiest to use. Like using Shotwell for easily uploading images to Facebook, gtkpod for putting music, photos and video on a ipod/iphone and mvPod for converting the video to a iPod friendly format.
So all the programs in Pinguy OS have been chosen because of there ease of use and functionality, I also changed every file type to open with the right program, like for some reason by default .iso are opened with Archive Manager so I changed that to Brasero Disc Burner.
As I already said apart from it being easy to use I also wanted it to be a very good looking operating system. There are now a lot of programs out there for Linux to give the OS a very smart and polished implementation, like CoverGloobus, Gloobus Preview, GNOME Do, and Docky. These programs don’t just give the OS a good look and feel but they are also very useful and handy.
Pinguy OS is an optimise build of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Minimal CD with added repositories, tweaks and enhancements that can run as a Live DVD or be installed. It has all the added packages needed for video, music and web content e.g. flash and java, plus a few fixes as well. Like fixing the wireless problems, gwibber’s Facebook problem and flash videos in full-screen.
Everything is set-up for samba, all you need to do is right click a folder you want to share and add a password in samba using system-config-samba.
It also has a UPnP/DLNA server (pms-linux) so you can share your music, video’s etc. With a PS3, XBOX 360, Smart Phones or any other UPnP/DLNA media reader.Nautilus has been replaced for Elementary-Nautilus with added plug-ins so it can get music and video art from the web. The default theme is Elementary using ttf-droid font with Docky and a custom Conky.
I have also added DVB support to Totem for anyone with a TV card that wants to watch tv on their PC but don’t want to install a dedicated program like myth-tv.
For a full list of installed programs and repos for 10.04.1 *OLD* download this file.
If you like this Distro and would like to help it improve and grow you can always donate, it doesn’t matter how small the amount is, it all helps.
What’s New In This Release
This release is actually a minor update to the original 10.04.1 release, so there’s not much to report in this section in terms of new features. However, here are some of the features you should take note of that are found in Pinguy OS:
Ubuntu Software Center
Docky
Conky
Linux Mint MintMenu
Linux Mint MintUpdate
Multimedia Codecs
Firefox Addons
I’ll look at each of these features in the appropriate sections of the review. Suffice to say that they add a lot of value to Pinguy OS, and they set it apart from some of the other Ubuntu remasters.
On the next page, I’ll take a look at the hardware requirements and the install routine.
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Jim, thanks for the review. Glad to hear that you did not run into any performance issues with this distribution. I did, but it may have had more to do with the fact that I was running it, not only in a Virtualbox, but that the entire Virtualbox setup was accessing an external USB disk drive, which may have been creating I/O speed issues.
Regarding the use and configuration of Conky, the distribution may not have included any obvious ways to configure Conky, but the fact is that Conky is an extremely configurable tool. It includes ways to display all kinds of information, adding and removing stuff, and also enabling and disabling its display. There are some distributions that provide a menu entry to toggle the Conky display, so if that is what you are looking for, check out the way that antiX does it. In the antiX forum, there are also articles that describe how people have included (or excluded) many of its features. Given that this distribution aims at enabling the “kitchen sink”, that’s not a big issue, but it might be nice, since this distribution is aimed at beginners, to provide a menu entry to manage the Conky display.
This distribution is not for me, but that doesn’t diminish, in any way, the creativity of its creator. I think that this may be the most creative variation of the Ubuntu distribution that we’ve seen, and it shows that there can indeed be merit in remastering the Ubuntu distribution, especially “for friends”!
Nice distribution, nice review.
Thanks for posting the review. I’ve been playing with Pinguy on my laptop lately and been quite impressed. I haven’t decided whether to take my desktop off of Fedora yet, but I’ve enjoyed the default configurations of Pinguy enough to consider it. I think it is a good distro for users that would have tweaked their system with half of the stuff is has added by default anyway; more vanilla users probably will feel like it is bloated.
The only “glitch” I’ve come across with Pinguy on my install was that flash videos don’t go to full screen on sites like youtube when that option is clicked. However, that’s true of pretty much every distro I’ve used so it’s not much of a critique. If I cared, I might try to see if there is a fix for that, but it just hasn’t been important.
Thanks for the review. One thing I think users should know is this distro does not work well in VirtalBox. I know most of your reader would test this, this way but to get the best results out of it, its best to run it from a USB or Live DVD. I have made some modifications so programs open quicker. The problem with this is it has a negative effect while running it in VB.
Thank you for reviewing Pinquy OS and all your other reviews. Your concerns with the negative effects of Adblock extensions are something new I take away from this review . Once again, thank you for sharing your time and experience.
Hi Jocelyn,
Thanks for the positive feedback. And thanks for understanding about the adblocker issue. Your support is welcome and appreciated.
Yup, I do use Adblock Plus, but I use some discretion about when I have it either enabled or disabled. Since I work closely with you and give you feedback about ads on this site, the only time Adblock Plus is ever enabled on this site is when I have just installed a new system and I’ve just enabled Adblock and I visit the site for the first time. As soon as I notice the Red Adblock Icon, I change the parameters until it goes green and I see advertisements here. I’ll do that occasionally for other sites that I like, but I don’t automatically enable advertisements unless I am working on a site that has earned my trust and business.
Years ago I’d deliberately click on advertisements on Yahoo – once I clicked on a graduate education from the University of Phoenix ad and ended up taking online graduate studies there because my Alma Mater did not, at the time, offer online graduate studies. These days, there are too many junk ads on Yahoo, at least from my point of view, so I rarely allow them except when I am using alternative browsers, which I’ll do once in a while to give everyone a few advertising clicks.
The Internet does need advertising revenue. To me, that doesn’t necessarily come as a right though. Just like any other good product, the advertising, the presentation, and everything else have to be good. I don’t know what the compensation model is with Google, but I’ll say this much for them: their ads tend to be more relevant and less intrusive than most other ads, so they are one that earns time with me on occasion too.
Pinguy OS is now on DistroWatch.
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=pinguy
Grats for getting on DistroWatch. Glad to see it up there.
Hey Jim, thanks for doing this review! I tried it on two different systems (32 bit laptop & 64 bit desktop) and I would say that your review pretty much nails my personal experience right on the numbers.
If someone just wants “modern” and “easy” then Pinguy OS is hard to beat with all of the (too)many features. My only problem had to do with wireless configuration. Of the 4 systems we have here in the household, none are hard wired to the internet, so that is always a consideration of mine.
I *could* have done the work to locate the proper windows hardware drivers and used ndiswrapper, but it just wasn’t something I wanted to mess with. Especially with the crappy USB wireless adapter on the desktop.(I remember those days all too well.)
Bottom line on my end, I really wouldn’t mind replacing Mint with Pinguy OS on my laptop, but am just too lazy to get ‘er done.
Thanks again, sir!
-Dave-
[...] Linux Mint PCLinuxOS Peppermint OS One Kubuntu Pinguy OS openSUSE Fedora [...]
The Pinguy OS Team are happy to announce the availability of the Release Candidate 10.10
http://www.pinguyos.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=141
Does it have Inkscape preinstalled?
Uh oh, your distro looks great, but I find the installer quits on me every time. Too bad because I like it . But what good is it if it won’t install
on my 64bit laptop? Do I want to go through all the trouble of registering in the forums and then hope some kind person will respond with an answer I can use.? Not likely. Too bad.
@ Stephen Green:
You can’t encrypt the home while installing. It’s a know bug and its in the release notes. You can encrypt the home once installed just not before.
what i dont get is how linux mint 10 gets a 5/5, yet pinguy is mentioned as mint 10 with even more extras, yet gets a 4/5.
it adopts mint features, and ubuntu core, and adds and improves on them. surely if it improves on mint 10 then it HAS to be a 5/5 “minimum”?