Desktop Linux Reviews

There was an announcement a while back that North Korea had come out with its own version of Linux (called Red Star OS). I dropped by the official North Korean site, and found their contact information. I sent a polite email asking for a download link for their distro, but I never heard back from anybody. This was rather rude on their part, or perhaps they just don’t have people who can read English answering their email. Anyway, I wasn’t able to get a download link…until today.

Due to a screw up on my end, the wrong URL went out with the review earlier.

Here is the correct URL:

http://desktoplinuxreviews.com/2010/05/29/kubuntu-netbook-edition-10-04/

My apologies if you ended up at this page.

SUSE Linux was one of my very first distros; I used to buy it from CompUSA and other places back when I first got started with Linux. These days, of course, one can simply use openSUSE instead of buying it at a store. This week I decided to look at openSUSE 11.3, the latest and greatest version.

OpenSUSE is known for being one of the more preeminent KD-oriented distros, but it also supports GNOME (and now LXDE). Since I reviewed Linux Mint KDE last week, I figured I’d go with the GNOME version of openSUSE 11.3 so I could take a little break from KDE.

The last review I did of Linux Mint 9 covered the GNOME version. This week it’s time to look at the KDE version. Linux Mint 9 KDE is based on Kubuntu 10.04. This release includes KDE Plasma Desktop 4.4 and Linux Kernel 2.3.2. The Linux Mint developers did a great job with this release, as you’ll find out in the review. KDE users should be very happy indeed with Linux Mint 9 KDE. It’s as good for KDE users as the GNOME version is for GNOME users.

Last week I looked at Ubuntu Satanic Edition. This week I decided to review Sabily 10.04, which is the Muslim edition of Ubuntu. It used to be called Ubuntu Muslim Edition but the name was later changed. I’ve included that in the title of the review though to make it easier for folks that may not know the background of this distro.

Peppermint OS made quite a splash when I reviewed it. Many people had never heard of it, and there was a lot of curiosity about a web-oriented remaster of Ubuntu. Some time has passed and there’s a related version that has been released. This new distro is called Peppermint Ice. Why is it called Ice? Well read on to find out.

It has been ages since I delved into the nightmarish and barbaric world of Ubuntu Satanic Edition. Much has changed since I first dared to install it back when I worked for ExtremeTech. Is Ubuntu Satanic Edition still as evil as it used to be? Find out in this review as I take you on a journey into the dark side of Ubuntu Linux. Together we’ll explore…the distro of the beast!

In previous reviews, I looked at the latest versions of Ubuntu and Kubuntu. Now it’s time to look at a lightweight alternative to both of them, Lubuntu. Lubuntu uses the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment (LXDE) instead of the chunkier GNOME or KDE desktops.

Lubuntu 10.04 is not an official derivative of Ubuntu; it is not supported by Canonical. However, it is serves a very important purpose by providing an Ubuntu distro geared toward older or less powerful computers.

I recently took a look at Ubuntu Netbook Edition, this week I decided to review its KDE-based counterpart Kubuntu Netbook Edition. As you’ll find out in this review, the two sport radically different interfaces (and I’m not just talking about wallpaper). Which is better for a netbook user? Read on to find out.

Well it’s often been said that “it never rains but it pours” and that seems very true the about Linux distro releases in the last two weeks. Fedora 13 has just been released so I couldn’t resist doing a review of it. I generally try to stick to two reviews per week but there was just no way I could wait until next week to share my thoughts about Fedora 13.

The last time I looked at SimplyMEPIS was the 8.0 release. In this review I’ll be taking a look at the latest version, SimplyMEPIS Linux 8.5. SimplyMEPIS is based on Debian, and it uses KDE as its desktop environment.

I’ve been reviewing various Ubuntu derivatives and this week I thought it would be fun to take a look at the netbook version of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu Netbook Edition used to be called Ubuntu Netbook Remix, but Canonical changed the name once this distro became an official edition of Ubuntu.

Whenever a new version of Ubuntu is released, a new version of Linux Mint soon follows. This time around it’s Linux Mint 9. Linux Mint 9 is based on Ubuntu 10.04.

I gave Ubuntu 10.04 a big thumbs up in my review, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of Linux Mint 9. So how does Linux Mint 9 stack up? Is it still “a better Ubuntu” than Ubuntu itself?

Read on to find out…

Woof! Woof! Guess what time it is, folks? It’s time for a review of Puppy Linux 5.

Puppy Linux, in case you aren’t already familiar with it, is a lightweight version of Linux that is designed for portability.

The .iso file of Puppy Linux 5.0 weighs in at an incredibly petite 128 MB. It’s much, much smaller than all of the usual desktop heavyweight distros. But don’t let its small size fool you, Puppy Linux 5.0 is anything but an also-ran in terms of functionality and usability.

I’ve covered a lot of remastered versions of Ubuntu since DLR launched. But, every once in a while, I bump into one that is particularly interesting to review. Peppermint OS One is definitely in that category.

Peppermint OS One is a web-centric Ubuntu remaster that passes up common desktop applications like OpenOffice.org in favor of web-based alternatives such as Google Docs. And it doesn’t stop with office applications either; Peppermint OS One integrates video sites like YouTube and Hulu right into the desktop experience.