The NetBSD project has released a live CD with automatic hardware detection and an option to boot into KDE. Called NetBSD Live! 2007, the CD image is available for the i386 platform: "This CD-ROM contains a specially constructed version of NetBSD 4.0_BETA sporting a modified kernel based on NetBSD-CURRENT. Booting is done using an adapted version of the GRUB boot loader. The CD contains the following software packages in addition to the base operating system files: XFree86, KDE 3.4.5 with multiple language sets; joe and kvim text editors; AbiWord word processor, Dia 0.9.4 flow-charting and diagramming application, Inkscape 0.4.2 vector graphic application; The GIMP 2.2; Firefox web browser, and more." See the release notes for more information.
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Member since:2006-10-08
Correction: Not the "release notes" page was used to quote from, it was the README file: ftp://iso.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/iso/livecd/netbsd-live-2007-README...
And, as I can see, the bad I18N is not the fault of the NetBSD developers, these are mostly KDE, the GNOME based programs or gettext() issues. No, the NetBSD guys even use the german standard othography and interpunctuation rather than one of the newspeak derivates! At least in the README file (change "en" to "de" in the URI and you'll see). Wow, I like them. :-)
Member since:2006-09-22
The CLI tools include the editor joe which is very powerful and easy to use - if you're familiar with the "Wordstar" like commands. Furthermore, it includes the Midnight Commander which is - let me say it - the best file managing tool I've ever used. So, the CLI functionalities are very good - if you know what you want and how to do it.
I totally agree with you, I use tons of cli tools in my everyday life (Linux user here). What I was trying to mean is that, usually, LiveCD are made to attract people's attention, and showing a cli-only LiveCD isn't particularly appealing, IMHO obviously.
I wish they had used GNOME instead of KDE, but I think they did it this way because most users are more familiar with KDE than with GNOME.
I wish that too, but you're probably right in your assumption.
Member since:
2006-10-08
"I think that they preconfigured a DE mostly because having a CLI LiveCD isn't that cool
"
The CLI tools include the editor joe which is very powerful and easy to use - if you're familiar with the "Wordstar" like commands. Furthermore, it includes the Midnight Commander which is - let me say it - the best file managing tool I've ever used. So, the CLI functionalities are very good - if you know what you want and how to do it.
"Honestly, I never expected to see a NetBSD LiveCD but I guess it's a smart move after all the "NetBSD is dead" show from sometime ago. Hopefully this will attract some new users and possibly devvers."
At least me. :-) I will consider giving NetBSD a try if I see advantages or interesting points in the live system CD that I don't have in FreeBSD or Solaris.
A few words about the live system:
I wish they had used GNOME instead of KDE, but I think they did it this way because most users are more familiar with KDE than with GNOME.
The internationalisation is not very good when you want to use the system with german language. I prefer english as system language, it's better than the bad errorful and newspeak german.
I like the concept of using the NetBSD live system CD as a means of data rescue, because it includes tools for Ext2, NTFS, MSDOS and HFS. Furthermore, defective HDs can securely be used in RO mode - no write action without notification / permission of the user. As the "release notes" page states, this concept also has the following feature:
The telnet server is activated by default on this distribution. [...] Apart from the telnet server, a ftp server (only the user account is allowed, no anonymous access) is activated in /etc/inetd.conf. This makes it possible to boot from CD, mount hard-disks and transfer data from a remote machine. Anonymous-ftp is not configured; [...].
So the security issues about telnet are handled well. As far as it is used in the local network where no untrusted machines are located, it may be used. Then, I like this one:
In order to export X11 applications from a remote machine to the NetBSD machine running from CD, one has to manually allow X access with the xhost + command in a X terminal emulator window. This isn't handled automatically.
Finally, one question: On the "release notes" page, they say "The GNU Image Processor (Gimp) 2.2 " is included. Is "Gimp" the acronym for "GNU Image Maniplulation Program" or for "GNU Image Processor"? I thought it was the first one...