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发表于 2008-6-17 22:38:24
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Ububtu Based - PC/OS
PC/OS - the BeOS of the Linux world (by Seth Corven)
PC/OS is a recent new entry into the Linux distribution world. Based on Ubuntu, it uses Xfce as its default desktop and offers a variety of user-friendly enhancements, such as out-of-the-box support for popular multimedia codecs. It also includes a collection of software development tools. Although PC/OS has yet to be added to the DistroWatch.com's distribution database, we offer this reader-contributed review for the benefit of those visitors who enjoy evaluating emerging distributions. (And as a lucky coincidence, we've just learnt that the final release of PC/OS 8.04, now renamed to PC/OS 2008, was released just as we went to press and is available for free download from the project's web site.)
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Introduction
I recently downloaded the new PC/OS 8.04 release candidate 1. This distribution was one I learned about from Linux.com and have been seeing it pop up more in Internet discussions and on "newbie" channels. I used to be a long-time BeOS user so when I saw a screenshot of the distribution, I was expecting to find just a skinned Xfce, but I found much more.
PC/OS is a very young distribution, only about 60 days old since a public release. But after conversation with the creator, Roberto Dohnert, I found out that it had started life as a private distribution. The PC/OS web site claims that "this operating system concentrates on bringing ease of use and unsurpassed desktop performance to the client desktop and server arena" and that "it provides all multimedia codecs out of the box, and an easy to use and simplified interface." Also from the project's web site: "Great compatibility with older hardware to help you extend your hardware and software investments. Being based on Ubuntu, all software and hardware that is compatible with Ubuntu is compatible with PC/OS." While more and more Linux distributions promise the same thing, what sets PC/OS apart?
The desktop
The desktop has many caveats. It has a layout that is very similar to the BeOS desktop. It's a generally good-looking desktop based on Xfce and it's very simple. It doesn't have the same 3D effects that Ubuntu uses and composition is turned off by default. It has a BeOS XFWM theme that's offered in different colors: Mint, which is a green theme, Metal which is metallic in nature, Be yellow which is the default, and a metallic pink theme that, as the developer blog states, "is something for the ladies". PC/OS 7.10 used the Echo icon theme which looked very unprofessional and cartoonish, but in PC/OS 8.04 the author changed the icon set to the openSUSE "industrial" icon theme which is a Tango-based icon theme and which brings a fresh and professional look to the desktop. It also helps the desktop retain some of its cutting-edge look.
PC/OS 8.04 also showcases the Fedora Nodoka style for its scrollbars, the illuminating blue gradients and user interface. It has a subtle green wallpaper which is based on a GNOME wallpaper. It has a two-panel layout. The top panel contains the "Places" applet, renamed to "Tracker", which lists the home directory, file system, and all removable media, as well as the Catfish search utility. It has a note-taking application which I like a lot. The clipboard applet, a time and date applet, a system monitor applet, and a window list applet, which lists the open applications on each desktop, are also featured. The bottom panel, which is longer than the top panel, has a hide desktop applet, a task list applet, a desktop pager applet, as well as application icons, such as the terminal, Thunderbird, Firefox, a system tray, a volume control and a trash can.
PC/OS 8.04 offers an Xfce desktop with an innovative layout
(full image size: 421kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
The menu has all the applications, as well as two sections that I don't see in other distributions. A "Mobile" sub-menu which has links to different online services ranging from e-mail to map services, and an extra applications menu which contains Lightscribe, Zenmap (a graphical front-end to nmap), a document viewer that is Evince, a calendar which is Sunbird 0.8, and a scheduler application which acts as a front-end to cron.
The applications
PC/OS has a wonderful and vast set of applications. Being a developer and IT technician, I attach great importance to developers tools. For development, it has Glade which is crucial for any GTK+ programming and OpenLDEV, which is a clone of Geany and probably the most useful tool. PC/OS also ships with RealBasic Standard which is a RAD tool that will be a winner for Visual Basic developers. Aside from developer tools, the distribution also provides OpenOffice.org 2.4 and Scribus, both of which are great tools for desktop publishing and productivity work. For entertainment, it has MPlayer, Rhythmbox, VLC and some tools for editing multimedia, such as SoundConverter, Audacity, Kino and OpenMovie editor, as well as the old favorite - the GIMP. Cheese, which is a clone of Photobooth, is also included. All of these tools worked great and I was able to watch videos in different file formats, including OGG, QuickTime and Windows Media. Rhythmbox played all my MP3s and other audio files without me having to go to the Internet and download codecs and spend time setting things up.
Java and Flash are included and worked flawlessly with YouTube and all browser-based Java programs I needed to run. At work, we develop primarily in Java and PC/OS handled all the applications we have created. Firefox 2.0.0.14 is the default browser with PC/OS 8.04 (unlike Ubuntu 8.04 which provides Firefox 3 beta) and Thunderbird is included as the default email client. Likewise Open, a configuration utility that simplifies the authentication of a Linux machine on an Active Directory domain, ships with PC/OS 8.04. I also like the fact that Wine is included for those applications from the Windows world that I need to run.
On the network side of things, Skype 2.0 is included and so is gFTP which lets you connect to a remove server using SSH, FTP and a few other protocols. Transmission is there for BitTorrent downloads and Remote Desktop Viewer is also provided in this release.
Hardware support
PC/OS supported all of my hardware, including the printer, scanner and camera. Many of my networking devices that didn't work with Ubuntu 7.10 worked with PC/OS 8.04. I installed the distribution on two laptops, one Gateway, about 3-years old, and a newer Dell Inspiron, and also on my new Sony VAIO desktop and an old Compaq Deskpro that has a 600 MHz processor and 256 MB of RAM. It ran quite well on that system. Using Xsane I was able to scan content into the system and edit it. I was also able to edit still photos and movies from my camcorder. Tape drives and all removable media worked very well with PC/OS. I am planning to install it on my wife's Toshiba with the promise that I'll set up XFWM using the Pink theme, she likes the pink. PC/OS had some issues with the Gateways NVIDIA chipset but I was able to get it fixed. On the VAIO the Xfce mixer application didn't pick up the sound card, although sound worked.
Releases
PC/OS ships as a DVD ISO image, as well as a "Minimal" install CD which I imagine is cut down to fit on a CD. I plan to write a review of the server release which I am downloading right now and I ordered a copy of PC/OS "Appliance" which is advertised as a cut-down version for kiosks and Internet appliances, as well as ultra portable laptops, such as the Eee PC.
Downsides
The very few downsides PC/OS has are inherited from Ubuntu. The restricted drivers feature works poorly but PC/OS compensates for this by including Envy, which allowed me to set up my NVIDIA card correctly. Rhythmbox launches with errors regarding Magnatune and another music store which also occurs in Ubuntu 8.04. On one of my laptops PC/OS black-screened on the NVIDIA chipset, which also occurs on Ubuntu 8.04 but is fixed with a trip to the command line. The one downside not inherited from Ubuntu is 64-bit support. PC/OS is x86-only and I don't intend to test it on my 64-bit system.
Conclusions
PC/OS has become my distribution of choice. Not only for its nostalgic journey to the BeOS era, but because, as it advertises, everything worked out of box. I have installed it on four systems, two laptops and two desktop systems, and it works great. If you are a new Linux user, I highly recommend it. If you are a seasoned Linux user, give it a try. If you are a refugee from BeOS, it's definitely worth a look. PC/OS has a bright future. If it makes it past a year we may see it as a DistroWatch #1 pick. The developer is a nice guy, very technical and very eager to help if you have problems, and he understands the desktop user's needs. My experiences with PC/OS have been very positive and, as always, I encourage you to participate not only in this distribution but in Linux and open source in general. Overall, PC/OS is the best $1.00 I have ever spent.
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Seth Corven is a database programmer and maintainer with a strong background in Linux, UNIX and IT technologies.
http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20080616#feature
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