Because I liked Ubuntu so much, I decided to install it on my laptop too and also this worked very good. However, these days Ubuntu is way to heavy to run on my laptop. Because I wanted to have a fast system I tried to install Gentoo Linux; the installation took 3 days but I ended up with a very fast and responsible system. However, every time I had to install a program it took ages to compile the software. So then I started searching to a nice and user-friendly lightweight distribution.

It wasn't as easy as I thought, so I decided to write my experiences down in this review. The following distributions were tested:

• Arch 2007.08-2
  
• Damn Small Linux 4.2.5
  
• Puppy 4.0
  
• TinyMe Test7-KD
  
• Xubuntu 8.04
  
• Zenwalk 5.0

Ubuntu 8.04 now displays a cleaner graphical user interface, thanks to a newer version of GNOME (now 2.22.1). You can expect greater reliability and security with an updated Linux kernel (updated to version 2.6.24). Improved video compatibility should lead to more successful installations, thanks to a newer version of the X window system (and Xorg 7.3) Dynamic and multi-screen setups are also easier than ever.

...in the past three years, a few distributions have made stupendous leaps in performance and usability, winning the affection of millions of mainstream desktop users.

The recent releases of Ubuntu 8.04 and Fedora 9 — two top Linux distributions — mark another step forward in the evolution of the Linux desktop. I've been running both of them to see which offers the better blend of usability and advanced features.

SliTaz is a new micro GNU/Linux live distribution designed to run from RAM (a recommended minimum of 128MB) and installable to a hard drive or USB device. The current version, SliTaz 1.0, weighs in at a light 24.8MB and provides a nice selection of applications that run on a lightweight desktop. You can store user data and settings on persistent media, and support for more than 400 additional download packages is available.

SliTaz stands for Simple Light Incredible Temporary Autonomous Zone; the T is capitalized to reflect that SliTaz is built with the Tazwok tool and has several other Taz-based applications.

Besides a few extra desktops and the kernel development packages, my install consisted of the default package selection. This includes Firefox 3.0b5, OpenOffice.org 2.4.0, GIMP 2.4.5, Inkscape, Pidgin, Liferea, Ekiga, GnuCash, Evolution, Tasque, and KOffice.

openSUSE also includes the lastest Compiz Fusion. AIGLX, which provides GL-accelerated effects on desktops, should be enabled by default for those with supported hardware. That unfortunately leaves Nvidia users out until they install the proprietary graphic drivers. However, there are graphical configuration tools for enabling and setting options such as the choice of profile. You can choose profiles ranging from lightweight with few effects to full with lots of effects.

LinuX-Gamers Live is a live DVD from Germany based on Arch Linux that includes nothing but games. Version 0.9.3 was released in June and provides an excellent means of sampling Linux games or setting up a home arcade, although a few of the games wouldn't run on my machine.

There are no productivity tools, Web browsers, or package managers here; this disc is all play and no work. Because it's a live DVD, no hard drive is required to run the games. Once you burn the downloaded image to a DVD, you have a portable arcade that will run on any x86 system with 512MB or more of RAM.

Fedora 9 booted up from the 2GB USB stick I used, and, through the virtue of solid state, did so a lot more quickly than CD-based LiveCD images do. I used my portable Fedora 9 system to browse the Internet. I downloaded some things, and I installed a piece of software, too. I tried rebooting the system, and, sure enough, the changes I'd made did persist.

Hardy Heron has been designated as one of Ubuntu’s periodic Long Term Support – or LTS – releases, for which the company commits itself to providing three years desktop support and five years server support. This means that Hardy Heron isn’t going to go anywhere soon; it’s here for the long haul. This invariably means the designers have focused less on putting brand new stuff in but rather more stability, more robustness and more reliability.

My Series 1 TiVo is getting old, so I am planning an escape route based on MythTV, a free software system that turns an old computer into a personal video recorder. This week I tested three MythTV-specific Linux distributions: KnoppMyth, MythDora, and MythBuntu. I found MythDora the best overall fit for my needs -- but there are important distinctions between the three that may lead you to a different decision.

There are several ways of using DSL. This download can be burnt to a CD and used as a Live CD. Simply reboot the computer with this CD in the drive and DSL will load but without making any changes to the hard disk. Once started in this way it can be installed to the hard disk or a USB key.

The 2008 MiniMe edition it’s just a little preview of what will be available in the final release. It’s name suits this release very well as it’s indeed small. The ISO is about 200MB in size, it provides a very basic KDE 3.5.8 desktop and ALSA 1.0.15 running under a 2.6.22.15 kernel. There are almost no applications installed except the ones included in KDE (Konqueror and a few others) but any application you need is only a click of a mouse in Synaptic away.