The Tango Studio Linux build is primarily oriented to folks who want to create, modify, and edit audio/music files, through all aspects of the process. But it also gives you a mighty impressive tool set for working with graphics, video, animation, 3D modeling, and pretty much the entire creative range of media production and creation. Being a Live DVD means you don’t have to install it; boot from the DVD you make from the .ISO file you download, and run it from the DVD, saving anything you create to a thumb drive. When you are done working with it, shut down the computer and eject the disc. When you boot without the disc in the computer, the normal operating system on your hard drive launches whatever system you have installed. As usual for an open source Linux OS and software collection, both the Operating System (OS) and all the software running on it are free for use and distribution. Once you boot the disc, you will find a number of worthwhile workflows to follow, depending on what you are trying to create. Try it out, and let me know what you think.
You have an older computer and you don’t want to give up your XP Windows, even though support ended months ago. One possible solution is to burn RoboLinux to disk, boot from that disk, and run your already-installed OEM version of Windows XP or 7 from the hard drive, inside of this VM (Virtual Machine) wrapper. The virus and intrusion protection is handled from the Linux OS, and the program boot and run times are much faster then you ever saw from a Windows platform. But it automagically runs every XP/7 program you have installed, through the power of Robolinux Virtual Box. It does take a bit of setup (all of it very simple), and if you like the results you should consider donating something their way, but beyond that it just works.
Note that for a permanent solution you want to install a Linux version in parallel to your windows OS on your hard drive, install Robolinux Stealth VM Software on the Linux partition, and create a VM file image from the hard drive. The VM file you create can be run on any PC that is running any Linux version with Stealth VM installed. From that point on, you have your entire windows software collection available to you on any computer you care to launch it from, plus another 30,000 killer Linux programs, all of it booting and running a lot faster than windows could do it.
I wanted to edit both of these videos down into only those parts that would help you create your Virtual Machine, and eradicate the various requests for funding and explanations about why you should go out and convince other folks to support the base system. It would have reduced the viewing time for both videos combined down to about 20 minutes of actually useful information that would help you create your own virtual disc. But they really are creating a worthwhile service, so deserve to get the word out in full so everyone can make up their own mind about how they want to proceed. I hope you find these useful.
The folks over at Sabayon have two attitudes that make me appreciate their Live Discs; they want it to “just work” right out of the box, no questions asked, and they are constantly updating to the latest and greatest versions of the software in the package. They have now released a series of variants on version 14.05. They are live DVDs, in 32 or 64 bit mode (only get 32 if you have an older computer) and come in Gnome, KDE, XFCE, and a minimalist variant that runs smaller desktops like Fluxbox or Openbox. The exciting part is the KDE and Gnome versions are optimized for Steam, meaning they are setup for some serious network gaming. If you want to you can install them to hard drive or memory stick, as well, but they do everything I want them to do booting from the disc. Like almost all Linux builds, they are a free operating system filled with tons of free, open source software programs, so you certainly can’t beat the price.
Here is an interesting Battle of the Robot Bands video put together by the Cyborg News Channel on You Tube. The bands they chose for the report were Germany’s Compressorhead, mentioned earlier on this blog, and Japan’s Z Machine, a University of Tokyo project sponsored by Zima.
If you are an Ubuntu fan, rejoice! Ubuntu has just unleashed the full range of their various builds in version 14.04, which is a Long Term Support release. Of course this includes Ubuntu Studio, their Live Disc multimedia powerhouse designed to allow media creation. The tool sets are grouped by workflow in Audio, Graphics, Video, Photography, and Publishing, and each set has a variety of programs useful to the task that you might not expect. As an example, the Video set includes the usual import, edit, A/V effects, and produce/burn software, but it also includes a full range of 3D modeling and animation programs so you can work in both live action and animation mediums. Plus, while I like to run it from the Live Disc, you can install it to hard drive if you prefer. Pretty much all the other Ubuntu variations also released new builds in the last day or so, including Xubuntu, a lightweight desktop optimized for older computers, Kubuntu, which runs the KDE desktop, and Edubuntu, a build designed to allow a teacher with limited technical knowledge to be able to set up a computer lab or build a web site learning environment in an hour or less. It takes a similar approach to administering, making it easy to maintain without becoming a Linux geek in the process.
By now everyone knows of the OpenSSL flaw known as Heartbleed that allows people to break its encryption and harvest all your user names, passwords, credit card info, and so forth. On many fridays I post about Live Discs that give you arsenals of free software targetted at specific tasks. While all of them are good, some of them have not been patched yet, so if you have a favorite build you might check with their users forum and see if they have a patched update to download. If you installed Linux to a computer hard drive or memory stick, run your package manager to check for and install updates. If your computer automatically updates itself, use the command
# openssl version -a
or
# sudo openssl version -a
depending on which OS you installed, and look for the build date. If it is on or after April 7th of this year, you are good. If it is before that, you need to get it upgraded, especially if you built your box as a server. Note that you don’t actually use the # in the command; in a Terminal, Shell, or DOS prompt, that tells the computer that what comes after is a comment. It is on this page in front of the command strings so your system doesn’t get confused and try to run it (that almost NEVER happens, but almost isn’t always). Also, you will have to give the command as root, so knowing your root password is important. Once you have updated, change your root password, and start changing your online passwords.
Even if your favorite Live Disc hasn’t been patched, you can still use all the software on it locally. Just don’t use it to go online and buy anything, do any banking, or sign into email or other services until they have a patched ISO for you to burn to disc. If you have a MAC instead of Linux, guess what; you are using Linux with a MAC GUI interface lying on top of it, you can use your normal proceedures to get it updated and patched. If you use Windows and have OpenSSL on your computer, visit the OpenSSL Web Site to grab an updated build.