Skip to main content

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.

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.

It has been a bit since I featured the Tokyo Dance Trooper, Danny Choo, in this blog, so I figure it is time to do it again. He still has the moves, the attitude, and the armor! He still gets my vote as the best choice for this project. And then, just because you don’t feel like a guy dancing down the street in full Storm Trooper armor isn’t Nerd Enough for you, see what he does when he gets his hands on a series of dolls, and starts building their robotic control interfaces into them. Be sure to check out smartdoll.jp to get all the details. Unless you really want ALL the details about how Danny used 3D printing to create a Rapid Prototyping Environment which allowed him to create the dolls based on his anime/manga in the first place, which gave him the baseline physical model he started building his robots on. If you feel the need for that level of detail, you will find it here.

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.

Have an old Pentium III or Pentium 4 gathering dust because you can’t stand the 20 minute wait while it slowly boots an obsolete version of Windows? You can now turn it into a fast (or at least faster) useful machine again using Legacy OS 2.1, a Boot From CD (most of the computers from 2000 to 2006 didn’t have DVD drives in them, so a bootable CD is your best Live Disc option) Linux build. The latest version was released earlier this week, and comes with over 200 software packages ready to run right off the disc. That includes all the usual web tools, media players, office software, and everything else a modern computer should have. Of course, after you have tested the Live version to make sure it recognizes and can use your hardware properly, you can always install it to the computer’s hard drive and get it to run even faster, as well as be able to update or add new software, if you like. Another variation this Australian build came out with last October is Legacy OS 2.1 Gamer, with over 100 classic games, including the Open Source version of Doom. It is always good to make something useful and fun again, and this project does that nicely.