Live Distribution of the Year
 

What is your favorite Live Distribution?

--jeremy

Not that I going to vote (LiveCD? LFS installation LiveCD, you mean?), but I think two copies of Gnoppix is typo.

Fixed - thanks.

--jeremy

Though I always have Knoppix on me at almost all times and it has saved my rear on more than 3 occasions this year with things like hard drive failures I will have to vote for Puppy.

I've been using Puppy linux and it's ability to save sessions to disc to introduce my fiance to linux over her mother's virus-ridden crapbox. With our odd schedules and too-complicated-and-stupid-to-explain-here predicament we've found ourselves in, we use the internet to speak with each other each night beyond the telephone. Since the computer she uses is essentially walking death and is in need of an OS reinstall I gave her a Puppy CD and showed her how to use it an explained to her about what she can do with it. She absolutely loves it and for more than just not having to use the leprous hard drive.

I'm using it to spread the word about linux, basically, and it's catching on. I vote it as my LiveCD of 2006 over Knoppix this time around because I don't really know where our relationship would be without it.

I would say Kanotix, but since there hasn't been an updated Kanotix version in quite a while, I will go with Puppy. Puppy is nice and small and boots very quickly.

The cool thing is that you can run it in qemu in windows and linux.

I think BeatrIX has been replaced by BeaFanatIX

I can't turn down the modularity of Slax. Plus the weak central structure of the package management makes it relatively easy to get certain packages (like proprietary win32 codecs) that would be more difficult on traditional distros, since the developers have to watch their legal backs.

Jeremy, would you please include SabayonLinux??

It's simple, simplymepis...

Where is Gentoo live? :/ I see ubuntu live, so where is gentoo live?

but I'm voting for ubuntu live.

Live CD's are used for very different purposes. Like with server and desktop distros, LiveCD question probably should be split in "Recovery and maintenance" LiveCD and "Desktop and Demo" LiveCD. These are very different kind of systems.

For temporary desktop and nice demos, PCLinuxOS.

It's simply not viable to cover every niche for every category. You'd literally end up with 1000's of polls. These are meant to be very high level, as are most polls.

--jeremy

I understand that. However IMHO "root level" splitting into Server and Desktop distros could help. Then LiveCD category in Server distros would naturally contain Maintenance and Repair and Forensic, maybe also some Micro-server (don't know if they exist). LiveCD category in Desktop distro competition would contain Temporary Desktop and Demo Live CD's. Just a suggestion, it's certainly up to you to decide.

Besides, "LiveCD" - isn't this mentioning of CD rather obsolete? :) Nowadays we use all kinds of bootable media, among them DVD's, USB Flash memory etc. to boot Live distros.

Not really. Yes, we certainly do have a lot more options available now, but almost everything available as a bootable usb or DVD is also available as a CD. CDs provide a level of portability that the others just can't.

Yeah Sabayon!

I've changed the title of the poll to simply Live Distribution of the Year, as it does more accurately reflect the nature of the poll.

--jeremy

I just started playing around with Sabayon and it is amazing.

These varieties are not equal. DVD or USB-Flash have much bigger amount of memory available (currently 4-8 Gb on DVD, 1-8 Gb on USB Flash) and therefore can offer much more feature-rich distros than old good ancient CD's.

Generally I was not talking about portability things at all. What I mentioned was that while historically Live CD's were the first ones of this kind of distros, now IMHO it is not necessary anymore to narrow Live distro category to just LiveCD.

What's wrong with simply calling them "Live distros" meaning that they are ready to work without any additional installation process? Being physically on CD is not essential for this classification :)

Great! I was just writing about that, but now it's OK already :)

True, I just meant that I haven't actually seen any live Distro *not* available in CD format. While it may no longer be the best term, I don't think "LiveCD" in necessary obsolete.

--Edit--
Although, upon further review :-), I think the name change was more appropriate. Oh well, 20/20 hindsight.

I think Gparted LiveCd hands down

Mandriva One 2007
 

Hard to say. I like Kubuntu a lot, but I'd go for Mandriva One 2007. More stuff worked out of the box, has better translation into Slovenian language and Mandriva is the first Live distribution where XGL and 3D desktop worked out of the box. Not to mention a new version of Mandriva, that is available on USB key.

Fedora's official LiveCD is great, but not an option. The unofficial (Fedora Unity) LiveDVD is even better.

I like SLAX because I can shape it the way I want and I have all the packages I want.

i voted for knoppix since its what i have been using mostly. but gentoo is better since all my seniors prefer it and gentoo (not the live one) i think is the coolest OS once you configure and install it right. i have heard you can two-fold your machine performance if you configure gentoo right while u install. i dunno the facts since i have never installed one, but i am as soon as i get my hands on a new machine. heh.

Everyone has a live cd these days ;) But I give props to Knoppix since it has gotten me out of more then one Jam.

i vote for knoppix

I voted for Puppy, as it is very light, & still quite complete, however, for testing & diagnosticing purposes (other people's PC), I also use a lot SimplyMepis & PCLinuxOS...

MandrivaMove ???
 

:confused:
MandrivaMove doesn't exist no more.

Now it's Mandriva ONE.

Greets.

I use powerful live CD "Dyne:Bolic".

I loved Knoppix when it first came out because it was loaded with everything so I could use it to show my Windows friends Linux on their computers.

These days I don't use LiveCD's much, but when I do, I like Slax for its modularity.

I use PCLinuxOS. It is the best I've tried at hardware detection and general use. If at any time I travel (any distance), I carry a copy or three with me. Giving a copy to a person I've just met and demoed it to gives us a chance to be friends and gives them an easy to use copy of GNU/Linux. Giving a copy to a friend further cements our friendship. How can you beat that?:)

Merlin

PCLinuxOS is the best
 

If you havn't tried PCLinuxOS then you don't know what your missing. I'm PClinux OS all the way:cool: .

GRML should have been included.

Jeff

PCLinux for me as well, install it, personalize it and make your own live cd. Now that's cool.
It will also allow you to have a full kde desktop on a 512 mb thumb drive.

PCLinuxOS...... the one that works!

In the last three months I have burned and given out @ 20 copies of PCLinuxOS and everyone that has tried it has been very impressed.

Puppy - because the hd of my laptop died.

GParted Live CD saved my hard disk.

I wanted to vote for Aurox 12.0 Live, but can't do it, because it's not an option ;(

Puppy Linux
 

Been there seen it worn the teashirt etc since about 6 years ago. Now I'm only running Puppy Linux (Rudy version) it's a live CD but has a full installer.

http://puppylinux.org/user/viewpage.php?page_id=1

Try it before you vote.

I've tried, Ubuntu, Kbuntu, PcLinux (large and small), SUSE (also very good),
DSL, Fedora, Corel, Mandrake (also good), Knoppix (good), Linspire amongst other.

My 2400 Athglon boots in under 40 seconds and closes down in 9
How about yours?

Tony

PCLinuxOS, my own special British English DVD version, which is so easy to create! Truly PCLOS is a great live CD but when installed you can make your own specialist Live CD. Its hardware detection makes it great for that job, consider Ruby on Rails, Amarok Live, and Karoshi (educational software system) all live CDs based on PCLinuxOS.

Kanotix
 

Even though there has not been a new stable release in quite a while, I still enjoy using Kanotix 9(ver. 2006-1-RC4)both as a live CD and as a secondary hd install on my system. It boots up quickly, has the Debian apt utility which I love, and has a great user community.
What does it share my hd with? OpenSUSE 10.2, just to contrast the Debian system with an rpm based system.
Take care.

PCLinuxOS
 

It's a great distro and I can't wait until the new .94 release. I run it at work, at home and on all the laptops. Looks nice and plays nice what more could I want?

Sabayon, mostly because it looks cool and is based on Gentoo.

PCLinuxOS of course............what else?

PCLinuxOS
 

I love PCLinuxOS - as a live CD and installed. A few versions ago OpenOffice.org wasn't on the LiveCD, which made it less useful for real work. Now it's back, I'm happy. I also use it to back up people's Windows drives (no silly "file is in use" messages), to feel more at home on other people's computers, for partitioning, for restoring a messed up grub or lilo, for browsing - it's amazing how often it recognises a wireless card from first boot, and to show off Linux - something I'm planning to do a lot this year as a business.

I'm hanging out for the next version, which is hopefully not too far away.

Adrian

fave live distro
 

PCLinuxOS for all the reasons that have already been mentioned

special mention should be given to Puppy Linux of course

Jase

One of my LiveCD requirements is HW detection, of course.

Mepis 6.0 gives me a good screen resolution automatically as well as fairly easy wireless connectivity. The choice of root or guest GUI login makes it both a tool and a toy --suitable for all ages & skill levels.

Runners up: MyahOS - logs me onto my wireless network without configuring at all! But it lacks some of the tools Mepis has.
Sabayon 3.2 LiveDVD -gorgeous, and even gives my laptop it's native 1280x800 automatically! But it can't get an Intel Pro2200 BG wireless connection going. . . And it locked up on me, forcing a denial-of-power to shut it off.
PCLinuxOS-BigDaddy - about a tie with Mepis, to be honest. Love the look, does the wireless automatically like Myah, has good selection of tools. But I am more familiar with Mepis, so Mepis wins.

grml. The best live CD out there for trouble shooting. Does one thing, and does it almost perfect.

Puppy is my choice for Live distro and Distro. Active development, great hardware support, ease of use, speed, and nice forum members make this ideal for newbies and gurus.