14 DAY TRIAL // Black Lab Linux 4.2.5, a distribution that is better known after its previous name, OS/4 OpenLinux, has been made available by the developers and is available for purchase.
Black Lab Linux 4.2.5 is a distribution aimed at general desktop as well as power users, but the developers are working hard to provide the necessary support. This is the main reason why this distribution costs money, as opposed to most of the stuff that's out there.
“There have been quite a few changes to these distributions in terms of updates and functionality. First, we have focused more on the desktop computing spectrum. While we will continue to offer Black Lab Linux + Server Extensions Pak on our server hardware and the Server Extensions Packs as an additional download, we have decided to stick with what we do the best,” reads the announcement.
A lot of Black Lab Enterprise Linux users have been asking for a professional desktop that is more user-oriented and that features touch support and improved hardware support. According to the developers, Black Lab Pro Desktop has been designed with these requirements in mind and is aimed at small to medium-sized businesses.
This Linux distribution is based on the KDE desktop and includes a number of applications that are necessary for running a business, such as accounting, database management, graphics, multimedia, and presentations.
The reason why the developers chose to implement KDE is that users have been asking for something that looks a lot like the Windows counterpart and that would make the transition a lot easier. Also, the regular 6-month phone and e-mail support has been upgraded to 12 months.
Black Lab Linux 4.2.5 comes with the following packages: KDE 4.12.2, Google Chrome, Thunderbird, Google Apps support, Audacity, Kdenlive, VLC, Juk, LibreOffice, Calibre e-book management, GIMP, Scribus, Maps, Messaging Center, Glom Database Manager, GNUCash, Active Directory Support, Samba, and a new Linux kernel.
“Although we don't offer an evaluation copy for download, we do have the Pro Desktop Extensions Pak, that is free to download but it is desktop independent and doesn’t include support and some of the applications,” says the developer in the announcement.
Black Lab Professional Desktop and 12 months of support cost $99.99 (€71.97), but the developers can make some discounts on a large volume of licenses.
Check the official announcement for more details about this release. Keep in mind that in the past the developer provided the operating system for free, a few months after the initial release.