14 DAY TRIAL // The Live version of Salix, a GNU/Linux distribution based on Slackware that is simple, fast, easy to use, and based on the Xfce desktop environment, has finally reached version 14.1 Beta 1.
It's been quite a while since the release of Salix 14.1 Beta 1, more than six months. The version that was made available back in January was actually just for installation and users couldn't run it as a Live CD. The new one released today tries to fix that small oversight, although you have to keep in mind that it's still a Beta.
We would have expected to see some consistent upgrades, but it turns out that the developer chose to keep both versions as close as possible, for obvious reasons. Still, it's nice to have something that we can use to test the distro without having to install it.
The new Live release is not so different
"The Salix Live XFCE 14.1 beta1 ISO includes the same programs as the installation ISO, with the addition of gslapt and deps for it, need for partitioning before making the installation. It is build using Slackware Live scripts from Slackware Live -LiNomad and includes the SLI installer from Slackware Live -LiNomad which it is written in c (gtk+2) and glade."
"Slackware Live scripts and SLI installer has been further developed adding support for user creation and Gparted connectivity for managing partitions, setting locale, keyboard and support for core, basic and full installation modes. From SLI installer gui user can set new username and password (there is no root account, as in the installation ISO). (e)Lilo is used as the boot loader for 32 and 64 bit systems, same with the installation ISO image's," reads the official announcement.
Users now have the option to boot the OS as a hybrid image and they benefit from persistent changes. That means that if you install anything while running the Live version, those changes will survive the restart. The developer also explains that users will find the ISO image in the syslinux folder with scripts on how to install directly on USB.
A complete list of new features can be found in the changelog. You can download Salix Xfce 14.1 Beta 1 right now from Softpedia. Users need to keep in mind that this is a development version and it should not be installed on production machines. It's recommended to use VirtualBox before actually installing it on a drive.
