A base for creating your own low-resource Calculate Linux derivative

Aug 14, 2009 10:51 GMT  ·  By

About a month has passed since the release of Calculate Linux 9.7, but the development team worked hard this time to bring you Calculate Linux Scratch 9.8. This LiveCD distribution is intended for the creation of customized Calculate Linux derivatives that can be recorded later on to a CD or transferred to a live USB flash drive. When the system build is complete, users may opt to install the system after testing it.

The system build process is optimized for low resource consumption and works in a layered unionfs environment. The base level consists of a minimal Scratch system, upon which a "Delta" layer is added, which allows for quick changes or roll-backs to and from the base system. On top of that is a "Workspace" layer, including all the other software appended to the initial system.

Scratch enables its developers to speed up 2 to 5 times the build process for the Calculate Linux Desktop release. It also enables them to create a version of the operating system that features GNOME as a desktop environment. There is an added ability to modify the squashfs system image on a USB flash drive, no hard disk required.

There isn't much software in Calculate Linux Scratch that would permit a user to embrace it as a desktop operating system directly. You only get Xorg, Firefox, a basic set of drivers and libraries, the Gentoo portages and the Linux kernel source code. If you go for its slightly larger brother, Calculate Linux Scratch GNOME edition, you will also get a minimal GNOME desktop, GDM and the Wicd network manager.

Calculate Linux Scratch can be a Swiss army knife in the hands of a system administrator, enabling him to adapt a single install image to a wide array of tasks through the installation profile system. Also, it is 100% compatible with Gentoo and uses the Portage package manager, making the switch to it easier for users of the popular source-based distribution.

Download Calculate Linux Scratch 9.8 right now from Softpedia.