[conspire] Tomorrow's software today (was: Updating the CD/DVD collection)

[Rick Moen]

I wrote:

> Linux Mint 2.2 beta 014 "bianca"

Just before I went to burn this CD (i386), I double-checked and found
that the 2.2 full release is out.  (As a reminder, this is an
Ubuntu-based thing from Ireland that adds all those legally problematic
or non-redistributable things y'all keep talking about:  browser
plugins, media codecs, support for DVD playback, not-yet-GPLed-Java,
etc.)  

I noticed as I was writing the description that the release date is
shown as "2007-02-22".  That'd be tomorrow, Thursday -- courtesy of the
time-zone difference.  Time travel: just another routine CABAL service.


If you're considering _that_, you might also like Dreamlinux (from
Brazil), an installable live CD for i386, based on Morphix and Kanotix
(and thus likewise Debian/Ubuntu-ish), with again all that proprietary
stuff -- plus a _very_ splashy 3D desktop based on XFCE4 and XGL.  It's
claimed to be very fast, and very novice-user-friendly.

I've downloaded 2.2 Multimedia Edition, and will burn that plus the
separate 2.2 Multimedia _GL_ Edition (Beryl-AIGLX) beta2[1] prior to
Saturday's meeting. 


Also in the collection now is Sabayon Linux 3.2.6, a Gentoo-based
installable live-DVD desktop thing from Italy, that goes all-out with
OpenGL/Beryl with proprietary Nvidia/ATI 3D drivers, and a huge number
of cutting-edge apps.  I burned DVDs for both platforms (i386 and
x86_64).  Because BitTorrent download times for the two ISOs are sheer
torture, you're incouraged to help yourself this Saturday, if
interested.

CDRs are rapidly fading:  Many of the larger and more cutting-edge
distros are coming out in DVD ISO form only.  Among those affected:
Fedora, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.
Where both are available, I make a judgement call about whether the CD
variant is still necessary, or has become redundant.  In the case of
openSUSE, I decided not to download all five CD images (per platform) of
10.2, since most suitable system will have DVD drives, and since I 
retained the 5-CD v. 10.1 set for i386.

[1] Adds the Beryl 3D window manager and Xorg 7.1 3D support libs so
that the AIGLX module works.  Stated to have been tested so far only
with the proprietary Nvidia drivers.