This review started because I was curious about GNOME as a desktop. I wanted a live cd with GNOME so I went over to Distrowatch and found Gnoppix. ELQ’s note: I have sent the Gnoppix author a proposal on how to enrich the live CD experience with more relevant, third party desktop gnome apps, but don’t expect any changes before November, as the author will be busy until that time.
Eugina,
I think that your proposal on how to improve Gnoppix would make for interesting reading. I know that it was a private conversation, would you be willing to ask him the author of gnoppix would mind your publishing it?
Aaron
I was searching for a gnome desktop to try out, too. When i found out that Gnoppix had been updated, i quickly downloaded it and tried to boot it. Well, it did not work and if you look at their forum, it seems to be a problem with the nvidia driver, so no nvdidia-driven pc will boot… which is quite a lot…
However, i tried use the harddrive install feature after booting in failsafe mode (with vesa), since it looked very good to me! The installation went smoothly, it asked me everything i would have expected and after a reboot my monitor says :”Grub” and nothing more… So it effectively left my system in a non-working state.
I really wish the Gnoppix Team just the best, but a release like this is not likely to attract new users.
I prefer for now to be between me and him. Until the author finds some time to materialize some of the ideas in the proposal, it won’t be of use for anyone to make it public, as the project is mostly his work and not many devs contribute that could make such decisions.
Having forever had bad feelings about the Gnome invironment I checked it out and had a couple issues crop up.
Post HD install
1. it didn’t mount, nor would it mount my USB key
2. it never auto configured my nic, I had to run netcardconfig at every boot, it would error telling me another pump was running but then I could connect.
I instead used the RC1 of the debian installer to complete my own install.
MonoDevelop don’t work.
After install in HD, don’t start, the entry of initrd are invalid.
I install in a reiserfs partition and the kernel can’t mount de partition (kernek panic).
USB mouse don’t work.
So, anyway it’s a good job, because is the first live-cd with gnome
I use GNOME as my DE in my home machine.
I have a Knoppix CD that has saved my life more than once.
Being a GNOME user, I downloaded Gnoppix 0.8 and burned it.
Unfortunately, it fails to boot in any mode but Failsafe, and then it does not detect my network settings.
I do have an Nvidia video card, which I believe is causing
some of the problems I’m experiencing, however Knoppix works
without any fuss.
I expected Gnoppix to basically be Knoppix with GNOME (hardware detection the same). This turned out not to be the case.
I was disappointed with Gnoppix.
I wanted to try this CD as I am a gnome user and all other LiveCDs use KDE, but sadly it wont boot on any computer that I have tried it on. Sounds like that is because all of the computers I have tried use nVidia cards (university buys computers in bulk, they are all the same). I don’t understand why an Nvidia configuration is offered at boot time when they are know not to work.
Haven’t tried failsafe but it wouldn’t boot for me either under normal circumstances. This is the first Live CD that wouldn’t work for me.
what a coincidence! I downloaded Gnoppix 0.8 today to play with. What attracted me to it was the claim of a full, working Mono development environment. A great way to try out a new version of GNOME and a Mono on Linux install. But I had some problems: it didn’t work on VMware for one. Then I tried it on an older machine- 533 Celeron. It didn’t work there either. In both cases, there was some problem with X- but as soon as X quit with an error, the screen blanked and it started rebooting- sending all processes the TERM signal. Knoppix 3.6 worked fine on the same VMware setup and the same PC. Though it confirmed that I still don’t like KDE still, preferring GNOME- or better yet, nothing but ion for a window manager, a 20- char wide and one row deep xterm for launching apps and xclock -digital for keeping track of the time.
On the third machine on which it tried, a newer 2.4 GHz P4, it worked. The X display with wacked out- pushed off to the left side of the screen- but aside that it worked. Not that I was all that surprised at this point, but then the biggest bummer happened: monodevelop didn’t work. Nor did OpenOffice. And also a bunch of other apps that were in the panel menu. *sigh* Why include them if they don’t work? It couldn’t have been something I was doing- which was just dbl-clicking the icon- since it’s supposed to be a live distro, pre-installed and ready to go from boot.
It’s a great idea- but I hope they clean it up some in the newer versions. I’d really love to be able to make up a custom Gnoppix disc for myself, adding Squeak and #Smalltalk (a Smalltalk for .NET). Keep up the good work!
and yes I know that it should of worked with his wireless mouse but frankly wireless mice are not well supported on Linux for some reason last time I checked. Anyways this guy could of easliy switched out his mouse for a normal usb mouse and continued on. Overall this ain’t much of a review IMHO. Oh and I do agree that they should work on hardware support a lot more before releasing a next version.
I too have been a big fan of gnome for a few years, I always found KDE to be too toy-like, so was very interested in Gnoppix. Dont get me wrong, Knoppix is a good livecd and has saved my system a good few times (thats gentoo for ya), but the thought of a gnome live cd was almost too good to be true. Alas it was. I get to grub then nothing. If it is an nvidia prob it seems a massive oversight, I mean, its not like that is an unpopular make of card…
I made a new install, but this time I instaled in a ext3 partition and voila it’s works. I just made one correction in grub.conf, and the MonoDevelop works
, but not the usb-mouse 
(let’s go to the shell).
Howdy,
I tried systems with these common video chips and I could not see the graphics screen. My problem, I am pretty sure, is that Gnoppix is coming up expecting my monitor to be better than it is. It supports 1024 by 768, but only at 60HZ.
If your goal is to see GNOME 2.6, try installing Debian using the new installer. It worked on the identical computers and monitor. I know it is not a live CD.
Good day,
I suggest Morphix. Although outdated, but actively developed. Gnoppix 0.6 and 0.8 did not boot on my pc (amd k7-600, voodoo3). Morphix did.
I still hope Gnoppix can make it work though. I’ll give it a try when they release a new version.
I was interested in getting Gnome 2.6 and Mono.
I tried it on my laptop (Nvidia video) and it didn’t boot for me either.
From what i can tell, Gnoppix deserves to be thrown straight in the trash can.
Broken packages, completely broken hardware detection/configuration – If i was part of the Knoppix project, i’d ask them to change the name because it will most likely affect the reputation of Knoppix, which is an incredibly good and polished piece of work.
A really, really poor effort and just goes to show how little the Gnoppix developers care about their users.
Obviously, I have the choice to simply use something else, and obviously, it’s free – a decent Gnoppix would be a good thing, but its clear the developers have a lot of work to do before they should even think of releasing or publicising this as anything more than 0.1alpha.
The last paragraph sums up what I keep writing to all the GNOME-oriented reviews: That the GNOME desktop is more appropriate for Mac users to migrate to Linux rather than Windows users.
Why, then, are we pushing it so much in its current avatar? A newbie, such as my wife, is thoroughly confused with its menu and general desktop layout etc. Of course, it can be changed but gosh! that was what the KDE users do!! GNOME users simply boot and use the thingy.
KDE is definitely the choice for new users moving over from Windows and the more we accept and propogate this fact to corporates, the easier will be the migration of enterprises to Linux.
As an example, I had dual-booted a machine at one of my workplaces with Sun JDS (which, as you are aware is GNOME-centric). On showing it to my colleagues, it did not lead to much excitement.
Then, I hacked some /etc files and got KDE installed on it — basically SuSE linux 8.1 version of KDE — and that’s when things began to happen and I found lots of the XP-fans around the office wanted to take a look at my desktop and use it (eye-candy is not really the issue).
Therefore, I believe there is a need to see KDE as an advanced desktop and push it over GNOME till GNOME matures enough (wearing flame-proof vest now).
i like GNOPPIX (worked fine on my standard desktop) because i give copies to my friends who use windows. they can use the very simple desktop with few applications … when they need to use the apps/internet in an emergency and their windows is broken (often).
i don;t give them knoppix because the complex menus scare the living daylights out if non-techies!
I went over to distrowatch recently and grabbed myself a copy. There were the much reported video problems, unless vesa framebuffer was selected. This isn’t so much the developer’s problem as the inherent flaws in XFree86’s methods of hardware detection. Not to mention the proprietary drivers required for all too common nvidia cards/chipsets, etc.
Much like SuSe 9.1, and Fedora Core 2, Gnoppix 0.8 failed to recognize my hardware. This is not a surprise however, as I am running an nforce2 board with a wireless logitech keyboard and mouse, nvidia video card, etc… the only distribution I find with automatic support for these is slackware 10, (even slack 9.1 had problems, but was work-around-able)
I’m thinking it has to do with an up-to-date hotplug blacklist, but then, this is a read-only bootable cd, making changes a little less than easy at boot time.
I am glad to see an easy to try version of linux/gnome, though.
I also hope that hardware support becomes a focus when distributing a version that will likely be put to the barrage of Real World(tm) tests.
-dan
i both agree and disagree with you
seth nickel was a longtime mac user, and you can see the mac influence from the beginning. apple usability research is widly used by the gnome HIG guys, and the result is something that feels more familiar to mac users then windows users.
as for gnome not being mature, or kde being advanced, that is where you start entering the realm of opinion, and in this case flamebait. gnome is lightyears ahead of kde in terms of usability. that being said, kde is very, very far ahead in terms of technology. both gnome and kde have radically different focuses, and both succede quite well in what they are attempting to do. but thats the awsome thing about linux, if you dont like something theres alwas about a billion alternatives.
If what you’re saying is true, then there is a definite bias among linux-oriented sites towards GNOME, which is definitely unfair and uncalled for. Is it an home-grown (american) v/s outsiders (german) thing then?
it’s never been that stable for me. i’ve run it on redhat, debian and now slack.
konq is ok. more stable, but after putting up with kde bloat (and mysterious pauses, 5-7 seconds long) i’ve decided to run fluxbox.
it’s freaken fast. it doesn’t crash, and konq seems to run even better inside flux then it does kde. (less crashes)
if your wondering what exposes these types of issues, it’s working with a files system that holds thousands of photographs (4 generations of family), thousands of mp3s, and divx files.
gnome and kde just can’t hang.
I got a problem with Nvidia drivers too (i.e. gnoppix rebooted) but after selecting vesa driver in boot menu there was no problem at all – it detected all hardware and the programs i used worked without any glitch. I was pleasantly surprised that it recognised local windows network and ADSL modem.
To be honest it is my first Live CD distribution (so i have no comparison) but i am impressed anyway.
You guys are nuts.
Opensource projects have NO nationality. I’m Italian and use Gnome ’cause I don’t like KDE. A lot of the people I know running linux use KDE instead ’cause they like it better.
So what?
And in case nobody noticed, gnome has mexican developers (De Icaza…) and is widely used in places where localization is fundamental (east asia, india, arabic countries). On the other hand kde has a pretty large userbase in south america.
Again, so WHAT?
If corporations push gnome over KDE is purely on licensing terms, I think it’s pretty obvious. And maybe the flashy and a bit childish default look of KDE does not help (yes, I’m talking about krystal… and I don’t like aqua too, be warned… maybe I’m just weird 🙂 ). I know you can customize it (you can customize everything), but trust me, it does not help.
I’ve been looking for *any* linux livecd for my gf with the following criterias (i’m a gentooer but she has no net <- chanceless
:
– fits on one cd
– installable to hard disk
– includes gnome
– have mplayer and xine with dvd playback support and xmms
pclinuxos .5 got close, but no dvd playback support..
Try Morphix, you can make your own LiveCD.
http://www.morphix.org
GRUB gave Error 21. And stopped. Other LiveCDs worked fine.
Come on guyes! I am a long standing Mac zealot end love this Gnoppix live CD, the best live Linux I have seen. My box with nvidia TNT2 did not boot by default. But hitting escape at the boot menu and enter into text mode provided the VESA option – and voila – up comes the 1280×1024 and networking is also working – as a matter of fact i am writing this from my Gnoppix live CD – happy I am yes ! Congratulations Gnoppix !
Morphix outdated? Well, maybe, but it looks like 0.5.1pre1 (2.6.7 kernel) was released just two weeks ago…
I know, but the gnome-livecd still contains the 0.4 version. I could build it on my own perhaps. I just didn’t want to spend a few hours researching that part.
Two computers I tried it on. It didnt work with a MSI KT600 motherboard and a MSI Geforce4 Fx5200. However, it did work on another computer that was running a MSI KT2-Combo-L with a voodoo 4 agp card. From what I see it looks promising but has some problems.
It would be great if this could ever get to the usability and quality of knoppix. I really prefer GNOME over KDE and I’m tired of installing and uninstalling different Linux distro’s on my computer so I’m sticking with Live CDs.
well, tried every option (including the vesa driver) but it’s still rebooting every time… :/
Hi everyone
I try it on 3 pc i had at home and out of 3 pcs 2 where unable to boot it and other one video output was only displaying at 640×480 this is dumb that same one can made a linux that can’t boot on normal setup of pcs. however the gui looks vary nice ans this one thing I did like i hope they can get hardware issue fixed.