June 3 Distro of the Day: PCLinuxOS 2007

The Distro of the Day for June 3rd is PCLinuxOS 2007, finally released less than two weeks ago. PCLinuxOS has the goal of making Linux "radically simple". It has an elegant, refined look that is professional-looking yet still comfortable.

PCLinuxOS was originally based on Mandriva, but has changed so much that it has become hard to recognize its roots. The kernel, GCC, KDE, and most other packages have been independently packaged or borrowed from other distros. PCLinuxOS uses "apt" from Debian Linux as a package manager and includes Synaptic, a GUI frontend to "apt". PCLinuxOS maintains its own software repository, and has a wide collection of packages to download.

PCLinuxOS started in 2003, but really came into prominence last year with the release of version 0.93a. Since that last release, there were major changes going on with PCLinuxOS which culminated in the 2007 release on May 21st. Much of the code was replaced and modernized, even to the point that the versions are not compatible: It is not possible to upgrade from 0.93a to 2007.

The look-and-feel of PCLinuxOS has also changed significantly from 0.93a to 2007. Whereas 0.93a looked very close to Windows XP, 2007 has its own unique "blue-metal" style that looks, well, a little different.

However, the fast bootup - one of the best features of PCLinuxOS - hasn't changed. PCLinuxOS is still one of the faster full-featured Linux distributions in terms of bootup time. It is not nearly as fast as some of the specialized distros like Syllable or Haiku, but it is also not stripped of features. PCLinuxOS includes OpenOffice and a full KDE interface, among other programs.

For having the goal of being "radically simple", PCLinuxOS still has a little ways to go. There are many applications that come preinstalled, but not a lot of indication what they do or how to use them. Another pet peeve of mine is that access to a terminal is by default buried deep through three levels of menus. You can add your own shortcut, but I think it should be a little more easily accessible by default. However, these complaints are minor and don't detract much from the distro.

Overall, if you want to experience fast boot times and a cool look, check out PCLinuxOS 2007!