PCLinuxOS
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PCLinuxOS, often abbreviated as PCLOS, is a GNU/Linux distribution.
PCLinuxOS (http://www.pclinuxonline.com/pclos/) is first and foremost an easy-to-use LiveCD which carries an enviable reputation for the overall well-polished "look and feel" of the distribution, as well as for the high quality and seamless integration of the pre-configured software contained on the CD. As another feature, PCLinuxOS (http://www.pclinuxonline.com/pclos/) can work together with a USB Key (or thumbdrive), where configuration and personal data will be saved, making it a LiveMove distribution as well.
Furthermore, PCLinuxOS is designed to be effortlessly installed to a local hard drive for a more permanent (and faster) solution; hence it can also be used like more traditional GNU/Linux distributions. Once installed locally, PCLinuxOS stands-out from other RPM-based distributions by harnessing the power of the Advanced Packaging Tool (or APT), a package management system (from Debian fame, see "apt-get"), together with Synaptic, an intuitive GUI frontend to APT. This opens-up Web access to a vast software repository (and numerous mirrors), specific to PCLinuxOS, from where new packages and software updates can be retrieved.
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History and Background
The precursor to PCLinuxOS was a set of RPM packages prepared specifically to improve successive versions of Mandrake Linux (now Mandriva Linux). The packages were created by an active contributor known as Texstar. From the year 2000 to 2003, Texstar maintained his repository of RPM packages in parallel with the Web site, PCLinuxOnline (http://www.pclinuxonline.com/).
In 2003, Texstar created a fork of Mandrake Linux 9.2 (which was released in October 2003). Working closely with The LiveCD Project (http://livecd.berlios.de/), Texstar has since developed that fork into the fully-fledged PCLinuxOS distribution.
Relationship with Mandriva Linux
Although it maintains a similar (but more refined) look and feel, PCLinuxOS has diverged significantly under the bonnet, absorbing the best code and ideas from and Fedora, SuSE, Gentoo, Yoper and many other distributions. Many parts, like the kernel, gcc and KDE, have been independently packaged.
PCLinuxOS maintains its own software repository, available via the Advanced Packaging Tool - APT, completely replacing Mandriva's Urpmi. PCLinuxOS endeavours to have a fully valid upgrade path, meaning that an installation can be continuously updated to the latest versions of packages. Nevertheless, PCLinuxOS remains mostly binary compatible with Mandriva Linux-specific RPMs.
Other differences include its own menu arrangement and custom graphics and icon sets.
PCLinuxOS has a greater sense of focus than Mandriva Linux. While Mandriva Linux does make a good desktop OS, it is more of a 'jack-of-all-trades' type of distribution. PCLinuxOS places more emphasis on desktop computing in homes and small businesses, and pays less attention to other uses like servers (although packages for many server tasks are available). In summary, since the year 2000, Texstar has quickly gained a well deserved reputation for his "special touch" in polishing an already refined interface (that of Mandriva Linux), and PCLinuxOS is no exception.
See also
External links
- PCLinuxOS homepage (http://www.pclinuxonline.com/pclos/)
- PCLinuxOnline (http://www.pclinuxonline.com)
- PCLOS Users Site (http://www.pclinuxosusers.org)
- PCLinuxOS in linuxquestions.org's wiki (http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/PCLinuxOS)
- The Linux LiveCD Project (http://livecd.berlios.de)
- Mandriva Linux (http://www.mandrivalinux.com)pl:PCLinuxOS