SliTaz GNU/Linux 1.0 - Releases Notes March 2008
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* Overview
* Supported Hardware
* LiveCD Flavors
* Installation
* Linux Kernel
* Software Packages
* Graphical Desktops
* Support and Documentation
* Security
* From Cooking to Stable
* People of the Project
Overview
--------
SliTaz GNU/Linux is a free, open source community project. Version 1.0 was
released on March 22 2008 after two years of hard work. SliTaz comprises of 448
software packages easily installed via the "Tazpkg" package manager. The LiveCD
can be fully configured to taste, to easily create a custom distribution
specifically for tasks such as multimedia, graphics or development.
SliTaz can also be installed to your hard drive, or used with USB media - with
"TazUSB" you are only a few simple commands away from a fully formatted and
configured USB device, ready to boot.
Technical support is provided to users via the mailing list and the official
forum. The "SliTaz Handbook" is an instructive manual on how to use and finely
configure the system. SliTaz can be updated easily via the graphic installer or
by using the simple fast text installer.
Supported Hardware
------------------
SliTaz GNU/Linux supports all machines based on i486 or x86 Intel compatible
processors. A minimum 128MB of memory is recommended to use the main LiveCD.
64MB is needed for the "slitaz-loram" flavor and 16MB for the
"slitaz-loram-cdrom" flavor.
With the slitaz-loram flavour, the system is less responsive, but allows you to
graphically install SliTaz on very old machines. Once installed, SliTaz works
well with a minimum of 16MB memory, but forget about using Firefox to surf the
web - you'll have to use the text based 'links' for example.
Most network and sound card drivers are supported in the Kernel. Presently,
power management is enabled by default with ACPI and support for laptops is
enabled with the "ac" and "battery" modules.
LiveCD Flavors
--------------
SliTaz GNU/Linux is distributed as a bootable LiveCD allowing you to
graphically install to the hard drive and retain the use of your previous
system including all settings, applications, documents, etc.
The project distributes an ISO image called "core", which is the body of the
system, providing a selection of multi-use packages for surfing the web,
listening to music, audio editing, image manipulation, developing (including
PHP/SQL), editing ISOs or burning to optical media. It's just one click in the
application menu to find software installed by category.
The "core" LiveCD can also be customised and rebuilt both graphically or from
the command line. Install your own custom set of packages, or simply use one
of the preset flavors on the mirror. Then simply generate your distribution
with the "Tazlito" tool.
Installation
------------
The installation is fully automated and can be done graphically or in text
mode. The prerequisite material and other useful information can be found in the
Manual and Handbook.
If you want to partition a disk before installation, you can quickly use
Gparted in LiveCD mode or use a flavor containing the partitioning tool. At
the end of the installation it is possible to setup the "GRUB" bootloader which
is capable of starting almost all operating systems. This allows SliTaz to
co-exist with a previously installed operating system, such as Windows.
Linux Kernel
------------
SliTaz GNU/Linux is distributed with the Linux Kernel 2.6.24.2, patched for
LZMA compression support and display correction for the virtual console. The
support for IDE and SCSI is integrated, as are the filesystems ext2 and ext3.
Most network cards are supported either directly or as loadable modules with
'modprobe'. Video capture, if needed, requires the ieee1394, raw1394 and
oci1394 modules installed. The management of the sound card drivers is obtained
with 'soundconf'.
The configuration of startup modules is located in /etc/rcS.conf. In
LiveCD/LiveUSB mode you can use 'modprobe=mod1, mod2' to load various modules
at boot time.
The Linux Kernel configuration of SliTaz is available in the compressed file
/proc/config.gz and also in the Mercurial repositories.
Software Packages
-----------------
The management of software packages is done with the custom package manager
"Tazpkg". It's simple, fast, stable and offers an interactive mode. Among the
448 packages available you will find anything you need to transform your
machine to a complete graphical desktop (e17), a graphics studio with The Gimp
or Inkscape, or to a video editor with Kino. You can experience the world wide
web with instant messaging, VOIP, email and of course through a web browser.
SliTaz is also designed to function as a powerful web server, using the stable
LightTPD/PHP package (installed by default), supporting CGI, Perl and Python.
Rsync is used for incremental backup and iptables functions as the firewall.
SliTaz can of course also provide a complete development environment with the
GCC 4.2.2 compiler, Geany IDE, Mercurial Repostitories and all development
libraries. Packages can be found through the search function of Tazpkg or via
the website: http://www.slitaz.org/packages/
The binary packages on the mirror can all be compiled by using the "wok" or
"Tazwok" to cook. All of the developer documentation is contained in the
"SliTaz Cookbook" and is available online.
Graphical Desktops
------------------
By default, the SliTaz LiveCD uses the very light and stable JWM window manager.
The integration of the taskbar "LXpanel" makes it possible to dynamically
provide a menu based on the Freedesktop standards. The principle is to have a
small menu accessible via a screen click with the favourites, windows effects,
LiveCD and LiveUSB tools, JWM configuration and system actions made available.
Applications can also be accessed through the menu supplied by LXpanel.
Through the support of a LiveCD flavor or an installed system you can install
the Enlightenment (e17) desktop environment or the Openbox window manager.
The different sessions can be selected via the F1 key when using the "Slim"
login window. To change the default session you can use 'tazx' or manually edit
the ~/.Xinitrc file.
Support and Documentation
-------------------------
The SliTaz project offers various means of help and support to users of the
system, using the mailing list, forum or IRC channel. User documentation
is contained in the SliTaz Handbook, making it possible to configure SliTaz
to some degree. The Handbook is also available on the web site. The manuals
of the various tools are installed on the system and are available through the
documentation menu - they describe all the various commands made possible by
the tools. The development of the operating system and the use of the wok and
receipts are described in the "SliTaz Cookbook". The books, manuals and memos
are all available online: http://www.slitaz.org/doc/
Security
--------
For the benefit of a safe and secure system it's important to recharge and
update packages regularly. The Firewall is provided by iptables, and the
LightTPD server supports authentication by encrypted passwords and Dropbear
provides a secure SSH client and server. The passwords for the users of the
system are encrypted and only the root administrator can modify system files.
For information about how to configure the firewall, you can refer to the
Handbook. The packages related to security are all classified under the topic:
Security.
From Cooking to Stable
----------------------
The installer of SLiTaz GNU/linux offers an update function allowing you to
upgrade from a 'Cooking' to 'Stable' version. To upgrade the system you first
need to boot the 'Stable' LiveCD, launch the installer, select upgrade and then
specify the partition containing the system that you want to update. The
installer will then clean out the system and reinstall all the packages not
present on the CD from the mirror. When this has finished you can reboot
with your new version of SliTaz. Note that this method can also be used to
rebuild an already installed system, while retaining the selection of packages
already installed.
Note that the installer will keep a copy of the list of packages and a complete
archive of the /etc directory (etc.tar.gz) in /var/lib/slitaz-install.
People of the Project
---------------------
SliTaz is proud to be an international community project. The people of the
project are the ones who develop the distribution, correct the website,
develop the HG repositories and write the official documentation. Passing
through Switzerland, France, Quebec, Algeria and England.
Christophe Lincoln
Pascal Bellard
Eric Joseph Alexander
Julien Rabier
Paul Issott
Andrew Miller
Serge Daigle
Gauthier Bar
Gwenhaël Goavec-Merou
Mohamed Jabara
Didier Bretin
The project also wishes to thank all the reviewers, testers, hackers and users
who have taken the time to help advance the distribution.
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