FaunOS article on Linux.com

raymano · 2007-09-26 14:00:56

A review of FaunOS on linux.com:

http://www.linux.com/feature/119336

Thought I'd share

Thanks again to Arch and its great community,
Raymano

Last edited by raymano (2007-09-26 14:04:59)

cactus · 2007-09-26 14:24:03

Congrats raymano!

dolby · 2007-09-26 14:44:53

read it yesterday. nice review. the only reason i havent used faunos til now is that its not as costomisable as arch eg. comes with kde by default. plus i never had to load an os via usb sticks. but its almost certain most of us will in the future.
congrats

kensai · 2007-09-26 14:46:07

Yeah, I saw that yesterday, and I'm about to turn my house upside down so I can find my 2GB usb flashdrive which I just can't find in the last few days.:( Well as soon as I find it FaunOS is going to be on it.;)

raymano · 2007-09-26 15:57:16

Thanks guys.

One thing I forgot to mention. FaunOS has a large debt of gratitude to gradgrind and his larch scripts. It saved us so much time in creating FaunOS. We continue to work with him closely to improve both the larch scripts for all the do-it-your-selfers, and FaunOS. You can see his forum along with ours at:

http://forum.faunos.com

Keep up the great work Arch and Larch!

Last edited by raymano (2007-09-26 16:00:51)

eyolf · 2007-09-26 18:38:37

I saw it too, and I can confirm that it's a very good usb-based solution. Congrats, both on the review and on FaunOS!

CocoAUS · 2007-09-26 20:02:47

I tried FaunOS, but it seems to have some issues. For instance, saving sessions doesn't always work. The default KDE theme is ugly, and the "Faun" isn't a faunt at all...it's just a goat on its hind legs. I do like that it's prettier than the default KDE for the most part and that it has codecs installed, along with great apps like Codeine instead of bloated Kaffeine. It's also using the 2.6.18 kernel, which is a bit too old for my taste. Oh, and the volume doesn't save levels by default, which is REALLY annoying.

Over all, I think I see FaunOS as just another larch project. larch makes it easy enough to make my own USB-bootable build that I really don't see the point in having FaunOS. I do like FaunOS, but I still just don't see the point.

raymano · 2007-09-26 20:59:49

Hi CocoAUS,

I'd like to thank you for taking the time to try FaunOS, even though it does not seem to fit your needs or taste. Some points to mention:

- Session saving works perfectly as long as you have enough space on your device to save your changes and enough RAM to do it. This has been verified by hundreds of users. There are some laws of physics that we have not figure out how to break (yet )

- The uglyness is personal preference that can be changed. I like it. It is impossible to figure out what everyone likes. That's why you have the option to customize in FaunOS. You can even change the grub boot up background if you like and replace all the icons with another KDE theme.

- Your information about the kernel is incorrect. I don't know what live distro you are confusing FaunOS with, but FaunOS uses kernel 2.6.21.

- The volume is set to 33% by default in most cases. Again you can save your own setting once logged in. This can also be saved in you session.

- The point is: there are non-techie people out there that can't use larch. Most of the people that I talk to haven't even heard of Linux, let alone Arch or Larch. However they are pretty amazed when they see FaunOS. They can't believe that there's something other than Windows or Mac. I also have a hard time explaining that all of this is running off of the USB key. They want something that just works and that is exactly what FaunOS is.

Thanks again,
Raymano

CocoAUS · 2007-09-26 21:14:27

Session saving does not work perfectly. On a 2GB drive (yes, repartitioned right after the initial install), it has random issues. For me and my cousin both (different computers, different USB sticks, different modifications). Imagine if a developer said, "This software functions perfectly. I'm ignoring your bug report because hundreds of other users haven't reported the same thing."

I know the "uglyness" is personal preference, but I'm not the only one who thinks it's ugly. I also know about customizing the look and feel of a distro. It was simply a comment in response to the reviewer's own comments about the customized look of FaunOS.

Not sure why I type 2.6.18 for the kernel--I knew it was 2.6.21, but seem to have gone stupid in the fingers for a moment.

The mixer settings simply did not save for me, even when session saving worked. I didn't muck around with this too much (no reason to, since my Arch install works just dandy), so it may be something obvious, but it's still an issue.

As far as claiming that FaunOS just works, well...I don't think so. There's little to make it "just work" that other distros don't have as well, besides common codecs being included. In fact, even plain Debian "just works" better than FaunOS.

Again, I liked FaunOS (or, StandingGoatOS), but there was simply nothing to set it apart from other distros. It's basically just a themed Arch install with codecs and a session-save feature.

Last edited by CocoAUS (2007-09-26 21:49:01)

raymano · 2007-09-26 22:27:10

Thanks. Points well taken. You have me convinced. I will stop developing FaunOS from this point on.
.
.
.
.
.
.
NOT!

Why should anyone create binary packages and put them together in a distro? Anyone can download the source and compile, right?

You have every right to your opinion. StandingGoatOS, that's not a bad name by the way. SGO ok I can dig that But wait. That's a little too close to SCO

P.S. Try to create a FaunOS equivalent with larch out of the box. It's not just larch. There's a lot more to it. FYI: Larch scripts have been modified quite a bit for FaunOS. By the way if you didn't know gradgrind has his forum on the FaunOS forum site. FaunOS is involved with gradgrind and larch

Last edited by raymano (2007-09-26 22:52:01)

lilsirecho · 2007-09-26 23:43:18

Cocoaus;

I remid you that larch is basically a LiveCD/DVD with an option for loading a flash drive and boot C2R (Copy to ram).

To set up Larch requires considerable set-up time to install the packages desired. When it is finally booted, the files that generated it are still in the HDD, reducing the capability therein. It does perform well even when booted to ram.

The difference as I see it is that the compilation time is eliminated when FaunOS is installed and the file remaining can be deleted. The FaunOS utilizes the same capabilities for C2R and does save session and alsa levels when sufficient flash and memory are available.

The added save session files in .sqf format can be applied to any upgrade of FaunOS to enable the system to boot into desktop.

I see it as a time-saver and a very versatile USB-boot system which has package download via pacman which enables you,Cocoaus, to make the system do what you want(KDE exclude?).

Cooperation with Gradgrind has been fruitful and both systems will benefit from the versatility provided by FaunOS.

By the by, many objections to large packages for the WM because they don't need the accessories,etc.. There are a few hundred packages with all systems that are seldom if ever used.............

Bravo! to FaunOS for providing a USB boot system for flash drives with the top-banana ArchLinux as the base. It is young still but growing every month.

I vote yes!!!!

CocoAUS · 2007-09-27 04:56:42

raymano wrote:

Thanks. Points well taken. You have me convinced. I will stop developing FaunOS from this point on.
.
.
.
.
.
.
NOT!

Why should anyone create binary packages and put them together in a distro? Anyone can download the source and compile, right?
You have every right to your opinion. StandingGoatOS, that's not a bad name by the way. SGO ok I can dig that But wait. That's a little too close to SCO
P.S. Try to create a FaunOS equivalent with larch out of the box. It's not just larch. There's a lot more to it. FYI: Larch scripts have been modified quite a bit for FaunOS. By the way if you didn't know gradgrind has his forum on the FaunOS forum site. FaunOS is involved with gradgrind and larch

Wow, you're way off, here. I never said you should stop developing FaunOS. So take the sarcasm and rm -rf it. your absurd argument about binaries is just that--absurd. I know you're involved with gradgrind--good for you. But...so what? What does that have to do with anything?

As for my "opinion," much of what I stated is simply fact. Sessions save is not perfect, and your distro does not "just work." These are no opinions, but observations. If you post a review of your customized Arch install in a forum, don't expect everyone to jump and cheer--expect some honesty, as well. And instead of getting sarcastic, deal intelligently and honestly with the issues.

raymano · 2007-09-27 05:12:52

Thought I did that in my original post. No problem.

Mr Green · 2007-11-11 21:17:25

Just installed faun to my pendrive and its boots faster than my Desktop :-) ... amazing got to be the fastest

Excellent work going to try this baby out on me laptop

Thanks

MrG

raymano · 2007-11-11 21:29:37

Hey Mr Green,

Glad you like it! The speed magic has a lot to do with archlinux

If you have any problems or questions our forums are a pretty good place to get them answered: http://forum.faunos.com

Raymano

Arch Linux

#1 2007-09-26 14:00:56

FaunOS article on Linux.com

#2 2007-09-26 14:24:03

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#3 2007-09-26 14:44:53

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#4 2007-09-26 14:46:07

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#5 2007-09-26 15:57:16

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#6 2007-09-26 18:38:37

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#7 2007-09-26 20:02:47

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#8 2007-09-26 20:59:49

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#9 2007-09-26 21:14:27

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#10 2007-09-26 22:27:10

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#11 2007-09-26 23:43:18

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#12 2007-09-27 04:56:42

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#13 2007-09-27 05:12:52

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#14 2007-11-11 21:17:25

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

#15 2007-11-11 21:29:37

Re: FaunOS article on Linux.com

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