PCLinuxOS, often abbreviated as PCLOS, is a desktop Linux distribution. It is a free operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixels Full resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 411 KB, MIME type: image/png) The PCLinuxOS 2007 desktop. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... The term software company could be applied to: a) a company that produces software, distributes software from a third party, or provides services such as custom software development. ... For other uses, see Software developer (disambiguation). ... This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. ... Clockwise from top: The logo of the GNU Project, the Linux kernel mascot Tux, and the BSD Daemon Free software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions only... ... is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... A kernel connects the application software to the hardware of a computer. ... It has been suggested that Monolithic system be merged into this article or section. ... A software license is a legal agreement which may take the form of a proprietary or gratuitous license as well as a memorandum of contract between a producer and a user of computer software. ... Look up desktop in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A Linux distribution, often simply distribution or distro, is a member of the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems comprising the Linux kernel, the non-kernel parts of the GNU operating system, and assorted other software. ... An operating system (OS) is the software that manages the sharing of the resources of a computer and provides programmers with an interface used to access those resources. ...

History

The precursor to PCLinuxOS was a set of RPM packages created to improve successive versions of Mandrake Linux (now Mandriva Linux). These packages were created by Bill Reynolds, a packager better known as Texstar^[1]. From the year 2000 to 2003, Texstar maintained his repository of RPM packages in parallel with the PCLinuxOnline Web site. RPM Package Manager (originally Red Hat Package Manager, abbreviated RPM) is a package management system. ... Mandriva Linux (formerly Mandrakelinux or Mandrake Linux) is a Linux distribution created by Mandriva (formerly Mandrakesoft). ... Bill Reynolds, also known as Texstar, is the creator of the PCLinuxOS Linux distribution. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2003 Texstar created a fork of Mandrake Linux 9.2 (which was released in October 2003). Working closely with The LiveCD Project, Texstar has since developed that fork independently into a full-fledged distribution. The initial releases were successively numbered as "previews" i.e. p5, p7, p8 up to p81a, then p9, p91, p92. In software, a project fork or branch happens when a developer (or a group of them) takes code from a project and starts to develop independently of the rest. ...

More recently, MiniME 0.93 was released on 2006-05-16 as a minimal "Live & Install" CD. MiniME was designed for a small and fast installation, allowing users to customize their system by choosing all of the desired applications. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

In August 2006 three new CDs/ISOs, numbered 0.93a, were released: MiniMe, Junior and Big Daddy. At the same time, the original packages that make up KDE have been split into smaller ones, while some less essential portions of KDE have been omitted on the CD. As a result, Texstar was able to fit the OpenOffice.org package into the BigDaddy release. MiniMe remains a minimal install for experienced users wishing to add their own selection of packages, while Junior adds a few essential desktop-oriented packages, meeting the user somewhere between the two other releases. OpenOffice. ...

With the advent of PCLinuxOS 2007, also known as .94, there has been an entire shift to a more modern code which will require a complete reinstall to this version, but will then continue from there to allow updates without further re-installs.^[2] The new version features a new look, and built-in 3D effects. Both Beryl and Compiz come pre-installed, and can be configured with the PCLOS Control Center. A new logo has also been designed for the new version, and is incorporated in the boot screen. A new login screen has been designed, entitled "Dark". PCLinuxOS 2007 final version was released on 2007-05-21. Beryl is a compositing window manager for the X Window System. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Compiz fusion. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Features

PCLinuxOS is distributed as a LiveCD, which can also be installed to a local hard disk drive. When used as a LiveCD, it can work with a USB flash drive, where the user's configuration and personal data are saved. Once locally installed on a PC's hard drive, the user of PCLinuxOS can add, remove or update packages by utilising the Advanced Packaging Tool (or APT), a package management system (originally from the Debian distribution), together with Synaptic Package Manager, a GUI frontend to APT. Gnoppix 0. ... A hard disk drive (HDD), commonly referred to as a hard drive, hard disk or fixed disk drive,[1] is a non-volatile storage device which stores digitally encoded data on rapidly rotating platters with magnetic surfaces. ... “JumpDrive” redirects here. ... A personal computer (PC) is a computer whose price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals. ... Look up package in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a package management system used by Debian and its derivatives. ... Illustration of a package management system being used to download new software. ... Debian is a free operating system. ... A screenshot of Synaptic. ... “GUI” redirects here. ...

Relationship with Mandriva Linux

Although it retains a similar "look and feel" to Mandriva Linux, PCLinuxOS has diverged significantly. Most parts, like the Linux kernel, GCC and KDE (the main desktop environment), have been independently packaged since 2000, when the project was launched as a modification of Mandrake. The code was officially forked into an independant project in 2003, but after three years of contiguous development, the devs took advantage of further development in (the renamed) Mandriva, and forked the code again for PCLinusOS 2007. PCLinuxOS downplays its dependence on Mandriva. The Linux kernel is a Unix-like operating system kernel. ... The GNU Compiler Collection (usually shortened to GCC) is a set of programming language compilers produced by the GNU Project. ... KDE (K Desktop Environment) (IPA: ) is a free software project which aims to be a powerful system for an easy-to-use desktop environment. ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ...

PCLinuxOS maintains its own software repository, available via the Advanced Packaging Tool (APT) and its Synaptic front-end, completely replacing Mandriva's urpmi. PCLinuxOS endeavors to maintain a fully valid upgrade path for version 1.0. This means that an installation could be continuously updated to the latest versions of packages, hence foregoing the need to re-install the entire distribution upon each successive release. In the test releases before 1.0, it has sometimes been necessary to perform a reinstallation. Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a package management system used by Debian and its derivatives. ... The word synaptic refers to the synapse in neuroanatomy. ... urpmi is a Mandrake Linux package management tool for installing, removing, updating and querying software packages of local or remote (networked) media. ...

Other differences include its own menu arrangement and custom graphics and icon sets.

PCLinuxOS places specific emphasis on desktop computing, concentrating its efforts for home or small business environments, hence paying less attention to other more "traditional" uses, like servers (although packages for most server tasks are available). Desktop computer with several common peripherals (Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, microphone and a printer) A desktop computer is a computer made for use on a desk in an office or home and is distinguished from portable computers such as laptops or PDAs. ...

Projects

There are many projects associated with PCLinuxOS. Since PCLOS includes the mklivecd script, there are several third-party distros based on PCLOS. Some include: mklivecd is a script for Debian-based distributions that allows for one to compile a snapshot of the current hard drive partition and all data which resides in it (all settings, applications, documents, bookmarks, etc. ...

• Small Business Edition
• Amarok LiveCD
• VideoLinux
• Ruby on Rails LiveCD^{[citation needed]}
• SAM Linux
• CAE Linux
• Granular Linux
• more...

The PCLinuxOS Magazine project is a community driven free publication focused on the users of PCLinuxOS by MyPCLinuxOS.com. This online publication was started in September 2006 by a group of PCLOS users with some publication experience. All content for the publication is solicited from the PCLOS user base. VideoLinux is a PCLinuxOS-based Linux distribution that is primarily focused on the creation and editing of video. ... SAM Linux Desktop, a live and installation CD based on PCLinuxOS 2007, is an easy-to-use, fast and clean XFce 4. ...

A Hardware Database has been started for PCLinuxOS and encourages the exchange of information and even user ratings for user submitted hardware.

MyPCLinuxOS.com has also started a project to create a GNOME version of PCLinuxOS. It is still being developed, and one test ISO has been released. There are still many bugs, and the test ISO is mainly meant for beta testers and developers. They are not planning to release it as a remaster, like SAM Linux. They say, "It will be as Kubuntu is to Ubuntu." This article is about the mythical creature. ... Kubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu Linux distribution using the KDE environment instead of GNOME. It is part of the Ubuntu project and uses the same underlying system. ... Ubuntu (official IPA pronunciation (oo-BOON-too[5])) is a predominantly desktop-oriented Linux distribution, based on Debian GNU/Linux but with a stronger focus on usability, regular releases, and ease of installation. ...

Compatibility

PCLinuxOS can play back proprietary multimedia files (wma, mp3, mpg, rm, mov, etc) by default, something that some Linux distributions cannot do without further user configuration,^[3] because of legal and ideological issues. However, it cannot play most DVDs by default, although libdvdcss is available in the official software repository. libdvdcss is a free, highly portable library for accessing and unscrambling DVDs encrypted with the Content Scramble System. ...

Userbase

PCLinuxOS appears to have a fiercely evangelical and unusually helpful userbase. Their tendency to assault public polls and rankings often results in their coming in ahead of distributions dozens of times more popular (though such popularity is difficult to measure). They are currently experiencing a large influx of new linux users due to their number 1 page-hit ranking on Distrowatch.com, a popular metric of comparison.

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• PCLinuxOS website
• Get PCLinuxOS
• My PCLinuxOS
• PCLinuxOnline
• PCLINUXOS español
• PCLinuxOS at DistroWatch