by Prof. ROMMEL P. FERIA, MSc.
Mandrake (now Mandriva), Suse, Red Hat, Slackware, Ubuntu, Bayanihan, Debian, Gentoo and the list goes on. It is like getting two for the price of one. Linux is probably the only operating system (OS) in the world with so many names or, as we call it, distributions. Although they all have the same kernel (geek term for the internal engine of the OS), what makes each one different is the applications that are bundled with it.
Today, I am writing about four of the distributions crafted locally. These are Bayanihan Linux, ADMULinux, Lorma Linux and IskoLinux.
Bayanihan Linux
Although not the first one, Bayanihan Linux is probably the most popular local distribution right now. Bayanihan Linux, now in its version 3.0, is maintained by the Department of Science & Technology’s Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) led by my friend, Engr. Peter Banzon.
Bayanihan Linux is an alternative desktop OS that “aims to provide better hardware support, operation[al] simplicity, speed, efficiency, stability and Windows portability (taken from their website at http://www.bayanihan.gov.ph).”
You can download your copy of Bayanihan Linux 3 from their site. They are currently developing the server edition as well as a thin-client setup using the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP).
Don’t be surprised if your computer shop offers you Bayanihan Linux when you purchase a new computer. DOST-ASTI has signed an agreement with several re-sellers to distribute Bayanihan Linux (and even trained them in its use).
ADMULinux
One of the pillars of the Philippine Linux community is Dr. Pablo Manalastas, a.k.a. DocMana, of the Ateneo de Manila University.
DocMana crafted probably the first Philippine Linux distribution, ADMULinux. The prime objective of the distribution is use for education, specifically computer science education. DocMana believes that the best way to teach an Operating Systems course is to allow students to actually tinker with the OS instead of simply having them point-and-click.
Compared with the desktop-oriented Bayanihan Linux, ADMULinux can be used on servers such as the DEC Alpha as well as the desktop.
ADMULinux has a sibling, ADMULinuxGo!, which is a LiveCD Linux distribution. A LiveCD allows a user to run Linux without installing it on his/her computer -- just insert the CD and set your computer to boot off the CD drive.
I tried accessing ADMULinux from its website, http://www.admulinux.org, but it directed me to some page not related to Linux (no, not a porn site silly!). Doc-Mana, if you are reading this, please tell our readers where we can find your Linux distribution.
Lorma Linux
Lorma Colleges in San Fernando, La Union, has, to date, produced probably the most number of distributions from a single Philippine organization. Lorma Linux comes in several versions: server and workstation. The LormaLinux 2005 Server comes in four editions: LTSP Server Slackware, LTSP Server Fedora, Web/MySQL Server and Samba Fileserver. The workstation version comes in three varieties: LormaLinux 2005, AMD Athlon Edition and the AMD64 Edition.
Similar to ADMULinux, LormaLinux is aimed at meeting the requirements of academic institutions and students.
You can find more information about this and access the downloadable CD images at http://linux.lorma.edu.
IskoLinux
Better late than never, I must say. The University of the Philippines has just released the beta version of the IskoLinux distribution - a one CD release that functions both as an installation CD and a LiveCD. The objective is to provide a distribution for UP faculty, staff and students.
IskoLinux is not intended (yet) to be distributed outside the University of the Philippines since the bundled themes and templates are UP specific. Just like any other open source application, IskoLinux can be customized should you prefer to give it a non-UP look and feel.
What is unique with this distribution is that it also incorporates open source-based projects done by UP faculty and students such as:
1. UP Office (A “branded” OpenOffice.org Office suite). UP Office comes with document templates that make it easier for faculty and students to accomplish standard forms such as the Completion/Removal form, the Dropping Slip, etc.
Currently based on the OpenOffice.org version 1.0 codebase, it is now being migrated to the upcoming OpenOffice.org 2.0 suite.
2. OpenOffice.org File Viewer or OOoView. A Java-based OpenOffice.org file viewer, this was created by Ms. Christine Bejerasco, Mr. Cipriano Consolacion Jr., and Ms. Raquel Tarroza (supervised by yours truly) as a requirement in earning their degree in Computer Science.
The first version only supported OpenOffice.org version 1.0 file formats. It was recently upgraded to support version 1.1.x file formats and the upcoming OpenOffice.org 2.0 file formats.
OOoView source is now available at http://oooview.dev.java.net.
3. UP Gnome Desktop. This is a UP-themed Gnome Desktop.
Other projects are still being incorporated in IskoLinux. Watch out for its release.
You can find the beta version of IskoLinux, UP Office version 1 and OOoView at http://os.up.edu.ph, the UP Open Source portal.
With four local distributions already available, this goes to show how the Open Source Software (OSS) empowers local developers by allowing them to craft their own products based on OSS without fear of infringing any copyright or patent.
Which one is the best distribution? I cannot specifically say that one is better than the other. However, the beauty of having Linux is that you can try different distributions before you decide which one fits your needs.
I am sure that there are other groups developing their own Linux distributions to suit their needs or for specific purposes not yet addressed by the four local distributions I have mentioned above. Should you know of one, please feel free to send me a note at mac.n.tux@gmail.com.
