SLAX

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SLAX
Standard Edition SLAX 5.0.6
Standard Edition SLAX 5.0.6
Website: slax.org
Company/
developer:
Tomas Matejicek
OS family: Linux
Source model: Open source
Latest stable release: 5.1.8.1 / November 24, 2006
Kernel type: Monolithic kernel, Linux
License: Various
Working state: Current
SLAX logo

SLAX is a Linux Live CD based on Slackware. It does not need to be installed on a computer system's hard drive, as it boots and runs from removable media (either a CD or a USB drive). There is also an option to run SLAX from RAM. SLAX Standard and KillBill editions use KDE as their desktop environment, while Popcorn uses Xfce. Fluxbox is an option in all versions except Frodo which is for users with a low amount of RAM.

SLAX was made by one man, Tomas Matejicek, using the Linux Live scripts. The current version of SLAX is 5.1.8.1 which is around 192 MB, released on November 24, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Editions of SLAX

There are five official versions of Slax. They each have unique features but some of them have overlapping features. The special features of each version can be installed with

Slax Standard
Slax Standard comes with KDE 3.5, Linux 2.6.16, and tools for connecting with Wi-Fi networks
Slax Kill-Bill
Slax Kill-Bill includes Wine, and Qemu.
Slax Server
Slax Server comes with pre-configured DNS, DHCP, SAMBA, HTTP, FTP, MySQL, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, and SSH.
Slax Popcorn
Slax Popcorn is a lightweight Xfce and Fluxbox (instead of KDE), multimedia programs, and Mozilla.
Slax Frodo
Slax Frodo doesn't include X

[edit] Features

[edit] Easy customization

The primary feature of SLAX is easy customization. Using any Slackware package, you can easily add additional software to the base CD, and burn a customized distribution. With a bit more trouble, you can add rpm's, and even directory trees.

All editions of SLAX and some of the distributions based on SLAX can be modified using MySlax Creator and modules from SLAX modules page or other sources.

Base SLAX contains the following software:

  1. Linux 2.6.16
  2. X.org 6.9
  3. UnionFS & SquashFS
  4. KDE 3.5.2
  5. MPlayer 1.0pre7 with KPlayer
  6. Rdesktop (rscp in KDE)
  7. Hotplug support
  8. Cdrtools
  9. Mutt e-mail client
  10. Wget

A full list of software can be found at SLAX software page.

[edit] Webconfig

Webconfig is a feature of SLAX that allows changes made to a session to be saved to an online repository on the SLAX server. When booting SLAX from a liveCD, this option is activated by using a "cheatcode" or boot option. At the boot prompt, press F1 to reveal the available boot options. Previously saved system settings will be applied to the current session. It is also possible to save and restore system settings from an active session. The current limit for the official Webconfig repository is 28 MiB.

Webconfig is deprecated, but still working. There is no current official replacement for webconfig (as of 7 July 2006). However, SSHfs is expected to replace Webconfig in the future.

[edit] Distributions based on SLAX

[edit] Adrenalinux

Adrenalinux is a live distribution CD in Spanish language, based on Slax LiveCD. It includes KDE, Firefox, Gaim, KOffice, SMB4K, xmms and more applications can be installed from Repositorio Adrenalinux.

[edit] AliXe

AliXe ICE edition is a bilingual live CD (in English and French), based on SLAX 5.1.8 Popcorn. The window manager is IceWM with GTK2 applications included.

[edit] All In One USB SLAX.zip

All In One USB SLAX.zip is a simple compressed zip of the latest version SLAX specifically made for USB flash drive installation. Also included in the zip is a custom one button syslinux installer that allows you to make the USB drive bootable via Windows XP through a simple one button menu.

[edit] BackTrack

BackTrack is a live Slax-based distribution with many functional information security and penetration testing tools. It is built by the creators of the estimable Whoppix and Auditor Live CDs.

[edit] DNALinux

DNALinux is a Linux LiveCD with Bioinformatics software included. This distro is based on SLAX but include programs like BLAST and EMBOSS. DNALinux is made by Genes Digitales and Quilmes National University, Argentina.

[edit] Gnu-HALO Project

GNU-Halo Live CD is an experimental Linux distribution that takes some new and some old-but-rarely-used ideas regarding Operating System Layout, User Interface Design and System Security and puts them all together in one package.

[edit] GoblinX

GoblinX is directed towards desktop users and features customized desktops: KDE, Xfce and Enlightenment (window manager). GoblinX contains some of the most often used applications for Linux.

[edit] LG3D LiveCD

LG3D LiveCD is a SLAX-based LiveCD using Sun's Project Looking Glass 3D desktop environment. It is mainly intended for demonstration purposes and contains only a small selection of software. It is possible to install it onto a 256 MB USB flash drive. To run it, you will need a supported video card (most recent NVidia cards will do; full-screen mode is disabled with ATI cards).

[edit] Open Source Free CD

Open Source Free CD contains a compilation of high quality Open Source (and some Freeware) software for Windows. Also included on the CD is a bootable Slax Linux LiveCD.

[edit] Physics-Live CD

Physics-Live CD is based on Slax livecd. It contains many physical simulations created by using c, gtk and glade. The physical simulations are taken from author's research and from the internet. This livecd is useful for learning and teaching physics and research in physics.

[edit] Planktum

Planktum Slax tailored in a not technical show-off, but with the intention to allow a fast, versatile and "slimmed" Spanish-English system that simplifies the boot process, and that includes a friendly graphical user interface(GUI) following a design that comes close to the visual culture of the target group of users to whom it is addressed i.e. Immigrants. There is an intention to distribute copies of Planktum around marginalized communities, be it Africans, Latinos, Chinese etc. Users are met with a graphical environment that includes 4 basic icons on the desktop, all leading to communication applications (present version includes Skype, WebBrowser, Email Client and an Instant Messaging application).

[edit] Sauver OS

Sauver is simple to use and very useful for recovering deleted files and performing various other day to day activities. Includes GUI tools for Installing Wi-fi Drivers, Creating SWAP Files, Recovering Deleted files, Partition Manager and various others. The Sauver specific programs (Undelete GUIs, Wireless Manager, Save Settings, Sauver. Office) are the work of a single person, Maulik Gordhandas.

[edit] SCLive

SystemC-Live is similar to Knoppix, but based on Slax and Slackware. It features the SystemC OSCI simulation kernel, the required g++ compilers and libraries, and an integrated development environment, debugger, and waveform viewer. Additionally, the distribution features essential utilities to make it a useful working environment such as a Web browser, a file manager, and more.

[edit] Shiba

Shiba is a lightweight variant of SLAX in French language, using the IceWM window manager.

[edit] SimpleSlax

SimpleSlax is a variant SLAX LiveCD designed to be small at 114 MB and lightweight for use with older hardware. Derived from Popcorn Edition 5.1.8, it features clean and efficient default settings along with USBview, Dillo web browser, Iceweasel 1.5.0.7 with Flash 9.0.28, Mousepad text editor, and modified scripts to load quickly (autologin) and run smoothly on machines functioning with a minimal 233 MHz processor and 96 MB RAM. Support notes and documentation included on project page.

[edit] Slax-LFI

Slax-LFI is a small Rescue-CD in French language that includes KDE with GParted, Partimage, Clamav, Mozilla Firefox, K3b, KOffice.

[edit] Sla-game-ax

Sla-game-ax is a 3D Gaming LiveCD based on Slax 5.0.6. The games included on the CD are: Quake3 demo, Quake2 demo, Cube, Tuxkart, Doom Legacy, and Chromium.

[edit] SLAMPP

SLAMPP is a live Slax-based distribution configured to be a home server.

[edit] Slast

Slast is a live Slax-based distribution created by the Infonomicon Computer Club that is designed to be a on-demand Asterisk system. The CD contains an Asterisk module that loads configuration files upon boot up that allows a user to make any PC connected to an Internet connection into their Asterisk PBX.

[edit] Slax AoE

Slax AoE LiveCD is a bootable CD with ATA over Ethernet (AoE) target and initiator programs. It can be used as an AoE server or client. It is based on Slax Frodo Edition with some modifications needed to simplify use of AoE. ATA over Ethernet (AoE) is a network protocol designed for accessing ATA storage devices over Ethernet networks.

[edit] Slax-Tiki Live CD

TikiWiki Live CD is based on SLAX Server Edition and TikiWiki CMS/Groupware. The CD contains everything you need to start your computer and go directly to using your own installation of Tiki.

[edit] TeaM-TL

TeaM-TL is yet another LiveCD Linux distribution based on Slax. TeaM-TL (TeXLive in LinuxLive) aspires to become the most comprehensive Linux LiveCD-based implementation of TeX.

The main goal of TeaM-TL is to produce an all-in-one environment for TeXing with the right tools within a modern operating system. All software comes ready-to-use on one standard, bootable optical disk, be it CD, DVD, HD-DVD or Blu-Ray format.

Another goal is the promotion of TeX. As a bonus, when TeXing, the user can listen to music, surf the Web and read email, among other activities.

For beginners, TeaM-TL is the easiest way to discover the wonderful world of TeX. The user does not have to add fonts and packets, or wrongly configure TeX features and editords. TeX-nicians have in their shirt pockets a ready-to-use, powerful TeX Linux LiveCD distro for use anywhere. One needs only a PC with a CD drive to begin TeXing.

Monika, a mathematician, and Tomek, an electrician, two Polish self-professed "computer nerds" who love Linux and TeX, develop and maintain TeaM-TL.

[edit] Wifislax

Wifislax is a Spanish language distribution, based on SLAX and BackTrack, integrating drivers of ipw2200 and rt73 chipsets, for new USB cards with ralink chipset, and the new PCI cards with rt61 chipset. In addition it is equipped with the necessary patches for the acceleration of the data transfer.

[edit] Wolvix

Wolvix is a LiveCD Linux distribution based on Slax. The latest version release, 1.0.5, comes in two editions, Cub and Hunter. Wolvix Cub is designed to fit on a 256 MB USB stick. Wolvix Hunter fits on a 512 MB USB stick.

There are three editions of the earlier version release, 1.0.4; Desktop Edition (DE), Games Edition (GE), and Media Edition (ME). Wolvix DE is a full featured distribution with up to date open source software including OpenOffice 2 for office productivity, Bluefish (text editor) for web development and Firefox for the web browser. Yet this distribution is fairly light weight at 461 MB in size. See the Wolvix web site for a complete list. Wolvix GE is loaded with fifty games, but weighs in at only 478 MB in size. In addition to software for daily tasks, Wolvix ME has a variety of video and audio software such as CD and DVD rippers and encoders, and audio and video editing programs.

Like Slax, Wolvix distributions are bootable from an appropriately sized USB drive. Wolvix's ISOs can also be modified using MySlax Creator.

[edit] External links