Girish Mahajan (Editor)

SalineOS

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Developer
  
Anthony Nordquist

Working state
  
Defunct

Latest release
  
1.7 / 2012-08-08

OS family
  
Unix-like

Source model
  
Open source

Available in
  
over 65

SalineOS was a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software, primarily under the GNU General Public License. It was intended to be a fast, lightweight, and well-documented operating system based on Debian Linux.

Contents

History

The SalineOS Project was started in late 2010 by Anthony Nordquist. Version 1.0, based on Debian v6.0 a.k.a. Squeeze, was released on 17 January 2011. Version 1.6, the most current stable version, was released on 1 February 2012. Version 2 was to be based on Debian v7.0 a.k.a. Wheezy. This project is currently discontinued.

Primary Additions

Additional packages and scripts were added to this distribution and provided in parallel to the default Debian repositories.

The additions are described as follows:

  • sgfxi - xorg free driver installer.
  • magix-driver-installer – a graphic-based application for installing proprietary graphics drivers
  • Additional Debian Repositories – Debian-compatible repositories containing software that does not conform to Debian's strict free software guidelines, including software that is in a testing phase and/or proprietary.
  • Wine repositories – comes preconfigured
  • Remastersys backup utility – a backup-utility with a graphic user interface(ui)
  • Binary firmware – drivers for common wireless network cards that may violate the Debian License.
  • Debian backports repositories
  • Additional scripts – used to automate the installation of potentially patent-encumbered multimedia codecs.

    • Critical reactions

    In an unsigned review of version 1.6 on the LinuxBSDos.com site, the reviewer wrote: "A default installation of SalineOS has its pluses, but the network security posture is very bad. While that problem can be overcome easily, the lack of support for disk encryption during installation, is a major minus. But if you are looking for a desktop distribution with stable but “old” applications, and have no need for disk encryption, then SalineOS is worth considering."

    J.A. Watson writing for Jamie's Mostly Linux Stuff on ZDNet ended his review of version 1.5 with "Summary: SalineOS looks like a very good Linux distribution. It installs easily, runs well, and has all the advantages (and disadvantages) of Debian GNU/Linux. If you are looking for a new alternative, it is worth investigating."

    References

    SalineOS Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA