We have an old computer my Dad uses which presently runs XP. I've been looking to put xUbuntu or lUbuntu on there before XP's expiry and wanted to give my Dad a shot at both before choosing which one to install, but haven't been able to get either live DVD to work.
Not sure what was going on, I reached for my collection of live CDs from last decade to see if it was simply the case the computer couldn't read a bootable DVD. Correct. The resulting romp into nostalgia* is detailed below.
*My memories of Linux as a child was never being able to get most distros working. This was no different. True realism.
First up, and how could I resist with the memories of mag articles about it being the future of desktop design (along with the then-named Longhorn 3D desktop):
Project Looking Glass 2.3a
Here's how it's supposed to look:
My experience:
PLG was built off an xfce-based Slax distro. Check dat glossy Penguin:
The all-important GUI options:
This distro came with a big fat warning: it probably won't work.
It didn't.
That's right, none of those boot options worked. One, I think it was XFCE, returned this:
I'm sad this never worked for me. Here's the history of the project, from Wikipedia:
Looking Glass was first developed by Hideya Kawahara, a Sun programmer who wrote it in his spare time on a small Linux laptop. After demonstrating an early version to Sun executives, he was assigned to it full-time with a dedicated team and open-sourced the project. [1] It was first demonstrated publicly by Jonathan Schwartz at LinuxWorld Expo 2003 in San Francisco, and since then has gathered momentum in development.[2] After unveiling the prototype, Steve Jobs called Schwartz's office and told him that Apple would sue Sun if Sun moved forward to commercialize it. Jobs claimed that the project is infringing Apple's IP. [3] Regardless of the threat, Sun determined that the project was not of priority and decided not to put more resource to develop it further into product quality. The project thus had been continuing in an experimental mode. However, as Sun's financial situation became tighter and the management determined they had higher priority projects on their hand, the project became inactive (practically dead) since late 2006. [4]
FEATURES:
One of its most notable features is the creation of reversible windows. This capability can be used for features like allowing the user to write notes and comments on the windows' backs, or displaying application dialogs without risking their being detached from the application they relate to. All windows start by looking like a normal 2D or 2.5D window, but can be manipulated as thin slate-like 3D objects which can be set at any angle or turned completely around by the user.
Other features include tilting all the window to assist the user to pick up a desired window, provision of a panning virtual desktop, icons that reflect the live status of the window they represent and zooming of a window when it receives focus.
There are a few designs that Looking Glass implemented which appeared in other products in later years. One technique became popular by Apple's Dashboard widgets is configuration of an application (widget) by flipping its visual and performing updates on the backside of it. The visual of Apple's Mac OS X Dock became similar to Looking Glass's look when Leopard was released. [5] Microsoft Windows 7 implements a feature for window selection that hides other windows than the one that the user placed the mouse cursor on a thumbnail above the taskbar. It resembles Looking Glass's usage of transparency for window selection using window thumbnails on the taskbar. [6]
You can read and see more on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Looking_Glass
Mandriva One 2007: Gnome Edition
For those wondering, this OS is now dead. I guess that's a "bummer".
Chubby Puppy Linux 1.0.5
c.2005.
The boot loader. Paris would be proud.
The less said about this one the better. From Wikipedia: "Puppy Linux has been criticized for running all users as root and for its lack of available applications."
Thankfully it turned out not to be a live CD so I could put Puppy down quickly.
Slax: Popcorn Edition 5.0.6
THIS ONE ACTUALLY WORKED!
Dat toor so l33t.
Popcorn was Slax 5 for home theatres, IIRC. The following from Wikipedia: "Slax Popcorn was a minimalistic edition focused on browsing and multimedia playback. It featured Mozilla Firefox as the default web browser and the lightweight Xfce as a desktop environment instead of KDE."
And wow, Xfce really has come a long way since 2005:
Firefox 1.0.4. Wow. I wish the computer had a net connection so I could see how badly everything worked.
AbiWord hasn't changed a bit in almost a decade:
BMwhat?
Didn't even taste like popcorn.
I actually quite liked this distro. Clean, usable, and made me wish I'd made the switch to Linux back when I was 13. Our net was never good enough to grab packages though.
Others
I've found a few other CDs since doing this, including DeLi Linux 0.8.0, Ark H20 2005.2 (not a live CD, I think), Slackware 10.1, DSL and Mint 4.1. I'll give those a run if people are interested. As it stands, I think this might be too dull for people except myself to enjoy. Let me know.
I might give PLG a shot in other computers too. I've always wanted to have a play with that one.
Also, I remember another distro which had tetris you could play while the installation took place, but I can't remember which it was and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a live image.