“How does this sound? We start with a no-commitment Linux
that comes complete with a full KDE graphical desktop, networking
tools (including Netscape), games, tools and a plethora of
additional programs. Best of all, this Linux distribution runs
directly from the CD-ROM. That’s right: you can leave your
hard disk completely untouched and still try Linux.
Interested?”
“I’m talking about DemoLinux, which can be found at
http://www.demolinux.org. DemoLinux is the handiwork of Vincent
Balat, Roberto Cosmo and Jean-Vincent Loddo. All three are based at
the University of Paris, where they are apparently so far ahead in
their studies that they put together Linux distributions for fun.
They also have quite the number of languages at their disposal. The
site is available in French, English, Italian, German, Spanish and
Portuguese. This version of DemoLinux is based on
Mandrake; another version based on Debian is currently under
development.”
“DemoLinux is distributed as an ISO9660 file, a CD-ROM image.
The actual download file is pretty big no matter how you look at
it, so a fast connection (or a friend with a fast connection) is
essential. Uncompressed (cddemo.iso), the image is some 600MB.
There is also a compressed version (cddemo.iso.gz, the one I
downloaded) which rings in at around 200MB. Simply visit the above
site, click on Download, choose a local mirror, then go out for
coffee, beer, or sit down and watch “Frasier” reruns.”