SliTaz GNU/Linux 1.0 - Release Notes

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Releases notes

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Overview.
Supported Hardware.
LiveCD Flavors.
Installation.
Linux Kernel.
Software Packages.
Graphical Desktops.
Support and Documentation.
Security.
From Cooking to Stable.
People of the Project.

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Overview

+SliTaz GNU/Linux is a free, open source community project. Version 1.0 was +released on March 22 2008 after two years of hard work. Slitaz comprises of 446 +software packages easily installed via the "Tazpkg" package manager. The LiveCD +can be fully configured to taste, to easily create a custom distribution +specificically for tasks such as multimedia, graphics or development. +

+Slitaz can also be installed to your hard drive, or used with USB media - with +"TazUSB" you are only a few simple commands away from a fully formatted and +configured USB device, ready to boot. +

+Technical support is provided to users via the mailing list and the official +forum. The "Slitaz Handbook" is an instructive manual on how to use and finely +configure the system. Slitaz can be updated easily via the graphic installer or +by using the simple fast text installer. +

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Supported Hardware

+SliTaz GNU/Linux supports all machines based on i486 or x86 Intel compatible +processors. A minimum 128MB of memory is recommended to use the main LiveCD. +64MB is needed for the "slitaz-loram" flavor and 16MB for the +"slitaz-loram-cdrom" flavor. +

+With the slitaz-loram flavour, the system is less responsive, but allows you to +graphically install SliTaz on very old machines. Once installed, Slitaz works +well with a minimum of 16MB memory, but forget about using Firefox to surf the +web - you'll have to use the text based 'links' for example. +

+Most network and sound card drivers are supported in the Kernel. Presently, +power management is enabled by default with ACPI and support for laptops is +enabled with the "ac" and "battery" modules. +

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LiveCD Flavors

+SliTaz GNU/Linux is distributed as a bootable LiveCD allowing you to +graphically install to the hard drive and retain the use of your previous +system including all settings, applications, documents etc. +

+The project distributes an ISO image called "core", which is the body of the +system, providing a selection of multi-use packages for surfing the web, +listening to music, audio editing, image manipulation, developing (including +PHP/SQL), editing ISOs or burning to optical media. It's just one click in the +application menu to find software installed by category. +

+The "core" LiveCD can also be customised and rebuilt both graphically or from +the command line. Install your own custom set of packages, or simply use one +of the preset flavors on the mirror. Then simply generate your distribution +with the "Tazlito" tool. +

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Installation

+The installation is fully automated and can be done graphically or in text +mode. The prerequisite material and other useful information can be found in the +Manual and Handbook. +

+If you want to partition a disk before installation, you can quickly use +Gparted in LiveCD mode or use a flavor containing the partitioning tool. At +the end of the installation it is possible to setup the "GRUB" bootloader which +is capable of starting almost all operating systems. This allows SliTaz to +co-exist with a previously installed operating system, such as Windows. +

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Linux Kernel

+Slitaz GNU/Linux is distributed with the Linux Kernel 2.6.24.2, patched for +LZMA compression support and display correction for the virtual console. The +support for IDE and SCSI is integrated, as are the filesystems ext2 and ext3. +

+Most network cards are supported either directly or as loadable modules with +'modprobe'. Video capture, if needed, requires the ieee1394, raw1394 and +oci1394 modules installed. The management of the sound card drivers is obtained +with 'soundconf'. +

+The configuration of startup modules is located in /etc/rcS.conf. In +LiveCD/LiveUSB mode you can use 'modprobe=mod1, mod2' to load various modules +at boot time. +

+The Linux Kernel configuration of SliTaz is available in the compressed file +/proc/config.gz and also in the Mercurial repositories. +

+ + +

Software Packages

+The management of software packages is done with the custom package manager +"Tazpkg". It's simple, fast, stable and offers an interactive mode. Among the +446 packages available you will find anything you need to transform your +machine to a complete graphical desktop (e17), a graphics studio with The Gimp +or Inkscape, or to a video editor with Kino. You can experience the world wide +web with instant messaging, VOIP, email and of course through a web browser. +

+Slitaz is also designed to function as a powerful web server, using the stable +LightTPD/PHP package (installed by default), supporting CGI, Perl and Python. +

+Rsync is used for incremental backup and iptables functions as the firewall. +SliTaz can of course also provide a complete development environment with the +GCC 4.2.2 compiler, Geany IDE, Mercurial Repostitories and all development +libraries. Packages can be found through the search function of Tazpkg or via +the website: http://www.slitaz.org/packages/ +

+The binary packages on the mirror can all be compiled by using the "wok" or +"Tazwok" to cook. All of the developer documentation is contained in the +"SliTaz Cookbook" and is available online. +

+ + +

Graphical Desktops

+By default, the Slitaz LiveCD uses the very light and stable JWM window manager. +The integration of the taskbar "LXpanel" makes it possible to dynamically +provide a menu based on the Freedesktop standards. The principle is to have a +small menu accessible via a screen click with the favourites, windows effects, +LiveCD and LiveUSB tools, JWM configuration and system actions made available. +Applications can also be accessed through the menu supplied by LXpanel. +

+Through the support of a LiveCD flavor or an installed system you can install +the Enlightenment (e17) desktop environment or the Openbox window manager. +The different sessions can be selected via the F1 key when using the "Slim" +login window. To change the default session you can use 'tazx' or manually edit +the ~/.Xinitrc file. +

+ + +

Support and Documentation

+The SliTaz project offers various means of help and support to users of the +system, using the mailing list, forum or IRC channel. User documentation +is contained in the SliTaz Handbook, making it possible to configure SliTaz +to some degree. The Handbook is also available on the web site. The manuals +of the various tools are installed on the system and are available through the +documentation menu - they describe all the various commands made possible by +the tools. The development of the operating system and the use of the wok and +receipts are described in the "Slitaz Cookbook". The books, manuals and memos +are all available online: http://www.slitaz.org/doc/ + + +

Security

+For the benefit of a safe and secure system it's important to recharge and +update packages regularly. The Firewall is provided by iptables, and the +LightTPD server supports authentication by encrypted passwords and Dropbear +provides a secure SSH client and server. The passwords for the users of the +system are encrypted and only the root administrator can modify system files. +For information about how to configure the firewall, you can refer to the +Handbook. The packages related to security are all classified under the topic: +Security. +

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From Cooking to Stable

+The installer of SLiTaz GNU/linux offers an update function allowing you to +upgrade from a 'Cooking' to 'Stable' version. To upgrade the system you first +need to boot the 'Stable' LiveCD, launch the installer, select upgrade and then +specify the partition containing the system that you want to update. The +installer will then clean out the system and reinstall all the packages not +present on the CD from the mirror. When this has finished you can reboot +with your new version of SliTaz. Note that this method can also be used to +rebuild an already installed system, while retaining the selection of packages +already installed. +

+Note that the installer will keep a copy of the list of packages and a complete +archive of the /etc directory (etc.tar.gz) in /var/lib/slitaz-install. +

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People of the Project

+SliTaz is proud to be an international community project. The people of the +project are the ones who develop the distribution, correct the website, +develop the HG repositories and write the official documentation. Passing +through Switzerland, France, Quebec, Algeria and England. +

Christophe Lincoln
Pascal Bellard
Eric Joseph-Alexandre
Julien Rabier
Paul Issot
Andrew Miller
Serge Daigle
Gauthier Bar
Mohamed Jabara
Gwenhaël Goavec-Merou
Didier Bretin

+The project also wishes to thank all the reviewers, testers, hackers and users +who have taken the time to help advance the distribution. +

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