17 May 2010, 11:11

Ubuntu-based Puppy Linux 5.0 arrives

The Puppy Linux developers have announced the availability of version 5.0 of their independent Linux distribution, code named "Lupu". Puppy Linux is a popular small release that is around 100 MB in size, focuses on ease of use and can run entirely from RAM. Puppy Linux 5.0 is the first release to be based on Ubuntu and includes several changes over the previous 4.3.x branch.

The major update, also referred to as "Lucid Puppy", was built using the Woof build system and is based on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Lucid Lynx binary packages. Lucid Puppy features the new Quickpet package manager which allows users to install a number of Linux programs with a single click. Available applications include the Kompozer web authoring system, GIMP for image editing and several browsers, such as Firefox, SeaMonkey, Chromium, and Opera.

Version 5.0 is also the first major edition not directly prepared by Puppy Linux founder Barry Kauler. This release was built by the Puppy community, with Mick Amadio as its Chief developer and Coordinator Larry Short.

Kauler has released Quirky 1.1, a bug fix update of his Linux distribution built using the same Woof build system as Puppy Linux 4.3.x and later. Quirky is aimed at developers as a platform for trying out "some quirky ideas". Compared to Puppy, which is intended for most users, the Quirky distribution includes fewer kernel and video drivers, but does include a number of programs from a normal Puppy release.

More details about the Puppy release can be found in the release announcement and release notes. Puppy Linux 5.0 is available to download from the project's web site as a 128 MB ISO image file and is covered by the GPL/LGPL license.

Puppy Linux can boot from several types of media, including USB flash drives, hard disk drives and a LiveCD. Built-in tools are included to create bootable USB versions, create new Puppy CDs or remaster a new LiveCD with different packages.

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