May 13, 2006 -- CentOS, the popular Linux distribution designed for servers that is largely based off of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, has this morning delivered CentOS v4.3 LiveCD. Yes, this is the first time the CentOS team has created a LiveCD product for the masses. This newly spun open-source LiveCD derivative is based off of the CentOSPlus kernel and the CentOS 4.3 distribution, The primary goals for this LiveCD attempt are for workstation use. At Phoronix we have given this new release a try, and we were quite pleased with what the CentOS development team had presented.

May 09, 2006 -- Ubuntu, one of the Linux distributions leading the desktop movement by Mark Shuttleworth, has come out this morning with Flight 7 for Ubuntu v6.06 Dapper Drake. Contained in this release are LiveCD installer improvements, updated multimedia framework, additional look and feel polish, latest version of popular applications, and other minor improvements. While it is relatively stable and almost the final version, it is still not recommended to install Flight 7 on production machines. We at Phoronix have coverage from Ubuntu Dapper Drake Flight 7.

May 08, 2006 -- A new stable version of SLAX, the Slackware-based mini distribution using KDE, had been released. In all editions of the new SLAX v5.1.4 is KDE v3.5.2, KOffice v1.5.0, added support for two new file systems, and a great deal of other improvements. For those SLAX lovers, this new release weighing in under 200MB is certainly worth the bandwidth.

May 01, 2006 -- The group behind Ark Linux have come out with a LiveCD derivative of the Ark Linux distribution. While still considered in Alpha stages, Ark Linux LiveCD certainly was interesting especially with its design of being used for system recovery and demonstration purposes. The LiveCD variant is also designed to replicate the software inside of the traditional install CD.

April 29, 2006 -- Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, and now Xubuntu. Mark Shuttleworth's work continues on with this new Xfce Ubuntu derivative. Xubuntu shares the same base system and installation system as the common Ubuntu distribution, but ships with the light-weight Xfce desktop environment. Some of the chances in Xubuntu v6.06 Dapper Drake Beta 2 include improvements in artwork, Xarchiver, new panel plug-ins, Xfce core components updated to Xfce 4.4 Beta 1 and newer development snapshots. When we tried Xubuntu for our first time, we were quite surprised with our findings. The theme and programs throughout Xubuntu were excellent and all-in-all it had done an exceptional job of representing the Ubuntu family. Today at Phoronix we have a screenshot tour of Xubuntu Dapper Drake Beta 2.

April 26, 2006 -- MCNLive, a Linux distribution that is relatively unheard of but is Mandriva-based and was developed by the Mandriva Club out of the Netherlands. MCNLive's latest release comes with a code-name of Leuven. MCNLive Leuven features the 2.6.14 kernel, KDE 3.5.2, multimedia codecs, and various Mandriva packages. Even so, this feature-packed Linux LiveCD weighs in under 350MB.

April 25, 2006 -- The third release candidate has been made available for VectorLinux 5.1 Live. VectorLinux 5.1 Live fixes several bugs beyond the previous development releases, added GParted, and an icon for the LiveCD installer. VectorLinux 5.1 Live RC3 also incorporates NVIDIA's proprietary drivers, Linux 2.6.15.3 kernel, Ndiswrapper 1.9, OpenOffice 2.0, and various other updated packages. Today at Phoronix we have screenshots from VectorLinux 5.1 Live RC3.

April 24, 2006 -- Ubuntu, the Linux distribution continuing to gain momentum since Mark Shuttleworth began it two years back, has come out last week with the Beta release for the upcoming 6.06 Dapper Drake system. The Beta release includes the new desktop CD and now goes with a LTS flag for signifying long-term support of three years on the desktop side and five years of software support for Ubuntu 6.06 servers. Among many changes in this Beta are a new graphical installer, improved video playback support, and a graphical shutdown process. Ubuntu v6.06 Dapper Drake is still slated for a June 2006 release.

April 19, 2006 -- Kanotix, the distribution derived from a few German developers, has come out with an Easter special of being the second release candidate for their 2006 edition. Kanotix 2006 Release Candidate 2 includes Debian sid packages as of April 16, 2006, X.Org v7.0.12, and KDE v3.5.2. Kanotix has certainly merged itself into a terrific position for being a Linux LiveCD distribution.

April 17, 2006 -- SLAMPP, a relatively unheard of minimalistic Linux distribution designed for running an instant home server from a LiveCD, has come out with SLAMPPLite 2.0. This SLAMPPLite LiveCD 2.0 is powered by XAMPP 1.5.1, based on Slackware current, compiled with Linux Live scripts 5.4.1, and added sever elements for SMB, FTP, and NFS. When it comes to a desktop environment for the LiveCD, it ships with Xfce.