Jeff Hoog Land

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Thursday, 4 November 2010

Fusion Linux 14 - Distro Review

Posted on 14:38 by Unknown
Fedora is one of those Linux distros I have always wanted to love. It is sponsored by one of the top FOSS supporting companies in the world, it has strong principals in free standards, and yet somehow every time I get around to installing a new Fedora release it is just enough of a hassle that I end up removing it from my computer and reinstalling some form of Ubuntu. This is why Fusion Linux sparked my interest. Fusion Linux aims to to for Fedora what distros such as Linux Mint, PinguyOS, and Zorin did for Ubuntu. It aims to alleviate much of the messy setup work that is required to get a fully functional desktop operating system out of Fedora. It does this by preinstalling useful applications and codecs, including Adobe Flash and Sun's Java. It does all this while remaining 100% backwards compatible with Fedora.

For this review I will be using the latest release of Fusion Linux, which is their beta release based on Fedora 14. This version comes in a hefty 1.6gigabyte download, a bit large compared to the 700megabyte CD sized distros such as Linux Mint, but not too much larger than Pinguy and Zorin. The first thing you will notice when booting up Fusion (and I did a double take when I first saw it) is that their icon is a hotdog with legs...
According to the Fusion Blog this logo is really more of a funny place holder and they are looking for a graphics designer to create a real icon for the final release of Fusion 14, personally I think it gives the disc some unique personality.

Upon booting the operating system you are presented with a gnome desktop that largely resembles Linux Mint:

This isn't a bad thing though, for those coming from a Windows environment this setup will feel familiar. In fact, the menu you see in the lower left hand corner is the Linux Mint menu! Right next to this menu there are launcher icons on DockXBar for Chromium and terminal.

Also present on the desktop is the wonderfully useful "autoten" script. The autoten script allows for easy installation of extra packages on Fedora, you can see that many of the applications from this script come preinstalled on the system:

The reason Fusion has such a large download size is evident when you take a look at it's default software selection. It is a sizable list:

Accessories
  • Calculator
  • gedit
  • Geany
  • Gnome Do
  • Gnote
  • Parcellite
  • Take Screenshot
  • Tracker Search Tool
Games
  • Abe
  • Alien Blaster
  • Blob Wars: Metal Blod Solid
  • Chromium BSU
  • FooBillard
  • Frozen Bubble
  • Glaxium
  • PySol Fan Club Edition
  • Teeworlds

Graphics
  • Blender
  • F-Spot
  • Fotowall
  • GIMP
  • Inkscape
  • PhotoPrint
  • Picasa
  • Scribus
  • Simple Scan

Internet
  • airsnort
  • aLinkCreator
  • aMuleGUI
  • Chromium Browser
  • Empathy
  • Firefox 4
  • Net Activity Viewer
  • Thunderbird
  • Transmission
  • wxCAS

Office
  • OO.org Writer
  • OO.org Calc
  • OO.org Impress
  • OO.org Draw
  • Project Management
  • PyRoom

Sound and Video
  • Audacious
  • Audacity
  • Audio CD Extractor
  • Brasero
  • Cheese
  • Gnome MPlayer
  • gtk-record My Desktop
  • K3B
  • Miro Internet TV
  • Movie Player
  • Pitivi Video Editor
  • Rhythmbox
  • VLC

System Tools
  • autoten
  • Fusion Icon
  • Gparted
  • LiveUSB Creator
  • System Monitor
  • Terminal
I only have a few comments about the selections Fusion Linux makes. First, is that there are two applications installed for several tasks including Brasero and K3B for burning CDs and Firefox and Chromium from webrowsing. While I am on the topic of Firefox, I would like to mention that Fusion ships with the beta 6 version of Firefox 4. This is a good thing, the beta is fairly solid and much better than firefox 3.x. I personally have been using it for several months now without issue. The installer for the live disc is the same one Fedora itself uses, so while it is not as friendly as Ubuntu's installer it is more than functional.

Also present is a wonderful selection of FOSS games that should keep most children (and some adults) entertained for a good long while. What is lacking from this application list you may notice is that there is no IRC client installed by default. The only issue I had with the software was that upon installation the system already had broken packages. Running yum update with the --skip-broken argument allowed the system to upgrade just fine though.

To finish on a good note I would like to mention I used my T101MT Asus tablet as my test computer and 100% of the hardware was functional with out any extra configuration! This is fantastic compared to the amount of work it takes to get the tablet to function under Ubuntu 10.04 (it has gotten better under Ubuntu 10.10, but it is still not 100% functional OOTB)

Overall Fusion Linux is a fantastic distro and for any beginner (or someone that doesn't want to deal with setting up Fedora) I would highly recommend Fusion Linux.

~Jeff Hoogland
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Posted in distro review, fedora, linux, open source, operating systems, software | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Twenty Sleek GTK Themes for your Linux Desktop
    Last month I posted about twenty two different icon sets you could use to class up your Linux desktop. Today I would like to share with you...
  • Ten Linux Distros that use Enlightenment
    In case you haven't noticed I've had a bit of an obsession with the Enlightenment desktop of the late. Even though this desktop is ...
  • Playing Magic the Gathering on Linux with Cockatrice
    If you ask almost anyone that knows me in person they will attest to the fact that I am a huge nerd. Today I would like to give a short tuto...
  • New E17 Stable Snapshot and the First of E18
    You read that title right folks. The first showing of Enlightenment DR18 (or E18 for short) has become a reality. Sure, it is nowhere near w...
  • HOWTO: Enable Compiz under Bodhi (Enlightenment)
    One of the reasons I gave for giving the Enlightenment desktop a try was its elegance. While it is true that Enlightenment has a good numbe...
  • HOWTO: Watch Netflix on Bodhi Linux
    Not being able to utilize the Netflix video streaming service has been an issue on the Linux desktop for the past few years. This is due to...
  • OpenGL vs DirectX - Benchmark Comparison
    I've done a few benchmarks to date and today I am going to add another interesting set of numbers to the list. Unigine is a cross-pla...
  • HOWTO: Test E18, EFL 1.8.0, and Terminology 0.4.0 on Bodhi Linux
    As of this past weekend the testing builds of the Enlightenment window manager DR18 (E18 for short) are in the Bodhi Linux testing repositor...
  • Linux Out Performs Windows in OpenGL
    Late last year I did a posting detailing how Windows 7 crushed Ubuntu 9.10 in the area of 3D performance. Nine months later I am happy to s...
  • Bodhi Linux ARMHF RootFS
    If you've been following my blog (or my updates on Google+ ) then odds are you know I currently have my hands on two ARM devices ( plus ...

Categories

  • 3g modem
  • adobe
  • android
  • appeal
  • apple
  • arm
  • art
  • asus tablet
  • benchmark
  • bodhi
  • bordeaux
  • cedega
  • chakra
  • chrome os
  • chromebook
  • cockatrice
  • codeweavers
  • comic
  • cricket wireless
  • crysis
  • cxgames
  • debian
  • dell duo
  • diablo3
  • distro review
  • dtf
  • e18
  • eandora
  • eccess
  • elementary
  • elive
  • enlightenment
  • fedora
  • firefox
  • gaming
  • genesi
  • gnome
  • google
  • google chrome
  • google wave
  • handheld device
  • hardware
  • helios
  • howto
  • html5
  • ideapad
  • interview
  • ipad
  • jolicloud
  • kde
  • l4d2
  • laptops
  • lenovo
  • linux
  • lxde
  • macbook
  • math
  • maxima
  • media
  • meego
  • milestone
  • mint
  • mir
  • mk802
  • moblin
  • n900
  • netflix
  • nexus 7
  • nvidia
  • open pandora
  • open source
  • opengl
  • opera
  • operating systems
  • palm
  • phones
  • promotion
  • python
  • qt
  • rant
  • raspberry pi
  • reviews
  • sabayon
  • software
  • source games
  • spotlight
  • sprint
  • starcraft2
  • steam
  • t-mobile
  • tutorial
  • ubuntu
  • unigine
  • unity
  • wayland
  • web application
  • windows
  • windows 7
  • wine
  • wxmaxima
  • xfce

Blog Archive

  • ►  2014 (1)
    • ►  January (1)
  • ►  2013 (22)
    • ►  December (3)
    • ►  November (1)
    • ►  September (1)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  May (2)
    • ►  March (2)
    • ►  February (3)
    • ►  January (9)
  • ►  2012 (57)
    • ►  December (5)
    • ►  November (4)
    • ►  October (2)
    • ►  September (1)
    • ►  August (4)
    • ►  July (9)
    • ►  June (4)
    • ►  May (4)
    • ►  April (1)
    • ►  March (7)
    • ►  February (6)
    • ►  January (10)
  • ►  2011 (107)
    • ►  December (8)
    • ►  November (8)
    • ►  October (5)
    • ►  September (14)
    • ►  August (9)
    • ►  July (8)
    • ►  June (7)
    • ►  May (10)
    • ►  April (9)
    • ►  March (13)
    • ►  February (9)
    • ►  January (7)
  • ▼  2010 (122)
    • ►  December (10)
    • ▼  November (8)
      • Ubuntu PPA Problem - Reason for Concern?
      • T-Mobile "4g" Failure
      • Wayland VS X - Some Perspectives
      • Announcing Bodhi Linux
      • Silence is greater than Misinformation
      • HOWTO: Manually set GDM Background and GTK Theme
      • Fusion Linux 14 - Distro Review
      • I am a Linux Geek (and Proud of it!)
    • ►  October (10)
    • ►  September (14)
    • ►  August (17)
    • ►  July (10)
    • ►  June (9)
    • ►  May (14)
    • ►  April (8)
    • ►  March (7)
    • ►  February (7)
    • ►  January (8)
  • ►  2009 (27)
    • ►  December (10)
    • ►  November (7)
    • ►  October (10)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile