gOS Linux - a very good OS Overview & tutorial

gOS Linux - a very good OS - Overview & tutorial

 

 

gOS Linux - a very good OS  Overview & tutorial

gOS is an Ubuntu-based distribution aimed at the modern, young Internet users. It offers the ease and friendliness of Ubuntu, the dead sexy looks of Enlightenment 17 windows manager, OSX style, and integration of Google Apps into the desktop. Sounds extremely interesting. The advantages of these are many and obvious:

Ubuntu

means even the new Linux users will be able to master the distribution very quickly.

Enlightenment

means a very fast desktop manager with tons of 2D effects that do not require a 3D card. You can enjoy real transparency, shadows, animation, and more even on a low-spec PC - or even a virtual machine. As to the charming looks of Enlightenment, well ... read on and see for yourself.

Google Apps

means portability and flexibility, while keeping the space requirements to the minimum. While this concept may not appeal to everyone, it is definitely a refreshing way of managing one's applications and files. 

All of the above makes gOS a more than reasonable candidate for desktop installation. Let's see what gOS can do. Of course, you can download gOS from the official site. For more details, you are also welcome to visit Ubuntu, Enlightenment home page and Google Apps.

Booting into live CD session

Like all Ubuntu-based distributions, gOS is a handy, single-CD package with live session, allowing you to thoroughly examine and test the distro before installation. Not only does this allow you to play with different features, it gives you the chance to assess the hardware compatibility to your setup. As you can see, even the start splash screen and the boot screen are promising.

 

After a few seconds, you will reach the desktop. Ubuntu users running Gnome and KDE desktop managers will immediately notice the speed and responsiveness improvement. In fact, it runs so fast, you can almost forget you're running from a CD.

The desktop features a Mac OSX-like bar in the center bottom of the screen (called iBar) with lots of interesting icons. Average computer users might find the choice of icons a little baffling. Most of the icons actually link to web sites rather than local applications. Some of the choices include Youtube, Blogger, Facebook, Gmail, and others. The few application icons present are media-oriented (music, video, instant-messaging).

This is exactly what gOS aims at. Quick, instant access to the favorite sites and blogs of the young users, with some cool animation along the way - for example, hovering the mouse cursor over any one of the icons will cause a magnifying glass effect. Last but not the least, the security of Linux operating system means the social networking sites (quite prone to potential security abuse in the Windows world) can be safely enjoyed.

Let's fire up Firefox.

The usual close, minimize and maximize buttons are on the left side, in the form of color LEDs. The magnifying glass, the LEDs, and the soft, rounded, clean looks all borrow heavily from the OSX theme - and they definitely yield a soothing feel to gOS.

The default resolution is a bit too big for my taste (I'm slightly old ...), so I will reduce it. This will also show you how to navigate in an Enlightenment desktop.

Left-clicking anywhere on the desktop will bring up the menu. Right-clicking will present the user with favorite applications. Of course, all panels, menus and other items visible on the desktop are fully customizable bot in appearance and position.

Left-click > Configuration > My Settings will bring up a rich configuration menu for every aspect of the desktop, including appearance, applications, language, and much more.

The Google search field can also be freely moved about. Here's the new resized desktop. Much better.





Applications can also be accessed via left-click. gOS being Ubuntu, it comes with a handy choice of programs for every soul.







 

Installation 

Well, now that we have reviewed the basics, we might as well install gOS.

This will be a short tutorial, since I have already extensively covered Ubuntu-based distro installation in several articles, including Installing (K)ubuntu Linux - Full tutorial and Installing Linux Mint - Full Tutorial. The installation is extremely simple. Just a few mouse clicks, about 15 minutes and you're all set.

Step 1: Language

Step 2: Region & time zone

We'll choose Ljubljana, Slovenia this time.

Step 3: Keyboard

Step 4: Partitioning

Again, nothing new here. Three partitions - root, home and swap.

Step 5: User

Step 6: Review settings and install

Step 7: Installation in process

Step 8: Done

After rebooting, you'll reach the login screen. The installer did not remember the screen resolution setup during the live sessions, so we'll change it once again. 



And thus we reach the desktop.



 


Average Linux users might find the lack of standard tools and options slightly frustrating. But there's no reason to panic. Everything is there, only slightly differently arranged. 

Let's begin with terminal. How to find it? Well, just like you, it was my first time using gOS Linux. So I tried the conventional method, Alt + F2, hoping to launch the Run window. But in gOS, this merely swaps between the desktops. Okay ... So, I left-clicked on the desktop and chose to Run Command. Then, in the text field, I simply wrote: terminal.

As you can see, the system automatically searches through all available application entries and presents you with the choices. Then, it's the matter of a mouse click to launch the desired program.

We're gonna play with the terminal a bit.

It is a fully functional Ubuntu terminal. gOS comes with APT (as well as Synaptic), so you can use the familiar tools to get around. For example, sudo apt-get update and sudo apt-get install build-essential work perfectly just like in any Debian-based distro.

Now, launching terminal via the left-click > Run Command might be cumbersome. We will add as an icon to our panel as well as to the list of favorite applications (which are accessible via right-click). To do, we will first create an icon for the terminal. In gOS, terminal comes icon-less. Any image will do.

Now, when we add terminal to the launcher and the favorites, it will show up with the icon we chose. Favorites:





Launcher (iBar):





Finally, you can also pin an application to the desktop, making it appear as if integrated into the wallpaper. I must admit this is a very handy tool I have been looking around for quite a while.



The same rules apply for just about any application.

Settings

As said earlier, My Settings function allows you to configure anything and everything about the operating systems, including startup programs, fonts, layout of menus, windows and panels, and more.

Applications

gOS has everything the normal user would need to work, including Internet, media and office applications. Below is the screenshot of the GIMP suite, one of the many goodies that come with the distro.



gOS does not disappoint even during shutdown.

 

Conclusion

gOS is a fast, beautiful distro. It will neatly install in under 2GB space (approx. half the standard Ubuntu), it does not require high-end machines to run well and it offers lots of pleasing visual cues that make the overall experience so much more enjoyable.

Some of the standard Linux touch is inevitably hidden, but it is not lost; merely, it requires a bit of patience getting used to the new environment. On the other hand, this tiny discomfort is easily compensated by superb aesthetics and performance. And let's not forget the goal of gOS - to appeal to the restless minds of young people to whom Linux has been an icon of nerdiness. Not any more.

Google Apps are also a nice touch, allowing a peace of mind to those willing to store their files at a remote server, offering them instant access anywhere. gOS is definitely one of the better surprises for 2008. Let's see what the rest of the year will bring us.

Cheers.