OpenLab Linux Pratchett Names

Probably not all that interesting to most in itself, but it's kind of cool that they use Discworld character names for their different versions. Just read the bold bit in the quote if it's too boring.

[quote:5957b4d278="www.tectonic.co.za"]OpenLab International has released the latest iteration of its popular Linux distribution, OpenLab. Codenamed Conina, the build (4.1alpha1) is currently at alpha stage with the final release tentatively scheduled for late September.

Chief software architect at OpenLab, AJ Venter, says the focus in the latest development cycle has been on addressing some of the weaknesses in the previous version.

"Laptops and mobile computing we identified as an area we really weren't good enough in, so a lot of effort went into that," says Venter.

"First we added proper profile-managed roaming ethernet support. Then we revamped the wlan support from the ground up, adding madwifi and ipw drivers, a solid wireless roaming tool and a well-structured autosetup script."

Venter also reports major developments in removable media support. "This version uses Project Utopia," he says. "In all the cases we've seen removable media gets plugged in, and works."

"We also did some very major revamping on hardware setups. X configuration for example was good in 4.0 but it's a lot better now."

While Venter admits that some of the initial hardware setups are "somewhat more interactive than they used to be", he says the distribution can now support a much larger number of hardware configurations.


He's also excited about the inclusion of 'Wole', the OpenLab Essistant (sic), which helps users access key features on the desktop and keep their system updated. (Before you start having nightmares about paperclips, Venter has noted on his blog that Wole it is not "a rip-off of that evil creature", but "someone who is much nicer, way cooler and frankly a lot smarter.")

Venter says the release has proved to be more stable than he expected. "In retrospect 'alpha' may have been selling it a bit short. … We have logged quite a few bugs, but, while there are a few I would call critical, there is nothing that could be said to impact actual usability, which I am happy about."

[b:5957b4d278]This latest version, as with all other OpenLab distributions, is codenamed after a Discworld character from one of Terry Pratchett's novels. "We've had Angua, Susan, Eskarina, Perdita and now Conina," says Venter. "Each character was chosen to reveal something about that release. In this case I chose Conina because she was born destined for a certain kind of life, but she found herself wanting more - and she had to overcome her own nature in order to achieve those dreams. Much the same way that OpenLab was started for one thing, education - but evolved, sometimes painfully, into a general-use desktop operating system."[/b:5957b4d278][/quote:5957b4d278]

[quote:8e393ccd52]This latest version, as with all other OpenLab distributions, is codenamed after a Discworld character from one of Terry Pratchett's novels. "We've had Angua, Susan, Eskarina, Perdita and now Conina," says Venter. "Each character was chosen to reveal something about that release.[/quote:8e393ccd52]

Hmmm....

OpenLab.Angua: Extre features at full moon, but also a higher tendency to crash.
OpenLab.Susan: Overwrites all your commands and shows you how it should be done.
OpenLab.Eskarina: Starts out pretty interesting to work with, but ends up with a computer geek.
OpenLab.Perdita: Schizophrenic. Two interpretations of every command. Does interesting things with your soundfiles, though.
OpenLab.Conina: Looks neat, but is, in the end, only for dorks, and incompatible with the average user.

Openlab.Gaspode will be pretty cool when it comes out, talking to you when you're not looking then saying 'beep!' when you turn around again.