Review of PCLinuxOS Business Edition

The Linux kernel is perhaps the most important free and open source application in the world (along with GNU).  The growth of Linux use is staggering in the past few years, and it is threatening to overtake the Macintosh market.  Linux is not only growing fast, but is now easier to use than ever.  It is no longer the "just for geeks" operating system that it once was.  Now, anyone with an internet connection can install and use Linux, without having to pay a dime.

For those of you who are not familiar with Linux, it is a free and open source operating system--a potential replacement for the often frustrating Microsoft Windows.  With Linux, you can install it on as many computers as you like without paying a dime for the software.  What's more is that users will never run out of choices with Linux.  There are dozens upon dozens of Linux distributions to choose from.

One such distribution (or 'distro' for short) is called PCLinuxOS (website ).  PCLinuxOS ("PCLOS") is currently growing in popularity more than any other distro.  It is known for its stability, ease of use, and a great support community.  Because it is so popular, it has spawned many 'remixes' of the distro--an edition built for a more specific purpose.  One of these 'remixes' is called Business Edition Linux (BEL).

BEL is a re-mix of the PCLinuxOS distro that is designed for small and medium sized business use. I thought I would give it a try and share my experience. BEL comes in four varieties, Server, Workstation, terminal, and SoHo. All are available for free from the BEL website . For this article, I will investigate BEL Workstation RC1.  I will check out the Server version in the near future.

BEL Workstation comes with KDE 3.5.7 and the 2.6.18 kernel. I installed it and ran it in a VirtualBox virtual machine with Windows XP as the host. There is little to no documentation on the BEL website on how to install it, but the process is the same as for PCLinuxOS--you can find the documentation on the PCLOS website. One thing to keep in mind when you run the installer from the liveCD, you need to log in as root not guest. The password is, of course, root. To install, simply double-click on the install icon on the desktop.

Installation was a snap, only because I have installed PCLinuxOS before. The newbie should not have much trouble with installation, but they might need a bit more info on disk partition and mountpoints.  Basically, you will need at least two partitions: 1) the main partition, mounted at "/" (or root), in ext3 format; 2) a Linux swap partition.  As far as size is concerned, the rule of thumb is that the swap partition should be at least twice the amount of RAM your machine has.  That should be adequate for most users, unless you intent to develop large .iso files or edit high def video.

Now that BEL workstation is installed, it is time to see what it is made of. I have heard many good things about the ‘Control Center’ in PCLinuxOS, so I sought it out first. Finding it was a chore, it is buried three menus deep. You can access it by going through System -> Configuration --> Control Center. An alternate view of the Control Center can be used by selecting "Configure Your Computer", but this view requires the root password. 

The Control Center is an easy to use graphical interface to scores of configuration options. It is billed as the closest thing to the mythical ‘central configuration app.’ On the left side of the window lives a tree view of configuration options, from Appearance to System Administration.  Once you select a category on the left, your options will appear on the right side of the window.  I found this set up to be intuitive and easy to use.

The first thing l changed in the control center was the default font. The original default font was HandelGotD, an annoying and difficult to read typeface. I don’t know who decided on that font, but the folks at BEL or PCLOS should consider something more professional looking. I changed it to Arial, which made the whole experience much less annoying.  

After fiddling with the Control Center, I decided to check out the installed software. BEL, being a business tool, does not have any games installed by default. That’s a good move from my perspective; I’ve been looking for distro that lacked games for a while.  Of course, you could install games if you wanted to, but I consider them a distraction in the workplace. 

As far as non-game software, BEL has plenty of internet  apps, such as web, chat and IM clients, and includes mail and news readers as well. It comes with VNC and tightvnc installed by default, as well as gHamachi and other remote access apps. BEL also came loaded with a modest number of multimedia apps.  However, it does not come with any photo editing software such as the GIMP.

As far as office apps, BEL comes with the entire OpenOffice.org suite, version 2.2, but not much else. It does come with the KDE text editor KWrite. Also included is a GNOME app called ‘Planner,’ which is an app used to track projects. Not at all a replacement for case management software.

Don't fret over the lack of installed applications.  You can always install more, and many versions of Linux make it easy with a package manager.  PCLOS and BEL use the Synaptic Package Manager, which should be familiar to anyone who has ever used Ubuntu Linux.  Installing software on Linux is quite a bit different than on Windows--it is much easier in many cases.  Using Synaptic on BEL, you can browse through a list of over 1,100 software packages.  You can narrow your choices by selecting specific categories on the left side of the window.  I found the categories to be poorly implemented.  For example, if you were looking to install financial software, you would click on the 'Financial' category.  However, some programs that would fit in that category are not found there.  For example, GNUcash and eqonomize are under the 'Office' category.  Thus, the better way to look for software is to run a search by clicking on the 'search' button in the Synaptic Package Manager.

When you find a program you want to install, simply check the box next to it and click 'Apply.'  Synaptic will download and install the package automatically--that's all there is to it!

Conclusion

I really like this distro.  I am not a fan of the KDE desktop, but I won't hold it against PCLOS or BEL.  I love the fact that it does not have any games installed by default. I also like the fact that it comes with software that will you to connect remotely to your machine.  The best thing about BEL is that it is free and open source. While not a substitute for Windows by itself, BEL is a big step toward running your office on entirely free software. Check back often, as I will be reviewing the server edition very soon.

 

BEL as it looks when it first boots. 

 

 Finding the Control Center in the menu system.

 

 

 Changing the fonts to Arial

 

 The Synaptic Package Manager