PC/OS

PC/OS 11 Beta 1 download

2011-02-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

After dealing with Ibiblio and working with them to get the download straight. We have itr available, based on Xubuntu 10.0.4, we have truly worked hard on this release. Support for Wii mote is complete and a vast array of hardware support. So download it, tell us if you like it, if not what can be done to make it better.

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/pcos/pc-os11-opendesktopb1.iso

PC/OS WebStation vs Google ChromeOS

2010-04-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

Well the Google ChromeOS has been getting some buzz around the water cooler lately. So what does it means for us in terms of the designers for PC/OS and really what it means for PC/OS WebStation. While there are several Netbook specific Linux distributions for that purpose. But, what do they offer thats compelling for the user? There is no consistency between the user experience. If you look at all of the Netbook releases and their desktop counterparts whats the one thing you notice? They all look different, night and day different. With PC/OS we strive to have the user experience consistent between the releases. If you look at OpenWorkstation and WebStation and even OpenServer System, whats the first thing you notice? Its the same UI, same experience. So how do we beat Googles ChromeOS? While we do use Googles app lineup, we are totally different. Google wants everything browser based and everything stored on the web. We do realize that some things like audio and video dont function well on the web. You will always have that latency between the upload to the playback. Google wants to take the user out of the computer and we dont believe that is the way to do business and we dont believe this is what the user wants.

Productivity and time management, Google wants their productivity apps online. We do realize thats important but we also offer the Office kit so in those cases of network downtime where ChromeOS will be pretty much useless, users can still get PC/OS to do what they want it to do. Users can still work on their documents, their spread sheets etc.

Expandability, PC/OS will always be expandable, meaning you can add whatever apps you wish to have on your PC/OS system. Google wants to take the Apple approach where you have to basically use the apps that they prescribe and that they "approve" of. Users like to change themes, add wallpapers and basically customize their systems the way they want to. With ChromeOS you cant do that, with PC/OS you can do it.

Information management, We believe that the users machine is theirs and if they want to use that giant 160gb HD that comes with their netbooks, they can. Users want to be able to know where their documents are and who is looking at them. With PC/OS you can, and Googles ChromeOS you cant. Remember, its stored on the internet. Google wants everything to be web based, whereas with PC/OS we are taking more of a smartphone approach with the way the information is presented.

So when it comes to the future what would you rather have, a very closed Linux based distribution, ChromeOS or would you rather continue to have control over YOUR computer. The choice is yours, the red pill or the blue pill.

Changes coming in PC/OS 10.5 and 11

2010-04-13T00:38:00.000-07:00

Some of the changes we are making to the PC/OS UI and functionality will be implemented in PC/OS 10.5, others will be coming in PC/OS 11. First, with PC/OS 10.5 the new NetLinks menu will debut. Think of the NetLinks menu as sort of the social networking menu similar to the way Canonical does the Me menu. In this menu, we will have links to common social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter, Google Search and Google Maps. Another things that users have been asking for is system search thats easy to get to, and can be utilized at any time.

We have designated the right side of the taskbar for applications, the NetLinks menu and the file search tool. On the left side we will have utilities like the System Navigator and the notes utility. In PC/OS 11 Webstation, users will also have a keyboard icon. This invokes the onboard keyboard app. Why do we need an onboard keyboard? Is it for accesibility? If thats what you wish yes, but we are working on PC/OS 11 to support touch screen out of the box. Due to limited hardware availability, I can atest that it works well on one system. We do not support ink yet, but we feel this is a good start. The NetLinks menu will be featured on OpenWorkstation and Webstation.

Answers, answers and more Answers

2010-04-11T22:58:00.000-07:00

There are a couple of misconceptions out there that we wanted to address and to get out of the way regarding the product. This is the teams official views and should be taken as such.

1. You are moving to a Fedora based system?

Maybe. We have been testing a build of PC/OS with Fedora 12. There are certain technological benefits to this, better SELinux support, support for Red Hat packages in the enterprise and we think it could be a value added solution for our users and customers. But, for now we are commited to Canonicals offerings. So while one exists there are no plans to distribute it right now. If we do we will still support existing systems with valid support contracts and yes, we would offer an LTS version of any releases we do of PC/OS using a Fedora base.

2. PC/OS 10.1.1 was the last before PC/OS 11?

That was the plan. But technology changes, bugs get discovered and fixed. We will be distributing PC/OS 10.5 in May. This is a bug fix release mostly. Not a bunch of new features planned. There are only three feature enhancements planned.

3. In the roadmap, you have a ? mark in one of the upcoming releases, is that the Fedora release?

No. That is a tightly integrated hardware / software solution that will be announced close to LinuxWorld. We are sure, everyone will be just as excited as we are.

4. With the release of Ubuntu 10.04, PC/OS development will cease?

No. We will continue to develop PC/OS after the release of Ubuntu 10.04. Yes we do think some of the things Canonical is doing are neat and we intend to join them in that, PC/OS will continue to be developed as long as it makes sense.

5. You are going to a retail product model with PC/OS to get rich?

No. We want to be able to pay the bills and make sure we can bring you the best. We want to do preloaded hardware, we want to be able to pay our developers and support the makers of supporting software products. We think the XFCE guys, Fragdelic of Remastersys and others deserve to be supported.

So there you have it, the five most common misconceptions of the future of PC/OS.

PC/OS (RED)Station Released

2010-04-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

One of the things we do at PC/OpenSystems LLC is we look at what we can do for humanity, our neighbors and families. When the disaster in Haiti struck, if you purchased a copy of PC/OS we donated funds to the Haiti Relief fund. If you are a member of the US Armed Forces you got whatever version of PC/OS that you would have liked shipped to you free of charge. So how do we extend that ? How do we keep helping our neighbors throughout the world? Well, today PC/OpenSystems has joined Project (RED), for the fight against AID's in Africa. When you purchase the branded Project (RED) release of PC/OS for $45.00 USD, we donate $10.00 USD to Project (RED). This release will not be downloadable, only available for retail. For those who have questions about our integrity we wont sell something and not send the funds, we will keep track of how many of these releases are sold and post it on the site. This release is PC/OS OpenWorkstation that we the team have dubbed, PC/OS (RED)Station. Even though in the posted screenshot its based on PC/OS 11 Alpha we will backport the theme to PC/OS 10.1.1

PC/OS Retail Product and Purchase Prices

2010-04-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

These are the terms that we will be using when shipping PC/OS 11. This should clear up the confusion of whats going on here.

Users when you purchase PC/OS, you can install PC/OS on as many machines and Virtual Machines that you would like. Unlike Microsoft, Apple and others we do not restrict how many PC's on which you may use the software. If you decide to give PC/OS to a friend you may do so. They will not get support for the product unless they pay the full purchase price for the software. If you decide to include PC/OS in your LUG library, that is fine. Whomever decides to install PC/OS will not get any support options unless they pay full price. We will ship OpenOffice.org on the media, on the expansion kit you will get Lotus Symphony, and other proprietary software. That kit is non redistributable. The license is for the purchaser and no one else. You will get the Expansion Kit, Developer Kit and Multimedia Kit when you order PC/OS from us.

How will we ship PC/OS? We will ship PC/OS on 8 gb thumb drives. The kits will include the burnable ISO image, the kits and comprehensive installation guide. We are doing this for a couple of reasons. Less chance of damage during post mail, and it gives the purchaser a choice of either making a persistent USB stick, or the choice of burning it to DVD or CD. For users who purchase multiple releases, we can ship on the one thumbdrive which helps keep postal costs low. We will ship anywhere in the world but do realize that whats included on the Thumbdrive will differ. For example, if you live in the Middle East or in Asia, we cannot ship any proprietary software due to trade regulations.

So lets break down what release will be shipping and what will be included. This section will also reflect pricing. All pricing is in US Dollars

Value Proposition: PC/OS Insiders, $45.00 a year. With this you will get all product, PC/OS Open64 Workstation and PC/OS OpenWorkstation XFCE and GNOME, 3 major releases free. You will also get insider information on new development with PC/OS. You will also get all experimental releases of PC/OS. You also get 5% off of hardware purchases when hardware becomes available

PC/OS OpenWorkstation XFCE and GNOME Physical Shipment: $45.00 Digital Delivery: $30.00

With this you will get the Multimedia Kit, Developer Kit and the Expansion Kit.

PC/OS Open64 Workstation Physical Shipment: $64.00 Digital Delivery: $30.00
With this you will get the Multimedia Kit, Developer Kit and Expansion Kit

PC/OS OpenServer System Physical Shipment: $79.00 Digital Delivery $45.00
With this you will get Server Kit and Developer Kit

NOTE: The base OpenServer System will be delivered for one role, the Storage Role free of charge

PC/OS WebStation.. Digital Delivery: Free of Charge Physical Shipment: $25.00
With this you will get the Office Kit and Expansion Kit. Please Note that this release will arrive on a 4 gig thumbdrive unless ordered in conjunction with an additional product

PC/OS Virtual Workstation and PC/OS Virtual Server Physical Shipment: $45.00 Digital Delivery: Free of Charge

PC/OS PowerStation Physical Shipment: $500.00 Digital Delivery: Not Available

PC/OS OpenWorkstation Preloaded on a 1 TB PC Hard Drive $150.00. 500gb Laptop Hard Drive $200.00

Pre-Order for PC/OS 11

2010-04-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

Oh and you can preorder PC/OS 11, OpenWorkstation GNOME and XFCE, PC/OS OpenServer System for $20.00 USD. Click on the Donate Link under "Order Product or Donate to PC/OS" and in the notes section on the donation form write preorder PC/OS 11 and Be sure to leave a shipping address

PC/OS 11 to be a paid product only

2010-04-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately this was a tough decision to make, I personally have held out as long as possible with this decision. We need to start charging for the OS. As with any other business we incur costs. Some of these costs are not a big deal, and are easily remedied. But, we need to pay our developers, we need to... pay royalties to certain companies, we need hardware in order to keep up with the rate of development. Delivering a great experience is not cheap. So we are faced with either pulling the product and shutting down with public distribution and just doing custom distributions or leave the outsider channel open. We have decided to keep that channel open.

So, Insiders and subscribers will continue to get their free 3 release schedule as always, with bug fixes and everything else. To become an insider we charge a $45.00 fee for those that are interested. Webstation will continue to be offered for free, but OpenWorkstation GNOME and XFCE, Open64 and OpenServer system will become paid products. VirtualStation and VirtualServer will become paid products and offered through channels. Pricing will be determined before the release of PC/OS 11. We will offer both physical media and digital downloads.

The decision to do this was not made lightly, myself and the rest of the team were hoping it would not have to come down to this but it has. We always seemed to have a healthy amount of donations and ad revenue, but since Google has gotten flakey with paying out on Ad revenue and donations and sales are down. This was the situation we were faced with. We will be competitive with the pricing, all preorders of PC/OS 11 will be honored. I hope users of PC/OS will trust that we exhausted and pondered over this and other options. While I am sure this will not fly well with some users, we do apologize but PC/OpenSystems is a business above all else. Once our revenue stabilizes and some ventures we have in the works are definate, we may still offer the downloadable release of PC/OS free of charge.

PC/OS 10.1.1 Released

2010-03-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce the delivery of PC/OS OpenWorkstation 10.1.1 PC/OS GNOME 10.1.1 as well as PC/OS WebStations 10.1.1. With this release we bring many bug fixes and enhancements to the platform. This release is a bug fix and precursor to the release of PC/OS 11. Some of the highlights of this release include.

Linux Kernel 2.6.31 PAE, with the physical address extentions, users of 32 bit PC/OS can now utilize more RAM on 64 bit systems.
Gigilo is removed, replaced with pyneighborhood
Filezilla is now included
Empathy has been upgraded to version 2.29.93
Empathy has been removed from WebStation and replaced with Meebo
Gnome Games has been removed from WebStation and replaced with Flashchess3
An eBook reader has been added to PC/OS WebStation
GNOME-ppp has been added to the GNOME release
All security and bugfixes have been added to all releases
We debut the new PC/OS themes, PC/OS Daylight, PC/OS Midnight and PC/OS Dusk

Known issues.

With Jockey you have to manually initiate your NVIDIA driver install
Upon booting the Live CD/DVD you have to enter a user name and password. The user name is "custom" leave the password blank and press enter.
The Broadcom drivers install automatically, you will not have an option to "deactivate" them upon intial use you will have to manually enter your network name.

The Developer Kit and Office Kit from PC/OS 10.1 still function properly on this release.

With this release of OpenWorkstation we are testing our new delivery method of the ISO and md5 in an archive format, .zip as to be compatible with all OS's

To order PC/OS on DVD/CD simply order it from us. Click on the Donate button and donate 25.00 for the Openworkstation DVD Release and 15.00 for the Webstation CD release. If you want us to make a USB Flash drive or removable media donate 40.00. We also offer preloaded hard drives, these are 1TB Western Digital drives and they are available for a 105.00 donation. Make sure you specify which release you want. Also please note that the USB drives and Hard drives take up to 7 days to ship. Shipping is included in these prices.

To download just click on the links

PC/OS OpenWorkstation 10.1.1
PC/OS WebStation 10.1.1 (MD5)
PC/OS GNOME 10.1.1 (MD5)

Changes to PC/OS 10.1.1

2010-03-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

Some changes coming in PC/OS 10.1.1.

The interface changes. We were planning to release these with PC/OS 11, but since we have to do an update to PC/OS 10.1 we figured what the hey. There isnt much change to the panels, just the theme. We now use the PC/OS Daylight theme, derived from Light X as the standard theme.

Up...date Manager is now included with PC/OS 10.1.1. This just delivers critical system updates and will not allow you to update to a later Ubuntu system. But for critical updates its a must have.

Branding. We have pretty much removed all the old branding and some of the remaining Ubuntu branding.

Gigilo has been removed due to the facts of instability and requiring way too much of a work around for normal users. It has been replaced by Pyneighborhood and for SSH interfacing, Filezilla

Webstation now has an ebook reader. It reads ebooks in many formats. Havent tried any from Amazon.com but we will let you guys know.

Command line enhancements in PC/OS

2010-03-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

What some people dont know is that we work with PC/OS command line environment. We make so many GUI enhancements that some people forget we are also about the command line. I personally use the command line about 70% of the time. So now we we will go over what we do to improve the command line.

Installing Packages:

In a Debian based system alot of times we have to type the following commands to install a package from the repositories. "sudo apt-get install *.deb" We instituted the command 'install-package *.deb" this way we feel we have simplified for those that might not be completely cool with archaic command line terms. Here is an example.

For installing local packages which may take a little more syntax we have instituted install-local-package which is dpkg and the beauty of it is if you know dpkg you can add any modifiers after 'install-local-package'

Here is an example of install-local-package

So is installing packages the only way we have enhanced the PC/OS command line? No. Getting drive names and locations in PC/OS or any other linux systems determines what you know about other commands and adding the modifiers to those so that they are human readable and that you get the information that you need. For example, get-drives lists all the mounted disks on your system

These are only a few examples and while they may not seem impressive we are constantly working on it and more improvemenst will be made for PC/OS 11. Later on we will be releasing a list of the new commands and what they do.

Thunderbird and Exchange

2010-03-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

Some people have asked us about using Thunderbird with an Microsoft Exchange server so we looked and I have found an example that actually worked. Originally printed in DownloadSquad.

1. Go to Tools > Account Settings
2. Account Settings
3. Your Name can be anything
4. Email Address should be your work email address (including the "@work.com")
5. In Server Settings, Server Type should be IMAP Mail Server
6. Server Name: In Outlook, go to Tools > Address Book and right-click on the pull-down on the top right (it should say "Global Address Book") and select properties. The new window will have a text box that has your current server name in it, this is what you put into Thunderbird's server name box.
7. User name should be your login name for your PC
8. "Never" should be selected for secure connection
9. Edit the default outgoing server (SMTP)
10. Description can be anything
11. Server Name: In Outlook, go to Tools > Email Accounts > View/Change Existing > Next and double click on your default MS Exchange Server. In the new pop-up window, the top text box is the one with your outgoing server name. It might be something like server.work.com. Just put in "server" into Thunderbird's server name box, you don't need the ".work.com" part.
12. Check "Use name and password "
13. "User Name" should be your login name for your PC
14. "No" should be selected for "Use secure connection"
15. All other choices can be left as default, and you should now be able to get your email

Setting up Thunderbird to access your work's Global Address Book:

1. First off, get your Global Address Book server name. In Outlook, Tools > Address Book. Then right-click on "Global Address List" that appears in a drop-down menu and select "Properties". Copy the server name under "The current server is:".
2. In Thunderbird, Tools > Address Book
3. File > new > LDAP Directory
4. In the General tab, name it whatever you want to, and paste the server name into the "Hostname" area.
5. Base DN is going to be the stuff after junk separated by commas and set equal to dc. For example, using junk.work.com as your server name it would be dc=work,dc=com
6. Port number = 389 (default) then ok.

PC/OS VirtualStation 10.1 released

2010-03-15T00:23:00.000-07:00

Today we are releasing the new VM image. This VM image includes the latest bug fixes and updated apps from PC/OS 10.1. This image is in VDI format for Oracles VirtualBox software.

Highlights Include

All the Sun VirtualBox tools Preinstalled
We expanded the Virtual Hard disk size to 40 gb due to user demand
Tested on Oracles VirtualBox OSE distribution

To use the VM the username and password are "virtual"

Pricing has not changed. To order the distribution in VM format donate $20.00 USD to the project and we will mail the media. Dont forget to let us know which release of VirtualBox you want whether it is Linux/Mac OS X and Windows.

You can download it from here

PC/OS 11 FAQ Released

2010-03-13T00:37:00.000-08:00

PC/OS 11 FAQ released. With this we talk about changes coming in PC/OS 11. Kernel changes, UI changes, releases and system delivery. Its in PDF format so you guys can download it and have a look-see. We are striving and continuing to improve PC/OS, your feedback is important. Keep it coming.

PC/OS Series 10.1 Released

2010-03-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

We are very pleased to announce the delivery of PC/OS OpenWorkstation 10.1 as well as PC/OS WebStation 10.1. With this release we bring many bug fixes and enhancements to the platform. This release is the last release before the LTS release of PC/OS 11. Some of the highlights of this release include.

Linux Kernel 2.6.31
OpenOffice.org 3.2
Firefox 3.5.8
Amazon MP3 downloader
Empathy for IM
GNOME utils 2.28
GnomeBaker for burning CD's and DVD's
VLC is now the default video player
WINE 1.2 is now included
Google Gears is now included so that Webstation users can access Google Docs and other web apps offline
New Simplified menu structure
USB Creator can now be used to create a bootable USB drive
UI design is now unified with the GNOME release

With every new release we also have some issues.

With Jockey you have to manually initiate your NVIDIA driver install
Upon booting the Live CD/DVD you have to enter a user name and password. The user name is "custom" leave the password blank and press enter.
The Broadcom drivers install automatically, you will not have an option to "deactivate" them upon initial use. You may have to manually enter your network name.

With the last release we introduced the Developer Kit and Office Kit which proved popular and they are available for this release as well.

To order PC/OS on DVD/CD simply order it from us. Click on the Donate button and donate 25.00 for the Openworkstation DVD Release and 15.00 for the Webstation CD release. If you want us to make a USB Flash drive or removable media donate 40.00. We also offer preloaded hard drives, these are 1TB Western Digital drives and they are available for a 105.00 donation. Make sure you specify which release you want. Also please note that the USB drives and Hard drives take up to 7 days to ship. Shipping is included in these prices.

To download just click on the links

PC/OS OpenWorkstation 10.1 (MD5)
PC/OS WebStation 10.1 (MD5)

PC/OS Developer Kit 10.1 (MD5)
PC/OS Office Kit (MD5)

PC/OS News

2010-03-04T21:08:00.000-08:00

We are looking at simplifying the releases. Spreading them further apart so we dont seem like we are constantly at odds. So during our Skype pow-wow, we have decided what the release schedule will look like. We plan to keep the names, PC/OS OpenWorkstation and Webstation. PC/OS OpenCore will go away as it stands now. PC/OS OpenServer System will take its place. How will this work you ask? PC/OS OpenServer System will ship as PC/OS OpenCore did. No applications installed, no server functions installed. It will be the core system. It will ship with Server Kit as a bundle on pc-os.org, when you buy it server kit will ship as a separate ISO. This allows people to customize the server as they see fit. PC/OS OpenServer System will not get an experimental release, but will be updated through Maintenance packs.

Speaking of the experimental releases. PC/OS 10 and PC/OS 10.1 have been great but confusing to people. So from now on, the experimental releases will be known as PC/OS TestSuite. It will ship DVD ISO only as we will be including the developer kit by default. the reason? During the test phases we want people to be able to develop great applications, we want those that have the know how to be able to extend and enhance PC/OS.

With this PC/OS 2010 will not be released. Instead we are putting numerical versioning behind it. So PC/OS 2010 becomes PC/OS 11. The next LTS will be, PC/OS 12, etc. OpenServer System will still be called PC/OS OpenServer System 9.

We are changing the way we do sales of PC/OS disks. We are launching the PC/OS Storefront. We will no longer be using On-Disk.com. With the Storefront, we will be selling PC/OS disks and hard drives, USB Flash etc. Pricing to be determined.

The default theme for PC/OS will change. How and to what extent will be determined. We are considering the new default themes that Ubuntu is using in 10.04. We think they are great. This is two fold, first we want people that use Ubuntu to have a familiar face when coming to PC/OS, second we want the GNOME and XFCE releases to have a similar look to each other. Also, due to customer and user feedback, Firefox will be making the return as the default browser in PC/OS 11.

We hope you guys like the changes and as always feedback is welcome.

PC/OS OpenWorkstation 10.1 GNOME Released

2010-03-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

The developers of PC/OS are excited to bring you this new installment in the PC/OS family. Users and customers have demanded it so we have now delivered it. This release is based on the GNOME desktop. We are targetting this release for a more high performance crowd. So as we keep working on this we need the great feedback our users generally provide including what you, as professional users, need and use. So lets get in here and go through whats included.

GNOME 2.28
Linux kernel 2.6.31
Empathy replaces Pidgin
OpenOffice.org 3.1
Exaile
Gambas2
WideStudio
Full multimedia codecs
Sun Java 6
Evolution Groupware Suite
GnomeBaker
Exaile
VLC
GIMP (With all plugins)
Google Chrome
Nimbus GTK theme and Metacity

As we continue to improve this release we will continue to add software and tools for everyone.

System requirements:

1 ghz Processor
512 mb of RAM
10 gb of Hard Drive Space
VGA display

Known Issues:

When you boot the Live CD when it gets to the gdm enter the user name 'custom' leave the password blank.

You can download the software from here

The md5 is available here

Or alternatively you can order a DVD from us directly for $20.00. To do this make a donation of $20.00 and in the details section of PayPal list your address.

PC/OS KDE and GNOME status

2010-02-25T23:16:00.001-08:00

PC/OS KDE has been pushed back. The developer of PC/OS KDE feels that the current state of the project is not at a point where he feels comfortable to release it so its being pushed back until the 2010 release. So we will have a KDE release just not as soon as we had hoped. But we made an alternative promise and we will honor that. If you install KDE 4 from the repositories after March 10, 2010 we will support that if you have a support contract.

Also, we received a lot of feedback from users about the GNOME issue. People also want a GNOME release. So, for the 10.1 release we will go ahead and release a GNOME version of PC/OS. Ones already built and in Beta so thats a little more feasible and GNOME has quite a few fans as well. The core team will concentrate on this release. This will also be just a DVD release with a few twists. It will have the developer kit installed by default and will use the Nimbus graphics engine for the theme.

If you are a gnome developer and wish to help out, do let us know.

PC/OS 10.1 KDE release coming

2010-02-20T20:38:00.000-08:00

Today we are pleased to announce the imminent release of PC/OS 10.1 KDE. One of our community members has decided to take control of this release and will be responsible for it. Micheal Vale, also known on the forums as mikev, is making this spin. After a few releases of a personal KDE release he submitted his work, we examined it to make sure it met our quality standards and it has. This will be the first KDE release of PC/OS. Here is a short FAQ on the KDE release.

1) Will PC/OS be changed over to a KDE desktop?

A) No, it will not. This is a totally separate release and will be maintained by the individual named who will develop his own team for this. At the moment until he gets a team established he will have the full cooperation of the PC/OS developers.

2) Why KDE and not GNOME?
A) We already have a desktop based on XFCE another GTK desktop, all applications for GNOME can be run on XFCE. GNOME has always been downloadable from the repositories.
We are releasing this because there are quite a few fans of KDE and many businesses who have invested in QT itself, this allows them to switch or adopt PC/OS and continue their investments.

3) Will KDE be treated as a second class citizen?
A) No, we are committed to making this happen and the KDE release will be released in conjunction with the XFCE release. 10.1 KDE will come out sooner as the developer has been working very hard on this so there will be no beta release of PC/OS 10.1 KDE

4) Will there be a CD release of PC/OS 10.1 KDE ?
A) For now it will be a DVD release. The CD release of PC/OS is XFCE based due to the fact that many recyclers use it and their machines tend to be older that cant support KDE 4. If the demand comes, we will release a Webstation KDE release.

5) Will there be a 64 bit version of PC/OS 10.1 KDE?
A) No, until the team gets established and has a solid footing it will be 32 bit only, although you can run it on a 64 bit machine. This is to keep the initial developer from getting burnt out as supporting two platforms is hard to do for one man.

6) Will my support contract cover PC/OS 10.1 KDE?
A) Yes it will. We will cover PC/OS 10.1 KDE and further releases of it.

7) Will you still have the Be type decorations on PC/OS 10.1 KDE?
A) No, Oxygen is beautiful as it is. The default desktop will share the same background picture and the KDM will be themed to look like the OpenWorkstation release.

8) When will it be released?
A) When its ready. We are looking at a couple of weeks although we haven't settled on a date. We are now putting the finishing tweaks on it.

So customers and enthusiasts have talked, we have listened and I want to thank Mike for agreeing to take part and welcome him to the team.

PC/OS 10.1 Beta 2 released

2010-02-19T23:34:00.000-08:00

We have released Beta 2 of PC/OS 10.1 There have been several fixes associated with this release. Keep in mind this is a beta and there are still several fixes that have been identified and will be implemented and many more bugs havent been found and reported. Do not use the Beta in a production environment. Please let us know of any bugs you may find so that we can have as successful launch as we had with PC/OS 10. Here is a list of whats new.

With this release we have updated to the Ubuntu 9.10 base.

We have removed Xsplash and GDM 2.28 and went to GDM 2.20. This is until GDM 2.28 has its many bugs fixed and becomes more stable.

The Beta has a better install success rate. We had some complaints on beta 1 where install was hit or miss.

Inconsistent icons have been fixed.

Broadcom drivers have been included with this release

Firefox 3.5.8 has been included. Users and customers have stated that they like
Firefox with OpenWorkstation since Moonlight and other plugins work better with Firefox vs Google Chrome. We may follow this route or may just include both, it hasnt been decided.

Most Ubuntu branding has been removed for more consistency

With the list of fixes here is a list of known bugs.

Java Plugin buggy with Chrome. We are testing this and trying to fix it just keep in mind that Java in Chrome more than likely wont work properly with all sites.

Compositor in 2-D produces weird behavior such as visualizations in media players being displayed on top of other windows. The most common fix is to turn off visualizations, once again this is being worked on.

p54usb driver sometimes inconsistent, will crash frequently and kick wireless off.

Video crashes on Sun systems. GDM will crash reverting to text logon but will initialize the X Server when 'startx' command is used. No known workaround.

Brasero will not burn consistently or burn ISO's properly. No known workaround.

There are a few others but those seem to be the most we get e-mails about.

To download Beta 2, you can grab it here.

EDIT: 2/20/2010: When you boot the live session you MUST enter the username 'custom' leave the password blank. This will boot you into live mode

PC/OS VirtualServer 10 released

2010-02-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

We are proud to announce the release of PC/OS VirtualServer System 8.5. VirtualServer System 8.5 is a release of PC/OS OpenServer System 8.5 designed to be run on Sun Virtualbox. Its a virtual hard drive image with the Sun Virtualbox tools preinstalled. This takes out the necessary step of having to install the Virtualbox toolset.

You can download it here

If you wish to order a DVD of VirtualWorkstation we will not be going through On-Disk. The price of PC/OS VirtualServer System 8.5 is $10.99 with a shipping cost of $4.00. With this you get a copy of Sun Virtualbox and a copy of the virtual disk image as well as the server kit. To order hit the donate button on the left hand side of the homepage and donate $14.99 this covers shipping. In the note section tell us what version of Virtualbox you need whether it is MacOS X/Windows/a supported release of Linux and submit it.

PC/OS VirtualWorkstation 10 released

2010-02-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

We are proud to announce the release of PC/OS VirtualWorkstation 10. VirtualWorkstation 10 is a release of PC/OS designed to be run on Sun Virtualbox. Its a virtual hard drive image with PC/OS OpenWorkstation 10 preinstalled with the Sun Virtualbox tools preinstalled. This takes out the necessary step of having to install the Virtualbox toolset.

You can download it here

If you wish to order a DVD of VirtualWorkstation we will not be going through On-Disk. The price of PC/OS VirtualWorkstation 10 is $12.99 with a shipping cost of $4.00. With this you get a copy of Sun Virtualbox and a copy of the virtual disk image as well as the Multimedia and Developer kits. To order hit the donate button on the left hand side of the homepage and donate $16.99 this covers shipping. In the note section tell us what version of Virtualbox you need whether it is MacOS X/Windows/a supported release of Linux and submit it.

We will be releasing a version of PC/OS VirtualServer System 8.5. This will be released next week.

PC/OS Open64 Workstation 10a and PC/OS OpenServer System 8.5 Released

2010-02-08T00:41:00.000-08:00

We are very pleased to announce the delivery of PC/OS Open64 Workstation 10a as well as PC/OS OpenServer System 8.5. PC/OS Open64 Workstation 10a is our release of PC/OS on the 64 bit platform. This release is targeted at the end user and is geared for simplicity for the end user. Some of the differences from the first offering include:

All applications and core system bug fixes have been applied.
We now bundle Chrome as the default browser.
Full multimedia codec support is included.
UI for the 32 bit and 64bit releases are now common. Giving the user a consistent UI from the 32 bit and 64 bit releases.

For PC/OS OpenServer System 8.5, which is our release targeting small business and home office users we have made incremental changes. This release includes:

Prism 1.0 for use with WebMin 1.5
All core components and applications bugfixes and updates have been applied

Both releases are available now through the website and Open64 is available through On-Disk.com.

You can download PC/OS Open64 Workstation from here (md5)
You can download PC/OS OpenServer System from here (md5)

PC/OS OpenWorkstation 10.1 Beta released

2010-02-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

This beta offers a look at what PC/OS 10.1 will look like. Its available here. With this release there are several enhancements.

Kernel is updated to 2.6.29
Core applications have been updated
OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 is included

This being a beta its nowhere near ready for a production environment. Things like simple installation to a hard disk could fail. As always if you install this beta if you suffer data loss or hardware failure we are blameless. There is no warranty, expressed or implied. If you have a service agreement with us, this beta doesnt fall under the terms of that agreement.

PC/OS Experimental kernel 2.6.32

2010-01-31T23:02:00.000-08:00

We have just released experimental kernel packages. These are mostly for power users and tinkerers. These are not meant for mission critical deployments.

Three known issues. Binary video drivers will not work. Uninstall the nvidia and ATI drivers and reinstall after you reboot with your new kernel. If you use the AFS distributed Filesystem, which most desktop users wont, it will render your system unusable. Wireless depending on the chipset is unstable.

The complete source code is provided in the package as well as warranty notices, install instructions, and a changes document.

You can download it here

So have fun.

Another interview with the leadership of PC/OS

2010-01-30T00:33:00.000-08:00

The last Q&A went well. So some people have been asking if I will do another interview. If someone asks I will do it but for right now for the sake of being interesting lets do another interview. This time the users are the interviewer so send any and all questions to rjdohnert@gmail.com and they will all be answered. Dont be derogatory. Thats all I ask, so send em in.

PC/OS Roadmap for 2010

2010-01-30T00:19:00.001-08:00

This is the new roadmap for PC/OS. This shows the user plans and releases we have planned for PC/OS through the year of 2010. The focus of this roadmap is for users to know what to expect and for administrators to plan for these releases so they can update accordingly and plan their rollouts. This roadmap does not reflect PC/OS 10 which was released this past week.

2/8/2010 - PC/OS OpenServer System 8.5 and PC/OS Open64 Workstation 10 released.

2/12/2010 – PC/OS VirtualWorkstation 10 released. This release is a virtual machine release made for Sun Microsystems VirtualBox emulation software.

3/10/2010 - PC/OS OpenWorkstation/Webstation 10.1 released

6/1/2010 – PC/OS OpenWorkstation and Webstation 2010 released. This is the LTS and replaces PC/OS 2009. PC/OS 2009 reaches end of life

7/1/2010 – PC/OS OpenServer System 9 and PC/OS Open64 Workstation 2010 released. This will be the first LTS 64 bit release ever for PC/OS. PC/OS Open64 Workstation 10 reaches end of life

9/1/2010 - ? This release is a consumer electronic device release thus its consumer focused. This release is still in the planning stages and more information will be forthcoming

10/15/2010 - PC/OS PowerStation 2010 released. This release is for subscription and premium customers only.

12/1/2010 – PC/OS 2010 Maintenance Pack 1 released for all LTS releases.

12/19/2010 PC/OS Open64/Openworkstation/Webstation 2010v2 released.

12/31/2010 PC/OS OpenServer System 9.1 and PC/OS OpenCore 3 released.

We do have a busy year planned. We are still deciding whether we want to do an experimental release of like PC/OS 10 was. More information will be forthcoming and as always, dates slip, unforseen bugs are found and all users will be notified of these should dates slip.

PC/OpenSystems LLC Gives back

2010-01-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

We here at PC/OpenSystems have decided with each physical copy of PC/OS OpenWorkstation sold, either physical media through our online retailer or a digital download of $20.00 or more we will donate $1.00 to the Red Cross for the Haiti relief fund. If you buy the USB, SD or CF release from our online retailer we will donate $2.00 to the Red Cross for the Haiti relief fund.

You can purchase the Physical media from On-Disk.com

Or donate $20.00 or more through the donate button at top.

We do understand that sometimes companies or individuals use these efforts as scams to try and drive sales. We will gladly offer a receipt for individuals who take part.

PC/OS 10 released

2010-01-26T11:45:00.000-08:00

We are proud to announce that we have just released the newest release of PC/OS. PC/OS OpenWorkstation and PC/OS WebStation are the two editions released. These replace PC/OS 2009 OpenWorkstation and WebStation. This release is based on the Ubuntu 9.04 series. Some of the higlights that target the new release are as follows.

2.6.28 kernel series

Skype client on both the OpenWorkstation and WebStation release

Google Chrome is the default browser for Webstation

All security and bug fixes applied

Updated OpenOffice.org in OpenWorkstation

Support and recovery tools for the BFS filesystem

Atunes is the default media player on OpenWorkstation

With this release we also released expansion kits which allow users to extend the functionality of PC/OS. Here is a brief breakdown of the expansion kits

Multimedia Kit - This kit has all the tools that you would need to create, edit and publish multimedia content. You can create a DJ workstation, Graphics design workstation etc. This kit is available with the retail release of PC/OS 10 available from On-Disk.com.

Developer kit - This kit has all development tools, including The mono runtime, Monodevelop, Gambas, QT Creator and Eclipse. This kit is available for free for all users

Office kit - Is for Webstation users. It includes AbiWord, Gnumeric and Mozilla Thunderbird and the lightning extension. The Office kit is available for free for users as well.

You can purchase PC/OS 10 from On-Disk.com

You can download the release from Ibiblio

The torrents are available from here:

OpenWorkstation

WebStation

New PC/OS release

2010-01-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

PC/OS OpenWorkstation and PC/OS WebStation 10 will be released this week. Stay tuned.

PC/OS 2009.4 and beyond

2009-09-08T04:57:00.001-07:00

With PC/OS 2009.4 several changes are coming down the pipe. The XFCE desktop has matured to the level where GNOME tools are no longer necessary and XFCE has reached the par that users have expected with the desktops out of box. Further updates and application updates are coming. We will no longer consider doing a unstable branch of PC/OS. This will help with not cusing confusion among users and keep support issues down. We will stay just based on LTS releases from now on. PC/OS Open64 is the obvious exception at this point.

PC/OS 2009.4 will be released before the new year.

PC/OS 2009.3 released

2009-08-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

PC/OS 2009.3 has been released for the general public. This release fixes many of the hardware issues that users had with PC/OS 2009v2 series. With this release we went ahead and and installed all updates so all security updates since PC/OS Maintenance Pack 3 have been applied. The changes to PC/OS 2009.3 application wise are common across all releases except XFCE 4.6 was not included in WebStation due to some issues that are being explored right now on some models of netbooks.

OpenOffice.org 3.1

Pidgin 2.5.8

Firefox 3.0.12

Mozilla Thunderbird

many more application updates have been applied

A few changes to the core lineup. The only two public releases are PC/OS OpenWorkstation and PC/OS WebStation. WebStation is a CD ISO so recyclers can use it, netbook users can use it and even those who want a light desktop can use it. OpenDesktop is still produced and is available upon request from recyclers. Unlike other Web 2.0 centric distributions we still have many local apps for core fuctionality, client based audio, video and IM are just examples of that. You can use Synaptic and install applications that you would like to.

You can download the release from here

PC/OS 2009.3 release

2009-08-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

PC/OS 2009.3 has been finalized and is being uploaded for a public release by Monday. The past couple of months we have hit some snags. Some personal and health issues have required my attention as well as some technical issues with PC/OS. But now that we are done with all those PC/OS is back in full swing.

I personally apologize for all the delays and this has been a learning experience. So once again, PC/OS 2009.3 has been finalized and is being uploaded.

PC/OS Maintenance Pack 3 released

2009-06-01T22:09:00.001-07:00

PC/OS Maintenance Pack 3 has been released. This maintenance pack brings PC/OS 2009/2009v2a up to date with all the security fixes up until May 31, 2009. The new updated kernel includes additional device drivers as well as core level fixes. Maintenance Pack 3 is delivered as a way for users to update their systems without the need to reinstall the entire OS image. As always this includes updates to core OS components only and no application updates. When we release PC/OS 2009.3 which will be an updated OS image install that will include all application updates as well as the new graphics, layouts and application updates and its provided for users who want to re-image their systems.

You can download it here

PC/OS Open64 Workstation released

2009-05-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

Today we are pleased to announce the availability of PC/OS Open64 Workstation 10. This release targets specifically 64 bit hardware systems. This release is based on the Ubuntu 9.04 base system and has been updated with all the security and bug patches as of May 25, 2009.

Some of the new features include:

XFCE 4.6

Openoffice.org 3.1

QT 4

Monodevelop

VLC

Exaile

Sun Java

Flash 64 bit plugin

Multimedia and development tools and libraries

All multimedia codecs

of course there are some issues and here are the known ones:

When you boot to the liveCD it comes up to the GDM you have to wait 10 seconds for it to login. Canonical introduced this in Ubuntu 9.04.

No usplash. Yes I know some people want the elegance but many of the custom Usplash files failed to load up. We are working on this and hope to have Usplash back in PC/OS Open64 Workstation 10.1.

On the LiveCD the panel launchers do not work. This is due to XFCE including a working directory structure to panel launchers. You can right click hit properties and set it and they will work fine.

There will only be 3 releases of Open64. Workstation, Server and core coming out later this month we are currently testing these other two releases.

We will not be releasing an Open64 desktop CD image unless there is significant demand for it.

To download the release you can get it here

You can get the md5 file from here

To support the project do consider buying the release from on-disk.com for $49.99 or make a donation.

PC/OS open64 workstation to be released this week

2009-05-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

You read it right. Its done and the development team says why sit on it. We are going to spend the next day or so testing installations and make sure nothing fails then its time for release. stay tuned. Due to the holiday we didnt want to release today.

PC/OS Maintenance Pack 3 and PC/OS 2009.3

2009-05-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

We are going beyond what we had decided for the LTS release. PC/OS 2009 Maintenance Pack 3 will be released on schedule, so thats not an issue. But, come mid June we will release PC/OS 2009.3. We decided to continue to build upon PC/OS 2009 due to customer and user demand. This will help extend customers investments and if users want an updated ISO. PC/OS 2009.3 will have all of Maintenance Pack 3 integrated and some new features such as XFCE 4.6 and OpenOffice.org 3.1 and the new SystemReport script and will follow the new policies regarding Appliance and WebStation as well as the Firefox initiative. It will be a great release as well. Maintenance Pack 3 for OpenServer will be released end of June. We do this due to the extensive testing necessary for a server release.

This will not affect PC/OS 10, or PC/OS Open64.

PC/OS pre-bundles

2009-05-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

We have scrapped the plans to create our own hardware. Thats right, we have decided that creating our own hardware and making moves like Sun and Apple were not the ways to go. So we have decided that instead of creating our own hardware we will find commodity hardware that runs best with PC/OS. We will go with a vendor that has a good Linux compatibility record and we will go with a vendor that produces desktops, notebooks and netbooks. More on who this vendor is later. The reason for scrapping, the OpenCube and OpenBriq? It takes a lot of resources and a lot of manpower to produce, test and ship hardware. We are only a six-man team and we want the initiative to be successfuls. Whatever vendor we go with the results wont be dull.

Window Decoration

2009-05-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

We had included the Window decoration on PC/OS Open64 and PC/OS 10 as the XFCE default. Such is not the case. We will be retaining the friendly and much loved Yellow tab decoration. So those of you that were crying that it went away, it hasnt. PC/OS will have the same Window decoration as it has in the past.

PC/OS Open64 and 10 changes

2009-05-11T19:08:00.001-07:00

These are some changes that will be taking place in PC/OS Open64 and 10.

First and fore most we will be moving up to the updated 9.04 kernel. This increases hardware compatibility and stability especially on the 64 bit platform.

The web browser is constantly a struggle. We tend to choose the one that has the best features and what we think the users want and you have spoken and we have listened. In PC/OS Open64 and PC/OS OpenWorkstation 10, Firefox and Thunderbird will replace Opera. Opera will remain the default on OpenDesktop 10 and WebStation 10. The moonlight plugin will also be included we are looking at the Moonlight codec situation, whether to include those or not.

OpenOffice 3.1.0 will be the default office suite with AbiWord and Gnumeric remaining on OpenDesktop

A few more Prism apps will be added, users can tell us which ones they really want to see.

PC/OS Appliance and Webstation will be merged. Given that hard drive storage on Netbooks have grown and the kiosk features built into XFCE 4.6 we have decided to end Appliance and merge those repositories into Webstation. This will allow your netbook, should you decide to be the perfect web 2.0 vessel. We will tailor specific netbook images for different people for a fee, please contact us for pricing.

Usplash is causing conflicts so we have removed it. We will try to introduce something prettier for users in the near future but considering usplash is more or less for asthetics we dont see this as a big deal.

Any future improvements will be communicated here.

PC/OS Open64 screenshots

2009-05-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some screenshots of PC/OS Open64. This is the release that will be put out June 1st and of course there are some issues with it, some bugs and we are trying to squash em as quick as we can. But as you can see, it is usable and this post was made using the liveCD instance. As you can see it has the same functionality as the 32 bit release. It includes full development environments and also contains the full multimedia extention packs. It has almost all the same software components of the 32 bit release with some differences but not many. As always when we release we will give you a run down of the differences.

OpenOffice.org 3.1 for PC/OS

2009-05-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

We have put up on the download site a new OpenOffice.org 3.1 installation pack. We have two versions, one for x86 and one for x64. These releases work on PC/OS 2008/2009, Debian, Ubuntu and Linux Mint. Make sure you follow the instructions. The 64 bit release works on PC/OS Open64, for you beta testers, Debian GNU/Linux and Ubuntu 9.04 64 bit. Those are the only releases tested.

They can be downloaded from Ibiblio

PC/OS Status update

2009-05-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

We are very close to releasing PC/OS Open64 Workstation. On June 1st we will be releasing PC/OS Open64 Workstation 10 and we will be releasing PC/OS 2009 Maintenance Pack 3. PC/OS Open64 Server System 9 will be released in mid June to early July. Let me reiterate the differences in releases here. The versioning seems to be complicating some people and some find it confusing.

When we make a release such as PC/OS 2009, this is what we call an LTS release, a long term release. You get updates for 3 years on the desktop and you get updates for 5 years on Server and Core. Server and Core are only built for these releases. These long term releases are targeted towards individuals who wish to have systems and not have to continuously update. When we have PC/OS 2009v2, these v2 releases contain a lot of application and system fixes, this helps stabilize the system to clean up code. Basically the v2 release is very simply put, the maintenance packs integrated into the system. A lot of times these v2 releases also contain cosmetic and other changes but we continue to just make Maintenance Packs available for people who dont want to reinstall on their system. After v2 we normally dont release a v3, we release Maintenance Pack 3 and follow up with Maintenance Packs, this contains specific fixes for core system functionality only. No application updates unless of course the application can compromise system security, ie the web browser for example.

Now, when we say PC/OS 10. This is only a Workstation and Desktop release. Core and Server dont get built for this type of release. These are the cutting edge releases that are often updated every 6 months. We dont do maintenance packs because the release schedule is just so close together. The support cycle is 18 months for this release.

So in short, thats how we stabilize PC/OS and we will continue on this route as it has proved to work the best.

PC/OS Open64 close to release

2009-05-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

PC/OS Open64 is very close to the official release. The first coming is PC/OS Open64 Workstation with Open64 Server coming in late June. With this there have been several enhancements coming in play since the crude tech preview in January. After much market research most 64 bit mac hines come with DVD roms and dont come with CD roms so Open64 Workstation will come in DVD format only with 2 exceptions, Open64 Core and Open64 Server.

The new PC/OS shell will debut with the hybrid Mac OS /OS/2 interface which everyone around here adores which we hope all the users will as well. PC/OS Open64 Workstation we can now say functions properly on all Sun Microsystems 64 bit systems, let me reiterate, we work on ALL configurations. Other 64 bit systems can be hit or miss but not to worry, file the reports and the bugs and we will crush them.

Open64 editions sans core will retail for $49.99 from on-disk with a fully bootable, non-installable Live DVD image becoming available. Availability will be on June 1st 2009.

GUI is done, now moving to core system

2009-04-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

We have finished the new UI for PC/OS and right now lets show you what it looks like.

We went with the hybrid PDA, Desktop look. Why did we do this? We are planning to take advantage of touch screen technology. The app dock on the right side you can add your favorite applications the system bar at the bottom shows open applications, system tray and volume control, clipboard etc.

We also stayed with the beish look and added a commonly liked theme, B6 which was the titlebar that was supposed to be used with BeOS 6.

Next focus, core system.

First look PC/OS 10

2009-03-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

Here we will look at the first rollout of PC/OS 10. Revamped GUI with a ton more features which wont be explored in full today. Once again, Cris and team did a fantastic job with it and please remember this is not definitive of what the final release will look like. This is extreme Alpha quality and not ready to be used as your main OS in its current form.

So lets get started

This first image is of the main desktop. You will notice it looks dramatically different. What we did was took GUI ideas from previous versions and fished out what we thought were good, threw out what we thought was bad and just threw what we thought were good ideas in.

As you can see we have a two bar system. We have the bottom bar which is our system dock and we have the App bar which holds all your user defined applications. We are working on a method to add apps to the app bar by drag and drop.

The second screenshot shows what happens when you open applications, PC/OS is very visual and this clearly enhances it. Instead of a buch of text, you have the application icon and yes, some applications will show thumbnails of what you are working on

PC/OS 10 also has a new Menu structure. Instead of clicking on the logo, which is now completely cosmetic, you right click anywhere on your desktop and the menu is brought up.

With this method yes a little retraining is necessary but its not as much as you would have with say, Mac OS X or Windows. So I look forward to everyones feedback and we will take it from there.

PC/OS 10, Open64 and more

2009-03-26T21:47:00.001-07:00

We are hard at work for PC/OS 10, Open64 and PC/OpenSuite for Windows. There are no delays expected with PC/OpenSuite for Windows scheduled for an April 15th release. So far testing is going great and we are even considering a theme to replace the default Windows theme with ine that shows the PC/OS logo. We are working with an updated GUI for PC/OS 10 and Open64. Will it be the final? probably, but probably not.

PC/OS OpenServer System 8.4 Released

2009-03-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

Today the PC/OS development team is pleased to announce the release of PC/OS OpenServer System 8.4. This release is the fourth installment of the PC/OS OpenServer System 8.x line and brings several enhancements and improvements to the system.

Along with all security updates we also have some new features.

In this release the following applications are included

Mythbuntu Diskless Server utilities
Dovecott Mail Server
Apache 2
Gadmin tools
Red Hat cluster management suite
Red Hat kickstart utility
Webmin
Likewise Open Edition
Dell DKMS

We have released the ISO on the website and it will be available for purchase from on-disk.com by the end of the week.

PC/OS 2009v2a Released

2009-03-10T05:58:00.000-07:00

PC/OS 2009v2a has been released for the general public. This release fixes many of the application stability issues that users had with PC/OS 2009v2. With this release we went ahead and and installed all updates so all security updates since PC/OS 2009v2 has been released have been applied. The changes to PC/OS 2009v2a application wise are common across all releases except one application inclusion and one removal.

Asunder 1.6.2

Audacity 1.3.7

Brasero 0.8.4

Gimp 2.6.5

Gufw 0.20.7

Pidgin 2.5.5

Murrine Engine 0.60.1 SVN143

Wine 1.1.16

Fluid Murrine theme

Opera 9.64

The one change happened in OpenWorkstation. PC/OS 2009v2a OpenWorkstation no longer has the QT designer application or QT developer tools. It now includes the QT SDK with QT Creator 1.0.

This release has been tested and all known issues resolved.

You can download the release from here

Available for download are PC/OS OpenDesktop, PC/OS OpenWorkstation, PC/OS Webstation 1.0a. PC/OS OpenWorkstation with the multimedia pack is available through on-disk.com for $29.99

PC/OS 2009v2a release

2009-03-07T07:46:00.001-08:00

Im uploading the new OpenDesktop right now, webstation was uploaded last night. We are working on including the new QT SDK with OpenWorkstation so the latest release will be on Monday at the latest.

Why are we shipping the newest QT SDK? QT is a widely accepted platform for Mobile, so it only makes sense to do so.

Did I say no PC/OS 2009v3?

2009-03-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

We will be doing a release on April 1st 2009. Its not PC/OS 2009v3, more like 2009v2a. This release will contain many more updated packages for PC/OS 2009v2. Some of these are important and are complicated to upgrade. We will be providing updated ISO's for our users. None of them affect security, they all impact functionality and yes, the new theme will be installed by default.

PC/OS 10.0, PC/OS 2009 and PC/OS Open64

2009-03-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

We are formally announcing details for PC/OS 10.0 and PC/OS Open64.

PC/OS 10.0 will be based on Ubuntu 9.04 and released August 1st 2009. This is up from the November release schedule and the reason for that is simple. Its almost done. We are just waiting for the Ubuntu 9.04 final and we will go through the testing and it will be released.

The only GUI change is that we now use the Fluid themes which look dynamite.

Opera 10 hopefully will be released by that time and will be the default browser. There are calls to bring back Firefox 3 but we are currently looking at those calls.

People still ask me about Chrome and as I have said, when Chrome comes out we will evaluate it and see if it fits into the PC/OS mold. If not the default browser it will definately be included into the feature pack.

The most changes take place under the hood. Better compatibility with Netbooks and hardware, persistent USB install and most importantly PC/OS4WIN. PC/OS4WIN allows you to install PC/OS similar to the way Wubi installs Ubuntu, like an application under Windows. As with Wubi, performance may suffer a little and the OS wont run at maximum speeds but if all you want to do is test under Linux it will be great for that function. PC/OS 10.1 will still be released January 1st and will be based on Ubuntu 9.10.

PC/OS 2009 will no longer recieve updated ISO's. After talking to my customers, partners and insiders Maintenance Packs will suffice. Thus Maintenance Pack 2 will be available Sept 10th. This will also act as an offline repository.

PC/OS Open64 also will be based on Ubuntu 9.04. From the Alpha work its already extremely stable. This will not affect the official release date. Anyone who has gotten the Open64 beta whether through a partner or the insider program will get a free upgrade.

So more changes will take place under the hood and the GUI that has been widely accepted wont be touched much at all.

The best BeOS experience in the Linux world

2009-02-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

ZevenOS debuted its 1.1 release today and they announced that they have the best BeOS experience in the Linux world. Almost immediately I started getting e-mails where people declared this comment was directed towards PC/OS and I thought I would comment on this. First, we are not here to provide you with the best BeOS experience. We are here to provide you with the best PC/OS experience. We are not here to duplicate the work of Be Inc. To be honest we cant duplicate the BeOS. There are enough structural differences between BeOS and Linux that its near impossible to do. Sure we can look like it, we can act like it and we at PC/OS share alot of the same focuses with the BeOS. We focus on usability, we focus on content creation and we focus on performance. It takes a lot more than a theme to be the BeOS. Do I think Lars directed the comments towards us at PC/OpenSystems? I dont know and I could care less. I'm not here to fight wars with everyone I am here to provide a product to my users that they can A) use and B) like it enough that they tell their friends. So once again we will always strive to bring you the best PC/OS experience.

How do we intend to do that? The world is shifting towards 64 bit and we will shift right along with it. We will provide you with the software and tools with which to make that transition. Will it be rushed? No. 64 bit still has a ways to go to be on par with the 32 bit world. The processor manufacturers knew this and built 32 bit compatibility into the 64 bit processors. Will we ever stop making a 32 bit version? Of course but we will do that when the majority of our users have made the transition, they are happy with the transition and everything works as its supposed to but for now 32 bit is still on the roadmap and will continue to be. We will continue to enhance the server product. The server products go hand in hand with the client systems. The world is moving towards hosted software. We are working to bring you that choice in server and in client. PC/OS WebStation 1.0 is just the start it is not the finish line. We will also continue to hack the user interface to simplify that for our users. The user interface is the first element users see when they turn on their systems so it only makes sense to simplify that element. PC/OS 10 has a new interface design, check out the rough draft in the forums.

We will continue to cooperate yet compete with some and we will develop partnerships with others. We will show respect and dignity to those that came before us and we will show respect and dignity to those that come after us. One good point that people seem to forget is this. The Linux world, the Microsoft world and the UNIX world is one great idea away from becoming obsolete. This is in regards to Windows, AIX, Solaris, HP/UX, PC/OS, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Novell, Gentoo, ZevenOS, Oracle and includes every distribution and Operating System in the world. Until that day though, we will strive to bring you only the best experience and this will not be the best BeOS experience in the Linux world.

Our mission statement says it all: "Simplified Computing." We will continue to pursue that focus and it will be in all of our products. Not just the software but the hardware as well.

PC/OS 2009v2 released

2009-02-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

Today, Thursday February 26 2009 we are happy to announce the general availability of PC/OS 2009v2. The new release also introduces the new PC/OS WebStation 1.0. PC/OS OpenDesktop 2009v2 and PC/OS OpenWorkstation 2009v2 have been fully tested and ready for broad consumer adoption.

Some of the changes include a slightly tweaked user interface and updated packages and all important security updates applied. Some of the updated packages are as follows.

OpenDesktop 2009v2 which is targeted towards consumers and home users:

Opera 9.63
Boot Manager
Exaile
GTKPod
PyNeighborhood
TrueCrypt 6.0a
Skype 2.0
VLC 0.9.8
Osmo
ePDFviewer
Leafpad

OpenWorkstation 2009v2 which is targeted towards developers, content creators and IT professionals:

GNOME desktop environment, LiveDVD and post install boots to XFCE.
Opera 9.63
OpenOffice.org 3.0
MingW
Eclipse
SystemTap
Boot Manager
QT Designer
Exaile
GTK Pod
VLC 0.9.8
Wammu, Mobile Phone Manager
Truecrypt 6.0a
Osmo
ePDFviewer
Fryre
Xaos
Leafpad
gSmartControl

As always in a week or so we will have a feature pak released with some additional software packages. With this release we also introduce PC/OS WebStation 1.0. PC/OS WebStation 1.0 is a web oriented distribution. It has client side applications where it makes sense, multimedia playback, graphics editing but things like office, software, storage, IM are all web based.

PC/OS OpenDesktop and WebStation are available now from the download site.

PC/OS OpenWorkstation 2009v2 + multimedia extensions is available commercially only from On-Disk.com for $14.99. After March 1st it goes up to $29.99.

Cubas Nova Linux

2009-02-22T20:27:00.000-08:00

I have fielded many inquiries into Cubas Nova Linux distribution. So I figured I would write a blog post about it.

Basically with Nova Im taking a wait and see approach. Many hurdles have to be overcome for Nova to be successful. The most important of those hurdles will be on the part of the Gentoo project. Can they incorporate those changes that the Cuban government makes back into the main project. How much pressure is the US government going to put on Daniel and team.

One of the pitfalls for Cuba is the support mechanism. Will Nova become just a Gentoo fork with Cuba having to support itself?

On a personal note we were this || close to making Gentoo the base for PC/OS, in fact two of the original prototypes for OS/4 were Gentoo based, we chose Ubuntu for purely technical reasons.

Back to Nova. Once again, I am taking a wait to see approach and I do hope its very successful for them.

Starting PC/OS 10.0

2009-02-21T16:34:00.000-08:00

Along with PC/OS Open64 we are also already starting development for PC/OS 10.0. PC/OS 10.0 will be a non-lts release and will be available in 3 flavors, OpenWorkstation, OpenDesktop and WebStation. This release will be based on Ubuntu 9.10 with all the same features as our early releases. Will there be an 64 bit release? Possibly depending on how much time I have to work on it.

PC/OS OpenCore Asterik specific package

2009-02-19T18:20:00.001-08:00

One of the regular deployments of OpenCore that I have had to assist with is the deployment of Asterik, a software based PBX system. I have decided to make the packages available as our first OpenCore extension packs. This is specific for OpenCore deployments and have been tested against OpenCore. Will it work for OpenServer System? Possibly. This package will be available Monday, March 23rd 2009.

PC/OS OpenWorkstation digital download

2009-02-18T21:07:00.000-08:00

We at PC/OpenSystems LLC are pleased to announce that on the 26th when Web Station and OpenDesktop are available digital download service for PC/OS OpenWorkstation will be available. This will be the main ISO only. To get the multimedia pack you must buy from on-disk. To qualify initially and to get your password to the non-public download a project donation of $15.00 or more must be made. On March 12, 2009 you must donate $20.00 or more. Just use the donate button and a receipt with your user name and password will be made.

PC/OS Custom Image and PC/OpenCube

2009-02-15T19:55:00.001-08:00

We will be launching two additional services to help with delivery of PC/OS. PC/OS Custom Image and PC/OpenCube. PC/OS Custom Image is a software build service. Customers can send us copies of software they want installed on PC/OS and we will create custom ISO images. These images will be based on OpenWorkstation or OpenDesktop. The service will also be available for scenarios of OpenCore and OpenServer System. If you dont want to go through the expense of having your staff do custom images we will do it for one flat rate. There are a few caveats. If you have any proprietary software applications you must provide proof of licensing. If you do not provide proof of licensing that specific application will not be installed into the image. Pricing is still being decided but so far we have come up with the following pricing.

$150.00 per desktop image. If you want an image for developers, its $150.00 if you want an image for the business unit for example that relies on a totally separate set of applications its $150.00 your total would be $300.00. These images allow you to remove applications as well.

$180.00 per server or open core image. These are for server oriented tasks and once again if you want a server build for web servers, $180.00 if you want a server image for database its $180.00 so your cost would be $320.00.

These prices are not set in stone and may increase. We are trialing this out now and depending on complexity and time we will adjust these according to that. This service will launch publicly in mid March.

They say the best kept secret is one only you know, well one secret I will let out now is that I do custom PC builds. We will formally call these PC/OpenCube and PC/OpenBriq. The OpenCube is a PC based on the Shuttle case design, they will come with a 64 bit processor but not to worry if you have 32 bit applications that you rely on you can install PC/OS 32 bit and it will run accordingly. The PC/OpenBriq is a server, also based on the smaller Shuttle case design and designed for, well server usage. This will allow customers to know that any system they buy will work with PC/OS and we will also test Ubuntu, Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux although PC/OS will be the only OS to ship on these systems. On the PowerPC systems I will be preinstalling Yellowdog Linux. I know what you are asking, PowerPC? yes, PowerPC. There are a lot of usage scenarios for the PowerPC processor and there is an OpenCube being used right now that is PowerPC based. While not official yet, I will work with Fixstars and see if we cant come to a support agreement for these systems. All these systems will be built as ordered. We will provide a parts list and you choose the components that you want. The bare bones basic system comes out to about $553.62 cents that includes shipping, tack on $200.00 for labor and you will have a machine thats well tested and can stand the test of time. This service will launch hopefully begining May 1st but no later than July 1st. right now we are designing the site and prepping the price lists. Here are a couple of questions I have had from the 3 customers that use PC/OpenCube now so this will clarify any questions you may have.

1) Will we preinstall Windows?

A) No, we are testing the systems with Windows 7 to make sure that you can install Windows should you want to.

2) Will these systems be Hackintosh compatible?

A) We dont know. I personally do not like breaking other companies EULA's and will not assist you in doing so. If you send your system in for service and you have modded it to run Mac OS X leopard, we will delete the drive and reinstall PC/OS. Unlike some other companies I don't want Apples lawyers attentions. If Psystar wins their case and the judge rules Apples EULA invalid thats a different story but something tells me that wont happen.

3. ) Will you install Windows for customers.

A) Yes, the customer will have to provide the install media and license keys. We will not install pirated versions of Windows so don't ask. if you send us a system for service and you have a pirated version of Windows XP/Vista or 7 we will wipe the drive.

4) Will you preinstall AmigaOS or MorphOS on the PowerPC version?

A) AmigaOS no, MorphOS at the customers request but again they must provide the media. I have no desire to deal with Amiga Inc. the PowerPC box has the SAM board so it will boot and install both, but you have to deal with the Amiga/Hyperion mess in regards to AmigaOS.

5) How will these systems differ from standard off the shelf hardware?

A) Well, we are pushing for a 5 year hardware refresh which is better than the 3 year most hardware manufacturers force on users. When you hit the refresh time instead of having to buy a brand new system we will offer upgrade kits and will upgrade the system for you for a labor fee. Secondly, we beat up the computer. Unlike other hardware manufacturers who test by turning on the PC for 15 minutes, we will have a 3 day testing period, hardware will be stressed and any faulty parts will be replaced so you have the peace of mind that this hardware purchase is of the upmost quality and will perform as you would expect.

6) How will we pay for the systems?

A) Credit Card or PayPal. There will be no credit lines extended yet, and components will have a warranty. In the case of shipping you pay the shipping, we don't.

So there you have it, these services will extend the reach of PC/OS and will benefit our users, our partners, and our company. We will, as always, work on these initiatives hard. Also with the systems you get 2 free upgrades of OpenWorkstation. So stay tuned and when these systems become available you will be the first to know.

PC/OS Roadmap for 2009

2009-02-11T22:12:00.000-08:00

Well guys the new year is off to a start and with that comes the need to do the roadmap for PC/OS. Last year on our roadmap we made several predictions. All but 2 came to pass. DesktopWorkstation never came to be, and the E17 release never came. For DesktopWorkstation just licensing couldnt be agreed upon and reniging on the part of some commercial entities happened. The E17 maintainer never got back to me so that fell through as well. So what do we have planned for 2009? Some new products will be released and PC/OS will continue to get updated.

February 26th 2009 -- PC/OS OpenDesktop 2009v2 and PC/OS WebStation will be released. These are the free downloads for PC/OS.

March 15th 2009 -- PC/OpenSuite for Windows will be released. This brings many popular open source applications for the Windows platform and brings them together in one pack. This will also be a retail product.

March 25th 2009 -- PC/OS OpenServer System 8.4 will be released. This will be a bug fix release as well as add some server role functionality to PC/OS Server.

June 15th 2009 -- PC/OS Open64 Workstation 2009 and OpenServer System 2009 will be released . This brings PC/OS to 64 bit computing.

September 10th 2009 PC/OS 2009v3. This will merely be a bug release and fix for the PC/OS 2009 series and users will just have updates and will not have to reimage their systems. No new functionality will be added.

November 10th 2009 PC/OS 10 will be released. This will be the non-lts release of PC/OS based upon Ubuntu 9.04 and will be the first non-LTS release. A 64 bit release is contingent on the time I have to work on PC/OS at that time..

December 12th 2009 PC/OS OpenServer System 8.5 -- Also a bug release, no new functionality will be added just bug fixes. Users will not have to reimage their systems.

January 5th 2010 PC/OS 10.1 will be released.

PC/OS OpenWorkstation 2009v2 Released

2009-02-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

Today, February 12th 2009 we are pleased to announce the availability of PC/OS OpenWorkstation 2009v2 from On-Disk.com now shipping. With this release brings many enhancements and updates for PC/OS OpenWorkstation 2009v2.

The debut of the full GNOME desktop. GNOME is a very popular desktop among businesses and many of them dont want to retrain their users on the PC/OS desktop, so what we say is this: If you dont want to switch, you dont have too. The GNOME desktop in PC/OS is the full release. If you use GNOME, you now have it and if you want to retrain your users on PC/OS desktop, by all means do so. We put a lot of work into it and it does boot into the default PC/OS desktop upon startup.

Core Update. The kernel and all other utilities correspond to Ubuntu 8.04.2 with all updates, bug fixes, new hardware drivers etc.

Developer tools updates. The developers tools have been enhanced by two add-ons. Systemtap allows you to test your applications for memory leaks and other performance debilitating problems without you, the developer, having to blind guess and rebuild your packages repeatedly. MingW is also installed by default. We know that you will use Windows, you will want to deploy your applications on Windows so with MingW you can cross compile your applications on PC/OS to target the Windows platform.

Additional changes. Now for the default browser we use the fast, award winning Opera browser. All advanced GUI's work with Opera and all Flash content plays on Opera, Libxine still handles all the WMA, WMV, and Quicktime content. Opera mail is included with Opera but lets say you have Evolution data to be brought over, well bring it over, Evolution is also included by default. Boot Manager allows you turn on and off services for system boot, gSmartControl tells you the status of your hard drives so now if you have a failing drive PC/OS can warn you about it. PPPoE is also included by default as well for ADSL connections. Seahorse for passwords and encryption keys has been updated and Truecrypt for data encryption has been updated to the newest release.

Multimedia Pack. This brings in functionality that is equal to what you will find in UbuntuStudio or 64Studio. With this we also bring in the realtime kernel, be warned all proprietary drivers will have to be reinitialized and any ndiswrapper wireless drivers will have to be reinstalled. We have everything from music production, to graphic design to 3D modeling. If you deal with the creative arts PC/OS OpenWorkstation Multimedia Pack has you covered.

With this release we bring PC/OS to the level where it can be deployed in any environment, home or business, software developers and content creators. We bring the geeks and the average users enough toys to play with and encapsulate all that within a drop dead gorgeous GUI that defines simplified computing.

PC/OS OpenWorkstation 2009v2 can be ordered here with an introductory price of $14.99 On March 1st 2009 the price will go up to $24.99 so grab your copy today.

PC/OS OpenDesktop and PC/OS WebStation will be released for free download on February 26th 2009 from the PC/OS website

LTS releases vs non LTS releases

2009-02-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

LTS releases will always be a major fixture with PC/OS, but one thing we have had is the request to do non-lts releases. For this we have come up with a numbering scheme. LTS releases will have the numeric year, the non-lts releases will have a numerical value. The release of PC/OS for December will be PC/OS 10.0, the next LTS release will be in 2010 and it will be named, PC/OS 2010.

TrueCrypt for data encryption

2009-02-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

I have included TrueCrypt in PC/OS since release 2008 and its a very good tool. A basic breakdown is that you can create virtual containers or you can encrypt an entire device. Well I have had several experiences with the Virtual Containers so I decided to do a spare USB key that I had as well as a 10 gig USB external drive that I had for data use.

Setting up the volumes was not hard, you just had to click on Create Volume and click on create a volume within a partition and device select your device and continue. Under PC/OS you need to know the device name /dev/sd* and you can encrypt the entire device.

Performance in encrypting is great, no slowdowns and even though its connected through USB its still pretty fast. I noticed no significant slowdowns regarding file transfer either.

I have never tried encrypting a drive and trying to install PC/OS on that drive. Im assuming it would work equally well but I just dont have the spare drives with which to test.

Overall, for data encryption TrueCrypt is a great tool and a worthy edition to any Linux distribution.

PC/OS OpenWorkstation 2009 DVD ISO removed

2009-02-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

PC/OS OpenWorkstation 2009 DVD ISO has been removed from the FTP and Torrent servers. We will no longer provide access to those ISO's as they are being moved up to retail status. OpenDesktop and the future WebStation will remain free downloads. If you want OpenWorkstation you can purchase it from on-disk.com

Taking pre-orders for PC/OS 2009v2

2009-02-08T01:56:00.000-08:00

We are now taking pre-orders of PC/OS 2009v2 on on-disk.com. The 14.99 price covers the two set ISO files. Remember the price of 14.99 is only until March 1st 2009 when it goes up to $24.99.

So what comes with PC/OS OpenWorkstation 2009v2? Here is a list of what you can expect.

Core Update. The kernel and all other utilities correspond to Ubuntu 8.04.2 with all updates, bug fixes, new hardware drivers etc.

Developer tools updates. The developers tools have been enhanced by two editions. Systemtap allows you to test your applications for memory leaks and other performance debilitating problems without you, the developer having to blind guess and rebuild your packages repeatedly. MingW is also installed by default. We know that you will use Windows, you will want to deploy your applications on Windows so with MingW you can cross compile your applications on PC/OS to target the Windows platform.

Additional changes. Now for the default browser we use the fast, award winning Opera browser. So I know what you are asking, didnt we try this one time with Flock? Well now, we can redistribute Opera with no hinderance. All advanced GUI's work with Opera and all Flash content plays on Opera, Libxine still handles all those pesky WMA, WMV, and Quicktime content. Opera mail is included with Opera but lets say you have Evolution data to be brought over, well bring it over, Evolution is also included by default. Boot Manager allows you turn on and off services for system boot, gSmartControl tells you the status of your hard drives so now if you have a failing drive PC/OS can warn you about it. PPPoE is also included by default as well for ADSL connections. Seahorse for passwords and encryption keys has been updated and Truecrypt for data encryption has been updated to the newest release.

Multimedia Pack. This brings in functionality that stands up to UbuntuStudio or 64Studio. With this we also bring in the realtime kernel, be warned all proprietary drivers will have to be reinitialized and any ndiswrapper wireless drivers will have to be reinstalled. We have everything from music production, to graphic design to 3D modeling. If you deal with the creative arts PC/OS OpenWorkstation Multimedia Pack has you covered.

With this release we bring PC/OS to the level where it can be deployed in any environment, home or business, science or mechanics (with some additional software at the discretion of the user) we bring the geeks and the average users enough toys to play with and encapsulate all that within a drop dead gorgeous GUI that defines simplified computing.

PC/OpenSuite for Windows

2009-02-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

In mid March we will launch what we call PC/OpenSuite for Windows. This suite contains Windows alternatives to proprietary products. One of the things we have noticed is that Open Source software for Windows is sometimes hard to find and manage. What we will do is offer convenience for our users by having it all in one location. We will have sections for desktop and server.

This will bring up our product offerings so that we have something for everyone. So will we do PC/OpenSuite for Mac? Lets see how Windows does first.

PC/OS on the Playstation 3

2009-02-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

We have always played with hardware and we do have a booting PC/OS on the Playstation 3. Will it ever be productized or released? We are currently doing our homework on what distros are available and as with PowerStation seeing if there is something PC/OS can bring to the table. Right now, Yellowdog Linux appears to be the best solution. So right now we are evaluating, researching and seeing how PC/OS can fit into that scenario.

Amiga OS 4.1 released

2009-02-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

Since we no longer provide a PowerPC distribution, I keep up with released PowerPC OS's. Well Hyperion has spit in the eye of Amiga Inc. and has released AmigaOS 4.1 for the Pegasus II. More information can be found here

Psystar no longer carrying PC/OS

2009-02-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, and without my knowledge (I was told by a client who went to order some machines) it appears that Psystar has quit shipping PC/OS OpenWorkstation which is a shame. They had it at no cost and they were shipped updated releases when releases were available and I even shipped them releases with maintenance packs integrated. So while disappointing, its their business to do with as they please. I wish Psystar the best of luck with their future product offerings. if you are interested in shipping PC/OS with your hardware do let us know. We here at PC/OpenSystems LLC will be glad to help you in anyway. We will still produce the OEM ISO's for anyone who may be interested.

We are still shipping OpenWorkstation on the 12th at the discounted rate through on-disk.com. So once again, Psystar, no longer shipping PC/OS OpenWorkstation.

new addition to PC/OS 2009v2

2009-02-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

PC/OS 2009v2 has a new Window decoration, NewBeColor. This will pick up your GTK colors of any theme that you use. Thank you to gtfunding from the forums for this them. This and his extremely popular, among the development team anyway, theme Injection Molded will be included in PC/OS 2009v2. I wish to thank gtfunding for his contributions to PC/OS 2009v2.

Dissolving RJD LLC and Silicon Systems Research LLC

2009-02-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

As of today I will no longer be operating my consulting or software development businesses under RJD LLC or Silicon Systems Research LLC respectively. We will now be operating under PC/OpenSystems LLC for both. This will not reflect any structural change and it will not disrupt any services for either service.

Multimedia Pack for PC/OS 2009v2 created

2009-02-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

The mutimedia pack has been created for the on-disk crowd and we are right now testing it. This package corresponds with Ubuntu studio so everything in UbuntuStudio is included with PC/OS 2009v2 multimedia pack, we have a much larger codec support. We are looking into Feature Pack and what to include in that.

Clearing up some confusions about PC/OS 2009v2

2009-02-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of confusion regarding PC/OS 2009v2. So Im here now to clear it up. So here it is.

GNOME will replace XFCE: False, PC/OS will always retain XFCE as the DEFAULT. The retail release of PC/OS is the only release to utilize GNOME as an option. This is for customers who dont want to retrain from GNOME and who dont want to replace GNOME. OpenWorkstation though still boots into XFCE as the default.

PC/OS 2009v2 will remove multimedia codecs from the system: False, PC/OS will retain all support for multimedia codecs and playback. This icludes Flash, WMV, mov, WMA etc. etc. The only multimedia functionality being removed from OpenWorkstation is the advanced multimedia creation tools similar to PC/OS 2009. Basically this extra package brings the capabilities up to similar functionality as Ubuntu Studio.

PC/OS 2009v2 ends the CD line: False, this was the plan but speaking to customers and partners this will not be feasible. PC/OS OpenDesktop will retain the sub 700mb size.

PC/OS OpenWorkstation is the one recieving the most changes and that will affect the most users.

PC/OS OpenServer 8.4L and Open64

2009-02-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

PC/OS OpenServer 8.4L will have many improvements involved as well. It will be more geared towards more applications and deployment roles. OpenServer 8.4 will also contain the new Remastersys and all of its improvements. This will be the last incremental release after this release maintenance packs will be issued for PC/OS OpenServer 8.4 until the next LTS.

Feedback was taken from OpenServer customers and the new roles are based on that feedback. Open64 will be based on Ubuntu 8.04 LTS until such time that Open64 Workstation 10.1 wich will be based on possibly Jaunty, once again feedback will be taken and the release will be well tested as always.

Revisiting the past

2009-01-28T23:38:00.000-08:00

So the questions have been rolling in and so we decided to answer some of the questions.

First, why are we going back and revisiting the original GUI concept? The fact is we improved upon it. We had a lot of people that loved the original look and feel, Cris the GUI guy pretty much revamped everything from the Murrina engine, matching it up with the SVN version and highlighted the window controls more. We here at PC/OS live by our mission statement, simplified computing and it appeared to many of us that we were getting away from that so we applied the brakes and said whoa. Lets get back on track and thats what we did. We went from ground zero and restarted. While some loved some aspects of PC/OS 2009, we created a hybrid of that and the original design. The single shelf with the original GUI concepts.

Second, why include GNOME. Well there are a lot of GNOME users in the SMB and home office userbase who dont want to change to XFCE, so we included the GNOME desktop for those people and put it in the retail version. Will we do a KDE release? That is being undertaken by another developer who will be responsible for that branch. When KDE 4 reaches that level of maturity to where I feel comfortable putting my name and brand on it it will be released. Myself and that developer have come to that understanding and he agrees wholeheartedly. The KDE release and the E17 release when that comes to fruition will be placed in the unsupported section of the FTP site. Those developers will be responsible for those releases. Just so we have an understanding only the retail release of PC/OS OpenWorkstation will have the GNOME desktop. Open64 Workstation being also a retail product will have GNOME included. OpenDesktop and Open64 Desktop if there is one will NOT have GNOME, you can easily go to the repositories and install it at your own free will. The 2009v2 release ends the LTS releases and maintenance packs will be released for those systems. Rolled up ISO's will happen only when/if Ubuntu 8.04.3 is released. Maintenance Packs only update core applications and base system, any other updates are the responsibility of the user. PC/OS 10 will be based on the newer Ubuntu releases. PC/OS 10 will be a DVD release with Multimedia Packs and Developer packs offered separately. Integration will happen with the retail releases only. OpenCore and WebStation are not affected and will remain CD ISO's. Webstation is a Web 2.0 app release so only things like multimedia playback are handled offline. We may consider Firefox for WebStation due to Gears support. OpenServer 8.5 will be released over the summer with the next server release coming with the next LTS release.

Third, it seems like PC/OS is becoming serious business. It is becoming very serious. Our distrowatch ranking is going up and we take this seriously and will act responsibly. We are accountable for our releases, we are accountable for the success, we are accountable for the quality and we take that very seriously and are not taking our standing lightly. Feedback is very important so keep it coming. Good and bad, we appreciate it all. Right now we have grown to 7 developers, with 2 only being responsible for KDE and E17.

Lets get crackin.

PC/OS WebStation

2009-01-28T05:42:00.000-08:00

So how far along is PC/OS webstation and what can we expect from it. PC/OS Webstation is the newest member of the PC/OS line, like OpenCore its a release that doesnt need to be updated as often due to the fact most of the applications are web based.

So how does this differ from gOS? Well we still use the same GUI with the same consistent look and feel. If you the user decides that you wish to have offline apps you can do so with Synaptic. We only include what we test, YouTube and MySpace work :) We believe that the user experience lies in the application not by throwing Web 2.0 moniker around and that the user experience should be consistent with working on a local app, thats how come we serve everything up through Prism rather than having a standard browser session. This release will be made public when PC/OS 2009v2 series goes live and Im almost positive there will be changes coming down the line so stay tuned

More on PC/OS Gnome and more surprises

2009-01-27T02:17:00.000-08:00

This was a surprise for everyone. I was so set for PC/OS to just be an XFCE release but, so many people requested that PC/OS have GNOME that it seemed like common place. This was also done for people who were already on GNOME and didnt want to switch to XFCE so while GNOME will not be the default, its there. Some have hated the idea, some have liked the idea but its there.

Another request I have had is to bring back the classic Window decoration for XFCE. The Be type Window decoration and you know what. One of the reasons I started PC/OS was to differentiate from the rest. Some really hated the look but more than often people loved the look so to bring back the look as just a tribute was decided and starting with PC/OS 2009v2, after discussing this with the rest of the team we will be bringing back the Be look. I know some will hate the idea, and more often than not others will love the idea and I have been fielding so many requests that that be brought back as the default Window Decoration it will be done. A distribution should not be measured on the look that it adopts but should be measured on what the thing can do and as others have said, PC/OS is a more rounded distribution out of box than Ubuntu, than Linux Mint. It should not matter what Window decoration I decide to use. Does it demean BeOS and the accomplishments or innovations that Be Inc. brought to this industry? No it doesnt. So to all of you haters out there, sorry. The majority has spoken and you have been out voted.

GNOME in PC/OS OpenWorkstation 2009v2

2009-01-25T19:36:00.000-08:00

Like I told everyone a few Posts ago, we here at pcopensystems have heard your cries of the GNOME community, you want it we dont offer it. Until now. We have been evaluating the situation and have now bundled GNOME alongside XFCE for choice. XFCE is still the default, the desktop still boots into XFCE by default and so does the live CD. GNOME is now offered as an alternative and is now an option from the GDM. This is only for OpenWorkstation. OpenDesktop and WebStation are still an XFCE only release, sorry. No way to bundle GNOME as an alternative due to size. We do realize that this was a most requested addition both from users and from customers. Another requested addition was Compiz and there was just no way around not including that as an option.

The beautiful thing is since GNOME is not the default it doesnt mess with speed much as it doesnt start the GNOME dependencies until you initiate GNOME, when you reboot if you havent chosen GNOME as your default desktop the dependencies still dont start.

If you have any questions or comments dont be afraid to leave them here, we love feedback.

Changes from a point release and what to expect

2009-01-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

I have had a lot of inquiries as to why PC/OS 2009v2 was changed from being PC/OS 2009.1. There are a few reasons why this was done. First, the point release was just a bug fix, no new functionality just a maintenance release but then we decided since this would be the last 32 bit release for 2009 lets make it a bang. Tons of new functionality, a rock solid release because on March 1st we start hammering away at PC/OS Open64. Another question was what about those with little screen real estate. I have a big monitor but some people dont. I purposely lower the resolution to 1024x768 on one monitor and 800x600 is achieved on my EeePC this way I can test for congestion. On 1024x768 everything fits snugly into place, on 800x600 you have to delete a few items from your taskbar. Overall the system is clean and this is what you can expect your system to look like upon boot.

That is with a 1024x768 resolution.

Considering a GNOME release

2009-01-20T12:38:00.000-08:00

Dont think your requests have fallen on deaf ears. I am considering a GNOME release. The only reason I havent considered KDE is because during testing it has wreaked more Havok than it has helped.

PC/OS 2009v2 ends the CD line

2009-01-19T18:40:00.000-08:00

With PC/OS 2009v2 we end the OpenDesktop CD. OpenDesktop will also be a DVD release the ISO will exceed 700mb but not by much. This way we can still include Piscasa, wine and other applications. PC/OS WebStation 1.0 and OpenServer System and OpenCore will still be CD format.

PC/OS naming will be pulled back numeric, PC/OS 10.0 will be released around December 1st 2009. After PC/OS 2009v2 work will begin on PC/OS Open64 Workstation full time with an availability of June 1st 2009. There will only be two versions of PC/OS Open64. Open64 Workstation and PC/OS Open64 Server both of which will be a retail product. Will there be a free download? Possibly.

So that is what we are looking at for the future of PC/OS. Lets get crackin.

PC/OS 2009v2: Update

2009-01-19T07:23:00.000-08:00

Ok everyone, PC/OS 2009v2 is wrapped up. We have a few bugs to fix, a few issues that have already been corrected and we are just as happy with this release as any other. The internal stuff is almost there, the graphical changes have been ironed out and they are done. Everybody here, the control group and beta testers are all loving Opera as the default browser. So when you turn on your system this is what you will see, oh for all of you who wanted to see orange go away as the default color it may. The default wallpaper isnt changing at all. A more complete list later.

Flash and Advanced GUI's in Opera

2009-01-15T04:14:00.000-08:00

I have had a few people write and ask me about Flash performance and one user had a issue with Yahoo Mail and not having it resort back to classic mode. Well, here are some screenshots showcasing the Flash Plugin and Yahoo Mail at work.

Concerns over Opera

2009-01-14T16:40:00.000-08:00

Some users have expressed concerns over shipping Opera as the default browser, namely are we going to have a repeat of Flock. The answer, simply put is no. I have registered and legally authorized to redistribute Opera. The defaults will not be changed. Links to PC/OS related material will be available in the bookmarks section. Many of my control groups have had great success in using Operas mail client and the performance of Opera in general and have all informed me that it was a great choice.

Opera is the default for several Mobile platforms and for systems like the Wii and Nintendo DS.

I am looking forward to the success of Opera in the PC/OS operating environment.

Does this mean I am closed minded to Google Chrome or another browser choice? No. When Chrome for Linux is released I will evaluate the release and make a decision based on the findings at that time but for right now the default is Opera with Firefox in the repositories.

PC/OS Pre-shipping

2009-01-14T16:25:00.001-08:00

Starting on February 12th, PC/OS 2009v2 will be pre-shipping for a reduced cost of $14.99. After March 1st and the official launch and general availability the price will go up to $24.99 for OpenWorkstation. OpenWorkstation will not be downloadable, OpenDesktop and WebStation will be available for download.

PC/OS OpenCore 2.0 Released

2009-01-12T06:54:00.000-08:00

PC/OS OpenCore 2.0 has been released. With this release brings a much more refined system. Many unnecessary packages have been removed and boot time optimized. PC/OS OpenCore is a release for users to be able to customize their own desktop or server system adding only packages they want and they need.

This release also highlights many of the features users wanted to see. cnetworkmanager has been added to this release so that users can manipulate networkmanager from the command line using a wireless network, Midnight Commander has been added for file manipulation and elinks has been added for web browsing. tftp has been added for accessing Cisco routers.

The system boots up in command line only, although a cut down XWindow system and a cut down XFCE desktop have been added.

This system does not contain Java, the multimedia frameworks, office applications or advanced web technlogies.

known issues: The cnetworkmanager needs superuser access to function properly: This only occurs for connecting to or viewing available networks.

when cnetworkmanager connects it doesnt drop me back to a command line. You can just ctrl-c to quit cnetworkmanager you are connected to your network

for a complete list of the functions available for cnetworkmanager look here

Web browser changes for PC/OS 2009v2

2009-01-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

This has been a long time coming. We at PC/OS have long looked at alternate browsers and what they mean for our users and partners. We evaluated epiphany, both the webkit based version and the Gecko version, we looked at Flock and you all know how that one turned out and we evaluated Opera. We have come to the conclusion that Opera would best serve our users. Its fast, lightweight and with the recent updates Opera is more compliant with the web than the other browsers and yes this includes Firefox. It includes features that we have to use addons for on Firefox and this greatly decreases the bloat. When security issues arise Opera is the fastest to market with fixes and they create native Ubuntu packages so thats a big help for distributors. The control group and beta testers have evaluated the Opera browser and all reported success and very little compatibility issues. The built in mail client is a success and works with imap and POP3 servers. This includes groupwise and even with Exchange servers imap features. Firefox and Thunderbird will still be in the repositories for those users that wish to have Firefox, but until further feedback from the community comes in we will be including Opera as the default. All further beta builds will have Opera included and Firefox removed. Osmo will be the default PIM and Calendaring app.

Developmental updates

2009-01-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

I have a very rudimentary build of kernel 2.6.27 for PC/OS 2009 and Ubuntu 8.04.1 which on my machines works, right now I'm building a deb using the same drivers as found in the Ubuntu generic package. As soon as thats ready I will let you guys know so you can test it.

I have XFCE 4.4.3 compiled and going and have been working on XFCE 4.5 (the beta to 4.6) compiled and ready for testing. 4.4.3 will ship with v2, the 4.6 release will be offered as an add-on until the final release which will then be offered through Maintenance Pack 2.

Q&A with PC/OS developer

2009-01-08T17:08:00.000-08:00

Seth Corven, a user who did a review of PC/OS in 2008 sat down and we did a Q&A together. Linux.com hasn't published it yet so we decided to post it and here are the unedited contents of the Q&A:

1) First, introduce yourself.

A) My name is Roberto J. Dohnert, I am the lead developer for the PC/OS operating environment. I am an IT contractor among other things in North Carolina

2) What is PC/OS?

A) PC/OS is a Xubuntu derivative. We echo and extend the Xubuntu experience by trying to make it as easy as possible for users who have absolutely no experience with Linux or who aren't exactly technically inclined to use it out of box. We also serve as a starting point for small businesses or anyone who wants to use or deploy a Linux based desktop.

3) Why did you choose 'PC/OS' and not, lets say, Pcbuntu or something else

A) Actually the distribution started life as a private distribution for a local company that actually got acquired by another. The original name was OS/4 which wasn't a play on OS/2. It was a play on 'OS for You'. Considering IBM and Microsoft jointly own the trademarks and copyrights on OS/2, I didn't think it would be liked and wanted to avoid any kind of cease and desist, although I did find out from an IBM'er that they really could have cared less unless I decided to use the word 'Warp'. PC/OS was chosen because the original plan was to also do a PowerPC release and the PC could have stood for 'Power Computing' or 'Personal Computing'. I wanted to avoid the word Ubuntu because there are just enough names out there with a word and 'buntu attached.

4) Speaking of the PC/OS PowerStation, release what happened? Do you consider it a failure?

A) PowerStation was discontinued because of limited resources and the scope of usage of PowerPC processors and the fact that there are a number of PowerPC Linux desktops out there. There was absolutely nothing new PC/OS could have brought to the table for that platform. For PowerPC users I recommend Yellowdog Linux, for G3 owners Fedora is a nice release. Do I consider it a failure? No I dont. It was a learning experience and allowed me to network and work with people I never would have before.

5) You said you would have brought nothing new to that platform, the same could have been said for the x86 platform.

A) Well that's a point of view. The reality is this. Take an Ubuntu live CD and a PC/OS liveCD, run them side by side now try to connect to an AD tree, Install a windows wireless driver, watch a flash video, listen to an MP3, watch a .WMV file and tell me which one allows you to do that out of box without having to fire up Synaptic.

6) There are just some people who claim you dont contribute anything. Who just compare you to and I quote “a ticket scalper at a rock concert”.

A) Like before, a point of view, did they figure out the framebuffer issue that caused nvidia cards to go black when run from a liveCD? Nope. Now the Intel 915 issue is an interesting one. Do they go through long periods of testing and refinement to bring a better experience? No. Do they go through hours of compiling and looking at code just to bring a solid release? Probably not. Its easy to be an outsider looking in and not being involved than it is getting your hands in it. One guy actually said I just image my own PC and release that which is so far from the truth its not even funny. My development team can attest to that.

7) Speaking of development team, how many people work on this project?

A) 3 full time, 2 part time. We actually have weekly Skype pow wows and discussions on how we can extend PC/OS. I don't release the betas online and rely more on insiders and a control group to do the beta testing this way I limit how much e-mail I get and we lower frustrations with the system by releasing a product that works. Do we still have issues that arise after release? Yep we do. Nobody's perfect but most of the time the feedback we get is generally positive.

8) There has been a lively discussion on your forums regarding revenue. Is your project profitable?

A) At this time we don't make much revenue wise. I do understand everyone involved had hopes for PC/OS. After Linspire closed doors we picked up a lot of their users so people were expecting that to generate revenue, it hasn't. We haven't generated much from ad revenue, we haven't generated much from sales. We have generated a little from licensing but not a whole lot. PC/OS 2009v2 OpenWorksation will be a for sale product only, with OpenDesktop being a free download so that should help a little, hopefully..please buy. Anyhow, my plan is to keep moving forward and to get people interested in PC/OS.

9) Speaking of PC/OS 2009v2. You just recently scrapped the redesigned interface for 2009v2 and went back with your traditional 2009 interface, why?

A) When we first started everyone was comparing us to BeOS because we used a BeOS type window decoration. That was done out of a tribute more than an actual “ Hey look at us, we are replacing BeOS” people took it as the latter and really hammered the community for that. Do we share a lot in common with BeOS? Yes, we have a multimedia focus and an ease of use focus. PC/OS was never meant to pick up where Be Inc. left off. Some understood this, others didn't. So during testing we redid the entire interface, went back to a two shelf layout etc. Well some of the ingredients, using Icon Box instead of Tasklist caused some headaches. In Iconbox you cant group tasks and people like that idea of grouping tasks. If they are using OpenOffice for example they can have the spreadsheet, document and presentation grouped in tasklist, with Iconbox it generated a mess in terms of organization. Then I started getting e-mails where people were like “OMG, its just like the AmigaOS!!!! Thats cool!!!” I had the privilege of using MorphOS and AmigaOS 4.1 due to my testing of PowerStation on an efika and Sam 440 board. Both were nice OS's and I had wrote a blog post about the state of Amiga. Had AmigaOS 4.1 been widely available PC/OS probably wouldn't exist. But anyhow, myself and the team decided for technical reasons and to keep from warring with an alternative OS community, not to go that route. In fact Cris our GUI guy created some Amiga type window decorations as a parody of those e-mails. The interface layout in 2009 had been the most popular and we decided to stay that course but instead of Nodoka themes we are using Murrina themes similar to what the Xubuntu team uses again. During the testing some elements were kept, the video player and the music player are now on the Taskbar and elements like the trash can and the system monitor have been removed. The trash can was removed because with it on the taskbar people had 4 areas to manipulate the trash can. Is that necessary? I don't think so. During testing a request to add a root file manager, the web browser and e-mail client on the menu. So those were added. Testing really helps us refine the OS and to figure out from average users what we are and aren't doing right..

10) What releases will 2009v2 have?

A) There will be the traditional releases. OpenDesktop, OpenWorkstation and Appliance. We are also adding WebStation which has mostly online apps for documents, e-mail, photo management etc. Things that make sense like Movie Player, Music Player will stay offline.

11) What about OpenCore, and what is OpenCore? What about OpenServer System?

A) OpenCore was one of those accidental releases that I didn't think would take off but has. OpenCore is what I call the geeks release. You have the ability to tailor a desktop or server system to your liking. It doesn't contain any word processing, web or multimedia applications In fact many use it for storage systems, some use it for a simple web or database server, others use it for a host VM system,which was the original focus, and some just use it as a console ie command line only release since it boots to the command line. For that three apps have been added . Midnight Commander, elinks and cnetworkmanager, a utility for manipulating networkmanager from the command line. If you want the traditional easy to use desktop use OpenDesktop or OpenWorkstation. OpenCore does have a cut down XFCE desktop and X server but they like OpenServer system are turned off by default. OpenServer System is not getting a major release due to the fact that people don't upgrade servers like they do desktops. OpenServer System just gets a maintenance release which is an offline apt repository which updates the core system and core applications. OpenServer System is what I call the recycling release. Its sole purpose is so that users or small businesses can take old computers and reuse them as file and print servers, web servers or as a database server. It doesn't scale like Ubuntu Server, or Red Hat Enterprise Server would. The small businesses that use it are happy with it, in fact there are a few that never upgraded from 7.10 and run that to this day. OpenServer System has gotten a lot of attention for what it is.

12) When can we expect a release of PC/OS 2009v2?

A) March 1st 2009

13) You are a member of Channel 9, from your profile up there, for awhile. You also have said somethings regarding Windows 7 which some might find curious for a Linux distributor. You also participate in Port 25 and one guy, a gNewSense developer, in particular says you are sponsored by Microsoft. How true is that?

A) I get no revenue from Microsoft. Do I talk to their developers? Of course. Do I like the Microsoft guys? Of course. Some of their developers offer some advice on PC/OS and some have been nicer to me actually than some other Linux developers. Windows 7, for their current users of Windows is an awesome release. I do have a copy and its very fast and usable. When Windows 7 is released PC/OS development will not cease. Lets face it, not everyone is interested in Linux, PC/OS or even the Mac. So for those that love Windows, Windows 7 will be a worthwhile release. Will I snub Microsoft when they release Windows 7? hell no. I will shake the hands of the Microsoft employees that I do know and will send a congratulatory e-mail to Charles Torres, PaoloM, littleguru, Minh and any others that I have forgotten from Channel 9. Don't expect any blog posts or e-mails from me calling Windows 7 a piece of crap unless it turns out to be so. So far Microsoft seems to be on the right track for the sake of their users. I did offer assistance in getting Zune working on PC/OS and Linux by extension but those e-mails have gone pretty much unanswered. PC/OS also has a web app for accessing Live mail and Live drive which I think are awesome Microsoft services. I don't participate much anymore in Channel 9 not because I'm a Linux guy but because of time. I work close to 80 hrs a week and just don't have time. I miss the guys and some of them are PC/OS users. To answer a certain guy on Channel9, if Microsoft used PC/OS in their OpenSource labs would I be outraged? Nope, I would be honored but if they upgrade to 2009v2 they will, like everyone else, pay for it.

14) Now that we have covered Windows, what about Mac OS X and Solaris? Do you talk to gNewSense developers or the FSF?

A) I dont like Leopard, it has wreaked so much havoc on my MacBook. Solaris is nice enough, OpenSolaris is actually a pretty good release although I just run it in a VM. I do communicate quite a bit with Sun Microsystems and they have been very helpful in ensuring that PC/OS runs well on their hardware which I am thankful for. Sun doesn't sponsor PC/OS. I have had one communication with the FSF, needless to say, well we wont delve into the conversation. We are not sponsored or acknowledged by the FSF.

15) If someone wanted to sponsor PC/OS how would they do it?

A) For sponsorship contact me directly, for donations use the donate link on the homepage.

16) Well I'm sure PC/OS 2009v2 will be a great release, I'm a user and have followed the release cycles very closely and it keeps getting better. Good luck.

A) Thanks. We try and thanks for the Q&A. Here's to 2009.

Scrapping PC/OS 2009v2 interface changes

2009-01-07T23:01:00.001-08:00

The community has spoken and we as a development team have listened. While we had many compliments on PC/OS 2009v2 UI changes we also had quite a few complaints. People like being able to group their tasks, people like the idea of having one bar and the last thing we, the PC/OS team want is to once again be compared to another OS. The Ami like themes will not be shipped with PC/OS 2009v2 and tonight over Skype, we the development team decided together to scrap the interface changes planned for 2009v2 and decided to stick with the interface everyone liked in PC/OS 2009. The enhanced icon theme will be there and the Opta3 window decoration will be included as well as the other enhancements.

I want to thank the community as a whole in taking part of this decision. Once again, you talked, we listened and are letting the community guide us. The white on black backdrop is staying with us for the forseeable future.

PC/OS OpenCore 2.0 Details

2009-01-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

Since OpenCore is so close to a release I figured I would go ahead and inform everyone on whats going on with it. First, OpenCore is a sliced down, cut down release. It contains no GUI applications for web, office etc. It boots in a console mode and thats what many people use it for is a command line only system. It has an X Window server and a cut down XFCE desktop. The point of this release is so that users can make tailored desktops or servers of what they need. Considering its size and the implementation it could be considered a FSF defined "free" release but thats not the point of the release.

Well with 2.0 I added three applications, all console mode apps. Gnuchess, Midnight Commander and Lynx.

PC/OS OpenCore is becoming a premium worthwile distribution. The release is on Monday, its a worthy upgrade from OpenCore 1.0. The next update will be probably 2010.

PC/OS WebStation 1.0

2009-01-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

In the line of very few updated releases we are creating a new release called WebStation. This release will contain only web applications except for multimedia playback. It will only be released in a 32 bit release. This release will be put out on March 1st 2009. This release will be put out about the same time as PC/OS 2009v2.

PC/OS OpenServer System 8.3 Maintenance Pack 1

2009-01-06T18:24:00.000-08:00

I am working on this maintenance pack now and it should be released by Friday. OpenCore is going gold on Monday as is Appliance.

PC/OS 2009 Maintenance Pack 1 released

2009-01-05T23:50:00.000-08:00

PC/OS 2009 Maintenance Pack 1 has been released. This brings all of the included packages up2date. This Package contains only critical updates for packages common in both systems. For individual apps run Synaptic and update via Synaptic.

PC/OS 2009.1 Changes

2009-01-01T21:47:00.000-08:00

This time we are here to discuss some of the changes in PC/OS 2009.1. There qre a few in OpenDesktop and OpenWorkstation that will make lives easier for users and small businesses. We have trimmed down the release. Removed some unneeded apps and shut down some startup services that seemed redundant to keep running.

Also included is the new bootup manager utility, also known as BUM and sysv-rc-config has been removed.

All important kernel and system updates have been applied.

Also a few new graphics apps will debut in OpenWorkstation. Fyre, and a QT app for managing Hdr graphics workflow. Songbird has been removed permanatly. Exaile was the more popular choice.

In OpenDesktop, Thunderbird has been removed and replaced with Sylpheed 2.5.0 due to the fact we wanted to keep OpenDesktop lightweight. ePDFviewer replaced Evince and eFax has been added to both releases. We have also rebuilt the images from scratch so that it takes away any legacy garbage that stays through the build process.

In all releases the new interface changes take place. We are going back to the two shelf layout common in most Linux distros. One of the biggest changes is task management. Instead of a taskbar we rely on Iconbox which is a more visual representation of the apps users are working with.

Above is the default layout for the top shelf. We have the menu, notes app, clipboard, search utility, Iconbox, system monitor, system tray, volume control, clock, Window List.

Above is the default layout for the bottom shelf. First we have the Desktop viewer which hides all the open apps, next is the Navigator applet which lists all media, the Web Browser, e-mail client, VLC, Office Launcher ( In OpenDesktop the apps in the place of OpenOffice.org will be AbiWord and GNumeric), Exaile, terminal, Desktop Switcher and the trash can.

Also debuting is the new Window Decoration. Just4PCOS. This is derived from the Xubuntu deco Just4Fun with the same buttons that made PC/OS famous, the BeOS style minimiz, maximize and close buttons. The new color is Blue. We are doing away with the orange colors due to user complaints and we went with the more modern Human style themes.

So in keeping with the tradition of keeping our users in the know this is the newest release and its been sent to testing. The Open64 series will follow the same layout as will Open32 Server, Appliance and Open32 Core.

PC/OS 2009.1 Complete

2009-01-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

PC/OS 2009.1 is complete and is now ready for the final round of testing. Come March 1st 2009, this is what you can expect on your desktops. Its got alot of updates installed and its got a few UI changes but the main focus was on performance and slimming it down. Some may like the changes made, others wont but after a few messy bouts with testing and arguing this is what we end up with. I will come back tonight and give you a more comprehensive list of whats changed but here is a screenshot.

PC/OS PowerStation discontinued

2008-12-31T17:19:00.000-08:00

Myself and the developers have decided to quit the enhancement and distribution of PC/OS PowerStation. PowerStation 2009 was the release of PC/OS for the PowerPC. Why was the decision made to quit the development of this release? The low demand for it and the lack of available software for PPC Linux. There just wasnt enough for me to offer a product on par with what the Open32 and Open64 line can deliver. Also, there was only one release and while the release worked well there just wasnt enough resources for me to continue development especially for the efika and Sam440 boards so for a good PowerPC desktop alternative I will start recommending Yellowdog Linux and for you folks with G3 iMacs I recommend Fedora 10. The Yellowdog and Fedora development teams have enough developers, experiences and resources to develop PowerPC releases and there just isnt much if anything PC/OS can bring to the table for that platform.

The G5 and the IBM POWER system have been returned to the donaters as I just didnt feel comfortable keeping those systems and not delivering a sustained product that targeted those systems and despite user intervention selling those systems on eBay just isnt my style.

So what about PC/OS for the PS3? That system is still under development and uses the Ubuntu PS3 build to build upon and that is still onging and will not be discontinued. while its not the focus build right now, its just something really cool to play with. The main focus right now is Open32 and Open64 series of PC/OS.

I do want to thank those that actually tried to help make PowerStation 2009 a success. When my G3 bit the dust two members of the community stepped forward and donated equipment and to those guys I want to say thank you.

So does this mean the PC/OS team will abandon PowerPC? Nope. I will continue to offer assistance with the development of PPC Linux to Fixstar and Fedora and yes I still play with PPC Linux a couple of the other PC/OS developers play with it as well.

Despite this bad news, I want to say Happy New Year and I look forward to the new year. Does this relect a change in delivery for OpenCore and Appliance? Nope. They will still be delivered on Jan 12, 2009 and Maintenance Pack 1 will be delivered on Jan 5, 2009.

The state of Amiga

2008-12-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

Well I decided to do a non-PC/OS related post here. This is about one thing that pisses me off more than anything. The Amiga. No its not the OS. The OS was solid and you still have users that use the system, are very happy with it in fact it has a more rabid user base than the Mac, Linux and even the RiscOS. The Amiga was an excellent system and I even had one years upon years ago and its one I wished I had actually kept. The reason for this post is simple. I had a user e-mail me and tell me the new UI changes remind him of the AmigaOS. I have also had users tell me that the UI changes remind them of the RiscOS etc, etc. It gets irritating after awhile but in this case it got me thinking. I do keep up with Amiga and what Amiga Inc. does.

The current state of Amiga sucks. On one side you have the community, including Hyperion who develops the AmigaOS, then you have Amiga Inc. The whole saga reeks of a bad soap opera and is equally confusing. Since 2001 you have Bill McEwen claiming you will see something in a few weeks. In every interview its going to be in a few weeks. Since 2001 he claims, "Look for the poing ball." Well I have been looking and I havent seen it. So wheres it at? As a business owner and a tech enthusiast if I had somebody running my company, spending the amount of money he does and after 8 years he has nothing to show, I would throw him out on his proverbial ass. Anyone who has a stake in Amiga needs to get the house in order. Who owns the AmigaOS? If MorphOS violates your IP, go after em.

Honestly, Im beginning to think the AmigaOS has reached the end of its road. Amiga Inc. has resorted to doing "cross platform" applications and has basically confused the situation regarding the AmigaOS.

To quote "Its time for a change"

PC/OS 2009.1 to be shipped to final testing

2008-12-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

PC/OS 2009.1 will be shipped to final beta testing on January 5th. The testing will be completed for a general release date of March 1, 2009. Releases will soon be coming few and far between. We are expecting a 2009.2 release around October 2009. With this release we tighten up everything visually, funtionality wise and yes, its tightened up. For starters Boot Up Manager is included in this release to cover run time configurations. No more sysv-rc-config on Workstation and Desktop. There is a new GDM and a new Usplash for those that were complaining about the old defaults. the icons have been tweaked as has the default wallpaper. The system has been totally updated. Some applications have been updated, some havent. Sylpheed is the new default client in the OpenDesktop release only, Fyre and Xaos have been added to the graphics offering on the OpenWorkstation release.

One reason for the slowdown in the 32 bit release is so we can concentrate on the x64 build and get that out the door.

Here are some screenshots of PC/OS 2009.1. A couple of UI changes. The top bar hosts the menu, notes app and the clipboard. The iconbox taskmanager, System tray, volume, date and time. The bottom bar is used as a launch surface for users to place their comonly used apps. Show desktop, System Navigator applet, the default apps will be Firefox, Mail Client, Terminal, desktop switcher and the trash applet.

PC/OS Final layout idea

2008-12-21T16:58:00.000-08:00

Myself and Cris have laid out plans for the final panel layout and are now closing that section pending user feedback. A new Icon theme appears. pcos-crashbit-mashup. Which contains icons from different themes, namely crashbit and mashup and is now the default icon theme. These icon are great looking and bring a look of professionalism to the desktop. We listened to users and agreed that the clutter on the bottom panel has to be removed. This clutter happened with iconbox and with the taskswitcher. So we instituted a 2 Panel layout once more. The panels reach across the screen and the iconbox is on the bottom. This also introduces a couple of launch surfaces for our users. We tried a couple of different layouts and this one seems to be the more popular among the users of PC/OS. if you disagree drop us a line and let us know if we are screwing up or whether you like the changes.