Saturday, September 15, 2012

BlankOn 8.0 "Rote" Review: The least RAM consuming Gnome 3 distro I have ever used!

This review is based on Hud's request. Hud Huni Dhiya is from Indonesia and wanted to get BlankOn 8 reviewed. To begin, BlankOn is a Debian based distro and a result of personal endeavors of Indonesian Linux Motivator Foundation. BlankOn 8.0, code name "Rote", was released on 17th Aug'2012. You can get more details of BlankOn in Wikipedia. Apart from the ethic language, it also supports English and my review is based primarily on the English boot up.

From BlankOn 8.0
The 64-bit ISO is about 1 GB in size and can be downloaded from here. I tested both the Live CD and later, installation to a Asus Dual Core i3 laptop with 2 GB RAM.

The Linux kernel is 3.2.0 and it has Gnome 3.4.2. Honestly, I was expecting a typical Gnome 3 environment but the desktop surprised me! It was heavily tweaked Gnome 3 built with an HTML 5 and CCS 3 custom desktop shell, called Manokwari. It really impressed me, not possibly by the looks, but the efficiency it gives. The default wallpaper may not be the prettiest but once you change it, I liked the simple look. Also, there is no fancy Activities here - once you click the circle at the top left corner, you get traditional menu of applications. Application list opens within the menu itself. The simplicity of the distro appealed to me.

From BlankOn 8.0
From BlankOn 8.0
Applications
Application-wise, it is rich, of course. You have most of the common apps out-of-the-box, like LibreOffice suite, Cheese, Media players, Chrome, Evolution email client, Pidgin chat, etc. Graphics section is particularly rich, with GIMP 2.8, Blender, Inkscape, ImageMagick, etc. Flash plugin is not by default and you've to download it from the repo. You need to download VLC and Skype as well.

From BlankOn 8.0
From BlankOn 8.0
From BlankOn 8.0
From BlankOn 8.0

From BlankOn 8.0
Other than the regular softwares, Tux Math, Tux typing and Stellarium are present. Stellarium is a good addition here and I really like it. Java is by default in the distro.

From BlankOn 8.0

From BlankOn 8.0
Rest is pretty much typical Debian. It detected my LAN and WIFI without much effort. The distro is very fast and I used it for 5 days without anything crashing. So, stability is good. Further, I didn't have any issue with display or sound settings. Everything got detected automatically. Like Debian, BlankOn is smooth to operate and intuitive. All the controls are located in a single System Settings window and easy for a user to locate and change.

Additionally, there is a comprehensive documentation available on the distro, for the users. However, because of language barrier, I couldn't jump into details though I could see all the functionalities of the OS explained with nice figures and words.

From BlankOn 8.0

Installation
Installation took me just 5 minutes. You need to decide the language, keyboard and the drive where you want to install and the rest part is just clicking next. I guess it is designed targeting the newbies as well and hence, kept very simple. Definitely commendable effort and simplicity of installation is at par with Ubuntu or a Linux Mint.

CPU and RAM Usage
Post installation RAM consumption was 255 MB with only system monitor running and CPU usage of 5-10%. Kudos to the developers! I haven't seen any 64-bit Gnome 3 desktop to consume so low RAM yet. Possibly BlankOn may not be the eye-candy for you but it is very efficient and functional.

From BlankOn 8.0
Repository
Repo is somewhat a hybrid of Debian and BlankOn. You have to install applications through Synaptic package manager. I would have preferred a Software Manager kind of app through which I can see, choose and download favorite apps. Synaptic manager is messy, meant primarily for power users and definitely not for newbies. I hope the developers add a software manager to it in future.

From BlankOn 8.0
Overall
I liked BlankOn for its simplicity, efficiency and intuitiveness. It is fast, stable and has good applications to offer out-of-the-box. There are some rough edges as well. The modified Gnome 3 desktop is very functional but may not appeal to those who are looking for eye-candies. Secondly, I am not very fond of offering synaptic package manager as the only application manager for newbies. Synaptic is messy and many a times breaks the system if operated by a novice. A software manager should be there in a distro which aims to be functional for the newbies. Apart from these rough edges, my last word - I haven't seen any 64-bit Gnome 3 Linux distro to run on 250 MB RAM and I feel the Manokwari desktop and BlankOn distro has promise.

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for the reviews. Here in Indonesia, we have so many low-spec hardwares, so BlankOn's mission is bringing the newest technology to these "prihatin" ( = pity ) hardwares, PentIII/IV with 256-512mb of RAM.

    Our concern in next BlankOn(s) will be user's simplicity, and software/apps manager/market/world, is one of our currently RnD programs. So, stay tuned to development of BlankOn :)

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    1. Hi Yoza, I must thank you and other team members of the developing team for creating BlankOn. I can imagine the amount of hard-work and thoughts which you guys might have spent to create this superb OS. It is simple, intuitive and very smooth to use and I see a lot of promise to this distribution. Definitely I'll be following your new releases and if possible, review them in my blog. Thanks, Arindam

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  2. Thank's for your review. Just my friend Yoza said, we just concern to low hardware specification. If there anything annoying, buzzing, or suggestion for BlankOn OS, feel free send to us : humas@blankonlinux.or.id

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  3. how about BlankOn on the latest notebook support? Especially those notebook with sandy bridge processor and without wireless hardswitch. I had problem with Ubuntu 12.04 so I've been forced to use 32 bit instead of 64bit. And I believe in the near future, notebook with ivy bridge will come to Indonesia...

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  4. I'm currently running BlankOn AMD64 on Acer Aspire 4752 Series (I3-2350 -> SandyBridge). BlankOn runs well also with the wireless (broadcom, with no hardswitch)

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    1. Even I found BlankOn 64-bit to detect the settings well in my Asus with core i3 Sandy Bridge processor. It detected both Wifi and lan and I had no problem with sound as well. However, for those who face problem with sound or any other settings, there are strong Debian and Ubuntu forums which they can leverage for BlankOn - that's an added plus point!

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  5. I use blankon 8 rote and it's very good. The performance is faster and promising!

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  6. Dude, how if I wanna reassemble WIN key with the menu? I have sent my idea to developer but they seem don't attend me. Uh, I am a user. I feel so unimportant to development.

    Now I want my WIN key can be used in Blankon. We can't released from Indonesia reality: Windows users.

    Please answer me. I am a newbie. Ahem, can you bring your copy of answer to my blog?

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    Replies
    1. I am not sure why you want to use Windows key. Even windows 8 has done away with the windows menu itself! However, to answer your question, KDE is very close to Windows XP or Windows 7 in terms of looks. Possibly you can suggest the developers to bring out a KDE version of BlankOn. It would look very similar to Windows. Please try out any KDE distro like Linux Mint KDE or PCLinuxOS, you can tell me after that if it gives you a feeling of working on Windows.

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    2. Okay, Dude. I think you are Indonesian what first do comment here :)

      No, I refused that. I am using all DEs now. But I really really really need Win key to be used. Haha, but relax, Dude. I am a KDE Forum member too and now this is submitted as new feature on next KDE release.

      CMIIW :)

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  7. @yoza Torrent Seed please.....it's not seeding right now. thank you....
    @arindam thank you.......

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  8. The POLITICS behind BlankOn 7 and 8 have been studiously avoided in this and othe pathetic reviews on BlankOn, which leads me to believe few have tried to install this OS then ried to install ANY CD or DVD ripping tools or their essential libraries. Asunder, Goobox, RipperX, Juicer, etc.,ARE ALL MISSING! As are VOBCopy, Thoggen, Acid Rip, dvdbackup, DVD:Rip, OGMrip, etc. What few goodies are listed in Synaptic, you cannot install them as they are (libdvdcss2 and libdvd css-dev)you get a lame excuse #404 when ypu try to install them. They have listed a huge number of apps as 'Unable to Authenticate' and it will not install these apps - many of these apps are 'Authentic' in virtually any other Linux distro and even if they are not, you are still allowed to install them. Try adding any new repos...well,good luck! There is no Freedom of Linux in these BlankOn distros. Ahh the Linux of a Dictatorship! What will they do to poor, old Linux next?

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    Replies
    1. I disagree. I have installed quite a few applications like VLC, Skype, Firefox 16, etc. in BlankOn. Of course, I haven't installed earlier any CD or DVD ripping tools. To check your statement, I tried installing Asunder and Juicer moments ago and I could install both Asunder and Juicer. As a proof you can take a look at the screenshots saved at my picasa album, links are given below:

      https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Dlw1QsHg89H5V100herrKtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
      https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FXZEdgoAzUDg9MJIpTN5mtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink

      May be you are missing something while installation. I didn't get any (I repeat any) #404 error while installation - synaptic pointed me to the dependencies and I agreed to install all of them and that's it! It went smooth as in Ubuntu itself. Menu doesn't get by default updated after installation, as I noted earlier also. So, a restart and I could see all of the installed programs. For copyright reasons, I won't publish any snapshot of the CDs I ripped with Juicer but the menu entries and Asunder screenshot are possibly enough evidence that whatever you are telling is wrong.

      On your rude comment about reviewers, I am surprised and hurt. We do install, use it for sometime, get a reasonable understanding and then review it! Also, I don't think BlankOn is restricting any freedom for any user. Linux is free and symbolizes freedom and it will always be like that! However, it requires a lot of learning from the users and that is part and parcel of the game! Like it or not!

      Regards,
      Arindam

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    2. Took another run at BlankOn 8 and my experience was still the same! You cannot even find the following DVD ripping tools such as Acid Rip, Thoggen, Rip:DVD, dvdbackup, OGMRip, DVD95, Shrinkta, Transcoder, Lxdvdrip,Ripmake, XVIdenc, Lemonrip,Vobcopy, Handbrake etc. The ones you mentioned - Skype, Asunder, VLC, etc., - can be downed, tarballed or 'debbed' into any distro in the world...except this one! Prove it to yourself: try 'debbing' or installing tarballs of any of the above mentioned apps - or these libraries; libdvdcss libdvdcss2, libdvdcss-dev, libdvdnav - from Medibuntu or any site you care to choose, and Big Brother BlankOn just shuts you down.
      There have been enough kudos given to BlankOn about its interface and speed - with which I thoroughly agree - but its time some of it users admitted it is a 'controlled substance' and there are more than a few apps it will not allow in the door. Linux is Freedom. Remember?
      Cheers from Canada
      Mars Bonfire
      THX.1138@shaw.ca

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  9. I'm from Indonesia and i proud have to use Blank On 8, how about BlankOn 8 in India?

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    Replies
    1. I guess quite a few people are using it in India as well. BlankOn 8 is really good! Definitely every Linux user from Indonesia should be proud of it!

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    2. What distro are most widely used there? What is the most great community in india?

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  10. how should i say it, the only thing that annoy me is the partition wizard in the installation process.

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