Scientific Linux 6.3 Review: Simply outstanding

Yesterday, 8th Aug., Connie Sieh announced the release of Scientific Linux 6.3, an enterprise-class distribution built from source package for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.3: "Scientific Linux 6.3 i386/x86_64 is now available.

Last week, I reviewed the beta1 version. Simply outstanding distro, especially meant for power users. Further, it is feature packed and offers a wide range of applications as well as enterprise level stability. Added benefit of installing Scientific Linux is that it has full support till Q2 2017 and maintenance support till Nov-2020!

I already installed beta1 version last week. Once the final release came, I just updated my existing installation. Around 138 MB of software updates got downloaded and I had to restart it again. I checked the updated version - almost same as what I had installed in beta1 release. It's a Gnome 2 based Red Hat Enterprise Linux based distro.

From Scientific Linux 6.3

From Scientific Linux 6.3

From Scientific Linux 6.3

From Scientific Linux 6.3

From Scientific Linux 6.3

You can view my previous post for more screenshots and installation process.

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Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1 Review: Simply outstanding but why on older linux kernel & Gnome shell?

Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta1

I have heard a lot of good words about this distro, though never personally tried it before. So, once I came to know of the release from Distrowatch, I was curious to know and downloaded the 3.5 GB ISO from it's site. It is basically sourced from Red Hat Enterprise Linux and enhanced with extra applications useful for academics, co-developed by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Definitely my expectations of this distro was higher, given the big names attached to it and the size of the ISO.

Initially what I did is install it with the default options in virtualbox. Once the installation was over, I was really disappointed by the limited number of apps there and it definitely didn't look very different from another run-of-the-mill linux distro. That too with older Linux and Gnome 2 and not 3! Then I reinstalled it again to give it a second look and there I understood my folly. Scientific Linux is for the advanced users who want to take control of the entire installation process. It gives amazing freedom to the user to customize from a rich source of apps it has within the DVD itself. Even for desktop, it gives you choice of Gnome and KDE at the installation. Below pictures show you step by step installation process.

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

So, you see while installing only you can have the most complete Linux Distro without downloading a single MB, apart from the distro DVD itself. Application-wise, I doubt I have seen any other Linux OS match it. Also, installation process doesn't take much time as well.

It is a great Linux distro for those academically oriented and into research. Scientific Linux supports R and other linux based softwares for statistical computing. I am a big user of R for my professional needs and definitely welcome this distro.

However, for a cutting edge distro like Scientific, my only concern is why it has Linux 2.6 kernel? And why Gnome 2 and not Mate or Cinnamon? Older kernel means it will be difficult to install the cutting edge apps like VLC 2, GIMP 2.8, Firefox 14+, etc. due to unresolved dependencies.

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

CPU & RAM Usage
Due to older kernel and Gnome 2, obviously the RAM usage is on the lower side (160 MB). I still like Gnome 2 over 3 due to its less resource consumption.

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

One bright thing with this distro is a more secured Firefox 10 ESR.

From Scientific Linux 6.3 Beta 1

Overall
I really liked Scientific Linux 6.3 - it's definitely meant for power users. Further, it has full support till Q2 2017 and maintenance support till Nov-2020! Once you install it, you can live in peace of not replacing the distro every year for quite sometime. Given it is less resource consuming, even the P4 computers would support it. Also, it is Gnome 2 based and definitely more customizable, you can surely tweak it to look like a Mac or a Windows 7 or any other look that you prefer, if you don't like the plain vanilla look. I am eagerly waiting for the final release.

You can see more screenshots in my Picasa album.

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