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5 ways to use bootable Linux live discs
Computerworld ^ | Tuesday, July 20, 2010 | Logan Kugler

Posted on 07/20/2010 8:24:33 AM PDT by Willie Green

Live CDs, DVDs or USB drives let you run Linux without actually installing it. Here are five reasons why you should.

Computerworld - In the almost 20 years since Linux was first released into the world, free for anyone to use and modify however they like, the operating system has been put to a lot of uses. Today, a vast number of servers run Linux to serve up Web pages and applications, while user-friendly versions of Linux run PCs, netbooks, and even Android and WebOS phones.

One incredibly useful way that Linux has been adapted to the needs of modern computer users is as a "live CD," a version of the operating system that can be booted from a CD (or a DVD or, in some cases, a USB drive) without actually being installed on the computer's hard drive. Given the massive RAM and fast CPUs available on even the lowest-end computers today, along with Linux's generally lower system requirements compared to Windows and Mac OS X, you can run Linux quite comfortably from a CD drive.

Live discs allow you to radically transform the nature of the machine you're working on -- without modifying the installed operating system and software at all. There are a number of reasons you might want to do this. The most obvious is to test a new version or different distribution of Linux before deploying it, saving yourself the surprise of incompatible software or nonfunctional hardware after installation. But even if your business does not plan to deploy Linux as a desktop or server operating system, there are still good reasons to have a live Linux CD or two on hand.

~~~SNIP~~~

Here are five ways to use live Linux in your business, as well as pointers to distributions best suited to each particular task.

(Excerpt) Read more at computerworld.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: linux
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Take advantage of Live Linux


1 posted on 07/20/2010 8:24:36 AM PDT by Willie Green
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To: ShadowAce

ping


2 posted on 07/20/2010 8:26:58 AM PDT by LearnsFromMistakes (Yes, I am happy to see you. But that IS a gun in my pocket.)
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To: Willie Green

Thanks Willie. Think I’ll get this and turn my boys loose on an old desktop we can’t boot anymore.


3 posted on 07/20/2010 8:31:09 AM PDT by DManA
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To: Willie Green
6. Create a temporary Blender render farm. I've been really happy with that.

/johnny

4 posted on 07/20/2010 8:32:12 AM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: Willie Green
In the almost 20 years since Linux was first released into the world, free for anyone to use and modify however they like,

And it still has less than 3% market share.

5 posted on 07/20/2010 8:32:29 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Politicians exist to break windows so they may spend other people's money to fix them.)
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To: Moonman62
And it still has less than 3% market share.

That's certainly not the case with regards to business servers.

6 posted on 07/20/2010 8:33:11 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator

Was the article about business servers?


7 posted on 07/20/2010 8:41:44 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Politicians exist to break windows so they may spend other people's money to fix them.)
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To: Willie Green

I just used a Linux based LiveCD Antivirus to rid my laptop of a particularly persistent piece of malware. Worked as advertised. Definitely something to keep in ones arsenal.


8 posted on 07/20/2010 8:42:32 AM PDT by Paradox (Socialism - trickle up poverty.)
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To: Willie Green

good post Willie G


9 posted on 07/20/2010 8:45:56 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: DManA
Thanks Willie. Think I’ll get this and turn my boys loose on an old desktop we can’t boot anymore.

You're welcome!
There are a seemingly bewildering variety of linux distributions to choose from, but I strongly recommend "Linux Mint" as being extremely user friendly for newbies.

It just so happens that Linux Mint 9 LXDE was just released, Which features a "lighter weight" deskstop and suite of applications that are more suitable for older computers. Of course, KDE, Gnome and a few other varieties of Mint are also available if you prefer. But that's one of the advantages of a Live CD... try each of them first before you install!!!

Good luck!!

10 posted on 07/20/2010 8:49:01 AM PDT by Willie Green (Save Money: Build High-Speed Rail & Maglev and help permanently ground Air Force One!!!)
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To: Moonman62
Was the article about business servers?

No. Nor was it posted as an invitation to Linux-haters to point out some non-important statistic on market-share, starting yet another flame-war between acolytes subscribing to their particular brand of faux-religious adherence to one OS over the others.

It's about stuff we can use Linux to do. Obviously, the article wasn't directed at you. No need to take personal offense to people who actually like to use Linux and communicate with each other.

It's not always about you.

Go away, please.

11 posted on 07/20/2010 8:51:25 AM PDT by Egon (The difference between Theory and Practice: In Theory, there is no difference.)
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To: Moonman62
And it still has less than 3% market share.

I don't see the board of directors or shareholders worried about it. Oh, yeah, there are none.

/johnny

12 posted on 07/20/2010 8:52:37 AM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: Willie Green

I keep a supply of various Linux Live CDs on hand for my work. I use them for everything from cloning hard drives (Clonezilla), recovering data, performing computer forensic examinations (Helix, PlainSight, DEFT), network penetration testing (BackTrack), cleaning up infections, etc. I will also use them if I need to borrow another person’s computer to access my bank account or any other sensitive information.

But then, I am a computer security professional, and have need for a lot of things the average user does not. Still, an Ubuntu live CD is a good tool for even the average user to keep around.


13 posted on 07/20/2010 8:58:41 AM PDT by CA Conservative
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To: JRandomFreeper
I don't see the board of directors or shareholders worried about it. Oh, yeah, there are none.

Not precisely true. There are several flavors of Linux that are developed and promoted by corporations (SuSe Linux by Novell, Red Hat, Caldera, Ubuntu by Canonical). While they may not sell the OS, they often sell services related to the product, so the boards of directors would have at least SOME concern over market share...

14 posted on 07/20/2010 9:03:01 AM PDT by CA Conservative
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To: CA Conservative

I tried to create an UBantu Boot CD but couldn’t connect to the internet...


15 posted on 07/20/2010 9:05:57 AM PDT by VastRWCon
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To: Willie Green
Was running SCO Unix on Intel in the early 1990's. Was building systems using EISA boards and early caching controllers. Some of the servers had up a dozen or more drives. I ran across Linus on IRC and we started talking about his work on his early kernels. I thought he was on to something. Turns out he was. Way smart guy.

There is a lot more to the story but suffice to say over the years Linux has been very very good to me:)

16 posted on 07/20/2010 9:12:15 AM PDT by isthisnickcool (NOVEMBER-2-2010!)
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To: Egon
It's not always about you.

That's why I'm here to provide a valuable service to people who may consider wasting unrecoverable precious moments of their lives trying to use Linux for their desktop.

I do have some Linux Live Cd's stored away somewhere ready to go if I need them. Just my luck, they probably won't boot up on my new system.

Go away, please.

No

17 posted on 07/20/2010 9:34:44 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Politicians exist to break windows so they may spend other people's money to fix them.)
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To: CA Conservative
But then, I am a computer security professional, and have need for a lot of things the average user does not. Still, an Ubuntu live CD is a good tool for even the average user to keep around.

Yes, I fully expect computer professionals to be aware of linux' capabilities.
However. I think that many "average users" need to be made aware that they don't have to be a computer professional to have a need for linux. Especially those users with older computers with older versions of Windows that MS has dropped support.

Linux works on those older machines, is easy to use, is UP TO DATE and is FREE!!!

No need to run out and buy a brand new computer system just because MS no longer supports the older ones.

18 posted on 07/20/2010 9:35:24 AM PDT by Willie Green (Save Money: Build High-Speed Rail & Maglev and help permanently ground Air Force One!!!)
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To: CA Conservative
Most of the commercial outfits are server specific distros.

/johnny

19 posted on 07/20/2010 9:36:37 AM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: isthisnickcool
bump for Linux reference
20 posted on 07/20/2010 9:38:29 AM PDT by marktwain
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