KateOS
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| Kate OS III Kate OS III running XFCE | |
| Developer | Damian Rakowski |
|---|---|
| OS family | Linux |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Open source |
| Latest release | 3.2 / Dec 21, 2006 |
| Kernel type | Monolithic kernel |
| License | GPL |
| Official website | kateos.org |
Kate OS is a Linux distribution with multitasking features. It was originally based on Slackware Linux. The current version of Kate OS is Kate OS III (3.2), and 3.0 is also available as a live CD. Kate OS III 3.2 Live is pending release.
General
All new KateOS releases are LTS, as per Lead Developer Rakowski's decision, and are supported for around 2 years. Users are encouraged to update via the updateos command to newer versions of the distribution, although major version updates, e.g. II--->III are not recommended.
Damian Rakowski, the 'project initiator, leader, and 1st developer', stated that the project was named after a friend and because the name Kate is "simple, nice and everybody knows it." [1]
Contents
The latest Stable KateOS distribution includes many fixes for series III, as well as many updated packages. All packages are installed via the updateos command (although users may choose to compile source), which downloads the necessary TGZex file from the KateOS repositories. TGZex are extended slackware packages with extra compilation and dependency information, and are the official packages for KateOS.
The current release includes:
- Linux kernel 2.6.18.14
- Xorg 7.1
- GCC 4.0.2
- Python 2.4.3
- Perl 5.8.8
- Ruby 1.8.5p2
- Xfce 4.4RC1
- Firefox 2.0
- Thunderbird 1.5.0.8
- OpenOffice.org 2.0.4
- Various Media Players, including Xine, MPlayer, and XMMS
- GTK2 2.10.6
- Gaim
System Requirements
There are a few hardware requirements necessary to install KateOS:
- A CD-ROM drive
- An i486 processor
- 32 MB of RAM is required
- About 300 MB Disk Space for base installation
- VESA compliant VGA graphics card
Recommended Hardware Specifications are:
- A CD-ROM drive
- An i686 processor, or Pentium II and greater
- 196 MB of RAM
- 4.5 GB Disk Space
- Internet Connection for software installation
- Floppy Drive for Backup Disk
Versions
KateOS was originally based upon the Slackware distribution, but as of the first series III release, KateOS diverged with TGZex packages built directly from source. 3.1 drops all compatibility, and although it is still possible to install TGZ packages via the PKG command, it is not recommended, and PKG is now used for local TGZex packages. 3.2 migrates from LILO to GRUB, allowing for easier updates of the distribution, as well as adding a GUI to PKG to ease the update process.
| KateOS version | Release date |
| 1.0 | 9 October 2004 |
| 2.1 | 23 June 2005 |
| 2.2 | 13 October 2005 |
| 2.3 | 7 December 2005 |
| 3.0 | 9 August 2006 |
| 3.1 | 5 October 2006 |
| 3.2 | 21 December 2006 |
