Barry Kauler, the founder of the Puppy Linux project, has released an experimental distribution EasyOS 3.2, which attempts to combine the technologies of Puppy Linux with container isolation for running system components. Each application, as well as the desktop itself, can be launched in separate containers, utilizing Easy Containers for isolation. The distribution is managed through a set of graphical configurators developed by the project. The size of the boot image is 580MB.
Among other features of the distribution, it can be noted that it operates by default with root rights, reverting privileges when launching each application, as EasyOS is positioned as a single-user Live system (an optional non-privileged user 'spot' is available). The distribution is installed in a separate subdirectory (the system is located in /releases/easy-3.2, user data is saved in the /home directory, and additional application containers in the /containers directory) and can coexist with other data on the storage device. It is possible to encrypt individual subdirectories (for example, /home) and to install meta-packages in SFS format, representing mounted images with Squashfs that combine several regular packages.
After installation, the system updates in an atomic mode (the new version is copied to a different directory and the active system directory is switched) and supports rolling back changes in case of issues after an update. There is a mode for booting from RAM, in which the system is copied to memory at boot and operates without accessing disks.
The desktop is based on the JWM window manager and the ROX file manager. The basic package includes applications such as SeaMonkey (with a button for quick installation of Firefox in the Internet menu), LibreOffice, Scribus, Inkscape, GIMP, mtPaint, Dia, Gpicview, text editor Geany, password manager Fagaros, personal finance management system HomeBank, personal Wiki DidiWiki, organizer Osmo, project manager Planner, note-taking system Notecase, Pigin, music player Audacious, media players Celluloid, VLC, and MPV, video editor LiVES, and streaming system OBS Studio. For easier file sharing and printer access, a proprietary application EasyShare is offered.
The new release offers significant structural changes, such as each application now running under a separate unprivileged user, the addition of a new root directory /files, the use of an OpenEmbedded (OE) based environment for package rebuilding, and the migration of the audio subsystem from ALSA to Pulseaudio. New video drivers have been added. Included are the LiVES video editor, VLC media player, OBS Studio streaming system, and Scribus publishing suite. The 'devx' meta-package includes the version control system Mercurial and the debugger Nemiver.
Source: opennet.ru
