gOS Updates

gOS is a Linux distribution created by ‘Good OS LLC’, a Los Angeles-based corporation. The company advertises it as “An alternative OS with Google Apps and other Web 2.0 apps for the modern user.”

On January 7, 2008, a test version 2.0.0 of gOS, intended to demonstrate the CloudBook and named “gOS Rocket”, was released at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. However, the definitive second (beta) version of gOS debuted end February 2008, together with the launch of Everex’s new CloudBook, the gBook laptop, and the gPC mini all of which will use gOS V2 Rocket (the final, GNOME based edition).

Design

gOS Rocket-beta was based on the Ubuntu 7.10 distribution. It uses the Enlightenment 17 window manager instead of the usual GNOME or KDE desktops, to create a desktop that has similar usability to Mac OS X. This is possible because of the flexibility of Enlightenment. Enlightenment acts both as an X window manager, and as a desktop environment. Therefore Rocket works on systems as low end as a 350 MHz Pentium II with 196 MB of RAM. But a typical gOS system would use as a minimum a 1 GHz Pentium III with 256 MB RAM.

Based on the idea of cloud computing gOS leans heavily on on-line applications built on Web 2.0 and AJAX technology so it also does not use much hard disk space for applications. The whole system fits comfortably in less than 2 GB. Also many of the documents created with Rocket, such as Google Docs documents, can be saved on Google servers instead of on the local hard disk, so Rocket can work with very small hard disks. In gOS Rocket, Good OS introduced the use of Google’s “Google Gears” technology which promises to make Google’s web applications useable without an internet connection. Currently, Google Reader is the only Google application that is supported, though other web applications such as Remember the Milk have added Google Gears functionality.

gOS Rocket-beta’s primary features include a Mac OS X-like Dock called ‘the Launcher’, containing icons to launch the following programs: Firefox web browser, Rhythmbox audio player, Xine video player and Skype for Internet telephony. Other programs can be added to the Launcher as well. Previous versions of gOS used another Dock-style interface called the iBar.

There are also icons to launch Firefox to specific web-sites and web applications for Google Mail, Google Talk, Google News, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets, Google Reader, Google Product Search, Blogger, YouTube, Facebook, Meebo, Box.net to online chat with Yahoo! Messenger and .NET Messenger Service users and Wikipedia. The rightmost icon is for Faqly, a system developed for Rocket to offer a built-in online community based help system.

Other installed programs can be started through menus, among the most important are the photo and picture editing program the GIMP, the document viewer Evince, and the OpenOffice.org office suite. More programs can be installed using the built-in Synaptic Package Manager.

Products

gOS 1.0.1 was introduced on November 1, 2007, preinstalled on the Everex Green gPC TC2502 sold at Wal-Mart. gOS 1.0.1 fully supports the advanced Power management capabilities of the gPC TC2502, so the system can be put in suspend mode and after turning on again is ready in a few seconds.

In December 2007, PC Club followed suit and reintroduced their Enpower Fuzion desktop for sale with gOS installed for $189, which is their second system to include a Linux distribution since their controversial temporary inclusion of Linspire (then LindowsOS) in late 2003/early 2004 and the sale of the Empower Essence system with Ubuntu during the month of June 2007.

Everex followed on by creating the CloudBook, a laptop based on the VIA NanoBook reference. The CloudBook will be bundled with gOS Rocket with a hint that later versions will include a touchscreen. At an RRP of $400, it will compete with the ASUS Eee PC in the cheap miniature Laptop space. Less well known is the fact that Everex simultaneously also worked on a more classic notebook, called the gBook, and on the Mac mini like gPC mini all running gOS v2.

Online vendor ClubIT.com offers a RoHS-compliant VIA C7 developer board bundled with gOS.

On 2008-01-07, Good OS LLC released a beta of the second version of gOS, called “gos-live-2.0.0-beta1″ and nicknamed “Rocket”. However this version does not seem to be a valid replacement for rev 1.0.1 as it is missing some essential functions, such as hardware and system administration tools, and the easy to use application installer “Add/Remove”. It also misses the capability to access CDs and hard-disk partitions other than its own. The demo version status of this version became extra apparent when the new Everex CloudBook which was due to debut January 25, 2008 was delayed for a month to allow Good OS time to fix this second version of gOS so it could be used on the CloudBook ,gBook. and gPC mini.

Later it became apparent that the month was needed because Everex had decided that the version of gOS for the Cloudbook, gBook and gPC mini , and possibly the gPC, had to be rewritten to use the GNOME desktop environment, instead of E17. It’s announced that this version will also be called gOS V2 “Rocket”. At the moment it’s unclear if this version will also be offered to gPC users. This version of gOS uses the Avant Window Navigator system to create a dock to resemble the older gOS versions in looks and functionality.

“GOS (Linux distribution).” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Mar 2008, 06:51 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 21 Mar 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=GOS_%28Linux_distribution%29&oldid=199779761>.