Elive Topaz 2.0

I have been trying out the new Linux Elive Topaz 2.0 and it is a pretty cool Distro!:) It has a cool looking Desktop that reminds me of the Mac Desktop with the floating Icons and such. Also, there are some neat visual efx when you move around and when you click on things. I like how they have some nice music playing when it first Boots Up, along with the informative text info, telling you what is going on with the video settings. It did take some looking around though to find the menu's with all the Apps and settings though. I'm use to the Gnome and KDE Desktops, but have used XFce too. So, I soon realized that you had to Right Click on the Desktop to get the menu's to come up. For me, the efx may become a little irritating with time. My eyes don't handle blinking things very well. But I do think it is a really neat feature and fun to play with. And I'm sure you can change or even turn off anything that you don't like. I have tried Elive out on a 1.8GHz Intel Duo Core and a 2.4 Ghat P4, both with 1Gig of Ram. It ran great on both machines. But I did have to mess around with the Video Settings to get it to Boot to the Graphic Interface in the P4 . It has a 64MB Intel Video Card. The Start Up settings instructions are a bit  misleading. They told me to set this machine to the ...96 option. But that completely failed. I tried changing a few things to no avail. So, then I rebooted and just went with the "Newer... cards" video settings and it booted just fine into the Graphic Interface. Nvidia gives trouble in several of the 25+ Linux Distro CD-DVD's that I have tried out in the last 4 plus years. So, that problem wasn't surprising to me. At least Elive has the Nvidia Drivers built in, instead of having to use the Vesa Driver until you can try and manually install the Nvidia Driver to get 3D Support. The 1.8GHz machine has On-board Intel Graphics and gave no problems in setting up the Video on it. I'm writing this article now in my online e-mail running in Elive. I played around a little Online and was very pleased to find that the YouTube Videos and Java Apps that I encountered worked flawlessly! This is a pet peeve on mine, even on my other favorite Distros, ie Fedora and Debian. You have to install Flash and Java manually before Flash and Java will work!:O So, this was nice to see them... just work!:) I decided that I had better Spell Check my article, so I pasted it into AbiWord to do it. And then I just saved it to  one of the HD's on the system, which worked just fine. After Booting and using the system several times. My first few uses was actually for Rescuing a Broken Fedora 11 System. Since you can't log in as root in Fedora now and it's a real pain to keep having to su in the Command Line (I like to do everything I can in the Graphic Interface with a GUI App). And Thunar which is already installed in Elive, is an easy File Manager to use for quite a few things, like changing file permissions. I just Booted to Elive. I did have to type su in the Terminal, but no password was needed. Then I could do most of what I needed to fix my messed up file permissions in Fedora. Elive is easy to get around and has allot of my favorite Apps right on the CD-DVD, can't remember which it is right now. And my favorite Application Manager App is Synaptic, from my last 2 years of using Debian Etch in a half as my main OS... I thought, this might take some getting use to, for me with the layout of the Elive Desktop, since I have been using Gnome for the past 4+ years. But, I may just install it on one of my Systems. So, I started up the install App. And as soon as I got a few clicks in... I found out that Elive is Not Actually Free!:O In order to install Elive on your HD, you have to either pay a fee (I don't know how much, haven't gone that far yet and didn't find it on their web site). And I honestly don't have any money to spend right now either. Or... you can write an article about Elive or do some other promotional thing for them in order to get an "invitation code". Thus, I am writing this article for my Blog now... I don't blame them for trying to find a fair and equitable way to finance their fine work. I am a singer - song writer and have all my music on my web site at DonSongs.com (yes this is a shameless plug;) Available for free Downloads on the site. Asking only for Donations in return for my sharing my songs, work and my heart. I have had my music up there and on Archive.org and several other sites like myspace, starting from 1999 and have added new recordings as I did them up utile 2005. But... I have never received one Single Donation!:( Yes, I do get traffic on the sites and no my music doesn't completely Suck!;) I do get the occasional complement on the music and lyrics and my singing too. I guess people just don't often make donations unless you prod them along. I don't like manipulation and don't like tooting my own horn. And so far, I don't have anyone to do it for me. So, I do get it... I volunteered for local concerts for over 12 years, running sound and helping out how ever I could. All for a great cause, but seldom ever being given enough money to even buy a hamburger and pay for the gas to drive my truck there and back:( So,  I understand why the people at Elive have set up their Distros Installation this way. But... I was a little put off when I only found out during the Installation Process. I'm use to Linux Distros being Actually Free! I love Free Software (I got started with WindBlows Free and Shareware) and totally believe in the Power and Potential of the Open Source Movement!:) We can do anything if we all work together!!!") The Benefits to Mankind and our selves cannot be measured in Dollar Signs $$$. But only in the Changed Lives (Knowledge, Space Travel, Oceanography), Saved (medical research etc) and Enhanced Existence (just plain fun!:). So, I think, that if you guys at Elive really want to help Change the World and Make a Living at the same time!:) We all deserve to make a living! Be careful, not to drive people away from your fine Work you are Doing, right from the beginning. Through a simple misunderstanding about the word "Free" and the common understanding  that a Linux Distro is synonymous with the word Free. Just let us know ahead of time, that Your free Distro, Is Not Totally and Actually Free!...

So, now do I get my "invitation code"? Or does the Truth of my Honest Opinion hurt too much???

Don Bishop