MatrixOS: Go Libre, Live Free
Whenever
I see a system running proprietary Operating System, I start my long
speech about the goodness of freedom and advantage of using GNU/Linux
against the proprietary Operating Systems. One observable point here
is none have ever disagreed with the philosophy of GNU/Linux.
Everyone is overwhelmed with the advantages of using a GNU/Linux
system.
But
after some days when I observe the same crowd, I found them still
using the Proprietary Operating system. This happened many times, so
it is understood that there is a strong reason which didn’t allow
them to shift to GNU/Linux. Even after knowing the disadvantages of
proprietary Operating Systems, some factor held them back from
regularly using GNU/Linux. The reason was a mystery for some time.
But then I asked each and everyone for the exact reason for rejecting
the usage of GNU/Linux in daily life.
Some of the top reasons are listed below,
Some of the top reasons are listed below,
- “ I cannot play my MP3”
- “Application Installation is complicated”
- “I have trouble hunting alternatives for windoze softwares”
- “I can’t use my favourite keyboard shortcuts”
Although
new users do not appreciate the individuality of GNU/Linux in many
ways, it is not right to expect them to understand it fully either.
They expect a similar interface and familiar set of software names
which they are accustomed to. A regular GNU/Linux user might
consider the above reasons as very silly, because all of the points
mentioned above can be resolved within a minute, but we cannot
expect a beginner to have knowledge of these issues.
There are thousands of Linux flavours available, each built to suit a particular need. Ubuntu being the top distro has spread the goodness of freedom around the world to a great extent. Undoubtedly Ubuntu has helped many to choose the right path with respect to technological aspects. (Please note that I am a diehard fan of Ubuntu, the following paragraph just discusses about the missing factor which retains beginners from using Ubuntu.)
There are thousands of Linux flavours available, each built to suit a particular need. Ubuntu being the top distro has spread the goodness of freedom around the world to a great extent. Undoubtedly Ubuntu has helped many to choose the right path with respect to technological aspects. (Please note that I am a diehard fan of Ubuntu, the following paragraph just discusses about the missing factor which retains beginners from using Ubuntu.)
Now analyzing all the distors from a beginner’s perspective, it
feels like a giant jigsaw puzzle with the difficulty level set to
maximum. All the distos give us a base, on top of which we need to
start building required packages and configure it ourselves. Regular
GNU/Linux users appreciate this minimalistic approach because they
love to configure the system themselves; they need to tweak much
stuff to suit their needs, they are precautious about all the
packages installed in their system, they need a very lightweight
system running without bloating their system. And
moreover these are exact reasons why one should use GNU/Linux;
these are basic differences which must be appreciated in Linux
environment. The minimalistic approach is best suited for a regular
or pro user of Linux because they love to tweak stuffs. Again coming
back to the beginners perspective, First of all they are lost in an
alien environment and struggle to do even the basic tasks in the new
environment, at this stage it is not practical to suggest them to
open up the terminal and type in some fancy commands to resolve any
issues or install a new software or to debug some stuffs.
Introduction of ‘Unity’
in Ubuntu made the situation even worst, Ubuntu development team is
too futuristic that present users suffered from the futuristic
interface, this was disastrous because many Ubuntu users started
finding alternatives which is much user friendly.
All they need is a basic preconfigured environment on which they can learn new stuffs and at later point of time even modify things. So the obvious question is, how to solve this problem, how to convince the beginners towards the path of freedom. We believe that the answer is MatrixOS, in simple words; MatrixOS is remastered from Ubuntu which comes with all required packages and pre-configured applications. MatrixOS is targeted at beginners who have just started their journey in the path of freedom. The giant puzzle which was mentioned before is solved by team Matrix by pre-installing all the required software’s required in daily life.
Features:
i) Familiar User Interface:
MatrixOS
is based on Ubuntu Gnome Remix 12.10, so you get a familiar
gnome-classic interface. The positioning of the menu bar is chosen
cleverly, the applets have been arranged in a familiar manner.
ii)
Pre-installed softwares:
MatrixOS
comes preinstalled with most of the sofwares you’ll use in daily
life. All the music players, CD burners, browsers come with MatrixOS.
So the user is saved from the hassle of manually hunting for the
softwares and packages after a fresh installation of an Operating
system, and also users time and bandwidth is saved since all the
packages are already there.
iii)
Pre-installed packages for VTU students:
MatrixOS
comes with most of the softwares which are taught in VTU syllabus. Be
it gcc,g++,java,lex,yacc to dive deep into programming, and OpenGL to
create awesome stuffs, and apache to unleash the web designer inside
you, and MySQL to manage relations and many other packages which is
used in academics. VTU student will feel at home using MatrixOS. Some
proprietary softwares have been omitted due to licensing issues (VTU
should consider revising its syllabus replacing all proprietary
technologies with Open Source alternatives)
iii) Pre-configured applications:
Some
of the applications have been pre-configured so that the user can
make the most out of it. Pre-configuration has been made in such a
way that it meets the need of most of the users.
iv) Always latest:
Whenever
a new version of MatrixOS is released, it will have the latest
updates from Ubuntu, and also since MatrixOS is, Ubuntu wearing a new
dress: you will always be up to date.v)
Documentation:
Team
Matrix Documentation team has already brought up an easy to follow
“Basic Programming Guide” which will help anyone to get
acquainted with few programming languages. This guide is especially
helpful for beginners who are looking for “how to compile xyz
program in GNU/Linux”. Since all the packages are already present
right after installing MatrixOS, users can directly jump into
programming without worrying about resolving unsatisfied
dependencies.
vi) Team Matrix:
Any problems? Need assistance in installing MatrixOS? Team Matrix would be happy to hear from you.
vii) OpenSource
The detailed steps of creating MatrixOS from base Ubuntu has been documented and is available to general public, all the scripts written, all the procedures followed has been documented so that anyone can learn how it is created.
The outcome:
The question still remains, “Did MatrixOS had any impact?”
We believe that the answer is “YES”, Talking about the statistics, in P.A. college of engineering , and among the friend circle of ‘Team Matrix’ most of them use MatrixOS, and they use it in daily life. And we are proud that many started their journey towards software freedom with MatrixOS, which being the first Linux flavour to be installed on their systems.
Thanks to FSMK (Free Software Movement Karnataka) who gave us opportunity to present MatrixOS in their Winter Workshop held in Sai Vidya Institute of Technology Bangalore from 26th Jan to 30th Jan 2013.
