Puppy Linux is yet another Linux distribution. What's different here is that Puppy is extraordinarily small, yet quite full-featured. Puppy boots into a ramdisk and, unlike live CD distributions that have to keep pulling stuff off the CD, it loads into RAM. This means that all applications start in the blink of an eye and respond to user input instantly. Puppy Linux has the ability to boot off a flash card or any USB memory device, CDROM, Zip disk or LS/120/240 Superdisk, floppy disks, internal hard drive. It can even use a multisession formatted CD-RW/DVD-RW to save everything back to the CD/DVD with no hard drive required at all.
To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
Colour scheme:green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
As an avid user and long-time supporter of Puppy Linux, I am deeply disappointed by the drastic changes the operating system has undergone since its original creator, Barry Kauler, decided to step away from the project.
Puppy Linux, once celebrated for its lightweight design, speed, and user-friendly interface, has lost its charm and distinctive characteristics in the wake of Kauler's departure.
One of the key aspects that drew me to Puppy Linux was its commitment to simplicity. The early versions, masterminded by Kauler, were renowned for their minimalistic approach, allowing users to enjoy a quick and efficient computing experience even on older hardware. However, the recent iterations seem to have abandoned this philosophy, opting for a more convoluted design and unnecessary features that contribute to bloat rather than utility.
The lack of a clear and consistent vision for Puppy Linux post-Barry Kauler is evident in the haphazard updates and changes. The absence of a guiding force has resulted in a fractured and disjointed user experience. The once intuitive interface has given way to a confusing mishmash of features that seem to have been added without careful consideration for user needs or feedback.
Moreover, the community spirit that was once a hallmark of Puppy Linux has dwindled. Without Kauler's leadership, the development process lacks direction, and community engagement has suffered. The forums, which were once vibrant with discussions and support, now often go unanswered, leaving users to fend for themselves.
The unfortunate decline in the quality of documentation and support resources further underscores the negative impact of Kauler's departure. Updates are poorly documented, leaving users in the dark about changes and troubleshooting procedures. The lack of a centralized and accessible knowledge base makes it increasingly difficult for both new and experienced users to navigate and resolve issues.
In conclusion, Puppy Linux has lost its way in the post-Barry Kauler era. The neglect of its core principles, the absence of a clear vision, and the decline in community engagement have transformed a once-beloved operating system into a shadow of its former self. Until these issues are addressed and a renewed commitment to the original ethos is established, I find it challenging to recommend Puppy Linux to others in its current state.
Version: 9.5 Rating: 5 Date: 2024-01-27 Votes: 0
Learned a lot trying to set up and use F96-CE (fossspup64). Once installed, fought with the system for hours to try to get avahi-daemon (zeroconf/bonjour) to work and advertise my laser printer to my iOS devices. Abject failure.
In the end, puppy is useful if the software the user desires is part of the base package. But for situations that the software might have to be installed, results are not guaranteed.
I can't recommend this distro, because it's just too weird. It's a neat concept, I want to love it, I sank days into trying to fit it to my use case. But to compare, I installed a more normal flavour of debian and had all my software installed and running properly within minutes, by using apt.
Version: 9.5 Rating: 7 Date: 2024-01-12 Votes: 5
I really liked using FossaPup64 9.5 in my dual boot computer. I ran it on a M.2 drive, 8Gb RAM and an i3 Intel processor.
It was fast, well laid out and I liked the feature that I could set it up to turn the computer off at a selected time.
However the initial setup took too long, I could not control the monitor brightness, audio setup and so on. So I looked for
another version of puppyLinux. After a deep dive into the home pages and other/latest versions of puppyLinux, I found
BookwormPup64 version 10.0.3 and I downloaded it. It was easier to set up with automatic scripts that could even respond
to brightness, audio connections, wifi connections, bluetooth setup etc. Also it had an huge list of applications.
Also this runs on a Debian base and like puppyLinux family it, can run in RAM.
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