Following up yesterday’s article about how Enlightenment is soon to be released, we will check out what Linux distributions you should choose to enjoy this magnificent window manager + set of libraries.
Bodhi Linux
Bodhi Linux is maybe the best choice for everyone who wants to try or use Enlightenment. It is based on Ubuntu, that means it offers all the packages and support that you can get from the world’s most popular distribution and it is using the latest Enlightenment builds from the svn. The distribution is in active development and has a big community of users and contributors around it.
Bodhi Linux
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Hybryde Linux
Hybryde Linux is an Ubuntu-based distribution for the desktop. Its most unusual feature is an option to switch rapidly between multiple desktop environments and window manager without logging out. Enlightenment is of course included in this craziness. The development of Hybryde is active.
Hybryde Linux
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Pentoo
Pentoo is a Gentoo-based Linux live CD with a selection of applications and tools designed to perform penetration testing. It is using the Enlightenment desktop environment but the latest release is Pentoo 2009 so I would say this distribution is pretty much dead.
Pentoo Linux
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Macpup
Macpup is a minimalist desktop Linux distribution based on Puppy Linux. It uses Enlightenment as the default window manager and provides a user interface resembling that of Apple’s Mac OS X. The distribution is in active development and maybe the most lightning fast of all mentioned in this article.
Macpup
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Elive
Elive, or Enlightenment live CD, is a Debian-based desktop Linux distribution and live CD featuring the Enlightenment window manager. Elive is a commercial distribution; while the live CD is available as a free download, those wishing to install it to a hard disk are asked to pay US$15 for an installation module. The latest version dates two years back, so I am not sure about what is going on with the development, but it doesn’t look like it is active.
Elive
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Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux is an open source Linux operating system for home, office, server, and cluster users. This is also a commercial distribution that costs more that Elive (50-100 usd) and I am not very sure of what is going on with the development as YDL latest version was released in the summer of 2009.
Yellow Dog Linux
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OpenGEU
OpenGEU is a desktop Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. The project’s goal is to combine the power of GNOME desktop with the eye-candy of Enlightenment 17 into an attractive and user-friendly desktop. Unfortunately the latest news on the distribution’s website were posted almost two years ago, claiming that the project is alive somehow. The development status on distrowatch is dormant so don’t even bother.
OpenGEU
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MoonOS
Another very promising project that was left to die by its developers. moonOS is a complete, Ubuntu-based distribution featuring the Enlightenment 17 desktop manager and imaginative, original artwork. Unfortunately the development has stopped, and the latest available version was released on 2010 new year’s eve.
moonOS
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Sabayon Linux
And I finish this article with the very active and much alive Sabayon Linux that among the many flavors and spins that offers to its users, there is also an Enlightenment one. The distribution is Gentoo-based and combined with Enlightenment is damn fast. A really great choice for everyone who knows a thing or two about Linux. Not a very wise choice for the Linux newbies though.
Sabayon Linux
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I am sure there are more distributions that offer the ability for the Enlightenment window manager to be installed, so don’t hesitate to write a comment providing us with more information about it.
Without having tested all of the above, I recommend using either Bodhi, or Sabayon, depending on the level of your experience with Linux systems.
