Introduction: Hacks #80-93

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Klaus Knopper should be blushing. According to Distrowatch, Knoppix is used as a base for 45 other live CDs—and those are just the CDs that Distrowatch knows about! It is difficult to include all the necessary software with only 2 GB of uncompressed space at your disposal. Knoppix variants have appeared because people who wanted to create their own live CDs discovered just how easy it is to remaster Knoppix—something you too will discover in [Hack #94] . With Knoppix as a base, these developers benefit from the hardware support and the configuration that Knoppix uses, and can spend their energy on making specialized tweaks for their needs instead. Some of these Knoppix-based CDs, such as Morphix, are used as a base themselves to create other distributions.

Knoppix-based distributions run the full spectrum in terms of what they can do and what can be changed. Some distributions have kept most of Knoppix intact, and have added only extra special-purpose software here and there. Others have almost redone Knoppix from the ground up. Distribution sizes vary dramatically as well, ranging from 50 MB for business-card CD variants, to a gigabyte or more for some of the DVD-based variants. Think about it; each of these live CDs is a hack of Knoppix itself.

This chapter highlights just a few of the better-known or interesting Knoppix variants. If you plan to create your own Knoppix-based CD, it is worth it to check out some of the work that has already been done. You might find your needs are already met in one of these distributions.

In true community spirit, many of the following descriptions are from the developers themselves. Grab a stack of blank CDs and a magic marker, because after you read about some of these great distributions, you will want to try them yourself.