{{{2016}}}

This Midnight Mulling essay is about SeniorLinux .004 - the lowest ranked chapter of the (so far) five SeniorLinuxes. .004 is about Linux distributions: specifically one Linux distribution. And that particular distribution is not available any longer. Instead there is a new one, http://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/ - but if you are kind to the programmer, give me a chance to learn the new torrent software first.

But really the idea is to show the .iso - remember .iso? And that is the main point of SeniorLinux .004. And as far as whether an .iso is a file or not? Yes.

.iso

Here’s a definition:

“Common CD or DVD disc image format based on the ISO-9660 standard; contains an exact duplicate of data from the original disc; includes the data saved on the disc as well as the filesystem information, such as directory structures, file attributes, and boot code; often used for making copies of CDs and DVDs.”

That’s from: http://fileinfo.com/extension/iso - (new to me, thanks bing).

When I use a DVD to burn an .iso it is usually to boot something such as a Linux distribution. But an .iso DVD can boot Windows 10 as well. Or other OS’s.

As long as the .iso on the DVD has the data you want.

That means you probably won’t boot Windows and Linux from the same DVD. The ‘probably’ is because somebody has ‘probably’ figured out a way to use one DVD for two .iso ‘s - but why? DVDs are cheap.

The good - great - thing about the .iso DVD is its simplicity.

The bad - terrible - thing about the .iso DVD is its simplicity.

Is it dangerous? Yes. The DVD is stupid. The .iso on a DVD can be destructive and stupid - if it can be booted. So use care. Know what is on your DVD before you boot it.

With those things in mind, here is how to boot off an .iso DVD.

Before you load the .iso DVD:

Check that your BIOS or your UEFI allows you to boot first from the DVD (or an equivalent - but not just now). If you use MBR but your new OS likes GPT, make sure you know the difference. Looking online on bing or google or whatever is probably helpful, but it can be confusing. A good .iso introduction tells you what you need, but you need it before you boot the .iso.

If you burned the DVD from an .iso file from the Internet, you may have a checksum. Use it. It’s small and separate. And it’s there to let you know that you burned the .iso correctly. You need to load the DVD to do this. But it’s not booting. That’s next.

When you are ready to boot, eject the DVD, backup any and all files to a separate hard drive or SSD or network (or all three if you prefer), remove extra USB devices, then load the .iso DVD.

The rest is up to the .iso DVD.

What about a computer without a DVD drive? See ‘Booting USB devices’ and follow the instructions.

A knowledge of .iso gives you an enhanced palette. And the cost? A little bandwidth and - perhaps - some reading. Oh, and some blank DVDs or the equivalent.
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{{{2013}}}
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Talking tooltips? Why not. Or what if, when the pointer hovers over, the screen object plays a leet-motif for its type of object. How about the tiles in mahjong, when the pointer is selected, why not speak the name that's on the tile. Linux distros that can host hypothetical programs such as these are around. For free, or actually the cost of a blank dvd. And a big download.

Details of getting one below the orange antimacassar.

Edit: The distro below does not install automatically or as a choice as part of the boot process. You can try Live Versions of most Linux distros without making a commitment. Not as fast as an install, but you can beat a Live disc distro like a rented mule, and it will come back good as new with a reboot. The two tools described for torrenting the .iso and burning the .iso ought to work with any distro. This is an example of how I got and used these tools on a distro that caught my attention. It's designed to be used without the need for the internet. Useful for those with officially unsupported wifi sticks. It's a big download but it is a piece of art. It reaches the level of art that I would like to see Senior Linux achieve.

AVLinux "Dozer" (6.0.1B) is one of those distros that just feels right. User is user and root is root. And they aren't allowed to share the same password. It's based on Debian "Squeeze" and that's on purpose (i.e. the newer Debian Wheezy was available at the time). It's always nice to know what kind of person develops a work of art:
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http://www.remastersys.com/...
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The video is not embeddable but it seems like a safe enough link. The developer is a fan and he shows it. Even if you're not at all familiar with what the developer calls' "The Good Stuff" his passion shows through. And with multiple viewings, even the jargon should start to become clear because he uses the jargon in such ways that the following context helps explain the preceding term.

Here's an embeddable video that's pretty good too (but no eye candy)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=yjg9agf5_DI]
AVLinux is the only way to get a demo version of Harrison Mixbus.

And if that means nothing to you, it comes with Skype, and Libre Office, image creation and manipulation and other good stuff.

Should you try it? I would look for other choices were I running a massive database. This is a 32 bit distro. And they're in no rush to get to 64 (they offer PAE as an option to go over 4G). Providing a stable, steady, real-time base for audio and video to do their thing, has a big side-benefit: it provides a stable, steady, real-time base for anything else. Just add games and this would be the perfect distro. Right out of the box. For me. The screen running AVLinux Dozer is a little more tree-bark-like than this compressed video image. You can change the background. But try the default scheme for a few sessions first.

To get AVLinux, you really need a bit torrent device. I'm going to walk through the steps of downloading one such program.

µTorrent pasted into Google at 3:02 PM EDT 9-15-2013 shows this:

https://www.google.com/...

Going to the first link it shows me as a return visitor, so my experience may not be the same as yours as a new visitor.

We're going for the free stuff and that's in an orange colored big button labeled "Get µTorrent."

On that page, the pretty orange buttons cost money and the Free Download is to the left and says what it is in green underlined type.

The empty box on the big green-themed screen is purely optional. Pressing what looks like a grayed out Save File button on the smaller Windows XP dialogue box is not an option. Press the grayed-out Save File and you should see the button get a more defined edge and you may now click that button.

If you use Firefox you get a message at the bottom that download is finished (it's only 1.1 MB) and the arrow at the top brings up a dialog box. Select ShowAllDownloads.

Click on utorrent.exe and you may receive the standard warning against downloading files off the internet. If you still want the file, click Run.

Click the next two Next buttons.

Agree to the terms if you agree.

If you're not going to be using a bit torrent program on Windows for anything other than grabbing AVLinux, you probably will want to unselect at least the lower 2 offers to create icons.

The offer to provide an exception for Windows firewall should be kept selected. The option to start automatically with Windows each and every time from now until the end of time, should probably be deselected. However the Village Commons-aware nature of Bit Torrenting means acting as a server sometimes.

The free offers on the next 2 screens can be declined at this time. Write down the names and come back later if there's something you just can't live without.

The free version of µTorrent that appears after you click Finish has ads at the top and lower left side. I try to keep from pressing the big colorful buttons.

Close the program if you like.

Once you know µTorrent or another torrent program is installed go to the AVLinux page: http://www.bandshed.net/... and you will see: Download AV Linux via Torrent (Preferred Method) . Click the icon.

The red themed page has a round blue button in the mid upper left hand corner. Click this button.

The µTorrent selection should show up in the resulting dialog box (unless you already have a torrent default). Proceed with caution remembering the ad-thick atmosphere you are entering.

It's all about the .iso file.

If you need an iso burner a good one is Imgburn. The procedure for downloading it free can a little tricky. The 7th listed mirror is their own. The other six link to all sorts of sites. Whether the linked sites have extra baggage I can't say.

On the native site you get to the slightly different looking last window, offering to install a toolbar. The "Express" mode is pre-selected. To decline you need to select the expert mode and manually deselect each of the three selected boxes.

It's very easy to overlook this screen after getting in the rhythm of selecting 'safe' defaults.

If you do manage to install the toolbar by accident, it seems easy enough to get rid of if you use delete in the window and the control panel's "Add or Remove Programs" function.

It's all about the .iso file.

Insert a blank recordable DVD and start up ImgBurn. Select the Upper Left "Write image file to disc" button.

At the top you'll see a yellow icon. Select the big file you just finished loading and go.

When you finish you may want see what's there.

When you've finished seeing what's there, you want to boot from the disc to get the full experience. If your bios has CD/DVD booting listed first, leave it. If not move the option to first choice.

Boot a PC from the iso disc you just created. From here on out, it's safe to touch the pretty buttons.

Soundcard Utilities has mixers. Jack may need to be started manually. To test for sound, try hydrogen. The self-playing sample demos get more complex as you go along.

To get out of AVLinux the lower corners have logout options. To get back to Windows select, "Restart" and remove the DVD when you are told. Close the tray and hit "Return" and you should start up in Windows.

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That describes the process for getting almost any Linux distro that has a Live Boot option. One advantage of AVLinux, (and the reason I chose it for this diary) is that once the iso is downloaded, you don't have to have the internet to use it. In the words of the developer Glen MacArthur, "Complete right out of the box." Unless you want to install games.

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So what sort of experiences have you had with Linux Distros?
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{{{2016}}}
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So aphasia sometimes sneaks up on me. Like when I remember the broad concepts of torrents, but the details are blurred. Oh well.