System requirements:
The minimum system requirements for Ark Linux are:
- i586 class processor or superior
- at least 64 MB RAM
- 2.5 GB of free hard disk space.
Installation:
For this review we downloaded the Ark Linux Home version from here. The computer was our Fujitsu-Siemens C-1110.
Some days ago, we wrote that the installation of Freespire 2.0 was the easier and simplest we found. That was then, now, Ark Linux is making us review our statement: Ark's installation program is just amazing.
For installation, the program give us four options:
System install: this is the easiest one, only one click and the system is installed. No user interaction is required but it will delete and use ALL the hard disks attached to the machine. This option is perfect for users without any experience installing Linux or any operating system.
Express Install: on this option Ark will use any unpartitioned space in the hard disks.
Parallel Install: Ark Linux will resize any DOS/Windows partition and use the free space.
Expert Mode: in this case, it is possible to create and edit partitions. Ark recommends this option only if you know what you are doing.
We decided to try the installation program in two modes, System Install and Expert Mode.
The first screen of the installation process gives us the chance to select the language, the keyboard layout and the timezone.
System Install:
This option is really impressive; only one screen is deployed (for selecting the installation mode) and after this is selected Ark takes absolute control of the process. No user interaction is required, and there is a nice surprise waiting for us: Ark gives us the change to play some Tetris sessions while we wait for the installation to finish. The installation process takes almost 25 minutes in our C-1110, that is, 25 minutes playing Tetris, so when the installation is complete, we found ourselves asking the question: already done? . . . wow!
Besides Tetris, a little progress report is displayed.
As we said before, if Freespire's installation process seemed to be the easiest one, the number one spot in our ranking is now taken by Ark Linux without hesitation.
Expert Mode:
For our second installation, we chose the Expert Mode. After selecting that option in the initial dialogue, we found ourselves inside the program QtParted, which is a graphical front end for the application GNU Parted. QtParted is a clone of Partition Magic.
In QtParted we are able to create and edit the partitions in the hard disk in a very simple way, and when the changes are made, we just go to the menu File menu, then to Commit for writing the changes and then back to the Ark installation program.
It is very important to remember that we must activate some of the partitions. We do this by simply right clicking over the partition and then selecting "Set Active".
After QtParted made the changes, we must select the mount points and then decide if the partitions must be formatted or not. We must also choose where to install the boot manager (GRUB).
Now we can just relax and enjoy some Tetris while the installer copies all the files to the hard disk. After the process is finished, we restart the machine and enjoy our brand new Ark Linux.
As you can see, the only difference between the System Install and the Expert mode is the possibility to create or edit partitions and select the mounting points.
Notes about the installation:
- The default filesystem for Ark 2007.1 is jfs; this is the one you should use if you choose the System Install option. If you want to change this, there is an option in the installer that allows you to pick non-jfs filesystems during the installation, but it must be entered at the initial bootup prompt: fs=Fylesystem.
- There is no package selection in any install mode and there is no possibility to choose the screen resolution either. Ark Linux will not go beyond 1024x768 and because Ark Linux does not have a graphical application for this task, if you want to have higher resolutions you will need to edit the X configuration file by hand. You can find instructions to do this here.
- On the first boot, Ark should take you directly to a graphical environment. If is not the case it means that something went wrong throughout the installation process (probably the graphics card wasn't detected correctly). Explanations about how to recover from this error can be found here.
- The Express and Parallel modes are available only if Ark detects another operating system or some DOS/Windows partitions attached to the system. We were able to verify this behaviour the second time we installed Ark.
- Maybe the most curious detail about all of the Ark's installation process is that at no moment we were prompted for a root password or any user creation procedure. This is because the security approach of Ark Linux is, in a way, very peculiar.
The Ark Linux developers had created a module that allows graphical administration tools as root without prompting for a password. It is possible to configure which ones are the non-root users that will have this permission. This module can be controlled by either editing the files in /etc/pam.d or through the graphical configuration tool kapabilities that can be found in Mission Control.
Unlike other distributions, Ark Linux does not grant unprotected access to the default user. Ark has two default user accounts, arklinux and root, and they are disabled. This means that you can log in only through autologin unless you set a password using the user manager.
Ark Linux has the capability to log in on a local text mode console without a password. This allows you to login in text mode if something goes wrong.
If you don't like this approach and you prefer to have a more traditional login scheme, all you need to do is to set passwords for both accounts or create a new user and use it for your everyday tasks.
It is important to remark that accessing any of this accounts is only possible if you have physical access to the computer.
The Desktop:
The graphical environment in Ark Linux is KDE, and there is no default configuration for the desktop but there is a suggested one. At first boot we are welcomed by Kpersonalizer; that allows us to select look and feel configurations.
Besides the usual KDE options there is always an option called Ark that is the one customized by Ark's developers.
The Desktop is essentially the default KDE Desktop, there are no evident changes in the general appearance. It seems like the wallpaper and the launch icons in Kicked were the only modifications.
Applications:
A wide selection is available after installing Ark Linux. Probably, the most notorious detail is the absence of Mozilla Firefox; Konqueror has taken its place as the default -and only- browser.
OpenOffice is the available office suite and Scribus the available application for desktop publishing. Kontact is the email client.
Other available applications in Ark are: K3b, KTorrent, WPA Gui, Gwenview, Amarok, KMPlayer, RPM Installer. The majority of applications are KDE/QT based and even OpenOffice is integrated to KDE using the OpenOffice KDE Integration Project.
Package management:
For package management, we've found the Advanced Packaging Tool (APT); the graphic front end for APT there is Kynaptic.
Kynaptic is, in some ways, a limited application. It is not possible -for example- to make changes to the repositories configuration; if you want to make some changes you will need to edit the file /etc/apt/sources.list by hand; Synaptic is not available in the default Ark Linux repositories.
We were able to install Kaffeine, Midnight Commander and Mozilla-Firefox using the command line without any problems. We were not able to install Inkscape in the same way,
RPM Installer is also available by default in Ark Linux.
Removable media:
Ark Linux recognized without any problems all the removable media that we used for this review. As a plus, there was a nice hotplug visual announcement every time we attached a device to the system.
One little annoying detail: Ark creates two icons on the desktop for every removable medium; if the option "show device icons" is selected in Konqueror's behavior, three icons are created on the desktop for each medium. You can appreciate that in the screenshot below.
A very bad experience:
Ark Linux managed to delete the MBR (master boot record) in one removable ntfs disk we attached to the system. Seems like there is some problem with the ntfs-3g module in Ark.
This problem was not very hard to solve, we just needed to mount the partition with the error recovering option and all the data was successfully recovered.
mount -t ntfs -o errors=recover,ro /dev/sdb1 /mnt/ntfsThen we needed to backup all the data and make new partitions and formats in the ntfs external disk.
As we said before, the solution was not very complex, but for users without experience this situation may be catastrophic.
Mission Control:
Mission Control is Ark's control panel. Here, we can configure almost everything in Ark Linux (some modifications must be made by manually editing text files, such as screen resolution for example)
Mission Control has a very nice appearance, it is very simple and easy to use. The available tools are:
- Advanced settings
- Desktop and appearance
- Install Software
- Internet & Networking
- Printers and Hardware
- Region & Scheduling
- Sound and Multimedia
- Users and passwords
- Video & monitor
Some controls are KDE native, while others are specific to Ark, like Kapabilities, which allows us to edit the user's permissions and privileges in the particular security approach used by this distribution.
Mission Control is a simple yet powerful application. The navigation is intuitive and, as we said before, almost all the system can be controlled and configured from it.
Conclusions:
Ark Linux is, without any doubt, a distribution designed for users without experience. We can safely say that it fulfils its purpose in a excellent way. From the installation process to the configuration of some deep options in the system, almost everything is made in a nice, friendly, easy and intuitive graphical environment.
KDE's performance in this distribution is comparable to Vector Linux's, so it is possible to install Ark Linux in fairly old computers without feeling uncomfortable with the overall speed of the system.
Ark Linux's desktop quality is paramount to the one found on mainstream distributions. Even when there are some details to fix and problems to solve (like the ntfs support, for example), Ark Linux presents itself as a very interesting and promising option.
Maybe it is recommendable that you first try Ark Linux before installing it to the hard disk.
If you like KDE, is very unlikely that you will be disappointed with this distribution; if you prefer Gnome, maybe this is not the right distribution for you.
Links:
Official web site
Ark Linux at Distrowatch
|