American Infidel 3.0

Religious Linux Distributions (Part 2): Zenix

Zenix: Linux for Enlightened Beings

Zenix is a another Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, but this one is for Buddhists. I will have to say that I liked this distribution better that Ubuntu Christian Edition. Here is what the website says about the distribution:

Welcome to Zenix.
Zenix is an Ubuntu remix with several goals:

Community – We would like to continue the tradition of an Ubuntu “Buddhist Edition”. This is achieved primarily via themes and the inclusion of Buddhist Bookmarks in Firefox. The Buddhist content is “soft” and for non-Buddhists should be non-intrusive.

Security – Zenix includes an active firewall (iptables configured with GUFW) and AppArmor is configured out of the box (with custom profiles for network aware applications).

Compatibility with Ubuntu – Zenix uses the standard Ubuntu repositories and we hope to release Zenix in sync with Ubuntu.

When I first booted the live cd in VirtualBox I noticed that it didn’t look exactly like Ubuntu. The default desktop environment was XFCE. XFCE is a lightweight desktop environment. It is just as good as Gnome, what Ubuntu uses, but it works better on older computers. Below you can see a screenshot of the desktop when you first login. It looks very nice. Not only can you chose XFCE, with this distribution you can choose Fluxbox. Fluxbox is a window manager, which is not as robust as a desktop environment, but basically serves the same purpose. It is how the windows are drawn on the screen. I have used both Fluxbox and XFCE and I like them both.

Zenix XFCE Desktop

Zenix Fluxbox Desktop with Right Click Menu

What makes this distribution different that Ubuntu Christian Edition is that there isn’t much of anything Buddhist related here. As they said in their goals, “The Buddhist content is “soft” and for non-Buddhists should be non-intrusive”. The only Buddhist related stuff here is the name, the wallpaper, and some Firefox bookmarks. I counted 35 bookmarks about Buddhism and they are tucked away in a folder in the bookmarks menu in Firefox.

Again, like Ubuntu Christian Edition, I think the developers of Zenix don’t understand the meaning of Ubuntu. At least the Buddhism isn’t in you face. Buddhist aren’t in your face trying to “spread the gospel” anyways. The Buddah on the wallpaper does not bother me near as much as seeing a crucified man. I like the theme enough on the XFCE desktop that I wouln’t have a problem installing it and changing the wallpaper. I would delete all the bookmarks and add my own. Just like I said last time, I just don’t think a version of Ubuntu for Buddhists is neccessary.

Religious Linux Distributions (Part 1): Ubuntu Christian Edition

Those of you who know me, know that I am a huge supporter of Linux.  I think software should be free (the word free does not always mean price).  Currently the distribution of Linux I use is called Ubuntu.  Some people have created Linux distributions for specific religions, which to me sounds a little strange.  Some of these are based on Ubuntu.  Most of these distributions have a different wallpaper and a few other programs.  They just aren’t all that original as you will see and they miss the whole point of “Ubuntu”.   Ubuntu is for human beings, which means all of us, not just christians, buddhists, muslims, etc.

From wikipedia.org:

Ubuntu is an ethic or humanist philosophy focusing on people’s allegiances and relations with each other. The word has its origin in the Bantu languages of southern Africa. Ubuntu is seen as a classical African concept.  The Ubuntu operating system was named for this principle.

Ubuntu 9.10 Christian Edition

From their website:

Ubuntu Christian Edition is a free, open source operating system geared towards Christians. It is based on the popular Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is a complete Linux-based operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The goal of Ubuntu Christian Edition is to bring the power and security of Ubuntu to Christians. The current Ubuntu Christian Edition release supports both 32 bit and 64 bit PCs. Ubuntu Christian Edition covers every standard desktop application from word processing and spreadsheet applications to web server software and programming tools.

Along with the standard Ubuntu applications, Ubuntu Christian Edition includes the best available Christian software. The latest release contains Xiphos, OpenSong, E-Sword installer, and much more.

This was the first religious Linux distribution I found.  I thought it was funny.   I installed Ubuntu Christian Edition in VirtualBox and played around with it a little bit.  It is exactly like they described, it’s Ubuntu with a few religious applications.  If I were a christian I would just install Ubuntu and then install those applications.  One of the most appealing features about Ubuntu is their software repository.  Installing software in Linux is nothing like it is on Windows.  You simply open a program, search for the software you want and tell it to install it.  For those you you haven’t tried Linux, installing software is amazingly easy.  Here is a screenshot of the desktop:

Desktop

Another feature of Ubuntu Christian Edition is DansGuardian.  This program can be installed on any Linux distribution.  It is a web content filtering proxy.  In other words it blocks porn, and porn seemed to be the only thing I couldn’t get to.  They could have blocked other sites if they wanted.  Here is what happened when I tried to go to one of my favorite porn sites, myfreepaysite.com:

I couldn't get to myfreepaysite.com with Firefox.

I would have thought that they would have banned anything that met certain keywords which might have been on this site.  Here is americaninfidel.com from Ubuntu Christian Edition:

American Infidel on Ubuntu Christian Edition.

The only thing I can really say in closing about Ubuntu Christian Edition is “Why?”  It just seems unnecessary, but at least they are using Linux.

Stay tuned for more religious Linux Distribution coverage.

Ashley