I think that the software that you're looking for, particularly if you install Linux to a hard disk or flash drive, is called Debian.
I don't know if it's posted or not but it would be great if we could enjoy a new Knoppix with the possibility to update/upgrade all the programs like a normal debian s.o. but with the simplicity of knoppix, I know many of us would be very greatful with that great feature. Thanks
I think that the software that you're looking for, particularly if you install Linux to a hard disk or flash drive, is called Debian.
---
Verifying of md5 checksum and burning a CD at slow speed are important.
Call it a Debian-compliant Knoppix or a Knoppix-enhanced Debian, that is what some of us have been looking for. We're even willing to build it ourselves, but stripping Knoppix down until it is updatable with Debian has proved difficult. That's why we've requested a developer's Knoppix, the beautiful Knoppix bits in a minimalist system that we can add to in a Debian way.
It would be a very hard work and I know what I am talking about Knoppix offers simplicity and it's very fast, with all the setup done. The only problem is to update many programs and the operative system itself (kernel, security, etc), I understand that it wouldn't be the same if we reject many servers but maybe many other programs. less used, could be removed. Something as a Debian stable already working with all the setup done (similar to knoppix) could be a great work. Otherwise we must use Ubuntu/Linux Mint.
I've been trying out a rolling-release, Debian-derived system, and this is a nice feature, I must say.
In Knoppix's defense, it might be noted that Klaus K rather regularly updates Knoppix annually.
KK's distro, if I may use that term, is more up-to-date in concepts and kernel number than many linuxes.
LiveUSBs are pretty inexpensive these days, you can have more than one linux if you want.
You have looked at Debian more recently than five or six years ago, right?
When I first got involved with Knoppix, Debian was indeed a lot of work to install. I consider myself pretty technical, and I took what I thought were good notes on the system that I was intending to install Debian on, yet I would still have to abort the install and go back and look at some some obscure piece of information to restart and complete the install. Knoppix impressed a lot of people because it "just worked", it showed that this stuff could be determined at install or boot time rather than making the installer go through a hardware engineer final exam. People asked Klaus for a way to install it and he did accommodate, but cautioned that because Knoppix was a mix of different Debian versions an "install" was not suitable for most users. People complained if Knoppix can "kist work" them why can other versions of Linux.
Debian and others learned from Knoppix and a Debian install is much cleaner now. I'm really not sure what you are complaining about. Sure, there are still some choices, like which version of Debian to use, and if you want a desktop or server environment, and which desktop to use and so on, but they are not tough choices, particularly if you have used a Live CD like Knoppix to aquatint yourself with Linux. You do have to install the packages that you want, but each is as simple as a single command line entry, and you don't end up with hundreds of applications that you will never use and you can choose from thousands more not included in Knoppix.
Personally I wouldn't suggest Debian Stable unless you were installing a mission critical server system. I've found Debian Testing to be as stable and have access to much newer tools. But that is just another choice one gets to make when installing Debian.
I guess one could easily write a script that would install the packages that Knoppix includes so that you could install everything in one burst. Walk away and come back to a very Knoppix like setup. But I wouldn't want to do that, it just adds too much bloat to the average system; bloat that is fine when filling space on a live DVD but pointless when setting up a hard disk system.
So you may very well know what you are talking about. I just don't know if the rest of us do and I certainly don't know what you think is so hard about installing Debian. And I say this as someone who has installed Debian to hard disk many times. I've never tried to install Knoppix to hard disk. I have tried to install it to flash, but never with satisfactory results.
---
Verifying of md5 checksum and burning a CD at slow speed are important.
I love knoppix but if some vulnerability is found (and imagine about kernel and the difference in time between new versions of knoppix) and if you use knoppix in some moment to read your email or to visit a website with your login/password, who knows what could happen!. Internet is a very dangerous place to live without updates. In this case it's true that Knoppix is not made to do those things, maybe only to visit some information on internet, to play games, etc...
I used Debian many years ago during some time, I am from those times with debian/freebsd/openbsd/qnx/oracle/... and if I want to install some operative system in my computer I prefer Openbsd. But with livecds in my usb pen drive to use in many different computers and in my job with my VPN and Tor, I don't want to install everything from 0, I only want to use it as antivirus to analyze some computers (I downloaded Bitdefender free for 1 year to Unix), as an easy way to read my emails and browse when I have some time, etc...; but as i read in your answer maybe Debian has changed a lot (I remember when I was working many hours/days to setup this o.s. some years ago).
----------------------------------
Full quote deleted.
Last edited by Werner P. Schulz; 01-27-2015 at 10:20 PM.
Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 DRAM 2666MHz (PC4-21300) C16 Memory Kit
$37.99
A-Tech 16GB 2 x 8GB PC3-12800 Laptop SODIMM DDR3 1600 Memory RAM PC3L 16G DDR3L
$23.98
Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2x8GB) PC RAM DDR3 1600MHz (PC3-12800) CL9 Desktop Memory
$22.99
Sandisk 16GB 32GB 64GB 128GB Cruzer Blade Flash Drive Memory Stick USB Lot Pack
$5.50
Kingston HyperX FURY DDR3 8GB 16GB 32G 1600 1866 1333 Desktop Memory RAM DIMM
$12.85
CORSAIR - VENGEANCE LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3200MHz C16 UDIMM Desktop Memory -...
$51.99
A-Tech 8GB DDR3 1600 PC3-12800 Laptop SODIMM 204-Pin Memory RAM PC3L DDR3L 1x 8G
$11.99
Crucial DDR3L 16GB 1600 8GB 16GB PC3-12800 Laptop SODIMM Memory RAM PC3 16G DDR3
$12.45
Lot of 50 4GB DDR4 Memory PC4-3200 SODIMM Laptop RAM 3200MHz (MIX BRAND)
$199.99
USB Flash Drive Memory Stick Pendrive Thumb Drive 4GB, 8GB, 32GB, 64GB 128GB LOT
$264.33