Freeloader Linux

Freeloader Linux is an open source Ubuntu-based operating system that has been designed from the ground up to boot directly into XBMC Media Center applications. It features the popular Navi-X and IceFilms add-ons, and includes the lightweight Xfce desktop environment for those who want to use it for more than watching movies and TV shows.

Available for download as a dual-arch Live DVD

The distribution is available for download as a single, dual-arch Live DVD ISO image of approximately 1GB in size, suitable for DVD discs or USB thumb drives of 1GB or higher capacity. It is supported on both 32-bit (i386) and 64-bit (x86_64) hardware platforms.

Standard boot options

From the boot menu, the user can start the live environment with default boot options or in safe graphics mode, start the installer directly to permanently install the distribution of a local drive, run a memory diagnostic test, as well as to boot an existing OS from the first disk.

XBMC Media Center based graphical environment accompanied by Xfce

If you’re using Freeloader Linux on a computer with a 3D enabled graphical card, it will automatically present you the XBMC Media Center interface. On the other hand, if no 3D-enabled video card is detected, it will fallback to the lightweight, old-school Xfce desktop environment.

Default applications on the Xfce desktop

When using the Xfce desktop, you’ll have instant access to various open source applications, such as GIMP image editor, Mozilla Firefox web browser, Audacious audio player, VLC Media Player, Thunar file manager and Synaptic Package Manager.

Bottom line

Summing up, Freeloader Linux is a great distribution of Linux for people who are looking for a free, powerful and supported media center operating system. It is powered by the latest XBMC and Ubuntu technologies, ideal for the modern TV sets.