SanFranciscoLinux

SanFranciscoLinux is an open source distribution of Linux based on the lightweight and flexible Arch Linux operating system and built around the Scrotwm window manager, which is setup as its default desktop environment. It features several useful utilities and applications and has been designed from the ground up for fans of the San Francisco city in the United States of America.

Distributed as a 32-bit Live CD

This Arch Linux based operating system can be downloaded from its official website or via Softoware (see download link above) as a i686-tagged Live CD ISO image that will run well on either 64-bit (x86_64) or 32-bit (i686) hardware platforms.

Boot options

The boot menu is the same one that the official Arch Linux ISO image uses. It will allow the user to boot the live environment, boot an existing operating system from the first disk, run a system memory diagnostic test, view detailed hardware information, as well as to reboot or shutdown the computer.

Minimal graphical desktop environment with a twist

As mentioned, the default and only graphical desktop environment of the SanFranciscoLinux distribution is Scrotwm, which is a very small and dynamic tiling window manager for the X Window System. Keep in mind though, that you will first need to log in using the ‘guest’ username and the ‘welcome’ password.

After that, you will be dropped to a shell prompt from where you should type the ‘startx’ command in order to access the graphical session powered by the minimalistic Scrotwm window manager. Please note that the root (system administrator) password for this system is ‘scrotwm’.

Bottom line

In conclusion, SanFranciscoLinux is a very basic distribution of Linux whose main purpose is to promote the Scrotwm window manager among Arch Linux users. A virtual machine image is also available for download on the project’s website.