TinyMe

TinyMe is a free and minimalist distribution of Linux derived from the open-source PCLinuxOS operating system, which in turn is based on Mandriva Linux, and designed from the ground up to be as low on resources as possible, yet still usable as a day by day OS on low-end machines and computers with old or semi-old hardware components.

It’s downloadable as Live CDs optimized for 32-bit and 64-bit platforms

The operating system is downloadable as Live CD ISO images that have been optimized for both 32-bit (i386) and 64-bit (x86_64) hardware platforms. The have only 250MB in size and must be written to CD discs or USB thumb drives in order to boot them from the BIOS of a PC.

The boot menu is unusable!

Sadly, the boot menu is unstable at a first glance, as the highlighted lines are black, identical with the background, and you won’t be able to navigate between boot options so easily.

However, from there you can launch the live system with normal video drivers, in safe graphics mode, in failsafe mode or by copying the contents of the CD to RAM (system memory), as well as to check the integrity of the bootable medium (only if using a CD disc).

The desktop environment is simple and traditional, powered by Openbox

TinyMe’s graphical session is built around the Openbox window manager. It provides users with a simple and traditional interface comprised of a bottom panel from where they can launch apps, interact with opened programs and cycle between virtual workspaces. Please note that you must first log into the graphical environment using the root/root username/password combination.

Contains a minimal set of open-source applications

As expected from a minimalist distribution of Linux, TinyMe contains a minimal set of open-source applications. Among these, we can mention the DeaDBeeF audio player, Parole media player, Viewnior image viewer, AbiWord word processor, Transmission torrent downloader and Netsurf web browser.

What is new in this release:

• Kernel 3.2.7
• SLiM logs you in
• DeadBeef, audio player
• AbiWord, a light and fast yet powerful word processor
• Netsurf, web browser
• Osmo, personal information manager
• Viewnior, image viewer
• MEdit, a tabbed text editor
• MuPDF, a very small PDF viewer
• Conky, a small system monitor
• Tilda, a Quake-esque terminal similar to Yakuake- just press F11) to pull down from the top of your screen!

What is new in version 2010 RC2010.08.20:

• Kernel 2.6.33.6
• SLiM logs you in
• DeadBeef, audio player
• AbiWord, a light and fast yet powerful word processor
• Gnumeric, spreadsheet application
• Midori, web browser
• Ayttm, instant chat client. Handles IRC, AIM-ICQ, Jabber, LiveJournal, MSN, Yahoo, and even can send e-mails via SMTP.
• Osmo, personal information manager
• Sylpheed, e-mail client
• Viewnior, image viewer
• SimpleBurn, disk burner
• Asunder, a CD ripper
• MtPaint, a basic image editor (also takes screenshots)
• MEdit, a tabbed text editor
• MuPDF, a very small PDF viewer
• Conky, a small system monitor
• Parcellite, a very small clipboard utility
• TightVNC Viewer, view the screen of another computer over a network
• Tilda, a Quake-esque terminal similar to Yakuake- just press F12 (F1 in the root account1)) to pull down from the top of your screen!

What is new in version 2010 RC1:

• Kernel 2.6.31.12
• SLiM logs you in
• Pragha, audio player
• AbiWord, a light and fast yet powerful word processor
• Midori, web browser
• Ayttm, instant chat client. Handles IRC, AIM-ICQ, Jabber, LiveJournal, MSN, Yahoo, and even can send e-mails via SMTP.
• Osmo, personal information manager
• Sylpheed, e-mail client
• Viewnior, image viewer
• Recorder, disk burner
• Asunder, a CD ripper
• MtPaint, a basic image editor (also takes screenshots)
• MEdit, a tabbed text editor
• MuPDF, a very small PDF viewer
• Conky, a small system monitor
• Parcellite, a very small clipboard utility
• TightVNC Viewer, view the screen of another computer over a network
• Tilda, a Quake-esque terminal similar to Yakuake- just press F12 (F1 in the root account1)) to pull down from the top of your screen!

What is new in version 2010 Beta 2:

• Update to kernel 2.6.31.9
• Updated to Xorg 1.7
• NOTE: the ATi proprietary driver for Xorg 1.7 is not yet available. The free driver offers limited 3D capabilities.
• LiveCD asks user to set up timezone and keyboard
• On first booting an install, user is asked to set root password and create a new user
• Squished bug where installer wanted XDM
• Various packages added to enable networking
• VirtualBox mouse and keyboard integration seemed to magically start working with the kernel upgrade
• SLiM:
• has been updated to the latest SVN snapshot
• should now remember your previous session
• has been modified to use ~/.dmrc
• Added TightVNC viewer
• Added Parcellite
• Updated MuPDF, Sylpheed, Openbox, Midori, and LXAppearance
• Conky: tweaked for smaller screens
• Sylpheed: Spell check was disabled as it was causing crashes
• Osmo: menu entry is fixed
• MuPDF: add file selection wrapper script
• New bootsplash, "TinyMe Starburst"

What is new in version 2009 Alpha 1:

• We've decided that our former naming scheme was too confusing to people and so from now the larger release will be called 'Acorn' (or a translation of that) and the smaller release will continue to be called 'Droplet'. What's different from TinyMe 2008.0? Linux kernel 2.6.26.8; LZMA compression on the live CD; LXPanel now conforms to PCLinuxOS menu system; drives are now identified by UUID rather than /dev/xxx; added Osmo, a personal information manager; added Hv3 as an alternative browser alongside Opera; removed XArchiver as PCManFM has (de)compression abilities already built in; removed gFTP and GThumb; SLiM instead of GDM.

What is new in version 2008.1:

• KDulcimer is proud to announce the birth of TinyMe 2008.1 'Droplet'. Weighing in at a small 150 MB, this slimmed-down offshoot of PCLinuxOS gives you a very minimal, very fast and lightweight, yet powerful and easily expandable Linux desktop. If you want a system where you choose your own programs, yet customization is easy, 'Droplet' is perfect for you. Features: SLiM to log you in; PCLinuxOS control center to configure your system; Synaptic to install programs and keep your system up to date; PCManFM, file and desktop manager; TinyCC to configure the desktop; Openbox, a window manager; LXPanel to keep track of the windows you have open; Nano, a command-line text editor.

What is new in version 2008.1 Beta 1:

• The first beta for TinyMe 2008.1 has been unleashed! While TinyMe 2008.0 was a great release, we're trying to make TinyMe even smaller. Thus, TinyMe 2008.1 is an effort to try to get TinyMe down to a bare-bones 150 MB ISO image. What's new for this test release? Live CD size is down to target size; switched from GDM to SLiM; put some of the artwork in place; a lot of wireless and networking stuff has been put back in. What still needs to be done? Fill in any missing wireless drivers; get keyboard selection on live CD boot to come back; re-instate TinyCC; get GRUB splash and bootsplash artwork in place; look at 2.6.22.x kernel.