Zenwalk

Zenwalk is a freely distributed fork of the Slackware Linux operating system, designed from the ground up to provide users with a modern and lightweight OS that is fully compatible with official Slackware packages.

Distributed as an installable only CD

Users can download Zenwalk Linux as a single, dual-arch CD ISO image that can only be installed on a local drive, supporting only 64-bit hardware platforms. A separate Live CD edition of Zenwalk is available for download on Softoware and it works on 32-bit computers too.

Boot options

The ISO image features a minimal boot loader designed primarily for adding extra kernel parameters. The user must press the Enter key to boot the installer or the F2 key for a detailed list of boot options.

Simplified text-mode installer

While the distribution’s text-mode installer is scary at a first glance, it proves to be quite easy to use, requiring you to select a keyboard map, partition the disk (if necessary), and choose the Autoinstall option to permanently install the operating system on a local drive, and install the bootloader.

In addition, after installation, it is a must to select a language, setup the root (system administrator) password, as well as to create a new user.

Lightweight and modern desktop environment powered by Xfce

The default and only desktop environment of Zenwalk Linux is Xfce, providing users with a lightweight and modern graphical desktop interface that comprises of a single taskbar located on the upper part of the screen and a bottom dock (application launcher).

Pre-loaded with top-notch apps

The distribution is pre-loaded with some of the best open source applications on the Web, such as Mozilla Firefox web browser, LibreOffice office suite, GIMP image editor, Mozilla Thunderbird email and news client, Geeqie image viewer, as well as Xfburn CD/DVD burning software.

Bottom line

In conclusion, if you want to use the Zenwalk Linux distribution on your home PC, we strongly suggest to first download and use Live CD edition before attempting to install this operating system.

What is new in this release:

• Zenwalk is back after a long development blackout, with latest best of breed software (Libreoffice 5.1.3, Chromium 51, Mplayer 1.3, ffmpeg 3.0.1), latest Slackware base system featuring the Linux kernel 4.4.14, and a new desktop layout for the user-friendly XFCE 4.12.1.
• Zenwalk 8.0 is a "less than 1GB ISO" pure Slackware system with added post-install configurations, optimizations and tunings already done out of the box, with a ready to use polished desktop environment, with added graphical system tools, added office and multimedia applications, and striped to keep just "one application per task"!
• beginning with release 8.0 : Zenwzalk is a 64 bits only Linux distribution. As it is hard to still find 32 bits CPU nowadays : I believe that the old 32 bits architecture is for small specialized systems only, not for desktop (even very old 10 years old CPUs such as early AMD Athlon can run 64 bits code). Of course, contributors are very welcome to port it to 32 bits.
• In 2016 the web browser is becoming the most important application, and desktops have to "be able" to be synced with smartphones and social networks. So, thanks to Alien Bob, we provide Chromium as the default web browser (firefox is still available from repositories and can be installed with a few mouse clics via Netpkg).
• Also staring with this release, some tweaks have been added to I/O and CPU schedulling policies to give X applications some more cycles than the underlying system. You will hopefully notice some improvements in desktop responsiveness.
• System tools have been heavily improved to fully integrate Policykit privileges elevation features, enabling the unprivileged user to tweak many system parameters that require root ownership (you can now change your user password from the XFCE panel by entering your previous password, set the Xorg keyboard layout without root privileges, set your locale, set the login manager settings, etc...). As usual the system tools work similarly in graphical mode, launched from the panel, and non-X console mode with the same menus and options.
• Thanks to Didier Spaier for some good advices about installer improvements, and contributing an upcoming polyglot Zenwalk variant.
• The network package manager "Netpkg" can simultaneously query as many repositories as needed, providing the distribution with thousand packages coming from Slackware, Zenwalk extras, and other trusted sources ... Thanks to Emurikku, we also provides a complete set of Music/Recording tools, including the Ardour recording framework, along with a real time kernel, making Zenwalk a recording Studio out of the box.
• Thanks to Vincent Kergonna for hosting the main package repository and Zenwalk ISOs, flawlessly since 10 years !
• If you need the plethora of Slackware network servers and applications from the start : please note that you can download an original Slackware (or support the Slackware project at https://store.slackware.com/cgi-bin/store), then install the latest set of Zenwalk 8.0 packages ("z" serie of packages) on it, then reboot : you will get a genuine Zenwalk system, of course : without the "one application per task" cleanup.
• And finally thanks to Patrick Volkerding for inventing the concept of what we actually call a "GNU Linux Distribution", and thanks to the thousand skilled developpers who coded all the pieces : kernel, drivers, applications, libraries, etc...
• And finally thanks to the Flying Spaghetti Monster for inventing the concept of what we actually call a "The Universe", and thanks the thousand of scientists who continuously try to understand why he did it.

What is new in version 8.0:

• Zenwalk is back after a long development blackout, with latest best of breed software (Libreoffice 5.1.3, Chromium 51, Mplayer 1.3, ffmpeg 3.0.1), latest Slackware base system featuring the Linux kernel 4.4.14, and a new desktop layout for the user-friendly XFCE 4.12.1.
• Zenwalk 8.0 is a "less than 1GB ISO" pure Slackware system with added post-install configurations, optimizations and tunings already done out of the box, with a ready to use polished desktop environment, with added graphical system tools, added office and multimedia applications, and striped to keep just "one application per task"!
• beginning with release 8.0 : Zenwzalk is a 64 bits only Linux distribution. As it is hard to still find 32 bits CPU nowadays : I believe that the old 32 bits architecture is for small specialized systems only, not for desktop (even very old 10 years old CPUs such as early AMD Athlon can run 64 bits code). Of course, contributors are very welcome to port it to 32 bits.
• In 2016 the web browser is becoming the most important application, and desktops have to "be able" to be synced with smartphones and social networks. So, thanks to Alien Bob, we provide Chromium as the default web browser (firefox is still available from repositories and can be installed with a few mouse clics via Netpkg).
• Also staring with this release, some tweaks have been added to I/O and CPU schedulling policies to give X applications some more cycles than the underlying system. You will hopefully notice some improvements in desktop responsiveness.
• System tools have been heavily improved to fully integrate Policykit privileges elevation features, enabling the unprivileged user to tweak many system parameters that require root ownership (you can now change your user password from the XFCE panel by entering your previous password, set the Xorg keyboard layout without root privileges, set your locale, set the login manager settings, etc...). As usual the system tools work similarly in graphical mode, launched from the panel, and non-X console mode with the same menus and options.
• Thanks to Didier Spaier for some good advices about installer improvements, and contributing an upcoming polyglot Zenwalk variant.
• The network package manager "Netpkg" can simultaneously query as many repositories as needed, providing the distribution with thousand packages coming from Slackware, Zenwalk extras, and other trusted sources ... Thanks to Emurikku, we also provides a complete set of Music/Recording tools, including the Ardour recording framework, along with a real time kernel, making Zenwalk a recording Studio out of the box.
• Thanks to Vincent Kergonna for hosting the main package repository and Zenwalk ISOs, flawlessly since 10 years !
• If you need the plethora of Slackware network servers and applications from the start : please note that you can download an original Slackware (or support the Slackware project at https://store.slackware.com/cgi-bin/store), then install the latest set of Zenwalk 8.0 packages ("z" serie of packages) on it, then reboot : you will get a genuine Zenwalk system, of course : without the "one application per task" cleanup.
• And finally thanks to Patrick Volkerding for inventing the concept of what we actually call a "GNU Linux Distribution", and thanks to the thousand skilled developpers who coded all the pieces : kernel, drivers, applications, libraries, etc...
• And finally thanks to the Flying Spaghetti Monster for inventing the concept of what we actually call a "The Universe", and thanks the thousand of scientists who continuously try to understand why he did it.

What is new in version 7.9.6 / 8.0 Beta 3:

• FFmpeg 3.0
• MPlayer 1.3
• Chromium 49
• LibreOffice 5.1.1
• the switch to pulseaudio mixer
• full polkit desktop integration for privileges elevation management
• some improvements in system tools
• a few desktop tweakings (ie : intelligent hiding of the back panel)
• all audio production tools have been updated

What is new in version 7.9.6 / 8.0 Beta 2:

• As requested by several testers : unprivileged user accounts creation dialog has been added to setup, prior the first X login (for those who don't know how, or just don't want to switch to tty2 to create users accounts before logging into X).

What is new in version 7.9.6:

• Fast boot time, great hardware support, and no "nonsense colorful installer with dancing dolphins" : only usability matters.
• Zenwalk 7.4 is still fully compatible with Slackware packages.
• The XFCE desktop environment has been updated version 4.12 GIT, providing a good overview of the upcoming 4.12 final. This intermediate version has been fully tested during 4 months and the result can already be considered very stable (a few components of the XFCE 4.10 have been kept for stability).
• Several applications of previous Zenwalks have been replaced : Mplayer is now the multimedia player (instead of Totem), Lxdm is the display manager (instead of GDM), Xfburn is the CD:DVD burner (instead of Brasero), Geeqie is now the image viewer.
• As usual most packages have been updated:
• LibreOffice 4.1.3
• Gimp 2.8.10
• XFCE 4.12GIT
• Thunderbird 24.3.0
• Firefox 27.0
• Kernel 3.10.25 with performance tweaks
• Zenwalk 7.4 setup tool set has support to install the system on an UEFI PC (note that the bios has to be put in legacy mode temporary to boot the install CD).

What is new in version 7.9.5:

• Fast boot time, great hardware support, and no "nonsense colorful installer with dancing dolphins" : only usability matters.
• Zenwalk 7.4 is still fully compatible with Slackware packages.
• The XFCE desktop environment has been updated version 4.12 GIT, providing a good overview of the upcoming 4.12 final. This intermediate version has been fully tested during 4 months and the result can already be considered very stable (a few components of the XFCE 4.10 have been kept for stability).
• Several applications of previous Zenwalks have been replaced : Mplayer is now the multimedia player (instead of Totem), Lxdm is the display manager (instead of GDM), Xfburn is the CD:DVD burner (instead of Brasero), Geeqie is now the image viewer.
• As usual most packages have been updated:
• LibreOffice 4.1.3
• Gimp 2.8.10
• XFCE 4.12GIT
• Thunderbird 24.3.0
• Firefox 27.0
• Kernel 3.10.25 with performance tweaks
• Zenwalk 7.4 setup tool set has support to install the system on an UEFI PC (note that the bios has to be put in legacy mode temporary to boot the install CD).

What is new in version 7.4:

• Fast boot time, great hardware support, and no "nonsense colorful installer with dancing dolphins" : only usability matters.
• Zenwalk 7.4 is still fully compatible with Slackware packages.
• The XFCE desktop environment has been updated version 4.12 GIT, providing a good overview of the upcoming 4.12 final. This intermediate version has been fully tested during 4 months and the result can already be considered very stable (a few components of the XFCE 4.10 have been kept for stability).
• Several applications of previous Zenwalks have been replaced : Mplayer is now the multimedia player (instead of Totem), Lxdm is the display manager (instead of GDM), Xfburn is the CD:DVD burner (instead of Brasero), Geeqie is now the image viewer.
• As usual most packages have been updated:
• LibreOffice 4.1.3
• Gimp 2.8.10
• XFCE 4.12GIT
• Thunderbird 24.3.0
• Firefox 27.0
• Kernel 3.10.25 with performance tweaks
• Zenwalk 7.4 setup tool set has support to install the system on an UEFI PC (note that the bios has to be put in legacy mode temporary to boot the install CD).

What is new in version 7.4 Beta 1:

• LibreOffice 4.1.1
• Gimp 2.8.6
• XFCE 4.12GIT
• Thunderbird 24.1.0
• Firefox 25.0.1
• Kernel 3.10.20 with performance tweaks

What is new in version 7.2:

• After several months of rescheduling we think it's time to let this new jet fly. Zenwalk 7.2 is loyal to it's design : providing 1 application per task, everything needed to work / play / code / create, in a single 700MB ISO image, through a 10 minutes automatic install process on any recent computer. Zenwalk is aimed to be really fast in the club of "modern desktop" Linux systems, due to many optimizations at different levels : kernel, applications, desktop. The challenge that we faced, and made them delay the 7.2 release date, was to achieve 100% Slackware Linux compatibility while keeping most of the optimizations that were introduced during the last years of development, started in 2004. Zenwalk 7.2 runs on kernel 3.4.8 with BFS scheduler. The Zenwalk desktop is based on the XFCE 4.10 / GTK 2.24.10/3.4.4 team, with unique look and feel and perfect ergonomic integration of the application set : Libreoffice 3.6.2, Firefox/Thunderbird 15.0.1, Gimp 2.8.2 and much more... The Netpkg package manager has been improved with multiple mirrors support and better performance.

What is new in version 7.2 RC5:

• Linux kernel 3.4.8 with BFS scheduler
• XFCE 4.10
• Libreoffice 3.5
• GTK 2.24.10 and GTK 3.4.4
• Thunderbird 14
• Gimp 2.8
• Firefox 14.0.1
• Netpkg 4.9.1 with multi-mirrors support

What is new in version 7.0:

• LibreOffice 3.3.1
• XFCE 4.8.1
• Icecat 3.6.15
• Icedove 3.0.4
• Kernel 2.6.37.4 with BFS scheduler and performance tweaks

What is new in version 7.0 RC3:

• LibreOffice 3.3.1
• XFCE 4.8.1
• Icecat 3.6.13
• Icedove 3.0.4
• Kernel 2.6.35.11 with BFS scheduler and performance tweaks

What is new in version 7.0 Beta 1:

• At user level, the XFCE desktop environment has been updated to the brand new 4.8.0 version, providing many improvements and new features.
• Coming with a new VFS, XFCE 4.8.0 allows CIFS and SFTP shares browsing through the file manager, making it mostly feature equivalent to Gnome while still a lot faster.
• The new panel has good support for transparency, and is packaged with many plugins out of the box.
• At system level Zenwalk 7.0 BETA comes without HAL, which has been completely replaced by udev/GIO.

What is new in version 6.4:

• Kernel 2.6.33.4
• The brand new XFCE 4.6.2
• New artwork (designed by JP)
• udev 151 (faster boot, yes, it's still possible to improve Zenwalk boot time ;) )
• Openoffice 3.2.0 (fast optimized version)
• Xorg 7.5
• Better internationalization
• Gstreamer 0.10.28
• Much more (nearly all packages are new) ....

What is new in version 6.4 Beta:

• Kernel 2.6.33.1
• Updated version of XFCE 4.6.1
• New artwork (designed by JP)
• udev 151 (faster boot, yes, it's still possible to improve Zenwalk boot time ;) )
• Openoffice 3.2.0 (fast optimized version)
• Xorg 7.5
• Better internationalization
• Gstreamer 0.10.28
• Much more (nearly all packages are new) ....