Slax is a Linux-based operating system that you can run from a CD or USB flash drive. Developer Tomáš Matějíček is getting ready to release version 7, and this week he’s launched the first release candidate of Slax 7.

It’s a fully-functional operating system that weighs in at less than 190MB and which runs well on computers with at least 256MB of RAM.

Slax 7 Release Candidate

Slax 7 RC 1 is based on the Linux 3.6.6 kernel and uses the KDE 4.9.2 desktop environment. Out of the box you get some basic tools including the Firefox web browser, a few games, a document viewer, some media player apps, and and a few utilities.

What makes Slax cool though, is its modular approach to software. Instead of downloading and installing apps one-by-one from an app store or package manager, you can simply add a Slax module to your flash drive and either load it every time the operating system boots or just when you need it.

You can also build-your-own Slax system before you even download anything, but that feature isn’t yet available for Slax 7.

Matějíček also plans to sell 16GB USB flash drives loaded with Slax 7 for $25 each starting later this year. But you can take the release candidate for a spin by downloading the latest version from the links at Matějíček’s blog. It’s available in 32-bit and 64-bit varieties, and ISO or TAR versions.

You can burn the ISO version to a CD or open it using a virtual machine such as VirtualBox. Or you can download and unzip the TAR version to a USB flash drive to make it into a bootable Slax 7 drive.

via Phoronix

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2 replies on “Slax 7 coming soon: Light-weight Linux distro that runs from a USB thumb drive”

  1. The way modules are implemented seems ok, but aren’t they just what other linuxes call packages? Certainly on debian (& similar) you can choose to install a package (to have it accessible on boot), or save the package file (.deb) somewhere for installing when you need it. Am I missing something here?

    1. In this case you don’t have to “install” anything at all. Just put it in one directory and it’s always there. Remove it and it’s not. Or put it in a different directory and it can load on demand.

      I’m not sure this sort of approach would make sense for a traditional operating system, but for an OS that’s meant to be run from a flash drive, it could make customizing your setup a little simpler.

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