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My favourite type of distros are Ubuntu based. For some time now I have been making a case for why you should be using Linux Mint. Even though I think Mint is fantastic, I still make it a point to try other distributions. I made a pit stop at Zorin 3 for a short while and even though it had many wonderful qualities it didnt quite knock Linux Mint out of my top spot.

I have now found my new favourite distro and it goes by the name of Pinguy OS. Pinguy OS started off as an Ubuntu 10.04 Minimal CD that was customized like no other to include a fantastic range of default applications, Gnome applets, Firefox addons, and theme.


The default software include -

Accessories:

• Activity Journal
• AllTray
• Catfish
• CoverChooser
• CoverGloobus
• Gloobus Preview
• GNOME Do
• Shutter

Graphics:

• gpicview
• pinta
• Rapid Photo Downloader
• Shotwell
• Simple Scan

Internet:

• Deluge
• Dropbox
• Empathy
• Firefox
• FrostWire
• Gwibber
• Thunderbird
• pms-linux
• Skype
• TED: Torrent Episode Downloader

Office:

• Adobe Reader 9
• OpenOffice

Sound & Video:

• Brasero
• DeVeDe
• GNOME MPlayer
• gtkpod
• HandBrake
• mvPod
• OpenShot
• Rhythmbox
• VLC 1.1.0

System Tools:

• Ailurus
• BleachBit
• GConf Cleaner
• VirtualBox
• hardinfo
• Ubuntu Tweak
• Wine
• Wine Doors
• PlayOnLinux

Other:

• Preload
• GDM2Setup
• gtkorphan
• BootUp-Manager (bum)
• MintMenu
• Webilder
• Sezen Applet
• Remastersys Backup
• gnome2-globalmenu

Pinguy OS includes all five of the reasons I listed for using Linux Mint.

Including the Mint Menu...
















and even Mint Update Manager.


















Just like Mint, Pinguy OS includes all the multimedia codecs you will ever need, Adobe Flash, and Sun Java. In fact the only negative thing I have to say about Pinguys default software selection is that having Wine-Doors and Play On Linux both installed feels a little bit redundant. The default theme of the operating system largely resembles OSX (including a global menu bar at the top of the screen). There are two docky bars by default, one located at the bottom of the screen which houses your applications


and another down the left side of the screen which displays your main folders as well as any removable media. The Firefox that ships with Pinguy is heavily customized to include a fantastic selection of addons that add an array of features to the browser (and Firefox on Pinguy feels much "snappier" than it does on Mint/Ubuntu).

One last feature I would like to note about Pinguy that I wish other distros would start adding is that the i686 (32bit) auto detects your system memory and if it sees more than 3 gigs of RAM it downloads and installs a PAE kernel for you. Meaning if you have more than 3 gigs of RAM on your system it will all accessible to you right away. The Pinguy installer also uses the internet to auto detect and setup your timezone and keyboard layout for you.


Next time you are looking to install Ubuntu on your own, or anyone elses system, you should seriously consider using Pinguy instead - if you do odds are you will be pleasantly surprised.