Well, after a month of planning, developing, testing and problems I've finally finished creating Newgrounds Linux! In case you haven't heard, Newgrounds Linux is a Linux distribution, based on Ubuntu 9.04, that's been customised to include a Newgrounds theme on everything, which creates a very nice-looking Newgrounds-themed Operating System!
If you don't know what any of that means, basically Linux is an alternative Operating System (the program that powers your computer, eg Windows or Mac OSX). NG Linux provides an excellent alternative OS to use on your computer, it comes with hundreds of programs already installed, so that you can browse the web, play music, watch videos and DVDs, Instant Messaging and a lot more. Of course you probably won't want to replace Windows or Mac OSX, so NG Linux comes with a feature called 'Dual-booting', which allows you to install NG Linux and your existing operating system side-by-side so you can choose between them when you turn on your computer. NG Linux also comes on a 'Live CD' which means you can boot your computer directly from the CD, and get access to the NG Linux environment without having to touch your hard drive! This means you can try it out before you install it.
About NG Linux
Like I said, it's based on Ubuntu 9.04, which is extremely easy to use, so this makes a good opportunity for you to try out Linux if you haven't already. There's definetely no harm in trying it, since if you don't like what you find on the LiveCD you aren't forced to install it. NG Linux contains the following customised features:
Newgrounds Wallpapers
Newgrounds 'Conky' system monitor
Newgrounds Startup Screen
Newgrounds Logon Screen
Newgrounds Metacity Theme (Window borders, etc.)
AGNRY FAIC icon
tank_sm.gif
Flash Player 10 added
DVD and other video playback codecs
All these things combined are a bonus if (like me) you aren't a fan of Ubuntu's default brown theme. Flash Player also means you can watch movies on NG without needing to install anything, woop.
System Requirements
Your PC should at the very least match or exceed these specs:
400MHz (0.4GHz) Processor
256mb RAM
3gb Free hard disk space
I recommend a computer that matches or exceeds the following:
1GHz Processor
512mb RAM
8gb Free hard disk space
Sound card
64mb nVidia, ATI or Intel Graphics Card (For gaming and Compiz 3D effects)
Internet connection.
You'll also need a blank CD and a computer to burn the CD (unless you only want to run it in a Virtual Machine)
Getting NG Linux
NG Linux is designed to run off a CD, so it comes in an 'ISO' file format. This is basically a virtual CD file, that contains the whole contents of the CD. You can use special software to extract this onto a CD, or boot a Virtual Machine from it. Please go here, and download newgroundslinux-9.04-i386.iso. It's 699mb so it might take a while to download.
Booting the CD
Now you need to choose how you're going to install it. It's recommended that you perform a full installation, which means burning and booting from a CD, so you'll need a blank CD or DVD and a computer to burn it. If you choose to do it this way then please download and install Active@ ISO Burner. Simply burning the ISO like a normal file wont work. When installed, start it up, browse to the ISO file you downloaded, insert the blank CD or DVD (it can be a rewritable one), and click burn! It might also be advisable that you burn it at a slow speed, to prevent corruption (although the chances are it'll be fine anyway).
Now you can boot into the CD! Unfortunately the procedure for doing this varies on the brand of computer you have, but it almost always involves pressing a certain key as soon as your computer turns on (At the Dell, or HP logo for example). On Dell computers this key is F12, on HP computers this is F9, others C, Tab or it's done automatically. Luckily this guide explains this in detail. If you still can't get the CD to boot try googling how to boot from a CD on your brand of PC. When booted, follow the instructions further on.
Alternative Method: Virtualisation with VirtualBox
If you really don't want to boot from the CD and install it fully, you can do it on a 'Virtual PC', an emulated computer which let's you run an OS in a window on your existing OS by installing it to a virtual hard drive file. Please note that this generally means much slower performance than normal. To do this you can follow this guide, obviously remembering to use the NG Linux ISO when it talks about the Ubuntu ISO.
Trying it out and installing it
By this point you should have got the Newgrounds Linux boot menu, either on your computer or in VirtualBox. In the menu that pops up, select the language you want and press enter. Then you can try out NG Linux without installing anything by pressing enter on the first option. If you just want to jump straight to the installer without loading anything else, choose the second option (useful on systems with low RAM). You'll see an Ubuntu splash screen, and you'll get to the NG Linux desktop! Feel free to now try out anything you want, remember to read the Readme file on the desktop. Note that the LiveCD is slower than a full installation since everything needs to be loaded and uncompressed from the CD.
Now, if you're ready to install I've prepared a small video tutorial on doing this, it's the same process on a real PC and in VirtualBox. Here it is, just follow everything there, it's all explained! Any problems whilst on the LiveCD or wherever, just ask me in this thread. Don't forget that since NG Linux is 99% identical to Ubuntu, any tutorials and guides for Ubuntu can be used here.
Other stuff
Also, there are 2 minor annoyances in NG Linux, when booting the LiveCD you get the Ubuntu logo, not the NG Linux one. This only effects the live CD, and it doesn't really matter. Also minor is that the wallpaper zooms in, instead of scaling to fit. Right click the desktop and press 'Change Desktop Wallpaper' to fix this (does it automatically).
A guide for getting the 3D effects (and wobbly windows) like you see in the screenshots is in the ReadMe file on the Desktop.
Anyway, this is Newgrounds Linux 9.04 (because it's based on Ubuntu 9.04). The second release of Newgrounds Linux (if I make it) will be based on Ubuntu 9.10, coming out October 29th. I think that this would be a great community project for all of Newgrounds to work on, so development will start next month if you're interested.
So, I hope you enjoy trying Newgrounds Linux! I'm looking forward to hearing peoples opinions of it (especially NG staff).
NG Linux website.
