| Mandrake founder rolls Debian-based distro |
Dec. 08, 2006
 Gaël Duval, founder and former developer of Mandrake (now Mandriva) Linux, has introduced the first test release of a new distribution derived from Debian and Ubuntu. Ulteo Linux sports a 2.6.15 kernel and KDE 3.5.2 desktop, and aims to introduce revolutionary concepts in managing and updating an OS and applications.
"Here is the first public version of Ulteo!," the France-based Duval said in the release notes. "Its codename is 'Sirius,' because we want to make it a star."
Ulteo is contains bits from Ubuntu 6.06 and Debian GNU/Linux, according to Duval. Currently in early stages of development, Ulteo promises to bring new concepts designed to help individuals with limited knowledge to accomplish many common computing tasks, Duval said.
"This installable live CD is based on Debian and Ubuntu packages. It's installed on the hard-drive using 'Yuch,' he added.
"A daemon, called UGD (Ulteo General Daemon), is always connecting to Ulteo servers to see if a newer, more up to date system is available. It can then upgrade to this new system."
Key features of this first release, as listed by Duval, include: - X.Org 7.0 window manager
- KDE 3.5.2 desktop
- Firefox 1.5.0.8 browser
- OpenOffice.org 2.0.2 office suite
- Thunderbird 1.5.0.8 email client
- vim 6.4.006 text editor
- cdrtools 2.01.01a01 CD burner with CD-R and CD-RW recorder
Here are a few screenshots we made based on the first Ulteo test release -- click each image for a full-size view:
         
After suffering continual financial losses, Mandriva fired a number of employees last March, including Duval, who explained his side of the dispute in his blog.
Mandriva later confirmed that Duval had been let go as part of a cost-reduction plan. Duval has since sued his former company for what he called "abusive layoff."
In the meantime, he gathered a team and started the development of Ulteo, which has been cloaked in secrecy since last spring.
The Ulteo CD image can be downloaded here. The 622 MB iso image file for i386 machines is available for download here (direct link to iso). You can also download it via BitTorrent here.
Some screenshots are available here.
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