![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPTVFC6lonwimw-PntjwaxlPstBFr_0Dp-Na8yBNaFvMSe0sJmFOy04kS5R-7m3M20tSFmAzNG8ZGLhbstLD_ButI63K2rCUfwMinPv7EKJffUrXDCW1pxUQ71WefNhHWiz8nvFH61L0/s200/goblinx.png)
GoblinX is currently offered in 4 flavors: The GoblinX Premium - the most complete edition of GoblinX but is not available for free. The GoblinX Standard - this edition provides some of the most popular applications and features. The GoblinX Mini - same as Standard edition but uses XFCE desktop manager and doesn't have as many applications as the Standard edition. The GoblinX Micro - provides only a few applications and uses Fluxbox window manager.
I’m quite intrigued with this Brazilian-made distribution upon reading several positive reviews, so I tried it myself. I got the ISO installer of GoblinX 2.6 “Mini” which is only about 153MB in size. The download page can be found HERE. I then tested it on VMWare Server which was installed on my Xubuntu workstation. I used the default 256MB of VM RAM, 8GB of virtual storage, and utilized only a single processor of my Intel Pentium D 3.4 GHz machine. So, here’s my own view of GoblinX.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxxK-drvVY1QqnXhqqSHCJ58FYPu_lmohYbCZyXF1JSLCySwjxsQFMMnIIFGcvAbRE1wNKVIHrh3G3R-O3aML4-n2itHbpapV_I-j-5OTbqNDlkHILE7bSV8XuhEadtE1rxiW_pkjVm80/s320/GoblinX-auza1.jpg)
Installation:
GoblinX is a Live CD and its installer can be accessed using the main menu, and then clicking the "HD Installer" icon. After it, a unique custom-made installer, none like I’ve seen so far will appear. I find it a little bit buggy but I managed to stay out of trouble. I installed the system using the default settings. However, I configured the root and the user password first. A few clicks later, the installer takes care of copying the necessary applications and then set up my hardware without any problems. After the installation, I rebooted and found out that the Ethernet was instantly working together with the audio, CDROM, and USB. I also changed the screen resolution without having any setback.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZI4CJSq06zgSbYSS9Ev2GWDdGyQnYduEi4MoyUz8Du2y3zaAjTNg4bJLtNv9E1QlFmoLeNZfVkLMvviseuM55sOdrvn_P748Wz1QhyQziR_qh0TTK5krLwoYjy5PxdFguIGsDaYP-d8/s320/goblinx-auza2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDw05aISjbwTRLgPcHbMJDmyJ9dK4S1E7GyHYPXcFcW9FGKEGVctE6uPdnlEzgMCD6JZUkXQxdhgaq07yHYkMbOdSia2lYqWN8ho9on8sKtB4bMi48noLUPLqF1yIC964Ueq6ngahdus/s320/GoblinX-auza3.jpg)
Look and Feel:
Just read the title of this article and that’s my impression of GoblinX in terms of looks. It utilizes an XFCE desktop and a polished and customized default theme called MurrinaGoblix. All the artworks and the overall desktop appearance are just pleasing to the eye. I know that anyone can appreciate and say that they look very artistic. The developer really took some time to make GoblinX attractive.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyLHSZ64JjymgaVRy6yI289RO4k0HtA0Vo1g6QhodIPEbk8ZbNW-WVQfRicjh_4acKrOYgGXQR8hS5WTl_CbIwJaaDGIBoabe19orkYd8UX2BeiMfaXP99_1iGd-pZh4r1wUDc-YFflwo/s320/GoblinX-auza4.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Q9U-7nQSquZqQUAhrab0Iv8AfW8hrDuHfYXkYZycvtheFVLUX0arSwy5HZIvQhjQXO74HPgt9370QrRz-cLXZHdrClSvDa9ozi-dHqa_s14AdEOVRmSNwfHJ9xFZKTGBdfdUYkyO3SI/s320/GoblinX-auza5.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAEsIBfK9VU2YEE35EddcXap2e-vn6kaWteaGnRBpb_VUm2NQ7UUjzCXdl4vadEgZJOM9JdGq2zQjaKct2WGmXyp4xV8IUViLhpSz2teTDmTHafefXyns-LGLsv_pwRPERRQdolrqPE4/s320/GoblinX-auza6.jpg)
Software/Package Management:
Despite its size, GoblinX is loaded with some valuable software applications out-of-the-box. It has office programs like Abiword and Gnumeric Spreadsheet; a popular image editor called Gimp; Firefox web browser; Audacious audio player and Movie Player for entertainment. Flash and other important non-free packages were not installed by default. However, plenty of extra software applications can be easily added using Gslapt Package Manager; it functions almost the same as Debian’s apt-get.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtGYTDHiogpCpeeothzPzCSb0LcGvDHKv2IUdEaErq-vePW6vsfhC5W0FKJOB2ukPBSyvW4XScdRyPexcjy1CRl48SbfEIKQBMv6wJqaG9JnHKt17HAWUbe1SW_M2GtBwdU5lkswf1LI/s320/GoblinX-auza7.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkWUSIfFUKDbuGUNAolZJ5ZEoBgEsJXZl1bzESQu59HyGIb8kYEZbXPAcG6SrJv4nPB7WKRgqrYpviTfL7cCy-QxnyGmJtDbLKL7rlNRblOlYpI_HaN32gZL_RPVcoGdjGTdMcz9Admc/s320/GoblinX-auza8.jpg)
Stability:
Minus the minor predicament during installation, I would say that GoblinX is pretty steady as with majority of Slackware-based distribution. It is also very fast and responsive, and I’ve never encountered any more trouble while running and testing it for several days. I can also assume that it can run stable and secure for an extended period of time which is ideal for those who want a reliable OS for productive purposes.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheYj4kqooCTSaORz_J8HWdABEe8QnwD6E18LHJzNdw5ackLB-RYFkdTOQy8B9Rs9TFxH2HNyyjqM89EMK92gCQvVNHqSellEJ0I7M6-C-MHsWtivjioLdSUDULed1vqMrQuWFbYN3eP8o/s320/GoblinX-auza9.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPm3HfZGYdEUXUfTO7I-bBJeJqJwIaAgfg4Ro5kvIV0jZNVPIGmP50dmcWhRXh2qc7j4PPvP3o8X-wTs-03F0VlGPSDN5rjOU7YVFNYhiizXpRfuLEq-YLg3XM-cukdwu-WcjQrFCddTE/s320/GoblinX-auza10.jpg)
Conclusion:
GoblinX 2.6 “Mini” Edition is honestly worth the try. I would recommend it to both beginners as well as advanced users. It is very lightweight and fast, which would be good for low-end computers. It has great hardware detection and Slackware-like stability. Those who have higher end machines and want a more complete desktop should get the Standard Edition instead, I think. All things considered, I will without doubt give GoblinX a “thumbs up”.
It can’t be that hard to fall in love with GoblinX, because it’s simply beautiful.
THX!! I love it, too!!
ReplyDeleteI'm downloading right now to give it a go! I just need a light distro which works with all my hardware on my laptop. Will post again after I tried!
ReplyDeleteNimbleX is another impressive small distro, offering 9 desktop environments - KDE, Enlightenment 16 and 17, Xfce, IceWM, EDE, Fluxbox, OpenBox and TWM all in a 217mb download. Quite an amazing variety.
ReplyDelete