One of the problems that users who want to try Linux usually throw back is the installation. As this operating system has dragged along the years the concept of is difficult to use, many users do not even give it a chance for fear of not knowing how to defend themselves with it. However, Linux today is no more complicated than other systems, such as Windows or macOS. And although what can most choke us is its installation and configuration, AutoTux is able to automate this whole process and make us forget about it.
AutoTux is a Linux distribution, based on Debian 10 “Buster” specially designed to automate the entire installation, configuration and startup process. This distro does not need an Internet connection to start working and not even the slightest user interaction until it is ready.
Its developers have created this Linux distro thinking especially of students who don’t want to spend a lot of time on their operating system, either because they can’t or because they don’t want to. AutoTux offers these students (and any other user interested in using it) a complete and robust operating system that does not have to dedicate a single click. It comes by default with a standard configuration (although we may have to change it) and a good collection of pre-installed software so that, just by logging in, we have control over the system.
Be careful before turning on the PC
That AutoTux is capable of being installed and configured is both good and dangerous at the same time. On the one hand we find that we will not have a single problem to start the distro, that is clear. However, this involves losing all control over the installation process.
This distro will be installed by default on the first hard disk that we have configured on our computer, and without user intervention. If we have another operating system or any file on it, all the data will be erased to create the new partitions and install the distro.
In addition, automatic configurations (keyboard layouts, languages, etc.) will be used, for the United States, so we will have to change it when our distro is ready. And a default username (tux) and password (tux) will also be used, which may pose a security issue.
Included Programs
This distro comes with a significant amount of programs installed by default so that, as soon as the installation is finished, we can start working with the operating system. In addition, it includes the Debian repositories for updates and to download new software, in addition to being compatible with any Linux program like other distributions.
This distro has an XFCE desktop , along with a Linux 4.19 Kernel . The theme and icon pack it uses are inspired by macOS.
Some of the most important programs that we will find installed by default in AutoTux are:
- Audacity – popular open source music editor.
- Blender – 3D animation and design software.
- Brackets: open source editor.
- DOSBox Emulator: emulator to run DOS programs.
- FileZilla: FTP client.
- FreeCAD: CAD modeling software.
- GIMP: photo editing and retouching program.
- Google Chrome : web browser.
- Inkscape – vector graphics design software.
- LibreOffice: office suite.
- PDF Studio Viewer – PDF viewer.
- PowerShell: Microsoft’s popular Linux console.
- PuTTY: SSH client.
- qBittorrent: download manager for the torrent network.
- Shotcut – professional open source video editor.
- TeamViewer: remote control program.
- VirtualBox: virtualization software to create and run virtual machines.
- VLC: multimedia player.
As we can see, AutoTux brings an interesting collection of pre-installed software. Some of the programs will surely not be needed (like the Arduino IDE), but we can always uninstall them, or simply ignore them and not use them. Even if they are installed (and take up space) they will not affect performance.
Installing Linux is easy
There is not much to say about the installation process of this distro. All we have to do is download the ISO, burn it to an installation medium (a DVD or a USB memory) and put the installation medium in the computer. We will choose the option to boot the PC from this installation medium and we can worry now. AutoTux will take care of everything else.
The AutoTux installation and configuration process takes around 15 minutes with an SSD , or even less, depending on many factors. After that time, we will be able to see the final installation screen (like the following one) in which it indicates that we must press enter to restart (without extracting the installation medium, yet).
When the computer restarts we can see the boot menu (GRUB) of the distro. AutoTux is already installed. We can extract the installation media and start using our new Linux without worries.
AutoTux Basic Configuration
Before starting to use AutoTux we are probably interested in reviewing some settings. Starting by changing the credentials which, by default, will be tux / tux.
The first thing we should do is change the region, adjust the time, configure the keyboard and put AutoTux (now Debian now) in Spanish. And even look for updates and new versions of the packages to update our Debian.
As we can see, AutoTux installs an XFCE desktop and imitates many aspects of macOS, such as the program launcher at the bottom, the window menus or many of the icons that we can find throughout the distro.
Download AutoTux
This Linux distro can be downloaded completely free of charge from the following link . Its developers only offer a 64-bit version for computers, so we cannot download or install it on 32-bit computers.
Minimum requirements
In order to use this distro without problems, we must ensure that our computer meets the following requirements:
- 2 GHz Dual-Core processor.
- 3GB of RAM.
- 20 GB of storage space. An SSD is recommended.
- Graphics and monitor compatible with a resolution of 800 × 600 pixels.
If we are going to test it on a virtual machine, its developers recommend that we configure 3 GB of RAM memory, 128 MB of video memory and a 20 GB virtual hard disk.
