Internetling

I have always wanted to take CrunchBang for a spin. This elegant distribution is based on the minimal version of Ubuntu, in this case, Jaunty Jackalope. CrunchBang wants to provide an alternative look and way of working with Ubuntu. The default desktop does support compositing (I barely refrained from posting some wobbly windows), but along with its window manager Openbox, the setup feels very unique. I always wonder why people prefer Openbox to Fluxbox, since the latter, while supposedly being a little more bloated, has some features (a panel, a desktop) which Openbox lacks, all while looking almost exactly the same. We will take a look at the included software after the break.

This review is going to ignore the Ubuntu side of things, we have all read enough Ubuntu reviews (I know I have) to know what Jaunty is like. Even though Crunchbang is lighter than Ubuntu, I think it does not necessarily strive to be a lightweight, but more of an elegant and convenient distribution. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the applications included were very similar to my preferences. Generally (though not in all cases), heavy-duty software is replaced by lighter alternatives.

Clicking “Media Player” in the well-structured OpenBox menu opens a VLC window, should cover all your video-watching needs. OpenOffice.org is replaced by Abiword, my favorite file-manager PCManFM (easiest way in the world of managing desktop icons) is also there, with Midnight Commander hiding in the shadows. The micro-blogging app Gwibber still remains one of the (c)leanest in its category. I welcome the choice of including Skype and Flash. Yes, they are proprietary, but most people install both packages anyway.

Upon further investigation, I stumbled upon a few very interesting applications. Not all followed the “CrunchBang” logic, e.g. there are two video editors, 3 text editors, 2 multimedia applications etc. While I am aware that there is a “Light” version of CrunchBang available, it would be nice for all the applications available to follow the same logic. My suggestions are: remove Leafpad, because we still have gVim and Gedit. gFTP should be replaced with FileZilla, it is just that much better. Remove one video editor, and Transmission is good, but maybe  remove it, stay with rtorrent only, and include the FireTorrent package with Firefox in order to save space and squeeze in some OpenOffice.org goodness. Far more people need a full-fledged Office application than two video editors. The Cheese web cam app is also nice, but not very useful. Switching Empathy with Pidgin would also be a good idea, Empathy seems much closer to the “ChrunchBang feel” and I hear it supports webcam chat now.

All in all, I admit I had a lot of fun testing Crunchbang. Although some people can find the Openbox Desktop and the grey-black color scheme (the window borders are a bit too dark, people may have problems seeing the buttons) a bit intimidating, Crunchbang’s main strength is that it does not make you watch, but explore.

Visit the CrunchBang website or download and install the distribution. Tell me what you think. I loved it.

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