Chapeau Linux multimedia and gaming platform
Accessories Included
If you are looking off the beaten Ubuntu and Debian paths for a fast, multimedia distro with a Gnome 3 desktop, take a closer look at Fedora-based Chapeau Linux.
For many years, Fedora has been among the most popular Linux distributions. To take advantage of this free software-dedicated distribution on the desktop, however, you will need to make some manual adjustments, such as installing codecs, non-free firmware, or third-party software. The brand-new Chapeau Linux jumps into the breach here, offering a cutting-edge Gnome 3 desktop on a Fedora base along with many additional components.
Job Profile
Chapeau Linux [1] is quite demanding in terms of hardware requirements: The ISO image [2] is only suitable for current 64-bit machines. Additionally, in terms of the graphics card, it does not support solid home cooking by Intel; instead, it requires a powerful, dedicated graphics card by NVidia or AMD/ATI. The reason for this hunger for resources: Chapeau Linux addresses fans of multimedia content and gamers whose hobby naturally imposes very high demands on the hardware.
The developers already incorporate Steam and PlayOnLinux, including Wine, in the distribution out the box, so gamers can get started straightaway. Because of built-in codecs for various multimedia file formats and support for video DVDs and Blu-ray media, you can use Chapeau as a home theater without bothersome modifications. You can also install applications such as the Adobe Flash Player and a variety of cloud applications without detours to third-party repos.
Installation Obstacles
After you download the 1.8GB image, Chapeau initially seems extremely recalcitrant. Although the developer website explains in detail how to install the system on a USB stick in various ways [3] – my corresponding experiments with two different flash drives and the UNetbootin Live USB Creator and livecd-iso-to-disk
tools all failed. Even using the dd
command, I was unable to install a bootable system on the USB flash drive.
After burning the ISO to a DVD, another shortcoming was revealed: On several test computers with less powerful, but still current, Intel graphics cards, the distribution only booted in Troubleshooting mode with a rudimentary graphics driver that supports XGA resolution of 1024x768 max. In contrast, on two parallel test systems with graphics cards by NVidia or AMD/ATI, there were no problems.
Chapeau Linux boots into an Gnome 3 screen with the familiar controls, so you can try out the system in Live mode. If you then want to set up Chapeau Linux on your hard drive, you need to launch the familiar Fedora Anaconda graphical installer. You can access it via the drive icon in the application bar on the left of the screen. This panel appears after clicking the Activities button in the top left corner.
Gnome 3 Desktop
After completing the installation, you end up in a spartan Gnome desktop dressed in dark colors. A click on the Activities button top left in the panel opens the application bar, which contains the usual applications and tools. You can access the tiled view of all installed programs (Figure 1) via the Show applications entry in the application bar. Along with the standard programs for office, graphics, and the web, the major applications from the Gnome software collection are included.
Also on board are a number of additional smaller tools, such as VLC media player, GParted, and some games. The Frequent submenu mainly contains administrative tools but also includes Adobe Flash Player. Chapeau Linux integrates PlayOnLinux and Steam, which are both gaming platforms, into the main view. You will also find the Windows-compatible Wine run-time environment preinstalled.
The brand-new Gnome Maps program, a topographic application, integrates maps from the OpenStreetMap project, thus removing the need for atlases. This JavaScript application is still a little slow in composing images; however, it does include several maps out the box, removing the need to download map material off the web.
In case of driver problems, especially those relating to video cards, the new Driver Helper software tool is available via the main menu, allowing a quick driver change without the need for manual work. The icon takes you to the Pharlap program (Figure 2), which provides single-click installation of drivers to handle graphics cards with proprietary interfaces. You can thus switch the appropriate driver on the fly, without painstakingly looking for suitable modules or having to download tons of proprietary software.
Additionally, Chapeau Linux clearly focuses on the easy use of cloud services. For example, you can click on the Dropbox entry in the program menu to install the proprietary Dropbox daemon from the Internet. Gnome document management via Documents provides a convenient tool for managing documents stored in the cloud. Also, the Kontact program provides easy access to online accounts.
In the multimedia field, Chapeau Linux impresses with its extensive features. You will find well-known applications such as GIMP, VLC, Brasero, OpenShot, Shotwell, Rhythmbox, Sound Juicer, and SoundConverter already set up on the system. The standard feature set also includes less well known but useful applications, such as the RAW converters UFRaw and Darktable.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.
-
ZorinOS 17.1 Released, Includes Improved Windows App Support
If you need or desire to run Windows applications on Linux, there's one distribution intent on making that easier for you and its new release further improves that feature.
-
Linux Market Share Surpasses 4% for the First Time
Look out Windows and macOS, Linux is on the rise and has even topped ChromeOS to become the fourth most widely used OS around the globe.
-
KDE’s Plasma 6 Officially Available
KDE’s Plasma 6.0 "Megarelease" has happened, and it's brimming with new features, polish, and performance.
-
Latest Version of Tails Unleashed
Tails 6.0 is based on Debian 12 and includes GNOME 43.
-
KDE Announces New Slimbook V with Plenty of Power and KDE’s Plasma 6
If you're a fan of KDE Plasma, you'll be thrilled to hear they've announced a new Slimbook with an AMD CPU and the latest version of KDE Plasma desktop.
-
Monthly Sponsorship Includes Early Access to elementary OS 8
If you want to get a glimpse of what's in the pipeline for elementary OS 8, just set up a monthly sponsorship to help fund its continued existence.
-
DebConf24 to be Held in South Korea
Busan will be the location of the latest DebConf running July 28 through August 4
-
Fedora Unleashes Atomic Desktops
Fedora has combined its solid distribution with rpm-ostree system to make it possible to deliver a new family of Fedora spins, called Fedora Atomic Desktops.
-
Bootloader Vulnerability Affects Nearly All Linux Distributions
The developers of shim have released a version to fix numerous security flaws, including one that could enable remote control execution of malicious code under certain circumstances.