Accessories Included

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.

Figure 1: The individual applications in the main view of Chapeau Linux.

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.

Figure 2: Pharlap provides many drivers depending on the graphics card you use.

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.

Installing Software

In addition to the preinstalled selections, Chapeau Linux offers a variety of other programs for installation in its repositories. The most convenient approach is via the Software entry in the application bar: It takes you to a basic window that offers much simpler operations than, for example, Synaptic, YaST, or the Mandriva Control Center.

In the main area of the window, you can choose between the three options Featured, Picks, and Categories. Featured explains the basic functions of individual applications in a few sentences. Picks contains several programs, some of which are already installed. A click on the program icon also explains the application in question in a few words and provides a link to the website of the corresponding project. The 12 buttons under Categories represent different application groups. Here, you can search for and install applications by topic (Figure  3).

Figure 3: Chapeau Linux clearly organizes its program collection into categories.

The categories in turn are organized into several subgroups, so you quickly find the right program for your needs, without having to browse endless lists. Again, in each subgroup is a Featured category that lists several programs; software that is already installed is marked with a blue "Installed" box. This clear representation is particularly attractive to newcomers, encouraging them to browse the software collection and try less well known programs (Figure 4).

Figure 4: In Chapeau Linux, you install new programs at the push of a button.

To install a new program, you simply press its button in the list and select the blue Install on the next screen. The routine then downloads the appropriate software off the web and installs it on your hard drive. Removing installed applications is just as easy: Simply select a program and click on the red Remove button in the respective subgroup.

Conclusions

Chapeau Linux impresses with its complete software selection. The distribution is especially suitable for beginners interested in handling demanding multimedia tasks without the cumbersome installation of additional proprietary software and codecs, as well as for gamers moving from other platforms.