Pinguy Builder Review - Build Your Own Ubuntu OS

Pinguy Builder is a very useful app that can be used by anyone to create an Ubuntu Live CD from scratch or to back up an existing Ubuntu installation. The process should work with all the other Ubuntu-based distributions.

Have you ever wondered why people build so many distros and why they are all over the place? Many developers use various tools and scripts, which are not all that friendly and don't even have a GUI. On the other hand, there are some nice tools out there that let anyone build a Live CD, even if they don't have the necessary experience.

Pinguy Builder is somewhere in the middle. It's not so complicated that most users won't be able to make heads or tails of it, but it's neither all that easy so that someone who has just started using Linux today will be able to use it. There is a steep learning curve, and it will take a while to see what it can do, but it's a really interesting tool, and any time people invest in it is well spent.

Installation

You won't find Pinguy Builder in the official repositories since this is a very new application. The developer has just forked it from an existing one, called remastersys, which is used for Debian distros. Since this is aimed at Ubuntu systems, the developer has provided a handy DEB file that can be easily installed. People can either use the Ubuntu Software Center, which is a little bit slower, but it will take care of any dependencies, or they can install this from the terminal. Just enter the following commands in a terminal near you (root is needed, of course):

code

sudo dpkg -i pinguybuilder_4.3-2_all.deb
sudo apt-get install -f

The second command is not necessary if the first one finishes without errors, although that is unlikely since Pinguy Builder has quite a few dependencies. When the installation has been completed, you will find the app in Dash. It's also possible to run the application only from the terminal, without a GUI. Use this command:

code

sudo PinguyBuilder

Usage

The application is pretty straightforward, and all the options are available in the first screen. Here is what you can do with the Pinguy Builder. The first option is named Backup, and it can be used to make a complete backup of the operating system, including the user date.

The second option is named Dist, and it lets users make a copy of the operating system, and both a cdfs and ISO image will be created. It can be easily installed on any other PC.

The third option is called Distcdfs, and it makes a distributable copy only for the filesystem, and users can still add files to the CD.

The fourth option is named Distiso, and it's used to only make an ISO, but the CD filesystem must be already in place.

Also, users can load a custom boot picture, menu picture, a user profile and a Plymouth theme.

The Good

The application is pretty easy to use, and even if its main function is to create ISOs, the most interesting function is that of a complete backup as an ISO. There are other applications that can do this too, but this is the most friendly of them all.

The Bad

It's a pretty stable application, and I couldn't find any major problem with it. The only issue is that, once you start one of the functions and you stop it, the entire application will be closed, and you will have to start it all over again. It's not a major problem, and it's hardly a drawback.

Conclusion

Pinguy Builder is an application that should be present in everyone's systems. It only works with Ubuntu systems, but it's still really useful and something that people should try, at least once.

Pinguy Builder Review - Build Your Own Ubuntu OS

key review info

application features

Installation

Usage

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion

Pinguy Builder (6 Images)