We’ve almost finished the transition from the old customised K-Meleon back-end of the disc, to a nice simple Kiwix interface.
Before we roll it out we’d like people to test it on their machines, so if you have the time to give it a spin, download the .iso file (we’ve pared it down to around 20MB) and give it a whirl. Once you’ve done that, visit the OpenDisc Kiwix Test Release forum topic and let us know how it performed. Any suggestions are also welcomed, either here or on the forums.
While we were originally planning on a 08.02 (February) release, we’d like to have Open Disc running the new backend flawlessly (Kiwix, the same software powering the offline Wikipedia DVD), than release 08.02 in the interim with limited functionality. With all things going well the next version will be 08.03.
The rescheduling also allows us to expand the selection of programs on Open Disc, primarily from user suggestions on the forums - thanks due to everybody who has taken the time to submit and discuss new programs. A full list will be published closer to the time of release.
Throughout late 2007 contributors were taking updated screenshots which will appear on the next version, and as always the dedicated people providing translations have been collaborating to bring together what will soon be a multi-lingual Open Disc. This was originally slated for the next version, though the implementation of Kiwix has pushed that date into the very near future.
Some of the ideas suggested on the forums were to open the Open Disc wiki (currently for our translation project) for all purposes, and we’re pleased to announce that the new wiki will soon go live, with more information available for those interested.
As always, the best way to find out about new versions of Open Disc is to sign up for our no-fuss notification email, or by subscribing to our rss feed.
We’re pleased to announce the latest release of the award winning OpenEducation project, OpenEducationDisc 07.10, an official branch of OpenDisc. This is a modification of OpenDisc by Teachers and Computer Specialists with a passion for education. It provides students with quick, easy and powerful tools specially selected to solve their educational needs. Commercial software licenses can be expensive, especially if you don’t have a full time job, like most students. It doesn’t have to be this way - grab a copy of the OpenEducationDisc today and help make education accessible for all.
The inaugural version of OpenDisc has hit the streets! Featuring major updates for FileZilla and OpenOffice, and new versions of Blender, ClamWin, Firefox, Pidgin and WinSCP. Also by popular demand the Tux Paint stamps package makes a return to the disc. As per usual printable disc covers and labels are included, but if you’d like to view them online simply visit the cover art section.
Most importantly there are five new programs on OpenDisc 07.10, three of which were added due user suggestion; Dia, GnuCash and the ever-popular VLC are now featured, as is the streamlined Sumatra PDF and TrueCrypt.
You can download the ISO directly, and a MD5 checksum is available for those that want to verify the download before burning.
We’re happy to announce that the OpenDisc project has now officially opened it’s doors. 
OpenDisc is a collection of high quality open source software for the Microsoft Windows platform, aimed at users exclusively using said operating system. The two goals of the disc are to provide free alternatives to otherwise costly equivalents, and to educate people about the Linux operating system. The disc will be updated periodically as new versions of software are continually released, and users are encouraged to volunteer in a number of ways, including suggesting new software to add to future versions to translating the text into different languages.
The project was born from another well known open source disc, called TheOpenCD, which OpenDisc project lead Chris Gray managed for the eighteen months prior to this announcement. During that time he identified numerous problems within the project that he was unable to solve the majority of. Rather than continue on considerably hindered by them, he decided to start afresh with none of the overhead that slowed TheOpenCD development down. For more information, see his blog entry, “Mutiny aboard the good ship TheOpenCD“.
We welcome previous TheOpenCD users and new visitors alike!
Be sure to Digg us if you like what you see.
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