UNetbootin
Wataru Tenga
of Linux distributions from Windows or Linux, without requiring you to
burn a CD. You can either let it download one of the many distributions
supported out-of-the-box for you, or supply your own Linux .iso file if
you've already downloaded one or your preferred distribution isn't on
the list.
Requirements
Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista, or Linux. If you are having trouble
with the Linux version, try the Windows version, it usually works better.
A broadband internet connection to download the distribution's .iso
file (unless you're using pre-downloaded files)
Features
UNetbootin can create a bootable Live USB drive, or it can make a
"frugal install" on your local hard disk if you don't have a USB drive.
It can load distributions by automatically downloading their ISO (CD
image) files, or by using existing ISO files, floppy/hard disk images,
or kernel/initrd files, for installing other distributions.
Built-in support for automatically downloading and installing Ubuntu,
Fedora, Debian, openSUSE, Gentoo, Slax, Mandriva, FreeBSD, NetBSD,
CentOS and many other distros.
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
--
Wataru Tenga
Keith Wilkinson
not sure how it compares:
https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/
Keith Wilkinson
to create a custom "Spin" of Fedora to install on your
USB drive or whatever.
http://revisor.fedoraunity.org/
http://lifehacker.com/5209814/build-your-own-linux-distribution-with-revisor
I vaguely recall that OpenSuSE offers something
similar to Revisor.
Kevin Kirton
I'll try again with other distros later, but I'd really like to be able to have my own system on a sizable (4 or 8gb) usb key, that I could plug in basically anywhere (getting usb keys to boot seems to require changing the bios, which some people/cafes/libraries might not like), then have all my settings for browsing and emailing there with support for Japanese input/display. Would be handy for traveling.
Kevin Kirton
Australia
Keith Wilkinson
> not sure how it compares:https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/
Keith Wilkinson
> bios, which some people/cafes/libraries might not like
set the BIOS not to boot from USB drives, then
password the BIOS.
Kevin Kirton
http://www.qemu.org/about.html
Looks like Qemu is worth trying for a "Linux system on a USB stick"
It has a virtualizer and an emulator mode, the former being much quicker
apparently ("near native" they say) but requiring an "accelerator" on
the host computer. So, whichever way, it looks like it's hard to carry
around a portable system to use on an ordinary PC without changing that
PC in some way.
Kevin Kirton
Australia
Keith Wilkinson
free trial -- it costs $189 to buy) allows you to set
how much disk space and how much host RAM
you want to use, and create a custom instance of
a different operating system that uses that preset
disk space and host RAM. A custom instance of
a different operating system is called a "virtual appli-
ance" (see "Virtualization" section on Wikipedia).
Installing the free VMware Player for Windows
http://www.vmware.com/products/player/ allows
you to run virtual appliances (e.g. that other
people have created -- such as LINUX distros --
under Windows. (If you run a virtual appliance
from flash memory rather than from hard disk
you may find that the result is quite slow).
VMware is widely used because it's so much
easier to use than the competition -- it's easy
to create Windows or LINUX virtual appliances
and to move them between PCs, and you can
transfer data between a virtual appliance and a
USB stick.
VMware Fusion 2 allows you to run Windows
or LINUX on a Mac.
Keith Wilkinson
> and a USB stick