ZorinOS Lite

Overall:   Looks to be quite workable.  Can't believe I missed this one ... couple of bumps but I'll revisit this

Tagline:  

• "Zorin OS is the alternative to Windows and macOS designed to make your computer faster, more powerful, secure, and privacy-respecting."

• Zorin Lite:  "For basic use on low-spec PCs up to 15 years old." - Hey! That sounds like the AAO!

Motivation:  Stumbled upon Zorin during a Windows PC rebuild.   Always looking for a simple alternative for Windows users.  
Lite version looked perfect for AAO:   System Requirements =   1g RAM, 1ghz Single Core, 10g Storage and 800x600 

Docs:

• Help @ https://help.zorin.com/

• Docs @ https://parrotsec.org/docs/

• Forum @ https://community.parrotsec.org/

Install Notes:

• Downloaded Zorin-OS-16.3-Lite-64-bit.iso (2.5g) from https://zorin.com/os/download/

• Good old Raspberry Pi Imager to burn to 65g Thumbdrive

• Booted right up on AAO.  No login required on Live Boot.  Appears to checksum itself @ boot, nice!

• AAO Hardware - looks pretty good

  • Function Keys - seemed to work ... but ...

    • Trackpad disable/enable seemed to work, but I lost mouse cursor a couple of times - system hang?

    • Monitor Fcn key a bit flaky?

  • External Monitor works but seems to get confused by resolution differences/capabilities ... 

    • Switched to 800x600 at one point

    • desktop wallpaper was a bit odd when monitor extending to larger monitor - very minor

• Networking

  • Ethernet and WiFi worked without a hitch

  • Networking Software pre-installed.  Home networking right out of the box, even found network printer!

• Software - looks good also (appears to ubuntu repositories+zorin?)

  • WIndows App support (Wine & PlayOnLinux) in System Menu - seemed to install.  Could come in handy!
    https://help.zorin.com/docs/apps-games/windows-app-support/ 

Parrot OS HTB Edition

Overall:   Looked good enough to Install on the AAO.   Time will tell.   Expect some tweaking.     

Tagline(S):  

• Parrot Security:   "The ultimate framework for your Cyber Security operations"

• Hack The Box:  "The #1 cybersecurity upskilling platform.  Hack The Box gives individuals, businesses and universities the tools they need to
  continuously improve their cybersecurity capabilities — all in one place."

Motivation:  Looking for alternative to NST, specifically web-based access to a good set of security/pen testing tools.   HTB edition Use case targets "Beginners in Cyber Security" and "Slow device/laptop with low capabilities".  

System Requirements:  Dual Core CPU, no graphic accelerator required, 1g memory, 20g available storage.   My AAO is actually over qualified, for once!

Docs:

• Parrot OS 

  • Docs @ https://parrotsec.org/docs/

  • Forum @ https://community.parrotsec.org/

• Hack The Box @  https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/docs/

Install Notes:

• Downloaded Parrot-htb5.3_amd64 ISO (4.4g) from https://www.parrotsec.org/download/

• Burned ISO to 64g thumbdrive (overkill) using Raspberry Pi Imager, but any imaging tools would work (Rufus, Etcher, etc)

• Booted right up on AAO

  • no logon req'd but user/toor is default uc/pw if you'd need it 

• AAO Hardware - EVERYTHING seemed to work!

  • Didn't take time to test internal mic or audio-in jack but I suspect they are good-to-go

• Software

  • Some sort of "ACPI BIOS error (bug)" at boot but I've seen these before and ignore ... ToDo:  Research like this https://superuser.com/questions/1751163/what-causes-those-acpi-errors-in-linux-and-how-to-fix-them

  • It runs pretty darn well on the old AAO!

  • Nice set of pre-installed utilities

  • Security software looks GREAT ... 

    • Quick check using a couple of familiar apps but Promiscuous tools seem to work fine on AAO WiFi and Eth adapters!   

  • Applications->System Services->HTTP->Start Apache to check out web interface

• Looks too good!   Going all-in!    Registered for Hack the Box Academy and installed to an unused 80g partition on AAO SSD

  • Register @  Hack The Box ... use MY referral link and I get credits!   https://referral.hackthebox.com/mzwZrL7

    • The Academy looks great!   I can't believe I haven't stumbled upon this in the past!

  •  Install Parrot:    Win 10 recently walked all over my GRUB loader ... have been meaning to fix it anyhoo

    • Looks too easy!   I'll sing-along with https://www.parrotsec.org/docs/installation/dualboot-with-windows 

    • ACK!  "Calamares" the installer tells me that "The system does not have enough working memory.  At least 4GiB is required".  That won't scare me!  Push on

    • Install recap 

      • set Timezone, pick your language, keyboard ... yada yada

      •  Partition Picker is REALLY nice!   I'll install over by Backbox (Ubuntu) partition and leave Win 10 alone

      • Set up user 

      • Start Install!   Nice!

      • Grub loader installed, dual boot win10 or Parrot ... looks good!

• Usage

  • Terminal is REALLY Nice!   Green on black .... very readable for elderly eyes!  Just switched my konsole on Manjaro to look like this!

  • Entire Desktop is easy on the eyes.   Nice panel w/ proc/mem/net widgets

  • Firefox appears to be good starting point.  Bookmark bar is nice/preset for learning - some very interesting sites

  • Hold Everything!   Openvas/Greenbone  appears to be installed!  Now I remember ... this is what I've been looking for!!!!

    • Applications->Pentesting->Vulnerability Analysis->Openvas/Greenbone

    • BUT ... I should have known.  It's there but doesn't work.   I'll work on that elsewhere

• Bottom line:  I'll keep it installed, see how it works and what I can learn from HTB Academy! 

Network Security Toolkit (NST38)

Overall:   A Struggle ... started with live boot - it's was OK.  Installed to USB drive, not the best but I'll keep it around and try to use Web Interface (NSTWUI)

Tagline:  "Welcome to the Network Security Toolkit (NST). This bootable ISO live USB Flash Drive (NST Live) is based on Fedora. The toolkit was designed to provide easy access to best-of-breed Open Source Network Security Applications and should run on most x86_64 systems"

Motivation:  Gave up on NST a few years ago ... can't recall why!   Time to give it a re-try.  It was VERY handy and I've been struggling to find alternative for years

Docs (you may need these!):

• NST @ https://wiki.networksecuritytoolkit.org/

• Fedora @ https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/docs/

Install Notes:

• Downloaded the nst-38-13644.x86_64 ISO (4.4g) from sourceforge.net/projects/nst/files/

• Burned to thumbdrive using Raspberry Pi Imager

• Live USB Booted right up on AAO 

• AAO Hardware - most if it seems to work but some key components were flaky

  • Monitors

    • AAO Panel works fine ... BUT some NST settings do not fit on AAO display ... even if you move or hide panel  // looks like fedora issue // 

    • External/dual monitor by default when plugged in - comes in handy or settings and stuff that doesnt fit on screen

  • Audio 

    • Speakers and Audio Jack worked

    • Didn't test mic 

  • Networking

    • Ethernet worked right out of the box

    • No WiFi connection/option ... very odd!?   

      • It doesn't look like wireless stuff is even installed ... no iwconfig

      • Also looks like it typically worked on AAO in the past?!   

      • I'll push on with install then revisit.  I've always installed NST in past, maybe Fedora Installer detects/deals w/ AAO WiFi

        • Nope!  AAO Wifi seems flaky, NST seemed to detect adapter at one point but only one time ... some fiddling to do here 

• Software - there is a lot of it 

  • Looks like it is still based on Fedora - v38 this go round.   https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/docs/

  • It's worth a tour of the NST GUI desktop, they do a nice job finding useful utilities in addition to great security/pentest stuff!

  • Web Interface is the best part ... I park our AAO/NST in the closet next to the switch mirror port and rarely use the desktop gui

    • Use "Set NST System Passwords" to set PWs for all utilities

    • There is also a menu item to Start the web interface (NSTWUI)

    • http://<IP>:9943/nstwui to access web front end .... 

    • MANY apps via NSTWUI ... it will take some time to play and get them all set up

• Install to SSD USB Drive ... too spooked to Install to SSD

  • I typically install live NST image to another larger/faster (64g) USB drive - probably because I could never figure out persistence

    • Icon on desktop:  "Install NST to Hardisk" fires up Anaconda Installer (I have bad luck with this thing!)

    • For some reason Anaconda is hellbent on using the entire Harddisk.  I wasn't willing to share - installed to a large usb drive

    • Speaking of Anaconda:  It struggled with AAO panel resolution.  I connected external monitor to help it out

    • Install to USB took about 1.5 hours!   

  • Installed a few things to test .remaining hardware ... using terminal/CLI  "dfn" command 

    • Webcam - Failed

      • Installed Cheese to test.  Painfully slow install and didn't find internal camera device ... I didn't fiddle with it

    • WiFi 

      • At one point, Fedora actually saw the AAO WiFi adapter ... 

        • I configured the SSID but may have fat-fingered the Password and never got it connected

        • WiFi never showed up again

      • Plugged in an old EDIMAX usb wifi adapter, Fedora noticed, enabled WiFi and showed available networks

        • Still never got connected ... ARG!

        • Gave up on WiFi ... I blame myself *and* fedora!

BlackArch Linux

Overall:   Looks pretty good for advanced users, seems to work with AAO hardware  ... Arch-Based Pentesting Distro

Tagline:  "BlackArch Linux is an Arch Linux-based penetration testing distribution for penetration testers and security researchers. The repository contains 2840 tools. You can install tools individually or in groups. BlackArch Linux is compatible with existing Arch installs."

Motivation:  Quick look, I like Arch 

See Also:  https://github.com/BlackArch

Install Notes:

• Downloaded the (4.3g)  'slim' ISO - "... a functional BlackArch Linux system with a selected set of common/well-known tools and system utilities for pentesting.

• Followed instructions on downloads page to burn usb stick:   sudo dd bs=512M status=progress if=<file>.iso of=/dev/sdX

• Default login is liveuser/blackarch

• AAO Hardware

  • Synaptics touchpad detected. 2-finger scrolling right out of the box.  Settings for touch to click + more

  • Card reader even worked ... I thought it may be broken!

  • External monitor was fine, some fiddling to get dual monitors set the way I'd expect

  • Audio out - speakers and external jack seemed fine.  Muted by default in live boot

  • Audio in - Didn't test mic or input jack

  • A couple AAO function keys (touchpad & Monitor on/off) seemed to work as expected.  Most, not so much

• Software

  • Amazing amount of pentesting and security software - overwhelming for me!  

    • Slim version had 300+ tools

    • Full version has >3000 tools

  • GUI seems to be mostly for launch and tool organization, expect some command line interaction

  • Everything I tried appeared to be installed/avail

• <I'll save live usb and keep playing>

Trisquel

Overall:   Trisquel Mini.  Seems to work OK!  Nice and lightweight. 

Tagline:  "Trisquel GNU/Linux is a fully free operating system for home users, small enterprises and educational centers."

Motivation:  For the heck of it ... Win 10 reinstall stepped on my Backbox grub loader!

Install Notes:

• Downloaded Mini ISO (1.4g) and burned to old 4g pendrive ... boots right up

• Software - pretty nice

  • Performance

    • Lots of lightweight utilities 

    • Little sluggish when a number of things are running

• AAO Hardware

  • Touchpad worked.  2-Finger Scrolling, but probably a tweak or two to get tapping working

  • Webcam worked fine (installed cheese to test)

  • SD Card reader didn't seem to be detected ... I need to double check my AAO here

  • Mic:  Didn't get internal Mic working, but pretty sure it can be fiddled with ... I see it in mixer, probably fine

  • Dual/External Monitors:  External worked fine, dual monitor settings were a little different.  Didn't fiddle with them

  • Some Function keys seemed to work - touchpad, Monitor ... but not all

  • Didn't mess with Power Management, but pretty sure it needs to be installed/tested - AAO's battery died w/ no warning!

Windows 10 2022 v22H2

Overall:  Worth the trouble ... IT WORKS  and breathed life into the AAO - AGAIN!     Ended up doing a Re-install (again) using latest 2022 ISO (22H2). 

Tagline:  "A Scoped and Streamlined Update"

"Windows 10, version 22H2 is a scoped release focused on quality improvements to the overall Windows experience in existing feature areas such as quality, productivity and security." - https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2022/10/18/how-to-get-the-windows-10-2022-update/

Motivation:  AAO Win 10 updates have been chronic prob.  One update just won't go in (KB5011487, I think) - It takes forever attempting  to install (a day or so) then fails and spends forever (another full day!) attempting to "Undo Changes" ... I noticed the Nov 2023 22H2 image and decided to give it a shot

Note:  My AAO has a couple of mods.  A solid state disk and 2g of memory

Install Notes:

• Windows Release Health Site @ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/

• Win 10 22H2 info @ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/status-windows-10-22h2

• Release Notes @ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/whats-new-windows-10-version-22h2

• Downloaded 32-Bit ISO from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO 

• Attempted to create bootable USB on linux (and macbook).   None of the attempts below worked ... I don't think the downloaded ISO reall WAS an ISO!
  Step by Step for creating bootable Win10 USB because I forgot to take notes  last time - 

  • Attempted using favorite image writers under linux - Raspberry Pi Image writer, Etcher, etc ...It looked like it worked, but USB was not bootable

  • Attempted using Disk Image Writer utility - basically a restore.  Again,, it seemed to finish, but USB was not bootable on AAO

  • Also tried everything in the sing-a-long @ https://itsfoss.com/bootable-windows-usb-linux/

• Ended up using the Media Creation Tool on AAO in Win 10 mode ... that worked!  USB was bootable
  Tool should be @ https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows10 

• Attempt #1 -  try update via win 10!  Ran setup from USB Stick, just like autorun would 

  • Simply ran setup.exe from the USB stick ...
    Nope ... After some rummaging around, it said:  "Sorry we are having trouble if your PC can run Windows 10.  Please close Setup and try again" 

  • ...closed setup.exe and tried again (like a fool!) ...
    What a surprise!  It said:  "Sorry we are having trouble if your PC can run Windows 10.  Please close Setup and try again" 

• Attempt #2 - Boot from USB.  This worked

  • Prompted for Language and Locale ... then "Install Now"

  • Activate Windows screen, but OK to skip product ID if reinstalling.  Clink on "I Don't Have a Product key"

  • Select OS Screen - AAO is licensed for Windows 10 Home, highlight and hit NEXT

  • License Terms - Look good!

  • Option to Upgrade install and keep files - Nice!   Whoops!  Not available if you boot off of Installation Media. 
    (it suggests booting into Windoze and using setup.exe ... fool me once, fool me twice ....)

  • Use back arrow to Select Custom install

    • oh, oh!  I need to select a Partition! ... will overwrite the last Win 10 and start from scratch

    • Looks like it will save my files in a folder called windows.old and reinstall - fine by me (if it works!). 
      Started a timer for the heck of it ... this AAO has a dual boot SSD, linux is default if it restarts, will watch carefully ...

      • Copying windows files (< 1 min)

      • Getting files ready for installation (about 10 mins)

      • Back to Language/Locale/Keyboard selection screen - the INSTALL NOW
        Selected Windows Home (dated 9/8/2022) ... back to partition screen ...

Ack!  It booted back to the USB! ... watch carefully and pull the USB after it gets the files ready!

• • • • Removed the USB and rebooted ... it looks like it overwrote my grub loader ...  so I think it's safe to leave it be. 
        it obviously has A LOT of "Getting Ready" to do .... no progress bar, percentages or indicators after 30 minutes.  Cocktail time!

      • Check-in after an hour, it's alive!  Selecting Region/Locale and such AGAIN! ~15 mins of install questions back-n-forth

      • Final boot to install 22H2 and .... it's up!

    • I'll be!  It worked, it's appears to up to date!

  •   Install aftermath ... 

    • I turned off ALL privacy stuff during install ... probably why I had to set Timezone.   But it had my local weather?!?!

    • Windows Update just to confirm ... "You're up to date" 

    •  Lot's of junk on taskbar ... left alone for now

    • Sluggish but sort of usable .  

• AAO Hardware.  Works pretty darn well without any special drivers or fiddling

  • Touch pad works, but as a mouse (no scrolling area or options for 2-finger scroll) ... quick look for better driver came up empty - ToDo
    Seems to be picked up as PS/2 Compatible mouse - only driver Win could fin2

  • Camera:  Camera App initially could not find camera!    Device manager was no help ...  Showed up after a reboot and now works!!  

  • SD Card reader doesn't seem to work ... no big deal for me but I wonder if Win 7 Drivers would work

• Performance is MUCH improved over the one installed - V20H2, I think.
  // Still not as fast as Linux but Win10 on AAO is actually usable for possibly the first time! //

• Software

  • Still a lot of bloatware on Win10 ... but this time, it runs well enough to leave it all, no major tweaking to remember!

  • We have one App that only runs on Win10 - configurator for my semi-smart switch.  Installed and ran fine!

  • Doesn't seem to want to play on the home network (mac, linux & ftp) ... but that's OK

SSD + Win 10 Reinstall

• Overall:  In process, Attempt #3!  Attempting fresh Win10 install on SSD to breath some life into AAO.

• Motivation: AAO Hard disk has now turned 11! 

  • Had an unused Samsung EVO 850 (250g) SSD* on my workbench ...

  • Still have a couple of Windows-Only Apps in the house, AAO now is our only windoze machine!

  • Current AAO Win 10 has never been snappy, but has slowed after years of updates.

• Notes:

  • Attempted to create System Image Backup of AAO's original disk.  It ran & ran & ran, then ... Failed
    Decided to leave old disk in tact and install anew ... probably a lot of win junk on the old instance anyhoo

  • Acer said:  Windows 10: Reinstall Windows 10 after the free upgrade
    Sooo ... Visited the  Microsoft media creation tool using the browser on AAO. 

    • Attempt #1:  Downloaded and installed Win 10 Home - very slow and too much junk

    • Attempt #2:  Installed Win 10 Home N - Looked to be lighter ... BUT ...
      AAO Digital License didn't work!  It won't activate.  Back to Win 10 Home.

    • Attempt #3:  Back to Win 10 Home ... it was on the same USB image - no need to re-download.

  • Attempt #3 Notes - April 2021:  Side tracked, picking up where I left this off

    • Still pretty sluggish.  Not sure this is worth the trouble.   Some tweaking/testing before I yank it

      • Ghadzooks!  I haven't used windoze for a long time ... forgot what a slippery slope it can be

      • Switched to "Local" account, I THINK it will allow me to administer ...
        community.windows.com/en-us/stories/everything-you-need-to-know-about-local-accounts#!

      • Ran perfmon using https://winaero.com/system-performance-report-windows-10/

NST 28

• Overall:  It works, I'm using it, but I STILL don't like NTOPng!  Still poking around, but Network Security Tookkit NST 28 runs quite well on AAO.
  Some new/different tools, but I'll get used to it

• Motivation:  My AAO runs NST most of the time, it watches over our 'Things' subnet (IoT monitor), but also periodically used to debug/monitor network.  AAO has been running NST 24 for a few years ... struggled with upgrades in the past

• Notes (used Getting_Started guide to get things rolling)

  • ISO Download was 3.6g - nst-28-10439.x86_64.iso, may be too new for me (8/24/2018)

  • Created bootable 4g USB using Mint's Disk utility (Restore Disk Image) booted up fine

  • Initial AAO tests using live boot

    • AAO Keyboard seemed fine.  fcn keys all seemed to do what they are supposed to

    • External Monitor worked right out of the box

    • Power Management seemed fine too - battery monitoring, etc

    • Sound/Audio - Seemed to be more utilities in this release (Players, Mixer controls, etc)

      • Output sound seemed to work fine out of the box

      • Did not see Mic detected, but I'll bet it would work if needed

  • Install to 32g USB drive for more testing ... 

    • I don't use persistent USB boot with NST, can't recall why.  "Install to Hardisk" w/ big/fast usb stick

    • Install is slow, seems unresponsive at times but wait it out ...

    • Had to delete all partitions on target USB - could not figure out how to get install to format/use

    • Looks like 18g avail on 32g USB after install - plenty for now

  • Ran System/Configuration/NST Package Management -> Upgrade NST System ... seemed to be worth it

  • Tools I've configured/used

    • NSTWUI - Webfrontend @ https:<ip address>:9943/nstwui 

    • Odd, I had to bookmark /etc/nst.conf - useful nst passwords in here!  And yes, I did run nstpasswd!

    • Struggling with resolving local hostnames ... more to come

    • Network/Monitors

      • Network Bandwidth Monitor works fine - eth & wifi

      • NTOP came up fine @ https:<ip address>:3001 

        • Default uc/pw = admin/admin (DID I run nstpasswd?)

        • NTOPNG Community edition only ... I'll get used to it!

    • Security/Intrusion Detection

      • Snort/Sguil is working!   NOW I remember WHY I started this NST upgrade!

        • Sguil UI is new @ https:<ip address>:7743, PW is in nst.conf!  (don't get me started)

        • MUCH easier than installing snort & friends!

        • Lot to learn here .... 

        • <still working here>

    • Lanalyzer/Packet Capture Tools (keep it simple - Single Tap capture/tshark decode)

      • Works fine, with stumbles on capture filter syntax, of course!  Just copy from examples!

      • Handy link/tool - hex packet decoder @ https://hpd.gasmi.net/

      • Very handy tools here - lot to learn/see, addictive/fun if you can see entire network 

    • Network/Tools & Utilities - Looks like there are new ones here, nice!

    • Stumbled on Cockpit web console via SSH - Quite nice

      • start:  systemctl enable --now cockpit.socket

      • Access via:  http:<ip address>:9090

      • Looks like AAO will be fine with NST 28 (test with snort/sguil and NTOP running)

        • Processors < 50%

        • Mem & Swap - around 1.5 of 2.6g

    • Kismet - haven't used before, struggling thru set up ... yeeesh!

      • https://www.kismetwireless.net

      • Finally got server to stay up - ncsource/source syntax appears to be moving target in kismet.config - https://www.kismetwireless.net/documentation.shtml. 
        
        For AAO:  ncsource=wlp2s0:type=ath9k
        
        

      • Basically working thru web gui (nstwui) while poking around via SSH to see what was going on
        Handy commands in my ssh session - so far ...

        • iw list

        • Journalctl -u kismet

      • Kismet Client is X-windows app - now fumbling with how this all works

      • <more to come>

Parrot OS

• Paused - Loaded latest version of ParrotOS Security Edition on USB Drive

• Motivation:  Home networking issue driving me nuts!  Parrot worked great in the past

• USB Via Etcher - 32-Bit downloaded (in haste, but that's OK) - Parrot-security-4.4_i386.iso
  back to original USB stick (overwriting Manjaro, in haste again!)

• Notes as I go (but not right now, I need to fix something!) 

  • Ack - fumbling with persistence ...  paused for now

  • <more to come>

Manjaro

• Overall - It worked,  seemed nice.  A bit overloaded/cluttered for me.  Lots of preinstalled stuff!

  • Nice/user-friendly Linux Dist - https://manjaro.org/

  • Testing cut a bit short when I reused the USB memory stick for Parrot!  I had a network issue
    
    

• USB Live test - no persistence, just a quick test

• Motivation:  Actually looking for alternatives to Mint for my main desktop, had it on USB, decided to test on AAO

• Notes as I go

  • Apparently based on arch linux ... Been on my list!

  • Looks pretty good - sort of easy to use.  LOTS of stuff preinstalled

  • Package Manager is odd interface, not sure what it is.  No apt or yum from commandline?  Its pacman!

  • External Monitor worked, but kinda wierd.  I didn't mess with dual monitors - default was mirror, I think

  • USB's seemed to work, but looked like it was trying to autorun flash drives (failed to mount, op pending)

  • Not as simple/intuitive as I'd hoped 

CloudReady

• Neverware CloudReady Home Edition - Chromium OS on a stick!
  Overall - It works, Neverware did a good job - it's ChromeOS

• On my ToDo List for a long while, noticed that AAO 532h on the list of supported devices!

  • CloudReady FAQ 

• Motivation: I needed a Chromebook to test out an idea - we'll see how close this comes!

• Notes as I go

  • Zip download was 1g - cloudready-free-68.4.59-64-bit.zip from Home Edition Download Page

  • etcher.io for bootable USB (my fav).  Using 16g mem stick

  • Came up fine - little sluggish, but that may be old USB

  • Hardware appears to work BETTER than advertised in Aspire 532h Features & Exceptions doc

    • My webcam worked out of the blocks - which was GREAT because my test involved video calls!

  • May just be how chromebooks work, but adding apps can be fun(ny)!
    Using Web Store, some get added as 'apps' on OS others may be extensions in chrome browser.
    Be careful in Web Store, seemed like a lot of junk to weed thru

  • My Checklist 

    • Looks like it will support multiple user accounts - sort-of Fast-User Switching

    • Home network participation w/ some help

      • Installed Network File Share for Chrome OS (in spite of 2 our of 5 star rating)

      • Printing - network printers didn't work out of the box, installed cloudprint app, but not what I was expecting.  

    • AAO Hardware - card reader, external monitor, output audio and such seemed fine

    • Some minor slowdowns/sluggishness, but overall quite usable

• Enough of this - it works, it's OK, It's ChromeOS

Linux Lite

• Overall, VERY NICE!  Runs great, almost everything worked w/o tweaks - one little bump 

• Forgot about Linux Lite!  Have been using on slow PCs for some time  ... Should be great on AAO

• Took a few tries, but ...

  • Got it running on persistent USB (4g stick with 2g persistence) using UNetbootin

  • Really struggled to get it connected to wifi initially - ended up being the keyboard!  Drove me nuts!

    • It booted w/ NUMLOCK on!  All fcn keys were on by default, including number pad on AAO!

    • Perm fix in this thread - https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/other-17/(solved)-keyboard-problem-acer-netbook/.  Basically a checkbox in settings/keyboard

• Other notes

  • Tested all multimedia with VLC - will need to install music player

Debian

• Overall: Nah, looked like most stuff would work - messed around with USB boot too long - aborted

• Messing with Debian Stretch for another project, could have sworn I ran on AAO before, but no record of it!

  • Have had good luck/performance with Xfce on AAO, will start there

• Struggling to create bootable USB with persistence ... stretch may have changed things?  Some guides:

  • Guide @ https://www.linux.com/blog/creating-debian-live-usb-flash-drive-persistence-non-techies - NOPE

  • Guide @ http://cosmolinux.no-ip.org/raconetlinux2/persistence.html - NOPE, Live part seems Read-Only?!

  • Good info - https://debian-live.alioth.debian.org/live-manual/stable/manual/html/live-manual.en.html#556

• Test notes

  • Never did get USB w/ persistence working ... messed around long enough

  • Failed to browse home network via file manager - I didn't dig into this

  • Failed to find a couple of my favorite packages in repository 

  • Attempted quick test of webcam using VLC media player - failed, but I didn't attempt to tweak/fix

  • Audio output worked out of box but no obvious volume control on desktop - used alsamixer

  • Audio in (Mic) appeared to be working - didn't find recorder, but managed to get some feedback going

  • Did not get card-reader working - simply quick test, didn't look into this either

Ubuntu Studio

• Overall:  Booted for the fun of it, but it ran remarkably well!  Didn't spend a lot of time on AAO, but did install on a bigger machine to do some video editing work

• Xenial Xerus 16.04.3 LTS (64-bit), actually quite snappy on 2g AAO

• Power Management seemed to work right out of box ... BUT ... 

  • one odd event where battery level went from 40% to critical/alert/plugin-now!   May be AAO battery

• Most AAO Hardware worked fine - I didn't attempt to poke/tweak to get devices working

Network Security Toolkit (NST 26)

• My AAO runs NST 24 most of the time - network/security probe running NTOP and Snort

• Nov 2017 - NST 26 SVN:9267 upgrade *** Aborted ***

  • Overall:  Live Boot worked well, but install went poorly.  Features were not what I had hoped

  • Live Boot:  Things ran very well off of USB stick, fedora 26 seemed to get along fine on AAO

  • Install was rough:  No grub choice for standard Gnome Desktop - Fluxbox was default

  • Security App Changes:

    • No pre-installed OpenVAS (Vulnerability Scanner), I must have misread release notes

    • Old NTOP was removed, I like/know that one.  Will play w/ NTOPNG to be ready next time!

    • Hoped to play with Snorby - not there

  • Created 4g usb boot using iso and mint USB Disk utility

  • Initial Boot from Live USB:

    • Blueman takes a dump @ startup  ("quit unexpectedly") - has happened since NST 22

    • OS Runs fine, notes as I go

      • WiFi - no prob

      • Network - Win/Workgroup fine

      • Audio output works

      • trackpad, works fine, had to tweak to set tap-to-click

      • Seems to have more general apps, media player for example

  • Install Notes - I 'install' to a USB drive instead of using persistence ... can't recall why 

    • Release Announcement @ https://sourceforge.net/p/nst/news/2017/10/nst-version-26-9267-released/

    • "Install to Harddisk" icon fires up Anaconda, really easy install, but a tad sluggish

    • "Installation Destination" for me was USB (32g sdc), Automatic partitioning + make space available 

    • <punted>

  • Apps

    • old NTOP is gone!  Oh NO! change!  I liked that one!  AAO constantly ran NTOP!

      • ntopng - it works .... but...

        • had to set admin password to match nstpassword?  THEN login with admin/admin(!) and change it again via WebUI ... I need to retrace my steps here 

        • Need to figure out filters - need to ignore the probe itself?

        • no show stopper, more testing needed

    • snort/snorby - TBD, BASE is gone, but I'd like to run snorby

      • Fumbling as usual

      • <punted>

Mint 

- Worked very well.  Fast, easy to work with.  AAO hardware worked right out of the box with the exception of the mic, which required fiddling to get working - used this post http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1379587.  Connected nicely to mac world, windoze network and network printer (Dell M5200).  Mate is snappy and easy to use.

Ubuntu 

Twas rough - did not run well at all.  Slow, periodically unresponsive, not worth continued effort.  Aborted.  

kubunu 

- A little disappointing, KDE Plasma Desktop is cool.  A lot of good old Linux monkeying around to achieve network participation.  Never did get SD card reader working.  Live USB boot seemed slower and more cumbersome than Mint.  Periods of slugishness/unresponsiveness.

Fedora 

- Some probs switching between wifi networks - would not release network connection dialog box, had to reboot.  Lots of fiddling to participate in home (windows & mac) network.  External monitor was flaky, appeared to be related to differences in resolution/aspect.

BackTrack 

- Specialty distro (security tools) but a VERY pleasant surprise, it runs great on AAO 532h.  Tested KDE (plasma) window manager, but didn't mess around testing hardware or features that wouldn't be used for security scans, audits and such ("n/a" in table above).  Odd/sporadic issues adding software via kPackage.

Xubuntu 

- Attempt #2, little rough, tinkering required.  Takes dumps on startup (ubuntu internal error and keyboard input method), connecting to smb network did not work out of the box.  Some AAO hardware seems to be working., Doesn't seem as fast as Mint ... Maybe more to come

Kali -  Attempt #2 

Live/USB is pretty painless/easy - http://docs.kali.org/installation/kali-linux-live-usb-install.  Some fiddling to get persistence http://docs.kali.org/installation/kali-linux-live-usb-persistence.  Internal mic didn't seem to work (very quick test), internal/external audio seemed fine via smoking monkey youtube test.   USB, cardreader, external monitor and trackpad worked with no putzing.  Kali tools don't seem to be as fully baked as BT - but could just be learning curve. 

Kali 2.0 

- Somewhat of a forced update due to 1.0 EOL and repository purge.  Had a heck of a time going back to 1.1 with persistence for some reason.  I'd recommend sticking with Kali 1.x on the Aspire for the time being and using archive mirror for time being ("deb http://old.kali.org/kali moto main non-free contrib" in /etc/apt/sources.list)

Network Security Toolkit (NST 22) 

- Looks REALLY good!  Still some testing to do, but the toolkit (and fedora) seems to function well on AAO!

• 11/11 - Didn't make it through the night - looks to be hung, power management?

• 11/19 - More testing with new USB stick (w/ 1g of persistence).  Will switch to NST until Kali 2.0 has a few more miles on it.

  • Card reader works fine, I initially used a bad adapter

  • Little burp at Startup - bluman takes a dump when you initially boot (probably due to no bluetooth)

  • Power Management seems fine, no hangs, features seem to work

  • Built-in Audio seems fine - input levels seem to change when testing mic, output tested fine

  • Did some putzing with Exile media player - did not work out of the box

  • Fedora Live USB Creator is a little flaky.  After adding persistence it fails with "vesamenu.c32:  not COM32R image" during boot.  Workaround for now:  Tab Key, then enter 'gdm' to bring up mate