mFatOS - Ubuntu On Steroids (Remastered Ubuntu)

Some of you may not like it, but I for one really love the idea that you can make a custom Ubuntu Live CD, even if you only share it with family and friends. For this reason we like to occasionally post such a custom Ubuntu Live CD on WebUpd8.

mFatOS is an Ubuntu remaster optimized for Persian-speaking users - but don't worry, you don't have to speak Persian to use it. Based on ubuntu Lucid Lynx and SuperOS 10.04, mFatOS is multimedia-ready and loaded with tons of extra applications, themes and icons.

(Nautilus Elementary)

(Firefox Elementary)

mFatOS has a very interesting approach to what a Linux distribution should look like: it comes with Firefox (with Elementary for Firefox by default), Chrome AND Opera 10.70 - all (well, except Opera) with some basic extensions such as AdBlock installed by default -, as well as lots of other applications such as: GIMP with single window mode support, Deadbeef, GnoMenu and Cradapio (so you can choose which one to use), Ubuntu Tweak, Nautilus Elementary, Virtualbox with USB support, Wine & PlayOnLinux, VLC, Avidemux, Audacity, Handbrake, Skype, WinFF, XBMC, Unetbootin, Bleachbit, Goldendict, Pinta, Wally and others as well as most applications which come by default in Ubuntu.

(GnoMenu)

Two default Ubuntu applications have been however removed: Empathy and Gwibber have been replaced by Pidgin and Pino respectively. Also Evolution has been removed from messaging menu in favor of Thunderbird:

Mehdi also wants mFatOS users to have the most beautiful themes available by default, so it comes with all popular themes and icons (Faenza, Elegant Gnome and so on). And of course, Avant Window Navigator with Lucido style also comes by default:

(AppIndicator in AWN)

Besides themes and default applications, mFatOS also comes with a lot of tweaks such as F4 shortcut for nautilus-open-terminal (tip which we've posted yesterday) and even an offline installer for Nvidia and ATI graphics cards for machines with poor or no connectivity (note that this utility only works before you run apt-get update for the first time).

mFatOS 1.4 64bit was released yesterday. Here's the announcement (including the release notes):

I'm pleased to announce the release of mFatOS 1.4 x64, an Ubuntu-based distribution tweaked for maximum usability, with a unique look and feel and tons of extra cherry-picked software applications. mFatOS is for everyone willing to use a polished and fine-tuned linux distributions, however it has a few tweaks for Persian-speaking users, including pre-configured Persian keyboard layout (US English being the default layout). mFatOS makes you productive immediately after installation. Every single detail have been taken care of so that you can focus on your daily tasks instead of spending hours customizing the desktop and installing extra apps. mFatOS 1.4 replaces GNOME panel with Avant Window Navigator, and Gnomenu provides a stylish and modern main menu. DockbarX makes managing open winows the easiest task and you have the maximum screen real-state without clutter or confusion. Only one dock and you have access to everything. 

mFatOS comes with multimedia codecs and flash player pre-installed, and VLC, Smplayer, Deadbeef and XBMC cater for a complete multimedia experience. thunderbird replaces Evolution in the messaging menu, and Pidgin and Pino replace Empathy and Gwibber respectively. The popular Nautilus Elementary is used as the file manager with extra extensions (open-terminal, image resizer, gksu, etc) and KDE-style F4 keyboard shortcut for opening a terminal in the current working directory.

Another unique feature is mFatOS proprietary graphics driver installer, which can install restricted drivers for Nvidia and ATI cards without an inter connection. Popular Web-browsers (Firefox, Chrome stable, Chromium and Opera) are all installed. Firefox and Chrome are equpped with a few popular addons, and Firefox comes with the awesome Elementary theme.

Judging from the default application selection, mFatOS seems to be great for someone who doesn't have an internet connection - you can download the ISO from a friend and after installing it, you'll have a lot of applications from which to choose from.

I've only mentioned part of the default applications and tweaks so if you want to see everything mFatOS can do by default, grab a DVD, burn and boot mFatOS and see for yourself.

Note: mFatOS doesn't work in VirtualBox - you won't be able to login, so you'll have to create a bootable USB memory stick or burn it onto a DVD to try it out.

For any questions you may have, feel free to ask and I'm sure Mehdi will be happy to answer.

Download mFatOS (both 32bit and 64bit) | There's also a torrent file (64bit) for those who prefer to download via bit-torrent.

Thanks to Mehdi for the info and screenshots!