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Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 2 system running from a live CD, with the new Unity desktop environment

A live CD, live DVD, or live disc is a complete bootable computer operating system which runs in the computers memory, rather than loading from the hard disk drive. It allows users to experience and evaluate an operating system without installing it or making any changes to the existing operating system on the computer. Live CDs are unique because they can run on a computer lacking secondary storage, such as a hard disk drive, or with a corrupted hard disk drive or file system, allowing users to rescue data.

Live USB flash drives are similar to live CDs, but often have the added functionality of automatically and transparently writing changes back to their bootable medium. Also, the solid-state device pure electronic operation gives a significant speed advantage by eliminating the CD reader's intrinsic mechanical latencies. Write-locked Live SD WORM systems are the direct solid-state counterpart to live CDs and can be booted natively in a media card slot or by using a USB adapter. Write-locked Live SD systems avoid excessive write cycles or corruption by ill-conditioned software, like viruses, which can prematurely "ruin" a live USB drive's installation.

While a live CD typically does not alter any operating system or files already installed on a computer's secondary storage (such as hard disk drives), many live CDs include optional software mechanisms and utilities for altering the host computer's data stores, including installation of an operating system. This is important for the system management aspect of live CDs, which can be useful for removing malware, for drive imaging, and for system recovery.

The default option, however, is to allow the user to return the computer to its previous state when the live CD is ejected and the computer is rebooted. It is able to run without permanent installation by placing the files that typically would be stored on a hard drive into RAM, typically in a RAM disk, though this does cut down on the RAM available to applications.

History[link]

Prior to the wide use of compact discs in computers, floppy disks were used as boot disks, which generally had a small operating system and limited tools.

Programmers adapted the compact discs (originally developed for storing audio) for use as media for storing and distributing large amounts of computer data. This data may also include application and operating-system software, sometimes packaged and archived in compressed formats. Later, it became convenient and useful to boot the computer directly from compact disc, often with a minimal working system in order to install a full system onto a hard drive.

The first Compact Disc drives on personal computers were generally much too slow for running complex operating systems. Often, the computer could not boot from optical discs. When operating systems were distributed on compact discs, either a boot floppy or the CD itself would boot specifically, and only, in order to install onto a hard drive. The first live CD was FM Towns OS first released in 1989.^{[citation needed]}

Origin of Linux live CDs[link]

Although early developers and users of distributions built on top of the Linux kernel were able to take advantage of cheap optical disks and rapidly declining prices of CD drives for personal computers, the Linux distribution CDs or "distros" were generally treated as a collection of installation packages that must first be permanently installed to hard disks on the target machine.

However in the case of these distributions built on top of the Linux kernel, the free operating system was meeting resistance in the consumer market because of the perceived difficulty, effort, and risk involved in installing an additional partition on the hard disk, in parallel with an existing operating system installation.

The term "live CD" was coined because after typical PC RAM was large enough and 52x speed CD drives and CD burners were widespread among PC owners, it finally became convenient and practical to boot the kernel, run X11, a window manager and GUI applications directly from a CD without disturbing the OS on the hard disk.

This was a new and different situation for Linux than other operating systems, because the updates/upgrades were being released so quickly, different distributions and versions were being offered online, and especially because users were burning their own CDs.

The first Linux-based 'Live CD' was Yggdrasil Linux first released in beta form 1992~1993 (ceased production in 1995), though in practice its functionality was hampered due to the low throughput of contemporary CD-ROM drives. DemoLinux, released in 1998, was the first Linux distribution specially designed as a live CD. The Linuxcare bootable business card, first released in 1999, was the first Live CD to focus on system administration, and the first to be distributed in the bootable business card form factor. As of 2010^[update], Finnix (first released in 2000) is the oldest Live CD still in production. Knoppix, a Debian-derived Linux distribution, was released in 2003, and found popularity as both a rescue disk system and as a primary distribution in its own right.

Since 2003, the popularity of live CDs has increased substantially, partly due to Linux Live scripts and remastersys which made it very easy to build customized live systems. Most of the popular Linux distributions now include a live CD variant, which in some cases is also the preferred installation medium.

Uses[link]

While some live CDs are designed to "demo" or "test drive" a particular operating system (usually Linux or another free or open source operating system), there are live CDs made for many different uses.

Although some live CDs can load into memory in order to free the optical drive for other uses, loading the data off a CD-ROM is still slower than a typical hard drive boot, so this is rarely the default with large live CD images, but for smaller live CD images loading the filesystem directly into RAM can be highly practical. Loading the filesystem image into RAM can provide a significant performance boost as RAM is several orders of magnitude faster than a hard drive. Also, since RAM has no moving parts, a system running from a live CD loaded into RAM can run with improved power efficiency.^[1] Experienced users of the operating system may also use a live CD to determine whether and to what extent a particular operating system or version is compatible with a particular hardware configuration and certain peripherals, or as a way to know beforehand which computer or peripheral will work before buying.^[1] Users may also use a live CD to troubleshoot hardware, especially when a hard drive fails, and more generally as a recovery disc in case of problems. Some live CDs can save user-created files in a Windows partition, a USB drive, a network drive, or other accessible media.

A few additional uses include:

• installing a Linux distribution to a hard drive
• testing new versions of software
• listing & testing hardware ^[2]
• system repair and restoration
• high security/non-invasive environment for a guest
• cracking/stealing passwords
• network security testing
• being the primary or backup operating system for any computer
• quick and simple clustering of computers ^[3]
• computer forensics
• playing video games
• providing a secure server platform where crucial files cannot be permanently altered
• providing a secure, reliable platform for the performance of high-vulnerability tasks such as internet banking;
• Internet kiosks, which can be brought back to their original state by a reboot

Thematic Live CDs[link]

Several live CDs are dedicated to specific type of applications according to the requirements of thematic user communities. These CDs are tailored to the needs of the applications in subject including general knowledge, tutorial, specifications and trial data too.

Some of these topics covers sub topics, e.g. IT administration breaks down to firewall, rescue, security, etc. type of live CDs. In some cases a particular LiveDVD covers more than one topic.

Live CD software appliances[link]

Packaging a software appliance as an installable live CD can often be beneficial as a single image can run on real hardware in addition to most types of virtual machines.

This allows developers to avoid the complexities involved in supporting multiple incompatible virtual machine images formats and focus on the lowest common denominator instead.

Typically after booting the machine from the live CD, the appliance will either run in non-persistent demo mode or install itself, at the user's request, to an available storage device.

Mounting without burning[link]

The files on a live CD ISO image can be accessed in Microsoft Windows with a disk image emulator such as Daemon Tools, or in Unix variants by mounting a loop device.

After mounting the live CD's filesystem, software on the live CD can be run directly (I.e., without booting) by chrooting into the live CD's mounted filesystem.

A live CD ISO image can also be mounted by Virtual Machine software such as VirtualBox and VMware Workstation or can be converted to a Live USB using SYSLINUX. Tools such as UNetbootin can automate this process.

Common traits[link]

Some live CDs come with an installation utility launchable from a desktop icon that can optionally install the system on a hard drive or USB flash drive. Most live CDs can access the information on internal and/or external hard drives, diskettes and USB flash drives.

Generally live CDs are booted from read-only media, requiring either copying to rewriteable media (i.e. a hard drive) or complete remastering to install additional software; however, there are exceptions such as Puppy Linux which has the ability to save files to the live CD itself or other multisession media, allowing users to carry data, and more importantly, added programs and customized settings, along with them on optical disc.

Most live CDs are based on Linux, as this was the operating system that had the most to gain by offering free trials and demonstrations without regard to sales or copyright. Now others are using the term live CD for other operating systems, such as OpenSolaris, BeleniX and others based on Solaris. Other "live" operating systems include AmigaOS 4, Amithlon, AROS, FreeBSD, FreeDOS, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, OS/2, ReactOS, NetBSD, OpenBSD, MINIX 3, Plan 9 from Bell Labs, and MorphOS.

The first personal computer operating system on a CD to support "live" operations might have been the AmigaOS, which could be booted from CD on an Amiga CDTV in 1990.^{[citation needed]}. Earlier examples of live OS are of course the operating systems used from floppy, and most widely spread is DOS.

Unlike previous operating systems on optical media, though, Linux and OS/2 "live CDs" were specifically designed to run without installation onto other media like a hard disk drive. The live CD concept was meant to promote Linux and showcase the abilities of the free, open source operating system on conventional personal computers with Microsoft Windows already installed.^{[citation needed]}

On a PC, a bootable Compact Disc generally conforms to the El Torito specification. Many Linux based live CDs use a compressed filesystem image, often with the cloop compressed loopback driver, or squashfs compressed filesystem, generally doubling effective storage capacity, although slowing application start up^{[citation needed]}.

The resulting environment can be quite rich: typical Knoppix systems include around 1,200 separate software packages. Live CDs have a reputation for supporting advanced auto-configuration and plug-and-play functionality. This came out of necessity to avoid requiring the user to configure the system each time it boots and to make it easily usable by those who are new to the operating system.

Technique[link]

A read-only file system, such as on a CD-ROM has the drawback of being unable to save any current working data. For this reason, a read-only file system is often merged with a temporary writable file system in the form of a RAM disk. Often the default Linux directories "/home" (containing users' personal files and configuration files) and "/var" (containing variable data) are kept in ramdisk, because the system updates them frequently. Puppy linux has a savable layer so if you choose to, the next time you boot you can resume (pick right back up again) from where you left off. Each time the CD boots, it looks for the file and then uses it if it has the right name.

In modern live CDs, a read-only file system is merged with ramdisk using transparent techniques such as UnionFS, AuFS or EWF. In MS-DOS and OS/2 systems, ramdrive.sys, can be loaded at boot for this purpose. Boot loaders like syslinux can boot ISO files from USB memory devices.

Live CDs have to be able to detect and use a wide variety of hardware (including network cards, graphic cards etc.) in realtime. This is easily achieved nowadays by udev, hotplug, hal, udisk etc.. which is a common part of all distributions based on Linux kernel 2.6.

Boot code[link]

During live CD initialization, a user typically may resort to using one or more boot codes to change the booting behavior. These vary from distribution to distribution but can most often be accessed upon first boot screen by one of the function keys.

See also[link]

• Comparison of Linux distributions (Live media)
• GIS Live DVD
• List of live CDs
• List of remastering software
• Live USB
• Windows To Go
• Software appliance

Screenshots[link]

Here are some screenshots of live CDs:

• 

  Live CD of Trisquel 5.0

• 

  Live CD of Fedora 11

• 

  Live CD of Mandriva 2010

• 

  Live CD of Ubuntu 12.04

• 

  Live CD of Gentoo Linux

• 

  Live DVD of Super OS

• AmigaOS 4.1 Update 1 Live CD.png

  Live CD of AmigaOS 4.1 Update 1

References[link]

External links[link]

• The LiveCD List tracks LiveCDs, LiveDVDs, and LiveUSB operating systems.
• Bootable CDROM HowTo
• Build your own Custom Live CD
• Proof of Concept: How to create a live CD/DVD from your HDD Installation
• Linux Live scripts
• Live CD News
• LiveDistro.org Howto create LiveCDs, build tool directory, and download LiveCDs
• Pondering Live CDs - A BSD perspective on the concept of Live CDs
• The magic of live CDs Article published on Free Software Magazine about Live CDs
• A FreeBSD LiveCD project - it also contains valuable information on how to make LiveCD's in FreeBSD
• The Ultimate Boot CD - PC hardware diagnosis tools into one bootable CD to analyze and repair hard drives and boot problems
• The Ultimate Boot CD for Windows - A live CD of Windows XP, with system-restore utilities

• LiveSystem-Pro (Win7 based - German)

Kiriko Takemura (竹村 キリコ, Takemura Kiriko^?, born January 29, 1993), better known as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ, Kyarī Pamyu Pamyu^?), is a model, blogger, and recording artist from the Harajuku district of Tokyo.^[2] Her official stage name is Caroline Charonplop Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (きゃろらいんちゃろんぷろっぷきゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ, Kyarorain Charonpuroppu Kyarī Pamyu Pamyu^?).^[3] Kyary's debut album, Pamyu Pamyu Revolution, was released in May of 2012, topping charts internationally.

Career[link]

Kyary started as a fashion blogger, and then began her professional career as a model for Harajuku fashion magazines such as Kera! and Zipper.^[4] After achieving a measure of fame, she began to establish herself as a businesswoman by launching a line of fake eyelashes called "Harajuku Doll Eyelashes by Eyemazing x Kyary"^[5] and appearing at fashion shows.^[6]

In April 2011, she frontlined the charity event "One Snap for Love" with Japanese fashion editor and photographer Yasumasa Yonehara and Japanese brand 6%DokiDoki for victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.^[7]

In July 2011, she began a musical career by releasing her first single, "PonPonPon". The music video, a psychedelic tribute to kawaisa and Decora culture, was released to YouTube and became a viral hit.^[8][9] The single was produced by Yasutaka Nakata and is the first release from Kyary's debut mini-album, Moshi Moshi Harajuku, which was released August 17, 2011.^[10] "PonPonPon" was released on July 20, 2011. On July 31, 2011, the song entered Billboard Japan's Hot 100 chart at 72.^[11]

On August 3, 2011, her second single "Jelly" was internationally released via iTunes.^[12] A week after the release of her debut mini-album, Kyary released an autobiography about her rise to fame titled, Oh! My God!! Harajuku Girl.^[13][14]

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's third single and music video, "Tsukema Tsukeru", was digitally released internationally on December 7, 2011 via iTunes. Kyary visited Culver City, California on December 9 to perform in a fashion show and play two of her songs. It was the singer's first time performing overseas and her first time performing "Tsukema Tsukeru".^[15] Her first physical single titled "Tsukema Tsukeru" was released on January 11, 2012, which included a special edition photobook.

Kyary released her second physical single "Candy Candy" on April 4, 2012. Along with the announcement of her second single, it was revealed that she will be holding her first nationwide tour in June, as well as launching an official fan club in spring.^[16] The tour will kick off on June 2 at the Namba Hatch in Osaka. It will continue in Hiroshima, Nagoya, Sendai, Sapporo, Fukuoka and then finish in Tokyo on June 29.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Official blog
• Kyary's Warner Music Japan site
• Kyary's Official Nico Nico Douga
• Kyary's Official Twitter
• Kyary @ HearJapan

Casey Abrams
Background information
Born	(1991-02-12) February 12, 1991 (age 21) Austin, Texas
Origin	Idyllwild, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, rock, blues
Occupations	Musician, singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, double bass, bass guitar, keyboard, guitar, piano, melodica, accordion, sitar, clarinet, drums, cello[1]
Years active	2011–present
Labels	19, Concord Records
Website	http://iamcaseyabrams.com/

Casey Abrams (born February 12, 1991) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist from Idyllwild, California who finished in sixth place on the tenth season of American Idol. He was eliminated from the competition on April 28, 2011, five weeks after being the third finalist to be saved from elimination by the judges.

Early life[link]

Abrams was born on February 12, 1991 in Austin, Texas, to Pam Pierce and Ira Abrams.^[2][3] His father is Jewish and his mother is from a Catholic background, and Abrams grew up in an interfaith family.^[4] He spent his early years in the Chicago area, first in Evanston, Illinois, then in Wilmette, where he attended McKenzie Elementary School.^[5]

Abrams later moved to California and attended middle school and high school there. He was a student at Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, California,^[6] where his father teaches film production.^[2] At Idyllwild Arts, he studied classical bass instruction and improvisation, and participted in the jazz ensembles, gaining a foundation in music history, piano, and jazz piano, and learning to write musical scores for films.^[7]

After graduating from Idyllwild in 2009, he attended University of Colorado at Boulder as a music major.^[8] He worked as a film camp counselor at Idyllwild Arts Summer Camp prior to his appearance on American Idol.

Abrams suffers from ulcerative colitis,^[9] an inflammatory disease which causes ulceration and inflammation of the colon, and that occasionally requires blood transfusions, which resulted in his having been hospitalized while on American Idol.^[10]

Abrams lists as his musical influences Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Oscar Peterson, and James Taylor, as well as Marshall Hawkins, head of the jazz department at Idyllwild Arts Academy.^[11]

[edit] American Idol

Overview[link]

Abrams auditioned for the tenth season of American Idol in Austin, Texas. He was selected as one of the Top 24 semi-finalists, but two days before he was due to perform for the semi-finals, he suffered severe stomach pains and was rushed to the hospital.^[12] He was well enough to perform on performance night, and was one of the five male vote receivers to advance to the Top 13;^[13] however, he missed the Top 13 results show due to his illness. He was the lowest vote receiver on the Top 11 result show, but was saved by the judges; they chose to save him immediately, stopping his supposedly last performance on the show halfway through it. He is the third finalist to be saved by the judges in three seasons.

Abrams was eliminated from the competition on April 28, 2011, finishing in sixth place. During his last performance he sang "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, a song he had performed during the semifinals. During the performance he kissed audience members, rolled onto the stage, thanked the judges, and sang the last two words ("you're mine") to fellow contestant Haley Reinhart.

On May 25, 2011, Abrams sang "Fat Bottomed Girls" with Jack Black on the American Idol finale.

Performances and results[link]

• ^Note 1 Abrams received the lowest number of votes; however, the judges decided to use their one save of the season to allow him to remain in the competition, resulting in two eliminations the following week.
• ^Note 2 Due to the judges using their one save on Abrams, the Top 11 remained intact for another week.

[edit] Post-Idol

Abrams appeared and performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in April 2011, and Live with Regis and Kelly, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and MTV's The Seven in May of the same year. He was one of the performers in the 2011 American Idols Live Tour, which began in West Valley City, Utah in July 2011, and ended in Manila, Philippines in September 2011.^{[not in citation given][14]}

In August 2011, Abrams became a spokesman in a national campaign called IBD Icons to raise awareness of inflammatory bowel disease.^[15]

Abrams is managed by 19 Entertainment. Abrams and former American Idol Season 10 contestant Haley Reinhart recorded a holiday song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside", in November 2011^[16]—also released on video.^[17]

On January 8, 2012 Abrams signed with Concord Music Group.^[18] Abrams’ linking with Concord Music Group marks the second signing of a contestant from season ten to a non-Universal Music Group-owned label.^{[citation needed]} His first album is self-titled, Casey Abrams, and is scheduled for release on June 26, 2012.^[19]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Casey Abrams on American Idol

Mike Birbiglia
Birth name	Michael Birbiglia
Born	(1978-06-20) June 20, 1978 (age 34)[1] Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, United States[1]
Medium	Stand-up comedy, Theatre, Radio, Television
Nationality	American
Website	birbigs.com

Mike Birbiglia (born June 20, 1978) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and director.

Professional work[link]

Birbiglia has starred in three Comedy Central specials and has released three albums with Comedy Central Records: Two Drink Mike (2006), My Secret Public Journal Live (2007), and Sleepwalk With Me Live (2011). My Secret Public Journal Live was named one of the best comedy albums of the decade by the Onion AV Club^[2]and Sleepwalk With Me Live debuted at #1 on the Billboard Magazine Comedy Charts.^[3]

From 2006 to 2009, Birbiglia was a commercial spokesman for Suddenlink Communications, the seventh largest cable/broadband provider in the United States. He appeared in a number of humorous commercials promoting cable, internet and telephone service for Suddenlink.

In 2008, Birbiglia opened Sleepwalk WIth Me, a one-man show that straddled standup comedy and theater, off-Broadway at the Bleecker Street Theatre.^[4][5] The show was presented by Nathan Lane and the New York Times called the show "simply perfect."^[6] Time Out New York named it their "Show of the Year" in 2009.^[7]

Birbiglia followed up his theatrical debut with Sleepwalk With Me & Other Painfully True Stories, ^[8] a book which debuted as number 29 on the hardcover nonfiction New York Times Bestseller List^[9][10] and number four on the hardcover nonfiction section of the Washington Post Political Bookworm Best Sellers.^[11] Birbiglia was also a finalist for the 2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor for Sleepwalk With Me & Other Painfully True Stories.^[12]

In 2011, Birbiglia mounted his second one-man show My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, which ran for 4 months off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre and won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show. ^[13] Birbiglia is currently touring My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend around the world with tour dates in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Birbiglia recently made his feature film debut with Sleepwalk With Me, a film based on his one-man show of the same name that he wrote, directed, and starred in. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the NEXT Audience Award.^[14] It was also selected in the "Festival Favorites" category at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, TX. ^[15] The film was produced by Jacob Jaffke and This American Life's Ira Glass and stars Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, Carol Kane, James Rebhorn, and Cristin Milioti and has cameos by Kristen Schaal, Wyatt Cenac, David Wain, and Marc Maron.^[16]

As an actor, Birbiglia has appeared in the films Going the Distance, Cedar Rapids, and Your Sister’s Sister, as well as the HBO series, “Girls.” ^[17]

Birbiglia on This American Life[link]

Birbiglia is a regular contributor to the Public Radio International-distributed program This American Life.^[18]

Personal life[link]

Birbiglia attended St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts for one year,^{[citation needed]} graduated from St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts in 1996 ^[19][20] and subsequently graduated from Georgetown University in 2000.^[21] During college Birbiglia performed as a member of the Georgetown Players Improv Troupe.^{[citation needed]}

Birbiglia lives with his wife, Jen Stein, on New York's Upper West Side.^[22]

He has rapid eye movement behavior disorder (sleepwalking), which caused him to run out of a second-story window of a motel he was staying in Walla Walla, Washington, while on tour. As a result of the accident, Birbiglia received 33 stitches in his leg.^[23][24][25]

Discography[link]

• 2004: Dog Years (out of print) (self-produced, winner of the "Just Plain Folks" comedy album of the year)
• 2005: Invite Them Up (Comedy Central Records compilation CD of NYC indie comics)
• 2005: My Secret Public Album, Volume 1a (weekly guest spots on The Bob and Tom Show)
• 2006: Two Drink Mike
• 2007: My Secret Public Journal Live
• 2008: What I Should Have Said Was Nothing (DVD)
• 2011: Sleepwalk with Me Live

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Mike Birbiglia at the Internet Movie Database

Birbiglia on This American Life[link]

• Episode 361: The Fear of Sleep
• Episode 370: Ruining it for the Rest of Us
• Episode 374: Somewhere Out There
• TAL: Live: Scene of the Crime