There have been continuous questions over the differences between Black Lab Linux and net/OS. Today we are going to discuss those differences and what they mean for the operating systems in general.
1. Governance
The Black Lab Linux Project The Black Lab Linux project is maintained by a group of volunteers and maintainers whose sole purpose is to develop Black Lab Linux. Black Lab Linux is freely available to download and use on your computer of choice. The Black Lab Linux Project is self-funding which means it receives no revenue from sales and is dependent on donations and contributions from users. Everything from domain registration, build systems and developer compensation are dependent on user donations and contributions.
PC/OpenSystems LLC Is the developer of net/OS. net/OS is built from Black Lab Linux but is a branch of Black Lab Linux. PC/OpenSystems is responsible for development, paying developers and paying for other infrastructure. PC/OpenSystems LLC makes money from sales of software products and hardware systems.
2. Software
Black Lab Linux contains freeware, open source and GPL software only. While it may contain some binary form only software the licensing of the software permits it to be distributed without fee to users.
net/OS contains all the programs that Black Lab Linux does but also contains non-free drivers and that allow it to run on enterprise class systems, but also contains non-free and proprietary multimedia codecs. It also contains some software that is proprietary and licensed by us by respective copyright holders. Software like Skype, Oracle Java stack, Steam gaming client and MP3 and DVD Playback are specifically LICENSED by us to run which means that we pay royalties and fee's for every copy of net/OS sold. net/OS also includes software to ensure compatibility with legacy UNIX systems.
Both systems contain the Chromium web browser and the ICE SSB which allows you to create web applications from specific websites and both contain prebundled web apps.
3. Hardware support
Black Lab Linux - Black Lab Linux can run on almost all generic AMD64 and Intel64 based systems available on the market. 90% of the time you will find that your system supports all features from Black Lab Linux.
net/OS - Can run on most AMD64 and Intel64 bit systems but it also contains drivers to run on systems from Microsoft, SGI, HP Enterprise and IBM/Lenovo systems. net/OS is also prebundled on select hardware available from PC/OpenSystems LLC and is also available for multiple CPU architectures like PowerPC and Oracle SPARC.
http://www.pc-opensystems.com/p/commercial-hardware.html
4. Release Cycle
Black Lab Linux - Is released every 4 to 6 months
net/OS - is released every 18 to 24 months for desktop systems and gets maintenance updates for 5 years and net/OS Server is released every 24 months and is supported through maintenance updates for 10 years. net/OS desktop systems get Service Packs released every 6 to 9 months which only include some application updates and mostly security updates.
Both systems get kernel update packages which get newer kernels and bleeding edge kernels
5. Support
Black Lab Linux - Support for Black Lab Linux is available through community, forum and Facebook page requests only.
net/OS - Support for net/OS is purchased through yearly service contracts which entitle you to onsite service or remote/telephone support as well as e-mail support. Cost is determined through number of licenses purchased.
6. Cost
Black Lab Linux - Black Lab Linux is free to download, use and redistribute to anyone that has a supported PC or laptop.
You can download Black Lab Linux from the following download locations
http://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/7/64/
net/OS - net/OS is offered in different tiers, net/OS Enterprise, net/OS Education, net/OS Core Server, net/OS Server. While net/OS Server is available only on hardware, you can purchase net/OS, net/OS Enterprise and net/OS Education on DVD or Live USB or Live SD card.
http://www.pc-opensystems.com/p/webstore.html
net/OS Server
http://www.pc-opensystems.com/p/black-lab-server.html
These are the differences between the two systems. Black Lab Linux is more like a CentOS modeled distribution, net/OS is strictly commercial. If you have any questions please contact support@pc-opensystems.com
