Introduction/overview

  Introduction

• Overview
• Navigating This Manual
• About Myself
• Snakeoil OS Features
• The Snakeoil OS Philosophy

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 Back To Main

Snakeoil Operating System (Snakeoil OS) is based on the popular Ubuntu Linux Distribution - one of the most popular Linux distributions available today.

Snakeoil builds on Ubuntu by implementing optimisations designed specifically for audio, and the user controls the operating system via the Snakeoil Web Application (Web-App) and RESTful server.

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These customised optimisations transform your general computer into a high quality Computer Audio Player (CAP) for your digital music. The flexibility of Ubuntu plus the innovative design of the Snakeoil OS Web-App gives you the power to easily change the functionality and features of your computer - giving you full control over how you want music to be played back.

The low impact REST server runs on the Snakeoil machine, while the WebApp runs on another machine's web browser. This can be a second computer, a tablet or even your mobile. This client/server architecture frees up your Snakeoil OS computer to concentrate more on delivering the music, leaving the processor heavy UI running elsewhere.

Snakeoil OS follows this mantra:

1. Intuitive user interface
2. Absolute best in audio quality

The focus is to make Linux as easy for you to use as it is to me. Allowing everybody to simply focus all your attention and energy to enjoy music! There will be bumps along the way, but the Snakeoil Squad will continue to focus and not lose sight of the above two.

The only caveat is the hardware selection. This is the first bump which I hope you can overcome. Snakeoil OS uses a custom built kernel with a lot of system services and drivers disabled. This means the ISO will not work across 100% of the computers or audio hardware out there. Refer to the computer requirements for the hardware that works with the ISO. The list will support 90% of the computers out there, and a custom kernel can be built to make Snakeoil work on your computer. You can find various custom install kernels in the forums. If cannot find the kernel you need in the list, please contact the Snakeoil Squad and one will be promptly built for you.

Why do I call this distro Snakeoil? This word is often used as a derogatory way in audiophile circles. Adopting this name for the project may one day shed a positive light on this word. Perhaps when Snakeoil OS gained traction in the audiophile world people will feel less repulsed by this word, and learn one important lesson - to not judge a book by its cover.

This is my little way of transforming the world into a better place. While this means I have crippled Snakeoil's adoption rate, in the long term I hope one day everybody looking up all these Snakeoil audiophile Snakeoils will ultimately end up here on Snakeoil OS.