DoudouLinux: A Fun Linux Distro For Kids

Linux is really a versatile piece of software. You can use it as your daily working OS, a server that runs most of the website in the world, as a multimedia center or even as a way to promote your religion. A more creative use of Linux is to turn it into an educational piece of software for kids. We have gone through several ways of configuring Linux for kids. DoudouLinux is yet another Linux distro that you will want to check out.

We have recently reviewed Qimo, another distro for kids. The main differences between Qimo and DoudouLinux is that DoudouLinux doesn’t require any installation. It comes in the form of a LiveCD (or USB key). You simply plug it into any PC and start using it immediately. That is also the purpose of the distro: allow children to use the computer anytime, anywhere, without the risk of damaging data already stored in the machine.

Using DoudouLinux

To get it working, you have to download the LiveCD (.iso file) or the USB key image (.img file) and burn it into a CD/USB drive. Once that is done, all you need to do is to boot your PC from the CD/USB drive.
On starting up, you will see two choices on the screen: “Start DoudouLinux” and “Start DoudouLinux without persistence“. With or without persistence will determine whether the configuration, settings and data are saved during shutdown.

In the usual login screen, you will see a list of games that the kid can quickly access (While there is a login field at the bottom of the screen, you don’t really have to login at all).

Gamine is a small game to teach the kids to discover the mouse. It is a plain drawing board where a color trail will appear when the kid moves the mouse. A left or right click will paste a star to the board.

(If you are wondering, the graffiti above is a failed attempt to draw the word “MAKETECHEASIER”)
Pysycache is a series of games that teach the kids how to use the mouse. It can be as simple as wiggling the mouse across the screen to reveal the underneath image or to drag an object and drop it at the correct place.


Childsplay, TuxPaint and Gcompris are popular educational software that need no further introduction here.
If you choose to login to the desktop session, you also have a choice of Tiny DoudouLinux or the Whole DoudouLinux. The Tiny DoudouLinux session is a streamlined version that includes more games and the ability to make some system adjustment like volume, sound and mouse settings.

The whole DoudouLinux session will include applications like browser, media player, terminal, file manager etc.

Conclusion

It is always interesting to see how Linux is used in various aspect of our life. DoudouLinux is definitely one of such interesting project that deserved to be commended. It is dead easy to use, so let your kids try it out and let us know if he/she likes it or not.