Linux is hands down the most customizable desktop operating system in existence. Just head over to DistroWatch and tell me I’m wrong. So, it’s perfect for productivity…There’s almost nothing that can’t be done. So why not make your own OS? Taylor it to your needs specifically. Like the previously mentioned Puppy Linux, other distros provide remastering tools.

Since I’m having so much fun with Puppy, I’m experimenting with doing this myself. I’m customizing Puppy in order to gear it towards the way I will work…on that specific computer (not my main workstation). Although it will probably never be main OS, this would/could develop into a great offshoot pointed at the home office. A few flexible goal s I have for my customization:

1) I want to keep it lightweight…I want to be able to boot this thing (and work comfortablely) on virtually any machine built in the last ten years.

2) Main functions will be web-browsing, word-processing, email/contacts/calendar, and some sort of GTD software.

3) It has to look nice. I can’t work in an ugly environment.

So, there you have it. How do you customize your OS?

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