A fully-featured Linux operating plus ARB system - an overview
The ARBuntu 3.0 system installs a complete operative Kubuntu 9.04 Linux distribution (a Linux-based operating system and the K desktop environment 4.3 plus a full set of common applications including, e.g., OpenOffice and the Firefox web browser) as well as the software package ARB to your computer by just booting from the DVD. First, a so-called "live system" will be loaded virtually to your RAM without touching your harddisk (exactly reflecting the system after installation) and afterwards an automatic installer will guide you through the simple installation procedure of ARBuntu which takes less than 30 minutes on a standard computer (you are only asked for some user-specific settings such as your language, your time-zone and your login data).
After the installation procedure is finished, you can directly start to manage your data, work with ARB, create documents and presentations, edit graphics and many things more. Via an USB stick or a network connection, data can easily be exchanged with, e.g., Windows-based systems.
Why such a DVD and what are the benefits?
For beginners:
ARB is a powerful software package for phylogenetic sequence analysis and probe design which has now been developed for more than ten years at the Technical University of Munich under the supervision of Dr. Wolfgang Ludwig. It is already used by hundreds of experts all around the world and many scientists are highly interested in using this package as we noticed in our ARB workshops during the last years. However, a strong "limitation" of ARB is represented by the fact that it was developed for UNIX systems and their derivatives (Windows is simply not suited to run programs like ARB). Since Linux-based systems are not widely distributed in biological labs, this particular demand of ARB often represents a much too high activation energy, to plagiarize with the words of biologists. Finally, it is not only the installation of a Linux system and the ARB package but additional "problems" like setting environment variables have to be managed. With the ARBuntu 3.0 system these challenges are now abolished, allowing you to focus on the important aspects of your work.
For advanced ARB users:
During the last years a lot of people have contacted us with specific ARB problems on the system level which were, e.g., associated with the installation procedure. Often, we were not able to provide satisfactory answers simply because ARB is combined with many different Linux distributions by the community (even distributions we have never heard of before). However, in terms of setting up a powerful ARB system support, a standard environment for the program would be highly beneficial. Therefore, even advanced users should profit from ARBuntu because it will be fully supported by Ribocon in the future. Moreover, even for advanced Linux users the installation of ARB is getting more and more challenging since ARB is an "old" program and the modern Linux distributions often show a lack of system libraries required by ARB. We also have implemented a preconfigured properties file defining all user settings such as color codes (optimized colour settings are quite useful but configuration can take a while). Perhaps you find it useful. If not, you can easily modify the corresponding settings and save them or even import already existing properties files. Of course, all additional software packages required by ARB such as X11, Xfig, and Ghostview are automatically installed by the ARBuntu system (normally this has to be done by hand before or after installing ARB).
System requirements
Basically, you need nothing else than a computer with either a PC (Intel x86) or a 64-bit PC (AMD64) architecture. Please also notice in this context the remark at the end of this paragraph! According to the developers of Ubuntu, also installation on a PowerPC (Apple iBook and Powerbook, G4 and G5) is nonproblematic. Moreover, an empty, non-formatted (or erasable) harddisk is required which should offer at least 10-15 gigabyte (GB) of space for proper work with your ARB system. Of course, also a DVD-ROM drive is obligatory.
Please also realize that you should have at least 512 MB of main memory (RAM) to start the Installation DVD and at least 1 GB of RAM to work with all the rRNA data sets provided on the DVD. Much smaller/older data sets should also be usable with less RAM. However, we recommend to provide at least 2 GB of RAM or even better to upgrade to 4 GB of RAM (the maximum of 32bit systems) if you want to work with ARB on a daily basis or with even larger data sets. This is of course not necessary if you are focusing on protein sequences or other phylogenetic marker genes since here are much lower numbers of sequence variants are currently available. But again: MAIN MEMORY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PARAMETER IN TERMS OF COMPUTER HARDWARE IF YOU WANT TO SPEED UP YOUR ARB WORKFLOW AND IT CAN EVEN REPRESENT A GENERAL LIMITATION IF YOU WANT TO WORK WITH VERY LARGE DATASETS.
If you plan to work with the complete current comprehensive rRNA data sets you should consider set-up of a 64bit system. 
More information ...
CPU performance is not a quarter as important. Current standard processors in the range of 2 to 3 GHz should be sufficient to run all kind of standard tree calculations.
The drivers for all of your hardware components are delivered together with the Linux distribution/Kernel. This is a major difference compared to Windows-based operating systems. In the Linux-world, hardware drivers are mainly provided by the community and not by the hardware manufacturers which clearly focus on the market represented by Windows users. Therefore, it is important that there are neither very old nor the latest or exotic hardware components in your system, so that compatibility with the drivers provided by the Linux distribution/Kernel is assured. However, we can not assure hardware compatibility in all cases. But in this context, the ARBuntu 3.0 DVD offers a very useful feature: In the beginning (before installation), a fully operational live system will be loaded to your RAM without touching your harddisk! If this works, your hardware is compatible. If not, you will immediately realize it and you can send back the DVD without paying the invoice.
Documentation & Support
I am not experienced with Linux-based operating systems or the ARB software package - is there any documentation included?
First of all, it is important to realize that modern Linux distributions provide fully graphical-orientated desktop environments which are quite similar to Windows or Macintosh systems. Working on the command line, which was mandatory in the early days of Linux (and still preferred by computer experts!), can completely be avoided. However, WITHOUT the automatic ARBuntu installation DVD, the software package ARB has to be installed via the command line!
Some general remarks related to the work with Ubuntu (the Linux distribution) and KDE (the desktop environment) are included in the 'ARBuntu first steps guide' which can be found on the desktop after installation of the DVD. For additional information please refer to 
www.ubuntu.com and www.kde.org.
Also for the software package ARB some general and important remarks are included in the guide. Moreover, ARB itself provides a help function that includes a number of useful information.
If you have never worked with ARB before or if you feel uncomfortable with the trial and error approach, this information could be helpful:
Ribocon offers ARB workshops on a regular basis in Bremen, Germany as well as customized on-site courses. In these workshops, working with ARB and important background information related to phylogeny and probe design are teached by lectures, demonstrations and guided tutorials. More information can be found here.
+++ Support +++
The ARBuntu 3.0 system was carefully tested before its release but of course we provide substantial support if problems occur which are specifically related to ARBuntu 3.0. However, since for most users it will remain unclear if a problem is based on the ARBuntu system or on Ubuntu and ARB itself, respectively, please report all kind of potential bugs and errors on the system level as well as incompatibilities to 
bugs(at)ribocon.com. We will verify your problem and try to provide a solution.
Please notice that the ARBuntu support is only provided for registered users. Registered users are the persons who have ordered a DVD or for which a DVD was ordered (in the latter case, please indicate the registered user in your order email).
Additional support related to Linux and ARB is provided on request. Please contact arb(at)ribocon.com
FAQs
Why the Linux distribution Ubuntu?
Ubuntu is free of charge and therefore favored by people which use Linux exclusively as a platform for running ARB. Nevertheless, Ubuntu represents a highly professional and well supported Linux distribution and has won several awards. Other important features of Ubuntu are its internationality and its clear focus on usability. An existing system can easily be upgraded to upcoming versions. Finally, Ubuntu is said to provide the best hardware compatibility of all Linux distributions currently available.
Are there any limitations of the ARBuntu package compared to the installation of the standard Ubuntu distribution?
No. The DVD installs a complete operative Ubuntu (Kubuntu) 9.04 system as it is available at www.kubuntu.org
Can I also set up a dual-boot system based on different partitions of a single harddisk with the package?
We have installed and tested the system on a free partition/non-partitioned space of a single harddisk besides an already existing Windows operating system and no limitations or specific errors have been observed. However, since your already existing operating system can theoretically be harmed by the parallel installation of a second operating system (mostly if no backup is available - murphy's law), we disclaim any warranty in case your existing operating system or your data are damaged. This is also the case if you want to have the two different operating systems on two physically separated harddisks.
Will the ARBuntu 3.0 system simplify my life?
Definitively, yes.
If there are any questions left, please contact arb(at)ribocon.com