 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 5, 7 July 2003 |
The Year of Linux
The year 2003 is turning to be something that many people predicted before - The Year of Linux. While our favourite operating system has been taking over the server rooms for some time, it is only now that it is beginning to make huge inroads into personal computing. Europe seems to be leading the way with several regional and local governments in various countries moving their public administration infrastructure to desktop Linux and many schools are replacing proprietary software with free one. It is ironic that all this is happening despite (or perhaps because of) SCO's current onslaught against Linux. The Economist has put things nicely in a recent issue of their magazine - if an obscure company in Utah decides to sue IBM for 3 billion dollars over Linux, it only shows one thing: how big an important Linux has become.
Will Debian survive the rise of Linux? Such was the title of a lengthy article in linmagau.org, Australia's online Linux magazine. The author expressed a worry that one day, when Linux is a lot more ubiquitous, Debian GNU/Linux will no longer be around. Unlikely as this scenario sounds now, none of us knows how the rise of Linux will impact on the volunteer and non-commercial Linux projects. Debian is a base that supplies the code and infrastructure to many other projects and even commercial companies. Can you imagine that one day there is no Knoppix, Xandros, Lindows.com, Libranet and a dozen of other Debian-based distributions?
Speaking about Lindows, the story of the last weekly edition regarding LindowsOS 4.0 did not go down well with many LindowsOS fans. While I don't believe that the story covering the release of LindowsOS 4.0 was overly negative, a few critical remarks in it were taken as a sure sign that the author is nothing but a massively biased anti-Lindows zealot. Admittedly, that was the case during the times when Lindows.com was long on promises and short on delivery, but as I've argued elsewhere, the times have changed. LindowsOS is a real product and, if the Lindows.com user forums are anything to go by, there are many happy and satisfied users who have successfully made the switch. If Lindows.com has finally delivered on those promises and has built a distribution that brings the power of Linux to non-geeks, then they deserve our respect.
That was another way of saying that you are going to see a LindowsOS 4.0 review on this site. Yes, I know - it will be reviewed to death by many other publications in the next month or two and most of you are probably not interested in it anyway. That's fine, just don't read it. But I want to make it clear that this site is not only for geeks and operating system junkies, but also for those who use their computers to accomplish tasks. If LindowsOS 4.0 is a good product, you deserve to hear it from a site that monitors the development of Linux distributions. If it isn't, then don't accuse us from being anti-Lindows, but try to see how the product can be improved. All distributions are striving to be perfect, but that's an elusive goal that cannot possibly be reached.
As for the Arch Linux review, you'll get that too. There is still no word on when Arch 0.5 will be out, but if things go right, it will hopefully coincide with the completion of the LindowsOS review. Why Arch Linux? Because it's the year 2003 and if you are still using an operating system where upgrades are done by inserting a CD and rebooting your system, then you are using a wrong OS. Even if the upgrade succeeds (which is by no means certain), you still have to go through the upgrade anxiety and take your computer off-line for the upgrade. With source-based distribution, you only ever install once. With binary distributions, the picture is grim and unless you are a Debian user and want to keep your OS up-to-date, you have little choice besides going through the scary upgrade procedure every time your distributor releases a new version. This can't be right. If Debian can do it -- and as will be revealed in the upcoming review, Arch Linux can do it as well -- why not the rest? If you know the answer, please share it in the forums below.
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| Released Last Week |
Trustix Secure Linux
It was a quiet week as far as new distribution releases are concerned and the only big news was the release of Trustix Secure Linux 2.0. Trustix is one of the more mature distributions around; the first release of the Norway-based company was announced in March 2000. However, it has been nearly 2 years since the company's last stable release, version 1.5. Trustix 2.0 is fairly cutting edge for a distribution with a security focus and the release was quickly followed by a long list of bug and security fixes. Be sure to apply them if you have Trustix 2.0 installed in a production environment.
Development Releases
SmoothWall 2.0-beta5 and Ark Linux 1.0-alpha8.1 (followed by a 1.0-alpha8.2 bug fix release two days later) were released last week. A word of warning for those who are interested in trying out the latest Ark - users report that the installation program does not allow for custom partition selection and the only two options for installing Ark Linux are "System Install" (takes over the entire hard drive) and "Express Install" (installs in available free space). This is a known issue with the installer, which is still under heavy development.
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Yoper
What's up with Yoper? Andreas Girardet, the Yoper developer, has posted some information about future plans for Yoper and its transformation from a commercial distribution into a community project: "I have been offered a position in the Linux Project Team for IBM in New Zealand last week and have started to work on various Yoper unrelated projects. Yoper is as such second priority. To continue this project I need users like yourself and people with technical skills to make it grow further. Since Yoper as a commercial entity is put on hold for the moment I have to ask you all how you want Your Operating System to continue from here." Version 2 of Yoper is planned to be released within the next 6 - 9 months, it will be purely community-based and available for free download immediately after release. Find more information here.
Momonga Linux
Momonga Linux celebrated its first anniversary last week. The project was created by former developers of Kondara Linux, a popular Japanese distribution, which was discontinued in July 2002. The announcement contains a development roadmap with a beta release planned for September and final release one month later. See Momonga's press release for further information.
Definity Linux
Definity Linux has announced an imminent release of version 2.0, which has been in beta testing for the last two months. Definity Linux is a Brazilian commercial distribution based on Slackware; Definity's web site and its changelog (both in Portuguese) provide more information about the product.
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| Web Site News |
New additions
Three new distributions have been added to the database last week.
- Adamantix (formerly known as "Trusted Debian") is a Debian-based extension of the stable Debian branch, providing security-conscious users with tools such as PaX for preventing buffer overflow exploits and RSBAC for creating access control rules, among other features.
- Happy MacLinux is a Japanese distribution for PPC and m68k processors. It is based on another Japanese distribution called Holon Linux.
- TrX Live Firewall is a Turkish project created by Gürkan Sengün. TrX produces a Debian GNU/Linux-based desktop router and firewall package. This package is bootable directly from CD-ROM, so hard disk installation is not necessary. TrX is designed to work completely off the CD-ROM, with configuration data stored on a floppy disk, hard disk partition or, in future versions, on a USB storage device.
New on the waiting List
If you've ever worried that you'll run out of new distributions to play with, never fear - this week has brought in a flood of new ones, all of which have been added to the waiting list. Here they come, in alphabetical order:
- Aurora SPARC Linux. The SPARC devotees have so far been neglected by DistroWatch, but this is about to change.
- Burapha Linux. A free Linux distribution based on Slackware. The Burapha Linux project is developed at the Burapha Linux Lab at Burapha University in Thailand. It isn't a new distribution, but has not been submitted before.
- Knoppix STD. This is a customised distribution of the Knoppix Live Linux CD with security tools.
- LGIS GNU/Linux. A new Mexican distribution by LG Internet Solutions, based on Red Hat 9 with Ximian desktop as its default desktop environment.
- Momonga Linux. This is a Japanese RPM distribution started by former developers of Kondara Linux; see also the note in the "Upcoming Releases" section above.
- NBROK ZIP-drive-Linux. If you have an unused 100 or 250 MB ZIP-drive around, here is your chance to do something with it! Give your ZIP-drive a new goal, use it to run Linux! No hard disk required!
- Oralux. An audio GNU/Linux distribution for visually impaired persons, based on Knoppix.
- Panthera GNU/Linux is a new Linux distribution and that's all we know about it.
- Zeus Linux. A new Slackware-based distribution from Greece; version 1.0 is due for release shortly.
DistroWatch database summary
Number of distributions in the database: 154
Number of discontinued distributions: 19
Number of distributions on the waiting list: 41
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| Reader Feedback |
On Timesavers
- "Mostly because of DWW I decided it was time to sign up for timesavers and support a worthwhile resource. But I see you haven't had anything new to say about it since April. Is it still a going concern?"
Yes, the Timesavers are being worked on. The Timesavers programme was introduced to get the fans and frequent visitors of DistroWatch support this site in exchange for extra benefits. These include custom comparisons, searches, up-to-date mirror lists and other features, which are still being developed. However, in its unfinished state, the idea has yet to prove itself - only 140 people have signed up for it since its launch in January this year.
As a result, I have been forced to concentrate some of my efforts on other income generating activities, such as building up an advertising clientele and writing for third-party publications. I am pleased to report that this effort has paid off and several satisfied advertisers now provide much of the financial support for running DistroWatch.
This means that I can turn my attention to Timesavers. The most often requested feature is a custom comparison table listing up to 10 distributions side-by-side for easy comparison. The highest priority at the moment is to update the package list and include all the new packages (this will kill a few days), but as soon as that is done, I will get to creating the custom comparison page -- and that's a promise. The price of admission to Timesavers is US$17.50, which is a one-off payment for unlimited access to all areas of DistroWatch, including all new features. The information on this site will of course remain free for all, but those of you who are willing to support it, will get a few extra features, which hopefully save you time and money in the long run. Read about the Timesavers in more detail here.
On DistroWatch icons
- "It seems the new icon is not as beautiful as the previous one." "Hate the new Watch logo, tho. Keep trying."
Anybody out there with logo design talent? As you can see, my "creativity" last week came under some criticism and I need your help. If you can design an original logo, banner or any artwork for DistroWatch, please send them in; I'd really appreciate your work. Authors of the best efforts will be rewarded with free access to Timesavers.
On font sizes
- "My version of Mozilla (1.3) set at the default Text Zoom size [100% (Original Size)] renders DistroWatch main body text at an unusually small font size (I would venture 8-pt). I
rarely come across sites that display text so small, whatever the organiation's intention."
A possible explanation is that unlike most other web sites, DistroWatch uses Unicode (UTF-8) encoding for all text on the site. This is to make it more accessible to audience using non-Latin alphabets by providing navigation menus in their native languages. In your Mozilla preferences dialog, navigate to Appearance/Fonts, then select "Unicode" from the "Fonts for" drop-down box. This is where you
should set a minimum font size and adjust other font properties. Most other browsers provide similar options for adjusting font sizes.
That's all for this week, see you next Monday,
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
| • Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
| • Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
Tanglu
Tanglu was a Debian-based Linux distribution which aims to provide the best desktop experience for regular users and enthusiasts. Compared to Debian GNU/Linux, Tanglu plans to offer a number of user-friendly, desktop-oriented features such as availability of newer software, inclusion of extra firmware by default, and a regular, time-based release cycle.
Status: Discontinued
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