 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 6, 14 July 2003 |
Linux Journal Reader's Choice Award - a Joke?
Are you going to vote in this year's Linux Journal Reader's Choice Award? Unlike many other web sites which bend over to send visitors to vote in the survey, I say don't bother. Why? Because the choices given in the survey were put together several years ago and the Linux Journal editors haven't kept up with the ever changing Linux world - instead they mostly maintain the same survey choices as last year and the year before. Take the "Favorite Distribution" section as an example. No less than 16 (that's over one third!) of the distributions listed are long dead or unmaintained (Antarctica, Armed, Caldera, Corel, Jurix, Progeny, Stampede, Storm...) and should have not been kept on the list, while others have changed names (Best, Redmond), but their names have not been updated. Some extremely popular distributions (such as Knoppix) are missing and so are some reasonably widely-used ones (Xandros, LindowsOS). Curiously, a new Knoppix-based distribution called Mepis has somehow managed to sneak onto the list!
Similarly, the "Favorite Linux Web Site" section lists sites that no longer exist (Linux Applications, segfault.org), while last year's most popular "write-in" site - PCLinuxOnline - has still not been given a proper voting option. All this shows that the Linux Journal editors don't take the Reader's Choice Award seriously enough to give it a thorough revision each year and neither should we. If you are going to submit a vote, I suggest you scroll down to the bottom of the page and give the magazine a wake-up call - a two-year old survey is not the way to go!
Categorising Linux Distributions
One excellent way of categorising Linux distributions (at least the binary ones) is by their package management. This document offers a comparisons of all main package formats - RPM, DEB and TGZ, together with Stampede's SLP (no longer in development) and UNIX's PKG formats. The table compares many aspects of each format, including security features, usability and metadata, to name a few. Certainly worth a bookmark.
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| Released Last Week |
DeLi Linux
One of the more interesting distributions released last week was DeLi Linux. Immediately after the announcement on the front page, the page hit count on the DeLi Linux page soared spectacularly, approaching levels that Mandrake or Red Hat pages get shortly after new releases. This makes me wonder - is the old PC a neglected market? How many of us have an old computer lying idly in the cupboard? Unfortunately, Red Hat 9 won't even install on anything with less than 64MB of RAM (double that for a graphical install) and many other distributions no longer bother with these low-end systems. Has anybody tried DeLi Linux 0.3? Any opinions are welcome.
SuSE Linux
On the other end of the spectrum is the latest SuSE Linux 8.2 for AMD Athlon 64, the beta of which was released last week and, unlike SuSE's ix86 branch, it is freely downloadable. Out of curiosity - are these 64 bit systems getting deployed? Anybody has any experience with them? Most importantly, would you like to see future release announcements about them on the front page? Let us know...
LindowsCD
Lindows has released a live CD distribution called LindowsCD. The US$30 price tag is disappointing - a couple of weeks ago there was a message on the Lindows user forums indicating that this CD would be offered to all as a free download. However, users report that there is a way to obtain it for free - all you have to do is to sign up for the 15-day trial, which gives you download access to the LindowsOS installation CD, live LindowsCD and unlimited access to Click-N-Run for the duration of the trial. You do need a credit card to sign up, but it won't be charged if you cancel within the trial period. Sign up by visiting this page and creating an account - it's a risk-free way of trying out LindowsOS without a commitment.
Other Releases
Two new releases were announced last week - Morphix 0.4 and Plamo Linux 3.2. This release of Plamo Linux was specially prepared for inclusion in the August issue of the Nikkei Linux magazine, which also features a comprehensive review (in Japanese) of this distribution. Plamo Linux is a Slackware-based distribution, which has been in development since 1998; visit the distribution's web site (Japanese only) for more information.
Development Releases
- Arch Linux 0.5 beta - a quiet release, the ISO is available from the download page.
- Vector Linux 4.0 beta was announced on the Vector Linux announcement list - if you'd like to test it, get the ISO image by following the download link on Vector's web site.
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
LinuxInstall.org 1.4
"LinuxInstall.org would like to make two announcements. Firstly, LinuxInstall.org is re-organizing release numbers. Release 1.0 becomes Release 1.1, Release 2.0 becomes Release 1.2 and Release
3.0 becomes Release 1.3. Secondly, LinuxInstall.org 1.4 will be released on July 21st. It will include Mozilla 1.4 and Evolution 1.4 as well as OpenOffice.org 1.1RC. Mozilla 1.4 RPM package included in this release was recompiled only with xft option to be fully compatible with existing FlashPlayer, RealPlayer and Java plugins. In addition, MPlayer
will be added with QuickTime Plugin enabled for Mozilla. For current LinuxInstall.org users, these new core packages will be available for free."
Mandrake 9.2 Beta
According to a rough schedule released last month, the first beta of Mandrake Linux 9.2 should be released shortly, while the 9.2 final release is expected in the middle of September.
Red Hat X?
An observant member of a Red Hat mailing list spotted a new item on the Barnes & Noble.com list of new books - Red Hat Linux X Bible. Scheduled for publication in October this year, the title has given rise to usual speculations about future naming schemes and release schedules of the Red Hat distribution. Unfortunately, Red Hat has become a lot less predictable when it comes to various aspects of their distribution, so the book might just be a publisher's guess, subject to last minute changes. But what about the release date? Red Hat indicated some time ago that a less frequent (annual?) release schedule might be a more practical way of producing community releases. If we don't see a new beta version within the next month or so, it will be fair to say that this is indeed the case.
Xandros Desktop 1.1
According to this forum post, Xandros Corporation has apparently informed their resellers about a new upcoming release - Xandros Desktop 1.1. The product will retail for US$39 and will include Crossover Office 2.0, OpenOffice.org 1.0.3, Mozilla upgrade to version 1.3.1 and Active Directory authentication. A Spanish OEM version will also be available. A Xandros employee confirmed the release in a later post and explained some of the raised concerns: "There is no reason for current users to purchase this upgrade unless you want the new CrossOver. Everything else on the CD is either already available through Xandros Networks (device drivers, etc..), or will be available quite soon (we're working on that right now). This is essentially equivalent to a service pack. This is not a major release that requires news posted all over the website." I suspect that most Xandros users and fans will strongly disagree with the last sentence.
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| Web Site News |
Site updates
The package list has been updated. A total of 22 new, frequently requested packages have been added to the database and these will be tracked from now on in the usual manner; the new packages are: apt4rpm, BitTorrent, blender, cinelerra, coreutils, db, eclipse, exim, freetype, ipvsadm, jakarta-tomcat, k3b, lftp, libvorbis, NetBeans, qtparted, quanta, scribus, synaptic, tcpdump, vsftpd and zlib. (A hint to all those readers who have requested the addition of quanta and other packages - there is no reason why you should delay your joining the Timesavers now, right?) The number of tracked packages has risen to 174. Additionally, a new feature giving a brief package description has also been implemented - if unsure about the purpose of a package, just hover your mouse over its name on any of the distribution tables and a pop-up message will give a brief hint (this feature should work in most browsers).
The related links page has also been expanded. It presents long lists of links to Linux distributions and projects that are currently excluded from being listed on DistroWatch, such as floppy-based or embedded Linux distributions. The page will be continuously updated and if you know of a distribution that should be listed there, please email me directly or mention it in the discussion forum below.
Discontinued distributions
- LRs Linux has been discontinued: "LRs GNU/Linux is no longer available, this project is closed. Thanks to all our user and developer it was a nice time with you. Bernd Eller aka berell."
- Madeinlinux has also been moved onto the Discontinued Distributions page. Although their web site is still reasonably active and it has been promising a new version 5.0 for over 6 months, their last release dated January 2001 is just too outdated to be usable.
New additions
No new distributions have been added to DistroWatch last week.
New on the waiting list
Another good week for new distribution submissions; the following projects have been added to the waiting list:
- AbulEdu - a French educational distribution based on Mandrake.
- Berry Linux - a Japanese live CD project based on Red Hat 9 and Knoppix 3.2.
- Drinou-Linux a French project, a minimal distribution based on Slackware 7.1.
- guadaLINEX - a live CD developed by the Spanish regional government of Andalucia, based on LinEx and Debian.
- Locust Mesh AP Linux - a live CD project, currently in development.
- stresslinux - a minimal linux distribution running from a bootable cdrom or via PXE. It is designed for users who want to test their system on high load and monitor its health.
- ThePacketMaster (TPM) Linux - a live CD distribution with security and forensic utilities.
DistroWatch database summary
Number of distributions in the database: 154
Number of discontinued distributions: 20
Number of distributions on the waiting list: 48
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| Reader Feedback |
About the waiting list
- "The waiting list is growing and growing. Distros are blooming, some of them very small and specific. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised to see more distros in the waiting list than being tracked some time soon. Do you have any ideas on this respect?"
Based on my experience, about half of them won't survive the 3-months waiting period. As an example, take the PlumpOS project at - the author emailed me with a request to list his distribution, but 3 months later, the project page has a blurb about some other interesting projects taking priority over PlumpOS. This is usually the first sign of the project being on life support, so don't be surprised if the current release candidate never matures into a final release. Other projects appear to be in a similar situation. I'll keep them on the waiting list for another 3 months and if I don't see any new activity, I'll drop them from the list.
On DistroWatch icons, logos and banners
- "I have created a banner, not sure where i should send it in to, I'll give you a link, tell me what you think."
The banners:
 
Anybody else with some ideas? Having a choice would be nice :-) All reasonable efforts will be rewarded with a free access to DistroWatch Timesavers, so if you have a graphics design talent, please fire up your favourite image editor and get creative! Thanks a lot :-)
That's all for this week, keep well and see you next Monday,
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
RUNT Linux
RUNT (ResNet USB Network Tester) was Slackware Linux designed to run from a 128MB USB pen drive. It consists of a boot floppy image and a zip file, similar to "zipslack". It was intended to be a fairly complete Linux installation for use as a testing tool capable of booting on any x86 computer with a USB port and a bootable floppy drive. The boot floppy was based on Slackware's bare kernel. It contains an initial ramdisk to load USB-storage related modules and it pauses for 5 seconds to allow the drive to initialize. The bootdisk also contains Memtest86, a very useful RAM testing tool, which can be started by typing memtest at the boot prompt. The zip file contains a UMSDOS filesystem designed to be extracted onto a 128MB pen drive with an MSDOS filesystem using 2K clusters.
Status: Discontinued
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