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DistroWatch Weekly

A weekly opinion column and a summary of events from the distribution world

DistroWatch Weekly

DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 26, 1 December 2003

One year of number crunching

It has been exactly one year since implementing the IP-to-country logging and statistical data generation of visitors viewing pages on this site. Although the initial idea was to enable regional advertising for products and services, this was later expanded to gather information about the interest of visitors in various distributions based on their country of origin. A visual representation of these data is available on this page. Please note that it has not been optimised for speed or size - it will take a while to load if you are on a modem connection.

What follows below is an attempt to summarise and interpret the data. If you don't have interest in these statistics, just skip them; regular DistroWatch Weekly content will return next week. But judging by the feedback, there are many who find this type of information and country-specific statistics at least mildly interesting and, in some cases, useful.

Before we start, a couple of technical notes. Firstly, the IP-to-country conversion is powered by Maxmind and its GeoIP database released under GPL. It claims a 97% accuracy rate. Secondly, the "per capita" term referred in the tables is in fact a number of visits per one million inhabitants per day. Thirdly, a note for those who are concerned about privacy issues: the only data we log is the two-digit country code as returned by the GeoIP function from the Apache web logs. If you don't wish to disclose this information, there are ways to fool Apache, but the paranoid amongst you already know how to do this. And finally, a reminder that it is not a good idea to take these statistics very seriously....

Global statistics - countries. During the past 365 days, the main page of DistroWatch.com (excluding mirrors) was visited 6,342,563 times by visitors from 200 countries and territories. Nearly 40% of all visitors came from the USA, followed by Canada, Germany, UK and Japan. On the per capita basis, however, the numbers look a lot different with Northern Europe (Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Estonia) dominating the visitor ranking, while the United States is on the 14th position. In recent months, the site recorded its first ever visitors from Iraq and Myanmar.

Total Visits (all countries)
Rank	Country	Visits	Percent
1	United States	2,446,148	38.57%
2	Canada	410,403	6.47%
3	Germany	310,234	4.89%
4	United Kingdom	289,592	4.57%
5	Japan	262,675	4.14%
6	France	238,394	3.76%
7	Italy	178,413	2.81%
8	Netherlands	162,258	2.56%
9	Spain	140,119	2.21%
10	Sweden	131,100	2.07%
11	Australia	129,238	2.04%
12	Belgium	112,763	1.78%
13	Taiwan	105,814	1.67%
14	Finland	102,994	1.62%
15	Brazil	89,299	1.41%
16	China	80,452	1.27%
17	Poland	80,050	1.26%
18	Denmark	64,152	1.01%
19	Portugal	55,494	0.87%
20	Norway	46,764	0.74%

Per Capita Visits (all countries)
Rank	Country	Visits	Per Capita
1	Iceland	6,068	59.50
2	Finland	102,994	54.44
3	Sweden	131,100	40.46
4	Estonia	18,786	36.36
5	Canada	410,403	35.24
6	Denmark	64,152	32.74
7	Belgium	112,763	30.07
8	Luxembourg	4,869	29.74
9	New Zealand	40,992	28.74
10	Norway	46,764	28.31
11	Netherlands	162,258	27.67
12	Slovenia	17,541	24.86
13	United States	2,446,148	23.30
14	Monaco	262	22.44
15	Singapore	29,674	18.26
16	Australia	129,238	18.11
17	Hong Kong	44,931	16.86
18	Switzerland	43,669	16.38
19	French Polynesia	1,522	16.17
20	Israel	35,028	15.92

Global statistics - continents. On a per continent basis, the vast majority of visitors (82.7%) came from either North America or Europe. Disappointingly, visitors from Africa constituted less than 0.5% of all visitors on DistroWatch.com.

Total Visits (continents)
Rank	Continent	Visits	Percent
1	North America	2,905,967	45.82%
2	Europe	2,339,226	36.88%
3	Asia	735,009	11.59%
4	Australia and Oceania	173,198	2.73%
5	South America	159,350	2.51%
6	Africa	29,813	0.47%

Per Capita Visits (continents)
Rank	Continent	Visits	Per Capita
1	North America	2,905,967	15.96
2	Australia and Oceania	173,198	15.17
3	Europe	2,339,226	7.89
4	South America	159,350	1.34
5	Asia	735,009	0.55
6	Africa	29,813	0.11

North America. Over 98% of all North America visitors came either from United States of Canada. Canada ranked higher than United States on the per capita basis. Of the smaller countries on the continent, Grenada, Barbados and Greenland were right behind the two powers in terms of per capita visits.

Total Visits (North America)
Rank	Country	Visits	Percent
1	United States	2,446,148	84.18%
2	Canada	410,403	14.12%
3	Mexico	27,843	0.96%
4	Puerto Rico	3,835	0.13%
5	Guatemala	3,776	0.13%

Per Capita Visits (North America)
Rank	Country	Visits	Per Capita
1	Canada	410,403	35.24
2	United States	2,446,148	23.30
3	Grenada	256	7.86
4	Barbados	647	6.42
5	Greenland	120	5.83

Europe. More than half of all European visitors came from Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy or the Netherlands. However, per capita ranking was dominated by residents of Northern Europe, with the first country from outside of that region being Belgium at number 6. Among the Central and Eastern European countries, Poland topped the number of visitors, while Slovenia won the per-capita ranking.

Total Visits (Europe)
Rank	Country	Visits	Percent
1	Germany	310,234	13.26%
2	United Kingdom	289,592	12.38%
3	France	238,394	10.19%
4	Italy	178,413	7.63%
5	Netherlands	162,258	6.94%
6	Spain	140,119	5.99%
7	Sweden	131,100	5.60%
8	Belgium	112,763	4.82%
9	Finland	102,994	4.40%
10	Poland	80,050	3.42%
11	Denmark	64,152	2.74%
12	Portugal	55,494	2.37%
13	Norway	46,764	2.00%
14	Austria	45,977	1.97%
15	Switzerland	43,669	1.87%
16	Hungary	42,555	1.82%
17	Czech Republic	41,396	1.77%
18	Romania	38,032	1.63%
19	Russia	34,007	1.45%
20	Bulgaria	21,257	0.91%

Per Capita Visits (Europe)
Rank	Country	Visits	Per Capita
1	Iceland	6,068	59.50
2	Finland	102,994	54.44
3	Sweden	131,100	40.46
4	Estonia	18,786	36.36
5	Denmark	64,152	35.24
6	Belgium	112,763	32.74
7	Luxembourg	4,869	30.07
8	Norway	46,764	29.74
9	Netherlands	162,258	28.74
10	Slovenia	17,541	28.31
11	Monaco	262	22.44
12	Switzerland	43,669	16.38
13	Austria	45,977	15.42
14	Portugal	55,494	15.08
15	United Kingdom	289,592	12.38
16	Hungary	42,555	11.57
17	Czech Republic	41,396	11.06
18	France	238,394	10.90
19	Germany	310,234	10.32
20	Faroe Islands	161	9.59

Asia. More than two thirds of all Asian visitors came from Japan or the Greater China area, while the small, but rich countries (territories) often referred to as "Asian tigers" ranked the highest on the per capita basis. It was slightly surprising to see South Korea ranking relatively low (11th in total visits and 14th in per capita visits), despite some well-known Linux companies (Hancom) coming from that country and regular content from DistroWatch.com appearing in South Korea's monthly Linux Magazine. Also, one would expect a lot more visitors from India, which is a renowned programming powerhouse, but this was not the case (26th in per capita ranking). China, the world's most populous country only came at number 24 in terms of per capita visits.

Total Visits (Asia)
Rank	Country	Visits	Percent
1	Japan	262,675	35.74%
2	Taiwan	105,814	14.40%
3	China	80,452	10.95%
4	Hong Kong	44,931	6.11%
5	Israel	35,028	4.77%
6	India	33,942	4.62%
7	Indonesia	30,916	4.21%
8	Singapore	29,674	4.04%
9	Malaysia	25,717	3.50%
10	Philippines	21872	2.98%

Per Capita Visits (Asia)
Rank	Country	Visits	Per Capita
1	Singapore	29,674	18.26
2	Hong Kong	44,931	16.86
3	Israel	35,028	15.92
4	Taiwan	105,814	12.91
5	British Indian Ocean Islands	9	8.22
6	Japan	262,675	5.66
7	Kuwait	3,325	4.31
8	United Arab Emirates	3,610	4.04
9	Bahrain	847	3.54
10	Malaysia	25,717	3.11

Australia and Oceania. No surprises here; with a combined rate of 98.3%, Australia and New Zealand dominated the statistics of visitors from this region.

Total Visits (Australia and Oceania)
Rank	Country	Visits	Percent
1	Australia	129,238	74.62%
2	New Zealand	40,992	23.67%
3	French Polynesia	1,522	0.88%
4	New Caledonia	953	0.55%
5	Guam	294	0.17%

Per Capita Visits (Australia and Oceania)
Rank	Country	Visits	Per Capita
1	New Zealand	40,992	28.74
2	Australia	129,238	18.11
3	French Polynesia	1,522	16.17
4	New Caledonia	953	12.56
5	Guam	294	5.01

South America. Brazil is a Linux powerhouse in South America, with more than half of the continent's visitors coming from that country, while about a fifth came from Argentina. However, on the per capita basis, Brazil is only ranked at number 5, with Uruguay, Falkland Islands, Chile and Argentina all beating Brazil.

Total Visits (South America)
Rank	Country	Visits	Percent
1	Brazil	89,299	56.04%
2	Argentina	32,785	20.57%
3	Chile	15,162	9.51%
4	Uruguay	6,251	3.92%
5	Colombia	5,653	3.55%
6	Venezuela	4,998	3.14%
7	Peru	3,060	1.92%
8	Bolivia	1,477	0.93%
9	Paraguay	319	0.20%
10	Ecuador	309	0.19%

Per Capita Visits (South America)
Rank	Country	Visits	Per Capita
1	Uruguay	6,251	5.06
2	Falkland Islands	4	3.97
3	Chile	15,162	2.68
4	Argentina	32,785	2.34
5	Brazil	89,299	1.36
6	Venezuela	4,998	0.56
7	Bolivia	1,477	0.48
8	Colombia	5,653	0.38
9	Peru	3,060	0.30
10	Paraguay	319	0.15

Africa. While more than half of all African visitors came from South Africa, the country ranked only third on the per capita basis, behind Libya and Seychelles.

Total Visits (Africa)
Rank	Country	Visits	Percent
1	South Africa	17,557	58.89%
2	Egypt	3,184	10.68%
3	Libya	2,503	8.40%
4	Tunisia	1,393	4.67%
5	Morocco	873	2.93%
6	Nigeria	752	2.52%
7	Kenya	645	2.16%
8	Algeria	563	1.89%
9	Sudan	409	1.37%
10	Uganda	352	1.18%

Per Capita Visits (Africa)
Rank	Country	Visits	Per Capita
1	Libya	2,503	1.28
2	Seychelles	35	1.20
3	South Africa	17,557	1.13
4	Mauritius	348	0.79
5	Tunisia	1,393	0.39
6	Gambia	140	0.26
7	Guinea-Bissau	81	0.17
8	Namibia	86	0.12
9	Egypt	3,184	0.12
10	Morocco	873	0.08

Individual distribution pages. All of the above data refer to the number of visits on this site's main page, but it is also interesting to see which distribution-specific pages where most popular in which country. Here is the ranking of most visited distribution pages in each of the top 24 countries.

United States
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	109,139	7.42%
2	Red Hat	108,806	7.40%
3	Gentoo	86,342	5.87%
4	Knoppix	80,057	5.44%
5	Yoper	61,848	4.21%

Canada
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	19,734	8.21%
2	Red Hat	16,833	7.01%
3	Debian	16,830	7.01%
4	Knoppix	14,078	5.86%
5	Gentoo	12,908	5.37%

Germany
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	14,955	8.19%
2	Red Hat	11,165	6.12%
3	SUSE	10,452	5.72%
4	Gentoo	9,721	5.32%
5	Knoppix	9,297	5.09%

United Kingdom
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	13,528	8.74%
2	Red Hat	11,548	7.41%
3	Gentoo	8,705	5.63%
4	Knoppix	8,273	5.35%
5	Yoper	7,581	4.90%

Japan
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Vine	18,387	13.35%
2	Red Hat	14,012	10.17%
3	Mandrake	9,467	6.87%
4	Gentoo	8,310	6.03%
5	Debian	7,071	5.13%

France
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	22,437	12.87%
2	Debian	13,610	7.81%
3	Red Hat	12,089	6.94%
4	Knoppix	8,733	5.01%
5	Gentoo	8,621	4.95%

Italy
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	9,773	9.32%
2	Red Hat	7,201	6.87%
3	Knoppix	5,613	5.35%
4	Debian	4,744	4.52%
5	Slackware	4,714	4.50%

Netherlands
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	7,022	8.03%
2	Red Hat	5,836	6.68%
3	Gentoo	4,718	5.40%
4	Yoper	4,135	4.73%
5	Knoppix	4,045	4.63%

Spain
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	8,045	8.68%
2	Red Hat	5,997	6.47%
3	Knoppix	5,801	6.26%
4	Debian	4,412	4.76%
5	Yoper	4,350	4.69%

Sweden
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	6,372	8.17%
2	Red Hat	5,858	7.51%
3	Gentoo	5,059	6.49%
4	Debian	4,472	5.73%
5	Yoper	4,212	5.40%

Australia
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	6,828	9.73%
2	Red Hat	4,991	7.11%
3	Gentoo	3,860	5.50%
4	Knoppix	3,708	5.28%
5	Yoper	3,391	4.83%

Belgium
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	5,336	9.77%
2	Red Hat	4,093	7.49%
3	Gentoo	3,310	6.06%
4	Knoppix	2,899	5.31%
5	Yoper	2,831	5.18%

Taiwan
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Red Hat	8,970	15.13%
2	Mandrake	6,707	11.32%
3	Gentoo	2,981	5.03%
4	Debian	2,647	4.47%
5	Knoppix	2,315	3.91%

Finland
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	5,873	10.93%
2	Red Hat	5,228	9.73%
3	Gentoo	3,555	6.62%
4	Debian	3,422	6.37%
5	SUSE	3,115	5.80%

Brazil
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Kurumin	11,824	19.02%
2	Mandrake	4,108	6.61%
3	Red Hat	3,368	5.42%
4	Slackware	2,927	4.71%
5	Knoppix	2,438	3.92%

China
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Red Hat	4,270	9.08%
2	Mandrake	3,520	7.49%
3	Knoppix	2,030	4.32%
4	Yoper	1,865	3.97%
5	Debian	1,780	3.79%

Poland
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Aurox	7,715	13.94%
2	Mandrake	4,083	7.38%
3	Debian	3,050	5.51%
4	Slackware	2,731	4.93%
5	Red Hat	2,459	4.44%

Denmark
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	3,575	10.13%
2	Red Hat	2,788	7.90%
3	Gentoo	2,081	5.89%
4	Yoper	1,865	5.28%
5	Debian	1,703	4.82%

Portugal
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Slackware	3,010	9.39%
2	Mandrake	2,470	7.70%
3	Red Hat	2,086	6.51%
4	Knoppix	1,646	5.13%
5	Debian	1,618	5.05%

Norway
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	2,342	8.76%
2	Red Hat	2,316	8.66%
3	Gentoo	1,463	5.47%
4	Debian	1,349	5.04%
5	Yoper	1,272	4.76%

Austria
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	2,220	9.19%
2	Gentoo	1,895	7.84%
3	Debian	1,819	7.53%
4	Red Hat	1,780	7.37%
5	Yoper	1,348	5.58%

Hong Kong
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	2,206	8.46%
2	Red Hat	2,093	8.02%
3	Debian	1,199	4.60%
4	Knoppix	1,170	4.49%
5	Gentoo	1,111	4.26%

Switzerland
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	2,255	9.01%
2	Red Hat	1,909	7.62%
3	Gentoo	1,533	6.12%
4	Debian	1,468	5.86%
5	SUSE	1,279	5.11%

Hungary
Rank	Distribution	Visits	Percent
1	Mandrake	2,716	8.74%
2	Red Hat	1,897	6.10%
3	Debian	1,822	5.86%
4	UHU	1,583	5.09%
5	SUSE	1,574	5.06%

Top distributions. With the exception of a few brief periods, the Mandrake page was the most visited page of all distribution-specific pages on DistroWatch.com. This is also reflected in the individual country statistics, where Mandrake took the top spot in most, though not all, countries. The table below only lists the 56 countries where the total visitor count exceeded 5,000 during the year.

Top distribution in countries
No of countries	Distribution	Countries
36	Mandrake	Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Yugoslavia, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay
12	Red Hat	Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Greece, India, Israel, Malaysia, Romania, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela
3	Gentoo	Lithuania, Singapore, Ukraine
1	Aurox	Poland
1	Kurumin	Brazil
1	Slackware	Portugal
1	Vine	Japan
1	Yoper	New Zealand

Conclusion. There is none. You can interpret the data any way you want to and come to your own conclusions. Or even better, don't come to any conclusions at all. Whatever you do, please do not try to influence the results by reloading the pages or the counter repeatedly (like the person in Poland who made an effort to generate more than 4,000 extra hits on the Debian page during November). This is immature and easy to detect, so all your extra hits will be deleted from the logs. Just enjoy the fun and accept that there is no such thing as "the best Linux distribution".

Released Last Week

Devil Linux 1.02b

A new updated version of the Devil-Linux live firewall has been released: "Version 1.0.2b of Devil-Linux is available, which fixes a bunch of bugs and adds support for older computers which require ISAPNP support." Changes: "Added missing file upgrade-config; updated iptables to v1.29-cvs-20031119 (fixes problem with stack smashing protector)." This announcement includes a more complete changelog.

clusterKNOPPIX 3.3-2003-11-19

A new version of clusterKNOPPIX has been released. From the changelog: "clusterKNOPPIX_V3.3-2003-11-19-EN-cl1 - 2003-11-26. Sync with latest Knoppix release; upgraded to OpenMosix 2.4.22-2; MFS enabled again (OpenMosix tmpfs oops fixed); chpox upgraded to 0.6b; nforce2 chipset support added; xfs support added; ipsec support added (freeswan 2.03); tyd from CHAOS added."

MEPIS Linux 2003.10

MEPIS Linux 2003.10 has been released: "Today, MEPIS LLC announced the release of MEPIS Linux 2003.10 for Pentium processors. MEPIS Linux is a desktop Linux that is designed for both personal and business users. MEPIS Linux offers a live/installation/recovery CD, advanced automatic hardware configuration, XP/NTFS support, ACPI power management, WiFi support, personal firewall, KDE 3.1.4, OpenOffice 1.1, Mozilla 1.5, and much more. With release 2003.10, MEPIS has expanded the functionality of the MEPIS Installation Center to allow the user to install MEPIS or repair the boot loader, Xconfig, make a floppy, or test the hard drive all while running from the Live-CD." See the rest of the press release and the distribution's product page with screenshots for further details.

Kurumin 2.10

The Kurumin developers have released a new version of Kurumin - 2.10. New in this release: updated Linux kernel 2.4.22 with support for more hardware and improved hardware auto-detection; fixed problems with Flash, replaced gtkam with flphoto; removed kopete for space reasons; included drivers for winmodems; Gqview replaced with Kuickshow; included Python 2.3 and BitTorrent 3.3; bug fixes in KDE icons and file associations. Read the full release announcement (in Portuguese) for further details.

DeLi Linux 0.4

DeLi Linux version 0.4 has been released. Changes: "New delisetup; changed /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny; patched pppsetup (usepeerdns); some bugfixes." See the rest of the changelog and the distribution's web site for more information.

Immunix Secured OS 7.3

Immunix Secured OS 7.3 has been released: "Immunix, Inc., is pleased to announce its Immunix Secured OS 7.3 release based on the 2.4 Linux kernel, 2.2.5 glibc, and 2.96 GCC. This release includes the SubDomain mandatory access control module, StackGuard buffer overflow mediation, and FormatGuard format string mediation." Unlike previous versions of Immunix, version 7.3 is not available for free download: "Immunix Secured OS 7.3 is not free software. Immunix does employ many GPL components, among other licenses, and source code for GPL software is available under the terms of the license. Some portions of Immunix Secured OS 7.3 are Immunix Proprietary, available under the Immunix Commercial License." Find out more on the distribution's home and product pages.

ThePacketMaster Security Server 1.0.1

A new version of ThePacketMaster Security Server has been released: "As many of you already know, the new release of the TPM security server, 1.0.1, is finally out. This release is based on the 2.4.20 kernel. Major changes from 1.0.0 are: new revisions of software packages; more extensive testing of packages for proper functionality; improved support for wireless cards based on the TI chipset and the Atheros chipset; changes to bootup process." Read the rest of the announcement.

ClarkConnect Broadband Getaway 2.1

ClarkConnect Broadband Getaway version 2.1 has been released: "ClarkConnect Home Edition 2.1 is available. Office Edition 2.1 will be released December 2. What's new: added content filtering; added wireless support; added bandwidth upload and port limiter; added DMZ support (by configuration file only); added German language; improved Samba support (home directories, permission checking, default shares); improved network configuration; cleaned up installer graphics; simplified wireless configuration; fixed various bugs." This product page has more relevant information and links.

Development Releases

LRs GNU Linux "Creme-13" RC1, the release announcement

Upcoming Releases and Announcements

CollegeLinux 2.5

It seems that the release of CollegeLinux 2.5 will be delayed by about a week: "We are not done yet (I know. very late but..) we are adding a modified version of slapt-get with a gui-way to handle package upgrade via Konqueror. Looks pretty nice. My forecast is a final release for the 7 December. Could be some days before or some days after. We are also redoing the site completely."

e-smith SME Server 6.0

Some interesting news regarding the future development of SME Server (also known as e-smith). It appears that, after the upcoming SME Server 6.0, Mitel will no longer provide freely downloadable developer releases: "Mitel is a commercial enterprise and has decided to focus our developers on our commercial products. Some of our developers may choose to continue to stay involved with whatever community effort emerges, doing so on their own time and outside of their regular responsibilities within Mitel." The SME Server 6.0 will be released within the next few weeks: "We will be preparing a 6.0 unsupported developer release in the next week or two that will essentially be 6.0beta3 plus a few recent security updates. This will be the last 'official' unsupported developer release that we have planned. Any future releases are really up to you." Read the complete message for further information.

Linux-Live 3.9.1.0

Slackware-Live has been renamed to Linux-Live, due to trademark issues with the word "Slackware": This project's name will change. The old name Slackware-Live is breaking some trademark laws or something I don't understand much, so this LiveCD will be called 'L i n u x - L i v e'." A new version 3.9.1.0 is currently under development.

Libranet GNU/Linux 3.0

The latest Libranet newsletter has some interesting information regarding the upcoming Libranet 3.0 and Libranet archives: "We are building a new archive to be maintained by us which will be 'upgrade safe'. The intention is that users can upgrade individual packages or the entire system without running into the problems mentioned above. Users with Libranet 2.8 systems and up will be able to use this archive to keep up to date. With the release of version 3.0 a new archive will be built, and so on. This feature will help keep Libranet systems stable and make running a Libranet system even more beneficial to Libranet users. This new archive will still use packages from the Debian archive and Libranet systems will remain fully compatible with Debian."

Web Site News

New additions

AL-AMLUG Live CD. AL-AMLUG Live CD is a pre-installed Arch Linux with latest packages, developed by AMLUG (Ananda Margiis' Linux User Group). This live CD can act as a temporary workstation, be used as a demo, rescue ailing machines, test linux compatible hardware and install Arch Linux on HD. The main aim of this live CD is to act as a workstation for members using temporary computers to access e-mail and to work with their documents, accounts and files. Data are stored on floppy disk or USB memory card. Those who are not familiar with the purpose of "live CD", it's a GNU/Linux distribution that boots and runs completely from CD. Depending on the developers, it includes recent Linux software and desktop environments, with programs for office, Internet, multimedia and graphics. All are quality open source programs. AL-AMLUG live CD selection of software aims to include one software of each category.
Aleader. Aleader is a bootable live CD based on Knoppix. The Aleader software combines a video player, affective indexing, and psychometric tools into an easy to use GUI. Aleader can already test how consistently you can witness what is going on in a film. However, empirical verification of our methods is still in the early stages.
BrlSpeak. BrlSpeak is a Braille and speech mini-distribution of GNU/Linux based on Debian. Characteristics: installable on a FAT partition without having to repartition the hard disk; no longer UMSDOS as by the past but in a loopback; no longer Slackware-based but Debian-based; available in 3 versions: basic (mini), braille and vocal (= braille + some speech applications).
INSERT. INSERT is a complete, bootable Linux system based on Damn Small Linux. It comes with a graphical user interface running the Fluxbox window manager while still being sufficiently small to fit on a credit card-sized CD-ROM. INSERT contains a multitude of useful tools to be at your hand in a variety of situations: network analysis (e.g. lcrzoex, tcpdump); disaster recovery (e.g. gpart, partimage, testdisk); virus scanning (Clam Antivirus); computer forensics (e.g. chkrootkit); surf the internet (e.g. links, AxY FTP).
NordisKnoppix. NordisKnoppix is a version of Klaus Knopper's Knoppix, supporting Nordic and Baltic languages, and maintained by Conrad Newton. Presently, the supported languages include Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Faroese, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Northern sami, Norwegian bokmål, Norwegian nynorsk, Swedish and US English, to the extent that Debian packages for these languages are available, and that they fit on the CD. Aside from the Nordic/Baltic language components, NordisKnoppix is the same as standard Knoppix.

New on the waiting list

Adelie Linux. The Adelie Linux Project will build solutions based on Gentoo Linux for Single System Image, High Performance Computing and other related fields.
Feather Linux. Feather Linux is a Knoppix-based Linux distribution which runs completely off a CD and takes up under 50Mb of space. It is suitable especially for business-card sized CDs. It tries to include software which most people would use every day on their desktops.
JoLinux. JoLinux is a new Brazilian distribution based on Slackware; the web site is in Portuguese.
Knoppel. Knoppel is a Greek variant of Knoppix; the web site is in Greek.
Linux Live-CD Router. The Linux Live-CD Router allows you to share your broadband connection and use WIFI. You can use DSL, ADSL, cable modem, T1, fixed IPs, ISDN, dial-up and more.

Revived distributions

LRs GNU Linux. With the release of Creme-13 RC1, LRs GNU Linux has been moved back onto the list of active distributions. The project was discontinued and resurrected several times during the past two years.

DistroWatch database summary

Number of distributions in the database: 205
Number of discontinued distributions: 24
Number of distributions on the waiting list: 69

Reader Feedback

Reader feedback will return next week.

That's all for today, keep well and see you next Monday :-)
Ladislav Bodnar

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Archives
• Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years
• Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session
• Issue 1036 (2023-09-11): SDesk 2023.08.12, hiding command line passwords, openSUSE shares contributor survery results, Ubuntu plans seamless disk encryption, GNOME 45 to break extension compatibility
• Issue 1035 (2023-09-04): Debian GNU/Hurd 2023, PCLinuxOS 2023.07, do home users need a firewall, AlmaLinux introduces new repositories, Rocky Linux commits to RHEL compatibility, NetBSD machine runs unattended for nine years, Armbian runs wallpaper contest
• Issue 1034 (2023-08-28): Void 20230628, types of memory usage, FreeBSD receives port of Linux NVIDIA driver, Fedora plans improved theme handling for Qt applications, Canonical's plans for Ubuntu
• Issue 1033 (2023-08-21): MiniOS 20230606, system user accounts, how Red Hat clones are moving forward, Haiku improves WINE performance, Debian turns 30
• Issue 1032 (2023-08-14): MX Linux 23, positioning new windows on the desktop, Linux Containers adopts LXD fork, Oracle, SUSE, and CIQ form OpenELA
• Issue 1031 (2023-08-07): Peppermint OS 2023-07-01, preventing a file from being changed, Asahi Linux partners with Fedora, Linux Mint plans new releases
• Issue 1030 (2023-07-31): Solus 4.4, Linux Mint 21.2, Debian introduces RISC-V support, Ubuntu patches custom kernel bugs, FreeBSD imports OpenSSL 3
• Issue 1029 (2023-07-24): Running Murena on the Fairphone 4, Flatpak vs Snap sandboxing technologies, Redox OS plans to borrow Linux drivers to expand hardware support, Debian updates Bookworm media
• Issue 1028 (2023-07-17): KDE Connect; Oracle, SUSE, and AlmaLinux repsond to Red Hat's source code policy change, KaOS issues media fix, Slackware turns 30; security and immutable distributions
• Issue 1027 (2023-07-10): Crystal Linux 2023-03-16, StartOS (embassyOS 0.3.4.2), changing options on a mounted filesystem, Murena launches Fairphone 4 in North America, Fedora debates telemetry for desktop team
• Issue 1026 (2023-07-03): Kumander Linux 1.0, Red Hat changing its approach to sharing source code, TrueNAS offers SMB Multichannel, Zorin OS introduces upgrade utility
• Issue 1025 (2023-06-26): KaOS with Plasma 6, information which can leak from desktop environments, Red Hat closes door on sharing RHEL source code, SUSE introduces new security features
• Issue 1024 (2023-06-19): Debian 12, a safer way to use dd, Debian releases GNU/Hurd 2023, Ubuntu 22.10 nears its end of life, FreeBSD turns 30
• Issue 1023 (2023-06-12): openSUSE 15.5 Leap, the differences between independent distributions, openSUSE lengthens Leap life, Murena offers new phone for North America
• Issue 1022 (2023-06-05): GetFreeOS 2023.05.01, Slint 15.0-3, Liya N4Si, cleaning up crowded directories, Ubuntu plans Snap-based variant, Red Hat dropping LireOffice RPM packages
• Issue 1021 (2023-05-29): rlxos GNU/Linux, colours in command line output, an overview of Void's unique features, how to use awk, Microsoft publishes a Linux distro
• Issue 1020 (2023-05-22): UBports 20.04, finding another machine's IP address, finding distros with a specific kernel, Debian prepares for Bookworm
• Issue 1019 (2023-05-15): Rhino Linux (Beta), checking which applications reply on a package, NethServer reborn, System76 improving application responsiveness
• Issue 1018 (2023-05-08): Fedora 38, finding relevant manual pages, merging audio files, Fedora plans new immutable edition, Mint works to fix Secure Boot issues
• Issue 1017 (2023-05-01): Xubuntu 23.04, Debian elects Project Leaders and updates media, systemd to speed up restarts, Guix System offering ground-up source builds, where package managers install files
• Issue 1016 (2023-04-24): Qubes OS 4.1.2, tracking bandwidth usage, Solus resuming development, FreeBSD publishes status report, KaOS offers preview of Plasma 6
• Issue 1015 (2023-04-17): Manjaro Linux 22.0, Trisquel GNU/Linux 11.0, Arch Linux powering PINE64 tablets, Ubuntu offering live patching on HWE kernels, gaining compression on ex4
• Issue 1014 (2023-04-10): Quick looks at carbonOS, LibreELEC, and Kodi, Mint polishes themes, Fedora rolls out more encryption plans, elementary OS improves sideloading experience
• Issue 1013 (2023-04-03): Alpine Linux 3.17.2, printing manual pages, Ubuntu Cinnamon becomes official flavour, Endeavour OS plans for new installer, HardenedBSD plans for outage
• Issue 1012 (2023-03-27): siduction 22.1.1, protecting privacy from proprietary applications, GNOME team shares new features, Canonical updates Ubuntu 20.04, politics and the Linux kernel
• Issue 1011 (2023-03-20): Serpent OS, Security Onion 2.3, Gentoo Live, replacing the scp utility, openSUSE sees surge in downloads, Debian runs elction with one candidate
• Issue 1010 (2023-03-13): blendOS 2023.01.26, keeping track of which files a package installs, improved network widget coming to elementary OS, Vanilla OS changes its base distro
• Issue 1009 (2023-03-06): Nemo Mobile and the PinePhone, matching the performance of one distro on another, Linux Mint adds performance boosts and security, custom Ubuntu and Debian builds through Cubic
• Issue 1008 (2023-02-27): elementary OS 7.0, the benefits of boot environments, Purism offers lapdock for Librem 5, Ubuntu community flavours directed to drop Flatpak support for Snap
• Issue 1007 (2023-02-20): helloSystem 0.8.0, underrated distributions, Solus team working to repair their website, SUSE testing Micro edition, Canonical publishes real-time edition of Ubuntu 22.04
• Issue 1006 (2023-02-13): Playing music with UBports on a PinePhone, quick command line and shell scripting questions, Fedora expands third-party software support, Vanilla OS adds Nix package support
• Issue 1005 (2023-02-06): NuTyX 22.12.0 running CDE, user identification numbers, Pop!_OS shares COSMIC progress, Mint makes keyboard and mouse options more accessible
• Issue 1004 (2023-01-30): OpenMandriva ROME, checking the health of a disk, Debian adopting OpenSnitch, FreeBSD publishes status report
• Issue 1003 (2023-01-23): risiOS 37, mixing package types, Fedora seeks installer feedback, Sparky offers easier persistence with USB writer
• Issue 1002 (2023-01-16): Vanilla OS 22.10, Nobara Project 37, verifying torrent downloads, Haiku improvements, HAMMER2 being ports to NetBSD
• Issue 1001 (2023-01-09): Arch Linux, Ubuntu tests new system installer, porting KDE software to OpenBSD, verifying files copied properly
• Issue 1000 (2023-01-02): Our favourite projects of all time, Fedora trying out unified kernel images and trying to speed up shutdowns, Slackware tests new kernel, detecting what is taking up disk space
• Issue 999 (2022-12-19): Favourite distributions of 2022, Fedora plans Budgie spin, UBports releasing security patches for 16.04, Haiku working on new ports
• Issue 998 (2022-12-12): OpenBSD 7.2, Asahi Linux enages video hardware acceleration on Apple ARM computers, Manjaro drops proprietary codecs from Mesa package
• Issue 997 (2022-12-05): CachyOS 221023 and AgarimOS, working with filenames which contain special characters, elementary OS team fixes delta updates, new features coming to Xfce
• Issue 996 (2022-11-28): Void 20221001, remotely shutting down a machine, complex aliases, Fedora tests new web-based installer, Refox OS running on real hardware
• Issue 995 (2022-11-21): Fedora 37, swap files vs swap partitions, Unity running on Arch, UBports seeks testers, Murena adds support for more devices
• Issue 994 (2022-11-14): Redcore Linux 2201, changing the terminal font size, Fedora plans Phosh spin, openSUSE publishes on-line manual pages, disabling Snap auto-updates
• Issue 993 (2022-11-07): Static Linux, working with just a kernel, Mint streamlines Flatpak management, updates coming to elementary OS
• Issue 992 (2022-10-31): Lubuntu 22.10, setting permissions on home directories, Linux may drop i486, Fedora delays next version for OpenSSL bug
• Issue 991 (2022-10-24): XeroLinux 2022.09, learning who ran sudo, exploring firewall tools, Rolling Rhino Remix gets a fresh start, Fedora plans to revamp live media
• Issue 990 (2022-10-17): ravynOS 0.4.0, Lion Linux 3.0, accessing low numbered network ports, Pop!_OS makes progress on COSMIC, Murena launches new phone
• Issue 989 (2022-10-10): Ubuntu Unity, kernel bug causes issues with Intel cards, Canonical offers free Ubuntu Pro subscriptions, customizing the command line prompt
• Issue 988 (2022-10-03): SpiralLinux 11.220628, finding distros for older equipment and other purposes, SUSE begins releasing ALP prototypes, Debian votes on non-free firmware in installer
• Issue 987 (2022-09-26): openSUSE's MicroOS, converting people to using Linux, pfSense updates base system and PHP, Python 2 dropped from Arch
• Issue 986 (2022-09-19): Porteus 5.0, remotely wiping a hard drive, a new software centre for Ubuntu, Proxmox offers offline updates
• Full list of all issues

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Random Distribution

GenieOS

GenieOS was a desktop-oriented Linux distribution based on the stable Debian GNU/Linux at the time of release. However, GenieOS attempts to be more user-friendly by limiting the system to a selected number of packages and enhancing it with many useful, but non-free applications and plugins, such as those required for viewing encrypted DVDs, Flash and Java browser plugins, and MPlayer with support for many popular audio formats. GenieOS includes the GNOME and KDE desktop environments.

Status: Discontinued

Tips, Tricks, Q&As
Myths and misunderstandings: GPL
Tips and tricks: Fix filenames, manage networks from the command line and more command line tips
Questions and answers: Accessing low numbered network ports
Tips and tricks: Combining commands in the shell
Myths and misunderstandings: Wayland, Xorg and Mir
Questions and answers: Exploring process information and UEFI
Tips and tricks: Improved package stability coming to FreeBSD/PC-BSD
Tips and tricks: All about package signing
Myths and misunderstandings: Linux Mint's security record
Questions and answers: Improving desktop performance post-upgrade
More Tips & Tricks and Questions & Answers

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