 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 46, 26 April 2004 |
Welcome to this year's 17th edition of DistroWatch Weekly. This is the week of Fedora Core 2 Test3, the third and last development version before the final release on 17 May 2004. Also, OpenBSD 3.5 will be officially released later this week, continuing in the fine tradition of early May releases of new versions.
Content:
The BSD distributions
Following the inclusion of BSD distributions on DistroWatch, your web site maintainer was spotted learning about that other open source operating system - by installing and exploring FreeBSD. The result of this experience was a very pleasant surprise - not only is FreeBSD a very capable operating system as a server (just check the longest uptime statistics at Netcraft), it is surprisingly good as a desktop too.
Up until last week I knew precious little about the various BSD distributions. Part of my reluctance to explore them came from a quote by Daniel Robbins, the creator and Chief Architect of Gentoo Linux, and a person who knows both Linux and FreeBSD intimately. In one of the articles describing the birth of Gentoo, Daniel has this to say about FreeBSD:
"FreeBSD was a peaceful home, but a little too boring, too staid. Linux is where the action was, where major progress was being made. There's no doubt that if you're looking for excitement and innovation, Linux is the place to be."
Perhaps it was the above quote that contributed towards my original skepticism about FreeBSD as a desktop OS. However, did you know that NVIDIA makes accelerated graphics drivers for FreeBSD? And did you know that Opera Software develops a FreeBSD edition of the Opera browser? Until last week I did not, and these new discoveries have substantially changed my views about FreeBSD (in fact, I bought the FreeBSD edition of Opera, just to contribute a little towards the browser's future development). I also invested in two BSD books - The Complete FreeBSD by Greg Lehey and Absolute OpenBSD by Michael W Lucas. They both provide a fascinating insight into the world of BSD distributions and I found it really hard to put them down. Every day I couldn't wait to finish my day's work so that I can reboot into the newly created FreeBSD partition (er, I mean slice) and start investigating this great OS. Yes, with the absence of any configuration utilities in FreeBSD, it takes a while to set things up the way you want them, but in the end, the effort is certainly worth it. I can easily see myself using FreeBSD as my main desktop system.
If you are comfortable with the command line and with editing files in vi, then you ought to give yourself a chance to explore the BSD world - if for no other reason than to get some exposure to the BSD way of thinking. And just to whet your appetite a little further, DistroWatch will publish a new review of FreeBSD 5.2.1 tomorrow. Written by Robert Storey and reviewed by the aforementioned Greg Lehey, it will be a treat to all FreeBSD enthusiasts, as well as an interesting lesson for Linux users. Don't forget to visit DistroWatch tomorrow (Tuesday) to read it!
Tips and tricks: faster downloads from ibiblio.org
Many of us who frequently download various distributions from the Internet know that Ibiblio.org is probably the world's most complete repository of Linux distributions. The unfortunate side effect of this popularity is the fact that download speeds from Ibiblio servers are less than spectacular, especially during peak hours. Is there anything you can do about it? Yes, instead of downloading via FTP, use rsync; you will be truly surprised at how much faster you can get the same ISO image! Using rsync is very simple:
rsync -P -v ftp.ibiblio.org::distros/$distribution/$isoname.iso .
For example:
rsync -P -v ftp.ibiblio.org::distros/munjoy/munjoylinux-0.5.3.iso .
Don't forget the trailing dot, which simply indicates that the download should go into the current directory (or specify a different directory). The -P switch is to resume a download of a partially downloaded file. To find out which distributions are available for download via rsync, run this command:
rsync ftp.ibiblio.org::distros/
rsync is a great tool that can be used on any FTP server enabled for anonymous rsync. If you find that you cannot download a file because of restrictions of how many simultaneous connections to the FTP server are allowed, you can try rsync instead - you'll probably get the required file much faster that way!
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| Released Last Week |
Yoper v2
A new major version of Yoper has been released: "A little over a year after the release of Yoper, I am happy to announce Version2 in form of a prerelease tagged 20040420. The OS is however ready as a final and as such do consider it 'final' since any additional changes will be delivered via apt. Changes: Yoper is now RPM-based. An apt repository is the main way to update and install packages. The installer allows 2 choices: minimal and YKde. GNOME 2.6 has also been included and the latest KDE 3.2.2. All other software packages have been updated. The kernel 2.4.25 has been included, the whole OS is prepared for 2.6 kernel and the latest Con Kolivas performance patches have been integrated. Hardware recognition is improved and ALSA drivers are now the default sound drivers." Here is the rest of the announcement.
Mandows 1.6
A new version of the Mandows live CD is available. Mandows 1.6 is now based on Mandrakelinux 10.0 + bug fixes, with KDE 3.2, GIMP 2.0.0, KOffice 1.3 (replacing OpenOffice.org), Captive NTFS (NTFS read and write support), Linux kernel 2.4.25 (kernel 2.6 still not quite stable enough) and Eagle USB 1.9.6. Besides French, English is now also supported. Mandows 1.6 is currently only available via BitTorrent (file size 590MB), but will be released for download from FTP servers later this week. More information in this announcement (in French).
Puppy Linux 0.8.5
A new version of the Puppy Linux 0.8.5 is out. Excerpts from the release notes: "Puppy now has X11-Basic, a surprisingly powerful yet simple and compact programming environment. Puppy now has mp v3.3.0 console text editor, the latest. There is now a script, 'Install Puppy hard drive', in the Utilities menu. The Puppy drive mount/unmount script has been improved. USB keyboard and USB mouse should now work. Ethernet/network Wizard has been improved; it should be better when used with two network cards. There is now ssh-gui, a secure telnet program. MToolsFM is a file manager, in the 'File Managers' menu. MToolsFM is a GUI frontend for MTools, and has now been expanded to access floppy, Zip, USB and vfat/msdos hard drives, all without needing to mount (or unmount them)...."
ClarkConnect 2.2
ClarkConnect Broadband Getaway version 2.2 has been released: "The version 2.2 Home and Office Editions are now available! The Home Edition has moved to the community web site, the Professional Edition will be released April 22, the non-commercial Professional Edition (it was called Firewall/VPN during the beta) will be released April 22 on the community web site." Find out more about the products on ClarkConnect.com and ClarkConnect.org.
dyne:bolic 1.3
A new dyne:bolic release is out: "Time for juicy spring updates and bugfixes: version 1.3 is out featuring a revamped Ogg/Vorbis streaming system, a fix to the nesting mechanism and important updates to audio and video software. Don't forget to copy the dyne/ directory from the new CD to upgrade your system in case you docked the previous version! Here is the release announcement."
PLD Live CD 0.90
PLD Live CD is a live CD based on PLD Linux Distribution. The recently released version 0.90 is probably the first live CD with the new GNOME 2.6.0 as its default desktop, although those who enjoy trying out different desktop environments will be pleased to find KDE 3.2.1, XFce4, IceWM, Fluxbox, TWM and WindowMaker as options during login. To login, type either "user" or "root" into the GDM login dialog. While the distribution's web site is in Polish only, the live CD itself defaults to English. PLD Live CD is a welcome relief from the string of Knoppix-based live CDs that have hit the distribution scene in recent months, and as such, it is worth the download. If you can read Polish, the distribution's home page list some of the major changes in version 0.90.
INSERT 1.2.8
The Inside Security Rescue Toolkit project has released INSERT 1.2.8. From the changelog: "v1.2.8 (the birthday release). Ettercap and fwlogwatch were added; support for mounting SMB filesystems was added (smbmount); now it is possible to mount MS Windows or Samba shares; the French and Swiss keyboard layouts were added and should work; huh, just noticed that we don't have a telnet client - now we have one; the rootkit hunter was updated and should finally work; clamav was updated and now also detects MS Office VBA macro viruses; the ntfsutils were updated; the virus database for clamav was updated to the latest version."
LinuxConsole 0.4
A new version of LinuxConsole, an easy-to-use Mandrake-based live CD, has been announced and released: "LinuxConsole 0.4 is available in 'final' release. Previous release were only for games and multimedia, but other kinds of applications have been included: tools to create documents (OpenOffice.org, latex, LyX); servers (Samba, Postfix, PHP, MYSQL, DHCP, bootp, OpenSSH, ProFTPd, OpenLDAP); firewall/VPN (iptables, fwbuilder, CPIE); music tools (rosegarden, beast, soundtracker, audacity, ...); tools for scanning, printing, ..." Read the full announcement on the distribution's home page. Besides the full ISO image, smaller specialist images for multimedia, games, firewalls and other purposes are also available.
KANOTIX 05/2004
A new version of the KANOTIX live CD has been released: "KANOTIX 'Bug Hunter' 05/2004 released. Specification: kernel 2.4.26 with MPPE(VPN), S-ATA and other patches; SMP support; ACPI and DMA enabled by default; i586 optimisation; 128 MB RAM required, 256 MB RAM recommended; AVM Fritz!Card DSL support (PCI and USB); Fritz!Card CAPI support; Eagle USB DSL support; fixed: Speedtouch USB support (PPPoE/A); Updates: KDE 3.2.2, OpenOffice 1.1.1 (Debian release), ALSA 1.0.4; GRUB boot loader for CD start - ideal for rescue in command line mode; new: Memtest86+ - advanced memory diagnostic tool in the extra menu of the boot loader..." The full announcement in English and German.
AGNULA/DeMuDi 1.1.1
The first "live" edition of the AGNULA/DeMuDI distribution is out: "AGNULA/DeMuDi 1.1.1, the Debian-based GNU/Linux distribution for audio/video, has been released. This release is the first Live CD-ROM delivered by the AGNULA team and will be presented and distributed at the Linux Audio Meeting 2004. It is based on the well-known Knoppix distribution, adapted and tuned for audio and multimedia work." Read the rest of the release announcement. AGNULA (A GNU/Linux Audio distribution) is a project previously funded by the European Commission, but it now continues as a volunteer effort aiming to spread Libre Software in the professional audio/video arena.
AGNULA/DeMuDi 1.1.1 - a heaven for multimedia enthusiasts
(full image size 501kB)
SUSE LINUX 9.1 LiveCD
It's official: SUSE LINUX 9.1 is now released and available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. If you live elsewhere, you can get the first taste of the new SUSE by downloading the SUSE LiveCD (formerly known as SUSE Live-Eval) from one of the mirrors. According to this README file in the SUSE 9.1 directory, the full FTP edition of SUSE LINUX 9.1 will be available soon: "This tree contains the source RPM packages for the SUSE LINUX 9.1 distribution. The SUSE LINUX 9.1 FTP version is being worked on and will be published in a few days, in this directory." Finally, the German pages of SUSE LINUX 9.1 have been updated to include all the usual product details, as well as full package lists.
Development and unannounced releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Fedora Core 2 Test3
The third and final test release of Fedora Core 2 (version 1.92) will be released later today. The ISO images are already up on the Fedora mirrors, but the 1.92 directory is still locked. The final release of Fedora Core 2 is scheduled for 17 May 2004. Update: According to this message, the release of Test3 has been delayed: "Fedora Core 2 Test 3 will be released on Tuesday, April 27. The schedule page will be updated in the near future."
Knoppix 3.4
Many, many people emailed and asked about the status of Knoppix, and about the expected release of Knoppix 3.4. Here is the answer, directly from the horse's mouth: "We still have a lot of things to work on and test before the official beta release. Most important changes from the CeBIT Edition 3.4: KDE 3.2.2; OpenOffice 1.1.1; new kernels (currentmost 2.4 and 2.6); new wireless drivers for Centrino, Prism2/3, Ateros, possibly more; lots of new usability features and gimmicks. This should be finished within a few days, but instead of giving a wrong date for a release and thus just raising expectations unnecessarily, I'm just quoting from the Knoppix website: 'It's ready when it's ready.' ;-)" Knoppix 3.4 will be worth the wait, no doubt!
Sun Java Desktop System 2
According to an article at eWEEK, version 2 of Sun Java Desktop System is expected to be released in early May: "Sun Microsystems Inc. will use the Desktop Linux Summit in San Diego to announce that the second version of its Java Desktop System will be generally available in the first week of May. Curtis Sasaki, Sun's vice president of desktop solutions, told eWEEK in an interview Wednesday, ahead of the summit, that among the key advances in version 2.0 are management capabilities that allow enterprises to fine-tune and remotely set up the desktop." The full story.
OpenBSD 3.5
Traditionally, early May means a new release of OpenBSD and this year will be no exception. For details of what is new in version 3.5 please read the release notes and the changelog. According to some posts on the OpenBSD mailing lists, the official CD set is already shipping - get it from the OpenBSD store (US$40.00), otherwise you will have to wait until the official release of OpenBSD 3.5 to FTP servers and mirrors on 1 May 2004. Find more information on OpenBSD.org.
PCLinuxOS Preview 6
A much anticipated new version of Texstar's PCLinuxOS will be out shortly: "I'll be moving all the RPMs from updates and unstable into main this weekend. Then next week I will start building the new ISO and testing with an anticipated release date of May 1 2004." The above comes from this post on the distribution's mailing list.
Libranet GNU/Linux 3.0
Also under development is Libranet GNU/Linux 3.0; this is from a recent Libranet newsletter: "Libranet 3.0 is being built to include all that is good in 2.8.1 with the addition of an improved installer, support for more devices, new packages and more flexibility in configuring the system. Packages, desktop environments and the kernel will be updated and improvements made to the Libranet Adminmenu. We'll let you know when we have a better idea of the release date. Most likely beta testing will start in June."
Penguin Sleuth 2.0
A new version of Penguin Sleuth Bootable CD is under development. That's according to this announcement at the distribution's web site: "I am working on an new release. The only thing holding me back from completing it is that I am looking to use Knoppix 3.4 which will have the 2.6 Kernel and KDE 3.2 along with a few more goodies. Knoppix 3.4 has not been officially released yet so I am waiting for the official release and I will be releasing Penguin Sleuth 2.0 soon after so keep your eye out. Penguin Sleuth 2.0 will be updated and have even more tools if all works out well."
ELX Linux 4.0
The developers of ELX Linux have updated their web site with information about the release of ELX Linux 4.0: "ELX is about to unveil a new generation of Linux experience. With the maximum number of Linux products in its portfolio, ELX is all set to give users the complete power to migrate. The launch of BizDesktop 4.0 will be officially announced shortly. The current release of BizDesktop 4.0 is based on kernel 2.4.20." Read here for more information.
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| Web Site News |
Feedback: does DistroWatch layout scare you away?
Thank you all for your feedback about the site's layout and suggestions for possible improvements. It seems that most people are happy with the way things are, but there were a few suggestions worth considering. We might make a few cosmetic changes on the main page in the near future, although there will be no major makeover of the site. After all, the ever increasing number of visitors, now reaching 30,000 to 40,000 per day can't be wrong :-)
New additions
New on the waiting list
- Hiweed Linux. Hiweed Linux is a Chinese Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux. Two editions are available: Hiweed Linux Desktop (a live CD) and Hiweed Linux Server.
DistroWatch database summary
- Number of Linux distributions in the database: 284
- Number of BSD distributions in the database: 4
- Number of discontinued distributions: 33
- Number of distributions on the waiting list: 70
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| Reader Feedback |
PHLAK still alive
Good news for fans of the PHLAK distribution; we are pleased to pass on this message by Shawn Hawkins: "Hello this is Goonsqad, co-developer of PHLAK. The project is not dead. Our web hosting service is a POS so we are working on getting a web server set up at Oregon State University. We are working on version 0.3 and hope to have it released in a couple of months. I just wanted you to know that the project is NOT dead... just a case of bad luck."
Inclusion of BSD distribution unfair
Although most visitors have welcomed the addition of BSD distributions to DistroWatch, not everybody is overjoyed by the decision. This is an email from PP: "I would like to express my opinion regarding the inclusion of BSD operating systems in your website. I think it is unfair and it redefines the competition between Linux distros by including them in a site meant exclusively for Linux-based operating systems. Though BSD and Linux use more or less the same packages, they behave and operate differently despite both having their roots in UNIX. The BSDs tend to be more or less a complete operating system by themselves, whereas Linux is just a kernel and distributions make it a platform suited for different purposes. So I think the inclusion not only unjustifies (sic) the name of your site, but also creates confusion among users. This is my humble opinion, I may be wrong too in some way but this is what I suggest."
The Lycoris and Desktop/LX name games
The distribution known as Lycoris will, from now on, be referred to as Desktop/LX on DistroWatch. This change comes as a result of a request by Rus from Lycoris: "Can you change the name of our OS from Lycoris to its proper name, Desktop/LX, please? On the front page (right column) we're listed as Lycoris, but the name of the OS is Desktop/LX - the name of the *company* is Lycoris. Sort of like Microsoft/Windows. You might want to set up the 'distribution name' on the page as just DLX, as I know the forward slash would wreak havoc with your linking system." So if you are looking for a Linux distribution by Lycoris, look under the letter "D".
That's all for this week, see you next Monday :-)
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1159 (2026-02-09): Sharing files on a network, isolating processes on Linux, LFS to focus on systemd, openSUSE polishes atomic updates, NetBSD not likely to adopt Rust code, COSMIC roadmap |
| • Issue 1158 (2026-02-02): Manjaro 26.0, fastest filesystem, postmarketOS progress report, Xfce begins developing its own Wayland window manager, Bazzite founder interviewed |
| • Issue 1157 (2026-01-26): Setting up a home server, what happened to convergence, malicious software entering the Snap store, postmarketOS automates hardware tests, KDE's login manager works with systemd only |
| • Issue 1156 (2026-01-19): Chimera Linux's new installer, using the DistroWatch Torrent Corner, new package tools for Arch, Haiku improves EFI support, Redcore streamlines branches, Synex introduces install-time ZFS options |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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| Random Distribution | 
blendOS
blendOS is an Arch Linux-based, rolling-release distribution which automates installing software from supported distributions (Arch Linux, Fedora and Ubuntu) into containers. blendOS tries to make software management in across containers feel native and provides access to the user's home directory for each container.
Status: Active
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| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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