 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 47, 3 May 2004 |
Welcome to this year's 18th edition of DistroWatch Weekly. I hope you are not getting tired of the BSD coverage on what used to be a Linux only web site, because we have some more for you in this edition. On the Linux front, the third revision of Debian GNU/Linux "Woody" is expected to be released this week. Happy reading!
Content:
FreeBSD feedback (by Robert Storey)
Since my review of FreeBSD was published (Tuesday, 27 April), I have received considerable feedback. Most of it was surprisingly non-hostile - my flame-proof suit hardly got warm, my eyebrows barely got scorched. I am encouraged. Many of the respondents were experienced FreeBSD users, and several of them pointed out a couple of minor errors in the review, as well as offering useful suggestions for future articles. I value reader feedback, especially when it doesn't make me look like a dork. Now I'd like to share with everyone some of the more important issues that were raised.
* * * * * * * *
In my original article, I said the following:
"Despite the lack of a Linux kernel, most (but not all) Linux binaries can be run on FreeBSD thanks to a special Linux compatibility package that you (optionally) install. It's not foolproof, and a couple of my favourite apps (Mailfilter, for example) refuse to compile."
As several readers pointed out to me, Mailfilter is in fact in the ports collection. However, it has been renamed "Filtermail", apparently to avoid confusion with another program in the ports collection which is also called Mailfilter. It was pointed out to me that one can search the ports collection on a particular keyword (such as "mailfilter"), as follows:
cd /usr/ports
make search key=mailfilter
Interestingly, the original Mailfilter program which caused all this trouble in the first place has now been removed from ports. No word yet on whether this means that Filtermail will revert to being Mailfilter again - time will tell.
* * * * * * * *
I mentioned how to edit ~/.profile to change the pager:
"Change 'PAGER=more' to 'PAGER=less'"
The first time I installed FreeBSD (version 5.0), "more" and "less" were totally different, but apparently they have been merged. You can see this by checking the inode number:
robert@sonic:~> ls -i1 /usr/bin/more /usr/bin/less
376998 /usr/bin/less
376998 /usr/bin/more
Both files have the same inode number, which means that they are in fact the same file. Therefore, it won't make any difference if your pager is more or less - your man pages will behave the same. This was not the case in the past, but times change.
Ah, but wait, I've got a better idea. Have you ever heard of "most"? It's another pager, not installed by default, but you can find it in the ports collection. Go to /usr/ports/misc/most and do a "make" and "make install", then edit ~/.profile and change the pager to "most". Logout and login again, and your man pages will be displayed in stunning color.
* * * * * * * *
In the section on installing CUPS, I originally said the following:
"You've got to install four packages from ports. You can find them here:
root@sonic:# ls -d1 /usr/ports/print/cups*
/usr/ports/print/cups
/usr/ports/print/cups-base
/usr/ports/print/cups-lpr
/usr/ports/print/cups-pstoraster"
A couple of readers pointed out to me that /usr/ports/print/cups is a meta-port - that is to say, if you install it, the other three CUPS ports will install automatically.
* * * * * * * *
Finally, on the issue of FreeBSD's lack of a GUI firewall tool, my attention was called to Firewall Builder. This, as the name implies, builds firewalls, and it's a GUI tool as well. Furthermore, this program is unique in that it's basically firewall-neutral. That is to say, it allows you to write a set of firewall rules and then export them by "compiling" (this requires that a "policy compiler" has been written for your firewalling software). There is a policy compiler available for IPFILTER (which is available for FreeBSD, though it's not the default firewall), as well as OpenBSD's PF (which is now being ported to FreeBSD and will be available with the next release).
You can find Firewall Builder in /usr/ports/security/fwbuilder - the good old ports collection comes through again. Or does it? In this case, the port is "broken" and will fail if you try to install it. The cure is to update your ports collection. That's a process I didn't go into, and I'll have to save it for a future article.
Another little "gotcha" is that Firewall Builder is not really an easy point-and-click tool for the typical desktop user. It's a system administrator's tool and, though useful, don't expect to master it in 30 seconds. I'm not really sure this is the answer for FreeBSD punters who just want an easy way to get a basic firewall up and running so they can hop on the web and start surfing.
Nevertheless, I will be giving Firewall Builder a close look when I begin work on my next OS review, which will be OpenBSD. See you then.
Tips and tricks: cracking Microsoft boxes with AUSTRUMI
What do you do if you need to get into a Microsoft Windows machine, but don't know the password? Simple: use Linux. A small Latvian live CD called AUSTRUMI provides a utility which allows you to change (or blank) any password, including that of the Administrator, on a partition occupied by Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Simply boot the CD and when you get to the initial boot prompt, type:
boot: nt_pass
This will launch a console utility that will detect Windows partitions on the hard disk and provide you with a menu to modify any user or Administrator passwords on the Windows system. It will even give access to the Windows registry for recovery purposes. Quite a handy utility to keep in your wallet (AUSTRUMI is small enough to fit on a business card-size CD) if you are unfortunate enough to having to deal with Windows machines in your line of work.
The latest version of AUSTRUMI is 0.8.4 and you can download it from SourceForge.
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| Released Last Week |
Aurox Linux 9.3.1
Aurox Linux 9.3.1 has been released: "We'd like to announce the availability of Aurox Linux 9.3.1 version. The distribution is on 2 CDs. The main purpose of this issue was to gather fixes and updates that were made after the 9.3 release. The default language is set to Polish, however, you can use the 'selectlang' option during boot, and choose English. Choosing other languages won't make any sense, because localisation packages for them (kde-i18n, mozilla-i18n, etc.) are not present. So if you are using Aurox 9.3 -- please update your system, if you plan to install Aurox -- use 9.3.1 instead of 9.3."
Munjoy Linux 0.5.4
Munjoy Linux is a new Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux and KDE. This general-purpose desktop distribution focuses on user interface consistency, automation, and ease-of-use. Munjoy Linux is created by David Chester, a developer renowned for his famous Xft and FreeType hacks. The distribution includes a new set of TrueType fonts based on Bitstream Vera. Visit MunjoyLinux.org for more information and screenshots.
Gentoo Linux 2004.1
Gentoo Linux 2004.1 has been released: "The Gentoo Linux Release Engineering team is proud to announce the release of Gentoo Linux 2004.1! Please consult our mirror index for download locations and the Gentoo Linux Installation Handbook for detailed installation instructions. Support for Gentoo Linux 2004.1 can be found through our user community by way of the Gentoo Forums, IRC, and various community mailing-lists. Release notes for each architecture can be found linked from the Gentoo Linux Release Engineering project page." The full press release.
LinuxTLE 5.5 Live CD
Thailand's first Linux live CD, based on LinuxTLE 5.5, has been released: "The National Electronic and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) and the Thai Linux Working Group (TLWG) have released LinuxTLE 5.5 Live CD. The product is based on Fedora Core with elements borrowed from Knoppix and full support for the Thai language. The default desktop is GNOME 2.6.0. The live CD is customisable and offers support for SMP systems." The full announcement (in Thai).
LinuxTLE 5.5 - life is a (Thai) beach
(full image size 885kB)
Linux LiveCD Router 1.9.3
Version 1.9.3 of Linux LiveCD Router has been released. From the changelog: "Version 1.9.3 Apr 2004. New webmin web interface version 1.140; new web modules for network configuration and log rotation; added ndiswrapper driver to use WiFi windows drivers at /opt/drivers; minor dbdif config bugfixes."
Buffalo Linux 1.2.1
Buffalo Linux 1.2.1 has been released: "The new features added to this version are: Ximian Evolution included in the GNOME bundle, GIMP 2.0.1, MYSQL 4.0.18 and a Buffalo version of 'swaret-1.6.2'. This release includes 55 minor package upgrades to bring Buffalo 'insync' with Slackware-Current (as of 24 Apr 2004). A 56MB upgrade from 1.2.0 to 1.2.1 (upgrade-1.2.1-buff-1.bz2) is available (download via patch-1.2.0-buff-3.tgz)." Read the complete changelog for more details.
Eadem Enterprise AS 3.0
Eadem Enterprise is a new Linux distribution rebuilt from Red Hat Enterprise Server's (RHEL) source RPMs: "Eadem Enterprise AS V3.0 is the core operating system and infrastructure enterprise Linux solution. Supporting the largest commodity-architecture servers--with up to eight CPUs and 16GB of main memory--and available with the highest levels of support, Eadem Server is the ultimate solution for large departmental and datacenter servers." Eadem differs from Red Hat in that it uses Blackbox as the default desktop environment and it includes MPlayer, Gtk-gnutella, mailman, amsn and other applications useful for a workstation. Find out more information on Eadem.com.
Sorcerer 20040428
It has been a while since we brought you news about a Sorcerer release, but that's because the developers don't publish a changelog and don't normally announce new releases. However, version 20040428 was announced on the distribution's mailing list: "I have rolled out a new Install/Rescue disk. The importance of libpcap is that ppp now requires it. In addition to more than some 12 spells on the Install/Rescue disk being updated the new disk has four text editors to choose from: elvis/vi, nano, jed and joe. Excited yet? Okay how about being able to install: linux,v2.6 or linux,v2.6-grsecurity or linux,v2.4 or linux,v2.4-grsecurity straight from the Install/Rescue disk? Choose only one of course."
Peanut Linux 9.6
More than a year after the last stable release, a new release of Peanut Linux, version 9.6, is now available for download: "Latest version: Peanut Linux 9.6. A 100% pure Linux, glibc, libc6 ELF system. The entire system when installed is less than 999MB! Enlightenment Exp. v0.16.7-53, XFree86 4.4.x, kernel 2.6.5 with USB. Plus a lot more cool graphical, interesting, friendly, fun stuff." Find out more about the project on the Peanut Linux web site.
tinysofa enterprise server 1.0
The inaugural version of tinysofa enterprise server has been released: "The culmination of more than a month of development and testing, tinysofa enterprise server 1.0 ('Emily') has finally been released. Building on the proven rock solid basis of Trustix Secure Linux, tinysofa enterprise server is the new benchmark in Linux based server operating systems. Major new features include a complete distribution port to python 2.3 and rpm 4.2, an overhauled pam authentication system providing system-wide authentication configuration, the latest upstream packages, the replacement of ncftp with lftp, the addition of gdb and screen, feature additions to the swup updater..." Visit tinysofa.org to learn more about the project.
XoL 18.00
XoL is a live CD based on Server optimized Linux. New features in version 18.00 include: "Multilanguage: XoL features a full English and German desktop and OpenOffice.org environment. USB-TO-GO: The unique USB-TO-GO feature offers you the freedom to continue your work on any other system using XoL and a USB storage device. KDE and GNOME: With XoL you can work with your favourite desktop environment; XoL features both! Easy network: When XoL starts it connects to the next DHCP server to configure your network - being online was never that easy. OpenOffice.org: The best free office suite available. Design your folders, create your presentations, type your papers! On XoL you have the choice of the English and the German versions..." Read the announcement and visit the product's features page for further details.
OpenBSD 3.5
OpenBSD 3.5 has been released: "We are pleased to announce the official release of OpenBSD 3.5. This is our 15th release on CD-ROM (and 16th via FTP). We remain proud of OpenBSD's record of eight years with only a single remote hole in the default install. As in our previous releases, 3.5 provides significant improvements, including new features, in nearly all areas of the system." Read the full announcement or the release notes for a comprehensive list of improvements. As always, the full set of OpenBSD ISO images is only available from the project's online store (US$40), but the full release can be installed via FTP from one of the OpenBSD mirrors.
Overclockix 3.4
Overclockix 3.4 has been released: "A new version of Overclockix is now available, based on the unofficial Knoppix 3.4 CeBIT edition, Overclockix 3.4! This remaster features the latest packages available for the sid (unstable) branch of Debian. Some highlights are captive-NTFS (write support), install on demand scripts, 2.4.23-xfs and 2.6.1 kernel, XFce, GNOME 2.4, KDE 3.2.2 with noia icons, Fluxbox, IceWM, Enlightenment, GIMP 2.0, and all the usual Overclockix packages (ml-donkey, BT, MPlayer, Firefox, Thunderbird, Karamba, stress-testers and DC clients)." The distribution's home page has more details about the release.
Feather Linux 0.4.1
Feather Linux 0.4.1 has been released. From the changelog: "Updated list of documentation and organised scripts; added bcrypt, xmms-cdread; added scripts to download Audacity, and to remove the dpkg structure (rm-dpkg); added serial mouse option to X setup; updated Monkey to 0.8.2 and changed daemon script accordingly; added memory checks to some scripts; fixed error with /opt on bootup; changed dillo homepage; added 'xdef' boot option - boots with 1024x768, 3 button mouse, 16-bit depth; replaced XCDRoast with Gcombust..."
Development and unannounced releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Debian GNU/Linux 3.0r3
The third revision of Debian GNU/Linux "Woody" is expected to be released this week: "I am preparing the third revision of the current stable Debian distribution (woody) and will infrequently send reports so people can actually comment on it and intervene whenever this is required. The regulations for stable are quite conservative. The requirements for packages to get into stable are: the package fixes a security problem; the package fixes a critical bug which can lead into data loss, data corruption, or an overly broken system, or the package is broken or not usable (anymore)..." See the and the proposed timeline for additional information.
Impi Linux 2.0
InfoWorld reports about the upcoming release of South Africa's Impi, Linux: "Developers in South Africa have installed the firewall component of the next version of a variant of Linux, called Impi 2, in a high-profile installation within the country, as the beta testing cycle for the software gets under way, according to the head of the project, Ross Addis. While Impi comes with the GNOME desktop window manager, Impi 2 will offer both GNOME and KDE, from the K Desktop Environment (KDE) Project, Addis said. In the meanwhile, South African open source developers have released a chain of other applications." See African open source projects gather steam.
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| Web Site News |
April donation: Quanta Plus receives US$200
Continuing with our programme under which 10% of DistroWatch.com's income from advertising and sale of merchandise is donated to various Free Software projects, the recipient of the April donation is the Quanta Plus project. Quanta Plus is a web development tool for the K Desktop Environment. Quanta is designed for quick web development and is rapidly becoming a mature editor with a number of great features. Here is the receipt for US$200:
------------------------------
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Total Amount: $200.00 USD
Transaction ID: 2B948608EV400622P
Quantity: 1
Item Title: Quanta Donation
Item Number:1
Message: This is a donation by DistroWatch.com under the web site's program to offer financial assistance to Free Software projects.
Readers are welcome and encouraged to nominate a Free Software project for the next donation.
On BSD terminology
The vast majority of readers seems to have welcome the inclusion of BSD distributions in DistroWatch. The only exception was the email published in the Reader Feedback section of last week's edition of DistroWatch Weekly, but that of course won't affect the fact that BSD is here to stay.
However, to differentiate between Linux distributions and the BSD projects, we need a common term referring to all of the BSD projects. This has resulted in some conflicting opinions, so I would like to discuss it further before making a final decision, especially because I have a feeling that we will be setting a trend here. As those of you who read DistroWatch regularly noticed, I am inclined to refer to all the BSD projects as "BSD distributions". The main reason for this is the definition of the word "distribution" in the Linux world, which in simple terms refers to a complete operating system with Linux at its core, and hundreds, sometimes even thousands of independent end-user applications. In BSD we have a similar situation - there is the BSD kernel, a base system, and hundreds or thousands of independent end-user applications.
Nevertheless, there are users who would object to referring to BSD projects as BSD distributions. One of the reason is that the term BSD, which stands for "Berkeley Software Distribution" already includes the word "distribution". Of course, BSD was created more than 25 years ago and some of the software terminology invented back in those days is no longer used in the same way today. But the biggest objection by BSD folks seems to come from the fact that the world "distribution" is generally associated with Linux, which is something that some of them would like to avoid at all cost. I wouldn't consider this as a valid reason.
While the term "BSD distributions" is a strong favourite, let's also examine some alternatives for the headline announcements (instead of using "BSD Distribution Release: OpenBSD 3.5", what other term could we consider?
- BSD Operating System Release: or BSD OS Release: This might be a good name, except that a "distribution" is an operating system too. Besides, there is proprietary OS by Wind River called BSD/OS, which might cause confusion.
- BSD Project Release: or BSD Release: This is not too bad, although it gives an impression that there is only one BSD project. The truth is however that there are many more BSD-based projects than just FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD; one source I was reading recently claimed that there might be as many as 2500 BSD-based projects, including many embedded and proprietary systems. Remember that the BSD licence is very liberal when it comes to what one can do with the source code.
- BS Distribution Release: Well, this one will probably generate a few objections too :-)
What else? Any other suggestions? I don't want to make this into a big story, but the truth is that there seems to be a lack of a collective name for all of the BSDs, so we need to invent one. I would appreciate your input.
More BSD-related feedback
"BSD is an operating system, not a distribution. The only problem I have is calling the BSD releases 'distributions.' This confuses new readers. Call them operating systems or releases, not distributions."
"'BSD distributions' will cause less confussion among those who are new. This will convey the message that there are two type of distros one is Linux and other BSD. With your listing all under two different groups will make the basic concept very clear. DistroWatch main focus is ordinary user who needs some bearings when s/he embarks upon any search, your terminology will help them IMHO. I will vote for using 'BSD Distributions'."
I would disagree with the first poster too, simply because by definition, a (Linux) distribution is an operating system.
"Correct me if I am wrong, but as I understand it (mostly from reading this) is that there is only one BSD 'distribution', namely that developed by UC Berkeley, and the myriad of projects like FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD are 'flavours' of the one discontinued distribution. Thus, calling each of the 'flavours' of BSD separate 'distributions' is **technically** wrong."
I read the document in full and it is indeed a very good read. But my understanding is that BSD is a kernel + a base system, both of which are now developed independently by the individual BSD projects. How does this model differ from the way Linux distributions are developed? In terms of individual components, it seems to me that BSD is equivalent to Linux, BSD + base is (roughly) equivalent to Linux + GNU, and a BSD "distribution" is equivalent to a Linux distribution.
"There will soon be a number of BSD distros on the lists, which will create confusion as to which of them are GNU/Linux and which are BSD. Please think of a way to mark this distinction. You could just precede their name by an asterisk ALLOVER, or better a TILDE (asterisks may create confusion.)"
I would be against such distinction. This would somehow indicate that the "distributions" with a tilde (~) in front of their names are something special, giving an impression that perhaps they don't quite belong there. I would much rather let them coexist alongside all the Linux distributions. Those who are not sure if the project is BSD or Linux can simply click on the link and find out from the description.
The bottom line is simple: both BSD and Linux are great free operating systems. By including BSDs on what has always been a Linux only site, I am hoping that we can contribute towards educating visitors about alternative operating systems and to show you how these can be used to you advantage. Even if we know Linux well, there might be a situation where a high-performance and reliable OS such as FreeBSD is better suited for a certain task than Linux. If you need to deploy a high-security system, but SELinux in Fedora sounds too complex or buggy, why not consider OpenBSD? Instead of fighting over why one is better the other, let's accept that each of them has a place on our servers and desktops, in our OS ecosystem. We are indeed lucky to have so much great choice!
New additions
New on the waiting list
- SmartPeer. The SmartPeer project is a free, open source load balancing solution that runs off a single bootable CD-ROM. SmartPeer allows you to easily balance your web traffic to distribute the load across multiple servers, effectively reducing bandwidth bottlenecks that could potentially overload a single server. SmartPeer also gives you an easy way to keep your website running while individual web servers are removed from production for maintenance, replacement, or due to failure.
- Tablix on Morphix. Tablix on Morphix is yet another bootable CD based Linux distribution. As the name suggests, it is based on Morphix, a modular CD distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux. What is special about Tablix on Morphix is the automatic cluster configuration. This means that all you need for a functioning PVM3 cluster is a bunch of computers and a pile of Tablix on Morphix CDs. You just have to boot the master node of the cluster from the CD, click a few options on the screen, then boot as many slave nodes as you want and click OK on each. Tablix on Morphix comes preinstalled with all programs that are needed for solving timetable problems with Tablix, a GPL timetabling software using parallel genetic algorithm.
DistroWatch database summary
- Number of Linux distributions in the database: 287
- Number of BSD distributions in the database: 5
- Number of discontinued distributions: 33
- Number of distributions on the waiting list: 71
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| Reader Feedback |
Nothing newsworthy this week.
That's all for this week, 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 |
| Star Labs |
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| Random Distribution | 
DuZeru
DuZeru was a Brazilian Linux distribution based on Debian's "Stable" branch. It features thes Xfce desktop environment.
Status: Discontinued
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| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
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| 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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