 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 100, 16 May 2005 |
Welcome to the 100th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Read our brief roundup of interesting news bits with a quick look at the upcoming Debian Sarge release, new features in Ubuntu's "Breezy Badger", a fantastic resource for SUSE users and administrators, and an unofficial Alpha port of Fedora Core. Also in this issue - choose that perfect distribution with the Linux Distribution Chooser. Our featured distribution of the week is QiLinux, while the Tips and Tricks section investigates GRAMPS, a powerful genealogical application. Enjoy!
Content:
News: Sarge release notes, Breezy features, SUSE administration, Gentoo installer, Slackware and NPTL, Fedora for Alpha
 Much interesting has happened during the past week in the world of Linux distributions. We start this roundup of news with Debian - that's because there are indications that it won't be long before the much-awaited and much-delayed Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 "Sarge" is finally released. The release-critical bug count is at a record low and the release notes for all supported architectures are taking shape as we write this. These are especially important for those of you who are planning to upgrade their Woody servers to Sarge. The most important point of the upgrade section is the fact that the upgrade to Sarge should be performed by using the "aptitude" utility: "The recommended method of upgrading is to use 'aptitude', as described here. The built-in dependency analysis enables smooth upgrades and easy installations." It goes without saying that you should back up any critical data before launching the upgrade process.
 Although only a few weeks have passed since the release of Ubuntu Linux 5.04 "Hoary Hedgehog", the distribution's developers are already forming plans for their next release -- version 5.10 and code name "Breezy Badger" -- due out in October 2005. This will be the project's most ambitious release ever, with no fewer than 147 new features. Among the top priority features are Edubuntu (an Ubuntu edition suitable for classroom use), Laptop Mission (totally RAD laptop support); OEM installer, thin client integration, and Launchpad integration (to make it easier for users to perform actions such as getting involved in translations or reporting bugs). But this is just a tip of the iceberg and there are many others; see the Breezy Goals page for further details.
 If SUSE LINUX is your distribution of choice, then you absolutely must bookmark this newly updated SUSE LINUX Administration Guide (for version 9.3): "The SUSE LINUX Administration Guide provides background information about the way your SUSE LINUX system operates. This manual introduces you to Linux system administration basics, such as file systems, kernels, boot processes, and the configuration of the Apache web server. The SUSE LINUX Administration Guide has five major categories: Installation (system installation and configuration with YaST), System (special features of SUSE LINUX), Services, Administration and Appendix (important sources of information about Linux)." This has to be one of the most comprehensive SUSE guides ever published on the Internet. Highly recommended.
 Our last week's mini-review of Gentoo Linux resulted in a yet-another heated debate about the merits of an easy, graphical installer for this popular source-based distribution. Some users argued that they preferred the existing installation method providing a highly educational experience, while others claimed that using this method to install Gentoo on several systems (with different hardware) can be a pain, not to mention a waste of time. Whatever your view on the subject, the fact is that a graphical installer for Gentoo is currently being developed by the Gentoo Linux Installer Project. There is no release roadmap and no indication on when the new installer might be incorporated into Gentoo, but if you'd like to see the project's progress, have a look at these screenshots.
 Slackware Linux is finally getting NPTL (Native POSIX Thread Library) support: "Here's the (I'm sure) long awaited upgrade to Slackware's glibc to include support for NPTL. NPTL works with newer kernels (meaning 2.6.x, or a 2.4 kernel that is patched to support NPTL, but not an unmodified 'vanilla' 2.4 kernel such as Slackware uses) to provide improved performance for threads. This difference can be quite dramatic in some situations." There is no word on when Slackware will switch its default kernel to version 2.6, but given the stability of the recent kernel releases, this can be expected in the not too distant future. Find more information in the Slackware current changelog.
 Are any of you still using one of the Alpha processors? If so, you might be pleased to learn about Alpha Core, an unofficial port of Fedora Core to the Alpha architecture. The project's first official release, version 1.0 and code name "Svetlana", was made available last week in the form of four ISO images. Besides the distribution, the developers also provide a brief hardware compatibility list and user forums. For more information please visit the project's home page.
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Web sites: Linux Distribution Chooser
Are you still looking for that perfect distribution? If you are relatively new to Linux, here is a tool that might help - the Linux Distribution Chooser. All you need to do is to answer a few questions before the web-based application evaluates your answers and provides suggestions. Besides the main recommendation, it will also suggest a few alternatives that might have failed your evaluation in one way or another, but perhaps they could still play a part in your decision-making process. The web site is still in beta, but it is nicely designed and definitely usable. Have fun!
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| Featured distribution of the week: QiLinux |
QiLinux
QiLinux is a relatively new Linux distribution. Created by Silvan Calarco and his company QiNet located in Turin, Italy, QiLinux is not based on any other distribution, but rather built completely from scratch. The author's motivation for embarking on a road to develop a new distribution was to solve some of the "technical and architectural shortcomings" of the existing Linux distributions. The project's first stable release -- version 1.0 -- was announced in March 2004; this was followed by version 1.1 in August 2004 and version 1.2 earlier this month. A live CD edition of QiLinux was released towards the end of 2004. All QiLinux releases were made available for free download from the distribution's download servers and mirrors.
We installed the recently released QiLinux 1.2 on a test machine to check it out. An intuitive and functional graphical installer guided us through the installation process, before we booted into KDE, QiLinux's preferred desktop. Besides Free Software, the distribution also includes the proprietary NVIDIA and ATI drivers, and it even provides special menu entries for installing a handful of useful proprietary applications, such as the Flash plugin, Java Runtime Environment, MS Core fonts and Win32 multimedia codecs. The package management in QiLinux is handled by the apt-get port for RPM packages and its graphical front-end Synaptic. This provides not only convenient security and bug fix updates, but also an easy way to install new packages from pre-configured FTP servers.
QiLinux is certainly a very usable operating system with a few time-savers that will make life easier for new Linux users. There aren't any real ground-breaking features, but if you enjoy trying out different distributions and testing new releases, then QiLinux is worth the download. Check it out at QiLinux.it
QiLinux - a solid RPM-based distribution, but does it offer anything new?
(full image size: 498kB)
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| Released Last Week |
FreeBSD 5.4
FreeBSD 5.4 has been released: "The Release Engineering Team is happy to announce the availability of FreeBSD 5.4-RELEASE, the latest release of the FreeBSD Stable development branch. Since FreeBSD 5.3-RELEASE in November 2004 we have made many improvements in functionality, stability, performance, and device driver support for some hardware, as well as dealt with known security issues and made many bugfixes. FreeBSD 5.4-RELEASE supports the i386, amd64, ia64, pc98, sparc64, and alpha architectures and can be installed directly over the net, using bootable media, or copied to a local NFS/FTP server." Find more information in the release announcement and release notes.
Buffalo Linux 1.7.3
A new version of Buffalo Linux is out: "Buffalo Linux has gone LIVE! The install format for Buffalo has been changed from the traditional CD install approach to a 'Live' format (using Linux-Live scripts). To install on the hard drive simply click on the INSTALL icon and designate the partition. The current state of the Live environment is copied to hard drive. Also available on the System Admin menu is a 'BackUp' option that will create a Live-CD of your current hard drive partition. During Live-CD the kernel used is i586 (should work on all Intel, AMD, and clones). At install time, the best match of 4 kernels (i586, Pentium 3, Pentium 4, Duron/Athlon) is installed on the hard drive. All kernels are 2.6.11.8." Read the rest of the release announcement on the distribution's home page.
YES Linux 2.2.3
A new version of YES Linux has been released: "YES Linux Release Team would like to announce the immediate availability of YES Linux 2.2 Build 3. This is the third build of YES Linux 2.2. This release features more updates to features than to new features such as PHP, and Apache. The primary new feature is the addition of egs. Currently egs is a pre-release version, it is advised to not use for production use." Read the full release announcement more details about the new release.
IPCop Firewall 1.4.6
IPCop Firewall has been updated to version 1.4.6. Besides the usual security updates, the following represent the most important changes: "Upgrade to Snort 2.3.3 and use Oinkmaster 1.2 to update rules; for a static IP (not with PPP), remove default gateway before applying again in case it was changed; remove sitefinder workaround no more necessary and the address is reused; fix 'other countries' selection with eagle-usb interface; allow easydns and zoneedit to update without a HOSTNAME; fix dyndns IP behind router not updated correctly; disable HTTP OPTIONS method; fix wrong firmware selection during upload with Speedtouch; fix start Squid if enabled on blue or green...." Find more details in the release announcement.
Tao Live 4.01
Tao Live is the first Linux live CD based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. Version 4.01 is an update to an earlier release: "A new version of the Tao Live CD is available. Version 4.01 features: kernel 2.6.9-5.0.5.SquashFS1; support for USB storage of userspace; GNOME is the default desktop environment (KDE still included); support for French (Canada) and Spanish (Mexico) locales; update to busybox 1.00. Tao Live uses a Squash file system to fit 2 GB of programs into a standard bootable CD. OpenOffice.org, Firefox, Gaim, XMMS, K3B and many other programs are included. A few boot options are currently available." Here is the full release announcement.
KNOPPIX 3.8.2
An updated version of the KNOPPIX live CD has been released. From the changelog: "V3.8.2-2005-05-05 (update): dist-upgrade; kernel 2.6.11 update; the madwifi drivers are back; kwifimanager in KNOPPIX/network menu; OpenOffice 1.1.4 security update; swapping on knoppix.swp on a NTFS partition should now work; replaced Fabian Franz' original knoppix-installer with the version from Jörg Schirottke/Kanotix; fixed SCSI drivers in bootimage."
SimplyMEPIS 3.3.1
SimplyMEPIS 3.3.1 has been released: "MEPIS has begun shipping the SimplyMEPIS 3.3.1 bootable CD. This is a minor update from SimplyMEPIS 3.3. Changes include an update of packages to synchronize with the Debian pool as of April 20, 2005. ALSA mixer preconfiguration is fully automated, ISA sound card support is enhanced, serial_cs and rt2500 drivers are available, the ra0 wireless port is supported in the OS Center. Acrobat Reader has been updated to 7.0 and the mimetypes configuration has been modified to use Acrobat automatically. The MEPIS OS Center now includes a one-click selection of the Synaptic touchpad driver. RealPlayer has been updated. The preconfig for the firewall has been corrected to block access to the local apache web server...." Read the full press release for more information.
cAos 2
The cAos Foundation has announced the final release of cAos 2: "Announcing the formal release of cAos-2 for ia32 and x86_64! The cAos Foundation and the cAos Linux development team are proud to announce the public release of cAos Linux version 2. cAos Linux is a community-managed and openly-maintained distribution of Linux using the LSB standard RPM Package Manager. This release identifies the stabilization and validation of the core operating system as well as stabilization of the extended OS. Members of the community are invited to try, use and love this new Linux distribution! cAos Linux 2 is scheduled to be maintained for the next 3-5 years. During that time, it will maintain a stable core OS ABI as well as receive prompt security updates." Here is the complete release announcement.
BIG LINUX 2.1
A new version of BIG LINUX has been released. Besides being the first Linux distribution with 3D desktop capabilities (in GNOME and KDE), the most important improvement in BIG LINUX 2.1 is the ability to use a web cam with AMSN. The new release includes bug fixes for certain video cards and a handful of package updates. Those who have installed BIG LINUX on their hard disks can upgrade to the latest version by downloading a less than 7MB update file. Find more information and some impressive screenshots in the release announcement (in Portuguese).
Freeduc-cd 1.5
Freeduc-cd is a specialist live CD distribution specifically developed for use in primary schools. It is built around the light-weight XFce desktop environment and includes a large collection of educational software. Freeduc-cd 1.5, developed by the Organization for Free Software in Education and Teaching (OFSET) in cooperation with several other volunteer groups, was released recently: "Freeduc-cd 1.5 is a special version for primary education. Most of the software comes with an introduction note." Visit the project's home page for more complete information about the release.
grml 0.4
The grml distribution is a Knoppix-based live CD with a collection of GNU/Linux software especially for users of text tools and system administrators. Version 0.4 has been released with the following new features: "X.org server including new grml-x system ('grml-x'); Unionfs integration: full write support on CD; now it is possible to run, configure and install software without any workarounds; new init-system: switched from 'colors' to LSB-function style; iptstate running on tty10; vesafb-tng: advanced frame buffer technology; udev integration: just run 'mount /mnt/external1' to mount your USB stick; grml-terminalserver: boot grml via network (either via PXE or floppy disk)." See the release announcement for more details.
grml 0.4 - a KNOPPIX-based live CD featuring the light-weight WMI desktop
(full image size: 496kB)
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Development and unannounced releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Web Site News |
New distribution additions
- NST. Network Security Toolkit (NST) is a bootable live CD based on Fedora Core. The toolkit was designed to provide easy access to best-of-breed open source network security applications and should run on most x86 platforms. The main intent of developing this toolkit was to provide the network security administrator with a comprehensive set of open source network security tools. What we find rather fascinating with NST is that we can transform most x86 systems (Pentium II and above) into a system designed for network traffic analysis, intrusion detection, network packet generation, wireless network monitoring, a virtual system service server, or a sophisticated network/host scanner.
- Symphony OS. Symphony OS is a distribution of GNU/Linux based on the Debian GNU/Linux and KNOPPIX operating systems. Symphony will do things a bit differently than other Linux operating systems; making it easier to use and more intuitive than most existing distributions.
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New on the waiting list
- DCC/Live. DCC/Live (DCC is short for Debian Cluster Components project) is a Knoppix-based live CD providing a virtual DCC cluster environment, with three work nodes running UserMode Linux.
- Komodo Linux. Komodo Linux is a new desktop Linux distribution and live CD based on PCLinuxOS.
- EduLinux. EduLinux is a Chilean Linux distribution, developed by that country's Ministry of Education, with the goal of deployed it in schools around Chile. It is based on Fedora Core and K12LTSP Linux. (Note: this project does not seem to have any ties with EduLinux, a French Canadian distribution based on Mandrakelinux/Mandriva Linux.)
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Discontinued distributions
- SENTINIX. The SENTINIX project has announced that the project is closed and that the SENTINIX distribution is no longer being developed: "As of 2005-05-12 the SENTINIX project is no more. The primary reason is that I no longer have time/funds to continue development and, so far, no one has been interested in taking over the project." Find more information on the distribution's project page.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
- Number of Linux distributions in the database: 406
- Number of BSD distributions in the database: 11
- Number of discontinued distributions: 51
- Number of distributions on the waiting list: 116
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| Tips, tricks & hints (by Robert Storey) |
Genealogical software - GRAMPS
One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.
- Euripides, Greek playwrite
I must admit that I felt a sense of trepidation when I permanently erased Windows from my hard disk two years ago. It wasn't that I feared using Linux as my full-time OS - indeed, I relished the thought - but I was worried that I would lose some badly needed Windows application for which there was no open source equivalent. Mind you, I wasn't going to miss Clippy, but there were two classes of software that seemed to be lacking in the Linux collection - a good genealogical program, and software for drawing floor-plans. I may have more to say about drawing floor-plans in a future article, but my fear of missing genealogical software proved to be misplaced thanks to GRAMPS.
GRAMPS - the Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System - found its way into the vast Debian archive at just about the time when I needed it. My brother, along with some long-lost relatives he found on the Internet, had just decided to embark on a major project to construct our family tree. And that tree proved to be far vaster than we could have imagined, spanning four continents and involving over 3700 people (both living and dead). Any thoughts I originally entertained about just using a simple text editor or spreadsheet for the project were quickly jettisoned - we needed a dedicated genealogical program.
GRAMPS - a genealogy program for Linux and FreeBSD that allows you to easily build and keep track of your family tree
It didn't take much research to discover that the gold standard of genealogy programs is Personal Ancestral File (PAF), available from the LDS Church. However, the champ for user-friendliness was (and probably still is) Family Treemaker for Windows. Both PAF and FTW are Windows programs - not acceptable for me, but this suited my brother just fine.
Although I was not doing the research myself, I was very interested in seeing the results. Therefore, I was greatly relieved to discover that there is an industry-standard genealogy database file format called GEDCOM (GEnealogical Data COMmunications). A GEDCOM file will usually end with the extension of .ged or .GED (keep in mind that Windows is not case-sensitive, but Linux is). GRAMPS actually creates a database in XML format, but has no problem importing GEDCOM files. FTW does not use GEDCOM as its default file format, but it can export GEDCOM files, so there was absolutely no problem sharing data.
Well, let me take that back. GRAMPS did experience a minor hiccup when I first imported the GEDCOM file my brother sent to me. I received numerous error messages like these:
Warning: line 33705 was not understood, so it was ignored.
2 PHON (718) 692-3716; fax: 951-6968
Warning: line 34103 was not understood, so it was ignored.
2 PHON (021) 236-3828
GRAMPS does have a field for phone numbers, so I remain uncertain as to why the phone numbers were rejected.
Another issue when importing data - FTW has some fields which do not exist in GRAMPS. For example, for people who have an alias, FTW provides a field called Also Known As (AKA), but GRAMPS does not have this field. When I imported a FTW GEDCOM file, the Also Known As data was accepted by GRAMPS, but wound up in the wrong field (the alias was misidentified as the birth name). Also, FTW indexes Also Known As names - not surprisingly, after importing these names didn't appear in the GRAMPS index. From what I have heard from my Windows-using friends, this kind of thing is a common problem in sharing GEDCOM files between different programs, so it's not just a GRAMPS issue. The GRAMPS FAQ even states this quite clearly:
"It is important to understand that the GEDCOM standard is poorly implemented -- virtually every genealogical software has its own "flavor" of GEDCOM.."
Nevertheless, the above-mentioned problems were minor, and won't affect you at all if you're not importing data from other programs.
One little feature in the way GRAMPS has the Family page set up is actually nicer than FTW. In GRAMPS, Relationships displays all spouses (for those who have been married more than once). In FTW only one "preferred" spouse is displayed at a time. In FTW, there is an icon to check a list for other spouses.
There are other differences as well. FTW displays place of birth and death on the family page. GRAMPS produces a Pedigree tree (which is in fact an ancestor tree), but not a descendant tree. FTW makes ancestor trees, descendant trees and can make an hourglass tree. FTW also boasts a lot of options for displaying chart data. Indeed, FTW has an option to create a chart of everyone in the file, but you wouldn't want to use that for a very big file (it could just lock up from insufficient resources, and it can get very confusing in how it places the up and down relationships). GRAMPS is written in Python, which makes it easy for third parties to develop plug-in charting capabilities.
I noticed that GRAMPS seems to take notes and put those into the index of place names, not knowing that these are not place names.
FTW automatically saves the file as it is when you close it. GRAMPS has a better idea - it gives you a choice whether to save the changes.
GRAMPS is well-documented. Click on the Help menu and you'll find a very useful FAQ and user manual.
If you're a Debian user, you'll find GRAMPS in Sarge (but not Woody). There are plenty of RPM files drifting around - try rpmfind.net. Otherwise, grab a source tarball. GRAMPS is dependent on the GTK+ and GNOME libraries (though you don't need to be running GNOME).
Of course, nice as GRAMPS is, it won't do your genealogical research for you. That involves digging through birth, death and immigration records, most of which exist only on printed paper. Just as soon as somebody writes an open source program that will do this, you can rest assured that we will report the story here on DistroWatch.
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That's all for today. We hope that you enjoyed this week's DistroWatch Weekly!
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 789 (2018-11-12): Fedora 29 Workstation and Silverblue, Haiku recovering from server outage, Fedora turns 15, Debian publishes updated media |
| • Issue 788 (2018-11-05): Clu Linux Live 6.0, examining RAM consumpion, finding support for older CPUs, more Steam support for running Windows games on Linux, update from Solus team |
| • Issue 787 (2018-10-29): Lubuntu 18.10, limiting application access to specific users, Haiku hardware compatibility list, IBM purchasing Red Hat |
| • Issue 786 (2018-10-22): elementary OS 5.0, why init keeps running, DragonFly BSD enables virtual machine memory resizing, KDE neon plans to drop older base |
| • Issue 785 (2018-10-15): Reborn OS 2018.09, Nitrux 1.0.15, swapping hard drives between computers, feren OS tries KDE spin, power savings coming to Linux |
| • Issue 784 (2018-10-08): Hamara 2.1, improving manual pages, UBports gets VoIP app, Fedora testing power saving feature |
| • Issue 783 (2018-10-01): Quirky 8.6, setting up dual booting with Ubuntu and FreeBSD, Lubuntu switching to LXQt, Mint works on performance improvements |
| • Issue 782 (2018-09-24): Bodhi Linux 5.0.0, Elive 3.0.0, Solus publishes ISO refresh, UBports invites feedback, Linux Torvalds plans temporary vacation |
| • Issue 781 (2018-09-17): Linux Mint 3 "Debian Edition", file systems for SSDs, MX makes installing Flatpaks easier, Arch team answers questions, Mageia reaches EOL |
| • Issue 780 (2018-09-10): Netrunner 2018.08 Rolling, Fedora improves language support, how to customize Kali Linux, finding the right video drivers |
| • Issue 779 (2018-09-03): Redcore 1806, keeping ISO downloads safe from tampering, Lubuntu makes Calamares more flexible, Ubuntu improves GNOME performance |
| • Issue 778 (2018-08-27): GuixSD 0.15.0, ReactOS 0.4.9, Steam supports Windows games on Linux, Haiku plans for beta, merging disk partitions |
| • Issue 777 (2018-08-20): YunoHost 3.0.0.1, limiting process resource usage, converting file systems on Fedora, Debian turns 25, Lubuntu migrating to Wayland |
| • Issue 776 (2018-08-13): NomadBSD 1.1, Maximum storage limits on Linux, openSUSE extends life for 42.3, updates to the Librem 5 phone interface |
| • Issue 775 (2018-08-06): Secure-K OS 18.5, Linux is about choice, Korora tests community spin, elementary OS hires developer, ReactOS boots on Btrfs |
| • Issue 774 (2018-07-30): Ubuntu MATE & Ubuntu Budgie 18.04, upgrading software from source, Lubuntu shifts focus, NetBSD changes support policy |
| • Issue 773 (2018-07-23): Peppermint OS 9, types of security used by different projects, Mint reacts to bugs in core packages, Slackware turns 25 |
| • Issue 772 (2018-07-16): Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre 0.2.4, UBports running desktop applications, OpenBSD auto-joins wi-fi networks, boot environments and zedenv |
| • Issue 771 (2018-07-09): Linux Lite 4.0, checking CPUs for bugs, configuring GRUB, Mint upgrade instructions, SUSE acquired by EQT |
| • Issue 770 (2018-07-02): Linux Mint 19, Solus polishes desktop experience, MintBox Mini 2, changes to Fedora's installer |
| • Issue 769 (2018-06-25): BunsenLabs Helium, counting Ubuntu users, UBports upgrading to 16.04, Fedora CoreOS, FreeBSD turns 25 |
| • Issue 768 (2018-06-18): Devuan 2.0.0, using pkgsrc to manage software, the NOVA filesystem, OpenBSD handles successful cron output |
| • Issue 767 (2018-06-11): Android-x86 7.1-r1, transferring files over OpenSSH with pipes, LFS with Debian package management, Haiku ports LibreOffice |
| • Issue 766 (2018-06-04): openSUSE 15, overview of file system links, Manjaro updates Pamac, ReactOS builds itself, Bodhi closes forums |
| • Issue 765 (2018-05-28): Pop!_OS 18.04, gathering system information, Haiku unifying ARM builds, Solus resumes control of Budgie |
| • Issue 764 (2018-05-21): DragonFly BSD 5.2.0, Tails works on persistent packages, Ubuntu plans new features, finding services affected by an update |
| • Issue 763 (2018-05-14): Fedora 28, Debian compatibility coming to Chrome OS, malware found in some Snaps, Debian's many flavours |
| • Issue 762 (2018-05-07): TrueOS 18.03, live upgrading Raspbian, Mint plans future releases, HardenedBSD to switch back to OpenSSL |
| • Issue 761 (2018-04-30): Ubuntu 18.04, accessing ZFS snapshots, UBports to run on Librem 5 phones, Slackware makes PulseAudio optional |
| • Issue 760 (2018-04-23): Chakra 2017.10, using systemd to hide files, Netrunner's ARM edition, Debian 10 roadmap, Microsoft develops Linux-based OS |
| • Issue 759 (2018-04-16): Neptune 5.0, building containers with Red Hat, antiX introduces Sid edition, fixing filenames on the command line |
| • Issue 758 (2018-04-09): Sortix 1.0, openSUSE's Transactional Updates, Fedora phasing out Python 2, locating portable packages |
| • Issue 757 (2018-04-02): Gatter Linux 0.8, the UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook, Red Hat turns 25, super long term support kernels |
| • Issue 756 (2018-03-26): NuTyX 10.0, Neptune supplies Debian users with Plasma 5.12, SolydXK on a Raspberry Pi, SysV init development |
| • Issue 755 (2018-03-19): Learning with ArchMerge and Linux Academy, Librem 5 runs Plasma Mobile, Cinnamon gets performance boost |
| • Issue 754 (2018-03-12): Reviewing Sabayon and Antergos, the growing Linux kernel, BSDs getting CPU bug fixes, Manjaro builds for ARM devices |
| • Issue 753 (2018-03-05): Enso OS 0.2, KDE Plasma 5.12 features, MX Linux prepares new features, interview with MidnightBSD's founder |
| • Issue 752 (2018-02-26): OviOS 2.31, performing off-line upgrades, elementary OS's new installer, UBports gets test devices, Redcore team improves security |
| • Issue 751 (2018-02-19): DietPi 6.1, testing KDE's Plasma Mobile, Nitrux packages AppImage in default install, Solus experiments with Wayland |
| • Issue 750 (2018-02-12): Solus 3, getting Deb packages upstream to Debian, NetBSD security update, elementary OS explores AppCentre changes |
| • Issue 749 (2018-02-05): Freespire 3 and Linspire 7.0, misunderstandings about Wayland, Xorg and Mir, Korora slows release schedule, Red Hat purchases CoreOS |
| • Issue 748 (2018-01-29): siduction 2018.1.0, SolydXK 32-bit editions, building an Ubuntu robot, desktop-friendly Debian options |
| • Issue 747 (2018-01-22): Ubuntu MATE 17.10, recovering open files, creating a new distribution, KDE focusing on Wayland features |
| • Issue 746 (2018-01-15): deepin 15.5, openSUSE's YaST improvements, new Ubuntu 17.10 media, details on Spectre and Meltdown bugs |
| • Issue 745 (2018-01-08): GhostBSD 11.1, Linspire and Freespire return, wide-spread CPU bugs patched, adding AppImage launchers to the application menu |
| • Issue 744 (2018-01-01): MX Linux 17, Ubuntu pulls media over BIOS bug, PureOS gets endorsed by the FSF, openSUSE plays with kernel boot splash screens |
| • Issue 743 (2017-12-18): Daphile 17.09, tools for rescuing files, Fedora Modular Server delayed, Sparky adds ARM support, Slax to better support wireless networking |
| • Issue 742 (2017-12-11): heads 0.3.1, improvements coming to Tails, Void tutorials, Ubuntu phasing out Python 2, manipulating images from the command line |
| • Issue 741 (2017-12-04): Pop!_OS 17.10, openSUSE Tumbleweed snapshots, installing Q4OS on a Windows partition, using the at command |
| • Issue 740 (2017-11-27): Artix Linux, Unity spin of Ubuntu, Nitrux swaps Snaps for AppImage, getting better battery life on Linux |
| • Issue 739 (2017-11-20): Fedora 27, cross-distro software ports, Ubuntu on Samsung phones, Red Hat supports ARM, Parabola continues 32-bit support |
| • Issue 738 (2017-11-13): SparkyLinux 5.1, rumours about spyware, Slax considers init software, Arch drops 32-bit packages, overview of LineageOS |
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| Random Distribution | 
Netrunner
Netrunner is a Debian-based distribution featuring a highly customised KDE desktop with extra applications, multimedia codecs, Flash and Java plugins, and a unique look and feel. The modifications are designed to enhance the user-friendliness of the desktop environment while still preserving the freedom to tweak. A separate "Rolling" edition, based on Manjaro Linux, was launched in 2014, was discontinued and was re-launched in 2017.
Status: Active
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