 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 105, 20 June 2005 |
Welcome to this year's 25th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! This issue focuses on some of the interesting events of the past week, including the war of words between the Linux and BSD communities, the failure of Lycoris as a business model, and the surprising revelation that the founder of Gentoo and one of the leading Linux personalities has accepted a job offer from Microsoft. We also wonder why SUSE does not participate in this year's LinuxTag, introduce a Debian sarge variant "with a human face", and tell you how to get the latest release of Linspire for free. The featured distribution of the week is INSERT, a tiny security and rescue live CD. Happy reading!
Content:
News: OpenBSD vs Linux, Mandriva acquires Lycoris, Debian Pure
 Probably the biggest news of the past week was the controversy surrounding some of the comments allegedly made by OpenBSD's founder Theo de Raadt. In an article at Forbes.com (Is Linux For Losers?), Theo was quoted as saying that "[Linux] is terrible. Everyone is using it, and they don't realize how bad it is. And the Linux people will just stick with it and add to it rather than stepping back and saying, 'This is garbage and we should fix it.'" As expected, the reaction in the open source community to the article was rather vocal, with almost 1,200 comments on Slashdot alone.
Interestingly, as little as a week prior to the publication of the above article, Theo de Raadt was also interviewed by NewsForge. In it, while answering a question whether he believed that BSD was a technically more correct operating system than Linux, Theo replied: "I don't know. I have never run Linux."
The obvious contradiction found in the above two quotes leads to various speculations: 1. Until two weeks ago Theo had never used Linux, but then he spent a week going through tens of thousands of lines of kernel code just to learn "how bad Linux is". 2. Theo is not unknown for creating controversies just for the sake of them and he just happened to be in the mood for creating one last week. 3. Forbes.com twisted Theo's replies to make them sound more "sensational", a practice hardly uncommon among today's mainstream journalists.
So which one is it? Or do you have any other theory that would explain the sudden rise of bad blood between Linux and BSDs, both of which are well-proven operating systems powering many mission-critical computers? Please discuss below.
* * * * *
 Another (mildly) interesting news was the acquisition of the Lycoris Desktop/LX distribution by Mandriva, only a few months after the same company also acquired Brazil's Conectiva. Of course, by the time Mandriva bought Lycoris, the newly acquired company was down to just one employee - the founder and CEO of Lycoris Joseph Cheek. As such, the phrase "Mandriva acquired Lycoris" is roughly equivalent to "Mandriva employed a new developer", but that would not sound so good and would certainly not attract the attention of the media.
What does this acquisition mean? First of all, it means that Lycoris failed. Not as a distribution; in fact, many reviewers found Lycoris Desktop/LX a great operating system, quite capable of replacing Windows on the desktops of less technically inclined users without much loss in functionality. Rather, Lycoris failed as a business model. There is little doubt that Joseph Cheek is a talented developer who understands the needs of computer users better than most Linux developers today. But as a businessman and manager, his skills are not quite at the same level. The main reason for Lycoris to fail was, we believe, lack of open communication between the distribution's developers and their devoted users. How on earth can one justify discontinuing free downloads of their main product (despite having previously claimed that Desktop/LX will always be free to download) without communicating the decision to their users? And did they honestly think that removing the free download would result in higher sales figures? Even worse, any "negative" comments, including complaints about any aspect of Lycoris, were banned on the distribution's user forums and routinely deleted by the over-zealous moderators.
The final nail in the Lycoris' coffin was their customer service - or rather lack of it. Many users reported that they never received their product, even though their credit cards had been charged as much as 2 - 3 months prior to the product's shipping date! It turned out that Lycoris had outsourced the packaging and distribution of their products to a third-party entity, which was simply unable to carry out the task in a responsible manner.
It is not yet clear how this "acquisition" will affect Mandriva's product line. There is some talk that Joseph Cheek might be working on the "Discovery Pack", an entry-level distribution for non-technical users and first-time Linux converts. This is one product that would certainly benefit from Joseph's experience in designing user-friendly desktops for novice users. But this remains just a speculation at this time - after all, Mandriva's next release isn't due until around October.
Desktop/LX was a distribution with a likeable user interface, we are sad to see it go.
(full image size: 1,165kB)
* * * * *
 So how do you feel about the fact that Gentoo's founder Daniel Robbins now works for Microsoft? If you don't find anything wrong with the concept, let us re-phrase the above sentence: Daniel Robbins, one of the best-known and most talented Linux developers, is now working for a company that is known to have gone to extreme length to attack and discredit Linux at every opportunity and whose chairman has been actively lobby foreign governments for speedy adoption of software patents. Now that doesn't sound so innocent any more, does it?
Although Daniel Robbins is an excellent developer and writer (we still keep and often refer to many of his excellent Linux articles on IBM developerWorks), we also noticed, based on occasional pleas on Gentoo's mailing lists and forums, that he isn't very good with managing his financial affairs. He repeatedly stated that he had accumulated large debts during the past few years and that he had troubles paying them off. The Gentoo user community tried to help by organising "fund raising" for their fearless leader, but it seems that these efforts never helped to eliminated Daniel's financial problems.
He left the Gentoo project early last year. Many speculated that the main reason for his departure was the fact that working on Gentoo did not provide sufficient income for him to pay the bills, so he chose to seek formal employment with a regular pay cheque. But none of us would imagine in our wildest nightmares that the lucky company acquiring such talent will be none other than Microsoft, the biggest and most resourceful enemy of Linux and Free Software! Of course, we don't question his decision - after all Daniel is a free man and he is free to do whatever he thinks is best for himself and his family. However, we do feel the loss of some of the respect we had for Daniel for many years.
The moral of the story? Never get into debt. If you do, you might have to sell your soul to the devil just to save your family!
* * * * *
Speaking about Microsoft, it seems that the giant software maker has recently stepped up its anti-Linux campaign. Some readers have reported that, in certain regions, its "Get The Facts" advertisements are now displayed as Google AdSense text boxes; upon investigation, we found that Microsoft has registered a number of domain names, including getthefacts.com msgetthefacts.com, getthefacts.co.nz, and possibly some others, and is trying to pass these as "independent research studies comparing Windows with Linux". Even worse, Microsoft has succeeded in invading many so-called Linux advocacy sites around the world with its huge and often localised anti-Linux advertisements and banners plastered all over them. These businesses that are happy to pocket Microsoft's money in exchange for spreading its FUD and anti-Linux agenda include: LinuxPlanet.com, LinuxWorld.com, Japan.linux.com (in Japanese), Linux+ (in Polish), Root.cz (in Czech) and many other web sites. Even NewsForge.com has been carrying these banners.
As our regular readers know, we consider this practice unethical for any web site or business that uses and benefits from Linux and Free Software. We have been campaigning against such web sites in the past. We need to be more vigilant then ever - there are signs that Microsoft's "Get The Facts" crusade is very effective in convincing corporate managers and IT decision makers not to embrace Linux. It is essential that we put more pressure on these web sites to stop them from spreading anti-Linux propaganda. Luckily we have some good news in this respect - after suspending the Linux+ Live distribution from DistroWatch last week, we received an email from the Editor-in-Chief of the Polish Linux magazine saying that they had removed all Microsoft banners from the Linux+ web site. If we can all apply similar measures, stop visiting these sites and stop linking to their stories, maybe they will finally understand that they are actually hurting Linux, instead of helping its adoption.
* * * * *
 LinuxTag, the world's largest Linux exhibition, will open its doors to visitors later this week in Karlsruhe, Germany. Sadly, SUSE, one of the main backbones of the Linux movement in the host country, will not attend: "For the first time SUSE won't attend LinuxTag with a booth of their own. For the last years, SUSE maintained one of the largest booths and endless streams of visitors and business people went to their booth to get the new stuff. ... It's quite embarrassing that after Novell took over the steering wheel, the management is either not interested in the German market any more or simply doesn't understand it. Compare this to the 70 m² booth for Red Hat, 21 m² for Debian, 12 m² for Rock Linux, 9 m² for Arch Linux and even 36 m² for a company from Redmond I'm not going to name here."
On a related note, if you happen to be in the area and visit the show, don't forget to get the new KNOPPIX 4.0 live DVD and tell us what it's like!
* * * * *
 Despite all the improvements in version 3.1, the truth is that Debian still remains largely a developer's distribution without many of the user-friendly enhancements that other Linux distributions have been implementing in their own products. Luckily, for those users who don't want to spend hours on post-install configuration of Debian "sarge", here is an interesting alternative - Debian Pure: "Debian Pure is not about creating an additional distribution, rather, a CD that will help newer users with installing a Debian proper system along with common plugins (DVD, Flash, Java, and MPlayer). The CD includes options to install from CD or net and to install either GNOME or KDE desktops. Please download a copy and give it a try!" This sound like a great idea, especially since it remains 100% compatible with the Debian "sarge" repository. More information and download links here.
* * * * *
 If you are a Lycoris user and wonder which distribution to turn to next, here is a sweet offer from Linspire: "Linux is supposed to be free, but Linspire costs money, and $49.95 at that. But here’s how to get it free. You have to register a free account at linspire.com. Then go to the products, and click on Buy Now under Linspire Five-0. When you are in the Shopping Cart, click on Apply Coupon and then enter 'LycorisWelcome'. That will make Linspire free. Then just finish up the transaction and download the ISO when your done. I’m not sure how long this will last, so get it now. Enjoy!"
Web sites: ReviewLinux.com
Here is some news about an interesting web site for distribution reviews, called ReviewLinux.com, which was launched over the weekend: "Welcome to ReviewLinux.com. We are now open for your reviews of the various Linux distributions. Please feel free to sign up and become an author and let other users of Linux learn from your experiences with Linux! Point your RSS readers to our syndicate page and keep updated on our latest reviews." This sounds like a perfect place to exchange views and experiences with the many Linux distributions.
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| Featured distribution of the week: INSERT |
INSERT
The easy adaptability of Linux and open source software has given birth to a large range of security and rescue distributions and live CDs. Their purpose range from forensic analysis of compromised systems, to virus removal from Windows partitions and recovery of data from failed hard disks. One of the more interesting live CDs among these is Inside Security Rescue Toolkit, or INSERT for short, developed by Germany's Inside Security IT Consulting.
INSERT is a minimalist distribution that fits on a 50MB credit card-size CD, which makes it easy to carry around in a wallet. But despite its small size, the live CD boots into a graphical environment with Fluxbox, and includes a large number of useful applications for recovery tasks. The CD has read/write support for NTFS partitions, which together with the presence of ClamAV anti-virus software makes it a great tool for cleaning up infected Windows boxes. Besides NTFS, INSERT supports 22 other different file systems, including some compressed, obscure, and rarely used ones. For disaster recovery, the live CD comes with a number of partitioning tools, as well as various packages for forensic analysis (chkrootkit, foremost, rootkit hunter). The distribution also comes with excellent networking tools.
The INSERT live CD is released under the General Public License. To find out more, please visit the project's home page at inside-security.de.
INSERT - a 50MB live CD with a good range of forensic analysis and system recovery tools
(full image size: 198kB)
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| Released Last Week |
Fedora Core 4
Fedora Core 4 is out: "Ladies and Gentlemen, you may have *thought* you were using the latest and greatest in open source software, but folks, today we have something really, really exciting for you. It purrs. It hums. It mesmerizes. It is ... FEDORA CORE FOUR. That's right, the premier open source operating system has just turned 4 -- four releases that is! But before we tell you how much this is going to cost, here are a few of the fabulous features: GNOME 2.10, OpenOffice.org 2.0 prerelease, Eclipse and a 100% open source Java stack, Fedora Extras, KDE 3.4, PPC. All of that, yes, all of that. But, wait!, before you reach for your wallet, you should hear about a few more of Fedora Core 4's fabulous features...." Here is the full release announcement and, for the more serious types, also the release notes.
Lineox Enterprise Linux 4.026
Lineox Enterprise Linux has been updated to version 4.026: "Always Current Lineox Enterprise Linux 4.026 with Update 1 available. In the version 4.026 the installation environment is rebuilt, so it offers better hardware support during the installation. Compared to version 4.0 4.026 has 286 updated packages totalling 650MB and x86_64 release has even more. The x86_64 release requires either AMD Opteron or Athlon64 CPU based computer. Some new Intel Xeon and Pentium IV processors with EM64T will also be able to run this version." Read the release announcement and release notes (i386, x86_64) for more information.
Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 for AMD64 (Unofficial)
The ISO images of the unofficial port of Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 "sarge" to the AMD64 architecture are now available for download. The release was formally announced last week in this mailing list post: "Following the 'big' release we have a small one to announce: Debian AMD64 Port is now also declared stable. From now on there will be no changes to this archive, except for point releases which will be coordinated closely with the Debian ones. Security support for this release will be provided by the Debian Security Team via security.debian.org." See also the release notes for more details.
Pie Box Enterprise Linux 4 AS Update 1
Update 1 of Pie Box Enterprise 4 AS has been released: "Update 1 of Pie Box Enterprise Linux 4 was made available today. This update includes the following enhancements: improved disk dump capability (including SATA and megaraid support); updated Intel Centrino ipw2100/ipw2200 wireless drivers and firmware; driver updates; many platform hardware support updates and bug fixes; security updates, bug fixes, and feature enhancements to numerous system packages. Pie Box Enterprise Linux 4 is aimed at people who need a stable OS with a long lifespan but don't want an expensive bundled support contract. It is built from the source RPMs of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 AS with only four packages modified in order to remove Red Hat's trademarks." Here is the full release announcement.
Xarnoppix 3
Xarnoppix is a Knoppix-based live and installation CD with complete support for the Catalan language. The all new version 3 has been released with the following new features: included TuxType, TuxMath and other educational software; new GRUB boot menu with options to specify a persistent home, choose manual configuration, start as a thin client, perform a memory test, and other options; KDE, XFce and Fluxbox are the three available desktops; support for hard disk installation with the help of a simple graphical installer. See the release announcement (in Catalan) for further details.
Xarnoppix - a Knoppix-based distribution in Catalan with focus on education and young Linux users
(full image size: 372kB)
Slamd64 Linux 10.1
As the name suggests, Slamd64 Linux is a port of Slackware Linux to the AMD64 architecture. The project's first stable version has been released: "Slamd64 10.1 Final has now been released and is starting to hit the mirrors. Thanks for all of your help, support, testing, bug fixing (and reporting), and just generally being nice people. Mini-changelog: K3B fixed to not have libsamplerate dependency; TCL libdir symlinks fixed; added glibc-nptl into testing/; fixed typos in isolinux.cfg; linux32 packaging issue fixed; guile fixed; issues with OpenGL on systems not using NVIDIA's binary drivers fixed; wireless-tools missing .so fixed. As normal, ISOs and xdeltas from the previous release are available. Here is the complete release announcement.
Kurumin Linux 4.2
Kurumin Linux 4.2 has been formally released to public download mirrors. This is a minor incremental upgrade with the only noteworthy changes being some corrections and updates to the Kurumin scripts, panel and hard disk installer. Several packages have been upgraded to newer versions to synchronise the package set with that in Debian's testing branch. More information is available in the release announcement and release notes (both links in Portuguese).
Kurumin Linux 4.2 - now with OpenOffice.org, Java and many upgraded packages
(full image size: 929kB)
Litrix 3.0
Litrix 3.0 has been released. Unlike the distribution's previous releases, which were based on Slackware, the latest release is based on Gentoo Linux. This brings the power of Portage to Litrix, together with easy installation of software, better language support, excellent documentation, and a possibility to re-master the live CD with a simple script. Read the full release announcement (in Portuguese) for more information.
SLYNUX 2.0
As reported on CXOtoday.com earlier, SLYNUX is a new easy-to-use Linux distribution developed by a 15-year old Indian student Sarath Lakshman. The Knoppix-based live and installation CD comes with a wide variety of applications for web surfing, multimedia playback, image editing, and office tasks, as well as support for internal modems, digital cameras, printers, and most other common hardware. Besides English, the CD also includes Malayalam fonts and an on-screen keyboard for typing in Malayalam, the principal language of the South Indian state of Kerala. More information about the project can be found on its home page.
tinysofa classic server 2.0 Update 1
Update 1 of tinysofa classic server, a free enterprise-class distribution originally based on Trustix Secure Linux, has been released: "tinysofa classic server 2.0 Update 1 (Ceara) is now generally available. This is a major release which brings with it the first x86_64 edition of tinysofa classic server and incorporates all bug and security fixes released to date. 'Ceara' features: The Linux 2.6.11 kernel, grsecurity support, APT for advanced package management, the next generation PHP 5 environment (5.0.3), high availability features such as DRBD (0.7.10) and UCARP (1.1), the latest development tools and languages (GCC 3.4.3, Python 2.4), and much more." Visit the project's home page to read the release announcement.
Gnoppix 1.0
The developers of the Ubuntu-based Gnoppix project have released the first stable version of their live CD: "The Gnoppix project presents version 1.0 of the Gnoppix Linux live CD. Gnoppix 1.0 can be downloaded for the Intel i386 platform here. PowerPC and AMD64 platforms will be ready soon. Gnoppix 1.0 comes with GNOME 2.10." The release announcement can be read on the distribution's home page.
Gentoox 4.0
Gentoox is a Gentoo-based operating system for the Xbox. Version 4.0 "Home Edition" has been released: "So here it is, the one everyone's been waiting for... I proudly present Gentoox Home v4.0. Notable changes: Gentoox Loader v5.11; updated software as of 04-Jun-2005; fully sync-ed with magic as of 12-Jun-2005; Sparkle v1.5; removed LED tutorials - they are now part of the Loader; KDE 3.4.1; XFce 4.2.0; Switched to 2005.0/2.4 profile; Stardust is more friendly to v1.6 Xboxes with overscan." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information.
Ufficio Zero 0.5
Ufficio Zero is an Italian Linux distribution based on Arch Linux and targetting office environments. A new version was released earlier today. Changes in Ufficio Zero 0.5 include the following: usability improvements; addition of an image viewing application (gThumb); addition of the GNOME volume manager; automatic time synchronisation of the system clock (if network connection present); various bug fixes as reported by users (floppy formatting, CD audio software, browser bookmarks...). More details are available in the release announcement (in Italian).
MoLinux 1.2
MoLinux 1.2, code name "Dulcinea", has been released. This release is the first one to be based on Ubuntu Linux, rather than Debian and Progeny; subsequently, the Anaconda installer has been replaced with the new Debian installer, which, despite being a text-mode program, is more robust, has better hardware detection capabilities, and is easier to modify and maintain. A major new feature of this release is the integration of MoLinux-related documentation with GNOME help and documentation files in Yelp. MoLinux is built around the kernel 2.6.10, GNOME 2.10, Evolution 2.2.1, OpenOffice.org 1.1.3, and many other popular applications. Read the release announcement (in Spanish) for further details.
* * * * *
Development and unannounced releases
PCLinuxOS Preview 9 should be the last development release before version 1.0 expected later this year
(full image size: 518kB)
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Web Site News |
New distribution additions
- Slamd64 Linux. Slamd64 is an unofficial port of Slackware Linux to the x86_64 architecture.
- SLYNUX SLYNUX is a Knoppix-based live and installation CD designed with Linux beginners in mind. It comes with a wide variety of applications for web surfing, multimedia playback, image editing, and office tasks, as well as support for internal modems, digital cameras, printers, and most other common hardware. Besides English, the CD also includes Malayalam fonts and an on-screen keyboard for typing in Malayalam, the principal language of the South Indian state of Kerala. SLYNUX is developed by an Indian teenager.
* * * * *
New on the waiting list
- Educanix. Educanix is a Spanish live CD distribution designed for children between ages 3 and 10. The CD contains educational software for mathematics, geography, languages, etc, complemented by games for computer education and entertainment.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
That's all for today. We hope that you enjoyed this week's DistroWatch Weekly!
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
UberStudent
UberStudent was an Ubuntu-based distribution on a DVD designed for learning and teaching academic computing at the higher education and advanced secondary levels. UberStudent comes with software for everyday computing tasks, plus a core set of programs and features designed to teach and make easier the tasks and habits common to high-performing students of all academic disciplines. Lifelong learners, as well as any sort of knowledge worker, will equally benefit. UberStudent was supported by a free Moodle virtual learning environment.
Status: Discontinued
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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.
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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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