 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 118, 19 September 2005 |
Welcome to this year's 38th issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The major news of the past week was, of course, the release of Slackware Linux 10.2 - a distribution with a clear focus on simplicity, stability and reliability. Next on the release calendar: Mandriva Linux 2006 - with the second release candidate announced last week, we can't be too far off from the final release. Also in this issue: an explanation about the delay of KNOPPIX 4.0 CD edition, news about a live CD that uses Xen to boot a host operating system, and two free learning resources - one for OpenBSD and one for Linux. We also take a brief look at a new book for Xandros users - Linux Made Easy. Happy reading!
 Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in ogg (9.22MB) or mp3 (6.82MB) formats (courtesy of Shawn Milo).
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Content:
Slackware Linux 10.2 on the shelves
 The biggest news of the past week was, of course, the release of a brand new Slackware Linux, version 10.2. If you've had a chance to read the release announcement and release notes, you've undoubtedly noticed that Slackware 10.2 continues in its time-honoured tradition of being a simple and clean system, perhaps slightly on the conservative side in terms of the default kernel and package selection, but certainly a very secure and easy-to-maintain distribution. The default kernel remains the tried and tested 2.4 series, but an optional 2.6.13 kernel is available in the testing directory (it can be selected during installation). As expected, the latest Slackware no longer includes the GNOME desktop; its developers suggest that the GNOME fans use one of the independently packaged GNOME for Slackware, such as GWARE and Freerock GNOME.
Overall, Slackware Linux 10.2 seems like a nice release, perhaps not brimming with many exciting new features, but those who value stability and reliability in a Linux distribution will find plenty of reasons to upgrade.
Slackware Linux 10.2 - the latest version of Slackware Linux focuses on stability and reliability, rather than new features
(full image size: 274kB)
* * * * *
Mandriva Linux 2006 nearing release
 With the new Slackware release behind us, all eyes are now on the upcoming Mandriva Linux 2006. Slightly behind schedule, the second release candidate was finally announced last week, so it shouldn't be long before the code is frozen and the new release is out. There seem to be some changes (once again) with respect to the naming of the different editions - it appears that Mandriva is doing away with the name "Community" edition and replacing it with what is now called "Free" edition. It is likely that the initial release of the "Free" edition will only be made available to the Club members, with a general release following with a slight delay. The "Official" edition will probably still go through some post-release bug fixing, before it is packaged and sold in online and retails stores.
If you are interested to read a first-hand account of Mandriva's last-minute bug squashing efforts, here is an interesting report by one of Mandriva's contributors:
"We released RC2 on Wednesday morning, and already several important installer bugs and other vital infrastructure stuff has been fixed since. Final should be frozen very soon. Once it's frozen nothing moves for a while, at least in public, as final validation is done on the 'final' ISOs, and they're sent for duplication / printing and so forth. Once that's all done, the pre-ordered boxes are shipped and the ISOs made available to Club members, and the final FTP tree put on the public mirrors. You can, if you feel so inclined, jump the gun and upgrade to 'Cooker' during this period; since it's frozen, you effectively get the final release. Just remember to switch your urpmi media away from Cooker again when it gets unfrozen, or else you'll wind up with something horribly broken."
Based on early reviews and first impressions of the beta testers, Mandriva Linux 2006 is shaping out to be a well-tested and impressive release, with many new features and updated packages (no GNOME 2.12 though). As always, we'll keep a close eye on all sources of information coming out from Paris within the next week or two and let you know as soon as the new product is ready for public consumption. Stay tuned!
* * * * *
KNOPPIX 4 live CD delayed, Xenoppix launched
 Those of you who are desperately waiting for the new KNOPPIX 4 live CD will be pleased to learn that the new version is still under development, but due to a major technical issue, the release has been put on a temporary hold. Klaus Knopper:
"Since both the 4.0.2 DVD and CD versions are basically finished, there won't be a 4.0.1 CD version, but the upcoming 4.0.2 release instead. The only thing I'm desperately waiting for is Unionfs to get into a more stable state. At the moment, there are unacceptable instabilities when overwriting existing files on a mounted Unionfs directory multiple times, resulting in kernel oopses after update-menus when a new Debian package is being installed, and CUPS frequently segfaulting because the configuration file can't be rewritten. I would like to fix that, which is a pure Unionfs problem, before the release goes online."
The message also calls on volunteers to help the Unionfs team to find and eliminate the bugs, which is something that Klaus has had no success with so far, despite trying for the past two weeks. You can find the full mailing list message on here.
And while on the subject of KNOPPIX, a novel idea to combine the power of a bootable live CD with the Xen virtualisation engine has surfaced in a product called Xenoppix:
"We customized KNOPPIX to include a virtual machine monitor Xen. We call it 'Xenoppix'. Xenoppix sets up device drives using autoconfig function of KNOPPIX and enables to boot a guest operating system on Xen. X window System is prepared by KNOPPIX and the graphical user interface of the guest operating system is mapped to X11 using VNC full-screen mode. The guest OS can work as a server because it gets the IP address from an external DHCP server. The current Xenoppix includes two guest operating systems: NetBSD and Plan9."
Xenoppix, developed by a group of Japanese developers, is still in early beta with some known problems, but it will be interesting to watch the project evolve. The latest version of Xenoppix is based on the LinuxTag edition of KNOPPIX 4.0 - a 4GB live DVD, which can be downloaded from the project's home page.
* * * * *
New learning resources for OpenBSD and Linux users
Finally, two excellent online learning resources for new users of OpenBSD and Linux. The first one is entitled OpenBSD 101, a nicely formatted set of tutorials for OpenBSD 3.7. The pages include installation, tips and tricks, kernel patching and building, security suggestions, and information about updating an OpenBSD system with 'cvsup'. The tutorials are obviously written for users who are just starting up with OpenBSD and are very easy to follow - well worth a bookmark if you intend to install and administer a system running this popular BSD flavour.
The second tutorial is called FTLinuxCourse, written by Giovanni Orlando from the Italy-based FTOSX distribution. The author has extensive experience writing Linux training courses - he has written some for the old Caldera Open Linux and also Red Hat Linux. Although FTLinuxCourse used to be a commercial product sold in Italy, USA and other countries, the author has decided to release the 2004 edition as a free resource for all interested parties. The cross-platform web-based course can be accessed online, or it can be downloaded to your computer and opened with any browser. Here is the download link to the English edition: FTLinuxCourse_Complete-2004.tgz (337MB). Happy learning!
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| Book Review: Linux Made Easy |
Book Review: Linux Made Easy
 Up until fairly recently, most of the Linux books available in your local book store concentrated on system administration of Red Hat/Fedora systems, with perhaps one or two books covering some of the more "obscure" distributions (at least from the point of view of publishing houses), such as SUSE, Mandriva or Debian. It is only very recently that some publishers started paying attention to the lesser-known, beginner-friendly distributions, with the result that we now have new great books covering Linspire (Linspire 5.0 : The No Nonsense Guide by Eric Grebler) and MEPIS (Point & Click Linux! by Robin Miller). Joining the above two is a book specifically devoted to Xandros Desktop OS: Linux Made Easy by Rickford Grant.
First, let's make one thing clear right from the start - Linux Made Easy is not a book for geeks. Here, the command line is not touched until the final chapter starting on page 403; instead, users are taught to do everything from within the comfort of graphical applications. The early chapters provide a gentle introduction to the world of Linux, cover installation and introduce the Xandros desktop. This is followed by a very useful set of chapters introducing the reader to system configuration and administration (without actually calling it that), which includes setting up networking, file manipulation, and working with removable media. It also introduces the main custom applications of Xandros Desktop OS: Xandros File Manager, Xandros Control Center and Xandros Networks.
This is followed by extensive chapters on printing, scanning, digital imaging and working with PDA, before the book turns to major applications shipping with Xandros, including multimedia, office, games, and software for children. The book then concludes with the a brief section touching on the subject of most commonly-used command line tools, complemented by a number of projects making use of these commands. The book also includes a CD with the Open Circulation edition of Xandros Desktop 3, as well as coupons for 120 free SkypeOut minutes and a 20% discount on Xandros products.
But how does Linux Made Easy differ from the Xandros Desktop OS User Guide that ships with the Deluxe and Business editions of Xandros desktop? Firstly, the writing style is very different - while the Xandros User Guide is essentially a reference book, specialising in dry, step-by-step tutorials, Linux Made Easy has a friendly writing style, making the whole book much more enjoyable. Secondly, the content, although covering pretty much the same areas of the distribution, differs greatly. A good case in point is the scanner section. While the Xandros User Guide limits itself to a 7-step tutorial covering just one half of a page, Linux Made Easy devotes no less than 12 pages to scanning, guiding users through two complete projects as it touches on more advanced subjects of scanning resolutions and organising images.
Another case in point are the chapters dealing with DVD playback. While the Xandros User Guide simply states that encrypted DVDs cannot be played in Xandros Desktop, Linux Made Easy not only explains the concept of DVD encryption, it also provides a simple script that downloads and installs the required libraries for playing encrypted DVDs! Although the author states that he is not a lawyer, he also believes that there is nothing wrong with watching encrypted DVDs on a home computer - if one can do so legally on Windows or Mac OS, why not on Linux?
What makes Linux Made Easy an especially valuable book is the friendly writing style combined with a large number of useful tips and tricks, many of which can be used on any distribution, not just Xandros. Perhaps the only criticism of the book is the timing of its arrival on the market - some 9 months after the release of Xandros Desktop 3. Wouldn't it make more sense to publish such book while a Xandros release is still hot and exciting?
Apart from that, we believe that the book fills an important gap in the market and we highly recommend it to all users and fans of Xandros Desktop OS.
Title: Linux Made Easy
Author: Rickford Grant
Publisher: No Starch Press
Price: US$34.95
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| Released Last Week |
Games Knoppix 4.0.2-0.3
Games Knoppix live DVD, based on the recently released Knoppix 4.0, is now ready for your enjoyment: "Games Knoppix 4.0.2-0.3 is out! The new DVD-size version of Games Knoppix has been finally finished. A list of included games can be viewed here. I have to apologize that it took so long to include the songs of the song contest, but I had some misunderstandings with GEMA. But as promised, the songs are included now. In addition, there are three bonus songs from RaidShelter. I hope everyone is having a lot of fun with the DVD." See the release announcement on the project's home page.
Slackware Linux 10.2
Slackware Linux 10.2 has been released: "Announcing Slackware Linux 10.2! The second Slackware release of 2005, Slackware Linux 10.2 continues the long Slackware tradition of simplicity, stability, and security. Among the many program updates and distribution enhancements, you'll find two of the most advanced desktop environments available today: XFce 4.2.2, a fast and lightweight but visually appealing and easy to use desktop environment, and KDE 3.4.2, the latest version of the award-winning K Desktop Environment. Slackware uses the 2.4.31 kernel bringing you advanced performance features such as the ReiserFS journaling filesystem...." Read the rest of the release announcement and release notes for more details.
Slamd64 Linux 10.2
Slamd64 Linux is an independently developed port of Slackware Linux for AMD64 processors. Following the release of Slackware 10.2 earlier today, Slamd64 Linux 10.2 is now also out: "Slamd64 10.2 is now available. Slamd64 10.2 is based on the 2.6.12.4 kernel, and glibc 2.3.5 with added NPTL support. It includes the latest KDE 3.4.2 desktop environments, and lots of updates, fixes, and improvements over the 10.1 release. Please see the ChangeLog.txt file for a full list." This is the full release announcement.
Vine Linux 3.2
Vine Linux is one of the oldest and most popular Japanese Linux distributions. The newly released version 3.2 is a revision release, focusing on errata and security rather than adding major new features. Some of the package upgrades include kernel 2.4.31 and X.Org 6.8.2, while the distribution's installer, hardware support, available kernel modules and artwork have also undergone some changes. Read the full release announcement on the distribution's home page (in Japanese). As always, an existing installation of Vine Linux can be upgraded with the help of apt-get, but a new installation ISO image is also available for download.
Vine Linux 3.2 - a new revision release of the popular Japanese distribution
(full image size: 378kB)
* * * * *
Development and unannounced releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Ubuntu Linux 6.04
Although it is still a month or so before the new Ubuntu Linux 5.10 is released, the developers are already making plans for the next release - version 6.04 and code name "Dapper Drake": "The 6.04 release will be the culmination of 2 years hard work, with Warty, Hoary and Breezy having set the style and the pace. We want it to represent the fruit of that labour - it brings to a close this first major cycle of development for Ubuntu. It will be a release that people can plan for, participate in and build solutions on top of. It will get even more polish than we put into Breezy, so we think it deserves a name that reflects that polish. And so, after much deliberation, it has been decided that 6.04 will be known during development as: The Dapper Drake." Read the rest of the announcement for more details.
SUSE Linux 10.1
Similarly, the developers of SUSE Linux have also started with a preliminary planning of version 10.1, even before SUSE 10.0 is formally released. That's according to the distribution's roadmap: "Sep 29, 2005 - SUSE Linux 10.1 OSS alpha1 release." No further details are given, but it seems that the new OpenSUSE project intends to continue with the 6-monthly release cycle that worked well for SUSE in the past.
OpenBSD 3.8
The all new OpenBSD 3.8 will be released on November 1st. Greatly improved hardware support, several new tools, enhanced functionality of existing tools, OpenSSH 4.2, as well as over 3,200 ports - that's quite a bit to look forward to. The OpenBSD 3.8 page is now online with all the details. The product can be pre-ordered through the project's ordering system for US$45.00 + shipping.
Tilix 1.0
Tilix, a highly successful Bulgarian implementation of KNOPPIX with full localisation into Bulgarian, will reach version 1.0 on 26 September. The desktop-oriented distribution promises great hardware support, a new Qt-based hard disk installer, many package updates and other enhancements. More details can be found in this announcement, as well as on the newly redesigned Tilix.org web site (both links in Bulgarian).
OpenLab GNU/Linux 4
Tectonic has published an article providing some information about the upcoming release of OpenLab GNU/Linux, a South African distribution with focus on education: "The main installation CD will be available for free download on the Web by September 26. Two additional disks containing add-ons, language packs and a games collection will also be available in the complete distribution pack sold by OpenLab International. Although OpenLab started as a niche system in the education arena, it has since developed into a more mainstream distribution." More details can be found in this report.
* * * * *
Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Web Site News |
New mirror in Groningen, Netherlands
Thanks to Rogier van Gemert, a new DistroWatch mirror is now available in Groningen, Netherlands. It listens to the name of DistroWatch.nl and is updated in hourly intervals. Rogier has also been busy translating some of the distribution descriptions into Dutch - many thanks for this effort! And speaking about translations, we still haven't been able to complete work on a web-based infrastructure for translators, but this is now treated as a matter of high priority, so, hopefully, our international readers will notice some improvements in this respect in the not too distant future.
New distribution additions
New distributions on the waiting list
- Arco-debian. Arco-debian is a new Brazilian distribution, a single-CD edition of Debian with automatic hardware detection.
- X-DSL. X-DSL is a small but fully functional Linux distribution for the Xbox, based on Damn Small Linux.
DistroWatch database summary
That's all for this week. We hope you've enjoyed this issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1159 (2026-02-09): Sharing files on a network, isolating processes on Linux, LFS to focus on systemd, openSUSE polishes atomic updates, NetBSD not likely to adopt Rust code, COSMIC roadmap |
| • Issue 1158 (2026-02-02): Manjaro 26.0, fastest filesystem, postmarketOS progress report, Xfce begins developing its own Wayland window manager, Bazzite founder interviewed |
| • Issue 1157 (2026-01-26): Setting up a home server, what happened to convergence, malicious software entering the Snap store, postmarketOS automates hardware tests, KDE's login manager works with systemd only |
| • Issue 1156 (2026-01-19): Chimera Linux's new installer, using the DistroWatch Torrent Corner, new package tools for Arch, Haiku improves EFI support, Redcore streamlines branches, Synex introduces install-time ZFS options |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
ClearOS
ClearOS was a small business server operating system with server, networking, and gateway functions. It was designed primarily for homes, small, medium, and distributed environments. It was managed from a web based user interface, but can also be completely managed and tuned from the command line. ClearOS was available in a free Community Edition, which includes available open source updates and patches from its upstream sources. ClearOS was also offered in a Home and Business Edition which receives additional testing of updates and only uses tested code for updates. Professional tech-support was also available. Currently ClearOS offers around 100+ different features which can be installed through the onboard ClearOS Marketplace.
Status: Discontinued
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| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
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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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