 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 156, 19 June 2006 |
Welcome to this year's 25th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! There is a lot to look forward to this week - a brand new release of Xandros Desktop is expected to start shipping on Wednesday, while the first test build of Fedora Core 6 should be available from Fedora mirrors on the same day. In other news: Slackware 11.0 nears its release point, OpenSolaris celebrates its first birthday, and SCO becomes a victim of a strangely believable hoax that excites some of the former users of Caldera OpenLinux. In the "First Looks" section you'll find a round-up of currently available BSD-based live CDs, while in the "Site News" area we present the list of packages that have been selected as new entries into the database of software packages tracked by DistroWatch. Happy reading!
Content:
 Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG format (4.2MB)
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in MP3 format (5.0MB)
(The Podcast edition is provided by Shawn Milo.)
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
|
| Miscellaneous News |
Fedora 6 Test1, Slackware 11.0, OpenSolaris birthday, Dapper sources.list, Caldera hoax
 With the release of the first alpha build of SUSE Linux 10.2 last week, the beginning of a new development cycle for the major Linux distributions is now officially in progress. This week, it's the turn of the Fedora Project which is expected to release Test1 of Fedora Core 6 on Wednesday. Although very little information has been published about the new release, looking through the package list of the Fedora development tree, we can see that parts of GNOME 2.15, a pre-release version of glibc 2.5, and the brand new X.Org 7.1 have all entered the testing branch. The Fedora developers have yet to move to the new kernel 2.6.17, while the KDE is the slightly older 3.5.2, but most other packages are highly up-to-date. Interestingly, a recent beta release of GnuCash 2.0 has now replaced the "behind-the-times" 1.8 series, which suggests that GTK+ 1.x libraries are likely to be removed from the distribution before the final release of Fedora 6. A word of caution: all recent Test1 releases of Fedora Core have been rather buggy and should only be installed by serious beta testers willing to report bugs.
* * * * *
 It shouldn't be too long before the fans of Slackware Linux are greeted with a new release of the world's oldest surviving Linux distribution. According to the latest Slackware Current ChangeLog, Patrick Volkerding believes that the "current" tree is very stable and almost ready for release: "Although there's still quite a bit in the TODO queue here I'm making my steps carefully as -current is very stable, and I think it should ship as a stable 11.0 soon so that we can get back to the business of breaking things in -current. :-)" Despite the major version number change, those who expect Slackware 11.0 to default to kernel 2.6 will be disappointed - the "current" tree still deploys kernel 2.4.32 (compiled with GCC 3.4.6), with kernel 2.6.16.20 stubbornly remaining in the "testing" directory. Among other important packages, glibc is the older 2.3.6, X.Org is version 6.9.0 and PHP 5 is also in the testing directory, but the rest of the system is up-to-date. For more details please check out the above-mentioned changelog and the Slackware page here on DistroWatch. The official Slackware 11.0 DVD is available for pre-order from the distribution's online store (US$59.95).
* * * * *
 The OpenSolaris Project is 1-year old. To celebrate the project's birthday, ZDNet has published an article entitled OpenSolaris one year on: Success or failure?, which looks at the events of the past year: "In June 2005, Sun Microsystems released core elements of its flagship Solaris operating system as open source software, making public more than five million lines of code. The announcement sparked intense interest among developers." The article quotes statistical evidence and several external contributors to indicate a growing developer community and general success of the project. Although released under a special license, OpenSolaris is considered Free Software. During the past year, several OpenSolaris-based distribution were listed on DistroWatch; these include the excellent BeleniX graphical live CD, the non-graphical SchilliX live CD, and the promising Nexenta OS, which is probably the best Solaris-based desktop distribution created to-date. There is little doubt that the availability of OpenSolaris has given us another great, free operating system, which can't be a bad thing. So happy birthday, OpenSolaris! We are glad you've joined the Free Software community!
* * * * *
 Several web sites have published entertaining interviews with major distribution personalities last week. Pro-Linux.de, a German Linux web site, has interviewed Anthony Towns, the current Debian Project Leader (DPL), and Steve McIntyre, one of DPL's deputies, about the current status and future plans of Debian GNU/Linux. In the meantime, the ever so busy Kevin Carmony of Linspire has answered dozens of questions for the Free Software Magazine about the new Freespire distribution. Finally, KDE Dot News has published an interview with Tomáš Matějíček, the founder and lead developer of the popular SLAX live CD. Enjoy!
* * * * *
 If you are looking to enhance your Ubuntu and Kubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake installation with extra packages from external repositories, this web log post is the most comprehensive list of available software for Dapper we've seen. It includes repositories for the Opera browser, Penguin Liberation Front packages, the latest KDE, KOffice and amaroK, up-to-date packages for VLC, Compiz, Skype, Freevo, MythTV and other popular software, as well as a number of unofficial and experimental repositories created by volunteers all over the world. As always, these packages are unsupported and some might even break your system, so proceed with caution. But if you absolutely need a package for your Ubuntu or Kubuntu system, getting it from the repositories listed in the above-mentioned link might be a better option than compiling the required package from source code.
* * * * *
 Development of Tao Linux, a distribution built by re-compiling the source RPM packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, has been terminated. As explained by the project's founder David Parsley, a change of employment means that he will no longer have the time to maintain the distribution, which was originally launched with a promise to deliver 5-years' worth of security updates for each new release: "After nearly three years of the Tao Linux project, I'm undergoing an unexpected change in employment that will effectively take away my time for working on Tao Linux." As a result, all Tao Linux users are now encouraged to migrate to CentOS, a community project with similar objectives as Tao Linux. For more information and instructions about how to switch to CentOS please visit the project's web site at TaoLinux.org.
* * * * *
 Finally, a little late for April Fool's, but nevertheless an entertaining hoax announcing that SCO will resume the development of Caldera OpenLinux, a Linux distribution first launched back in 1996. Although Caldera OpenLinux never reached the popularity of Red Hat Linux, it was the first distribution incorporating a graphical installer and its eDesktop 2.4, released in February 2000, was widely considered to be one of the best desktop-oriented and stable Linux operating systems at the time. Unfortunately, after merging with SCO, the company changed its strategy from developing software to pursuing dubious copyright and patent violation claims against IBM and other companies in courts. While SCO still offers a range of UNIX products for sale on its web site, the company's income and share price have dropped considerably in recent years.
Caldera OpenLinux 3.1.1, released in January 2002, was the last distribution version released under the Caldera brand name
(full image size: 203kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
|
| First Looks |
A comparison of BSD live CDs (by Andrei Raevsky)
GNU/Linux live CDs are increasingly playing an important role in the free software community. They serve as advocacy tools, they make it possible for newbies to try out software without having to install anything and they make fantastic rescue disks. While all the best known live CDs are GNU/Linux variants, there are also several *BSD live CDs out there. I decided to give them a test run.
I tested all the BSD live CDs I could get my hand on: FreeSBIE 1.1, FreeBSD LiveCD 1.2, Frenzy 0.3, AnonymOS 2006, OliveBSD 3.8 and NetBSD Live! 1.6 (editor's note: a newer release of NetBSD Live!, version 3.99.7, is available from here). Each distro was tested on two desktops (a home-built AMD Duron 850MHz, 256MB RAM with generic components and a Hewlett-Packard Intel Celeron 500MHz, 256MB RAM) and two laptops (a Dell Inspiron 8200, Intel Pentium 4 1.8GHz and 885MB RAM and a Quantex N30W, Intel Pentium 3 450MHz and 192MB RAM). I pre-tested all my computers for possible problems with a KANOTIX 2005-04 live CD before beginning my evaluations.
First, I wanted to see how these distributions would perform in terms of hardware recognition (in particular video configuration) and smooth installation, ease of use, documentation, speed and overall versatility (capability to dial-up, software choice, etc.). My second goal was to see whether these live CDs would be adequate advocacy tools for free software in general and for *BSD in particular.
FreeSBIE only booted properly on the home-built machine and the Quantex laptop. When it can successfully boot, FreeSBIE offers a great choice of applications on the XFce desktop (Fluxbox is also available), runs rather fast and comes with some good configuration scripts. On the down side, the documentation is minimal and the video configuration is less than stellar.
FreeSBIE 1.2 - the original live CD based on FreeBSD
(full image size: 700kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
FreeBSD LiveCD immediately showed its major drawback: it is wholly CLI which is a show-stopper for the newbie I assumed. On the positive side I noted good hardware recognition and a solid choice of CLI software. On the FreeBSD live CD website it says that "we had even made a Live CD ISO that could run as a desktop environment - with lots of graphical applications. This version was a first one that could even be used as a FreeBSD demonstration disk". Sadly, I was unable to obtain this version.
Frenzy is the only distribution which seamlessly booted up on all my computers. Frenzy is fast, comes with an excellent choice of software including games, word-processing (AbiWord), network and security applications and can be booted in either of two languages: English and Russian (the latter is the default and English speakers have only 5 short seconds during the boot up process to hit the "e" key to select English). Frenzy also features a simple but very good documentation. But the most amazing thing about Frenzy is that it completely fits on a 200MB 3" mini-CD. Developed by on person, Sergei Mozhaisky, Frenzy version 1 should be released in the near future (editor's note: Frenzy 1.0 was released in early June 2006) with, hopefully, a 'toram' cheatcode making it possible to load it completely into the RAM and free the CD drive.
Frenzy 1.0 - a FreeBSD-based live CD with tools for system and network administrators
(full image size: 882kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
AnonymOS is, like FreeBSD Live CD, a specialized distribution whose sole aim is to make surfing private and safe. After an (endless) boot-up process, AnonymOS correctly loaded up on only two out of four computers (the home-built machine and the Dell laptop). While AnonymOS offers some otherwise very interesting software, such as Tor and Privoxy, its highly specialized goal makes it inadequate as distribution aimed at BSD newbies.
AnonymOS - an OpenBSD-based live CD with tools for anonymous web surfing
(full image size: 166kB, resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
OliveBSD was the biggest disappointment of all my tests. It was unable to boot-up on any of my computers: each time it simply froze and only a manual reboot could unlock the machine. After seeing that there are quite a few very happy OliveBSD users on the distribution's discussion group I decided that the problem with OliveBSD was probably simply due to bad luck and that another set of computers might have yielded better results.
OliveBSD - a general-purpose live CD based on OpenBSD
(full image size: 118kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
NetBSD Live! booted on two of my machines, the home-built computer and the Quantex laptop. The choice of software is excellent as NetBSD Live! is the only BSD live CD which comes with the complete KDE desktop suite, something which, I guess, any user would very much appreciate. NetBSD Live! is not the fastest distro I tested (Frenzy won in this category too), but it runs at a decent speed. Another strong point for NetBSD is that it did a great job automatically configuring the video.
NetBSD Live! - the only BSD live CD using the KDE desktop
(full image size: 399kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
My overall impression was that BSD live CDs are not on par (yet) with their GNU/Linux cousins, but that they are catching up fast. The clear winner from my, admittedly unscientific, evaluation was Frenzy, which was the only distribution to perform (almost) flawlessly on all my machines. Although clearly intended as a security/rescue tool for administrators, Frenzy is certainly the distribution which would offer the most to the newbie (including very good documentation).
I hope that the final version of Frenzy 1.0 will iron out some of the remaining issues (such as not quite perfect video configuration) and will offer the 'toram' cheatcode. Considering how solid Frenzy 0.3 has proved to be so far I would also hope that Sergei Mozhaisky would consider developing a less specialized 700MB version of his distro.
One small improvement which, I believe, all these distros could make to help newbies would be to add a simple mount/unmount tool like, for example, what is found in the Damn Small Linux distribution.
|
| Released Last Week |
Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Server SPARC64
A specialist server edition of Ubuntu 6.06 designed for high-end SPARC64 processors has been released: "The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the release of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS server for Sun SPARC 64-bit architecture. Highlights of this release include: new kernels targeted at server platforms, the server kernels are tuned differently than the desktop kernels (providing better performance for server applications); turn-key LAMP installation for this common deployment scenario; improved support for clusters and SANs." Please refer to the release announcement for further information and download links.
GParted LiveCD 0.2.5-1
Patrick Verner has announced the availability of an updated version of GParted LiveCD: "GParted LiveCD 0.2.5-1. I think this might be the best version of the live CD released so far. Many issues have been fixed and I spent some time making it look better. Junel Mujar made a very cool wallpaper for the desktop. Changes: updated to Linux kernel 2.6.16.20, Parted 1.7.1, e2fsprogs 1.39, GTK+ 2.8.19, Fluxbox 1.0rc, udev 094; Added xfce4-panel 4.3.90.1 to Fluxbox, Thunar 0.3.0beta1; rebuilt X.Org to be smaller; the source for the CD is located in /usr/src/." Read the rest of the changelog for further information.
STUX GNU/Linux 0.9
Giacomo Picconi has announced the release of STUX GNU/Linux 0.9, a Slackware-based live and installation CD designed desktop use: "STUX GNU/Linux 0.9 released. Main changes: Linux kernel upgraded to 2.6.12 from KNOPPIX CD 4.0.2; based on Slackware current as at 10 June 2006; added KNOPPIX hardware autodetection; Unionfs: with Unionfs it's now possible to use STUX from Live CD without the read-only limitation; all STUX utilities fully debugged and reviewed; multimedia keyboards now working and configurable; added WINE; installed remastering tools; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support...." Read the complete changelog on the project's news page.
* * * * *
Development and unannounced releases
|
| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Xandros Desktop 4
Xandros Corporation has created a pre-orders page for the upcoming Xandros Desktop 4, expected to start shipping later this week. Despite the imminent release, details about the new versions are hard to come by - the Xandros product pages have yet to be updated, while the pre-orders page only lists general features, such as "integrated security suite" and "updated included applications". On a positive side, those readers who pre-order their copy of Xandros Desktop 4 before the release date will qualify for a $5 discount on Xandros hats and T-shirts. See the pre-orders page for full details.
PC-BSD 1.2
The PC-BSD project has published a release roadmap for the upcoming versions 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5, with an outlook towards version 2.0. Among the changes in PC-BSD 1.2, scheduled for release in July 2006, are: "Incorporate DBSD network / user toolset into Control Panel; convert PC-BSD specific tools to Control Panel modules; change default wallpaper / splash screen to something more professional; update KMenu / merge PBI with KDE application categories; set up Windows key to launch K-menu; bind ctrl-alt-delete with KDE System Guard; improve printing support with CUPS." There will be four new releases before the end or 2006, with version 2.0 planned for the first quarter of 2007. For more information please see the PC-BSD roadmap.
* * * * *
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
| DistroWatch.com News |
The annual package database update
Our call last week for suggestions to add new packages to the list of software tracked on DistroWatch met with surprising apathy, especially given that this time last year we were flooded with requests for new packages. Nevertheless, we evaluated the few comments and emails we received and this is the final list of packages that will be added to distribution tables later this week:
The following packages will be removed from the tables: bin86, bochs, galeon, ipvsadm, licq, webalizer and xcdroast.
Many thanks to all who have made the effort to email us and who posted requests in the forum!
* * * * *
New distributions added to database
- BU Linux. Boston University Linux (or BU Linux for short) is a Fedora-based distribution specifically tailored for the Boston University environments. Among the more interesting enhancements are network installation, Kerberos authentication, tight default security, automatic security updates, apt-get package management front-end, OpenAFS file system, and extra software applications.
* * * * *
New distributions added to waiting list
- Sharif Linux. Sharif Linux is a bilingual English/Persian operating system. It is based on GNU/Linux and is customized for the computing requirements of Iran and the Persian language, specially for enterprise-level and educational uses.
- Swecha LiveCD. Swecha LiveCD is a Knoppix-based distribution with support for Telugu, the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
That's all for today. The next issue of DistroWatch Weekly will be published on Monday, 26 June 2006. See you then :-)
Ladislav Bodnar
|
|
| Tip Jar |
If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip.
(Tips this week: 0, value: US$0.00) |
|
|
|
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch |
|
| Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
|
|
| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Commercial Distros: More Steak, Less Sizzle (by Roach Boy on 2006-06-19 09:29:59 GMT from Nairobi, Kenya)
Sorry people. This is a rant and it probably has got nothing to do with this week’s Distrowatch Weekly. Anyway, I’m still trying to figure out why Red Hat is considered the flagship for GNU/Linux in IT departments around the world. Just this morning, my mouse went haywire on me while I was using Red Hat Enterprise version 4.0 Work Station (Gnome 2.8) and I’ve had all sorts of other problems with Red Hat (and CentOS, which is compiled from Red Hat source code), problems that I don’t experience with other distros (mainly Debian and Slackware). As someone observed rhetorically on Linuxquestions.org with regard to Red Hat Enterprise version 3.0, “This is enterprise software?”
For my money, Debian and Slackware seem to be much more reliable than the “enterprise” Linux distros such as Red Hat, SUSE and Mandriva. Perhaps I'm being a little unfair, but it seems to me that distros like Red Hat are more a triumph for the marketing department than for the software department. In fact, if someone were interested in trying out Linux, I’d be more comfortable starting them out with Debian or a Debian derivative such as Mepis, Knoppix, or Kanotix (I had a hard time with Ubuntu 4.10; but I plan to try out Ubuntu 6.06) or Slackware.
If Debian and Slackware can do it, I don’t understand why companies with millions of dollars in backing can’t turn out equally reliable products. Of course, the likes of Red Hat, Novell and Mandriva are important to the open source community, but we need software that works reliably, not more marketing hype. Please give us more steak and less sizzle!
Giving-Credit-Where-Credit’s-Due Department. In my opinion, Mandriva and SUSE have got the right idea with supermounting/submounting of floppies a la Windows. It would be nice if Debian and Slackware offered kernels with supermount compiled in rather than requiring users to compile their own kernels. And if you don’t want to supermount your floppies for whatever reason, you could just edit `/etc/fstab’ accordingly. Or maybe I should just remaster my own Slackware/Debian CDs and quit bitching!
2 • klik on small distros (by brodders on 2006-06-19 09:53:39 GMT from Horley, United Kingdom)
Interesting reading about Frenzy!
Sounds like it is a contender for the small, powerful'n fast crowd like Puppy and DSL.
:) But I'me getting too used to using klik on Kanotix; very very nice.
Anyone know if any of the small distro's support klik??
3 • Bummer (by Nick on 2006-06-19 09:57:02 GMT from Wichita, United States)
I missed the package round up. How could this have happened? Oh, I was on vacation. Bummer.
I wish they would have added XGL and Compwiz.
4 • Wonderful Website - thanks Ladislav (by Bill Savoie on 2006-06-19 09:57:40 GMT from Huntsville, United States)
Linux offers so much, it is hard to keep up. This website really helps me. I love the ipod section on the home page. I download all of the podcasts to my laptop on the weekends, and then at work, where I am not allowed internet access, I listen in my office. It is a great way to learn. Thank you. Here in America we are managed, fed information to keep us happy no matter what is going on around us. In this environment, podcasts offer a way out.
Maybe the real future of linux, is not in the struggle with Microsoft, but with the struggle of media outlets to mold us into good consummers, and to make us into people that can do what we are told. Without Linux we just become a predictable population that can be easily managed?
Where I work they only allows company computers with Microsoft OS, as they see Linux as being spywear. We don't have admin passwords for our desktops. Twice a week in the middle of the day everyone must leave the labratory for two hours while virus scans are run on all the computers! That is 4 hours a week where 50 people don't have access to their computers! We are shooting ourselves in the foot. Because of lack of office space, my office is outside the lab. Because of that gift I can bring in my laptop! We live in interesting times. Buddha told us to be an island. I like being an island with linux! Thanks Ladislav!
5 • slackware kernel (by Andreas on 2006-06-19 10:02:22 GMT from Stadtwald, Germany)
changelog entry from 24.04:
BTW, I think 2.6.16.x, being the first kernel series in the 2.6 series that
has been promised some long-lived support, will be the 2.6 kernel you'll see
in the next Slackware release. If/when 2.6.17 (or 18, etc.) come out, don't
expect to see me chasing after it immediately. I'm looking for a kernel
that can be counted on for stability -- not the bleeding edge. Of course,
once 2.6.16.x is considered tested enough to leave /testing (and it does
seem close), perhaps a newer kernel might take its place here just for fun.
Oh and yes -- I did see that 2.6.16.10 is out, and I know that the test26.s
kernel wasn't yet updated. Due to the Mozilla situation, I can't delay this
update to be a $SUCKER some more, but you'll see 2.6.16.10 soon. That is,
if there isn't a newer one first...
current testing kernel is 2.6.16.20; it will probably moved from there just before the release.
regards,
Andreas
6 • Tao Linux (by HughesJR on 2006-06-19 11:13:24 GMT from Corpus Christi, United States)
The CentOS Project has also published an article on the retirement of Tao Linux.
http://www.centos.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=135
Tao Linux and CentOS have long had a very good relationship and have worked together to solve issues since both project's foundings (CentOS has hosted the bugs database for Tao Linux for quite a while as an example).
David Parsley has been added as a CentOS Developer and Tao Linux users should be able to seamlessly shift to CentOS with the tools David has developed and released in his shifting repository.
The CentOS Project would like to thank David for Tao Linux and for his decision to join the CentOS Developement Team.
7 • Frenzy 1.0 extended (by mzee on 2006-06-19 11:31:38 GMT from Gent, Belgium)
Thank you for providing that comparison of BSD live CDs.
After testing / playing with Frenzy 1.0 for almost two weeks now I am not sure I agree with : "My overall impression was that BSD live CDs are not on par (yet) with their GNU/Linux cousins". Frenzy provides all I want from a Linux distribution. And then that 'ports' system is so easy to install any programs you feel are missing.
In my eyes Frenzy is not only "a security/rescue tool for administrators" Even newbies to FreeBSD may feel happy with the choice of programs provided. That why I don't agree with "Sergei Mozhaisky would consider developing a less specialized 700MB version of his distro." 'Frenzy 1.0 extended' is just OK! Sergei Mozhaisky given us a very nice piece of work!!
8 • Ubuntu (by tom on 2006-06-19 11:45:36 GMT from La Junta, United States)
FYI:
The most recent Ubuntu upgrade has serriously broken my system.
I upgraded from Dapper testing to LTS and now it looks like I will need to re-install and restore (data) from backup. I am not sure if the problem has been solved.
There are a number of simmilar reports on the Ubuntu site, but no posted solution yet.
I thought you all might like to know and hopefully I can save you some time/aggrivation. Check the website before you update, or even better ? wait untill the problem is solved.
9 • No subject (by user on 2006-06-19 12:09:44 GMT from Tirana, Albania)
Netbsd live cd?
Never heard before but I am interested to read a review about this live cd version.
10 • Roach Boy is Right (by Anonymous Brat on 2006-06-19 12:20:39 GMT from Houston, United States)
Great comment Roach Boy!. The only commercial linux that comes close to being perfect is OpenSuSE 10.1. But I would prefer a Knoppix or a DSL any day given the choice to use them.
11 • Too few distros... (by Anonymous Penguin on 2006-06-19 12:56:30 GMT from Roma, Italy)
...support x86_64.
I just used the "Search by Distribution Criteria" feature and I found "only" 45 active distros supporting it, versus a total of 369.
Let'us also consider that some of the ones listed still consider x86_64 a second class arch (that is unfortunately true also of my favourite Kanotix)
Now that is clearly wrong. True, I suppose the great majority of PCs in the world are still 32bit.
But that is changing very fast. All the new AMD based PCs and, in the near future, the majority of Intel based ones, will be 64bit.
If you buy a new computer today, what do you buy, something which will soon be obsolete? (Unless of course you are on a tight budget)
12 • Slackware 11.0 (by William Poetra Yoga H. on 2006-06-19 13:43:23 GMT from Beijing, China)
It's surely been quite some time since the last Slackware release. I can understand Pat's hesitation to move to 2.6 though, but I also heard that 2.6.16 has a lot of upgrades in it (I'm currently still using 2.6.15.7), so I'll get it when it stabilizes :)
By the way, is it OK to promote my own distro here? :p
Get nags from ftp://wpyh.dyndns.org/
"nags" stands for... well... erm...
13 • Package choices show favor to desktop apps. (by Dave Thacker on 2006-06-19 14:14:28 GMT from Omaha, United States)
With the exception of XEN, the 2006 package choices seem to show more a
bias towards the desktop, rather than the heavy lifting linux does in the server room. Video drivers, camera and photo utilities are replacing load balancers (ldirectord) and web server stat reporting (webalizer). To me this indicates an interesting shift in the "state of the Distrowatch audience". Thanks Ladislav for another informative week!
Dave
14 • Frenzy 0.3 vs. Frenzy 1.0 'extended' (by Andrei on 2006-06-19 14:33:27 GMT from Tampa, United States)
mzee - I did indicate in my review that Frenzy 0.3 was *already* the best BSD live-CD I had tested even though I had the older verison 0.3 and not the new 1.0.
Please note that I said that "*overall* the live-CDs I had tested were not on par (yet)".
I fully agree with you that even Frenzy 0.3 already *was* on par with most of the GNU/Linux live-CDs (and better than many I would add!) and I am planning a separate review of Frenzy 1.0 as soon as I can get my hands on the CD.
Keep watching for it on distrowatch!
Kind regards,
Andrei
15 • XGL + Compiz (by morgan on 2006-06-19 15:17:28 GMT from Brighton, United Kingdom)
Please add XGL and compiz to the package DB.!
Cheers
16 • VLOS VLOS VLOS (by RobNyc on 2006-06-19 15:39:51 GMT from Flushing, United States)
VLOS 1.3 is so hot
17 • Live BSD's (by Rob.B on 2006-06-19 16:41:21 GMT from Reading, United Kingdom)
I've tried the recently released Frenzy live cd and agree it's very well put together. It has a live slackware (eg Vector) kind of 'feel' to it. Sadly, I couldn't get it to auto dhcp to my b/b connection and manual tweaking didn't work for me either.. Maybe knoppix type network config would help.
A little off topic, but I'd like to see the otherwise great plethera of live slack distributions use workable hdd installers i.e. GRUB based would be in keeping with this young century! ;-P
For now I will work with Xubuntu.. ;-)
18 • Sources.list generator for Ubuntu (by Stefan Daniel Schwarz on 2006-06-19 17:02:54 GMT from Mettmann, Germany)
There's also a Sources.list generator for Ubuntu available here:
http://www.ubuntulinux.nl/source-o-matic
And of course you can always install and use Klik, too!
19 • Libranet (by Markus on 2006-06-19 18:11:24 GMT from Bochum, Germany)
Dear Ladislav,
why don't You mention the discontinued distro
Libranet and move it to Your "discontinued site"?
best regards to the other side of the globe.
Markus
20 • What's not marketing (by Béranger on 2006-06-19 20:22:28 GMT from Bucuresti, Romania)
To #1: "why Red Hat is considered the flagship for GNU/Linux" -- because they pay some of GNOME developers and because some (network) tools are made by them.
And no, RHEL3 is not that bad. I can only judge by CentOS4, which is rather stable, albeit maybe not as much as Debian Sarge.
*mounting of floppies is not an issue. Plus: even in Debian Sarge, the 2.6 kernel will mount removable devices (incl. USB) via udev. Slackware... this is not a distro that will give you fries with everything.
To #16: VLOS 1.3? Is is still by torrents only? (Or you can buy it, but how d'ya know what you'll buy unless you try it?) What about extra repositories? It's not clear what it offers, no matter how good it is. Should those guys change theie atitude, they should be able to compete at least with Frugalware.
# BU 4.6: a little late. 4.5 was on the wait list for ages. (There are distros on the waiting list since 2003!)
Otherwise, DistroWatch is a royal pleasure, and DistroWatch Weekly is a real joy to read -- thank you, Ladislav!
21 • SimplyMEPIS 6.0. RC1 (by Anonymous on 2006-06-19 21:44:59 GMT from Honolulu, United States)
SimplyMEPIS 6.0. RC1 seems more polished than Kubuntu 6.06, and you can log in as root. It has the most sensible installer of the linux's that I've tried so far.
22 • Kanotix and Blag (by mika hack on 2006-06-19 22:02:44 GMT from Roma, Italy)
I use both....
give them a try!!!
;)
23 • Ubutnu envy? (by azbaer on 2006-06-19 23:52:21 GMT from Phoenix, United States)
I dont know why all the Ubuntu bashing, except that they are ranked number one. Yes I use Ubuntu 6.06,for the most part eveything worked out of the "box".
Red Hat is the most popular by name, if you are luck enough to encounter Linux, (in the USA) it will be Red Hat. Actually I m surprise on how often Red Hat is mentioned on stock exchange programs.
Who cares what flavor you use, Your using LInux is all that matters.
24 • to #16 (by Kensai on 2006-06-19 23:54:56 GMT from , Puerto Rico)
RobNyc I know you always say every distro is the best, an about VLOS the lead developer lives near me and he is the most arrogant person and does not keep VLOS to the true spirit of GPL he just want it to be commercial withou it even being good in the first place. And I can do better things with my gentoo proper system.
25 • cool stuff! (by JAG on 2006-06-20 01:46:24 GMT from Linden, United States)
Hey everyone...check this out!
http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=06/06/14/2014254
26 • Package tracking (by Carlos Alberto P. P. B. Santos on 2006-06-20 02:39:42 GMT from La Habana, Cuba)
I think that the less interest on the package tracking this time is due to a more perfect tuning of options DW is already tracking w/the need of the community as a hole.
BTW, those were very clever additions.
27 • I justed loaded WIndows vista beta.... (by azbaer on 2006-06-20 02:54:52 GMT from Phoenix, United States)
Im tring out Vista, what a painfully install process. the worse Linux installer is better and more exciting then the Vista installer. The OS alone fott print was 12GB, no office suite, no internet plugins or Vista gives new meaning to BLOAT ware. By the way it looks alot like Mac OS X and Linux
28 • Re: #8, #23 Ubuntu/Kubuntu 6.06 LTS (by KnightFire on 2006-06-20 03:41:27 GMT from Calgary, Canada)
There is definately something wrong with Ubuntu/Kubuntu 6.06 LTS! I have a dual P3 1GHz w/512MB, Digital Tulip ethernet, ATI, and SBLive; the Ubuntu boot up is very slow with no network, or sound, and Kubuntu just locks up. I was really hoping to upgrade... I'm still running Red Hat 7.3. Hmm... perhaps a disk install of DamnSmall or KNOPPIX.
29 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2006-06-20 05:48:11 GMT from Honolulu, United States)
Did you try the alternative installer CD? Many people including me have had problems with the Ubuntu live CD installer, but the alternate install CD works okay.
Of Kubuntu, Kanotix, and the other Debian-based distributions, I like SimplyMEPIS 6.0. RC1 the best so far.
30 • 14 • Frenzy 1.0 'extended' (by johncoom on 2006-06-20 11:04:28 GMT from Camberley, United Kingdom)
Andrei - if you can use BitTorrent - Frenzy 1.0 - Extended - EN (253.2Mb) is listed here on this
page http://linuxtracker.org/index.php?cat=145
MD5 (frenzy-1.0-ext-EN.iso) = fdb5dfbee148988ee6e53737b742725d
You can join the LinuxTracker - but you do not have to, you can just grab a torrent and download - please u/l at least as much as you d/l
Now that was easy :-)
31 • 14 • Frenzy 1.0 'standard' (by johncoom on 2006-06-20 11:12:39 GMT from Camberley, United Kingdom)
I forgot to add that Frenzy 1.0 - Standard - EN is also there as
well, at the Link I gave above. Both are currently being seeded
32 • package database update (by elcaset on 2006-06-20 12:47:43 GMT from Bothell, United States)
I, too am bummed out that I missed the suggestion period for the package database update.
I would love it if you were to add Totem media player. VLC is my favourite media player (it plays everything), but Totem is also great because (at least in my tests) is the fastest video player (and I mean a lot faster than the several others i tried).
33 • Another missing one (by Thorsten Glaser on 2006-06-20 13:17:33 GMT from Cologne, Germany)
Since beginning of April 2006, all development snapshots
of MirOS BSD have been combined Live+Install ISOs.
They do not offer any more comfort than a freshly
installed base system, without additional packages,
twm instead of kde, etc. but are automatically built
as part of the release process - the OpenBSD team
doesn't even give install ISOs away - and the framework
can be used to build funky live CDs enhanced with
colourful software such as KDE.
Due to server issues, the homepage is a mess, but
you can always find the latest downloads on the
good Scarywater (Anime) BitTorrent tracker:
http://f.scarywater.net/miros/
34 • Is there life after Ubuntu? (by tom on 2006-06-20 23:05:51 GMT from Helena, United States)
It looks like goodbye Ubuntu after almost a year. Ubuntu has become unstable and no solution (to the problem) to the posts by myself or others on the Ubuntu site (the posts of others are over 1 week old and additional users are reporting simmilar problems as of today).
I am considering a re-install, but as there is no solution to the problems I am not sure it is worth the hassle.
I have been giving Vector serious consideration. Frenzie is a possibility. SUSE/Fedora are nice, but bloated.
Advice on a medium-weight distro??? Light weight distros also welcome, must be able to compile from source.
35 • FOOBARed (by Mr. Pink on 2006-06-20 23:10:57 GMT from Redmond, United States)
I'm happy to report that Dapper has disintegrated on my laptop after only being in use since the day stable was released.
/etc/hostname file is empty, so is /etc/network/interfaces.
acpi went complitely insane and networkmanager has no clue.
Synaptic refuses to start.
Congrats to Ubuntu team on successfuly mimicing MS business model.
36 • Libranet (by Andrew on 2006-06-20 23:16:20 GMT from Red Deer, Canada)
Does anyone know if it possible to get a hold of a copy of LIbranet? All of the .torrents I've tried seem dead.
37 • Re :8 (by Marc on 2006-06-20 23:50:00 GMT from Montral, Canada)
I too made an upgrade to LTS and i'm really DISAPOINTED !!!
The whole thing finished with broken package that i could not
resolved. Luckally i had saved all my data. Now i want to try
something new , any sugestions ?
38 • Check out this project... (by JS on 2006-06-21 02:08:41 GMT from Plano, United States)
This should really be looked at as a candidate for a possible future Distrowatch contribution! I really wish these guys success on this project.
http://www.alkyproject.com/
39 • FreeBSD 6.2 release correction (by Anonymous on 2006-06-21 06:30:27 GMT from Seattle, United States)
The FreeBSD 6.2 schedule is targeting Sep 11, 2006 rather than July 31, 2006 as listed in the DistroWatch upcoming release list. Not surprising, as 6.1 final release was significantly delayed.
40 • Re: 37 (by tom on 2006-06-21 06:38:11 GMT from La Junta, United States)
I have been happy with Zenwalk.
I am looking into Vector. Features: Fast. Slackware.
I just found an interesting variation of Kanotix as well:
Kanotix2006-CPX-Mini. Features: Size 239 MB, Fluxbox + Rox. Debian.
Downloading now, have not booted as of yet.
Tried Frenzie, looks interesting but I can not bring up the net so will not likely install.
41 • Re : 34 (by Caraibes on 2006-06-21 10:33:54 GMT from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
For medium weight distro, here are my 2 big time favorites :
Blag (either 30k(stable) or 50k(beta))
Zenwalk 2.6
I use both, but finally switched my main desktop to Blag 30003 last month, and I REALLY like it... I enjoyed Xfce a lot, because it s very fast, but at the end of the day, Gnome suits me better, despite being much slower than Xfce...
See Blag here :
http://www.blagblagblag.org/ it is a really great distro !
See Zenwalk here :
http://www.zenwalk.org/
42 • 41 (by tom on 2006-06-21 13:48:39 GMT from Helena, United States)
Caribes: Thank you for the advice. I am considering BLAG but have a few questions for you regarding BLAG.
First would you advise BLAG 30K or 50K ?
What repositories does BLAG use? I would assume it is compatible with Fedora and therefore a large repository/number of software packages. Is BLAG 50k any more or less compatible with bleeding edge Fedora packages (then 30k)?
What is the advantage of BLAG over Fedora core 5?
Also, have you looked at Fluxbox as an alternate to XFCE or GNOME?
Have you looked at Vector?
43 • Ubuntu (by EmyrB on 2006-06-21 14:30:58 GMT from Aberystwyth, United Kingdom)
What's with all the Ubuntu bashing? I have no complaints about Ubuntu 6.06, I installed an early dapper flight and upgraded on a regular basis. I have Ubuntu 6.06 running on an old Gateway 9500 Laptop and a machine I chucked together out of spare parts with no issues what so ever.
The only challenge Ubuntu will have on my systems is either Mepis or Slackware. I know Ubuntu is not for everyone, but instead of bashing Ubuntu, report your findings to the Ubuntu team and try another distro. My penny's worth.
Keep up the good work Ladislav.
44 • i have not tried Blag 5k (by hekar on 2006-06-21 17:40:00 GMT from Kitchener, Canada)
I'm using Blag 4k and its great (not great for a server though). it's comes with apt and yum set up with the greatest repositories. as for 3k or 5k i would go with 5k, i didn't like the 3k release of blag
45 • 43 (by tom on 2006-06-21 22:57:30 GMT from Helena, United States)
I am not "Ubuntu bashing" at all. The reality is Ubuntu 6.06 has some very serious problems. Just look at the forums:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=140
There are times when I can not access Ubuntu because I get a "server busy" error message. Many of the posted questions are unresolved.
I have filed a bug report with Ubuntu and it remains both unanswered and unresolved. Presuably Ubuntu tech support is overwhelmed right now.
The end result is my Ubuntu system is broken (after upgrading the system) and I am reluctant to re-install without some idea of what caused the problem.
Thus a search for life after Ubuntu.
46 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2006-06-22 07:10:25 GMT from Honolulu, United States)
Just tried the KANOTIX-2006-CPX-MINI-7 iso that one of the posters above mentioned. It's a pretty cool USB/Live-CD distro with Fluxbox and ROX.
The homepage is here:
http://debian.tu-bs.de/project/cpx-mini/index.html
47 • Ubuntu bashing? (by Anonymous Penguin on 2006-06-22 07:34:25 GMT from Roma, Italy)
As Tom (post #45) wrote, there is no Ubuntu bashing, but some serious issues with it.
I tried the alternate-amd64.iso and it hangs during install, no matter what I try to do.
48 • It's all relative (by Mr. Pink on 2006-06-22 10:32:14 GMT from Redmond, United States)
After trying latest SUSE it seems like Dapper wasn't that bad. Have you ever tried to move a couch from one floor to another? That's what running SUSE feels like.
49 • RE: #48 (by Anonymous Penguin on 2006-06-22 19:01:33 GMT from Roma, Italy)
True, SUSE has quite a few problems, but I can solve most of them, even with a lot of work.
Ubuntu here absolutely refuses to install. So what good is it to me?
More about it later.
50 • 48 & 49 (by tom on 2006-06-22 20:57:00 GMT from Helena, United States)
Mr Pink- What OS do you suggest.
49 I agree, my Ubuntu install was hosed, no fix in sight. If you get a fix, please share. Most of the Ubuntu useres who are not having troubble have thier heads in the sand, denial of problems, and accuse me of "bashing" Ubuntu just because I seek help with the system.
All you Ubuntu users, how about more help and less criticism.
Although slow SUSE at least runs.
51 • (K)Ubuntu ***CLEAN*** desktop install (by Mr. Pink on 2006-06-22 21:33:19 GMT from Redmond, United States)
Just to share with the public here's my way of installing Dapper:
1.Download alternative or server ISO.
2.Do server (minimal) install.
3.Enable uni/multiverse in /etc/apt/source.list, I also add 3rd party repos like current KDE, plf and such.
4.Do apt-get update, apt-get upgrade, you can also get linux-686 or -k7.
5.apt-get install (k)ubuntu-desktop OR aptitude --with-recommends install (k)ubuntu-desktop if you like it fat.
I've been doing it since Hoary and it seems to be the shortest path to current full-blown desktop. Make sure to put /home on separate partition 'cause dist-upgrade most likely won't go smooth when new release comes out.
I'd like to see Ubuntu coming out with mini-ISO like debian. Cuts down on downloads for everybody.
To #49: Ultimately everything can be fixed. It just depends on your desire to do so. I frankly am getting tired of all that perpetual fixing. And distro maintainers keep failing to deliver. Sad. Imagine how it affects TCO for businesses. I personally cannot go to my customers and tell them with the staight face that linux on desktops would be better. I just can't.
52 • Still looking (by Mr. Pink on 2006-06-22 21:36:33 GMT from Redmond, United States)
Mr Pink- What OS do you suggest.
I don't know. I'm in search myself. I've been doing it since '98.
53 • RE: #52 (by Anonymous Penguin on 2006-06-22 21:50:04 GMT from Roma, Italy)
>>Mr Pink- What OS do you suggest.
I don't know. I'm in search myself. I've been doing it since '98.<<
Have you tried Mac OS X?
54 • Alternatives (by Mr. Pink on 2006-06-22 23:11:24 GMT from Redmond, United States)
Have you tried Mac OS X?
No. Investment in overpriced hardware and software is not something I'm looking for. Althogh it looks like if you want good quality apps commercial is the way to go. With all those OSS devs who are doing it out of the goodness of their heart and no need to survive in the marketplace there is not much hope that we will see a lot of improvement.
55 • in search of a 'lighter' distro (by ray carter at 2006-06-23 02:43:58 GMT from Idaho Falls, United States)
Highly recommend you have a look at Elive. I find it very impressive. There is a one click install from the Live CD.
56 • Buffalo continued as Mustang? (by Ariszló)
From http://www.mcalesterlinux.net/ :
Version 2.0 of Buffalo Linux is under design review. It will be continued, but whether the LiveCD format will be or whether it will be integrated as an extension of Mustang are under consideration.
New Linux miniCD distribution:Mustang Linux
Homepage for Mustang Linux: http://mustang.mccooler.net/
57 • Mustang (by tom on 2006-06-26 03:19:41 GMT from Helena, United States)
Downloaded Mustang mainly to see what they have done with Blackbox.
The CD does not boot either under qemu or from the CD ROM on re-boot. Have not tried VMWare.
Maybe when they work out thier boot bug. (No MD5 sum on Mustang website to check, but I have downloaded twice and each download has the same MD5 sum and the CD also checked out fine).
58 • RE: 57 Mustang (by ladislav on 2006-06-26 03:25:56 GMT from Taipei, Taiwan)
I tried Mustang too a few weeks ago, but it didn't boot here either. That's why I never mentioned it in DistroWatch Weekly or anywhere else on the site.
59 • Re: 56-58 Mustang (by rglk on 2006-06-26 05:02:27 GMT from Edgewater, United States)
Same here ... it just doesn't work. Don't waste your time.
60 • Re: Mustang (by Ariszló on 2006-06-26 08:05:46 GMT from Budapest, Hungary)
I tried Mustang on three machines and, yes, it failed on two. One of the machines where Mustang failed had an nVidia graphics card while the other did not have enough RAM. The machine where Mustang booted fine had an Intel 845G graphics card.
Number of Comments: 60
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
| | |
| 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.
|
| Archives |
| • Ussye 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 |
| • Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
| • Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
| • Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
| Random Distribution | 
heads
heads was a privacy-focused Linux distribution designed to make it easy for users to access the Internet anonymously using the Tor network. heads was based on Devuan and features only free (libre) software. The Linux kernel has had non-free blobs removed.
Status: Discontinued
|
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
|
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
