 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 161, 24 July 2006 |
Welcome to this year's 29th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! This week started a bit slow, but fortunately things picked up. Debian announced their updated release goal sheet with version information. The Fedora Core 6 test2 was delayed by a week. Mandriva has also been suffering delays due to extremely warm temperatures. This week we bring you a guest columnist comparing and contrasting the differing apt-get front ends. I took a quick look at some of the new live cds released this week. Oh, and as Ladislav always says, "Happy reading!"
Content:
 Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG format (6.6 MB)
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in MP3 format (8.1 MB)
(The Podcast edition is provided by Shawn Milo.)
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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| Miscellaneous News |
Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise, Mandriva delayed, Debian Version stories, Ubuntu Server Trouble
 Marc Brockschmidt informed readers of the debian-devel-announce mailing list that the official versioning of the Debian Etch stable release is to be 4.0 as he outlined the steps towards final release. Other interesting version goals to be mentioned are gcc 4.1.*, Xorg 7.0, and kernel 2.6.17 or newer. Kernel 2.4.* won't be shipped with 4.0 at all.
* * * * *
In other Debian news, there seems to be somewhat of a controversy developing over an updated version of Sarge being offered by backports.org, as mentioned in last week's DWN. Apparently this is being billed as an update for the current stable Sarge that features an updated udev, grub, and kernel-2.6.16-15 as well as other newer releases of software. The controversy appears to center around this special Cebit edition of Sarge still being named "Debian Sarge" and it not being differentiated from the official Sarge by the Debian Project. Perhaps more important is the issue of testing of (or lack of) the said release and it being misunderstood by many to be an official update to the enterprise class Debian stable.
* * * * *
 No sooner was last week's DWW published that the news broke of Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 release. Probably every computer and Linux website in existence announced this first release from Novell in almost two years. Early reports have been quite favorable for the release, although later in the week it was revealed that the JBoss Application Server seems to have been removed in favor of Geronimo. Novell cited changes in the licensing terms for the switch, but JBoss denies any changes in terms.
* * * * *
 FC6 test2 freeze slipped by a week to July 19, making the new projected release date July 26.
* * * * *
 Besides the expected code problems that arise, seems Mandriva has been suffering some hardware issues thus delaying the release of 2007 betas. Most hardware failures are being blamed on the above average temperatures being experienced in Europe the past few weeks. Another interesting tidbit is the evaluation of gfxboot for upcoming releases. This will extend the hardware detection during boot to include more exact monitor and cpu settings, which will allow the launching of an architecture (32 or 64 bit) specific installer.
* * * * *
 The popular UbuntuForums along with other Ubuntu servers suffered approximately 24 hours downtime over this past weekend. No official explanations have been offered as of this writing, but unconfirmed reports of power outages or hosting company technical issues seem likely. The usual conspiracy theories circulated, but were swiftly discredited. On a humourous note, so distraught were some users that a new poll has emerged to ascertain how loyal users occupied their time during the "blackout."
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| Guest Columnist |
Comparing Apt-get Interfaces
(By CapnKirby)
I recently posted an article on my website submitted to me from Roger who currently lives in Illinois but is originally from Europe. Roger has absolutely been sold on the advantages of the Debian package installer Aptitude. He truly feels that there is simply nothing better out there and really does not understand why the American Linux users do not use Aptitude as he feels it is a much better product than it's counterparts. In my conversations with Roger, and in reading his article, I have come to understand his point of view. Which raises the question, what is Aptitude, and how does it compare to Synaptic, Kpackage and plain old APT-Get?
To get a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each, I have downloaded and installed each, what follows are my findings and impressions.
To begin, I should briefly answer the question as to what APT is. APT is short for Advanced Packaging Tool, and is the core of the Debian package management.
Wikipedia defines APT as:
Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a package management system used by Debian and its derivatives. APT was originally designed to work with .deb packages on Debian systems, but it has since been modified to work with RPM packages via APT-rpm, and to run on other operating systems such as Mac OS X (see fink). On systems with package management based on .deb, such as Debian, APT is a front-end for dpkg (1)
In turn, Aptitude, Synaptic and Kpackage are all interfaces or front ends to APT-Get. They make using APT easier for the day to day management of the given Linux Distribution.
APT-Get:
Using APT-Get itself is really quite easy as long as you know the base name of the package you are looking for. It uses basic command line inputs to update and install packages. APT-Get is also very lightweight so it works well on the speed challenged computer which is its primary advantage over the full interfaced versions. Running updates in APT-Get is very easy, you issue the command to update the listing, and than issue the command Apt-get update, and everything takes care of itself. Additionally, APT-Get takes care of any and all dependencies quickly and efficiently. You will be asked if you want to install the dependencies as well as the core package itself, and it goes to work. Removal of a package is just as easy, issuing the command and letting it do its thing. What APT-Get lacks is any sort of an interface. It is purely command line only which can be intimidating to the new user as well as a real pain if you are not positive of a package name. You know you need a database program but have no idea what is available in Linux, or simply wish to browse through the listing of applications available to get a feel for what else might be interesting or useful to install. This is where the interface front ends to APT come in.
Kpackage:
Kpackage is the KDE based front end to APT-Get and for the most part it works quite well. Its layout is, to my eyes, not as clean as Synaptic, nor as easy to use.
The package listings are lined up on the left side and are set up by sections of application type. There is search ability, but no list by alphabetical. Additionally, setting up personal layouts is not provided. Once you select a package all its given dependencies are listed in the right pane which also provides advanced descriptions of what the package is, its size, and version. Installing is then as easy as clicking the install button. Kpackage tends to provide mysterious output from its install not really telling you that everything was successful, rather providing you a non-descriptive "0" indicating there were no errors. Uninstalling programs is the same, only clicking uninstall rather than install. I also find running installed program updates to be less convenient than the others. You have to click on the Updated tab, individually select each package that is available for updating and then run the install process. One of the biggest conveniences to Kpackage is you do not have to be root to run it, only to install. You can peruse the package listings to your hearts content as a non-root user, once you click "Install" only then are you asked for the root password to continue. Kpackage is a full packaging solution, but is not really to my liking.
Synaptic:
Synaptic is another solution to the packaging problem. I find synaptic to be very clean and easy to use. It is laid out in an over/under format, with the package listings being on top and the descriptions on the bottom. Up the left side is a set of configurable listings. To install a new package, you select it by right clicking and choosing install. You can select as many as you like and than click the Apply button which puts the installer to work. Again dependencies are just taken care of. Once finished, you are presented with a success or failure message. The failure messages are usually presented with an explanation as to what the issue was. Removal of packages is again the same as installing, only choosing to "remove" rather than install. In some versions you are given the option to watch the command line go by during the install, on others this option has been disabled. Updating packages is a three step process, click "Reload" then "Mark All Updates" and finally "Apply". You will be asked to confirm, and off it goes. It is very easy to work with, and I feel is the best option for the new user.
Aptitude:
This is something a bit different, aptitude is both command line and a front end to Apt. It uses a nCurses interface inside of the command line. This provides an interface that is clickable, easily searched and manipulated much like one would in either Synaptic or Kpackage. It continues to look more like command line than not, which may bother some users. It is not as immediately user friendly as Synaptic and Kpackage, but it is not wholly unfriendly either. Additionally, you can run command line actions without starting up the full interface, much like Apt-Get itself. Aptitude works quickest if you learn its keyboard shortcuts reducing upgrading to a few keystrokes of "u," "g," and another "g." Otherwise, the same results can be obtained through the header menu under "Actions."
Installing a program is reasonably easy, although browsing is not as easy as in Kpackage and Synaptic. There are several different view options as to the layout of the package listings, either by status, or by package types. Once you pick a package, and click "enter" you are taken to a second screen which provides a plethora of data about the package including its description, version, and dependencies. From there you either click "i" or select install from the "Package" menu, then click "g" and "g" again, and off it goes. Removal is again quite similar, you select the package and then "r," "g," and "g" and the package is gone. Now it is at this point that Aptitude sets itself apart from the others by a bit. Aptitude also willingly removes the dependencies as well, as long as they are not being used by something else. This means no orphaned packages, or cruft. This provides a cleaner working environment and presumably a more stable system. You can also play Minesweeper while waiting for the packages to install.
Summary:
In the end the choice of any of the four discussed package managers is a matter of personal preference. Technically speaking, there seems to be little to differentiate one from the other with the exception of Aptitude's ability to remove dependencies when removing an application. As far as my personal preference, I really like Synaptic. It is an easy interface to work with and it just plain works.
|
| Quick Looks |
Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy Eft Knot 1
Not quite two months ago Ubuntu released its 6.06 LTS to much acclaim. This past week the developers released an early development snapshot that they are calling 6.10 Edgy Eft Knot 1. I was interested in booting the livecd to find out what's new. On the surface it appears the answer is 'not much', unless you count the "test-pattern" silent boot splash.
It appears they have spent their time updating some packages. In this release we find an updated desktop as well as some other applications. They are utilizing the recent Gnome 2.15.4 developmental release as well as several other applications still in beta, while still others are well established. Some interesting package versions include:
- gcc-4.1.1-3
- make-3.81-2
- linux-2.6.17-5
- Xorg-7.0.0
- OpenOffice.org-2.0.2
- gaim-2.0b3
- evolution-2.7.4
- gimp-2.2.11
I booted the amd64 version, and I can't report that I saw any dramatic speed increases over i386 in the livecd format. Hardware detection was fairly good, although my usb printer wasn't detected nor was an usb connection offered in the printer setup interface. Some of the desktop preference menu items produced errors when clicked upon, although some of those did precede to open when closing the error box. On one boot of the livecd, the gnome-panel crashed and restarting gnome didn't clear the problem. Most of the desktop applications, such as office apps, graphics, or games, did seem to function as designed.
At this juncture, I'm not sure what the point of this release is. I can only speculate it was to create further interest or publicity for Ubuntu now that the excitement over 6.06 is decreasing. Their long range goal is the updated versions and they are now laying that groundwork as most will have stabilized before the next final release of Ubuntu. This is an expected course of events, however, at this point I didn't find enough different from 6.06 to create any new excitement.
Debian Live-Sid KDE
The Debian Project released some live cds on July 21. The list consists of a gnome version, a kde version, an xfce version, and a commandline version. I downloaded the KDE version to test and it booted with no problems.
The Debian live-sid boots up to a command prompt (at least in my case) with the user 'debian' autologged in. Guessing at the root password was fruitless, but one soon discovers sudo is enabled. With, if needed, quick adjustments to the generic xorg.conf file one can startx.
In my case a default KDE 3.5.3 desktop appears. It sits on Xorg 7.0.0 and linux 2.6.17 and comes with the full banquet of KDE applications. The KDE version as tested here didn't come with much more. Of course, one can get by with KDE only, but I have to wonder what might have come with the xfce version.
The system was stable and fast in the livecd format, but the fonts weren't very pretty. My sound was detected and the correct modules were loaded, yet sound didn't work. Other basic hardware seemed to function.
Debian GNU/Linux is one of the grandfathers of the Linux world, along with Slackware and perhaps Red Hat. Most of the distros available today have their roots in one of these founding fathers. As such, who doesn't love Debian? That said, I'm having a hard time imagining the niche for these live-sids. I wasn't able to locate an installer. Perhaps with the small download sizes of 354 MB or less, they might make limited rescue and repair disks. My conclusion is it works, but it doesn't excite.
Slax 5.1.7
Slax is another long time favorite of mine. They offer some of the extras that makes Linux so easy to use these days. In addition, they usually dress up their desktop ever so slightly and offer a new look from time to time. This release still utilized the 'sneakers' wallpaper, but underneath it included Linux 2.6.16, Xorg 6.9.0, and KDE 3.5.3.
The KDE version offered was just about the full suite of kde, perhaps lacking some of the development apps, toys, and games. They included KWord, Kpresenter, and KSpreadsheet for those pesky office tasks.
Most of the usual commandline applications were present, which would make it suitable as a portable desktop system or rescue and repair disk.
It boots up to a command prompt and gives the user instructions for logging in and starting the graphical desktop as well as offers various options such as a means to configure the X server if needed. In my case I just tweaked the generic xorg.conf file already in place and started X. Common hardware was autoconfigured, such as sound and network card. The menu contains a net-config if needed as well as the Slax module loader.
This is another great offering from the Slax team and well worth the download, especially considering it's less than 200 MB.
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| Released Last Week |
rPath Linux 1.0.3
Michael K. Johnson has announced the availability of an updated release of rPath Linux 1 for both i386 and x86_64 architectures: "The new images incorporate installation changes, new kernels, and all package updates released as of July 12. If you have already installed rPath Linux 1, you should update your current system using Conary rather than reinstall using the new images. In this update, additional image types are now available for use with VMWare, QEMU, and other emulation technologies. A "live" or "demo" CD image is included as well." Please refer to the release announcement for further information.
CollegeLinux 2.6
Prof. David Costa has announced the release and immediate availability of CollegeLinux 2.6 CH. CollegeLinux Live Server is a Debian Linux based Live CD. As soon as you start, it is a fully capable PHP5, Perl and Ruby webserver, preloaded with GEdit and Vim for editing scripts with syntax highlighting. More information on the project homepage.
ZenLive Linux 2.6.1
ZenLive-2.6.1 Live CD features new games, the Gparted utility with ntfs support, full DVD support & a better sampling of International fonts. Furthermore, it is based upon Zenwalk-current (as of July 15th) which will give you a sneak peek into the imminent Zenwalk-2.8 release... At the same time, we have also released a Special French-speaking edition dedicated to our sister website: Zenwalk.fr. More information, including the changelog and download links, can be found on the project's home page.
Zenwalk Linux 2.8
Zenwalk 2.8 is a major evolution as more than 160 packages have been updated or added, including the Linux kernel 2.6.17.6 and several system improvements... Visual enhancements include a new boot splash screen and 4 new icon themes for the latest XFCE desktop environment (version 4.3.90.2). The most significant recent addition to Zenwalk's software repository is a full GNOME desktop environment built in only six packages! Extra desktop environments (Gnome and KDE) are available as optional packages in the repository, available via Zenwalk's internet based package management system "netpkg"." Read the full release announcement for more information.
SimplyMEPIS 6.0
Warren Woodford has announced the availability of SimplyMEPIS 6.0, the first public release of SimplyMEPIS to incorporate an Ubuntu foundation: "Based on the Dapper LTS package pool, 6.0 is designed for stable long term use and support. SimplyMEPIS 6.0 is a complete and safe desktop environment designed to meet the needs of everyday computer users. SimplyMEPIS offers advanced hardware autodetection, multimedia integration, and an easy to use installer. Featured software includes KDE 3.5.3, Kontact 1.2.3, OpenOffice 2.0.2, Firefox 1.5.0.4, Thunderbird 1.5.0.4, RealPlayer 10.0.7, as well as hundreds of other top quality applications. SimplyMEPIS 6.0 runs the latest security patched 2.6.15 Linux kernel from Ubuntu-Security." Read the complete press release for further information.
SLAX 5.1.7
After two release candidates, Tomas Matejicek announced the availability of SLAX 5.1.7: "The final version of SLAX 5.1.7 has been released. Compared to 5.1.6, the new version fixes some bugs regarding the 'load' cheatcode, it adds and upgrades several boot options (like noswap, noauto, from= and changes=/dev...) and added new cleanup scripts to correctly handle shutdown procedures." Check the list of changes since 5.1.6 here.
* * * * *
Development and unannounced releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
Thanks!
Again, I want to thank everyone for tuning in this week while Ladislav is still on vacation. I also would like to thank Dr. Wen Tao Zhu for his invaluable help. Thanks to gfranken for emailing with the Mandriva news tip. I hope you enjoyed the article from our guest columnist this week comparing and contrasting the various apt-get front ends, we thank CapnKirby for that. I'll be with you for one more week. If you'd like to contribute, please feel free to email me with links. Thank you again, and have a great week!
Susan Linton
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
| • Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
| • Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
| • Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
| • Issue 1040 (2023-10-09): CROWZ 5.0, changing the location of default directories, Linux Mint updates its Edge edition, Murena crowdfunding new privacy phone, Debian publishes new install media |
| • Issue 1039 (2023-10-02): Zenwalk Current, finding the duration of media files, Peppermint OS tries out new edition, COSMIC gains new features, Canonical reports on security incident in Snap store |
| • Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years |
| • Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session |
| • Issue 1036 (2023-09-11): SDesk 2023.08.12, hiding command line passwords, openSUSE shares contributor survery results, Ubuntu plans seamless disk encryption, GNOME 45 to break extension compatibility |
| • Issue 1035 (2023-09-04): Debian GNU/Hurd 2023, PCLinuxOS 2023.07, do home users need a firewall, AlmaLinux introduces new repositories, Rocky Linux commits to RHEL compatibility, NetBSD machine runs unattended for nine years, Armbian runs wallpaper contest |
| • Issue 1034 (2023-08-28): Void 20230628, types of memory usage, FreeBSD receives port of Linux NVIDIA driver, Fedora plans improved theme handling for Qt applications, Canonical's plans for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1033 (2023-08-21): MiniOS 20230606, system user accounts, how Red Hat clones are moving forward, Haiku improves WINE performance, Debian turns 30 |
| • Issue 1032 (2023-08-14): MX Linux 23, positioning new windows on the desktop, Linux Containers adopts LXD fork, Oracle, SUSE, and CIQ form OpenELA |
| • Issue 1031 (2023-08-07): Peppermint OS 2023-07-01, preventing a file from being changed, Asahi Linux partners with Fedora, Linux Mint plans new releases |
| • Issue 1030 (2023-07-31): Solus 4.4, Linux Mint 21.2, Debian introduces RISC-V support, Ubuntu patches custom kernel bugs, FreeBSD imports OpenSSL 3 |
| • Issue 1029 (2023-07-24): Running Murena on the Fairphone 4, Flatpak vs Snap sandboxing technologies, Redox OS plans to borrow Linux drivers to expand hardware support, Debian updates Bookworm media |
| • Issue 1028 (2023-07-17): KDE Connect; Oracle, SUSE, and AlmaLinux repsond to Red Hat's source code policy change, KaOS issues media fix, Slackware turns 30; security and immutable distributions |
| • Issue 1027 (2023-07-10): Crystal Linux 2023-03-16, StartOS (embassyOS 0.3.4.2), changing options on a mounted filesystem, Murena launches Fairphone 4 in North America, Fedora debates telemetry for desktop team |
| • Issue 1026 (2023-07-03): Kumander Linux 1.0, Red Hat changing its approach to sharing source code, TrueNAS offers SMB Multichannel, Zorin OS introduces upgrade utility |
| • Issue 1025 (2023-06-26): KaOS with Plasma 6, information which can leak from desktop environments, Red Hat closes door on sharing RHEL source code, SUSE introduces new security features |
| • Issue 1024 (2023-06-19): Debian 12, a safer way to use dd, Debian releases GNU/Hurd 2023, Ubuntu 22.10 nears its end of life, FreeBSD turns 30 |
| • Issue 1023 (2023-06-12): openSUSE 15.5 Leap, the differences between independent distributions, openSUSE lengthens Leap life, Murena offers new phone for North America |
| • Issue 1022 (2023-06-05): GetFreeOS 2023.05.01, Slint 15.0-3, Liya N4Si, cleaning up crowded directories, Ubuntu plans Snap-based variant, Red Hat dropping LireOffice RPM packages |
| • Issue 1021 (2023-05-29): rlxos GNU/Linux, colours in command line output, an overview of Void's unique features, how to use awk, Microsoft publishes a Linux distro |
| • Issue 1020 (2023-05-22): UBports 20.04, finding another machine's IP address, finding distros with a specific kernel, Debian prepares for Bookworm |
| • Issue 1019 (2023-05-15): Rhino Linux (Beta), checking which applications reply on a package, NethServer reborn, System76 improving application responsiveness |
| • Issue 1018 (2023-05-08): Fedora 38, finding relevant manual pages, merging audio files, Fedora plans new immutable edition, Mint works to fix Secure Boot issues |
| • Issue 1017 (2023-05-01): Xubuntu 23.04, Debian elects Project Leaders and updates media, systemd to speed up restarts, Guix System offering ground-up source builds, where package managers install files |
| • Issue 1016 (2023-04-24): Qubes OS 4.1.2, tracking bandwidth usage, Solus resuming development, FreeBSD publishes status report, KaOS offers preview of Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1015 (2023-04-17): Manjaro Linux 22.0, Trisquel GNU/Linux 11.0, Arch Linux powering PINE64 tablets, Ubuntu offering live patching on HWE kernels, gaining compression on ex4 |
| • Issue 1014 (2023-04-10): Quick looks at carbonOS, LibreELEC, and Kodi, Mint polishes themes, Fedora rolls out more encryption plans, elementary OS improves sideloading experience |
| • Issue 1013 (2023-04-03): Alpine Linux 3.17.2, printing manual pages, Ubuntu Cinnamon becomes official flavour, Endeavour OS plans for new installer, HardenedBSD plans for outage |
| • Issue 1012 (2023-03-27): siduction 22.1.1, protecting privacy from proprietary applications, GNOME team shares new features, Canonical updates Ubuntu 20.04, politics and the Linux kernel |
| • Issue 1011 (2023-03-20): Serpent OS, Security Onion 2.3, Gentoo Live, replacing the scp utility, openSUSE sees surge in downloads, Debian runs elction with one candidate |
| • Issue 1010 (2023-03-13): blendOS 2023.01.26, keeping track of which files a package installs, improved network widget coming to elementary OS, Vanilla OS changes its base distro |
| • Issue 1009 (2023-03-06): Nemo Mobile and the PinePhone, matching the performance of one distro on another, Linux Mint adds performance boosts and security, custom Ubuntu and Debian builds through Cubic |
| • Issue 1008 (2023-02-27): elementary OS 7.0, the benefits of boot environments, Purism offers lapdock for Librem 5, Ubuntu community flavours directed to drop Flatpak support for Snap |
| • Issue 1007 (2023-02-20): helloSystem 0.8.0, underrated distributions, Solus team working to repair their website, SUSE testing Micro edition, Canonical publishes real-time edition of Ubuntu 22.04 |
| • Issue 1006 (2023-02-13): Playing music with UBports on a PinePhone, quick command line and shell scripting questions, Fedora expands third-party software support, Vanilla OS adds Nix package support |
| • Issue 1005 (2023-02-06): NuTyX 22.12.0 running CDE, user identification numbers, Pop!_OS shares COSMIC progress, Mint makes keyboard and mouse options more accessible |
| • Issue 1004 (2023-01-30): OpenMandriva ROME, checking the health of a disk, Debian adopting OpenSnitch, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1003 (2023-01-23): risiOS 37, mixing package types, Fedora seeks installer feedback, Sparky offers easier persistence with USB writer |
| • Issue 1002 (2023-01-16): Vanilla OS 22.10, Nobara Project 37, verifying torrent downloads, Haiku improvements, HAMMER2 being ports to NetBSD |
| • Issue 1001 (2023-01-09): Arch Linux, Ubuntu tests new system installer, porting KDE software to OpenBSD, verifying files copied properly |
| • Issue 1000 (2023-01-02): Our favourite projects of all time, Fedora trying out unified kernel images and trying to speed up shutdowns, Slackware tests new kernel, detecting what is taking up disk space |
| • Issue 999 (2022-12-19): Favourite distributions of 2022, Fedora plans Budgie spin, UBports releasing security patches for 16.04, Haiku working on new ports |
| • Issue 998 (2022-12-12): OpenBSD 7.2, Asahi Linux enages video hardware acceleration on Apple ARM computers, Manjaro drops proprietary codecs from Mesa package |
| • Issue 997 (2022-12-05): CachyOS 221023 and AgarimOS, working with filenames which contain special characters, elementary OS team fixes delta updates, new features coming to Xfce |
| • Issue 996 (2022-11-28): Void 20221001, remotely shutting down a machine, complex aliases, Fedora tests new web-based installer, Refox OS running on real hardware |
| • Issue 995 (2022-11-21): Fedora 37, swap files vs swap partitions, Unity running on Arch, UBports seeks testers, Murena adds support for more devices |
| • Issue 994 (2022-11-14): Redcore Linux 2201, changing the terminal font size, Fedora plans Phosh spin, openSUSE publishes on-line manual pages, disabling Snap auto-updates |
| • Issue 993 (2022-11-07): Static Linux, working with just a kernel, Mint streamlines Flatpak management, updates coming to elementary OS |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
Photon OS
Photon OS is a minimal Linux container host, optimized to run on VMware platforms (though it is capable of running in other environments). Photon OS includes a small number of packages and offers users a command line interface. The default installation will often require less than 100MB of memory to run. The operating system comes with Docker pre-installed.
Status: Active
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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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