 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 167, 4 September 2006 |
Welcome to this year's 36th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Following a new release of Gentoo Linux last week, another popular "geek" project is likely to announce a major new version this week. Slackware Linux, the world's oldest surviving Linux distribution, has been through no fewer than four release candidates, so the final version can't be far away. Also expected later this week - GNOME 2.16. In other news, Linspire scraps the annual fee for its software repository, Ubuntu contributors keep enhancing their favourite distribution with extra software, services and even a new start-up script, and the NetBSD world is rocked by accusations of mismanagement by one of the project's founders. We also have the pleasure to announce that DistroWatch has once again been voted one of the "Top 101" web sites by PC Magazine and that the August 2006 donation of US$350 goes to the Puppy Linux project. Happy reading!
Content:
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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| Miscellaneous News |
Linspire frees Click 'N Run, Ubuntu updates, NetBSD troubles, Tinkerbell Linux
 Linspire, a San Diego-based Linux distribution maker, announced last week that it would do away with the annual fees for its Click 'N Run service, a web-based front-end for installing extra software applications on both Linspire and Freespire. This follows the company's recent inaugural release of Freespire 1.0, a community maintained free distribution with emphasis on usability and convenience, predominantly designed for novice Linux users. The announcement means that all Linspire and Freespire users will now have access to a vast repository of Debian packages through a convenient web-based utility.
Kevin Carmony, the CEO of Linspire, justified the move in a forum post by arguing that "for every basic CNR subscriber we have, we get 3 Gold subscribers. The added benefits of support, discounts on the commercial products, etc., will continue to be a strong motivation for many of you to subscribe to this premium service." The easy availability of software packages, he believes, should also attract more new users to Freespire.
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 Is Ubuntu the perfect Linux distribution? Although many will probably answer the above question affirmatively, there are those users who find the lack of many useful but proprietary components unacceptable in a modern operating system. For those, a newly published article entitled Common Customisations examines the current status of the various third-party tools providing the "missing pieces", such as multimedia codecs, patent-encumbered packages, non-distributable and proprietary applications, and other software that make our daily computing lives easier. The article examines the value of existing scripts, such as Easy Ubuntu or Automatix, discusses other possibilities of extending Ubuntu, and invites users to provide a feedback on the subject. Worth a read if you want to understand the challenges and possible solutions to a highly complex issue.
While on the subject of Ubuntu, some of the more technical Linux users might have heard about the new way of starting up their favourite distribution. Instead of using the age-old "sysvinit" to start various services during the system boot, the Ubuntu developers have been working on a new system called "upstart". Ubuntu Fridge has published an article on the subject, describing the differences between the two systems in layman's language and explaining the motivation behind the move. Although the work is largely driven by a desire to simplify the boot process, rather than to increase the boot speed, many users are likely to notice faster boot times when using "upstart". The new technology is scheduled to be included in Ubuntu 6.10 "Edgy Eft", scheduled for release at the end of October.
And still on the subject of Ubuntu, a new way of generating custom, Ubuntu-based live CDs are now available through a project called Reconstructor. This graphical application, written in Python, is designed to help users to re-create a new Ubuntu live CD with customised GNOME settings, new splash screens, unique themes, additional software packages and other aspects of the popular distribution. Reconstructor is released under the General Public License and is available from the project's download page, complete with an 11-page user manual in PDF format.
* * * * *
 The BSD world was rocked by a major controversy last week. In an open letter to the netbsd-users mailing list, Charles M. Hannum, one of the four founders of NetBSD, has expressed his doubts about the future of the popular, multi-arch operating system: "The NetBSD Project has stagnated to the point of irrelevance. It has gotten to the point that being associated with the project is often more of a liability than an asset." The strong words were then followed by accusations that the project has been run by an ineffective board of directors, lacking vision and ignoring user and customer needs: "This is the result of a coup that took place in 2000-2001, in which The NetBSD Foundation was taken over by a fraudulent change of the board of directors." The misery of NetBSD was compounded by further bad press when the writer of the above letter, together with seven more NetBSD developers, were told to leave the project due to their unwillingness to sign a new agreement.
* * * * *
 Packt Publishing has published an interview with Gerard Beekmans, the founder of Linux From Scratch (LFS). When answering a question about how this excellent educational project started, the founder of LFS replied: "After trying out a few distributions I couldn't settle on any one pre-packed system to fit my needs. I also didn't get the feeling I was learning everything I could learn about how Linux works, especially behind the scenes. That's how the LFS project started. I was putting together a Linux system from scratch as an attempt to figure out how things worked. I wrote down the steps I took to get such a system up and running, thinking that there are probably other people out there who would be interested in it." Find out more on why every hard-core Linux geek should build at least one Linux system from scratch!
* * * * *
 Interested in Linux-based diskless terminals and terminal servers? If so, we have some good news for you. The Malta-based 2X Software has announced that it will open source the code behind its successful NX-based terminal servers for Linux: "2X today announced the release of 2X TerminalServer for Linux, an open source terminal server for Linux, which enables users to run a Linux desktop and Linux / Windows applications over any type of connection." The reason? "If Linux is going to happen on the desktop, it will require a terminal server approach such as that of 2X Terminal Server for Linux. Only with the more advanced thin client approach, will Linux be able to outdo Windows fat clients in a company's network." More details about the product and its benefits can be found in this press release.
* * * * *
 As KDE celebrates its 10th birthday, here is something for the more nostalgic among us - the first press release announcing the start of a new desktop for UNIX called "Kool Desktop Environment": "The idea is to create a GUI for an ENDUSER. Somebody who wants to browse the web with Linux, write some letters and play some nice games." Additional technical details about the new desktop emerge further down the announcement: "Since a few weeks a really great new widget library is available free in source and price for free software development. The stuff is called 'Qt' and is really a revolution in programming X." The announcement, written by Matthias Ettrich, is concluded with: "I admit the whole thing sounds a bit like fantasy. But it is very serious from my side. Everybody I'm talking to in the net would LOVE a somewhat cleaner desktop. Qt is the chance to realize this. So let us join our rare spare time and just do it!"
10 years later, with KDE being one of the two main desktop environments on Linux, BSD and other UNIX operating systems, it is clear that dreams do sometimes come true. All we need is hard-working leaders with vision, perseverance, and motivation to get things done! Happy birthday, KDE!
* * * * *
 Finally, a new and exciting distribution was born last week. Unlike the hundreds already listed on DistroWatch, the new Tinkerbell Linux is developed by none other than Paris Hilton, a popular American sex idol. Explaining the motivation behind her entry into the open source world, the 25-year old socialite had this to say about her new-found hobby: "I think The Open Source Movement is, like, really hot. I've been dabbling with coding for ages, but it's taken me some time to find the courage to release it. As you know, I'm a shy and modest person, and wasn't sure if it was good enough for the strict standards of the coding community." As for the technical side of things, "Tinkerbell Linux is based on Slutware Linux and will be distributed on Paris Hilton's next music CD entitled 'Crontab for Love.'" For more details about the new, titillating Linux distro please read the formal press release.
Our take: watch this space! Ubuntu's days at the top of our page hit ranking statistics will be over in record time as the new Tinkerbell Linux will take the world by storm. This is also exactly what the Linux world needed to displace that other operating system from computer users' desktops! Great, great news!
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| Released Last Week |
Berry Linux 0.73
Yuichiro Nakada has announced a new release of Berry Linux, version 0.73. The latest release is based on kernel 2.6.17.11 SMP, with ndev/udev and bootsplash patches. Most of the base components come from Fedora Core 5, but the more visible software packages have been upgraded to newer versions; these include KDE 3.5.4, GIMP 2.2.12, xine 0.9.4, digiKam 0.8.2, Firefox 1.5.0.6 and Thunderbird 1.5.0.5 (both English and Japanese editions of the Mozilla products are included), and WINE 0.9.19. The project's own Rasp-UI window manager has been updated to version 0.04, while several new Japanese fonts have been added (YOzFont, Aoyagikouzan, Gyosho, Decoration). Read the project's changelog for a complete list of changes.
StartCom Enterprise Linux 3.0.6
Eddy Nigg has released an updated version of StartCom Enterprise Linux 3 series: "The legendary StartCom Enterprise Linux AS-3 is the first updated distribution release after the summer break, out of a series of update releases scheduled for the coming month. The release of AS-3.0.6 (Maccabee) features about 300 updated packages. Since the last release of the AS-3 series, the popular Ethereal network sniffing tool was forked to a new project called Wireshark. This change is reflected in this release, but also the newest Firefox and Thunderbird packages are included again." Read the rest of the press release for further information.
Gibraltar Firewall 2.4.1
A new stable version of the Debian-based Gibraltar Firewall has been released: "The new version v2.4 from Gibraltar is available. Gibraltar v2.4 comes with many new features and now also available pre-installed on several reliable hardware platforms. The new Gibraltar Security Gateways are offered with different performance data for network sizes up to several hundred computers. Due to permanent product enhancements during the last years, Gibraltar has been evolved from a pure Firewall to a powerful and reliable UTM appliance (universal threat management)." Read the full release announcement and check out the changelog for a full list of changes and new features.
CentOS 4.4
Johnny Hughes has announced the availability of a fourth update to CentOS 4 series, a Linux distribution built from source RPM packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4: "The CentOS development team is pleased to announce the release of CentOS 4.4 for i386 and x86_64. This release corresponds to the upstream vendor U4 release together with updates through August 26th, 2006. The Live CD edition (1 CD-ROM) is available for i386. Major changes for this version are: Mozilla has been replaced by SeaMonkey, Ethereal has been replaced by Wireshark. Firefox and Thunderbird have moved to 1.5.x versions, OpenOffice.org has moved from to the 1.1.5 version." For more information please see the release announcement and release notes.
Fedora Core 5 Live CD/DVD
Robert Jensen has announced the availability of a new set of Fedora Core live CDs and DVDs. Called "Live-Spins" and created with a tool called Kadischi, the new Fedora live CD/DVD images allow users to test the distribution without having to install it to their hard disks. Fedora Unity has released the Live-Spins for both the current stable version (Fedora Core 5) and the latest development build (Fedora Core 6 Test 2). More information can be found in the release announcement.
Gentoo Linux 2006.1
Gentoo Linux 2006.1 has been released: "The Gentoo Release Engineering team proudly announces the release of Gentoo Linux 2006.1, the second release of the year. The 2006.1 release features many highlights that improve upon 2006.0. The AMD64, HPPA, x86, 32- and 64-bit PowerPC releases are built with and include GCC 4.1, a great improvement over version 3.4 used for 2006.0. Also included are the GNU C library version 2.4 and Gentoo's baselayout 1.12.1, with improved system start-up scripts. Alpha, x86 and AMD64 also feature a new profile layout, with separate sub-profiles for desktop and server systems." Read the rest of the press release for more details.
Debian GNU/Linux 3.1r3
Joey Schulze has announced the availability of a third revision of the stable Debian GNU/Linux 3.1, code name 'sarge': "The Debian project has updated the stable distribution Debian GNU/Linux 3.1. This update mainly adds security updates to the stable release, along with a few corrections to serious problems." Besides a large number of security updates and bug-fixes to glibc, GRUB, Perl and other packages, the Debian installer and several base packages were also updated. For more information please see the official release announcement and changelog. As always, the Debian stable revisions are normally applied with the apt-get package management tool. The updated stable branch, labelled as 3.1r3, is available from the project's main server or various mirrors around the world.
ZenLive Linux 2.8
A new version of ZenLive Linux, a subproject the Slackware-based Zenwalk Linux, is out: "It's official, ZenLive 2.8 has been released! This is a major version release based on the latest stable release of Zenwalk Linux, version 2.8. In addition, the latest versions of Zenwalk's net-based package management system, 'netpkg', which now allows software downloading from multiple repositories, system-tools and xdialog have been upgraded. A few new games have been added. All of your favorite Zenwalk applications are here as well so you'll feel right at home. Zenwalk 2.8 is a live CD powerhouse complete with wireless networking support, multimedia, office and gaming software, as well as international fonts and DVD codecs." Visit the project's home page to read the complete release announcement.
Ubuntu Christian Edition 1.2
Version 1.2 of Ubuntu Christian Edition (Ubuntu CE) has been released: "We have just released Ubuntu Christian Edition v1.2! We have added the GnuCash financial management software as well as the very popular Ubuntu customization tool, Automatix. There also some smaller additions such as new Daily Bible Verse feature and a new GDM to make the look and feel of Ubuntu CE more consistent. One of the major accomplishments with this release is the introduction of the Ubuntu CE Installer. With it users are able to easily install even more great Christian and Educational software." Find more details in the release announcement.
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Development and unannounced releases
- VLOS 1.3-beta3, the release announcement
- Vine Linux 4.0-beta1, the release announcement
- Mandriva Linux 2007-beta3, the press release
- Frugalware Linux 0.5-rc2, the release announcement
- Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu, 6.10-alpha2, the release announcement
- Elive 0.5-beta3.4, the changelog
- Slackware Linux 11.0-rc4, the changelog
- Wolvix 1.0.5-beta "Cub", the release announcement
- Kalango Linux 3.3-rc1
- ClarkConnect Gateway/Server 4.0-rc1
- Kurumin Linux 6.1-rc2
- PUD GNU/Linux 0.4.6.4
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
openSUSE 10.2
The openSUSE project has announced the details about its upcoming release - openSUSE 10.2. After the fourth alpha build expected on 7 September, the developers will add one more alpha, two betas and one release candidate before the final release on 7 December 2006. Besides the usual software updates, openSUSE 10.2 promises to add new WLAN and Intel 3D graphics drivers, include Wink for creating video tutorials and, if Google agrees, provide the Linux edition of GoogleEarth. YaST will come with an ability to add third-party software repositories and other enhancements. Find more information in this mailing list post and on the project's roadmap page.
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Vine Linux 4.0
The Vine Linux project has announced details about the upcoming release of Vine Linux 4.0, the project's first major release in two years. According to ITPro (article in Japanese), Vine Linux 4.0 will be ship with kernel 2.6, and will include GNOME 2.14, as well as Anthy and SCIM Japanese input method editors. As usual, editions for the i386 and PowerPC architectures will be developed simultaneously, with the release candidate appearing roughly two weeks before the final release. Once the development of Vine Linux 4.0 is completed, work on a new update, version 4.1, will start with an expected release date in January 2007.
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
DistroWatch one of "Top 101 web sites"
It is always nice to see that our work on DistroWatch is appreciated by the open source software community, but it feels even better when a general computing magazine recommends our web site to its readers. In its annual Top 101 Web Sites survey, PC Magazine has once again included DistroWatch as one of the top computing web sites on the Internet: "Looking for your daily Linux fix? DistroWatch keeps you up to date on all the latest news about release announcements of Linux distributions. The site also has reviews, articles, and interviews with Linux developers." Let's hope that each visitor's "daily Linux fix" will turn into a life-long happy love affair with Free Software!
* * * * *
August 2006 donation: Puppy Linux US$350.00
We are pleased to announce that the DistroWatch August 2006 donation has been awarded to Puppy Linux (US$350.00). Few open source software projects have been nominated for a donation as many times as Puppy Linux, so it only seems natural to reward its creator, Barry Kauler, for endless hours of hard work. The pride of Australia, Puppy Linux has truly became a unique and original distribution, targeting mainly older computers, but also appealing to those users who enjoy small and fast operating systems with a great selection of applications and a good community of users. Besides Puppy Linux itself, a number of Puppy derivatives have also been born over the last few months; these include Grafpup Linux, Hacao Linux (site in Vietnamese) and MeanPup (formerly Mean Puppy).
We received an email from Barry Kauler shortly after sending the donation: "When I first saw the email, I thought, 'ah, Ladislav has ordered a CD'. Then I saw what it was... man, I never expected to get a big donation like that! It will not be spent on pizzas and coke -- I'm always in need of new hardware for testing purposes so that's where it's going."
As always, the monthly donations programme is a joint initiative between DistroWatch, which allocates 10% of its advertising revenue, and three online shops selling low-cost CDs and DVDs with Linux, BSD and other open source software - LinuxISO.co.uk and LinuxCD.org and OSDisc.com. The three CD/DVD vendors contributed US$50.00 each towards this month's donation to Puppy Linux.
This is the PayPal receipt for the donation to Puppy Linux:
Dear DistroWatch.com,
This email confirms that you have paid Barry D Kauler $350.00 USD using PayPal.
------------------------------
Payment Details:
------------------------------
Transaction ID: 2TA35895BD7248440
Item Price: $350.00 USD
Total: $350.00 USD
Item/Product Name: Donation to Puppy Linux project
Buyer: DistroWatch.com
Here is the list of projects that received a DistroWatch donation since the launch of the programme:
Since the launch of the DistroWatch Donations Programme in March 2004, we have donated a total of US$9,650 to various open source software projects.
* * * * *
Freespire reloaded
Several readers have emailed us to let us know that Linspire has launched what can only be classified as an attempt to tamper with our page hit ranking statistics by trying to artificially inflate the page hit ranking figures for its new community distribution - Freespire. Upon investigation, it turned out that both linspire.com and nvu.com had been deceivingly redirecting visitors to the Freespire page on DistroWatch and that the default home page of Firefox in the latest build of Freespire had also been set to the same page. As a result, Linspire has become the largest referrer of DistroWatch.com this month and the company has been responsible for a considerable number of extra hits on the Freespire page at DistroWatch.
Although the redirections continued for several days, the Freespire page hit counter was unaffected. As always, excessive and deliberately misleading links to DistroWatch by distributions are considered illegal and a script was promptly set up to prevent the counter from incrementing in cases where the visitors were referred by linspire.com or nvu.com.
For more information (and a rather heated debate) please see also this thread on the Freespire forum.
* * * * *
New distributions added to waiting list
- Linux Mint. Linux Mint is a GNU/Linux distribution which is based on Kubuntu. Its purpose is to offer a customised version of Kubuntu which features improved artwork, up-to-date packages and support for restricted multimedia formats. Linux Mint comes as a single live CD which provides a graphical installer.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
And that concludes our latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next issue will be published on Monday, 11 September 2006. Until then,
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • 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 |
| • 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.
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| Random Distribution | 
Shanios
Shanios is an immutable desktop Linux distribution based on Arch Linux. It provides optimised builds of the GNOME and KDE Plasma desktop environments. Like most immutable Linux systems, Shanios features rollbacks for instant system recovery, atomic updates through a custom deployment tool called shani-deploy, and Flatpak integration. The distribution's other main features include a blue-green deployment strategy using Btrfs subvolumes, preservation of system integrity with a read-only root partition, and enhanced security through AppArmor profiles, firewalld configurations, and full-disk encryption.
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.
|
| 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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