 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 172, 9 October 2006 |
Welcome to this year's 41st issue of DistroWatch Weekly! With the release of Mandriva Linux 2007 last week it would seem that the once highly popular desktop Linux distribution has finally closed a shaky chapter behind itself and decided to return to what it does best - proudly produce a great desktop Linux system for the world. This issue of DistroWatch Weekly focuses on Mandriva Linux, its recent past and new products. But Mandriva 2007 wasn't the only major distribution release last week; the fans of Slackware Linux also had a reason to celebrate as version 11.0 of the world's oldest surviving Linux distribution finally hit the download mirrors, promptly followed by a number of Slackware derivatives for all kinds of purposes and processor architectures. Also in this issue: we'll take a quick look at the new VectorLinux 5.8, summarise the week in the troubled world of Debian GNU/Linux, and point our readers to a good comparison between openSUSE and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. Happy reading!
Content:
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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| Miscellaneous News |
Release galore, Fedora 6 postponed, VectorLinux 5.8, openSUSE vs SLED, Debian news round-up, new init system by Pardus
It was a very busy week. With Slackware Linux 11.0 and Mandriva Linux 2007 finally out in the wild, old-time UNIX hands and Linux newcomers alike had much to cheer about. The release of Slackware 11.0 was also promptly followed by a large number of Slackware-based derivatives and ports as the new releases of Slamd64 Linux, Bluewhite64 Linux, Slackintosh, easys GNU/Linux, and VectorLinux all came out within days after Slackware 11.0. But there is plenty more to come. Although the release of Fedora Core 6, originally scheduled for later this week, has been delayed until next week, both KDE 3.5.5 and OpenOffice.org 2.0.4 should start appearing on download mirrors any time now; in fact, Debian's unstable branch already includes the new version. Among distributions, it looks like SabayonLinux 3.1 is also about to be released. Another exciting week ahead, no doubt!
* * * * *
 As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the release of Fedora Core 6 has been postponed by a week. Jesse Keating: "We regret to announce a slip of the Fedora Core 6 release schedule. A few issues are still present that we would like to see fixed before we release: possible ext3 corruption bug; installs with 256 MB of RAM stall; package ordering issues on multilib platforms (x86_64, ppc64); SELinux issue with updating kernels on PPC platforms; ISCSI based installations not functional. To give enough time to fix these issues, we've extended the release date 6 days to Tuesday, Oct 17th." Find more information in this mailing list post.
* * * * *
 If you enjoy the philosophy behind Slackware Linux, but find the distribution rather difficult to configure and use, then take a look at the latest from VectorLinux. Based on the freshly released Slackware 11.0, the first beta of VectorLinux 5.8 was made available for download on Sunday. Although it uses a text-based installer, the extra configuration modules, superb hardware detection, the slapt-get package manager with a graphical front-end, the many effective configuration tools, and much desktop eye candy makes VectorLinux a great alternative to Slackware. And despite the fact that the new release is labelled as a "beta", we found it remarkably stable and bug-free, with a number of interesting new enhancements, such as the switch to LZMA compression. Definitely worth a download if you are looking for a more user-friendly Slack!
The first beta of VectorLinux 5.8 hit the download servers over the weekend.
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* * * * *
 In what some might see as a shocking departure from the usual Mandriva Linux bashing on these pages, DistroWatch Weekly has a highly positive thing to say about the popular French distribution this week. Yes, you are reading that correctly. If you are in a state of shock, please pause here for a moment and try to recover your composure before scrolling down to the "Commentary" section. There you will find an article entitled Mandriva returns to its roots. Please let us know what you think about the new Mandriva, both the company and the distribution. (And before somebody asks: no, it is most definitely not an "advertorial".)
* * * * *
 Are you a big fan of Novell products, but still can't make up your mind as to whether to choose the rapidly developing openSUSE or the rock-solid and innovative SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) for your desktop? If that's the case, then read these arguments by Ted Haeger. As an experienced Linux advocate, he argues that those users who need a general-purpose distribution with long-term support and little need of upgrade in the near future should choose Novell's commercial solution, but those of you who enjoy living on the cutting edge of Linux development and don't mind occasional instability might be better off with openSUSE. The weblog post also reveals that "openSUSE 10.2 will debut some cool new KDE features," which is another reason why KDE users will want to test the upcoming first beta of openSUSE 10.2. As always the best way to choose between any two products is to try both of them and make a decision after experiencing their advantages and disadvantages.
* * * * *
 The Debian project continues its turbulent existence, often stirred by disagreements between its developers. Voting is now in process to decide whether to recall or to re-affirm support for the current Debian Project Leader (DPL) Anthony Towns, following his role in setting up Dunc-Tank - an experiment designed to raise funds and pay certain Debian developers whenever deemed necessary. In the meantime, the project leader published his monthly summary of the project, focusing on the tasks ahead, rather than the current controversial issues. The good news is that Debian GNU/Linux "etch" is in good shape and ready for feature freeze: "As you might have read in the recent release update, most of the major release blockers are now either finished or in the process of being completed." On a related note, Joey Schultze's recent threat to stop publishing Debian Weekly News (DWN) as a sign of protest against Dunc-Tank proved real and no new issue of the regular newsletter appeared last week. And still on the subject of Debian controversies, the project has now closed its Mozilla trademark "bug" by helping to launch Gnuzilla and IceWeasel - two free browsers based on Mozilla and Firefox.
* * * * *
 The increasing interest in developing an alternative to the ancient init system of booting a UNIX kernel was once again demonstrated last week. This time, it was Turkey's Pardus Linux project, which published a paper on the subject. In it, the authors introduce Mudur, a modern Python-based replacement for /sbin/init: "For a long time, Linux has been blamed to boot slowly, compared to other modern operating systems. In this article, we are going to focus on a new init system we developed for our Pardus Linux distribution, Mudur, together with other initiatives that are worth mentioning. Mudur is written from scratch in Python with simplicity, speed and maintainability in mind. It isn't a replacement for the /sbin/init command like some other alternatives, nor just a parallel script executor. Mudur greatly simplified our boot process, making it faster and more flexible. Authors look forward for future boot process research for further improvement and optimizations." If you'd like to see Mudur in action you can download the latest development build of Pardus Linux 1.1 from the project's FTP server.
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| Commentary |
Mandriva returns to its roots
As most of you know, Mandriva released its brand new version 2007 early last week. This in itself wouldn't be anything unusual if it wasn't for the fact that the release was accompanied by a surprising decision to provide a set of Mandriva Linux 2007 CD and DVD images for free and immediate download! Last time the company did something similar was back in March 2003, when the distribution was still referred to as "Mandrakelinux" and the product's version stood at 9.1. In the months that followed, Mandriva launched a number of experiments, including the two-tier Community / Official stable editions, delayed availability of ISO images for non-paying customers, switch to a longer release cycle, and various schemes designed to increase the membership of its Mandriva Club. The result of these experiments was a disastrous loss of market share.
The fact that Mandriva now released its "Free" and "One" (live CD) editions for immediate, free download is a sign of a positive change taking place in the company's top management structures. In the recent past, there was too much focus on the business aspects of the company, rather than on creating a broader community of Mandriva Linux users, developers and contributors who would be in a better position to advance the distribution to new heights. Luckily, it seems that the business entity within Mandriva finally agreed with the technical departments and decided to give certain editions of Mandriva Linux 2007 away with no delays and no string attached. This is the same great sharing spirit which took the then Mandrake Linux to its status as the most popular desktop Linux distribution in the first few years of this millennium.
But the free availability of Mandriva Linux 2007 was not the only good news that came out of Paris last week. In another sign of the company getting back to its roots, Mandriva is also considering a return to a faster release cycle, possibly producing a new stable release every 4 - 6 months. This would be great news for those Linux users who feel that a once-a-year release gets outdated too quickly and the time between annual stable releases is far too long for the open source development world, which tends to march ahead at a rather breathtaking pace.
Now let's all stand up and applaud Mandriva for these brave changes! These are real landmark decisions that not only confirm what we have been saying about Mandriva for past few years, but, more importantly, have the potential to take Mandriva Linux back where it was in the first few years of this decade - right at the top as the best and most popular desktop Linux distribution on the market. With the current dominance of Ubuntu and openSUSE, the Linux distribution scene desperately needs another contender to challenge the top two. Mandriva has always had the right spirit, great ideas, excellent tools, and knowledgeable Linux user and developer community behind it. If the company can build on these assets, we are in for some interesting times!
With all the different Mandriva Linux products released last week, the most difficult issue is to decide what to get. Here is what's available:
- Freely downloadable editions:
- Mandriva Linux 2007 "Free". This is probably what most users will want - the traditional set of Mandriva Linux installation CDs as we've known them for years. Version 2007 has been extended to four CDs, but for those with DVD writers, a complete dual-architecture DVD is also available. If you intend to install and use Mandriva Linux 2007 on your desktop, this is what you should download.
- Mandriva One (non-free). This is a set of Mandriva live CDs designed as mobility tools, or as bootable testing/demo CDs. Since they include proprietary ATI and NVIDIA kernel modules, they have the capacity to showcase the latest advancements in 3D desktop effects on Linux using either Xgl or AIGLX. There are a total of 14 language-specific CDs available for download, 8 of which provide the KDE desktop and the remaining 6 feature GNOME. Which CD you download depends on your language preference; see the README file available on most mirrors for the breakdown of supported languages.
- Mandriva One (free). These live CDs are similar to the non-free ones mentioned above, except that they don't include any proprietary graphics drivers. As such, they are designed for users without ATI or NVIDIA graphics cards or for those who do not wish to use a distribution which shamelessly inserts closed-source code into the Linux kernel. There are only two CDs to download - one with GNOME and one with KDE, and the number of supported languages is limited to 7: English, French, German, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
- Commercial editions:
- Mandriva Linux 2007 "Discovery" (€44.00). This is an entry-level edition designed for Linux beginners and less technical computer users. Perfect for many general computing tasks, such as web surfing, light office work, image editing, etc. The product includes no development tools, compilers or server packages, although it is possible to install these later from Mandriva's online repositories.
- Mandriva Linux 2007 "PowerPack" (€69.90). Considered a "standard" among Mandriva's commercial products, the PowerPack edition has been around for many years. Compared to the "Free" edition, it ships with a number of commercial and non-free software packages, such as Acrobat Reader 7.0, ATI (8.28.8) and NVIDIA (1.0-8774) proprietary kernel modules, BitDefender 2.0, FlashPlayer 7.0.68, Java Runtime Environment 1.5, RealPlayer 10.0.8, VMwarePlayer 1.0.2, and various i18n files for Aspell, Mozilla Firefox, OpenOffice.org, Scribus, etc.
- Mandriva Linux 2007 "PowerPack+" (€179.00). Similar to the PowerPack edition, but enhanced by a number of enterprise-level applications and features, such as Virtual Network Computing (VNC) software, Invictus Firewall, VPN access for secure remote computing, and a couple of Content Management System (CMS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software applications - Joomla and TinyERP.
To log in to any of the "One" live CDs, the username is "guest" with no password set. Besides functioning as a demonstration and testing tool, these live CD editions also provide a simple way to install Mandriva 2007 to a hard disk via a simple graphical installation wizard. Nevertheless, it seems that the tried-and-tested standard installation media is still the preferred method for installing Mandriva Linux on your computer.
Mandriva One offers an easy-to-use wizard to install the live CD to a hard disk.
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For a more detailed description of the above products please browse through the Mandriva Linux 2007 product pages, read the download information, and visit Mandriva Store.
Finally, just a reminder that if you enjoy and use Mandriva Linux 2007 on a daily basis, please consider supporting the company by joining Mandriva Club or by buying one of its commercial editions. Unlike the "Free" product, they do offer extra value in terms of available software, easier setup and installation support. And don't forget that these products cost just a fraction of some of the other operating systems, especially if you consider how much fantastic software they include on the disks.
Welcome back, Mandriva!
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| Statistics |
DistroWatch in France
With 818,246 visitors since the beginning of this year, the residents of France rank as the 6th most frequent guests on DistroWatch.com (after USA, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom and Italy). Since this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly also happens to focus on Mandriva Linux and introduces two new distributions developed in France (Ichthux and Yamefa, see the new distributions section further down the page), we thought it was a good excuse to take a look at the visiting habits of our France-based readers. Would Mandriva be the most visited distribution page? And how do some of the projects developed strictly for the French-speaking market fare?
The table below ranks the most frequently visited distribution pages on DistroWatch by visitors located in France during the six months' period between the 1 April and 30 September, 2006. The figures in the third column represent the total number of visits from unique IP addresses during that period. As we can see, Ubuntu clearly tops the ranking, with openSUSE and Mandriva Linux following on the second and third places, respectively. Surprisingly, most other domestic and French-speaking distributions don't seem to attract much interest among our French visitors.
| Rank |
Distribution |
Visits |
Percent |
| 1 |
Ubuntu |
13,867 |
7.52% |
| 2 |
openSUSE |
9,896 |
5.37% |
| 3 |
Mandriva Linux |
8,140 |
4.41% |
| 4 |
Fedora Core |
6,755 |
3.66% |
| 5 |
SimplyMEPIS |
6,029 |
3.27% |
| 6 |
Debian GNU/Linux |
4,295 |
2.67% |
| 7 |
Damn Small Linux |
4,288 |
2.33% |
| 8 |
PCLinuxOS |
3,900 |
2.12% |
| 9 |
Gentoo Linux |
3,464 |
1.88% |
| 10 |
KNOPPIX |
3,395 |
1.84% |
| 11 |
Zenwalk Linux |
3,162 |
1.71% |
| 12 |
Slackware Linux |
3,083 |
1.67% |
| 13 |
FreeBSD |
2,785 |
1.51% |
| 14 |
Kubuntu |
2,719 |
1.47% |
| 15 |
Xubuntu |
2,402 |
1.30% |
| 16 |
SLAX |
2,304 |
1.25% |
| 17 |
CentOS |
2,009 |
1.09% |
| 18 |
BackTrack |
1,886 |
1.02% |
| 19 |
Arch Linux |
1,851 |
1.00% |
| 20 |
SabayonLinux |
1,778 |
0.96% |
| 21 |
GeeXboX |
1,680 |
0.91% |
| ... |
... |
... |
... |
| 30 |
AliXe |
1,217 |
0.66% |
| 45 |
Kaella |
834 |
0.45% |
| 46 |
SystemRescueCd |
819 |
0.44% |
| 68 |
FreeNAS |
585 |
0.32% |
| 125 |
Evinux |
217 |
0.12% |
| 126 |
Hedinux |
214 |
0.12% |
| 143 |
AbulÉdu |
819 |
0.44% |
| 145 |
LinuxConsole |
180 |
0.10% |
| 147 |
Nasgaïa GNU/Linux |
179 |
0.10% |
| 149 |
Euronode |
176 |
0.10% |
| 152 |
APODIO |
819 |
0.44% |
| 158 |
OliveBSD |
160 |
0.09% |
| 174 |
Oralux |
140 |
0.08% |
| 178 |
Freeduc-cd |
134 |
0.07% |
| 213 |
Freeduc-sup |
88 |
0.05% |
|
Disclaimer: The origin of visitors is generated by using Maxmind's GeoLite Country database, which claims 97% accuracy of its data. As always, please don't take the data too seriously. They are simply provided as an indicator of interest in DistroWatch (and, by extension, in Linux and other open source operating systems) in various countries, but they certainly don't represent physical installations or distribution downloads.
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| Released Last Week |
Slackware Linux 11.0
A great day for all fans of the oldest surviving Linux distribution - after an unusually long testing and debugging period, Slackware Linux 11.0 has been released: "The first Slackware release more than a year in the making, this edition of Slackware combines Slackware's legendary simplicity, stability, and security with some of the latest advances in Linux technology. Here are some of the advanced features of Slackware 11.0: runs the 2.4.33.3 version of the Linux kernel; as an alternate choice, Slackware 11.0 includes Linux 2.6.17.13 and 2.6.18 kernel source, kernel modules, and binary packages; system binaries are linked with the GNU C Library, version 2.3.6; X.Org 6.9.0; installs GCC 3.4.6 as the default C, C++; support for fully encrypted network connections; Apache 1.3.37 web server...." Read the full release announcement for more details.
Mandriva Linux 2007
Mandriva Linux 2007 has been released: "Mandriva today is proud to release its brand new distribution: Mandriva Linux 2007. The key innovation of Mandriva Linux 2007 is the spectacular AIGLX and Xgl 3D-accelerated desktop. Mandriva is the only distribution to provide both technologies and is particularly happy to have achieved this major breakthrough in desktop appearance. In addition, a new theme named Ia Ora ('hello' in French Polynesian) has been introduced. To match everyone's needs, Mandriva Linux 2007 includes the latest innovations in the fields of office suite applications, Internet, multimedia and the new virtualization and 3D-accelerated desktop technologies." Read the press release, see the product pages, and visit the Mandriva Store to find out more.
Slamd64 Linux 11.0
Following the release of Slackware Linux 11.0, a new stable version of its 64-bit cousin, Slamd64 Linux 11.0, is now also out: "More than 7 months after Slamd64 10.2b, Slamd64 has now reached a very mature and stable stage. Release highlights: Updated to GCC 3.4.6, and now including gcj; added Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.7, Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5.0.7, SeaMonkey 1.0.5; updated to udev 097, if installed, udev now replaces hotplug, and is much faster, now only one kernel is needed - huge26.s, based on 2.6.16.29; added pcmciautils, Amarok, Ruby; the latest version of the popular K Desktop Environment, KDE 3.5.4; XFce 4.2.3.2; Apache 1.3.37; PHP 4.4.4...." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details and upgrade notes.
Ubuntu Christian Edition 1.4
Barely a week after the release of the 1.3 version, a new stable release of Ubuntu Christian Edition is out: "We have just released Ubuntu CE v1.4! This release was originally planned for next month, but there were a few bug fixes that have been implemented as well as some more refinements in the look and feel of Ubuntu CE. The latest release includes a new polished Usplash and a new Christian themed Firefox. The Firefox theme is based on the Faith theme and Bible Verse extension available at FaithBrowser.com. The bug fixes include a very minor bug in the DansGuardian GUI. The more significant bug fix was the checksum failures on the previous releases. We have also updated the upgrade_me and convert_me scripts and have created a new script that will install the DansGuardian GUI on a default Ubuntu install." The release announcement.
EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.9
EnGarde Secure Linux has been updated to version 3.0.9: "Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.9. This release includes several bug fixes and feature enhancements to the Guardian Digital WebTool and the SELinux policy, several updated packages, and a couple of new packages available for installation. New features include: the GDSN Update Agent and the Auditing (logging and reporting) subsystems were re-written by Ankit Patel to be AJAX-based; new SELinux policy for 'bittorrent', 'httperf', 'and 'john' was written; the latest stable versions of MySQL, GnuPG, iptables, OpenSSH, PHP, Samba...; new packages." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details.
Bluewhite64 Linux 11.0
Bluewhite64 Linux is an independent project with the goal of porting Slackware Linux to the x86_64 family of processor architectures. Version 11.0 is the distribution's first stable release: "This is the first Bluewhite64 Linux stable release after 5 months of development and maintenance! Bluewhite64 Linux 11.0 includes the Linux 2.6.17.13 kernel (2.6.18 kernel in the testing/ directory) with support for IDE, SATA, SCSI and RAID controllers. Also, it supports GCC 3.4.6 and Glibc 2.3.6 with NPTL (Native POSIX Thread Library), Ext2, Ext3, ReiserFS, XFS and IBM's SGI file systems, six window managers including the latest KDE 3.5.4 and XFce 4.2.3.2, updated development tools, the Subversion version control system, the Mozilla Firefox browser and Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5.0.7 email and news client, Apache 1.3.7 web server with PHP 4.4.4, MySQL 5.0.24a and much more." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details.
Kororaa AIGlXgl Live CD 0.3
The Kororaa has released a new version of their Gentoo-based live CD - this time without the controversial proprietary graphics drivers: "We are happy to release Kororaa AIGLXgl 0.3 Live CD. Major changes include the removal of non-GPL ATI and NVIDIA video card drivers, the inclusion of AIGLX now along with Xgl, 2.6.18 ck patchset based kernel, KDE 3.5.4, GNOME 2.14, updated installer and many bug fixes. The open source Radeon driver will work with many ATI cards, but not all the newer ones. If you have an NVIDIA video card, 3D effects will not be available, however you can still use this CD as a 'normal' live CD and installation to disk is available." More in the release announcement.
MoLinux 2.2
MoLinux is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution developed by the government of Castilla la Mancha in Spain. Today the project announced a new stable release, version 2.2. According to the release announcement (in Spanish), this version is based on Ubuntu 6.06.1 with kernel 2.6.15, GNOME 2.14, Evolution 2.6, OpenOffice.org 2.0.2 and Firefox 1.5.0.5. Some of the new enhancements include improved hardware detection and notifications, updated user manual, recognition of the apt:// protocol in Firefox, optional installation of extra software modules, centralisation of user preferences in Panel de Control, new artwork, and improvements in the Spanish translation.
SabayonLinux 3.0.5
The SabayonLinux project has released an update to their single-CD SabayonLinux "miniEdition" product: "Announce: SabayonLinux x86/x86-64 miniEdition 3.05. AIGLX and XGL support on a single, powerful and cutting edge live CD, thanks to Mr. Beryl, Dr. Emerald (and the Beryl Project team) and the full power of hardware accelerated GLX. New features and Bug fixes since the 3.0 miniEdition: updated SabayonLinux installer to the latest bug-fix release (RAID installation fixes); updated Beryl and Emerald to 0.1.0 stable; fixed the missing /usr/portage/local directory problem." Read the rest of the release announcement for full details.
easys GNU/Linux 3.0
A new major version of the Slackware-based easys GNU/Linux has been released: "We are proud to present the next generation of the easys GNU/Linux operating system. The OS is now based on Slackware Linux 11.0 which comes with full kernel 2.6 support, including udev for device initialization. Kernel 2.6.17.13 is the default for a fresh installation. Besides current versions of glibc (2.3.6), GCC (3.4.6) and X.Org 6.9.0, we have included a full version of KDE 3.5.4 instead of KDE Light. It has been optimized for easier usage including one application per task and a fresh enterprise GUI design called waveline. Kiosktool and KDE Kiosk mode can be used to create user and group policies which allows you to easily set up internet kiosks or locked down workstations." Visit the distribution's news page to read the full release announcement.
Helix 1.8
Helix is a KNOPPIX-based live CD with a large collection of tools dedicated to incident response and forensics. Version 1.8 is out: "Version 1.8 has been officially released. Some of the biggest changes to 1.8 were the code change to mounting journalled file systems - Helix will no longer change the journal mount count when you mount a journalled file system. You also have full write access to NTFS filesystems using ntfs-3g." The new release updates or adds several new tools, including md5deep suite 1.12 ClamAV 0.88.2, Sleuthkit 2.06, Autopsy 2.08, Foremost 1.3, Scalpel 1.54 to carve data, EnCase Linen 5.05f, Adepto 2.0 with AFF support, Endeavour2 file manager, ssdeep 1.0 for fuzzy hashing, AFFlib 1.6.31 for image acquisition. Read the release announcement and changelog for more information.
ZenLive Linux 3.0
ZenLive Linux 3.0 has been released. ZenLive is a live CD edition of the Slackware-based Zenwalk Linux: "ZenLive 3.0 is here! We are proud to present the next generation of the ZenLive Linux live CD. Based on the latest stable release of Zenwalk Linux, version 3.0, ZenLive 3.0 is a live CD powerhouse complete with wireless networking support, multimedia, office and gaming software, as well as international fonts and DVD codecs. It has been optimized for easier usage including one application per task and the latest XFce desktop and Zenwalk artwork. Changes from ZenLive 2.8 include: better USB storage devices support and sound auto-configuration; a new, more stable implementation of the Unionfs file system; Linux kernel 2.6.17.11; over 100 software upgrades as well as some new software." Read the full release announcement for further details.
Kate OS 3.1
Kate OS 3.1 has been released: "Kate OS 3.1 is the second edition of the III series. It fixes many bugs, but also introduces many important changes. Kate OS 3.1 is the first Kate to use the GTK+ 2.10.x library. This is a very substantial change for the entire system, which will let us deliver various new applications. Also, the GNOME desktop environment has been updated to its newest 2.16.0 version. This is the first edition of GNOME especially adjusted to Kate OS. Apart from those, Kate OS 3.1 also features the 2.6.17.13 kernel, XFce 4.4rc1 and numerous updates. An interesting novelty is Update-notifier, a task bar applet designed for Kate OS which automatically checks for available updates, and allows for easy package selection and update." Please visit the project's home page to read the release announcement.
dyne:bolic 2.2
A new version of dyne:bolic, a specialist multimedia distribution targeting media activists, artists and creative individuals, is out: "dyne:bolic 2.2 code name 'dhoruba' released. Dhoruba is a complete rebuild and modular rewrite of the whole system, enhanced for full usability and open for developers to join maintenance. Recent versions of audio and video tools provide a fully featured multimedia studio out of the box, ready for being employed at home, in classrooms and in media centers. Updates and fixes in 2.2: dyne:II can now run all the system from USB storage; supports docking and nesting on SATA, SCSI and USB; X.Org has been upgraded to the latest 7.1 release; new VOIP phone applications Iaxcomm and Kiax; updates and fixes to Cinelerra...." Read the rest of the release announcement for a complete list of changes and upgrade notes.
Slackintosh 11.0
A Slackware for your Macintosh, or Slackintosh, is a Linux distribution designed to run on your PowerPC-based hardware. Version 11.0 was released today: "We are proud to announce that Slackintosh 11.0 has been released! Slackintosh 11.0 includes Linux 2.6.17.13 with glibc 2.3.6, KDE 3.5.4 and much more. The installation CD also includes two bootable 64-bit kernels." The new release means that security support for the older version 10.1 will be discontinued; users still running that version are encouraged to upgrade to either 10.2 or 11.0. Also please note that due to a Qt version bug in Slackintosh 10.2, users upgrading from 10.2 to 11.0 should first uninstall Qt before proceeding with the upgrade procedure. For more information please read the release announcement and release notes.
SLAX 5.1.8
Tomáš Matějíček has announced the release of SLAX 5.1.8, the final version of the SLAX 5 series: "I'm happy to announce the immediate availability of SLAX 5.1.8. This release includes a SLAX-boot CD (only a 5MB ISO image) designed to boot SLAX from USB keys in case your BIOS doesn't support it. Users can just plug in the USB key with SLAX data to boot from this CD and it can also be used to boot SLAX directly from an ISO file. Changes made in 5.1.8: added KDE 3.5.4, recompiled with some Slackware 11 fixes; better handling of booting from USB devices; added NTFS-3g to fully support writing to NTFS partitions; added slaxsave.zip to SLAX CD, containing pre-built loop file systems." See the SLAX changelog for a more detailed list of all recent changes.
* * * * *
Development and unannounced releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Frugalware Linux 0.6
The Frugalware project has published a roadmap outlining the development process of the upcoming version 0.6. The first pre-release of the new version is scheduled for early November; this will be followed by a second pre-release and two release candidates early next year. The final release of Frugalware Linux 0.6 is expected on 1 March 2007.
* * * * *
Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
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New distributions added to database
* * * * *
New distributions added to waiting list
- Trinacria Linux. Trinacria Linux is a new Italian distribution based on KNOPPIX. Its primary target markets are the Italian office users and Linux beginners.
- Yamefa. Yamefa is a new French distribution based on Kubuntu. It provides customised software selection and extra software packages, such as Mozilla Firefox with the Sage extension, Superkaramba and Dekorator, and complete support for the French language.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
And that concludes our latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next issue will be published on Monday, 16 October 2006. Until then,
Ladislav Bodnar
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| 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 |
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| Random Distribution | 
Cub Linux
Cub Linux (formerly Chromixium) was an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution that attempts to recreate the look & feel and functionality of Google's Chrome OS on a conventional desktop. It combines the Openbox window manager with the Compton desktop compositor, Plank dock and LXDE's LXPanel to provide the desktop and menus. The Chromium web browser, equipped with the PepperFlash plugin, was the main online application, although the complete array of Ubuntu software can be easily added for offline/desktop use. Ubuntu updates are installed automatically, providing long-term security support.
Status: Discontinued
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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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