 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 182, 18 December 2006 |
Welcome to this year's final issue of DistroWatch Weekly! With the year 2006 closing down on us rapidly, this seems like a good time to take a look at the world of Linux distributions and their evolution during the past year. Who has done the best job of bringing Linux to the desktops of new users? And which distributions are the losers of the increased competition among the different projects, all vying for our attention? As always, opinions are likely to vary, but some trends aren't difficult to spot. In the news section: Fedora looks to regain control over the RPM Package Manager, KNOPPIX promises a new version of its live CD, Debian publishes a release update, and Arch Linux announces an easy-to-install CD for desktop users. Finally, warm wishes of a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all DistroWatch readers! See you again in 2007!
Content:
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| Feature |
Distributions in 2006
With this being the final issue of DistroWatch Weekly in 2006, let's take a quick tour of the ever so exciting Linux distribution world as seen by your DistroWatch.com founder and web master.
 Ubuntu maintained its position as the world's most popular desktop Linux distribution. The sheer number of new community web sites, the numerous HOWTOs, the excellent weekly newsletter, and the growing number of Ubuntu-derived distributions for all tastes and purposes are a testament of the acceptance this project has achieved in just two short years. Ubuntu's dramatic rise is unmatched by any other project in the history of Linux distributions and is a well deserved one.
Despite that, looking beyond all the shine and glitter, there are indications that Ubuntu's popularity has perhaps peaked. Whether this is due to conceptual reason (satisfied curiosity, sometimes annoying ubiquity of the "U" name, unsavoury way of poaching other project's developers, the proprietary kernel modules controversy, suspicion over Canonical's insistence to keep some of its other software products proprietary) or technical ones (buggy initial release of Dapper Drake, major mishap with an package update, questionable quality control), it's hard to say. Nevertheless, the project's penchant for making radical decisions and develop innovative solutions will probably keep Ubuntu on the top of the Linux distro market for another year, albeit with a less obvious lead.
 Novell's openSUSE project has continued what it started in the mid-2005 when it opened the development of SUSE Linux to outside participation. This process didn't go as smoothly in 2006 as one would have expected; when the long delayed second release from openSUSE finally hit the download mirrors, many users were surprised to find that it came with a number of major bugs affecting its newly re-designed package management system. Like Ubuntu, openSUSE too was forced to release an updated version a couple of months after the initial release. This was in sharp contrast with a rather smooth, on-time and better managed development process of openSUSE 10.2 which was released earlier this month and was extremely well-received.
Unluckily, when it appeared that openSUSE was about to become the new darling of the desktop Linux world, Novell concluded a surprising and controversial patent protection agreement with Microsoft, effectively legitimising Microsoft’s intellectual property claims over Linux. The incredulity over this move was soon followed by an almost universal denunciation of the pact by the leading members of the Linux community, as well as web sites specialising in dissecting "lawyer-speak" usually found in such agreements. Despite the outcry and even calls for boycotting Novell's products, most Linux users ignored the controversy and went on to download the new product - to find in openSUSE 10.2 a highly polished, innovative and laptop-friendly Linux distribution.
 Like Ubuntu and openSUSE, Red Hat's Fedora project also produced two releases during 2006. Both received good reviews and the interest in downloading Fedora Core 6 succeeded in bringing the project's web site to its knees. The growing Fedora community has also come alive with many interesting initiatives - a new set of Fedora live CDs and DVDs was published for the first time, while a large number of good, third-party repositories carrying RPM packages ranging from proprietary kernel drivers to obscure applications sprang out to satisfy even the most demanding Fedora user. Why, then, Fedora keeps lagging behind both Ubuntu and openSUSE in desktop usage?
One answer might be in that the Fedora developers have yet to come up with a way to entice new Linux users who would probably choose Ubuntu or openSUSE over Fedora for their first entry into the Linux world. The project still presents itself as a mostly technical distribution and a base for its high-end Red Hat Enterprise Linux, rather than a desktop solution that can stand on its own and compete with the best. Luckily, the developers seem to be aware of the problem and have discussed possible solutions during the recent Fedora Summit. Although the project's direction is yet to be determined, expect some major changes in the way Fedora develops its products and interacts with the user and developer communities in 2007.
 Mandriva Linux has fallen hard from its position as the most popular desktop Linux distribution from a few years ago to find itself in an unenviable position of having to compete against much more aggressive, if not always better, distributions. The good news is that some of the disastrous decisions the company took in recent years have been revoked; unlike its previous two releases, the "Free" edition of Mandriva Linux 2007 was made available for free download without any delay and there is talk about the project's return to a bi-annual release cycle. Additionally, Mandriva's only release of 2006 was very good - not completely without bugs, but with many nice touches and the ever so impressive Mandriva Linux Control Centre providing new features and configuration options.
But the company needs to do more. The Mandriva Club web site is a usability disaster, with many missing features and annoying bugs. The distribution itself needs some controls that would prevent undisciplined developers from including beta versions of certain software, especially while its beta testing community is clearly lacking in numbers and desire to report bugs. And although the latest Mandriva release is technically sound, a complete lack of online documentation is a serious problem that will discourage new users, especially while Novell gives its excellent openSUSE user guides away and Ubuntu keeps populating its Wiki pages with every topic imaginable.
 Debian GNU/Linux, an institution rather than a distribution, had an eventful year - despite the lack of a new stable release. "Etch" is around the corner, however, and although it might still take a few weeks before the shiny new DVD sets are available for download, there is no doubt that Debian's upcoming release will be its best ever. The association with Ubuntu, while difficult at times, has brought more benefits to the world's largest distribution than many Debian developers would like to admit - not only are the project and its excellent utilities better known and appreciated in the Linux user community, its software development also benefited directly from the more cutting-edge attitude of the Ubuntu project, as well as the numerous Ubuntu enhancements and bug fixes.
Despite the discouragingly long release cycle, Debian continues to grow. Its unstable repository now contains more than 22,000 packages, while the testing one, which will soon become Debian GNU/Linux 4.0, has more than 20,000. And unlike Ubuntu, which only provides a tiny subset of these packages in their stable, supported branch, all 20,000+ of them will receive full security attention for the duration of Etch's lifetime - i.e. at least two years. This in itself, combined with curiosity about the technical merits of this remarkable project, will likely entice many Ubuntu users into trying Debian "proper" in early 2007. Especially those users who, after having cut their Linux teeth on Ubuntu, now feel confident in being able to install and manage Debian, and users in environments where stability is preferred over features, should give Etch serious consideration. Debian will have an excellent year.
 Next, Slackware Linux, the world's oldest surviving Linux distribution. It is very tempting to copy what I wrote about Slackware at the end of last year and paste it here - after all, it barely changes as the years go by. The age-old installer with limited hardware detection and no configuration options, the blinking cursor after the first reboot that gives away no secrets about what to do next, the ageing 2.4 kernel, only 544 supported packages, a web site designed in mid-nineties, the upgrade procedure that only the geekiest of geeks could possibly love.... Does anybody still use it?
And yet, Slackware is probably the most misunderstood distribution available today. Its clean and UNIX-like design is a big attraction among the more technical users, while its thorough testing process and the experience gained by its sole developer over the last 14 years of work are guarantees that any new version is rock-solid and in no need of embarrassing bug-fix updates. The 2.4 kernel makes Slackware one of the few distributions that will run on older computers while many server users will appreciate the fast security updates. And for those who like the clean concept of Slackware but find it far too user-unfriendly and hard to configure, remember that you can always run it in the form of Zenwalk Linux or VectorLinux, two excellent Slackware variants worth looking into.
 The source-based Gentoo Linux didn't have a particularly exciting year. The popularity of the once highly innovative distribution continues to drop as many people who install it eventually conclude that it's simply too much work. The Gentoo Planet pages are full of it's-not-as-much-fun-as-it-once-was types of posts by disillusioned (and often very young) Gentoo developers, while the Gentoo forums tend to be filled with complaints about bugs that never get fixed. The unusually high turnover of Gentoo developers adds further worries about the ability of Gentoo leaders to nurture the initial enthusiasm of those who join the project. In a way, Gentoo has become a community of developers where everybody works on whatever catches his or her fancy, rather than pulling together towards a common and clearly defined goal.
The good news is that the uniqueness of Gentoo, together with its excellent package management utilities and many advanced configuration options are a major attraction for independent developers who want to take the Gentoo base and re-build it into an easy-to-use binary distribution. We have seen much good work and amazing ideas by VLOS and Kororaa, but it was SabayonLinux that stole the thunder and produced what turned out to be the biggest star of 2006 on the Linux distribution scene - a complete live and installation CD/DVD (using the Anaconda installer, instead of the recently developed, but rather complex Gentoo installer) with the most bleeding edge features currently emerging in the open source software world. Excellent for demonstrating the rapid advancements of Linux on the desktop!
SimplyMEPIS and PCLinuxOS continue to get positive vibe in the Linux media for their user-friendly features and complete range of software, media codecs, drivers and plugins that are often missing from other distributions. On the negative side, both projects lack clear roadmaps, while the continued absence of the latest technologies, such as 3D desktop effects, make them less appealing for their original target market that might consider migrating to more innovative distributions. Whether they continue to thrive in 2007 will largely depend on their adaptability, but chances are that at least one of them won't be around this time next year.
Of course, there are many other projects that have striven to produce quality releases throughout the year. At the risk of unintentionally leaving out a few favourites, here is a brief list of distributions that your DistroWatch maintainer was most impressed by in 2006: SabayonLinux (due to its bleeding edge nature), Pardus Linux (thanks to unique package management ideas, innovative start-up sequence and general desktop polish), Parsix GNU/Linux (because of the project developer's undying enthusiasm for all things Linux and open source), PC-BSD and Nexenta (for attempting to deliver FreeBSD and Solaris to the desktop), and AUSTRUMI (for squeezing so much quality software into a 50MB live CD). In short, innovation, enthusiasm, and courage to try something that had not been done before were, in my books, the winning traits of 2006.
Now for the topic of this week's discussion: have you found your ideal distribution? Or do you intend to continue distro-hopping in the quest to unearth that perfect one? Do you intend to continue trying out new releases as they come or have you settled into a routine and no amount of excitement about a new version will make you give it a partition? Any interesting predictions for 2007? Who do you think will be on the top of our Page Hit Ranking statistics in 12 months from now? Please comment below.
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| Miscellaneous News |
Fedora revamps RPM, KNOPPIX 5.1, Debian release update, Arch Linux Office Install CD, Dreamlinux interview
The Fedora Project has announced a major initiative to restart the development of the RPM Package Manager, a utility used not only by Red Hat and Fedora, but also SUSE Linux/openSUSE, Mandriva Linux and a number of other distributions: "The Fedora Project is leading the creation of a new community around RPM. One in which the leaders can come from Fedora, from Red Hat, from Novell, from Mandriva, or from anywhere. Job #1 is to take the current RPM code base and clean it up, and in doing so work with all the other people and groups who rely on RPM to build a first-rate upstream project." For more information please read this announcement at FedoraNews.org.
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 Although the days of twice-per-week KNOPPIX live CD releases seem to be a thing of the past, it doesn't mean that the project has been abandoned. In fact, we might be in for Christmas surprise soon. Klaus Knopper in Knoppix 5.1 Mini-Announcement: "To give you a brief overview about what we have done recently, and what's still pending, here is a short list." The founder of the popular live CD then explains that KNOPPIX 5.1 will likely come with a little-known new file system called Aufs (instead of the reportedly buggy Unionfs), kernel 2.6.19, KDE 3.5.5, OpenOffice.org 2.1.0 and most other software synchronised with Debian Etch, ntfs-3g, and a number of new or improved scripts. When will it be out, you ask? "I'm not giving a release date, but hopefully (no promises) we'll get it ready before the year is over."
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Andreas Barth has published a release update regarding the upcoming release of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0. Although it does not provide any information about the probable release date of the much awaited Etch, it does hint at what many suspected was one of the reasons for the current delay - the go slow strike of some of those Debian developers who strongly objected to the Dunc-Tank experiment to fund the work of two release managers with generous salaries: "There was a large disadvantage of the whole experiment: Some people who used to do good work reduced their involvement drastically. There was nothing I could do about it, and that happened way before I started full-time on release, but on the global picture that still counts. So, as a first summary, I am happy with my own involvement, but that doesn't necessarily apply to the full experiment." Read all about it in Release update and more.
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 If you've ever wanted to try Arch Linux, but were discouraged by its awkward installation program and the complex task to convert the base system into a usable desktop, here is a new option for you - Arch Linux Office Install CD (ALOI-CD): "This CD installs a complete setup of Arch Linux distribution. No 'configure' is needed except to prepare hard disk, set mount points, and install the LILO boot loader. Also no post configure. Once installed, you can start working with popular Linux programs for office, Internet, and web development. If you are new to Linux, this installer is a good starting place to begin." The latest version of ALOI-CD was released over the weekend; it comes with Linux kernel 2.6.18.3, X.Org 7.0, KDE 3.5.5, Firefox 2.0, OpenOffice.org 2.0.4 and the usual open source software applications. Download the CD image from here: arch-office-install-0.7.2.6.iso (695MB, MD5).
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 Dreamlinux, an excellent graphics- and multimedia-oriented distribution with a Mac OS X theme has been gaining popularity among the DistroWatch readers in recent months. But who is behind this Brazilian beauty? LinuxSoft has all the answers in this interesting interview with João Batista Esteves, the project leader of Dreamlinux. The author talks about the ideas that led to the creation of the project, touches on various aspects of the development of Dreamlinux, gives his opinion on the current state of desktop Linux, weighs on some of the topics affecting the Linux community, and comments on the state of Linux deployment in Brazil. Not quite in fluent English, but nevertheless worth a read if you are interested in this promising project.
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| Released Last Week |
EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.11
EnGarde Secure Linux has been updated to version 3.0.11: "Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.11. This release includes several bug fixes and feature enhancements to the SELinux policy and several updated packages. The following reported bugs from bugs.engardelinux.org are fixed in this release: SELinux stops ntpd from creating drift file; SELinux stops ntpq and ntpdc from access to NTP; ntpd cannot find time servers; aide log filter wrong again. Other bugs are fixed in this release as well. New features include: the latest stable versions of BIND, OpenSSH, PHP, Postfix, Samba, Snort, Squid." Read the full release announcement for more information.
SabayonLinux 3.2 "miniEdition"
A new version of the single-CD edition of SabayonLinux has been released. From the changelog: "Linux kernel 2.6.18.4 with Intel Pro wireless 3945 out-of-the-box support; improved and production-ready GPU automatic detection; OpenGL sub-system wrong auto-detection and user error detector (will greatly improve the number of NVIDIA and ATI supported cards); new HAL 0.5.8.1, supports full NTFS read and write out-of-the-box through FUSE and in general much more powerful; NVIDIA drivers 1.0-9631 (fixes bug on GeForce3/4 video cards); ATI drivers 8.31.5; KOffice 1.6.1; fixed nohdparm boot option; improved NetworkManager; fixed installation from USB CD/DVD media." The release announcement.
Linux-EduCD 0.7
Linux-EduCD is a Polish live DVD based on KANOTIX, with focus on education, graphics, office, multimedia and software development. Version 0.7 was released yesterday; some of the more important new features include: addition of the Compiz desktop; integration of GParted into the hard disk installer; new boot options; Linux kernel 2.6.18 with extra drivers and modules; KDE 3.5.5; OpenOffice.org 2.0.4; a range of educational software (Celestia, OpenDX, PyMOL, Rasmol, DrGeo, Yacas); multimedia applications (GIMP 2.2.13, Blender 2.42, Amarok, Audacity, Xine); network and system administration software (Wireshark, Nessus, Iptraf, EtherApe, Cheops); new development packages (DrScheme, Ruby, VisualPython, GPS, GNAT, Glade). Read the release announcement (in Polish) for further details and download links.
NetSecL 2.0
Iuri Stanchev has announced the release of NetSecl 2.0, a security-focused distribution based on Slackware Linux: "NetSecL 2.0 is out! This release has packages for i486 machines up to 64 bit, it includes the NetSecL firewall that has the ability to work with Snort Inline, more than 200 updates! The security was improved thanks to the new Binutils supporting PT_PAX_FLAGS - all i486_64 packages are compiled with it. Also I have included Tork and with it you can use tor to anonymize yourself on the web. Most hardened distros still go with the X.Org 6.8.2, well guess what - we have Xorg 6.9.0. I have finally fixed most problems with the PAX permissions and we now use a generic 2.6.x kernel which is also a paranoia kernel. The hardware recognition was also improved with the new version of Discover and some additional modules." Here is the brief release announcement.
VectorLinux 5.8
VectorLinux 5.8 has been released: "The VectorLinux development team is proud to announce the release of VectorLinux 5.8 Standard, code named 'Santa' (Merry Christmas!). This is the fruit that has resulted from several months of coding, debugging and testing by the core development team and the VectorLinux community. This release follows our legendary tradition of stability (inherited from Slackware 11.0), blazing speed on even modest hardware, and simplicity of design and function. The release features fully-working browser plugins, including Flash 9, Java, mp3, Real and Windows media, and DVD playback. Additional features include: Linux kernel 2.6.18.5, fully customized Xfce 4.3.99.2, SeaMonkey 1.0.6, Firefox 2.0 and Opera 9.10, the GIMP and Xara LX for your graphic needs, AbiWord and Gnumeric for your office tasks...." More details in the release announcement.
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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 |
New distributions added to waiting list
- Kuliax. Kuliax is an Indonesian distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux. It is promoted among the Information Technology students in Indonesia as a possible replacement for proprietary operating systems and software.
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DistroWatch database summary
And this concludes our latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 1 January 2007. Until then,
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • 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 |
| • 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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| Shells.com |
Your own personal Linux computer in the cloud, available on any device. Supported operating systems include Android, Debian, Fedora, KDE neon, Kubuntu, Linux Mint, Manjaro and Ubuntu, ready in minutes.
Starting at US$4.95 per month, 7-day money-back guarantee
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| Random Distribution | 
Trisquel GNU/Linux
Trisquel GNU/Linux is a 100% libre Ubuntu-based Linux distribution. Its main purpose is to provide an operating system for varied audience, including home and office users, educational institutions, multimedia workstations, etc. The project is managed by independent developers and is partially funded by donations.
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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