 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 183, 1 January 2007 |
Happy New Year and welcome to this year's first issue of DistroWatch Weekly! With another exciting year safely behind us, we'll start the first issue of DistroWatch Weekly in 2007 with a statistical look at the popularity of Linux distributions and other interesting data collected here during the past year. The news section will then bring a varied collection of happenings from the distro world, including news about the latest beta release of SimplyMEPIS, updates about the forthcoming Fedora 7, information about the release blockers delaying Debian GNU/Linux 4.0, links to interviews with the developers of Ulteo and SabayonLinux, and alerts to articles of interest to users of PCLinuxOS, openSUSE and Yellow Dog Linux. Finally, we are pleased to announce that the December 2006 DistroWatch donation goes to SabayonLinux. Happy reading!
Content:
- Statistics: DistroWatch in 2006
- News: SimplyMEPIS, Fedora and Debian release updates, Ulteo and SabayonLinux interviews, openSUSE repositories, MagDriva
- Released last week: Fedora Core 6 Live CD, KNOPPIX 5.1
- Upcoming releases: FreeBSD 6.2, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
- Donations: SabayonLinux receives US$450
- New additions: Thisk Server
- New distributions: AsteriskNOW, eBox, Linkat GNU/Linux, Ophcrack Live CD, Parted Magic, Slax-LFI, Super Gamer
- Reader comments
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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| Statistics |
DistroWatch in 2006
Let's start the new year with some interesting statistics from the world of BSDs and Linux distributions, as collected here at DistroWatch during the past 365 days. First, a list of the top 25 distributions ranked by page hit figures in the 12 months of 2006, compared with the same period a year earlier. As the table below indicates, Ubuntu maintained its top spot for the second consecutive year, but the margin of its lead has dropped from 882 to 625 hits per day, as openSUSE appeared to be catching up fast towards the end of 2006. Mandriva, KNOPPIX and Xandros continued their downward spirals, while, interestingly, the two "geek" distributions, Slackware and Gentoo, swapped places in the table. New in the top 25 are SabayonLinux, Xubuntu and Freespire, replacing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Linspire and VLOS. And the biggest climbers? Zenwalk shot up 8 and PCLinuxOS went up 5 places.
The overall page hit ranking statistics tells us which pages the visitors of DistroWatch viewed most often, but it doesn't uncover the fastest growing distributions. The table below lists 5 rising stars ranked by the number of spots they climbed in 2006 (on the left) and by the difference in their page hit ranking figures between the end of 2005 and end of 2006 (on the right). As we can see, Elive was the fastest climber in terms of number of places it rose during the year (+71), while openSUSE won by the number of visits - on average 576 more people per day viewed the openSUSE page in 2006 than in 2005. And the biggest losers? White Box Enterprise Linux (down by 55 places) and Mandriva Linux (down by 649 views per day). Only distributions that made the top 100 lists in both 2005 and 2006 were included in this comparison.
Those readers who are interested in longer-term changes in the Page Hit Ranking statistics can find additional information in Análisis del ranking de DistroWatch 2002-2005. Although the article is in Spanish, the accompanying charts provide nice visual representation of the data, once again confirming the dramatic rise in the popularity of SUSE Linux/openSUSE and a disappointing drop in interest in Mandriva Linux over the last few years.
In 2006 DistroWatch.com had another record year, but the growth of the site (in terms of number of visitors) wasn't as dramatic as during the previous years when the traffic doubled roughly every 8 months. The table below shows the year-on-year growth between December 2005 and December 2006, indicating that the total number of visits grew by 22.5% in 2006. Overall, in 2006 DistroWatch.com served a total of 128.6 million pages to 36.2 million visitors who consumed 6.99 terabytes of bandwidth. The data were collected from the main DistroWatch.com server only and do not include the five mirror sites.
| DistroWatch.com Year-on-year Growth |
|---|
| Indicator |
December 2005 |
December 2006 |
% Change |
| Total visits |
2,556,512 |
3,132,144 |
+22.5% |
| Unique visits |
654,674 |
836,498 |
+27.8% |
| Pages viewed |
10,348,689 |
11,480,484 |
+10.9% |
| Total hits |
44,813,793 |
54,537,058 |
+21.7% |
| Bandwidth |
496.59GB |
628.60GB |
+26.6% |
Despite slowing growth, the popularity of DistroWatch.com reached all-time high during the year 2006. According to Netcraft.com, it is now the 936th most popular web site on the Internet, which makes DistroWatch one of the highest ranked Linux and open source news sites available today. For comparison, OSNews.com is ranked slightly lower, at the 965th place. Alexa.com, another engine ranking the popularity of web sites, gives different figures, however; here OSNews.com is ranked at the 6,750th place, while DistroWatch.com is the 9,140th most popular web site.
All in all, DistroWatch.com had an excellent year. Besides attracting a record number of visitors, the proceeds from advertising enabled us to donate a total of US$5,160 to various open source software projects, including FreeBSD, Gentoo Linux, Puppy Linux, SabayonLinux, Blender, Inkscape, digiKam and several other projects, and we also gave away four boxes of Mandriva Linux 2007 in a competition. The only disappointing aspect of the past year was the fact that the development of the web site stagnated due to lack of time and the implementation of many requested features had to be postponed. With the ever growing number of distributions, the constant flow of interesting news, and the regular weekly newsletter and monthly Linux Format column, things are rather hectic around here. But who knows, maybe a miracle will occur and a volunteer contributor or developer will join the DistroWatch team in 2007 to make things happen. Any takers?
Happy and prosperous New Year to all!
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| Miscellaneous News |
SimplyMEPIS, Fedora and Debian release updates, Ulteo and SabayonLinux interviews, openSUSE repositories, MagDriva
 After months of quiet work, the developers of SimplyMEPIS have released an updated CD image, marking the start of a new testing period for the popular beginner-friendly distribution. The most noticeable change after booting SimplyMEPIS 6.0-4 is the new artwork, icon set and desktop theme. Gone is the wallpaper with the MEPIS pyramid and the KAquarium applet also no longer wastes space on the KDE panel. Hardware detection and auto-configuration, including support for wireless networking, have also been through some welcome improvements. Further good news awaits those users whose computers are powered by 64-bit processors: this is the first time that the SimplyMEPIS developers released an x86_64 edition of their product. However, those who expect a complete overhaul of included software will be disappointed; apart from a few visible applications, such as Firefox 2.0, most of the system was left unchanged from version 6.0. The final release of SimplyMEPIS 6.0-4 is expected around the middle of January.
SimplyMEPIS 6.0-4 comes with a refreshing new desktop theme.
(full image size: 510kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * *
 We talked about the upcoming changes in Fedora Core 7 in an earlier issue of DistroWatch Weekly, but it wasn't until just before the holidays that the preliminary plans for the upcoming release were finalised. As indicated previously, the biggest change will be the merge of "Core" and "Extras" into one huge repository of thousands of packages. Once Fedora 7 is released in the form of CD/DVD images, it will come in three editions - "Fedora Desktop", "Fedora Server" and "Fedora KDE". Among the many other new features the developers are promising rock solid wireless networking support, boot and shutdown speed-up, RandR 1.2, KVM virtualisation support, encrypted file systems, and other enhancements. Testing is expected to start with the launch of Fedora 7 Test1 on January 30th, while the final release is scheduled for April 24th. For more information please read this mailing list post by Bill Nottingham.
* * * * *
 A number of interesting announcements appeared on the debian-devel-announce mailing list over the past couple of weeks. Firstly, Andreas Barth published a message highlighting the current release blockers that keep delaying the release of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 Etch. The major problems appear to be bugs in the recently uploaded Linux kernel 2.6.19, continuing issues with libpng, and a delay by the Debian-Installer team which has yet to release the second candidate of the Debian installation program. In the meantime, the release critical bug count refuses to budge below the 100 mark, suggesting that further delays might be inevitable. Finally, Steve McIntyre posted a message summarising the recent work of the debian-cd team, which has increased the number of daily and weekly builds of CD and DVD images for each release - a good read if you are planning to install Debian in the near future, but are confused by the sheer number of available options.
* * * * *
 Several readers emailed us about the new release of Super Gamer, a PCLinuxOS-based live DVD, with a large collection of free and commercial demo games: "The long awaited Super Gamer 2 release is here. This release adds updated hardware drivers, including additional SATA support, USB keyboard and mouse support, and NVIDIA video drivers downloaded from NVIDIA's web site. Hardware detection has also been updated. Some extra tweaks have been added to improve application loading." If you are interested in Linux gaming, head for the project's download page to get the torrent file: supergamer2.iso (3.80GB). A review of Super Gamer 1 was previously published by Tuxmachines.
* * * * *
 Karsten Kurtze from MandrivaUser.de has emailed us to announce the availability of a new issue of MagDriva, a German-language magazine devoted to (not only) Mandriva Linux: "MandrivaUser.de, a German Forum dealing with all topics of Mandriva Linux, has published another issue of its free and community magazine MagDriva (03/2006). Users having a good grasp of German are invited to download MagDriva from the project's FTP server. There are three different versions of the magazine depending on graphics quality and download size. If you have a fast Internet connection, just download the first version at maximum quality (9.6kB). The contents of MagDriva 03/2006 include news of Mandriva and Mandriva Linux, an interview with Gaël Duval, as well as several useful HOWTOs and articles. You will need a PDF reader to view the magazine. Happy reading!"
* * * * *
 Those of you who would like to read the above-mentioned interview with Gaël Duval, but don't understand German are in luck - the interview has been translated into English. In it, the founder of Mandrake and Ulteo talks about his early days of developing Mandrake Linux, highlights some of the concepts of Ulteo, adds a few thoughts about the current state of desktop Linux, and even branches out into global issues, such as ecological problems and poverty. Answering the question about the differences between the business aspects of Mandrake and Ulteo, Duval replies: "I think that compared to the Mandriva experience, this time I want to keep control." Read the full interview here.
* * * * *
 Speaking about interviews, here is another good one - with Christopher Villareal (better known as civil64), the co-developer of SabayonLinux: "We have implemented a lot of fixes and much better hardware detection schemes. We have the newest NVIDIA and ATI drivers included, with the binaries created at runtime. One of the greatest achievements was getting rid of the 2 GB Squashfs limit so now we can offer greater support and more fun things to play with. As always, we keep the kernel up to date, latest GNOME and KDE with a brand new Kicker that was ported over from SUSE. ... Stay tuned for 3.3, we are going to take our time on this one and focus on great new features that I'm sure the crowd will love - better upgrade procedures, more tools to help maintaining a Gentoo system simpler for the beginner, and much much more!"
* * * * *
 Do you run openSUSE, but need more software than the 3,000+ packages that the project provides in its supported repositories? Then take a look at this blog post, which lists no fewer than 109 third-party repositories for the latest release of openSUSE: "Here is the most complete list of repositories that you can ever find on this planet for your openSUSE 10.2." As always, use them at your own risk: "May I remind you, that by adding unknown (what those repositories contain) and untested (the ones which are considered as unstable) repositories, you might damage your openSUSE 10.2 integrity (dependencies and so forth, the worst being you are unable to load your favourite application). Don't just blindly add them, make sure what you are doing. Also, even if you decide to add them all, it will definitely take time every time you launch YaST (with option refresh turned on) or SMART (when updating repository database)." Surely, with a long list like that, even the most demanding openSUSE users will be able to find any software package they could possibly need!
* * * * *
 Those who intend to install a Linux distribution on a Sony PlayStation 3 will be pleased to learn that Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 is now available for free download. Originally released on 27 November, Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 is a Fedora-based distribution tailored to run on Sony PlayStation 3. It features a graphical installation program and includes the Linux kernel 2.6.16, X.Org 7.0 (3D acceleration not supported), Enlightenment 17 as the default desktop (KDE 3.5.3 and GNOME 2.14 are also available), Firefox 1.5, OpenOffice.org 2.0.2 and other popular open source software applications for desktops, servers, media playback and software development. For more information please read the Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 product pages. Here is a quick link to the latest DVD image: yellowdog-5.0-phoenix-20061208-PS3.iso (3,409MB, MD5).
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| Released Last Week |
Pardus Linux 2007
After several months of beta testing, Pardus Linux 2007 final has been released. Here is a brief list of the distribution's most interesting features: "Multilingual installer - it is possible to install Pardus in Turkish, English, Spanish, German or Dutch; smaller packages, faster updates - thanks to the improvements to the Pardus package manager PiSi; package manager - the intuitive graphical interface of PiSi makes updates and installation of software much easier; fast start-up - the new init system developed using the Pardus configuration framework ÇOMAR makes the start-up much faster; new and up-to-date applications - more than 640 packages are installed from the CD, and more than 1000 available over the Internet." Read the release announcement and release notes for more details.
ZenEdu 0.3
The Zenwalk Linux project has announced the release of ZenEdu 0.3, a distribution whose main goal is to provide an easy-to-install, stable and free operating system to nurseries and primary schools. ZenEdu includes a good collection of teachers' tools for their daily educational work as well as games dedicated to children. ZenEdu 0.3 is based on Zenwalk Linux 4.0, with a number of applications removed and replaced with educational software, such as Dr Geo, GCompris, GNU Chess, OpenOffice.org, TuxMath, Tux Paint, Tuxtype, and many others. The distribution currently supports French only. For more information about the project and its goals please read the release announcement and visit ZenEdu's presentation page with screenshots (both links in French).
Linux Mint 2.1
A new stable version of Linux Mint has been released: "Linux Mint 2.1, code name "Bea", is out and available for download." Here is a brief list of some of the changes since version 2.0: "OpenOffice 2.1; mintDesktop, which adds a lot of desktop improvements; quick access to the computer, home places and terminal; ability to delete files directly without sending them to the trash; mintDesktop home folders; Beagle search; Tomboy notes; network manager; mintWifi, the purpose of which is to configure a wireless card without an Internet connection; tutorials to install and configure WiFi cards; a collection of WiFi drivers to support about 40 different wireless card models; RealPlayer was replaced with MPlayer plugins with support for Quicktime, AVI, MPG and a lot of other web content; Flash plugin was upgraded to version 9 Beta 2...." Read the detailed release announcement for further information.
SystemRescueCd 0.3.0
A new major version of SystemRescueCd, a Gentoo-based live CD with tools for system repair, data recovery and partition editing, has been released. From the changelog: "Updated the kernel to Linux 2.6.18.5 with Reiser4 file system; added X.Org graphical environment with WindowMaker; added GParted 0.3.3 to replace QtParted; added ntfs3g (full NTFS read and write); added graphical editors (gVim, Leafpad); added graphical web browsers (Firefox 2.0 and Dillo); updated the file system tools (Parted, e2fsprogs, xfsprogs); updated the system (glibc, ClamAV); updated the bootdisks."
Kate OS 3.2
Kate OS 3.2 has been released: "Kate OS 3.2 is the third edition of the III series. It brings, as usual, many fixes, updates, and novelties the community has been waiting for. It includes a new graphical package management tool, KatePKG, which allows for easy and intuitive installation, removal, and updating of packages. KatePKG can handle any number of repositories, including user-created ones on the local drive. KatePKG was written in PHP using the PHP-GTK2 library. Kate OS 3.2 uses glibc library 2.5 which ensures binary compatibility with future editions. It also includes the Xfce environment version 4.4RC2, GNOME 2.16.2, KDE 3.5.5, OpenOffice.org 2.0.4, Firefox 2.0, and many other current applications." Read the rest of the release announcement on the project's home page.
Fedora Core 6 Live CD
David Zeuthen has announced the release of an official Fedora 6 live CD: "After lots of feedback, bug fixing and testing of the beta live CD announced 3 weeks ago, I'm pleased to announce the first official Fedora live CD. This live CD is based on packages from the Fedora Core 6 (code named 'Zod') and Fedora Extras package collections and is 100% free software. At a glance, the live CD features: Linux 2.6.18, GNOME 2.16 desktop environment, GStreamer 0.10 multimedia framework, X.Org 7.1, AIGLX and Compiz for 3D desktop, lots of applications including, but not limited to Beagle (desktop search), F-Spot (photo management), Evolution (email and calendering), Firefox (web browsing), Ekiga (IP telephony)...." Read the complete release announcement for additional details.
Nonux 4.0
A new version of Nonux, a Slackware-based live and installation CD designed for Dutch-speaking office environments, has been released. Version 4.0 is a major update, now based on Slackware Linux 11.0 and Linux kernel 2.6.18.2. The Dropline GNOME desktop environment has been updated to version 2.16.2, with many speed tweaks and other optimisations, while Firefox now comes in version 2.0 and OpenOffice.org in 2.0.4. Other changes include better hardware detection and power management, improved email notification applet, updated GParted partitioning tool and its associated components, and several newly included applications (graphics editing, graphical application for encryption and key management, and software for retrieving stock market quotes). Please visit the project's news page (in Dutch) to read the full release announcement.
K12LTSP Linux 6.0.0
Eric Harrison has announced the release of K12LTSP Linux 6.0.0: "Still looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the spouse? K12LTSP 6.0.0 is now available for all of your gift-giving needs!" What's new in this release? "K12LTSP 6.0.0 is based on Fedora Core 6, with a large number of changes including: LTSP 4.2 update 4; a bunch of packages from Fedora Extras; hundreds of updated FC6 packages; a handful of K12LTSP packages, just to spice things up. This release of K12LTSP is slightly different than past releases in that there is no specific 'LTSP' install option. If you want do a 'normal' Fedora Core 6 install from K12LTSP 6, simply uncheck the 'LTSP' package group. The 'Education' package group has been split up into two groups." More details in the release announcement.
Elive 0.6
A bug-fix update of Elive "Revolution" has been released. Here is a brief list of some of the changes: "Fixed SCSI emulation CD-ROM driver; fixed Czech boot option; fixed special character problems in menus; added new sounds to the 'Elive look'; installer updates which will fine-tune a new installation on first boot; new drivers for wireless networking; added Flash 9 beta browser plugin; removed OpenOffice.org from the ISO image due to space reasons; added Java; added Transmission - a small, fast, simple and effective BitTorrent client; added Torus trooper - a game; made Thunar the default file manager; updated Cinelerra to version 2.1; added KQEMU, a KDE front-end from QEMU; added measures to prevent root login into graphical desktop...." Visit the project's news page to read the full release announcement.
B2DLinux 20061226
A new stable release of B2D Linux, a Taiwanese desktop distribution based on KNOPPIX, has been released. The most important change is the addition of the light-weight LXDE desktop, which can be selected as an alternative desktop environment after booting, alongside the default KDE and the optional GNOME. Other changes include: upgraded to kernel 2.6.18.1; removed the proprietary NVIDIA kernel module, added NdisWrapper; removed StarDict; solved the problem with multiple programs accessing the audio device and other bug fixes; added Kdenlive video editor, KlamAV front-end for ClamAV anti-virus scanner, Cheops graphical utility for managing network connections; updated some packages available for installation with Klik (OpenOffice.org 2.0.4, Java Development Kit 6, Sodipodi and Songbird). Please read the release announcement (in Chinese) for further details.
KNOPPIX 5.1.0
Klaus Knopper has announced the release of KNOPPIX 5.1.0 live CD and DVD: "Finally, it's done. Just in the past couple of months, there has been quite a lot of new and exciting development in the GNU/Linux world, which of course should also be present in the current KNOPPIX version, even if some of the new and optional features (like the 3D desktop with Beryl) are still experimental. New kernel, KDE and OpenOffice.org releases have spoilt our planned release dates, but now all these are available in the new release. New: update to Debian Etch; Linux kernel 2.6.19.1 + FUSE 2.6.1; Cloop 2.05 real-time decompression; replace Unionfs with Aufs...." See the comprehensive release notes for more details.
A scene from Spitsbergen, Norway, graces the desktop of the latest KNOPPIX live CD/DVD.
(full image size: 1,255kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
PC-BSD 1.3
PC-BSD 1.3 has been released: "Just in time to ring in the New Year, the PC-BSD team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of PC-BSD version 1.3 for public download. This release incorporates many new features and options which make desktop computing easier than ever. Some of the new features include KDE 3.5.5, the 'PF' firewall, HAL backend support, a new 'Services' menu and much more! Additionally, the team is launching a web design contest for PC-BSD's new web site." Find more details in the release announcement, changelog and release notes.
SME Server 7.1
Gordon Rowell has announced the final release of SME Server 7.1, with only minor changes compared to the earlier release candidate: "The SME Server development team is pleased to announce the release of SME Server 7.1. This release has many new features and fixes for previously reported issues. All SME Server users should upgrade to this release. Major changes from SME Server 7.0: the CD no longer boots automatically into the installer; the installer now provides many Raid and LVM configuration options; the Software Installer has been enhanced to provide better feedback during installs and to deal with large update sets; local mail delivery is noticeably faster." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information.
ParallelKnoppix 2.2
A new bug-fix release of ParallelKnoppix is out: "For those of you who like to start the new year with a new release, version 2.2 is out. This release meets the long term goal of removing the need to mount a storage device. Since no storage device is used, the permissions bug that affected versions 2.0 and 2.1 when VFAT file systems were used is no longer an issue. From the changelog: a major change - everything is done in RAM, hard disks and/or USB storage are no longer needed or used; current Debian unstable, rather than KNOPPIX, is now the base, all packages have been upgraded; the compute nodes boot up to KDM, and you can't log in to them - this is intended to improve security, since the only access to the cluster is through the master node or over the net." Find the full release announcement on the project's home page.
* * * * *
Development and unannounced releases
- Arch Linux 0.8 Alpha, the release announcement
- LinuxTLE 8.0-beta, the release notes (in Thai)
- Freespire 3.0-alpha3, the release announcement
- SmoothWall 3.0-alpha3 "Koala", the release announcement
- Trustix Secure Linux 3.0.5-beta3, the release announcement
- SimplyMEPIS 6.0-4-beta1, the press release
- m0n0wall 1.3-beta2, the release announcement
- Damn Small Linux 3.2-rc2, the release announcement
- FreeBSD 6.2-RC2, the release announcement
- Pioneer MigrationSERVER Beta2, the press release
- Mandriva Linux 2007.1-alpha1, the release notes
- GeeXboX 2.0-preview1, the release notes
- Guadalinex 4-beta
- Berry Linux 0.77
- Musix GNU/Linux 0.79-beta19
- Thisk Server 4.1.4
- Kurumin Linux 7.0-beta6
- LG3D LiveCD 2.99.5
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
FreeBSD 6.2
The FreeBSD project has updated the release schedule of the upcoming FreeBSD 6.2. The final release of the much delayed update is expected to be announced on January 10th. Please see the release schedule for further details.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
The all new Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 will be released on 28 February 2007. That's according to this news report by CNET: "'I'm sure we will ship a gold (version) on February 28,' Chief Executive Matthew Szulik, referring to the final version, said in an interview after the company reported its quarterly financial results. ... One major feature arriving in RHEL 5 is Xen, virtualization software that lets a single computer run multiple operating systems simultaneously. The technology's initial advantage is to let administrators load up a server more efficiently, but virtualization in the longer run also holds promise for reliability and flexibility because virtual machines can be moved from one computer to another while running."
* * * * *
Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
December 2006 donation: SabayonLinux receives US$450
We are pleased to announce that the recipient of the DistroWatch.com December 2006 donation is the SabayonLinux project (US$450.00).
As one of the fastest growing Linux distribution of the year, SabayonLinux is a proof that innovation and aggressive push for bleeding edge features are popular traits among the readers of DistroWatch. The developers of this Gentoo-based project have produced a surprise treat for those users who enjoy the latest and greatest open source software, combined with emerging technologies, such as the 3D desktop effects. More recently, much work has also gone into its Anaconda-based installation program and easy upgradability, as well as improvements in desktop design and user interface. Compatibility with Gentoo Linux is a further bonus for those users who enjoy "emerging" new software.
It's always nice to receive a "thank you" email after any donation; this was the reaction of Fabio Erculiani, the distribution's founder and lead developer, after he learnt about the unexpected windfall: "Oh my God! I haven't any other words to express our gratitude for your HUGE and astonishing donation! Thanks a lot!!!!!"
SabayonLinux was one of the fastest-growing Linux distribution in 2006.
(full image size: 390kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
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 - LinuxCD.org, OSDisc.com and TheLinuxShop.co.uk. The three CD/DVD vendors contributed US$50.00 each towards this month's donation to SabayonLinux.
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$11,390 to various open source software projects.
* * * * *
New distributions added to database
- Thisk Server. Thisk Server is a Debian-based Linux distribution designed for PBX (Private Branch Exchange) environments. It uses Asterisk - a free software implementation of PBX.
* * * * *
New distributions added to waiting list
- AsteriskNOW. AsteriskNOW is an open source software appliance, a customised Linux distribution that includes the Asterisk PBX software, the Asterisk GUI, and all other software needed for an Asterisk system. Based on rPath Linux.
- eBox. eBox is a Debian and Morphix-based Linux server distribution. It features eBox Management Tool, a web-based graphical user interface for configuring and managing servers from a remote machine.
- Ophcrack Live CD. Ophcrack Live CD is a SLAX-based live CD designed for a single purpose - to crack Windows passwords with the help of rainbow tables.
- Linkat GNU/Linux. Linkat GNU/Linux is an openSUSE-based distribution developed by Department of Education at the regional government of Catalonia in Spain. It is designed for deployment in local educational institutions.
- Parted Magic. Parted Magic is a 30MB live CD/USB with its only purpose being partitioning hard drives. Although GParted and Parted are the main programs, the CD/USB also offers programs like PartImage, TestDisk, fdisk, sfdisk, dd, etc... Parted Magic is based on the GParted LiveCD project and falls under the terms of the GPL.
- Slax-LFI. Slax-LFI is a French rescue CD based on Slackware and SLAX. It includes GParted, Partimage, KDE, ddrescue and documentation.
- Super Gamer. Super Gamer is a PCLinuxOS-based live DVD optimised for a gaming environment, with some tweaks to help speeding up its performance and with Linux native games - both free and commercial demo ones.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
And this concludes our latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 8 January 2007. Until then,
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS is a user-friendly Linux distribution with out-of-the-box support for many popular graphics and sound cards, as well as other peripheral devices. The bootable live DVD provides an easy-to-use graphical installer and the distribution sports a wide range of popular applications for the typical desktop user, including browser plugins and full multimedia playback. The intuitive system configuration tools include Synaptic for package management, Addlocale to add support to many languages and Mylivecd to create a customised live CD.
Status: Active
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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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