 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 193, 12 March 2007 |
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Welcome to this year's 11th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Twenty news announcements on the main page of DistroWatch turned last week into the busiest one so far this year, but things are unlikely to slow down much in the coming days either. The new GNOME 2.18, whose bits and pieces are slowly starting to appear on some mirrors, will be followed by the much awaited Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 later this week, while new development releases from Mandriva Linux (2007.1 RC1) and openSUSE (10.3 alpha 2) are also expected shortly. In other news: How OpenBSD and an old IBM laptop saved a construction project in a Central American jungle, an introduction to Conary - a package management system done right, and a brief comparison between Linux Mint and Freespire - two distributions with similar goals and identical base systems. The feature story of this week's issue looks at the deepening management crisis at Gentoo Linux. Happy reading!
Content:
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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| Commentary |
Gentoo in crisis
 Last week, the Gentoo project entered the lowest point of its 7-year old existence. The single most telling statement attesting to this fact is this brief excerpt from the current issue of Gentoo Weekly News:
The following developers recently joined the Gentoo project:
* Daniel Robbins (drobbins) AMD64 team
The following developers recently left the Gentoo project:
* Daniel Robbins (drobbins)
Yes, this is the same Daniel Robbins who founded Gentoo Linux back in the year 2000 and who left the project in 2004 for personal reasons. He officially re-joined the Gentoo development team two weeks ago - only to resign a few days later. The reason? Strong personal attacks by some of the current developers of the project.
Take this mailing list post by Ciaran McCreesh. Replying to another developer's request to treat Daniel Robbins with respect, he resorted to the following tirade:
What kind of response do you think anyone else would have received had they started repeatedly attacking a project when they didn't even know what that project was, repeatedly tried to interfere with the management of a project when they don't know who is involved with or managing said project, repeatedly posted all kinds of outright lies after having been told that something was untrue and repeatedly resorted to ad hominem attacks in a technical discussion? I'd say that, all things considered, people are showing Daniel an awful lot of respect...
Now, let's review the credentials of Daniel Robbins. After working as a Stampede Linux and FreeBSD developer, he eventually founded his own distribution - Gentoo Linux. By the time he resigned from the project some four years later, Gentoo had become the fastest growing Linux distribution of all times - a much-loved project with a wealth of original ideas, truly comprehensive documentation and excellent package management system. At the same time, Daniel Robbins, an expert kernel and Python hacker, contributed nearly a hundred well-written Linux articles to the IBM developerWorks, including various topics covering the Linux Professional Institute certification exams. Although certainly not without his faults, Daniel Robbins has become one of the best-known personalities the Linux world has ever seen.
Contrast that to the credentials of some of the current Gentoo developers who are so quick to attack the former Chief Architect at every opportunity. Even if they have written useful code that has improved the distribution, they have a very long way to go before they reach the same status as their former benevolent dictator. Furthermore, one has to wonder: with the amount of time some of them spend flaming other people on the various mailing lists and planet blogs, do they actually have any time for coding?
This highlights the complete ineffectiveness of the current power structures at Gentoo Linux. If a person who repeatedly engages in personal attacks against other developers is permitted to remain with the project, then there is something wrong with the way the distribution is managed. Yes, disagreeing with other developers on organisational and technical matters is perfectly fine; launching personal attacks against anybody who has a different idea is not. We see an awful lot of disagreements on the Debian developers' mailing lists as well, but rarely, if ever, we see such staunch personal attacks as we've been seeing on the Gentoo developers' mailing lists.
Talking about Debian, it's worth noting another interesting point. While the Gentoo social contract was loosely modelled on the one written by Debian, the more observant among the readers will notice the lack of any outward statements that would define the goals and priorities of the Gentoo distribution. As an example, the point 4 of the Debian Social Contract clearly states that: "We will be guided by the needs of our users and the free software community. We will place their interests first in our priorities." In contrast, Gentoo has no such clause anywhere in its Gentoo Social Contract and the word "user" is hardly ever mentioned.
Conflicts and disagreements are a natural part of any large and democratic organisation. Ironically, it was Daniel Robbins who first pointed out the dangers of working with "freaks", as he called them, in his article Making the distribution, where he described some of the events that eventually lead to the collapse of Stampede Linux. Many other open source software projects also suffer from large scale flame wars from time to time. However, what distinguishes Gentoo from other such projects is the fact that it doesn't have a mechanism to deal with poisonous individuals. Or to be more precise, the existing mechanism do not work, since the present structures don't have the necessary powers to be effective in solving conflicts. As a result, over the last few years Gentoo Linux has degenerated into a loose structure that is increasingly run by a small, power-hungry clique that resents any attempt to change the current status quo.
As such, Gentoo has become a distribution without any clear goals, without the drive to implement new ideas, and without the ability to deliver products that its users want. Quite a sharp contrast to a few years ago when one couldn't take part in an online distro discussion without somebody coming out with a strong recommendation for Gentoo!
Can anything be done to reverse the situation and to return Gentoo on the path of its former glory? Without the radical overhaul of the Gentoo power structures, it's highly unlikely that anything positive will be done to Gentoo in the near future. With the developer turnover at an all-time high, there is little chance that even the minimum of release and bug-fixing goals will be met. But since the current project leaders are unable to see the rapid downfall of the distribution and unwilling to take any radical measures to reverse the trend, there is little hope for the project. Unless they wake up soon, Gentoo Linux, once the most innovative and refreshing of all distributions, will become nothing more than an average, buggy operating system characterised by endless bickering among the few developers that will bother to remain with it.
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| Miscellaneous News |
New features in openSUSE 10.3, OpenBSD in a Guatemalan jungle, Conary package management, Ark Linux, Linux Mint vs Freespire
 While most of the major Linux distributions are in advanced stages of preparations for their upcoming releases, the openSUSE project has barely started its own development cycle (the second alpha release of openSUSE 10.3 is scheduled for release later this week). What can we expect at the end of the long road? Andreas Jaeger, the openSUSE release coordinator, has published a series of slides (in PDF format) highlighting new functionality in the upcoming version. Some of the features that many openSUSE users will appreciate include the ability to integrate external software repositories into the system installer, a new YaST CD-Creator with the ability to build custom add-on CD images, a minimal, single-CD installation system, and improved boot times. Also in the pipeline are various security enhancements, several new YaST modules, and better laptop support. The current plan for openSUSE 10.3 is to ship both KDE 4 (for early adopters) and KDE 3.5.x as an alternative KDE desktop. There is much more, so download the slides to see what you can look forward to in the coming months.
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 Where do you use your favourite operating system? If you are like most people then the answer is "at home" or "in the office", but would you consider taking it to a jungle? That's exactly what Philip Munts did: "I recently spent two weeks using OpenBSD in a jungle village in Guatemala. I came with a group of 52 to help finish building a new Church of the Nazarene in La Esperanza Chilatz, few miles outside of Coban. We also planned to operate medical and dental clinics, and teach a number of workshops on various topics ranging from small engine repair to puppetry. I didn't have any specific assignment before our arrival, other than to help our group leader with projection equipment." Read more about how one guy's ingenuity and an old ThinkPad running OpenBSD helped make the mission a success.
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 The Linux distribution world has seen an emergence of a fair number of packaging formats over the years. A relative newcomer among them is Conary by rPath Linux. The interesting part about Conary is the fact that it was created by a number of high-profile developers with many years of experience building RPM packages at Red Hat, Inc. But how does Conary compare to RPM or other popular package managers? Bruce Byfield has all the answers in his article entitled Conary: An innovative second-generation package manager: "rPath's Conary is a second-generation package manager. Considering that Erik Troan, rPath's CTO and co-founder, was one of the original authors of the RPM package format, some might be tempted to view Conary as an effort to do things right the second time around -- nor is that view far from wrong. In its design, Conary is a streamlined version of dpkg or RPM with Yum in which all the utilities of those package managers are combined in a single command."
* * * * *
 Last week we received an interesting email from Jonathan Brickman, an avid Linux user, who has been trying to find a fast, KDE-based distribution for his older computers. The result? "I have been testing multiple distros on eight- and nine-year old PCs, PII/K6-class machines with 256 MB of RAM, and I have found something startling: out of several, only one runs KDE and other big applications as fast as Windows XP on my standard 850 MHz Duron with 512 MB RAM. This one is Ark Linux. I don't know if this datum should appear anywhere on your site, but I thought you might find it interesting. I am looking forward to Ark on modern hardware, whenever I can afford some!" Are there other readers who have had a positive experience with Ark Linux? And if you have an old box lying around the house, what is your preferred distribution to run on it? Please discuss below.
* * * * *
 Finally, one more item for discussion in this week's forum. Over the past few weeks we have seen a number of positive reviews and comments about Linux Mint, one of the unexpected distro surprises of this year. Although Linux Mint is really just a re-packaged Ubuntu with out-of-the box support for proprietary file formats and some usability enhancements, it seems that this is exactly what many new users look for in a Linux distribution. It also seems that Linux Mint shares its philosophy with Freespire, another distribution with a strong vocal support for convenient Linux computing even if it means taking a few shortcuts on the issue of Free Software. However, unlike Freespire, which has been working on its upcoming version 2.0 since September 2006 just to reach another alpha stage last week, the developers of Linux Mint have already delivered three successful releases.
Linux Mint 2.2 - one of the unexpected surprises of this year
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So here are a few questions for the DistroWatch Weekly readers: Have you tried Freespire and Linux Mint? If so, how do you rate them? What do you think makes Linux Mint such a successful project despite its very young age? Is there anything that Linux Mint could improve? Please comment below.
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| Released Last Week |
Musix GNU+Linux 0.99
Marcos Guglielmetti has announced the release of Musix GNU+Linux 0.99: "The Musix Project is proud to announce the release of Musix GNU+Linux 0.99, a new version of the 100% Free Software multimedia operating system for artists and general users. This is the most stable and user-friendly version until now. Since version 0.79, Musix GNU+Linux is focused on multimedia content creation and especially on music, that is: music production, audio and video editing, 3D animation, graphic design, image editing and web design. Hundreds of software packages have been updated to the Debian Etch versions. New additions include the midi sequencer Muse and the sequencer and synthesizer SpiralSynthModular." Read the comprehensive release announcement for more information.
Bluewhite64 Linux 11.0-r1 Live CD
The Bluewhite64 project, which produces an unofficial 64-bit edition of Slackware Linux, has released a revised live CD, version 11.0-r1: "I am pleased to announce the first revision for the Bluewhite64 11.0 live CD. This release uses the AuFS (another Unionfs - great stability and features) along the Linux kernel version 2.6.20.1. Also, includes NTFS read/write support (ntfs-3g), Digikam 0.9.0 for digital photo management, slackpkg 2.09 and qtswaret 0.1.5.3 for package management, Amarok 1.4.5, Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.2 and much more. Also, with this release, the Lipstik style and theme will become the live CD default theme along with the nuvoX icons theme and Moodin (Engine) boot splash." Read the release announcement and changelog for further details.
EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.13
EnGarde Secure Linux has been updated to version 3.0.13: "Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.13. This release includes many updated packages and bug fixes, some feature enhancements to Guardian Digital WebTool and the EnGarde Secure Linux Installer, and a few new features. What's New? A new document, 'A Guided Tour of EnGarde Secure Linux', which takes through installing and configuring some of EnGarde's essential services; there is now a link to the SELinux Audit Monitor directly from the main WebTool Auditing menu; there were several improvements made to the hardware detection subsystem of einstall...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details.
Trustix Secure Linux 3.0.5
Trustix Secure Linux 3.0.5 has been released: "The Comodo Trustix team is proud to announce the release of Trustix Secure Linux 3.0.5, an update to the previous 'Tikka Masala'. The new release is named 'Mirch Masala' to describe the new interesting changes associated. This release has its major change from the previous release of 3.0 with the re-introduction of Anaconda as the preferred choice of installer. In addition, most packages have been upgraded to their latest versions upon customer requests. The core updates available are: kernel 2.6.19.7, PostgreSQL 8.2.3, MySQL 5.0.27, CP+ 3.3, Samba 3.0.24." Read the rest of the press release for further details.
BackTrack 2.0
Remote-Exploit has announced the release of BackTrack 2.0, SLAX-based live CD with a comprehensive collection of security and forensics tools: "After many months of work, we're finally happy enough with BackTrack to call it v.2.0 Final. New exciting features in BackTrack 2: updated kernel 2.6.20 with several patches; Broadcom-based wireless card support; most wireless drivers are built to support raw packet injection; Metasploit2 and Metasploit3 framework integration; alignment to open standards and frameworks like ISSAF and OSSTMM; re-designed menu structure to assist the novice as well as the professional; Japanese input support - reading and writing in Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji." Read this brief release announcement and visit the distribution's product page for further information.
AUSTRUMI 1.4.0
A new version of AUSTRUMI, a lightning-fast, business card-size live CD featuring the Metacity window manager, has been released. What's new? "Austrumi now booting from USB drive; added MySQL client and server; added Transmission - a BitTorrent client; added iso, mdf, nrg and sshfs support; updated Atomix, Bash, Dnsmasq, Firefox, FUSE, glib, GTK+, Linux DC++, ntfs-3g, Partimage, QEMU and X.Org; removed Enlightenment and added Metacity + LXPanel; removed GImageView and added GQview; removed Downloader for X and added aria2; updated kernel to 2.6.20.1." Visit the project's home page to read the brief changelog.
AUSTRUMI 1.4.0 is the project's first release featuring the Metacity window manager
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Berry Linux 0.79
Yuichiro Nakada has announced the release of Berry Linux 0.79, a Fedora-based, desktop-oriented live CD with support for English and Japanese. What's new? The new Berry is built of top of the Linux kernel 2.6.20 with Symmetric multiprocessing support, ndev/udev and bootsplash patches. The live CD technology is provided by Squashfs 3.2, Unionfs 2.0 and FUSE 2.6.3 with read and write support for SSHFS and NTFS file systems. Among package updates, the distribution's default desktop has been upgraded to KDE 3.5.6, while Firefox now comes in version 1.5.0.10 and Thunderbird is at 1.5.0.9. 3D desktop effects are provided through AIGLX and Beryl 0.2rc1. Also updated were xine-lib (1.1.4), Samba (3.0.24), WINE (0.9.31) and NdisWrapper (1.38). For more information please read the full changelog.
StartCom Enterprise Linux 4.0.4
StartCom Enterprise Linux, a distribution built from source RPM packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, has been updated to version 4.0.4: "Ahead of a busy spring season and in anticipation of new StartCom Enterprise Linux AS-5 and StartCom MultiMedia Edition ML-6 comes an updated release of the Advanced Server 4 series. The fifth release of this enterprise class operating system is the natural combined continuation of the previously released AS-4 distribution, which includes security updates and minor adjustments. Notable are an updated kernel, security updates for PHP, Firefox and Thunderbird, but also some additions and improvements for smart cards and hardware tokens." Read the complete release announcement for more information.
dyne:bolic 2.4.1 and 2.4.2
Denis "Jaromil" Rojo has announced the release of an updated version of the dyne:bolic multimedia live CD: "2.4.1 'Dhoruba' is out. This release fixes various bugs present in 2.4, including docking functionality when booting from CD and running from hard disk. It also features new software, such as DVDStyler to craft DVDs, StreamTuner to browse thousands of Internet radio stations and Bluetooth support. AbiWord has been re-introduced in its latest version, Cinelerra has been updated with graphical interface enhancements and Firefox has been upgraded to 2.0.0.2. Documentation is also expanded: the new dyne:II manual is almost complete and ready for print." Read the full release announcement for more details. A bug-fix dyne:bolic 2.4.2 has been released.
m0n0wall 1.23
An updated version of the FreeBSD-based m0n0wall firewall has been released: "m0n0wall 1.23 released. m0n0wall 1.23 adds new features to the captive portal, updates all components to the latest versions and contains many fixes and other small improvements. It marks the last general release in the FreeBSD 4.x-based branch of m0n0wall." From the changelog: "Added support for hardware button on WRAP (if pressed during boot, it will trigger a reset to factory defaults); updated PHP to 4.4.6; updated default webGUI SSL certificate." Visit the project's home page to read the release announcement and to learn more about m0n0wall.
* * * * *
Development and unannounced releases
- Wolvix 1.1.0-alpha2, the release announcement
- VectorLinux 5.8-rc1 (live), the release announcement
- Damn Small Linux 3.3-rc2, the changelog
- SaxenOS 2.0-rc2, the release announcement
- SimplyMEPIS 6.5-rc1, the release announcement
- Frugalware Linux 0.6-rc2, the release notes
- Foresight Linux 2.17.92 (live), the release announcement
- Freespire 2.0-alpha1, the release announcement
- Mandriva Corporate Desktop 4-beta, the press release
- Elive 0.6.5, the release announcement
- Pardus Linux 2007-rc
- GParted LiveCD 0.3.4-1
- B2D Linux 20070307
- Guadalinex 4.0-rc1
- RIPLinuX 2.0
- ClarkConnect 4.1-beta2
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
Feedback on "The future of DistroWatch Weekly"
Many thanks to all who took their time to post feedback to last week's The future of DistroWatch Weekly. Although I haven't had the time yet to evaluate your opinions and turn them into some sort of a statistical wish list, one thing is clear: there are much more satisfied readers of DistroWatch Weekly than I ever dared to imagine. Perhaps I was misled by a few lone voices of discontent to believe that the publication needed some restructuring, but after reading through your comments, I think it's safe to leave things as they are. I will comment on some of the suggestions in the next issue of DistroWatch Weekly.
There is one thing I want to mention today, however. After publishing last week's issue, it didn't take long before your comments started pouring in from all corners of the word. As you know, the vast majority of them were highly complimentary. And although I suspected that many of you appreciated the work that goes into this web site, I still sat here, reading the comments and feeling completely amazed at the sheer volume of praise and encouragement. Thank you so much for all the kind words! It is a pleasure to have such an appreciative readership!
* * * * *
New distributions added to database
- Karoshi. Karoshi is a free and open source school server operating system based on PCLinuxOS. Karoshi provides a simple graphical interface that allows for quick installation, setup and maintenance of a network.
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New distributions added to waiting list
- Epidemic GNU/Linux. Epidemic GNU/Linux is a new Brazilian distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux. It is aimed at novice users with the main goals being easy to obtain, install, use and personalise.
- Jedo Linux. Jedo Linux (pronounced jed-o), is a simple, clean Linux distribution that aims to provide a reliable operating system for power users. It's best described as a cross between Linux From Scratch (LFS), Red Hat Linux and Gentoo Linux. It's an original distribution (not built on any existing one), although it tends to lean towards LFS and feels a bit like Red Hat Linux when using it.
- Media Exchange. Media Exchange is an MP3 jukebox appliance that allows users to merge music collections, play music and control the player with a browser, organise music, automatically tag music, remove double tracks automatically, download music directly from the artists, share music with friends safely and easily.
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DistroWatch database summary
And this concludes our latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 19 March 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 |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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| Random Distribution | 
ByzantineOS
ByzantineOS was a software Internet Appliance with a home entertainment bias. It was based on a networked Linux distribution/bootable system with Mozilla providing access to a range of services and applications. ByzantineOS fits on a 32MB (or 48MB) media and should work on any PC. With ByzantineOS CD-ROM, there was no need for hard-disks or floppy drives.
Status: Discontinued
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| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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