 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 199, 23 April 2007 |
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Welcome to this year's 17th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! The week belonged to Ubuntu, whose new version 7.04 was made available as planned despite the skipped release candidate a week earlier. The hype surrounding the new release of the popular operating system completely eclipsed that of another desktop-oriented distribution - Mandriva Linux 2007.1, which was also made available last week, but which generated little excitement in comparison. Also in the news: a new openSUSE-based live CD featuring the latest KDE 4 snapshot, a link to an interview with Novell's Nat Friedman, and an update on the development of PC-BSD. Finally, don't miss our fifth and final part of the overview of top ten distributions, featuring Gentoo Linux and FreeBSD. Happy reading!
Content:
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| Overview |
Overview of Top Ten Distributions (Part 5)
The fifth and final part of our overview of Top Ten Distributions takes a quick look at Gentoo Linux, the most widely-used source-based distribution. It then continues with a brief introduction to FreeBSD; although not based on Linux, as a direct descendant of UNIX and the most popular BSD representative, it gets an honourable place in the top ten list.
* * * * *
 The concept of Gentoo Linux was devised in around the year 2000 by Daniel Robbins, a former Stampede Linux and FreeBSD developer. It was the author's exposure to FreeBSD and its "autobuild" feature called "ports", which inspired him to incorporate some of the FreeBSD software management principles into Gentoo under the name of "portage". The idea was to develop a Linux distribution that would allow users to compile the Linux kernel and applications from source code directly on their own computers, thus maintaining a highly-optimised and always up-to-date system. By the time the project released its 1.0 version in March 2002, Gentoo's package management was considered a superior alternative to some binary package management systems, especially the then widely-used RPM.
Gentoo Linux was designed for power users. Originally, the installation was cumbersome and tedious, requiring hours or even days of compiling on the command line to build a complete Linux distribution; however, in 2006 the project simplified the installation procedure by providing an installable Gentoo live CD with a point-and-click installer. Besides delivering an always up-to-date set of packages for installation with a single command, the other main feature of the distribution is the extensive configurability of many obscure aspects of the system, such as compiler flags. The Gentoo documentation was repeatedly labelled as the best online documentation of any distribution.
Gentoo Linux has lost much of its original glory in recent years. Some Gentoo users have come to a realisation that the time-consuming compiling of software packages brings only marginal speed and optimisation benefits. Ever since the resignation of Gentoo's founder and benevolent dictator from the project in 2004, the newly established Gentoo Foundation has been battling with lack of clear directions and frequent developer conflicts, which resulted in several high-profile departures of well-known Gentoo personalities. It remains to be seen whether Gentoo can regain its innovative qualities of the past or whether it will slowly disintegrate into a loose collection of personal sub-projects lacking clearly-defined goals.
- Pros: Excellent software management infrastructure, unparalleled customisation and tweaking options, superb online documentation
- Cons: Occasional instability and risk of breakdown, the project suffers from lack of directions and frequent infighting between its developers
- Software package management: "Portage" using source (SRC) packages
- Available editions: Minimal installation CD and live CD (with GNOME) for Alpha, AMD64, HPPA, IA64, MIPS, PPC, SPARC and x86 processors; also "stages" for manual installation from command line
- Suggested Gentoo-based alternatives: SabayonLinux (desktop live CD/DVD), VLOS (desktop), Ututo (desktop, free software only)
- Other source-based alternatives: Lunar Linux, Source Mage GNU/Linux, Sorcerer, Linux From Scratch
Gentoo Linux 2006.1
(full image size: 200kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * *
 FreeBSD, a direct descendant of AT&T UNIX, has a long and turbulent history dating back to 1993. Unlike Linux distributions, which are defined as integrated software solutions consisting of the Linux kernel and thousands of software applications, FreeBSD is a tightly integrated operating system built from a BSD kernel and the so-called "userland" (therefore usable even without extra applications). This distinction is largely lost once installed on an average computer system - like many Linux distributions, a large collection of easily installed, (mostly) open source applications are available for extending the FreeBSD core, but these are usually provided by third-party contributors and aren't strictly part of FreeBSD.
FreeBSD has developed a reputation for being a fast, high-performance and extremely stable operating system, especially suitable for web serving and similar tasks. Many large web search engines and organisations with mission-critical computing infrastructures have deployed and used FreeBSD on their computer systems for years. Compared to Linux, FreeBSD is distributed under a much less restrictive license, which allows virtually unrestricted re-use and modification of the source code for any purpose. Even Apple's Mac OS X is known to have been derived from BSD. Besides the core operating system, the project also provides over 15,000 software applications in binary and source code forms for easy installation on top of the core FreeBSD.
While FreeBSD can certainly be used as a desktop operating system, it doesn't compare well with popular Linux distributions in this department. The text-mode system installer offers little in terms of hardware detection or system configuration, leaving much of the dirty work to the user in a post-installation setup. In terms of support for modern hardware, FreeBSD generally lags behind Linux, especially in supporting popular desktop and laptop gadgets, such as wireless network cards or digital cameras. Those users seeking to exploit the speed and stability of FreeBSD on a desktop or workstation should consider one of the available desktop FreeBSD projects, rather than FreeBSD itself.
- Pros: Fast and stable; availability of over 15,000 software applications (or "ports") for installation; very good documentation
- Cons: Tends to lag behind Linux in terms of support for newer hardware, limited availability of commercial applications; lacks graphical configuration tools
- Software package management: A complete command-line package management infrastructure using either binary packages or source-based "ports" (TBZ)
- Available editions: Installation CDs for Alpha, AMD64, i386, ia64, PC98 and SPARC64 processors
- Suggested FreeBSD-based alternatives: PC-BSD (desktop), DesktopBSD (desktop), FreeSBIE (live CD), DragonFly BSD (technical)
- Other BSD alternatives: OpenBSD, NetBSD
FreeBSD 6.2
(full image size: 282kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
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As always, if you have any suggestions, corrections or additions to the above overviews, please post them in the forum.
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| Miscellaneous News |
Ubuntu 7.04, interview with Novell's Nat Friedman, "KDE Four Live", PC-BSD snapshots
 If you've had your doubts about how popular Ubuntu really is, then the events of the past week must have removed them once and for all. With the release of its latest and greatest -- version 7.04, code name "Feisty Fawn" -- last week, it is obvious that Ubuntu has been more successful in attracting users to Linux than any other distribution before. In fact, the demand for the new product was so strong that it made both Ubuntu.com and Canonical.com inaccessible for several hours on the day of the release. As a result of this, the web master of Ubuntu.com was forced to replace the usual entry page with a static, text-only temporary page in order to cope with thousands of connections. The distribution's main download server also suffered, although luckily its mirroring system was running smoothly and many FTP and HTTP servers carried the full set of CD images by the time the release announcement hit the news wires.
DistroWatch itself saw unprecedented levels of traffic on the day of the Ubuntu 7.04 release. Our main index page received more than 140,000 views in the 24-hour period (from midnight to midnight UCT) on Thursday, which is about 40% more than it would get on an ordinary working day. The Ubuntu page was accessed more than 22,000 times within the first two days after the release (contrast that with Mandriva Linux, whose page only received 6,700 visits within the first two days after the release of 2007.1 earlier in the week). Even Ubuntu developers were astonished by the sheer amount of interest in the new release: Melissa Draper reported that more than 1,500 users were logged in to the main Ubuntu IRC channel on the day of release, while Kevin Kubasik was amazed to see almost 4,000 people seeding the CD image on the BitTorrent network the next day.
Ubuntu 7.04 seems like a resounding success. The first reviews are already in and it looks like the majority of users are highly impressed with what they've seen so far. If you haven't yet tried the latest from Canonical, please go to the project's download page to get the live CD or visit Ubuntu's ShipIt programme to request the media.
The default desktop of Ubuntu 7.04.
(full image size: 117kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * *
 Lots of Novell and openSUSE news last week. Austria's Der Standard has published a 5-page interview with Nat Friedman, the Chief Technology Officer at Novell: "Nat Friedman has been one of the driving forces behind the development of the Linux desktop for a few years now. First with his own company Ximian, founded together with Mono chief architect Miguel de Icaza, after its acquisition now inside Novell. A few months ago he has been named 'Technologist of the Year' by the VarBusiness magazine for his work around the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. Since then he has been promoted to 'Chief Technology and Strategy Officer for Open Source', besides the desktop he is also overseeing Novell's server business now." A good read for anybody interested in desktop Linux.
* * * * *
 Stephan Binner, a well-known KDE and openSUSE developer, has released a set of live CDs featuring the latest development snapshot of KDE 4. Unlike the SLAX-based live CD called KLAX, which he used to develop in order to demonstrate new KDE releases, his "KDE Four Live" images are based on openSUSE. After a large, uncompressed live DVD released earlier in the week, a set of smaller live CDs (compressed with Squashfs) is now also available for download. Don't expect trouble-free computing with these early KDE 4 snapshots, but as demonstration tools designed to give KDE users an early taste of things to come, they aren't too bad. The first alpha build of KDE 4 is scheduled for release early next week.
* * * * *
Still on openSUSE, Andreas Jaeger has announced that starting from the upcoming version 10.3, openSUSE will no longer support Novell ZENWorks for software management: "openSUSE is focusing on native software management by using YaST and libzypp, the package management library. ZENworks Linux Management is Novell's solution for enterprise-class resource management for desktops and servers. ZENworks components are fully available and supported for SUSE Linux Enterprise based products and not longer part of the openSUSE distribution." According to this news post by Linux Weekly News, this arrangement appears to be "a popular idea in the openSUSE community."
* * * * *
 Finally, the PC-BSD project has announced the availability of new "tri-weekly" development releases of PC-BSD: "We are proud to announce that beta testers who would like to try the development branch of PC-BSD can now download ISO images updated and built three times per week." The first snapshots, delivered on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, are now ready for download and testing from this directory.
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| Released Last Week |
Mandriva Linux 2007.1
Mandriva has announced the release of Mandriva Linux 2007.1, marketed as "2007 Spring": "Mandriva is proud to announce the release of its brand new distribution that provides up-to-date and freshly released open source software: Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring. Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring integrates the latest innovations in the fields of office suite applications, Internet, multimedia and virtualization technologies. Not only does Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring bring to users the most advanced Linux operating system, it also includes some very special new features: WengoPhone, Google Picasa and Google Earth, Drakvirt...." Read the press release, release notes, product pages for detailed information.
Zenwalk Live 4.4.1
Michael Verret has announced the release of Zenwalk Live 4.4.1, a live CD edition of Zenwalk Linux: "We are pleased to announce the release of Zenwalk Live 4.4.1. As you have grown to expect, Zenwalk Live replicates a Zenwalk Standard installation while at the same time adds many features. Also included are the GParted graphical hard disk partitioning software as well as a new utility in ZenPanel (Zenwalk's System Administration Control Panel) enabling a recovery of the LILO boatloader setup on your PC. Zenwalk Live continues to provide a complete development suite for all of you coders and software developers. For you video gaming fans, you'll be pleased to know that Zenwalk Live 4.4.1 includes Mega Mario, Ceferino Hazaña, Frozen Bubble, LBreakout and Wormux." More details in the release announcement.
Zenwalk Live 4.4.1
(full image size: 384kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
ClarkConnect Gateway/Server 4.1
ClarkConnect Getaway/Server 4.1, an easy-to-use, CentOS-based server distribution designed for small businesses, home offices, and networked homes, has been released. What's new? "File server antivirus; Samba PDC (Primary Domain Controller) support; improved server and LAN backup features; new greylist and blacklist support for the antispam engine; greylist antispam engine; e-mail disclaimer; e-mail virtual domain support; e-mail catch-all mailbox support; webmail administration tools; the backup and restore system settings now includes the user database; the firewall has changed to accommodate the new Hot LAN and Blocking features...." Please see the release notes for full details.
Kubuntu 7.04
This is the big release day for the Ubuntu family of distributions and Kubuntu is the first to announce the new version: "Kubuntu 7.04 has been released and is available for download now. Kubuntu 7.04 stepped over the edge, becoming the feistiest release to date. Improved desktop, updated applications and increased usability features are just a few of the surprises with this latest release. The goal for Kubuntu 7.04 was to continue on the creation of a secure and stable environment, working towards the perfect KDE-based operating system. Starting with the excellent base of Ubuntu and an implementation of KDE, Kubuntu 7.04 set out to smooth the rough edges and polish the future of Kubuntu." Here is the full release announcement with a detailed list of new features.
Ubuntu 7.04
Ubuntu 7.04, one of the most eagerly anticipated Linux distribution releases ever, is now officially out: "The Ubuntu team is proud to announce version 7.04 of the Ubuntu family of distributions. Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server, with a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent software installed by default, an incredible variety of add-on software available with a few clicks, and professional technical support from Canonical Limited and hundreds of other companies around the world." Read the release announcement, check out the release notes and visit the Feisty Tour page for detailed information about Ubuntu 7.04.
Edubuntu 7.04
Edubuntu 7.04, a Linux distribution designed for deployment in educational institutions, has also been released: "The Edubuntu team is proud to announce the release of Edubuntu 7.04. This release includes both Desktop CDs and Server CDs for several architectures. Highlights of this release include: Edubuntu 7.04 integrates the latest thin client technology out of the box for a simple LTSP server setup; Edubuntu Classroom Server consists of two CDs; a server image and a server add-on image with additional educational applications and languages; the distribution has improved documentation featuring The Edubuntu Handbook with tips and best practices...." Find more information in the release announcement.
Xubuntu 7.04
Xubuntu 7.04, a light-weight Ubuntu variant featuring the Xfce desktop, is now available for download: "Thank you to everyone who has helped make Xubuntu 7.04 a reality. Thousands of you have helped code, test, translate and promote Ubuntu and everyone can celebrate today's release. Xubuntu 7.04 contains new innovative features like the revolutionary Windows migration assistance and the Xfce 4.4 stable desktop environment. Already known as a great lightweight desktop environment, Xfce version 4.4 includes a number of improved features that make it a worthy alternative to more memory-intensive desktops such as GNOME or KDE." More details in the release announcement and release notes.
Linux Mint 2.2 "KDE"
After two beta releases, the KDE edition of Linux Mint 2.2, code name "Bianca", has reached a stable state: "Bianca KDE edition was released and is available for download. A miniKDE edition is also available, it features less software but fits on a CD. As usual this release is desktop-ready and comes with support for most video codecs and web plugins. Mint applications couldn't be ported in time to KDE and are absent from this release, however mintdesktop's home folders were added to it. The default selection of packages is large and very up to date: KDE 3.5.6, Amarok 1.4.5, KOffice 1.6.2, Firefox 2.0.0.3. Konqueror is still the default file explorer but Dolphin 0.8 was also added as a tech-preview. The KMenu was replaced with TastyMenu 0.7." Here are the full release notes.
Nonux 4.2
Nonux 4.2 has been released. Nonux is a Dutch, Slackware-based distribution designed for business desktops in Dutch-speaking office environments. The most important new features and package upgrades include: update to Linux kernel 2.6.20.7; update to GNOME 2.16.3, Evolution 2.8.3, Firefox 2.0.0.3 and OpenOffice.org 2.2.0; improvements in monitor frequency detection; support for many streaming audio and video formats through the MPlayer browser plugin for Firefox (MPlayer replaces Totem), support for wireless network cards based on Atheros (MadWifi) and Acx111 (OSS driver) chipsets; reduced CD size due to the use of LZMA compression. Please visit the distribution's news page (in Dutch) to read the full release announcement.
Berry Linux 0.80
Yuichiro Nakada has announced the release of Berry Linux 0.80, a Fedora-based live CD for the desktop, with support for Japanese and English. The latest version is based on Linux kernel 2.6.20.7 with symmetric multiprocessing, ndev/udev and bootsplash patches. The system uses Fedora's Kudzu 1.2.67 and Klaus Knopper's hwdata 0.199 scripts for hardware detection. Among application changes, Berry Linux ships with X.Org 7.1, support for 3D desktop effects with AIGLX and Beryl 0.2.0, and Japanese and English editions of OpenOffice.org 2.2.0, Firefox 1.5.0.11 and Sylpheed 2.3.1. Other package upgrades includes xine with xine-lib 1.1.5 and WINE 0.9.32. For more details please see the full changelog.
* * * * *
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 |
DistroWatch database summary
And this concludes our latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 30 April 2007. Until then,
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1159 (2026-02-09): Sharing files on a network, isolating processes on Linux, LFS to focus on systemd, openSUSE polishes atomic updates, NetBSD not likely to adopt Rust code, COSMIC roadmap |
| • Issue 1158 (2026-02-02): Manjaro 26.0, fastest filesystem, postmarketOS progress report, Xfce begins developing its own Wayland window manager, Bazzite founder interviewed |
| • Issue 1157 (2026-01-26): Setting up a home server, what happened to convergence, malicious software entering the Snap store, postmarketOS automates hardware tests, KDE's login manager works with systemd only |
| • Issue 1156 (2026-01-19): Chimera Linux's new installer, using the DistroWatch Torrent Corner, new package tools for Arch, Haiku improves EFI support, Redcore streamlines branches, Synex introduces install-time ZFS options |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
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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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| Random Distribution | 
OpenMandriva Lx
The OpenMandriva distribution is a full-featured Linux desktop and server, sponsored by the OpenMandriva Association. It was based on ROSA, a Russian Linux distribution project which forked Mandriva Linux in 2012, incorporating many of Mandriva's original tools and utilities and adding in-house enhancements. The goal of OpenMandriva is to facilitate the creation, improvement, promotion and distribution of free and open-source software in general, and OpenMandriva projects in particular. OpenMandriva has traditionally been a fixed release distribution, but in 2023 the project began releasing an alternative rolling branch called ROME.
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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