 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 224, 15 October 2007 |
|
Welcome to this year's 42nd issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Following the openSUSE 10.3 release two weeks ago and the new Mandriva Linux 2008 announced last Tuesday, the rapid succession of major Linux distribution versions continues this week with Ubuntu 7.10. Will the developers of these projects succeed in enticing more computer users to switch to Linux? Chris Smart tries to answer the question in the upcoming issues of DistroWatch Weekly by reviewing these new products - today he installs openSUSE 10.3 on his trusty MacBook to see how it fares. In the news section: Mandriva simplifies its product range, Ubuntu prepares for another download rush, and Fedora embraces artwork developed by the user community. Finally, don't miss two interesting interviews with Lucas Villa Real from GoboLinux and Gerard Beekmans from the Linux From Scratch project. Happy reading!
Content:
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
|
| Reviews |
A look at openSUSE 10.3 (by Chris Smart)
Introduction
It has been a while since I used SUSE for any great length of time. I've been trying it on and off for a number of years, just to see what progress they've been making and how it all runs. For people who are new to Linux, the idea of a GUI configuration tool for the system is a comforting one. openSUSE comes with YaST, which is probably the most powerful and complete configuration system in any distro. I was most pleased to discover a multitude of improvements that came with this new release.
I also don't think I've ever come across a more polished looking distribution than openSUSE. Many other distros have come a long way in this regard (Fedora 7 and PCLinuxOS for example), but in my opinion openSUSE still stands out as the clear leader. The included GNOME desktop also looks amazing, although I'm sure hardcore GNOME lovers will argue it just makes it look like KDE ;). For a long time now SUSE has been the envy of many a distribution. Everything in openSUSE is well integrated, from their splash screens (which are amazingly simple, yet stunning) to the login managers, menu systems and the desktop itself. Simply gorgeous!
openSUSE 10.3 - the boot loader
(full image size: 154kB, screen resolution: 800x600 pixels)
The last number of openSUSE releases have seemed too rushed, resulting in some nasty bugs and a less than polished feel. Version 10.2 was probably what 10.1 should have been and while it didn't seem to bring many new features and enhancements, it was a welcome replacement for 10.1. This latest version, 10.3, comes off the same production line, but in my opinion is a much better release. As usual, it comes with the latest stable versions of both the GNOME and KDE desktops and also includes Xfce 4. OpenOffice.org is also the latest version available at 2.3. There are also some handy new features in this new openSUSE release, including some major changes to the way YaST works which sports a new layout and appears quicker! Maybe it's just the computer I'm running it on, but it doesn't seem quite as annoying as it used to.
Installation
I pulled out my trusty MacBook for the test install, because it is tricky to configure well and it comes with reasonably modern hardware. I booted the openSUSE KDE install CD and began the process. As usual, the quality of the graphics and GUI installer were very good. The install process has a great outline so you can see exactly what you've done and what you still have to do. The installer is like a two-edged sword. By default the interface is clear and very easy to follow, with tasks like partitioning and formatting the hard drive handled seamlessly. The other side of the installer is the ability to be extremely complex and powerful. For the experienced user there is great flexibility in the installer to create a very custom system, easily. I was using LVM, so I simply added a new logical volume called "opensuse" and I was on my way!
openSUSE 10.3 - the installer
(full image size: 42kB, screen resolution: 800x600 pixels)
While I'm confident that on a standard desktop computer the install process would be very smooth, there were a number of issues I noted with the MacBook install. The installer didn't recognise my touchpad, not even as a standard mouse, and I had to plug in a USB mouse which worked straight away. The installer has the option to add repositories during the install and update your system, which is a great idea as it gives you the latest up-to-date system. Unfortunately, my wireless card was not detected so I could not use this feature - in all fairness to openSUSE, it is Atheros based and is not free to distribute with the Linux kernel due to licensing restrictions. The YaST boot loader configurator actually wipes the MBR partition table information, which means I could not install GRUB. A simple synchronisation using Refit and it all worked. NOTE: This is only a problem on Intel-based Apple computers.
Other than the aforementioned issues, I could not fault the install process. I really like the separation of the configuration section of the installer from the main install process. Upon completion of the installation, your computer is rebooted into the fresh openSUSE system where the configuration section is loaded. This is excellent as it breaks up the install and makes it seem less daunting. Here I set the root password, added my own user, configured the network, firewall and computer hardware, and so on.
On the desktop
As we've come to expect with openSUSE, the desktop looks sensational and this new release feels fast. Load time from GRUB to the KDE login screen was only 35 seconds. It took 10 seconds to log into KDE and have Konqueror loaded. OpenOffice.org Writer took only 10 seconds to load and let me start typing, while Firefox took less than 2 seconds. All this from a cold boot and with CPU speed stepping turned on.
One problem I've always found with SUSE was the lack of ease with installing non-official packages from third party repositories. To my great and most delighted surprise, this has been made very simple in SUSE 10.3. Under the YaST system configuration panel there is an option for 'Community Repositories'. Simply open this and tick the ones you want to use, such as Pacman, VideoLan, even the ATI and NVIDIA repositories. Simple!
openSUSE 10.3 - the community repositories module in YaST
(full image size: 65kB, screen resolution: 688x397 pixels)
On the subject of installing software, 10.3 introduces an amazing new feature - one click install. This is a system when you load a special file for the package you want installed (for example, compiz-fusion-kde.ymp) into the package manager and it automatically subscribes you to the repositories you need, downloads all the required packages, and installs and configures your system - all in one go! This is awesome!
When I tried to play an mp3 file under Amarok it caused a pop-up to appear, prompting to install the required packages. This took me to a website with the option of commercial support for mp3 and other codecs, or community based. I clicked on 'community based' and once the website had loaded, I chose 'KDE' as my environment. This downloaded a one click install file and started the YaST software installation. Here I was able to subscribe to community repositories and choose which packages I wanted, including packages such as Flash, win32codecs, Java, libdvdcss, VLC, MPlayer, GStreamer plugins and others, or simply leave it set to the defaults. Now Amarok was able to play my mp3 files - that I have only for test purposes of course, all my regular music is in FLAC ;).
While it's still a little confusing for new users and not quite up to the Ubuntu level, this codec assistance is a step in the right direction. A usability improvement would be a direct link to the free one-click install file, rather than navigating through the website. It does make it easier for end users to play the restricted formats though, while keeping Novell out of trouble. Of course it would be best if everyone just used open formats!
This release also includes the Novell variant of the KDE and GNOME menus, called 'Kickoff'. Love them or hate them, they do give you fast access to commonly used components of your system, favourite applications, system settings, built-in Beagle search and more. We need more of these sorts of improvements to the Linux system. I also noticed that when I logged on for the first time, a dialogue popped up saying that "Beagle is running and performance might be a little slow" - this is a great idea as it might give people the wrong impression that openSUSE itself is slow.
While the speed of the package manager has drastically improved, I still don't like the amount of time it takes to install software under openSUSE. When you open the package management system it reads the cache which takes almost 20 seconds. This is just too long, especially if all someone wanted to install was a small application. Compare this to APT under Debian and you'll wonder how anyone using an RPM system can put up with it. Still, the package management software itself is very good under openSUSE, one of the best.
openSUSE 10.3 - the KDE desktop
(full image size: 536kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Conclusion
Overall, I'm very impressed with this release of openSUSE (so much so that I might upgrade my sister's family home computer from 10.0!). The installer is top class, the package management system (including the integration of third party repositories) is excellent, the new 'one click install' system is awesome, YaST appears to be vastly improved and much quicker, support for third party codecs is actually there now (albeit indirectly), it looks great, and it runs fast! With Linux distributions (and users) being what they are these days, it would be good if openSUSE had a tool like Ubuntu's 'Restricted Manager' which could detect and automatically install drivers for hardware not officially supported. Perhaps like they currently do with the third party codecs and one click install technology.
While not perfect, this release is the best openSUSE yet. Well done Novell and the SUSE community, I might just keep this on my MacBook!
8.5 "Smarties" out of 10.
|
| Miscellaneous News |
Mandriva 2008 simplified, avoiding Ubuntu download rush, Fedora artwork, interviews with Lucas Villa Real (GoboLinux) and Gerard Beekmans (Linux From Scratch)
 After a short delay caused by a few last-minute bugs, Mandriva Linux 2008 was finally released last week. In terms of product features it is roughly in line with other major distribution updates - the usual round of package upgrades, improved hardware support, and desktop beautification work are all present in the final release. But there a couple of areas where the new Mandriva differs from its predecessors: the number of commercial editions has been reduced to just one (PowerPack) and its pricing was also revised downwards; users can now subscribe to receive two PowerPack releases per year for just €49.00 (previously €99.00). Besides the PowerPack edition, the usual Mandriva "One" installable live CDs, complete with proprietary video drivers and other desktop conveniences, and the traditional, non-live "Free" edition, are also available.
Mandriva Linux 2008 with improved hardware support and updated desktop
(full image size: 644kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
For GNOME fans among the Mandriva users, here is some more good news - the GNOME edition of Mandriva "One" 2008 was finally released and uploaded to public servers on Monday: "The GNOME version of Mandriva Linux 2008 One has been released and is now available via BitTorrent or from the mirror sites. Featuring all the same great new features as the other editions of Mandriva Linux 2008, with a fully up-to-date GNOME 2.20 desktop. Hope this makes all our GNOME-using members happy!" Download the ISO images via BitTorrent or directly from one of these FTP/HTTP servers: mandriva-linux-2008-one-GNOME-cdrom-i586.iso (659MB, MD5).
* * * * *
 Following the successful releases of openSUSE 10.3 and Mandriva Linux 2008, the attention of Linux distribution watchers can now turn to Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon", due out later this week. As has become customary, a new Ubuntu release tends to be seen as a major test of both the project's download infrastructure and its web site; those of you who were around to witness Ubuntu's previous release might remember that the distribution's web site was inaccessible for much of its release day as tens of thousands of impatient users tried to connect to its heavily overloaded servers. For those who want to avoid this desperate rush there is a simple solution - just download the release candidate from one of Ubuntu's mirrors (see the release announcement for a list of up-to-date download locations) at any time before Thursday and use Aptitude or Synaptic to upgrade any packages that need upgrading before the big Ubuntu rush begins. This is safe and fully supported - and a rather smart way to have the latest Ubuntu up and running while the rest of the Ubuntu-using population scrambles to get hold of the CD images. And if you still need the CDs, you can download them later, when the interest in the new release subsides, or you can order them from ShipIt.
* * * * *
 Until relatively recently, desktop aesthetics was not something Linux distribution projects lost much sleep over. New functionality, hardware support and package updates all took precedence over the work of graphic designers who always played second fiddles to the programmers. Not any more. As Linux distributions mature, there is much more emphasis on creating a desktop which is not only functional, but which also pleases the eye of the user. The Fedora project has been on the forefront of these initiatives, which resulted in some of the most eye-catching desktop art and themes available in any distribution. How do they do it? Learn more in this interview with Fedora art team lead Máirín Duffy: "The first three milestones were focused on the main concept art for the release. Whichever artwork made it through the first three milestones was considered as the default theme. Anyone in the Fedora community was welcome to participate in the process from the start, and we let hard deadlines drive some of the decision-making for us. Milestone 1 was to simply come up with a concept, and required that you explain the meaning of your concept and provide at least a sketch or references to existing artwork that illustrated your idea. Next, milestone 2 required more polished, original artwork including at least 1 wallpaper concept and 3 supporting illustrations."
* * * * *
 While October is traditionally a month of major distribution releases, many smaller projects continue their own work preparing upcoming new versions. One of them is GoboLinux, a rather unusual distribution which is attempting a complete redesign of the traditional UNIX file system layout, replacing it with something more "modern and logical". Lucas Villa Real, a GoboLinux developer, has taken time away from his work to talk to Packt Publishing about the project's reason for trying to break away from the "ancient" UNIX tradition: "The major aim was to have a simple way of creating and sharing binary packages from programs compiled and installed from their source code. Splitting the file system tree into per-program sub-trees was the most logical thinking, as packages could be created just by compressing its directory, or removed by deleting that. Another interesting advantage is that more than one version of the same program can be installed in the system at a given time, as each version lives inside its own directory. And this gives us a very unique feature: no database is needed to tell which packages are installed and what files each of them offer; that's just a matter of checking the directory contents inside /Programs."
* * * * *
 Finally, completing a trio of interesting interviews published last week is this talk with Gerard Beekmans, the founder of Linux From Scratch (LFS): "Teaching has always been the primary goal of LFS. That will never change, lest LFS ceases to be what it is. But there also is no limit to teaching. As we all learn more about Linux system creation and package integration, that knowledge ought to be shared with the community. The LFS books are good places to store that information in a concise format. But I think we also cannot ignore the automated process requirements any more. As a prime example, I (of course) use LFS at work. All our Linux servers are LFS-based, but there are times, when I am forced to (temporarily) use a different system. In my mind, LFS is not merely a learning aid. Once you have learned all there is to know (if such a time ever comes in a person's life), people still keep using LFS because now you have a system you fully understand and you are no longer bound by a distribution's way of doing things that might conflict with your own methods."
|
| Released Last Week |
Mandriva Linux 2008
Mandriva Linux 2008 has been released: "We are proud to announce that Mandriva Linux 2008 is now available for download. The result of six months of heavy development and testing, 2008 includes all the latest software and many enhancements over previous Mandriva Linux releases. You will find KDE 3.5.7 and the new GNOME 2.20 already integrated, a solid kernel 2.6.22.9 with fair scheduling support, OpenOffice.org 2.2.1, cutting-edge 3D-accelerated desktop courtesy of CompizFusion 0.5.2, Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.6, and everything else you've come to expect from the latest Mandriva Linux release. We have integrated a reworked hardware detection sub-system, with support for a lot of new devices." Read the release announcement and visit the release tour page for further details.
EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.17
Guardian Digital has announced the release of EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.17, a server oriented distribution with an easy-to-use web-based administration utility: "Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.17. What's new? We have included a very alpha version of Samba 4 for our users to evaluate; support for tcb, an alternative password shadowing scheme, was added; balance, a very simple and effective load balancing application, is now available for installation. Simple to set up, balance can provide round-robin TCP load balancing for just about any daemon; powernowd, a daemon to control the CPU speed and voltage of your server, is also now available; the latest stable versions of Apache (2.2.6), Asterisk (1.4.12), Dovecot (1.0.5), PHP (5.2.4), Postfix...." Read the complete release notes for further information.
RAYS 2.0
RAYS, a product of Sun Wah Hi-tech System Software, is a Chinese desktop Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux. RAYS version 2.0 "Baihong" was announced earlier today. Compared to the second release candidate, the most important changes include several package upgrades (GIMP 2.4.0rc1, udev 114, alsa-lib 1.0.14, OpenSSH 4.6p1), bug fixes in the system installer, and improved stability. On the software front, Baihong is based on Debian's testing and unstable branches with kernel 2.6.22, glibc 2.6, and GCC 4.1.2, while the desktop is powered by X.Org 7.2 and GNOME 2.20. RAYS 2.0 is a pure installation CD with the language support limited to simplified Chinese and no hard disk partitioning mechanism (the system will take over the entire hard disk). For more information please read the release announcement and release notes (both links in Chinese).
Linspire 6.0
Linspire 6.0, a user-friendly, commercial distribution based on Ubuntu, has been released: "Linspire, Inc., developer of the Linspire commercial and Freespire community desktop Linux operating systems and CNR.com, a free Linux software delivery service, today announced the immediate availability of Linspire 6.0, the latest commercial release of the desktop Linux operating system. Building on the best of open source software using Ubuntu as its base line, Linspire 6.0 adds licensed proprietary drivers, codecs, and software in its core distribution to provide a better user experience. The first commercial release from Linspire, Inc. in over two years, Linspire 6.0 continues its traditional focus on ease-of-use and bundles proprietary software where there are no viable open source alternatives, providing improved hardware, file type, and multimedia support, such as MP3, Real, Java, Flash, ATI, NVIDIA, WiFi, and many more." Read the press release and visit the product's features page for further details.
Resulinux 2.5
Resulinux is a Debian-based, Brazilian live CD featuring the TexasFlood boot system, which dramatically shortens the operating system's boot time, and a software update utility called LiveUpdate. Version 2.5 was released yesterday. Some of the new features include the following: aMSN upgraded to version 0.97R1; jSMS upgraded to version 2.6; support for multimedia files; added libdvdcss2; added Barrage (a game), aDesklets, aMule, XArchive; boot speed improvements while booting from live CD; support for wireless networking in configuration panel; icons and splash screen updates; added TexasFlood version 2.1R4; various bug fixes. Please visit the project's download page (in Portuguese) to read the detailed changelog.
Ubuntu Muslim Edition 7.04
Ubuntu Muslim Edition is an Ubuntu-based distribution whose main feature is the presence of Islamic software - prayer times, a Quran study tool and a web content filtering utility. A new stable version, 7.04, was announced earlier today: "The Ubuntu Muslim Edition team is proud to announce the final version of UbuntuME 7.04. It includes an installable live desktop CD, a second CD with additional software (OpenOffice.org, Arabic language packs, Quran recitations, etc.), an installable DVD (with more Quran recitations), and a script to convert standard Ubuntu installations to UbuntuME. Highlights: WCC (parental control tool) enabled by default (so browsing the Internet is safe); Zekr (Quran study tool) installed and configured to play Quran recitations; Islamic calendar and Minbar (prayer times tool); UbuntuME artworks." Here is the full release announcement.
Absolute Linux 12.0.7
Paul Sherman has released an updated version of Absolute Linux, a light-weight, Slackware-based distribution featuring the IceWM window manager: "Absolute 12.0.7 released. Fairly extensive changes in terms of bug removal and added features. Major fixes include mounted external volumes writable by users as well as root. The clearFstab script was tamed, GUI login no longer leads to any missing resources problems, GIMP scripts were patched to ensure that they work with new 2.4 series, ePDFView replaces xPDF as default PDF viewer, Firefox updated and now also includes all header files to compile web-apps against, installer available (as root) for folks lucky enough to legally use 'restricted' multimedia files, Audacity 1.3.3 included, CheckInstall version 1.5.3 works and has been patched to behave nicely... and lots more." Read the release announcement and changelog for further details.
rPath Linux 1.0.7
Michael K. Johnson has announced the release of rPath Linux 1.0.7, an independently developed distribution featuring the Conary package management system: "rPath Linux, the first Linux distribution built using the groundbreaking Conary software management system, has released updated images for rPath Linux 1. The new images incorporate updates to the installation process and all package updates released as of September 26, 2007. In particular, the installation images and installed system now include a 2.6.22.7 Linux kernel, enabling installation on more recent hardware not supported by previous installation media. (Linux kernels for Xen support are 2.6.16.33 in this release.) If you have already installed rPath Linux 1, you should update your current system using Conary rather than reinstall using the new images." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information.
Scientific Linux 4.5 Live CD/DVD
Urs Beyerle has announced the release of the live CD/DVD edition of Scientific Linux 4.5, a set of live media built from source RPM packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.5: "The Scientific Linux live CD/DVD is a bootable CD/DVD that runs Linux directly from CD/DVD without installing. It is based on Scientific Linux 4.5 (SL45), which is recompiled from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 sources (RHEL4 AS Update 5). The following versions of the Scientific Linux live CD are available for download: 'livecd' (fits on a CD-ROM), 'livecd64' (CD-ROM for 64-bit systems), 'livedvd' (fits on a DVD), 'livedvd64' (DVD-ROM for 64-bit systems), 'mini_livecd' (rescue system). Additional feature: live CD/DVD can be installed on local hard disk or USB key and can be mounted over NFS. Latest changes: diskless client - better detection of the network card; GParted added to live CD/DVD...." Here is the full release announcement.
Frugalware Linux 0.7
Miklós Vajna has announced the release of Frugalware Linux 0.7: "The Frugalware Developer Team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Frugalware 0.7, our seventh stable release. No new features have been added since 0.7rc2, but more than 150 changes have been made to fix minor bugs. If you didn't follow the changes during the pre/rc releases, here are the most important changes since 0.6: up-to-date base system - Linux kernel 2.6.22.9, glibc 2.6.1 and GCC 4.2.1; up-to-date desktop packages - KDE 3.5.7, GNOME 2.20, Xfce 4.4.1, OpenOffice.org 2.3.0 and Firefox 2.0.0.7; a live CD called FwLive is now available for this release; language-specific defaults (keymap, time zone, default mirror), the installation is now logged; supported new languages: Romanian, Swedish, Italian and Danish; new graphical tools: Gfpm (package manager) and Gnetconfig (network configurator)." Here is the full release announcement.
Frugalware Linux 0.7
(full image size: 231kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Puppy Linux 3.01
Barry Kauler has released Puppy Linux 3.01, a bug-fix update to the earlier Puppy 3.00: "Puppy version 3.01 released. Puppy 3.01 is a bug-fix upgrade of 3.00. If you are currently using 3.00 (or have tried to use 3.00 and have encountered a show-stopper bug), please read the blog first to find out if your particular problem has been addressed -- if not, it may be addressed in 3.02. The purpose of 3.01 is simply to fix the most urgent bugs and niggles in 3.00, not apply any major changes or package upgrades. This Puppy (3.00 and 3.01) is a massive upgrade from the previous (v2.17.1). I decided to aim for close binary compatibility with Slackware 12, with the objective of being able to install Slackware packages and have all or most of the required dependencies already in place. To that end, I used all the building block packages from Slackware 12, such as glibc 2.5, GCC 4.1.2 and GTK+ 2.10.13. Most of the libraries in Puppy are now from Slackware." Read the rest of the release notes for more details.
* * * * *
Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
|
| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
|
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
| DistroWatch.com News |
New distributions added to waiting list
- MitraX. MitraX is a Slackware-based live Linux distribution. With its size of 50 MB MitraX can be stored on a business card-size CD. MitraX is mainly intended to be used by system and network administrators.
- PureOS. PureOS is a French live CD based on Debian's testing branch. It is designed primarily for French-speaking users.
- Syllable Server. The Syllable project creates a set of operating systems that interact to deploy networks. Syllable Desktop is a complete desktop operating system that is exceptionally powerful, fast, and easy to use. It has its own kernel, file system, graphical user interface, and applications. Syllable Desktop is based on AtheOS, is largely POSIX.1 compliant, and uses many of the GNU utilities. Syllable Server is a server operating system built to be similar to Syllable Desktop, but on the Linux kernel.
- Untangle Gateway Platform. Untangle Gateway Platform is a Linux-based network gateway with pluggable modules for network applications like spam blocking, web filtering, anti-virus, anti-spyware, intrusion prevention, VPN, SSL VPN, firewall, and more.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
And this concludes the latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 22 October 2007.
Ladislav Bodnar
|
|
| Tip Jar |
If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip.
(Tips this week: 0, value: US$0.00) |
|
|
|
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch |
|
| Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
|
|
| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Rescue CDs for x86_64? (by anonymous on 2007-10-15 11:32:00 GMT from United States)
Does anyone know of any good rescue disks for x86_64?
2 • Mandriva 2008 rocks! (by Sandro Rib on 2007-10-15 11:48:03 GMT from Brazil)
It's the best distro ever. I am an Ubuntu/Debian fan, but this new release rocks. No issues at all! What about a review, Ladislav? :)
I also tested openSUSE install CDs, there were some issues with the KDE CD and 1-click-install for NVidia drivers (there is a missing package that is not installed that prevents openSUSE to autoconfigure the installed driver).
3 • OpenSUSE 10.3 review (by Anonymous Penguin on 2007-10-15 11:49:32 GMT from Italy)
Good review, I agree wholeheartedly.
The only annoying issue I was having, I couldn't set my screen at my favorite resolution, 1280x800.
But then I copied a xorg.conf generated by Kanotix, and everything is now fine.
4 • RE: # 2 (by Anonymous Penguin on 2007-10-15 11:52:13 GMT from Italy)
Mandriva is also nice, but I am having an issue: I can't configure my ADSL modem (pppoe).
5 • #1 • Rescue CDs for x86_64? (by spiritraveller on 2007-10-15 11:56:19 GMT from United States)
What reason is there for not using one of the many rescue CDs built for ia32?
What kind of advantage would you gain from a rescue CD that ran in 64 bit mode?
6 • Gnome Mandriva (by EP on 2007-10-15 12:07:48 GMT from United States)
With all the shining comments I've heard from so many, I can only say it's about time!
7 • OpenSUSE (by Douglas on 2007-10-15 12:20:39 GMT from Germany)
Does no one have any problem with OpenSUSE and its relation to Novell now?
Douglas
8 • UbuDSL (by uu on 2007-10-15 12:23:14 GMT from Poland)
If you have problem with DSL modem. Try UbuDSL !
UbuDSL supports many different providers from many countries and it works on the following systems: Ubuntu 7.04, 7.10
Configuration of ADSL modem and service has become easier than ever.
http://ubudsl.ubuntu.pl
9 • Mandriva vs OpenSUSE (by Anonymous on 2007-10-15 12:24:45 GMT from Kazakhstan)
Mandriva's release went quite silently compared to OpenSUSE and I wasn't expecting much when downloading it.
But ever since I booted off its LiveCD I was very pleasantly surprised.
It's installation routine is much shorter and more logical than OpenSUSE's, everything worked out-of-the box, even Compiz Fusion (even in LiveCD mode). The theming is more pleasant IMO.
I wonder why their ranking is not reversed on DW.
10 • #2 Mandriva Rocks (by Glenn at 2007-10-15 12:29:36 GMT from Canada)
Hi Sandro.
I share your opinion on Mandriva. I tested both OpenSUSE and Mandriva on my Thinkpad T60 and my 2 AMD64 desktops, one of them with SLI.
Mandriva slipped on all 3 systems beautifully, proper drivers or their equivalents were enabled and I was productive fairly quickly. A few adjustments to tailor it and I was happy. One thing I was not impressed with was the installation process and consider that it could be improved so that a non-geek would have an easier time, I'm thinking of the option as to where to place the GRUB, but this is minor. COMPIZ worked absolutely great if you're into that
On a side note, this is the first time I have really liked Mandriva. I dumped Mandrake years ago and my last crack at Mandriva left me unimpressed.
openSUZE was also a nice system to test but it was not as easy as Mandriva and I had to manually obtain a couple of drivers. Small point for me because I'm a geek but it is always the small things that will kill off a good impression of a good product. (imo), . especially for someone considering migrating from another OS and is relatively technically illiterate. (I know, I know,,, those other OS's also have driver installation issues but ....... )
To a newbie I would not hesitate to recommend either of these two distributions as their first venture into the Linux world. But for personal preference I would definitely lean toward Mandriva!
Flames go here (......................................) .
This is a non-tech opinion primarily but then I am presuming that a large number of the readers here are non-geeks.
Glenn
11 • OpenSuSE (by Arch User on 2007-10-15 12:31:42 GMT from United States)
SuSE -> Novell ->+MS??
I was SuSE user when SuSE was SuSE (from ver. 4.?) and my last SuSE was 9.1. I never tried Mandriva but after read all the reviews is time to try it and for the "old" days stay with one of the commercial distro :) or give a chance tu Frugalware :)?
12 • Crusading (by Tim Brooke-Taylor on 2007-10-15 12:38:40 GMT from United States)
Look out - it seems that UbuntuME is about to overtake Ubuntu CE in the distrowatch 7-day rankings... looks like we could have a war on our hands!
13 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-10-15 12:40:36 GMT from Kazakhstan)
Sorry for duplication of my previous comment. I used Reload on my browser and it has resent the HTTP request.
More on the subject. I think Mandriva was ignored partly because it wasn't free until this release (or it didn't seem to).
I think it is a good distro for newbies even.
For the first time in my distro hopping I am using the desktop as it is, without heavily customizing it as I used to do. Kudo's to Mandriva developers!
14 • Lawsuit against RedHat (by Alexandru on 2007-10-15 12:41:08 GMT from Germany)
Hello averibody.
It was no mention about new lawsuit against RedHat inspired by Microsoft.
I think, there are 2 ways to fight with this:
1. Microsoft way. Sue Microsoft for:
- using "/" character in the internet addresses instead of "" (which is Windows directory separator).
- for using C/C++ in OS development (Microsoft should use Basic or Assembler).
- for using TCP/IP protocol which is invented by Berkley University for BSD and Unix-like OSes.
2. Non-Microsoft way. Surpricely, number of Windows viruses can grow dramatically. Some guys will be happy to help with this.
15 • @7 .... take a hint from Linus (by Advice worth something on 2007-10-15 12:48:32 GMT from Australia)
>Does no one have any problem with OpenSUSE and its relation to Novell now?<
But despite the controversy, Torvalds remains nonplussed. "I don't actually think the Novell-Microsoft agreement kind of thing matters all that much in the end, but it's interesting to see the signs that the sides are at least talking to each other.
I don't know what the end result will be, but I think it would be healthier for everybody if there wasn't the kind of rabid hatred on both sides," he told Computerworld.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/.../0,130061733,339281141,00.htm
16 • openSuSE and other notes (by Kavani Pardus/Elive user on 2007-10-15 12:51:27 GMT from United States)
Is it just me or does openSuSE looking more and more like Pardus? That'd be a step in the right direction for openSuSE. Pardus is a very easy to use distro that is polished to a degree not seen by many newer and experienced users. I'll think about giving openSuSE a spin in a few. My last try was plagued with confusion and lack of hardware recognition.
17 • RE: Rescue CDs for x86_64? (by Kaptain at 2007-10-15 12:56:27 GMT from United States)
Checkout SystemRescueCd 0.4.0 now support for amd64/em64t architecture.
http://www.sysresccd.org/
or try install CD/DVD of distro
One needs 64 bits kernel support when chroot into 64 bits distro.
18 • Mandriva 2008 - hat's off! (by bunsen on 2007-10-15 13:01:34 GMT from Germany)
I have used Debian and Fedora for a long time now. I have check some other distros from time to time and I have never been impressed enough for ditching fedora or debian, but Mandriva 2008 (I use the Gnome desktop) is a stunning release. Easy to configure, administrate, navigate, great hardware detection (Better than my beloved Debian. A shock!!), a very responsive desktop, great multimedia support.
The installer is still incredible, allowing lots of flexibility and perfect partitioning. The Mandriva Control Center (also used by PCLinuxOS) is very, very good to use (and if you want to do more finetuning than the MCC allows, you can still hack the config files manually) and urpmi, the package manager, is imho almost as good as debians apt-get.
Okay, the desktop design is not as cool as the upcoming fedora 8, but that can be changed with a few clicks. All in all, a stunning release. I am really tempted to ditch my other systems for the new Mandriva 2008.
Hat's off to the developers and keep up the good work. Nice to see that they finally progress a lot after the (by their own standard) subpar releases of 2005/2006.
19 • RE 9 Mandriva infamous mercantile reputation (by dbrion on 2007-10-15 13:08:54 GMT from France)
"I think Mandriva was ignored partly because it wasn't free until this release (or it didn't seem to).
"
FYI LinuxCD.org and Osdisc.com sell the Mandriva CDs/DVDs at exactly the same price than any free Linux (and I do not think they stealt Mandriva!). Perhaps you have been mislead by DW database, where the commercial aspect of Mandriva is highlightened.
The *mercantile* Mandriva has been known for a long time as selling support and services (my colleagues and I had/have Mandrivas for professional use, but it was so little buggy that we did not need any support!) to professionals, and having individuals getting downloading it freely.
Any releas was free or had a free part which was sufficient (when I bought Powerpacks , it was partly to have simpler to install softs, partly to support Mandriva (or GNU/linux?), as HW recognition is expensive and developpers do not eat fresh air...but I could have lived with standard, uncommercial, Mandrivas)....
This is about the same thing with RedHat and CentOS or Whitebox (which is very popular among my colleagues and me for professional use)... But here, it is the same name....
20 • #7 - Microsoft-Novell Deal (by RC on 2007-10-15 13:14:41 GMT from United States)
Ballmer threatens Linux and open source with patents again
At a small meeting of Web 2.0 developers and partners on Oct. 1 at Microsoft's London office, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer once more attacked Linux and open source for violating Microsoft's patents.
Ballmer went on: "That's why we've done the deal we have with Novell, where not only are we working on technical interoperability between Linux and Windows but we've also made sure that we could provide the appropriate, for the appropriate fee, [protection for] Novell customers [so that they] also get essentially the right to use our patented intellectual property. And I think its great the way Novell stepped up to kind of say intellectual property matters. People who use Red Hat, at least with respect to our intellectual property, in a sense have an obligation to eventually compensate us."
21 • Interview with Source Mage developer (by magick on 2007-10-15 13:19:11 GMT from Finland)
MagePower has published an interview with Jaka Kranjc, one of the developers
of Source Mage GNU/Linux.
http://www.magepower.org/2007/10/jaka-lynx-kranjc-interview.html
IMHO, Source Mage doesn't get as much publicity as it deserves, and so I
decided to take the opportunity and adverise my favourite distro a little
bit here:
Source Mage is a source-based distro with a package manager, "sorcery", that
resolves dependencies automatically and has advanced self-repair functions.
Using Source Mage requires basic command line skills and some patience
because building applications from source takes time. If you can install and
configure Slackware, you can also install and configure Source Mage. Both
Source Mage and Slackware follow the "Keep It Simple" philosophy -- you get
unpatched packages that look and behave just like the original application
developers intended.
Source Mage provides quite up-to-date packages and it gives more control
over your system than what is possible in binary distros.
If the interview arouses your curiosity and you want to try Source Mage,
grab the 0.9.6 ISO and burn it onto a cd-rom. The installer will walk you
through the installation and, provided that your hardware is supported, you
should then have a basic Source Mage system installed. This doesn't include
X.org or window managers -- you can install them via the "sorcery" package
manager.
But first, you'll probably want to update and rebuild the basic system with
your own optimizations. The first thing to do is to check that your network
connection works, because packages need to be downloaded before they can be
installed. I've also found it useful to disable screen blanking in the
console with "setterm -blank 0".
Source Mage defaults to "stable" grimoire but there's also "test" grimoire
that has more up-to-date spells. Then there's "games" grimoire for games and
"z-rejected" grimoire for binary packages and non-free stuff. The modular
X.org is currently in its own grimoire but it should be soon added to "test"
grimoire. ("Grimoires" are collections of spells, and "spells" are scripts
that install packages.)
I wanted the latest packages, including the modular X.org, and so I added
the "xorg-modular" and "test" grimoires and removed the "stable" grimoire.
# scribe add xorg-modular from http://codex.sourcemage.org/testing/xorg-modular.tar.bz2
# scribe add test
# scribe remove stable
Then I configured my package management preferences by typing "sorcery" and
selecting "Option" from the sorcery menu. After setting the sorcery options,
I updated sorcery and the installed grimoires.
# sorcery update
# scribe update
Some packages (gcc, g++, glibc) are more important than others and they
should be updated first before updating the rest of the system. I began by
updating glibc:
# cast smgl-archspecs glibc
Then I updated gcc, g++, perl, gettext and (yes, again) glibc:
# cast gcc g++ perl gettext glibc
Then I updated the Linux kernel:
# cast -r linux
After rebooting the system with my new Linux kernel, I put the already
updated packages on hold, so I don't need to waste time rebuilding them
again. Then I told sorcery to rebuild the whole system:
# sorcery hold gcc g++ perl gettext glibc linux
# sorcery rebuild
After the system rebuild is over, you have a shiny new Source Mage system
and you can start installing applications. Just don't forget to unfreeze the
held packages:
# sorcery unhold gcc g++ perl gettext glibc linux
The modular X.org is installed with this command:
# cast xorg-server
You'll also need to install at least drivers for mouse, keyboard, and your
graphics card. These and any other packages you need can be selected from
the sorcery menu. Source Mage doesn't configure X.org for you, but typing "X
-configure" and then moving /root/xorg.conf.new to /etc/X11/xorg.conf should
help to get you going.
After these initial steps, installing/removing packages and maintaining the
system is quite easy. The config files under /etc/sysconfig are worth
checking out on a new system. Services are configured via "telinit" command.
The package management commands "sorcery" "cast" "dispel" "gaze" "cleanse" and
"scribe" have detailed man pages.
The easiest way to get support in Source Mage -related problems is to
connect to #sourcemage IRC channel. There are also forums and SM-Users
mailing list.
Have a sorcerous day!
22 • Linux Tmxxine 3.01 released (by Lobster on 2007-10-15 13:21:55 GMT from United Kingdom)
Linux Tmxxine 3.01 released
Puppy 3.01 Final + Ezpup3 + Open Office + Graphics programs
http://tmxxine.com/Wikka/wikka.php?wakka=LinuxTmxxine10
Linux Tmxxine is a complete Puppy 3.01 compatible puplet
315MB Linux desktop that runs very fast
Based on Puppy 3.01 FINAL
Ezpup includes XP and Vista style themes with text to speech capacity
Mtpaint 3.11
Mut as default mounting software
Improved online programs support using http://tmxxine.com/g/ Glint homepage
Open Office 2.0.3 - software Suite
Extra Graphics software - Xara LX, Gimp Shop, Scribus DTP, POVRay, Blender etc all built in
recommended hardware
512 MB memory and above - like Puppy it runs from Ram
23 • #19 Mandriva infamous mercantile reputation (by Glenn at 2007-10-15 13:22:29 GMT from Canada)
Hi.
I am in agreement with you, at least for me. I did subscribe to 2 commercial releases and got burned. One of them ignored requests for support, With both of them I had to go through a lot of effort to install packages that were not in their repositories. The risk of making your distro was very high because of their proprietary customizations. Both of them are now in the licence agreement with Microsoft.
I also agree that developers do not live on air and I will send some money to a distro that I really like. More importantly I also send some to development of a product i really like (say for example ndiswrapper, wine, etc.) if they are highly useful to me.
glenn
24 • For the "rabid" ones (as defined by Linus) (by Further consideration required on 2007-10-15 13:24:13 GMT from Australia)
I would suggest you start with the following:
http://en.opensuse.org/FAQ:Novell-MS
"....Novell has also created or is among the top sponsors of projects such as the Linux Kernel, GCC, OpenOffice.org, KDE, GNOME, Tomboy, F-Spot, Banshee, Beagle, (K)NetworkManager, Kickoff, Evolution, XEN, Xgl, and Compiz etc. Are you refusing to use any of those as well? Since they all have substantial amounts of Novell code...."
http://en.opensuse.org/Novell_Supported_Projects
25 • Reply to comment 9 • Mandriva vs OpenSUSE (by gman on 2007-10-15 13:30:50 GMT from United States)
Regarding Mandriva, one anonymous comment ended with
"I wonder why their ranking is not reversed on DW"
Mandriva is a great step forward, but it still has some flaws. For me, two issues keep me from using Mandriva, one minor and one major. The minor issue is that my builtin card reader doesn't work. I can get around this with an USB card reader. The major issue is that there are problems with the native Brother printers and either CUPS 1.3 or CUPS 1.3 running on Mandriva's. This has been reported to Mandriva as a bug. This may be occurring with other printers as well.
I run LinuxMint which is Ubuntu Feisty Fawn based. Compared to LinuxMint and Feisty Fawn by association, the packages are very much up to date. Mandriva supports my built in wireless better. Last, there is the wonderful control center.
So, until some of the issues are worked out Mandriva will not take off.
26 • Re 23 (by dbrion on 2007-10-15 13:30:50 GMT from France)
I never bought Powerpacks *before* installing a free version of Mandriva.... and never got burned....
As for the repos, most I had to add (R newer versions, gcc newer ver versions, gmt, grads, ...) could be installed from source, à la goboLinux (in seperate directories) during nights (which makes install. times not that relevant) or binary downloaded (g95...).
R, gmt and grads have a great deal of funding, meseems...
27 • OpenSUSE 10.3 & Mandriva 2008 (by Anonymous on 2007-10-15 13:45:50 GMT from France)
I had quite a lot of problems regarding openSUSE 10.3. I firstly tried the x86-64 for my core2duo, but the desktop seemed quite laggy and the printer would only print weird ASCII characters. The one click install nvidia drivers were great however. I then tried the 32bit version and the desktop responded fine. I had however still a problem with my printer: it printed A5 instead of A4!
I also tested Mandriva 2008 One. All I can say is that for my pc (I only require the nvidia proprietary drivers) it runs beautifully, everything was auto-configured on the start.
The next step for all these KDE-main distros is to merge/change their Control Center with KDE's and integrate in the desktop. For example in Mandriva if you right click on the desktop and confiure your screen, you get a window a very few settings which are often badly set compared to the distribution's control center.
We need something more streamlined !
28 • Only 10 seconds! (by Omari on 2007-10-15 13:50:45 GMT from United States)
"OpenOffice.org Writer took only 10 seconds to load" -- this is sad. I remember that Word 97used to open almost instantaneously--2 seconds or less. This of course is on hardware that was made ten years ago. Old DOS word processors like WordPerfect had similar performance. Now, with ten times as much RAM and processors at least five times faster, we brag about a word processor with slightly more functionality that takes at least five times longer to load.
OOo isn't the only offender, as MS Office now takes forever to load as well. But "only 10 seconds to load" is a sad milestone.
29 • #24 (by RC on 2007-10-15 13:51:55 GMT from United States)
I use MS products daily at work and several times a week at home. I don't "hate" MS. Nor do I think that concern over MS's motivations and methods are "rabid". Fearing Novell's deal with MS will result in short term gains for Novell and long term problems for Linux seems healthy to me. I hope that I and others are wrong and Ballmer is just blowing hot air and this is all good for Linux. Time will tell...but concern in the meantime hardly falls into the rabid category. And choosing to use or not use openSuSe based on ones reaction to their deal with MS still falls under choice I think.
30 • Re 29: yous should try Abiword (by dbrion on 2007-10-15 13:59:05 GMT from France)
or even, if you do not hate the CLI, antiword (very memory sober and easy to compile)!
That would make a huge gain of time or of concentration.... (Abiword is getting more and more popular, as it opens very fast, is very easy to learn and is debugged, this year. It works under Windows and Linux (and perhaps under else))
Antiword is for reading only (or printing) word documents, at full speed....if they are mainly text.... Noone knows whether it has been Windows ported, but it exists in any *ux*....
31 • No subject (by winsnomore on 2007-10-15 14:19:03 GMT from United States)
Suse Review:
I think it's terribly shallow, I used to be a big fan of Suse and have moved on. Tried Suse 10.3 .. have it installed, but other than eye-kandy there are some serious holes in it that Chris seems not to have noticed.
-1 Boot is seriously messed up.
-2 Suse is not as friendly to other distros on the system - old Suse used to put their boot in the grub .. not this one!!!
-3 Package management is still amateurish, you download the CD and it wants to update itself from the website .. it's not even a a day old .. come on !! Only good thing is the acknowledgment that third party repo's are a real need and are included in yast
-4 There are another 5/6 I could write, but suffice it say that it's better than the earlier 10.x .. but nowhere near PCLinuxOS .. and Ubuntu.
32 • RE: 22 • Linux Tmxxine 3.01 released (by ShakaZ on 2007-10-15 14:24:27 GMT from Belgium)
Does it have slapt-get, that's the only thing missing in the puppy before i give him a few GB on one of my harddrives for testing?
33 • Suse and Mandriva (by mdotson on 2007-10-15 14:34:40 GMT from United States)
OpenSuse 10.3 lasted on my home desktop for 4 days. Looked good, was fast and not to hard to configure with the new Yast. Then,about day 2, the problems began. Apps crashing(firefox, gftp, Open-office, abiword, etc) and locking up became a daily event, with bug reporting back to OpenSuse on every one. It felt like windows 98 after a while. Back to Debian 4.0 where nothing ever crashes on me. Mandriva made it to my work desktop for a test spin and here I sit happily typing on Mandriva 2008 free. So far so good. Picked up all my equipment, including printers with no trouble. Runs a bit slow, but acceptable, and configuration was easy enough. Home machine is a 2.5GHZ HP, and work is a Dell Optiplex GX60.
34 • Knoppix (by relativ on 2007-10-15 14:35:21 GMT from United States)
I miss Knoppix. With all the fanfare surrounding these big commercial projects, I still wake up every Monday hoping to see this headline on DistroWatch Weekly:
Distribution Release: Knoppix 5.2.1
Klaus...? Are you still out there? Your Knoppix is still my #1 favorite. Please update her.
rel.
35 • I Might Just Go Back To PCLinuxOS ....... (by Ronald L. Gibson on 2007-10-15 14:43:57 GMT from United States)
I should not have any problems with the new Mandriva and wireless on my laptop but I do. There has been no problem with PCLinuxOS. I use ndiswrapper -i bcwml5.inf then go and set up my AP. Mandriva says that there needs to be some firmware besides the the drivers. I gave up and bought a PCMCIA card. I also had a problem installing soundKonverter. It was the very first program that I installed. It said that there was a conflict with a file in my home directory. At that time I did not do any updates. Also, any new software I would add would say Bad Signatures.
I tried SuSe and could not get it to work with the wireless built into my laptop. The default Start menu drove me crazy so I went back to the KDE default menus.
36 • OpenSuSe, Novell, and M$ (by davemc on 2007-10-15 14:44:28 GMT from United States)
First off, its not M$ thats sueing Novell and Red Hat, its a patent troll (presumably working by direction from Ballmer, but thats just a presupposition). Second, its about multiple work spaces, which SuSe does NOT use by default, and is not about Distro's, but about Window Managers, really. One can only guess as to why Novell is targeted at all, since they are currently on their knees to M$ now, but Red Hat is obvious. Im sure they will go after individual US based Distro's eventually such as PCLos with other patent disputes. In fact, im sure well see one patent dispute after another, after another.. To the tune of 235, unless or until we all start to be good little boys/girls, and cater to M$'s wishes by paying the M$ tax whenever directed. This is designed to bleed the major companies down to nothing (Novell, Red Hat, etc). Novell holds the patent/copywrights to UNIX (see latest SCO ruling), so if they go down in flames, what will become of that?.. If the major Linux players die, then who would represent the average Linux developer just trying to develop Open Source stuff in freedom?.. What about innovation with the code, etc.. In other words, who is going to use/create GNU/Linux code if under constant threat of being in violation of some patent?.. How are Novell and Red Hat to remain profitable, if they are constantly in court?
You can say that its only a US thing, but it will have worldwide, long term fallout for many reasons, least of which is the fact that both Novell and Red Hat have/will make lasting and profound improvements to the Linux world, and both companies are extremely open to the community. Who can argue that the business implications of Linux have not driven innovation for some time?.. If all were left with is Canonical and a stripped down Ubuntu at the end of the Patent Wars, now running GNU/Hurd or a stripped out Linux Kernel (due to patent infringements), we would be set back to the stone age, conceivably. And we may get there yet, if Ballmer has his way. And we have now entered the time of the Patent Wars; bank on it.
As to SuSe 10.3. Its a great release that lags behind Gutsy in simplicity and ease of use. It lacks wireless support for bcm/ath, and its documentation is slightly above pathetic. It is NOT noob friendly, as with all rpm distro's, including Mandriva. For those new to Linux, stick with Ubuntu, Mephis, or PCLos. For those that are comfortable with cli, then SuSe and Fedora are the way to go IMO.
37 • suse 10.3 and mandriva 2008 (by distro hopper on 2007-10-15 14:49:03 GMT from Germany)
hi,
from now on, i prefer mandriva over suse cause i have tested both on my comp and i must say, suse have too many rough edges in my opinion, unresolved packages in yast, the one click install dont function well (my nvidia 7600 is not going with that) , codec download wont work out of the box, and sometimes the gnome desktop gives me error messages)
im loading now the mandriva 2008 one gnome cd, and btw. the new site from mandriva looks really good, better then the new suse site. it looks like they hopping on to the "web2.0" feeling :)
i agree with the comments before, i dont know why mandrive lack the rank in distrowatch, why is pclinux so running fast to place 1 ? they have its base on mandriva, but with its releases they running behind mandriva and the repos have not so many packages like mandriva, no gnome, only kde, and the look and feel is good but not my choice, no fine german translation and so on.... but thats my personal opinion.
38 • Mandriva 2008.0 is just PERFECT (by Serge Matovic on 2007-10-15 14:51:50 GMT from Canada)
Just to state that I'm not a "fanboy" for Mandriva (nor for anybody else for that matter), but I feel compelled to give my total praise to Mandriva 2008.0. I won't bother you with long comments here, but I'm totally impressed with it. EVERYTHIG JUST WORKS. I tried OpenSuse 10.3 and it's OK, but too slow as configuration/software installation is concerned, and configuring it to play all of the Internet Multimedia was not perfect.
Best regards to all of you.
serge.
39 • #28 • Only 10 seconds! (by Anonymous on 2007-10-15 14:53:31 GMT from Germany)
Well, I wholeheartedly agree with you that it is a pity that the office suites need more and more time to startup. But then, they are more complex nowadays than 10 years or 20 years ago.
10 Seconds for starting Openoffice is rather slow. In Mandriva 2008 on a Sempron 2400, it opens in roughly six seconds if launched the very first time. After finetuning the memory usage, it opens on my system in three seconds. That is quite acceptable. :)
40 • About Abiword (by IMQ on 2007-10-15 14:55:59 GMT from United States)
I am curious as to why some distros have versions of Abiword support saving files to Open Document Format and some don't.
Does anyone know if this is something that was compiled or a plugin?
41 • OpenSuSE 10.3 (by Robert on 2007-10-15 14:56:42 GMT from United States)
I really can't understand all the hype around version 10.3. The package manager is still slower than synaptic and APT. And it's not only Debian distributions using it as PCLOS using synaptic and APT for rpm. The networkmanager is still buggy not reactivating after a hibernation and the install takes more than an hour. With the resources available to Novell, you'd think they could do much, much better than distros like LinuxMint and PCLOS who only have a mere fraction of the resources.
42 • No subject (by Daniel on 2007-10-15 15:02:12 GMT from France)
Another great DWW, nice review of SuSe. I hope competition is back in the ditro world. The latest Mandriva and SuSe seem to be a good spin. This is good news for Ubuntu lovers like me (and almost all my colleagues), because Ubuntu have to go further in innovation and quality to keep top position in the race.
Greets Ladislav, till next Monday :) .
43 • Caitlyn Martin & the DWW "death threat" (by ShakaZ on 2007-10-15 15:19:37 GMT from Belgium)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
44 • standardization and patents (by technosaurus on 2007-10-15 15:26:47 GMT from United States)
IMHO the best thing we could do as a community is have a set release schedule for all core components (kernel, gcc, etc) with each "distro" as separatable plugins ... thus a user could for instance choose Ubuntu login + Debian package management + PCLinuxOS Themes+ SuSe system management or whatever they choose. How much time does each distro spend to try and balance all these things out? Why should users be limited to repository X when all the stuff they need is in Y or a horrid desktop just so their wireless card and printer will both work? For a faster path to the ultimate distro, this is a must. As for software patents, they may not hold up in court for various legal precidents and they will all eventually expire when they do. Thus if one believe as some judges in the past have that "algorithms" cannot be patented, then one should be able to improve upon the code at his own risk.
45 • To 37 (by Anonymous on 2007-10-15 15:30:53 GMT from Kazakhstan)
Agree with distro hopper #37.
PCLOS is gaining 8 points daily with a suspicious pattern.
If I were an astronomer seeing such regularity in light pulses coming from universe, I'd shout: it's humaine!, it's deliberate!.
Seriously, Ladislav, you need to check it out, there's a bot out there.
46 • Only 10 seconds, less than 2 seconds on Tmxxine 3.01 (by Glenn at 2007-10-15 15:33:39 GMT from Canada)
iInteresting comments above.
I just tried Openoffice in Tmxxine 3.01 . Less than 5 secs for first open, less than 2 secs after. I tried it on a TP60 with 2gb ram. Very acceptable.
Glenn
47 • RE 37 PCLOS rankings (by dbrion on 2007-10-15 15:47:24 GMT from France)
"
why is pclinux so running fast to place 1 ?
"
To make their developpers/users happy (who would wish them a nervous breakdown? That would be unhuman.....)
***
they have its base on mandriva, but with its releases they running behind mandriva and the repos have not so many packages like mandriva, no gnome, only kde, and the look and feel is good but not my choice,
******
Sometimes , they rebase on Mandriva and they go then at their own pace, and the mere fact of claiming "they release when they are ready " makes them sympathetic, as some other distr may live the pressure of users/testosterone/shareholders to release in "due " time....
I do not know whether having many apps is a rational advantage (on can know 50 apps, use currently 10 or 20, but what the use of thousands of apps |most of them can be imported/ compiled/ interpreted from the original maker])
*****
no fine german translation and so on....
******
Have you tried SAM (a very fair clone of PCLOS, sharing developpers, linking to the same docs, but localized in Germany)?
XFCE is not as RAM consuming as Gnome and KDE.... and can be an ?exotic? change. And they might be good in German?? Perhaps it is not that illogical....
48 • RE: 43 • Caitlyn Martin & the DWW "death threat" (by ShakaZ on 2007-10-15 15:47:26 GMT from Belgium)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
49 • open suse 10.3 and mandriva 2008 (by Amy on 2007-10-15 15:56:41 GMT from United States)
I tried open suse over the weekend and it did not like my mouse or my video card so I could not even use it.
I also tried mandriva 2008 on the same computer and it worked fine and wow lots of changes have been made sence the last time i used it.
Its fast thats for sure and did find all my hardware just fine.
50 • Mandriva vs OpenSUSE (by EP on 2007-10-15 15:59:30 GMT from United States)
Well, OpenSUSE booted and was able to get up and running with very little issue, Mandriva One wouldn't even boot on my computer from my external usb DVD-ROM. I'm sure it's hardware related, but everything else seems to work on it, so I'm a bit frustrated due to the rave reviews. Who knows what's next? Ubuntu is pretty slick I guess.
51 • Can't wait for MEPIS 7 (by CeVO on 2007-10-15 16:18:21 GMT from Spain)
With all these new distros coming out, I can't wait for MEPIS 7 to go final. The prospect of a stable Debian base with rolling upgrades is just what the doctor ordered for me.
The easy install process and the renowned MEPIS hardware support make this a distro that should be on everybody's lookout list. But when is it going to go gold????
52 • @35 (by Adam Williamson on 2007-10-15 16:24:14 GMT from Canada)
Ronald, Mandriva 2008 uses the native driver - bcm43xx - for Broadcom cards by default, not ndiswrapper. There's no need to use the console to set up ndiswrapper or anything. The firmware the network configuration tool is asking for is for bcm43xx, not a Windows driver for ndiswrapper. Just feed it the bcmwl5.sys file, or if that doesn't work (some Windows drivers aren't suitable for extracting firmware for bcm43xx), get it here: http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware (the version 3 file, not the version 4 one). This is already documented in the release notes:
http://wiki.mandriva.com/en/Releases/Mandriva/2008.0/Notes
53 • @13 (by Adam Williamson on 2007-10-15 16:25:09 GMT from Canada)
Mandriva has always had an open development system and at least one free-as-in-beer and free-as-in-speech edition per release, ever since the first release in 1998.
54 • @35 again (by Adam Williamson on 2007-10-15 16:27:25 GMT from Canada)
the signature error was fully covered on the Mandriva blog, Mandriva Club site, Mandriva forum my personal blog, and as many comment threads as I could post it in...see:
http://blog.mandriva.com/2007/10/10/public-service-announcement-nokey-errors-with-2008/
http://blog.mandriva.com/2007/10/11/public-service-announcement-nokey-errors-follow-up/
http://blog.mandriva.com/2007/10/12/public-service-announcement-nokey-errors-final/
55 • @36 (by Adam Williamson on 2007-10-15 16:28:10 GMT from Canada)
"It is NOT noob friendly, as with all rpm distro's, including Mandriva. For those new to Linux, stick with Ubuntu, Mephis, or PCLos."
PCLOS uses RPMs.
56 • Mandriva 2008.0 (by DigitalVampire on 2007-10-15 16:45:01 GMT from United States)
WOW!! I am incredibly impressed with Mandriva 2008.0. Everything works wonderfully. I download Mandrive 2008 Free DVD (as opposed to Mandrive 2008 One CD). I went ahead and installed everything from the DVD, sans a few of the server packages (apache, for instance). Everything was very easy to setup. All I did was enable some of the already listed repositories and downloaded all my media codecs and some additional software. Compiz was very easy to set up as well. I just enabled it in Mandriva's control center and it download and installed the graphics driver for me (for reference, I have an NVIDIA 7800GTX). Not quite as easy as Ubuntu's, but painless nonetheless. Metisse was also an available option. Also, I was able to access my Windows partition on the initial install. It was under /mnt which threw me off at first. My only complaint...KDE has frozen on me several times. (FTR, This is not a KDE bash...I honestly don't have a preference) The cure is a hard reboot, but I'd rather not take the Windows method of solving problems. I haven't been able to narrow down the cause yet, so I won't blame this on Mandriva. Perhaps it's just a hardware issue. Well, Ladislav, keep up the GREAT work. We all really appreciate it. :)
57 • Patent Wars & SuSE & Mandriva Oh MY (by Sam on 2007-10-15 16:49:44 GMT from United States)
Strangely I may be one of the only people I know who has consistently had hardware (I presume) related problems on Mandriva and Mandriva based (PCLinuxOS) systems. The likes of which I've never ever encountered on openSUSE (other than crashing X a few times on 10.2 with Beryl, but that was my/Beryl's fault not the OS).
Folks should read into the corporate history of Acacia and its patent troll children. These people have been launching a patent lawsuit in US courts roughly once a week for the past 5 years. Now Novell & Red Hat can share the misery of such evil patent abusers as the Green Bay Packers (sued by Acacia for patent violation in a Chicago (aka Da Bears!) court).
As Yoda might say, "Begun, the Patent Wars have." Let's just hope the plot is a little bit better than Star Wars Episodes 1 to 3.
58 • Why is this being raised again? (by Anonymous on 2007-10-15 16:51:47 GMT from United States)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
59 • RE : 58 (by ShakaZ on 2007-10-15 17:00:34 GMT from Belgium)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
60 • Oh geez... (by Anonymous on 2007-10-15 17:03:01 GMT from United States)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
61 • Eye-candy on Linux desktops (by Ekin Akoglu on 2007-10-15 17:35:20 GMT from Turkey)
Dear all,
This week's DistroWatch Weekly addresses that eye-candy and polished desktops have been a downside on Linux desktops. I have been using Fedora 7 with Gnome+Xgl and Beryl for sometime enjoying the ultimate eye-candy available to Linux and maybe all operating systems's desktops. I must admit that eye-candy is just eye-candy and please don't take it too seriously. It doesn't give anything to the experienced users who know that operating systems are more to productivity than anything else. I am sure it is important to draw more attention to Linux world from the point of novice users but sooner or later they will also realize the fact that a computer and an OS are for usability and productivity rather than something you can use to show off to others.
62 • OpenSuSe, Mandriva 2008, fedora 8 or just plain 'ol ubuntu 7.10? (by stefan on 2007-10-15 18:11:32 GMT from Netherlands)
it's that time f the year again where i need to install a new distro on my dell laptop and it is a hard choice so far.
I tried OpenSuSe 10.3 because it had a very positive vibe going .... but i was soooo disappointed, such issues, it killed Vista, my flatscreen didnt work at all, dependency troubles all over, and yast is still a joke. i think the review here is way to optimistic.
I downloaded Mandriva 2008 but am hesitant to try it, as with suse i hear really good things about it, but i was let down often in the past. ever since it was not called mandrake anymore. mmmm difficult
i really want to like fedora 8. the feature list seems sooo cool, they do such execellent work, new features, new artwork, SElinux, fast, really stable, kernel 2.6.23, gnome-online-desktop, it all sounds just like my cup of tea. i just dont really care for rpm based package managers (altho yum is really very nearly just as good and fast as apt in all honesty) and adding all those third party repos to get things working after the basic install (codecs anyone) doesnt help for stability.
or just, once again, the easy road, the popular choice, fast, stable, up2date features, stuff from gnome 2.20, stuff from fedora, guitized vpn, slick interface everything (!) just working, apt poweredm debian based, an networkmanager that actually works with wireless (unlike SuSe) plain old Ubuntu 7.10 next week?
I have been running the RC for a while now and it is way better then the final versions of other recently released distros.
mepis is cool too, but i am more biased toward Gnome these days.
I really Want it to be fedora but i am wondering if I will not end up with Ubuntu instead on my system that now runs Arch X64 2007.08.02
stefan
PS! does anyone know how that fraud lawsuit against Caitlyn Martin ended up a while back?
63 • Is OpenSUSE 10.3 a compelling upgrade? (by Drew on 2007-10-15 18:22:59 GMT from United States)
I've been using OpenSUSE 10.2 since April or May. I've configured it to my liking (e.g., getting rid of the ZENworks Management Daemon using the updater tool instead). I installed the MadWifi drivers for my D-Link PCMCIA card, and made a few other tweaks.
From what I've been reading, OpenSUSE 10.3 is not a significant enough improvement for me to go through the trouble of downloading it, installing it, and tweaking it to get the OS to the point where I have 10.2 running.
64 • Mandriva 2008 is back (by Marcello on 2007-10-15 18:53:15 GMT from Italy)
hi,
i tried mandriva 2008 either in one and free editions.. i have to say that it's the best release i've ever tried (since 9.2). it configures all automatically, there are a plenty of useful features (like importing documents from windows and the new draknetcenter) and it's responsive and fast.. the only problem is that compiz fusion crashes often, but i'm waiting for compiz 0.6.2 backport :)
try it out and post your comments
Marcello
65 • openSUSE 10.3 package management (by Anonymous Penguin on 2007-10-15 19:02:45 GMT from Italy)
If you still don't like YaST, even if it has been improved a lot, use Smart. You'll have to add the extra repos manually, but that is very easy. It is as fast and effective as apt (but it seems to work only for the 32 bit edition)
In any case apt for SUSE is still available, it is only a matter of configuring the sources.list.
66 • No subject (by Warp0 on 2007-10-15 19:20:06 GMT from United States)
"i dont know why mandrive lack the rank in distrowatch, why is pclinux so running fast to place 1 "
Well bud, let me give you an example.
PCLOS2007 will install and run on my Fujitsu P1510D. Mandriva 2008 KDE will not even boot (disk is OK, runs just fine on my desktop). On my desktop the Mandriva seems very nice and polished, but I don't feel the need to beat my head against the wall to get it to boot on my portable when PCLOS2007 will so so without problem.
67 • 48 (by Anonymous on 2007-10-15 19:21:00 GMT from United States)
Who cares?
68 • suse (by glinux on 2007-10-15 19:39:20 GMT from Canada)
In the top 10 distros of Distrowatch, your Suse con's are : "Novell's patent deal with Microsoft in November 2006 seemingly legitimised Microsoft's intellectual property claims over Linux"
We have switch to Linux because we're not interested anymore to Windows in many points !
But for almost 3 weeks now, the major interest of you articles are for Suse.
It is a way to encourage Microsoft...via Suse.
We are free and we want to stay free !
N.B. : If you don't display my comment, I will understand a lot of things about you...
69 • #68... Chill dude (by davemc on 2007-10-15 20:04:22 GMT from United States)
Im sure Ladislav has no interest in Microsoft, other than how they are impacting the Linux world, to which he obviously is deeply devoted to. You need to understand that Microsoft has every intent to kill Linux/Open Source, because it directly impacts their profits and market shares. One can also surmise that they do this to please their shareholders and board of trustees. IE, it is a business, and they do as any business does, however, they do things in a very underhanded and shady way, UNLIKE most major corporations (et. al. Ballmer threatening linux/open source, then a few days later, magically, Novell and Red Hat get sued, and just as magically, the two major players over at the Patent Troll are Microsoft big boys). It bears strong attention by everyone in the Linux Community. Choose to ignore the bear, and you'll get eaten or pooped on.
70 • What if? (by ezsit on 2007-10-15 20:17:49 GMT from United States)
"If all were left with is Canonical and a stripped down Ubuntu at the end of the Patent Wars, now running GNU/Hurd or a stripped out Linux Kernel (due to patent infringements), we would be set back to the stone age, conceivably. And we may get there yet, if Ballmer has his way. And we have now entered the time of the Patent Wars; bank on it."
Do you not know of OpenSolaris and FreeBSD? Both of these systems are available now and NOT tinged by patent issues. FreeBSD is quite far along and usable by desktop users. PC-BSD is as easy as Linux for average uses. If development hours were thrown thier way, I am sure the BSDs and Solaris would make fine replacements for Linux.
71 • 70 (by Anonymous on 2007-10-15 20:46:05 GMT from United States)
All operating systems are potentially (in the US) vulnerable to patent problems. All.
Software patents can often be worked around. Patent reform can be instituted, which will most likely happen if we start to see a lot of ridiculous software patent lawsuits. Keep in mind, as well, that the courts have not seen all that much in the way of software patent litigation. We do not know how many valid patents are out there.
What's especially funny about Ballmer's claims that Microsoft pays so much for patented technology is that their $1.52 billion verdict was overturned on appeal, and the Eolas verdict is also not sticking (apparently) because they don't even have a valid patent claim. Ballmer specifically cited Eolas knowing there was not much there.
We'll see, that's the best we can say. I will worry when there is actually a problem.
72 • #71 (by RC on 2007-10-15 20:52:33 GMT from United States)
I think the problem goes farther than the legalities. If Ballmer can paint Linux as a rogue operating system developed by patent ignoring software thieves, lots of people could choose to avoid such an unscrupulous bunch and OS.
Of course...there is alway the chance that his high octane methane will backfire and burn him instead. He and MS could be exposed for what they are trying to do and how they are going about doing it.
73 • PC-BSD (by Tazix on 2007-10-15 21:01:26 GMT from United States)
I finally got around to trying PC-BSD, a vmware appliance version.
I must say that PBIDIR software installation is very easy to use and very much like Linspire's CNR is described.
Unfortunately, at the same time it is lacking (behind the times) as far as supported package availability. You can't install Firefox, Flash Plugin, Java Plugin, etc. with Firefox. - Essential for most web browsing -. There is, however, a PBIDIR package that combines those things under WINE... but If I wanted the winblows version of that stuff I'd be running Winblows.
Granted, you can get flash, etc. for Koquerer through PBIDIR... but since I rather use Firefox... that's not an option.
There's probably a ports based way to do what you need... but I didn't bother researching it. That kind of puts a damper on the PBIDIR installation solution.
Anyway... when PBIDIR gets close to supporting enough packages... PC-BSD will be a fine choice. Until then... I'll stick with Linux Distros.
74 • Ubuntu - Religious flavors (by agnustic on 2007-10-15 21:23:33 GMT from United States)
I'm very secular and almost an athiest since 9-11. I really don't see the need in religious-flavored Ubuntu distributions. I guess, ... as long as they are playing with Linux they are not engaged in wars or murdering one another over silly esoteric garbage.
75 • Re: 74 (by Soloact on 2007-10-15 21:32:39 GMT from United States)
I'm a Christian, but, like you, still don't see the need to have specialized religious distros, as one can just install the software that is related to their faith if they so desire.
Like that comment last week about the Klingon edition, lol.
I wonder when Ubuntu Regular Edition will come out ;-)
For that matter, when is SUSE going to release the "live" CD (not the RC edition)? Anyone? Or did they do it and slipped it past me?
76 • Patent war and Mandriva (by voislav on 2007-10-15 22:00:02 GMT from Canada)
I was really looking forward to tring out Mandriva 2008 last weekend, but I downloaded the 586 version instead of x64, oops. I guess it will have to be the next one. It nice to see so many positive reviews. Another good release should be Mepis 7, I really like the idea of incrementaly upgradeable Debian, looking forward to the stable version (since I don't have much time for beta testing right now).
I have to put in my two cents as far as the patent suit against Red Hat and others goes. IANAL, but it seems to me that the thing has no chance in court, it's based on shaky patents that will get shot down. What it will give Microsoft is "see, we told you this was going to happen" effect for the next 2-3 years. It's going to take a while for the legal proceeding to get over with and in the meantime Microsoft has the ultimate FUD card, do not use Linux or you'll get sued like RH. It shows that Microsoft is scared after the Vista fiasco and is looking to buy time so it can replace Vista with something better, think XP vs. Windows ME. We should really look at this as another SCO, where there will be a lot of stuff flying around (maybe a few chairs amongst them too), but in the end it's bussiness as usual.
77 • #69-No more DUDE as you ! (by glinux on 2007-10-15 22:01:06 GMT from Canada)
Hey Chill D...what kind of OS are you using ?
Do you know how to compile you packages in Slackware ?
Do you make you own scripts ?
Do you know how perl or python language works?
Do you know linux from scratch ?
Are you able to make these efforts or you just go the easy way like installing like out-of-the distros ?
Do you know that Debian , Slackware and so on make big efforts to keep them OS free and open-source ?
Do you know that Vista have a new...dowgrade to XP ?
I (probably) know a lot more on the subject about MS and Linux than you, and I know that Linux is a more modern and advanced OS than MS.
So if you want to talk Linux, talk Linux I'll follow you as you wish but if you're not able...quiet, keep your MS OS down to date and before to describe something that you don't know...make search before.
N.B. : Please you understand Mr. davemc #69, to keep polite on a forum .
78 • 68 (by Eudoxus on 2007-10-15 22:03:32 GMT from Latvia)
Man, you showed many things about yourslef in yuor comment. Can you muster a bit more complicate and sound reasonings than that?
In fact, I really think that overall attitude against Novell is unfair in proportion to their contribution to open source. There would be much less good free software around without Novell.
See here and get informed http://en.opensuse.org/FAQ:Novell-MS#I_won.27t_use_openSUSE_since_I_don.27t_want_to_support_Novell
79 • Patents (by Johannes Eva on 2007-10-15 22:10:42 GMT from Germany)
Patent problems in the USA?
Well... time to emigrate and go back to good old Europe ;-)
(don't take this seriously!)
80 • 23 • #19 Mandriva infamous mercantile reputation (by Paul on 2007-10-15 22:55:43 GMT from United States)
I, too, buy distros to support them. Not because I expect anything in return. If you have expectations, you'll be very disappointed.
Both Mandriva and Suse support were worthless to me. I got about the same value as sending my support requests to /dev/null (even on Thumbdrive media I purchased from Mandriva). Completely ignored.
In my experience, the free distros are far more responsive, and more appreciative of your money.
Ladislav, a Distrowatch devoted to discovering the real kings of "support" might surprise everyone. You certainly have a deep base of typical problems readers face. I'm sure some of the Support UberTech responses would be interesting... and some may even be hilarious... at least everyone could see what they can expect for the money.
81 • @76 (by Adam Williamson on 2007-10-15 23:18:25 GMT from Canada)
You can use the i586 version on your x86-64 machine. x86-64 native code is highly overrated in any case, you'll barely (if at all) notice a difference in performance.
82 • No subject (by tdatb on 2007-10-15 23:34:47 GMT from United States)
Anyone else wonder when we'll be getting a Satanic Edition of Ununtu?
83 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-10-15 23:35:42 GMT from United States)
OOPS! Typo: Should be Ubuntu
84 • I pity the distrohoppers (by Doper on 2007-10-15 23:45:30 GMT from Belgium)
Always trying to find something new? always think the grass is greener on the other..... Ow this minor thing in distro X is not working, and on distro Y it is supported out of the box? Let's reinstall?
sure you have backupped all your files again.. and again?
Come on people, stop this foolishness. A message to those distrohoppers (i was one of them) : try to stick to one distro for 2 years or so. you will have all your data in place...you will learn more....
The installationprocess isn't everything. Not even if you have one minor feature that is working in disto X. What counts if that you can do your work with it. Thats what computers are all about.
85 • @ 82, no 83 :) (by tom on 2007-10-15 23:46:54 GMT from United States)
It is out : http://ubuntusatanic.org/news/
86 • Re 85 (by David Howard on 2007-10-16 00:05:10 GMT from Israel)
Perhaps Ubuntusatanic might be interested in merging with Whitebuntu
http://www.whitebuntu.org/index.shtml
That way they can go to hell together.
87 • Drivin' A VW Rabbit wishing it was a Bugatti Veyron (by Landor on 2007-10-16 00:09:59 GMT from Canada)
84:
I can't disagree with you more. Re: my subject. I'm not saying any distro is leaner, faster, or more classier than the next, not by any means. Linux gives us a choice that in other venues of the world we have few, limited to economics, locale, even philosophy.
How many of us wish we could even just use "put the name of the technology here" for even just a few hours to see what it's like? With Linux we have that. We're at the buffet table of operating systems. If someone goes to a buffet that offers some of the finest, most flavourful dishes of the world, should everyone just eat from the hamburger and french-fries trays?
If they eat only hamburgers all they'll learn is the taste of the hamburger. Never being exposed to new foods, new tastes, new sensations. In essence, never growing.
In the end, if everyone followed that philosophy in a community as diverse as this we'd all be using Minix, there'd be no Linux Kernel as Linus wouldn't have been inspired by Minix to branch out and create his own.
I'm sure the devolopers of your distro are happy that it has such an adherent to it as you, and rightly so, but I'm also quite sure they're even more happy that Linus tasted Minix, was inspired by it and created his own recipe from his OSgastronomic experience.
Keep your stick on the ice...
Landor
88 • RE 84 (by Glenn at 2007-10-16 00:31:10 GMT from Canada)
Give up distro hopping. What? Are you crazy? Then what would we be able to fight about? Life would become sedentary and boring. We would become *shudder* a clone of M$ users. I do as you suggest and have a main production distro for myself. I also distro hop because it is a lot of fun and I learn a lot. Furthermore, there is no one-size-fits-all distro yet. I have applied different distros to various customers and friends systems. That is dependent on their expectations and configurations
I have been in that line of work for almost 40 years, writing software, installing, configuring, engineering configurations etc. albeit for systems a lot different than linux, M$, Unix, etc.
Please do not suggest we give up our search for the ultimate. The fun is in the chase, not the prize at the end of it.
Please accept this in the good humour and fun thatI wrote it in. No insults are intended, just a bit of fun with your post. Thanks
Glenn
Keep The Ice in Your Drink...
89 • Mandriva 2008, better than ever (by ceti on 2007-10-16 01:10:53 GMT from Brazil)
I had a baaad experience with Mandriva some years ago (actually, Mandrake at that time), but I'm atonished with this release. I installed the KDE version on my laptop and everything's went fine, hardware, wireless, sound, graphics, everything!
Well done, guys!!
90 • Distro War (by Ultra on 2007-10-16 01:18:35 GMT from Canada)
It's Pentoo and Devil Linux, neck to neck in the ratings! The excitement is killing me!
91 • GoboLinux (by Andyvan on 2007-10-16 03:20:14 GMT from United States)
A very interesting idea. I give them little chance of any other distributions picking this idea up, but I applaud their out-of-the-box thinking.
-- Andyvan
92 • Distro Hopping (by Tony on 2007-10-16 05:04:20 GMT from United States)
I have to echo the sentiments about giving up Distro Hopping. If somebody wants to distro hop -- go for it! That's the whole point of Linux in the first place - choices - your choices to be more exact. I'm fortunate to have a bit of time every now and then along with a few extra computers to play around with and I consider distro hopping enjoyable when I am able to do it.
Thanks Ladislav for giving us "all" the chance to enjoy Linux that much more with DistroWatch!
93 • Whiteubuntu (by ezsit on 2007-10-16 05:27:45 GMT from United States)
[quote]Perhaps Ubuntusatanic might be interested in merging with Whitebuntu
http://www.whitebuntu.org/index.shtml. That way they can go to hell together.[/quote]
What I don't get is a white separatist software site deciding to use GPL licensed software generally, and Ubuntu in particular. The GPL is an economic leveling tool that pays no mind to racial differences. Ubuntu is an African word that implies humane and equal treatment of all people, regardless of race.
Unless this site is joke gone awry, I see no sense in their choices. Why not use one of the BSDs where the license would allow, and encourages, people to take what they want and make proprietary the resulting code? I would think that a white separatist group would want to tightly control the distribution and use of their work.
However, I am appalled by the response you are getting from all the so-called enlightened FOSS users who preach openness and diversity but who cannot tolerate a bit of political difference. I do not support racial separatists, but your right to exist, express yourself, and engage in the open source realm is unequivocal.
94 • Freedows Linux (by Nakaya Tekakwitha on 2007-10-16 05:28:34 GMT from United States)
Whatever happened to Freedows, the Brazilian Linux distro. They were supposed to have a free version available to the general public available during the summer. Now they seemed to have changed their name and philosophy. Can you enlighten me?
95 • 37 - distro hopper assumptions ? (by johncoom on 2007-10-16 06:10:03 GMT from Australia)
---------- snip ----------
"i agree with the comments before, i dont know why mandrive lack the rank in distrowatch, why is pclinux so running fast to place 1 ? they have its base on mandriva, but with its releases they running behind mandriva and the repos have not so many packages like mandriva, no gnome, only kde, and the look and feel is good but not my choice, no fine german translation and so on.... but thats my personal opinion."
--------- end snip ---------
RE: "no gnome" - is this true ? have you checked out the repo's ?
Being an unashamed KDE bias distro, PCLinuxOS may not always have the most recent version of Gnome in there repo's ? but there is already a PCLOS Gnome-2.18-3 that some one (slick50) has recently remastered and pubished. Refer to
http://www.linuxgator.org/Gnome/gnome_page/gnome.html
PS: I did test it as a LiveCD and worked quite well on my old laptop.
Alas I personally prefer KDE so I would never use it long in term
but perhaps others may like using the Gnome remaster ?
96 • No subject (by tdatb on 2007-10-16 08:28:31 GMT from United States)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
97 • RE: 87 and 88 (by Doper on 2007-10-16 08:37:17 GMT from Belgium)
I think we have a different view on the term "distrohopper". I'm not talking about testing a new distro on a spare machine/partition. I was talking about Mr/ms X that keeps on jumping on different trains because he/she spots something new, or different.
At the end it will get you nowhere.
Let me explain. For example, i am using slackware. I don't say this is the best distro, but it's good. just like debian, suse, ubuntu, etc.
It comes with kde, libs, and a lot of other stuff that other distro's have as well. Maybe one distro has a newer/older version of a certain lib/program, or it's configged a bit different. One distro has this package managementand boot process and procedures, and the other distro does it in a different way.
At the end it's a linux kernel, with a window manager, a lot of libs, molded to a coherent system. And this goes for most distro's.
When I installed slackware, it was very basic. I didn't liked the fonts, I fixed this by installing some different patched freetype packages. I wanted different programs to handle my media or for ripping dvd's. I didn't liked the themes, certain apps, or other stuff. I had to config my bluetooth to work with my phone so i could share stuff.
Some distro's have nice fonts by default. Great. Does this mean i had to reinstall to that distro. No, i fixed it in my current system. Installing the latest greatest, also comes with the latest greatest bugs.
There is no perfect desktop. It's just what you as a user make of it. Keeping your current OS on your computer, and configure it the way you want it, and you will have your own perfect system.
It's still okay to test other distro's. To see how other distro's handle certain stuff, or look, or have. But don't leave your current distro just like a saturday one-night-stand.
98 • Is the Ubuntu 7.10 RC a LiveCD? (by Brad on 2007-10-16 10:10:42 GMT from Australia)
I downloaded an iso of Ubuntu 7.10. Is it a LiveCD? I booted it but only seem to have installation options. What am I doing wrong?
I am pretty sure I didn't, but maybe I downloaded the wrong iso.
99 • Ubuntu installation CDs (by Bryan on 2007-10-16 10:20:51 GMT from United States)
98: There are two types of ubuntu install CDs. The main one is the "Desktop" CD, which is a livecd, with a simplified install option, something like the Mepis installation. The second option is called the "alternate install cd", which uses a text installer, more akin to the Debian installer. The alternate CD takes longer to do an installation, and is not a livecd. Since it doesn't give you that basic first test of your hardware that a livecd would, the alternate cd is not generally the best choice.
So you either have the alt install cd, or you burned a coaster.
100 • RE: #98 (by herman on 2007-10-16 11:18:05 GMT from Europe)
"I downloaded an iso of Ubuntu 7.10. Is it a LiveCD? I booted it but only seem to have installation options. What am I doing wrong?
I am pretty sure I didn't, but maybe I downloaded the wrong iso."
IIRC, Ubuntu live cds mention something like "install Ubuntu" at the boot prompt, even if you only want to run it live. Generally, you can safely decide to just boot it and it'll probably run live.
Good Linux installers will not wipe your hard drive unless you specifically allow it to, and you'll have had enough warnings.
101 • Ubuntu installation CDs (by Brad on 2007-10-16 11:31:36 GMT from Australia)
Thanks Bryan (99). I must have downloaded the alternate CD by mistake. On the plus side I have an excuse to download the final version.
102 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-10-16 14:07:12 GMT from United States)
"so-called enlightened FOSS users who preach openness and diversity but who cannot tolerate a bit of political difference"
I must admit that I don't understand that comment. For one thing, all politics is local, certainly country-specific. For another, I've not seen much discussion of politics in the Linux community, mostly political indifference, and have not seen attempts to stomp out certain political views.
Finally, I don't have any idea what politics you think FOSS represents. Stallman is extremely liberal. Raymond is extremely conservative. Linus doesn't seem to have political opinions. Novell's executives have made statements with a conservative bent. Kevin Carmony is working for Romney's campaign, and it was Romney who stood up for ODF in Massachusetts. Numerous other smaller names have made liberal statements.
I guess you are a conservative because they are the only ones who complain (putting it nicely) about the need for affirmative action in all things, but personally I do not like to see FOSS/Linux having any political attachments.
103 • re:86 (by Anonymous on 2007-10-16 14:21:44 GMT from Canada)
"Perhaps Ubuntusatanic might be interested in merging with Whitebuntu"
I don't think so. Whitebuntu is just racist joke.
"That way they can go to hell together. "
Yes! Together with Ubuntu Christian Edition and Ubuntu Muslim Edition. All are just propaganda anyway. Like the people who bang on your door, trying to get their foot in.
104 • #102 (by RC on 2007-10-16 14:33:44 GMT from United States)
"I guess you are a conservative because they are the only ones who complain (putting it nicely) about the need for affirmative action in all things, but personally I do not like to see FOSS/Linux having any political attachments."
LOL...are you serious? Conservatives complaining about the need for affirmative action?? Not likely. That is definitely a Liberal agenda. I do agree with the last part of your statement though. Let's hope Linux remains above politics.
105 • RE #95 and #37 (by Barnabyh on 2007-10-16 14:46:33 GMT from United Kingdom)
PCLOS has always had Gnome, Xfce and other wm's in the repository (no Openbox unfortunately, but Fluxbox for example). Gnome has been upgraded in the repos from 2.16 to 2.18.3 about a month or so ago, maybe bit longer.
Very easy to install with task Gnome-full or task light-Gnome. There you are, even two choices.
It's always a pity when people post things they don't have a clue about, resulting in more misinformation and confusion for new and unknowing readers, something that happens more and more on here. I don't think there was that much flaming on DW only a year or 18 months ago either.
106 • #105 (by RC on 2007-10-16 15:00:06 GMT from United States)
I agree...the comments were in a downhill slide. Things seem to have sort of "righted" themselves over the past two weeks quite a bit. Hope that continues.
PCLOS seems to be a prime target of flames and misinformation for some odd reason that I cannot fathom. As someone new to Linux it has been a real blessing for me.
107 • Getting Ubuntu 7.10 ISO on release day (by farkwell on 2007-10-16 15:10:04 GMT from United States)
It seems to me, the best way to get a popular ISO would be via bittorrent.
The 7.10 release candidate download page has links to several mirrors, and a notice:
Please download using Bittorrent if possible. For more information about using Bittorrent, see:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BitTorrent
I don't know why they make you get the torrent file(s) from the mirrors. But on Thursday, I'm sure it will be easier to get the 50k torrent file than 700 meg ISO.
Linuxtracker.org should have the torrents on Thursday.
http://www.linuxtracker.org/torrents-search.php?search=7.10&cat=30&cat=0&incldead=0
if a hundred thousand people try to get it via bit-torrent, (effectively from each other) that's better than those people getting it via FTP one connection at a time.
plus, you get error checking / recovery.
see you in the swarms...
108 • @81 (by voislav on 2007-10-16 15:57:19 GMT from Canada)
Thanks, Adam, the reason my box is running 64-bit is because it sometimes runs some complex calculations, where having 64-bit system actually translates into 20-30% faster performance. Otherwise I would be running 586 code for sure, would've saved me a lot of headaches when setting the system up.
109 • SuSE the good loocking guy (by Luis Medina on 2007-10-16 15:59:32 GMT from Mexico)
Suse always its a very pulished distro on view design words. And this new version keep with the spected look.
110 • re: #103 (by Anonymous on 2007-10-16 17:26:45 GMT from Europe)
" "That way they can go to hell together. "
Yes! Together with Ubuntu Christian Edition and Ubuntu Muslim Edition. All are just propaganda anyway. Like the people who bang on your door, trying to get their foot in. "
I think this kind of comment is very insulting to the people that are using the amazing possibilities of open source software. This kind of respin is for a market that apparently
exists. There is nothing illegitimate about being a Christian or a Muslim, IMNSHO.
There is nothing propagandistic about Ubuntu ME or Ubuntu CE either, nor is there any reason for them (or you, brave Anonymous) to 'go to hell'. Please post that type comment elsewhere.
111 • 110 (by herman on 2007-10-16 17:27:59 GMT from Europe)
mistake, former comment was mine, I don't post anonymously.
112 • Congrats to Lobster for Tmxxine ! (by Caraibes on 2007-10-16 17:31:10 GMT from Dominican Republic)
I am presently test-driving the Tmxxine live-cd above mentioned by Lobster... It looks fun, very fast, so I wanted to say so.
I took the cd out of the drive, so it runs all in ram (512)...
It's a good Puppy offspring. I'll keep it in my toolbox.
The only weird thing (so far) is that Gaim/Pidgin won't launch...
113 • re:112 (by Caraibes on 2007-10-16 17:38:29 GMT from Dominican Republic)
Rectification, Gaim will open from the menu, but not from the desktop icon in Tmxxine...
114 • Vixta Linux (by Andrew on 2007-10-16 19:54:12 GMT from France)
Hello everybody
I invite you to discover a new distribution :
Vixta Linux
Quote from the homepage
Vixta.org is a Fedora-based Linux distribution designed to be user-friendly and eye-catching, similar in look and feel to Windows Vista. Trying to spread Linux to the “masses”, not just sysadmins. It is vista look-a-like Linux Os. If you like Vista user interface, this distro is for you.
Vixta Linux distribution Goals
1. Absolutely free
2. Spread linux to the “masses”.
3. ABN - AbsolutelyNo Config.
4. User-Frendly.
5. Eye-catching.
6. Familiar look and Feel"
Download Vixta Linux distribution
=> Visit official project home page
http://vixta.sourceforge.net/
Enjoy and peace to everybody
Andrew
115 • The install and action of "linux" (by Orlando Garcia on 2007-10-16 20:23:31 GMT from United States)
Any good come from the install of "linux" compare with Vista?
I am not English first man but make question here in page language.
Tell what good in compare for first I try at later time. Vista act good with computer new.
116 • Ubu ME (by starlightman on 2007-10-16 20:48:09 GMT from Canada)
"new" Ubuntu Muslim Edition 7.04? lol. aren't we talking about 7.10 these days?
117 • @87 It's all hamburger (by john frey on 2007-10-16 23:14:15 GMT from Canada)
I agree partly with the OP on this subject. While there is a place and time for distro hopping, learning one system very well is good too. If one is constantly trying out new versions of this or that distro one will never learn the intricacies of maintaining one distro or get a feel for the evolution of the distro over the years.
I do what another poster said, try new distros on spare hardware and sometimes have a particular machine for a year or more dedicated to trying new distros, building LFS, what have you. But my main workstation has been migrated through many hardware upgrades and software upgrades all using Mandake/Mandriva and retaining the same data (well in the early years I did lose quite a bit of data:-/).
There's many things to be said for a broad range of experience just as there is a lot to be said for in depth experience. Neither is mutually exclusive but to learn the most one must definitely get the in depth experience or it's always just dabbling in installs and never learning to maintain.
118 • Reply: #115 (by herman on 2007-10-16 23:29:14 GMT from Europe)
@Orlando Garcia
You can boot and run Fedora, Mandriva and Ubuntu live cds, among others, without touching your hard drive.
That way, you can try it safely, and install it, or not install it.
119 • 110 • re: #103 (by Anon on 2007-10-16 23:58:47 GMT from Norway)
quote
(...)
There is nothing propagandistic about Ubuntu ME or Ubuntu CE either, nor is there any reason for them (or you, brave Anonymous) to 'go to hell'. Please post that type comment elsewhere.
unquote
I must agree with #86 on this. IMO, a 'religious' edition of an OS is nothing BUT propaganda, and of the worst kind, at that. Of course, some might feel equally justified to consider such an OS a blasphemy. What is more, it is also a very sleazy marketing ploy.
Distrowatch is obviously also _the_ place to say this - where else would it be more appropriate?
Personally I would prefer Distrowatch and other sites with a sense of propriety and good marketing practices to avoid mentioning OS's which are touting a political or religious bent.
120 • Hit Counter (by johncoom on 2007-10-17 00:46:40 GMT from Australia)
May be it is just me, but it seems to have vanished off the main page !
Perhaps Ladislav (who had previously always defended keeping it, etc.)
Has had to bite the bullet and re-consider the merit (or not) of keeping it ?
121 • public PCs (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 00:47:50 GMT from Australia)
Hi, anyone in Aussie know of public access PCs where you can download Linux ISOs? Everywhere Internet Cafes have free download policy and supposedly fast connection, but the download speeds are really no good.
122 • RE: 121 • public PCs (AU) (by johncoom on 2007-10-17 01:34:40 GMT from Australia)
Sorry Anonymous I do not know of any public access PCs in AU
But perhaps it would be better to join your local LUG as often they will let you purchase very cheeply CD's of many Linux Distributions (ie. at cost)
Refer to: http://www.linux.org.au/usergroups
This is how I started in Linuxz many moons/years ago :-)
123 • public PCs (by Adam on 2007-10-17 01:38:33 GMT from Australia)
Welcome to Australia.
For a so-called "developed nation", our telecommunication infrastructure is horribly outdated. Blame our monopolistic telco overlord, Telstra.
I'm afraid I can't offer and helpful suggestions, sorry.
124 • @120 distro hit rankings (by EduardoZ on 2007-10-17 01:48:33 GMT from United States)
Gone for me, too.
Oh, it'll be sad if it's gone for good. I came here once a day as much to hit the PCLOS link, as to read any news updates. I mean, I could just as easily come once or twice a week to read news.
Yeah, I like and use PCLOS. But, I'd click it once a day even if I didn't. It's amusing to watch people get all exercised about it, even as they remind us that the rank is meaningless.
125 • The religion of one (by Landor on 2007-10-17 01:50:24 GMT from Canada)
RE 119
"Personally I would prefer Distrowatch and other sites with a sense of propriety and good marketing practices to avoid mentioning OS's which are touting a political or religious bent."
That is saying the same thing you claim the distro to be doing.
OSS is about equality. Equality in having access to said software regardless of your beliefs based on religion or politics. To (I'll use an infamous word here) "segregate" what one person believes is right or wrong goes against the very core, the foundation of what open source software is about, freedom and available for "all".
Stats worldwide (though none claim complete accuracy) show that those of Christian belief hold roughly 33% of the population, of Islam 20%. While Non-religious are at 13% and Atheists at a mere 2.5.
For some adherents to the philosophies of their religion and maybe even some restraints perse', Linux being available to them strictly for their faith could very easily be the only "solution" to using a computer during leisure times.
Based on numbers, I personally don't know why people haven't done this before, it's smart to want to encompass more people to Linux, and what better way to introduce the core beliefs of OSS to someone than by a means of giving them an OSS OS solution that incorporates something that is very personal and spiritual to them.
It's also funny this is brought up at this time. I personally follow global trends in various areas. Recently I've been following the trend of the younger followers of Islam becoming even more deep in their faith than previously in past decades. In that sense, I am sure that they would be more akin to welcoming Linux that provides a Muslim alternative than the Redmond Bloat OS.
Maybe all distros should exclude every language and pick just one so we don't take any demographical or cultural stand. I opt for the original indo-european. Who's willing to do the translation?
Keep your stick on the ice...
Landor
126 • looking for distros w/ strong dialup support (by zeronero on 2007-10-17 01:54:40 GMT from United States)
howdy folks - please suggest some distros that have support for dialup. have both pci & external modems (intel 536ep & trendnet tfm-560x). live in rural area where dialup only option. linux mint & simply mepis has been suggested. looking for pre-installed drivers, or easily installed; & ease of configuring dialer. not mechanically inclined being all thumbs.
regards, ZN
127 • RE: 126 - intel 536ep (by Landor on 2007-10-17 02:28:12 GMT from Canada)
I don't use the modem, but I've checked this out a bit for you and it seems quite a few people have problems with a number of distros and the intel modem you have.
I have found 3 fairly recent posts where people have said with Mepis the intel 536ep works "out of the box" for them. That might give you the stepping stone to Linux and other distros (if mepis isn't to your tastes of course) .
Hope this helps and good luck with your dive into Linux.
Keep your stick on the ice...
Landor
128 • RE: 119 (by Duhnonymous on 2007-10-17 03:37:13 GMT from United States)
What part of Ubuntu CE do you consider blasphemy? Please be aware that how you judge Christians as how Christians will judge you.
129 • RE: 121 • public PCs (by mc on 2007-10-17 04:28:39 GMT from Australia)
What distro are you after? If you buy any of the mainstream PC mags here in Oz (APC, PC User.. even LXF or Linux Journal altho last two aren't that cheap) they usually ship a linux distro on the cover DVD...
130 • HPD (by Raja on 2007-10-17 04:50:32 GMT from India)
where's HPD stats?
131 • To #78 - Get informed yourself ! (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 05:03:31 GMT from Canada)
Some employees quit SUSE after the deal with Microsoft !
And it's a fact.
One of these : Jeremy Allison, leader of the Samba project.
Read this and stop in beleiving everything !
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/entdev/article.php/11070_3701421_3
You can never imagine what a cie can tell you, just to have you as a user.
Some people are lotobomised or what ?
It's very incredible !
132 • re:110 (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 05:31:04 GMT from Canada)
Sorry Anonymous. That didn't come out right :-(
I have no problem with religious people.
My apology
133 • DW is changing !/? (by frnz on 2007-10-17 06:23:05 GMT from Italy)
Am I wrong or the distribution ranking list on the right side is gone? Does this mean that you think the list obsolete?
134 • Re: The install and action of "linux" (by Ariszló on 2007-10-17 06:45:25 GMT from Hungary)
Orlando Garcia wrote: Vista act good with computer new.
Was it pre-installed or did it install it yourself? Pre-installed, Linux works fine out of the box. Installing it with all the drivers and codecs yourself may be as hard as installing Vista.
If you prefer Linux pre-installed like Vista then buy a new computer with Linspire or Ubuntu:
http://www.linspire.com/
http://www.ubuntu.com/dell
If you prefer to install it yourself then try one of the major distributions:
http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major
135 • EnGarde Secure Linux Hates Multi-Core Processors (by RandySavage on 2007-10-17 07:34:02 GMT from United States)
If anyone out there has a dual or quad-core CPU and wants to give EnGarde a whirl, my advice is: don't. I fooled around with it for a while unsuccessfully, as have others, and posts for assistance at EnGarde's forum remain unanswered, uncommented, and the problem unsolved. It looks like a promising server distro, so hopefully .18 will be an improvement.
136 • Landor and the Religion of O.S. (by RandySavage on 2007-10-17 07:37:02 GMT from United States)
Free from Religion? Linux is about equality? I thought it was about freedom. My PC with Linux isn't equal to yours, but its just as free. The next time you want "equality" remember: Free people are not equal, and equal people are not free.
137 • Slackware (by werner at 2007-10-17 08:32:48 GMT from France)
It seems there is in preparation an update of Slackware. In current were put X 7.3 , kernel 2.6.23.1, mesa 7.0.1 , compiz 0.6 and plenty other things.
138 • RE: 136 (by Landor on 2007-10-17 10:04:53 GMT from Canada)
"Linux is about equality? I thought it was about freedom."
I re-read my comment (below) and that is exactly what I said, Equality in having access to the software regardless of what you believe, who you are, or where you live. I also ended it with "freedom and available for "all". "
OSS is about equality. Equality in having access to said software regardless of your beliefs based on religion or politics. To (I'll use an infamous word here) "segregate" what one person believes is right or wrong goes against the very core, the foundation of what open source software is about, freedom and available for "all".
If the OSS community alone isn't a prime example of the definition "Equality of Freedom" I don't know what is. Many different countries, with just as many different political/religious beliefs "freely" participate in this ground breaking community, and "usually" without intolerance.
So in this community everyone is just as equal and as free.
Keep your stick on the ice...
Landor
139 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 10:54:54 GMT from France)
What's wrong with having religious, political, hobby, language, whatever bent distros/editions? Strange thought in a F/OSS world, where the F word stands for (a politically loaded) freedom.
140 • NO visible Distro ranking just a blank spot . I only vote once in a while. (by DistroWatch Reader on 2007-10-17 12:54:37 GMT from United States)
I do use a host file in /etc/hosts.
Is my ip banned ? If so why?
The only distros I check on are Knoppix, PCLinuxOs, PCBSD, Mepis, and Centos.
Thanks for all the fish. BYE.
141 • It really is gone! (by Joey on 2007-10-17 12:58:12 GMT from United States)
Hoorayyy! No more silly "page hits rankings," at least as of about 8 am Central Time.
Just my opinion, of course, being glad it is gone. :O)
142 • page hit rankings (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 13:08:30 GMT from United States)
I like 'em. I hope this omission is temporary. If not, I hope Ladislav has thought this through. Whatever their value as rankings may or may not be, I expect they translate to real dollar value for attracting people to the site.
143 • page hit rankings post:142 (by Joey on 2007-10-17 13:23:33 GMT from United States)
He's probably tweaking the software to make it get more "dollar value." :O)
144 • A relatively good article, IMO, over at DesktopLinux.com (by Observer on 2007-10-17 13:23:51 GMT from Australia)
13 reasons why Linux should be on your desktop
".....In this column, we take a good look at the product to find out why it has thrived despite its troubled childhood.......
1. Cost -- .....
2. Resources -- .....
3. Performance -- ....
4. No bloatware -- ....
5. Security --......
6. Dual booting -- .....
7. Installation -- ......
8. Reinstalling the OS -- ......
9. Keeping track of software -- .....
10. Updating software -- ......
11. More security -- .....
12. No need to defrag disks -- ........
13. A wealth of built-in utilities--......
[...]
http://www.desktoplinux.com/articles/AT5836989728.html
145 • Re 142, 143.... its still there, just not right in your face as before. (by Observer on 2007-10-17 13:36:39 GMT from Australia)
I think it is a wise move and I hope this forum calms down a lot as a result!
Without this "ranking" controversy (nonsense), DW can move on with continuing to develop a great resource for the Linux community.
Cheers
146 • Linux Distros (by RC on 2007-10-17 13:37:09 GMT from United States)
I tried some of the newer distro's the last few nights. Nothing in depth here, just some "reactions".
I tried openSuSe just to see what the fuss is all about. It is very attractive (in a green sort of way), but it "lost" my other hard drives after a couple of reboots. Also I have issues with the MS deal, so I replaced it with Mepis.
Mepis has a long way to go in the attractive department, but everything worked well except for my external USB hard drive. It wouldn't pick it up (have the same problem with PCLOS). After a couple of reboots...it crashed out and wouldn't boot anymore (it is still an RC).
I booted up Ubuntu but never installed it since I am having trouble warming up to the Gnome interface. I guess I have been in Windows too long to appreciate its design, at least at this point. It did everything well and looks very crisp and clean.
I thought I would try Vixta that was advertised on here yesterday, but it wouldn't even boot up. Too bad..it would be a great draw for brain-washed Vista users since the interface is so similar and it is based on Fedora so it should be stable. Hope they get it working.
Booted up the Tmxxine and found it to be a very "Puppy on steroids" kinda thing and was impressed with it. Not sure that I would ever have a use for it because I only use Puppy on old hardware machines and this version doesn't do that well since it needs 512 meg of ram.....but it is a great alternative for a Puppy lover.
Finally, I installed Kubuntu 7.10. Interestingly enough I could set the resolution to 1024x768 from the CD, but once installed it would not change from 1280x798. Also the only refresh rate was 60. Since I didn't install Ubuntu I don't know if this is true of it as well or not. My dislike of the *buntu's is that I have to resort to the CLI to come up with a fix for this. I think this is where PCLOS and Mepis have a big advantage for newbies like myself.
So...think I am going to stick with PCLOS for myself, but I am looking forward to the Mint based on Ubuntu 7.10. With the new features of 7.10 combined with the new Mint additions it will be great for the other PC in the house.
147 • Distros (by RC on 2007-10-17 13:41:06 GMT from United States)
Whoops...forgot. Gave Mandriva 2008 a spin too. I just didn't see anything in it that PCLOS doesn't have and it gave me problems on several things...so it doesn't do as well at least on my hardware.
148 • Re #144 A relatively good article (by Glenn at 2007-10-17 14:01:07 GMT from Canada)
Hiiya.
The only reservation I would have to the list is point #4 No Bloatware.
149 • Re 63 • Is OpenSUSE 10.3 a compelling upgrade? (by Observer on 2007-10-17 14:04:25 GMT from Australia)
"...I've been using OpenSUSE 10.2 since April or May. I've configured it to my liking (e.g., getting rid of the ZENworks Management Daemon using the updater tool instead). I installed the MadWifi drivers for my D-Link PCMCIA card, and made a few other tweaks.
From what I've been reading, OpenSUSE 10.3 is not a significant enough improvement for me to go through the trouble of downloading it, installing it, and tweaking it to get the OS to the point where I have 10.2 running....."
You know the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" (don't touch it)! There is still 14 months of support for updates and security fixes left in the life of 10.2. :-)
I am in a similar situation to you and I am going to stick with 10.2, mainly for its Yast power management utility that has been dropped in 10.3 in favor of the "tickless kernel" power management, which, IMO, is not as good at PM at this early stage of its implementation.
150 • 146 Vixta (by Tony on 2007-10-17 14:10:53 GMT from United States)
"'I thought I would try Vixta that was advertised on here yesterday, but it wouldn't even boot up.'"
I had that exact same problem and I DO hope they get Vixta up and running.
151 • #150 (by RC on 2007-10-17 14:38:47 GMT from United States)
Mine seems to crash out on the video. The monitor actually loses any signal but the CD is still running. Not sure what that is all about. I really like the looks of the project though.
I have to disagree with those who feel that doing anything similar to MS is taboo. In order to attract the average user from MS it is going to need to be as seamless a transition as possible. I have been in IT for decades and still struggle with the transition. I am not going to entice my seventy some year old mother and "geekless" friends and co-workers into jumping ship if the effort is overwhelming. Mint, Mepis and PCLOS are the best at handling that at the moment, and Vixta could easily fit into that mix from the looks of it.
I find it very frustrating that it is far easier for me to deal with rar files and mp3 ID tags in windows than in Linux. And there are many other things that could be listed. If we truly want a mass acceptance of Linux, then everything has to be at least as easy and intuitive to do in Linux. For those who think Linux should be difficult they can choose LFS, Gentoo or Arch.
152 • #151 (by Tony on 2007-10-17 15:25:57 GMT from United States)
I have the same thoughts when it comes to MS. I don't think M$ is taboo until you get to Vista (that's with an "s").
I work on a lot of older computers about 2-7 years old and most of those have XP installed when a hard drive crashes. At the same time most people do not have the XP disk to make repairs or re-installs if or rather when their computer breaks. Usually when I tell them I need the XP disk they will say one of two things. Either here it is - and it's a piece of cardboard wrapped in cellophane. Or I'm told their son had XP installed on the computer and they don't know where the XP disk is. Sadly by the time I tell them the cost of replacing XP and repairing their problem such as replacing the hard drive - they opt to buy a new computer with Vista installed. Then it becomes an issue of getting Vista to even work beyond a snails pace (or at all).
I am always on the lookout for something like Vixta that has a familiar feel to it for those MS users and it just works. No command line either, because those I 'would' recommend a system to just want to turn the computer on and scroll with the mouse.
So far over the past couple of years I've recommended Linux as a cost saving alternative to buying M$ when their computer broke. Only one (1) person has taken me up on that offer.
Linux has a good opportunity here. If somebody has to spend a $100-200 to replace Windows and another $100 on a hard drive they would just as soon buy another computer that is new. If there is a free Linux OS alternative that has the feel of Windows and just works, I think more people would migrate away from Windows. Vista is getting a bad reputation now and now is the time for Linux to take advantage of that...
153 • The joy of choice (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 15:39:21 GMT from United States)
151, 152:
This is the world of Linux.
You can try a distro that's close enough to Windows to make the transition easy. Then you can move on to a distro that's closer to your real preferences.
Only happens with Linux, not Mac or Windows. Those are one-size-fits-all. (Though it seems some would prefer to cut back to three or four Linux distros for some reason).
We have a good amount of work to do to make Linux friendly, which is more of the problem than being different from Windows. There are silly things like if you download a file and want to choose to open it in a program other than the default, all hell breaks loose. Those are IMO the real problems with Linux.
154 • hit page rankings (by ray carter at 2007-10-17 15:50:31 GMT from United States)
I wish you would return the hit page rankings. I have never placed a lot of stock in them, but I believe they can be useful for someone looking at a Linux distro to try - 'if you select something near the top of the hit page rankings on distrowatch.com, you probably won't be disappointed'.
155 • #154 (by RC on 2007-10-17 15:58:09 GMT from United States)
I agree...someone is going to whine about something anyway...give them an easy target and maybe they will miss the important things. I like the rankings and they helped me decide what to try when i started out. If you take them for what they are worth they do contribute to the new user and add value to the site.
156 • Page Hits may have been faked by ranking leaders with Bots (by none on 2007-10-17 16:13:52 GMT from United States)
The ONLY way to prevent bot voting is to use optical challenge/response technology like is used by gmail and yahoo before signing up for their accounts. I'm afraid that the page hit rankings have been cleverly manipulated for at least two years by the top leaders using bot methods that are less obvious for Ladislav to track, i.e. a random hit here or there from a random bot.
By using challenge response, the only people to vote would be those who care to decode the optical challenge. This would greatly lower manipulation which is face it, cheap relative to the economic gain.
Of course, paid "consultants" (the same people who stand in front of ticket master to sell to scalpers) could still stuff the ballot box, but this would be far more visible as many people would need to be employed to get similar rankings and someone would likely sell the secret out for more than they are getting paid by the vote scalpers. This leaves only the obviously paid employees of a company to vote, and true fan boys.
How about it Ladislav -- optical recognition challenge response.
157 • page hits and quality distros (by Joey on 2007-10-17 16:32:25 GMT from United States)
"'if you select something near the top of the hit page rankings on distrowatch.com, you probably won't be disappointed'."
Not necessarily. You could select ANY distro and "probably not be disappointed."
The list is not relevant to quality or rather SUITABILITY of a distro to your particular machine.
158 • HPD -- What's the official word? (by winsnomore on 2007-10-17 16:37:43 GMT from United States)
Ladislav, Please let us know what's going on with it.
I think it's a good thing to have .. it makes me come back to the site to make sure that I am still using the "right" distro.
159 • Quick spin on Vixta (by IMQ on 2007-10-17 17:09:01 GMT from United States)
I took Vixta for a spin yesterday.
The first burn wouldn't boot but I think it may be my burner Plextor is not 100% compatible with nVidia-chip mainboard. So I burn the ISO on different machine using DAO and burning at 4X (I was not in a hurry).
The desktop looks just like the screenshot on its homepage. Very nice!
What I really like about is the Kmenu. When the mouse is hovering over a category on the right, the listing of all the apps are automatically showed on the left panel. Just hover the mouse over the bottom or top arrow and the list automatically scroll up or down.
I tried to open a few apps and they all work OK.
I think the Windows user interested in Vista look-alike Linux will enjoy this one.
I wonder if the K-menu is behaviour is the default Fedora 8. I might have to download Fedora 8 to give it a spin.
I only spent a few minutes with it last night so I remember all the apps included in the LiveCD. I believe it has all the basic apps like Firefox, OpenOffice.org, Ktorrent, etc.
I will take another look it when I have a chance today.
160 • #159 (by RC on 2007-10-17 17:30:55 GMT from United States)
Well shoot. I will try another burn tonight and see if I can bring it to life. Sounds like a really slick interface. My mother had to buy another machine when hers went south a few weeks ago and it came with Vista naturally. She is already emailing me for help. Printer won't work, etc, etc. I was going to let her choose between Mint or PCLOS to put on there, but this might be something that she is already used to and would like.
161 • Page Ranking (by Frosty on 2007-10-17 17:39:13 GMT from United States)
Why not replace page ranking with list 100 top distro. List in alphabetic order with one line or two describing it and whether it is a live cd.
162 • I'm missing the DW ranking ... (by Coffee on 2007-10-17 17:57:48 GMT from France)
... but only because it was a convenient way for me to access the pages of Distributions I'm interested in. I have never cared much for absolute positions within that ranking let alone the battle for the top position.
It's a shame though, that the ranking has probably been removed because some people have been cheating. To me the rise and rise and rise of PCLinuxOS looks quite suspicious, too. I also found it quite strange that Tex has refused to be interviewed by Ladislav. This kind of impolite and arrogant attitude will only fuel the speculations about foul play from the PCLinuxOS community.
I hope that Ladislav will bring back some sort of improved ranking to DW that better reflects the popularity of the individual Distributions ... and gives me back the convenient links :-)
163 • Vixta #159 and 160 (by Tony on 2007-10-17 18:01:22 GMT from United States)
I'll also give Vixta another try, but burn it from a different computer and program. Thanks!
164 • Ubuntu ME (by bill on 2007-10-17 18:08:07 GMT from United States)
Comment deleted (inciting).
165 • @156 - Page Hit ranking isn't designed for Votes (by Scribbler on 2007-10-17 18:08:40 GMT from United States)
I don't think the page hit rankings were intended to be there for people to intentionally Vote for their distro of the week. Unfortunately it's design flaw is that users actually DO make it a point to use it as a voting poll.
I was under the impression that it's really only intended to show trends based on which distro pages inquiring minds are surfing to.
Unfortunately, all it ever really reflects are which distros have a fanbase dedicated to stopping by everyday and casting a ballot. So even if you had some form of human verification and turned it into a real voting system, all it would reflect is which distro has the largest herd of fanboys.
166 • Please Put Back The Rankings (by DistroWatcher on 2007-10-17 18:25:44 GMT from United States)
At least maybe by alphabetical order. It makes it easy to locate
distros.
Thanks.
167 • re: 164 UbuntuME (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 18:40:54 GMT from United States)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
168 • #162 (by RC on 2007-10-17 18:41:34 GMT from United States)
I have never spoken to Texstar in my life, but I have yet to see him spoken badly of anywhere except here. If I were him and read some of the comments and accusations that have been posted here...I would have refused to put myself in the crosshairs too. I doubt that his refusal was towards Ladislav or the site itself...just those who come here with an axe to grind and the need to share their angst with the world.
169 • #164 (by RC on 2007-10-17 18:46:45 GMT from United States)
Comment deleted (inciting).
170 • #167 (by RC on 2007-10-17 18:50:21 GMT from United States)
When you can reliably distinguish between the ones that are and aren't you can market your technique to the marines and homeland security. I don't think he looks stupid at all.
171 • re: 170 UbuntuME (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 19:01:42 GMT from United States)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
172 • #171 (by RC on 2007-10-17 19:06:41 GMT from United States)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
173 • #171 (by RC on 2007-10-17 19:11:48 GMT from United States)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
174 • Page Hit ranking (by frank on 2007-10-17 19:14:20 GMT from United States)
THANK YOU for getting rid of that. it was very misleading.
Thank you, I hope we will not see it again!!
175 • Page Hit ranking (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 19:18:01 GMT from United States)
great to see that removed.
it was only creating separation and distro wars, among Linux users.
we should work together
Thank you
176 • 174 AND 175 (by EduardoZ on 2007-10-17 19:51:57 GMT from United States)
Frank, how is it that numbers on a page have had you so upset that their removal brings you such great relief?
However those numbers may have been used or abused, they have caused links to Distrowatch to appear in many Linux articles all over the web. The number of page views those links have brought to this site may have been significant enough to assist in keeping this site available to all of us.
177 • Political/Religious Distros (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 20:20:41 GMT from United States)
I think all of you discussing politics look like idiots, to be honest. Ever read the GPL?
The wonderful thing about freedom is that you can exercise it even if the guys who gave you that freedom (in this case, Shuttleworth, Debian devs, ..., Linus, Stallman) don't like the way you exercise it.
I think what some of the distros stand for is disgusting, but I think it's great that they are able to exist.
178 • Page Hit Rankings (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 20:25:25 GMT from United States)
I think they should be put back as well. Whether I agree with them or not, it's nice to have the list right there as someone else mentioned. In the mean time, distrorankings.com still has a list on their main site.
179 • DW rankings (by Jerry on 2007-10-17 20:28:37 GMT from United States)
I was converted to the world of FOSS by the list on the front page. This not being there now will certainly have a negative effect on people looking for an alternative to windows. Please bring back the list.
180 • re: 173 UbuntuME (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 20:31:33 GMT from United States)
Comment deleted (off-topic).
181 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2007-10-17 20:41:27 GMT from United States)
If the fix it way not, way not create a vote for your favorite distro and once you enter your vote it will read your ip number and not aloud you to vote again for at least a month.
182 • Let people decide for themselves (by KimTjik on 2007-10-17 21:19:49 GMT from Sweden)
What's wrong with this place? If someone is so bored, or overly sensitive, or filled up with anger, then go take a walk, work in the garden, make thousands of push ups or whatever else that might fill your life with some meaning, or let some steam off! If someone even can't tolerate different opinions, doesn't matter if it's whether someone chose Puppy, Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, or if it's about ME or CE, that person has in reality become a ticking bomb himself, ready to burst and make someone's else life miserable. Fear of the unknown leads to anger, and uncontrolled anger might lead to anything, but good.
A comment concerning Suse: when the review says in correspondence to this reported issue: "the YaST boot loader configurator actually wipes the MBR partition table information", that it's "only a problem on Intel-based Apple computer", is that confirmed information? I just wonder because I see at least one comment here about it making a Windows installation non boot able, so it makes me wonder about how much of a problem this is.
183 • ... about my comment above (by KimTjik on 2007-10-17 21:26:09 GMT from Sweden)
(I'm sorry, I did by mistake hit the "Submit" button, but on the other hand my IP address seems to have been blocked here on DW for at least two or three days - why I don't know - so I probably forgot how it all works! :) )
I'm interested in hearing any comments on the MBR question, because if it something I try to avoid, it's those kind of troubles.
184 • Dialup support - Ref #126 (by otoh on 2007-10-17 22:16:38 GMT from United States)
It's not as much which distribution as whether there are linux drivers available for a winmodem, period. A few manufacturer may supply a driver initially, but they don't keep them updated to work with new kernels.
According to what I find, your trendnet tfm-560x external serial modem should work with linux. .I suggest going to the forums (and wiki) of the distributions you want to try and searching on the modem model number.
The KDE desktop has a Wizard-type application, KPPP, for setting up and connecting with a dialup modem. I don't know if Gnome does.
The gotcha with being stuck with dialup is updates. As broadband has become more available, (some) distributions have been released in an unfinished state ... with many "updates" (100s of megs) following within a short time. Buying live CDs is a good way try out distibutions. But before you decide on which you want to install and use, check out the quantity of updates required "out of the box".
185 • #163 Vixta (by Tony on 2007-10-18 01:19:27 GMT from United States)
I finally "did" get Vixta to burn successfully. I was using a XP computer at the time and Nero 6 did not want to burn it to DVD or CD. I tried ImgBurn and burned it to DVD, it burned without a problem. Vixta is just a little to large for burning to a CD - at least that's what Nero 6 indicates...?
I just test drove Vixta for a few minutes without installing and it looks good. I look forward to seeing a review.
186 • DW Rankings - Thank you! (by Anonymous on 2007-10-18 01:19:54 GMT from United States)
Thank you for restoring the rankings! Now I can quickly click to see a distro before hopping!
187 • Linux Tmxxine Shard 3.01 released (by Lobster on 2007-10-18 02:12:58 GMT from United Kingdom)
Linux Tmxxine Shard 3.01 released
155MB
Simple menus and Xfce interface
Fast Opera browser
Textmaker wordprocessor
Glint online programs web page
XP generic look and feel as default
A clean interface
Geany Text editor
Blender, Dia, Gtkam, Scribus DTP, The Gimp, Xara LX
http://tmxxine.com/Wikka/wikka.php?wakka=LinuxTmxxineShard
188 • Yes, ThankYou (by Jerry on 2007-10-18 02:13:38 GMT from United States)
for restoring the list. Long Live Distrowatch!
189 • "The List" (by Emelio on 2007-10-18 02:30:35 GMT from United States)
Wanna show the rankings list? Show it. Dont want to? Dont.
Who cares. It's amusing, though.
190 • Red Flag Linux 6 (by Jim Robinson on 2007-10-18 03:24:40 GMT from United States)
I have just installed "Red Flag Linux 6" after a three (3) day download at the slowest speed you could imagine and I did it simply because I read a piece on "The WATCH" about it and was curious enough to see what it was all about. After the three day download and finding a drive to put it on (it's not a "LIVE" download that you can just pop in and try) I installed on an 80 gig HDD. WOW!!! was I ever surprised!!!
Now I am a dedicated, die hard Sabayon user and never thought anything out there was better! Man was I ever surprised when I booted up "Red Flag Linux 6" for the first time. It was fast, clean, not a lot of unnecessary junk to make it look like something from the future, and it found every piece of hardware I have on the computer. Clicked on "Printer Installation" and it found and installed the HP PSC1510xi All In One Printer in a flash! Never thought anything would make me take another look at Sabayon but this has me playing the back and forth game and right now the scale is tilting. I
t's so much BETTER than anything MS could steal or borrow and is well worth the Looooong download. Maybe in the near future DistroWatch could do an in depth test on it and maybe someone would (China) sponsor a mirror that would allow a faster download. Can't understand why China would develop such a nice program and not have faster download sites since they want it distributed according to their article. I
'm still stuck on Sabayon, have been since it's early stages but boy does this "Red Flag" give all other distros a run for the money, and I think I've just about downloaded and tried them all!
Maybe the Chinese would invest in a faster server, change the name to something other than "Red Flag" and send a few US dollars to get the word out about it. It really is a great distro.
Hope this all makes some kind of sense.
JimR
191 • Thumbs up - moderating comments (by johncoom on 2007-10-18 03:36:02 GMT from Australia)
It is good to see that at last Ladislav is starting moderate the DWW comments, it is long over due !!! Now all the Trolls/Flamers/etc. will end up with is some thing like:-
Comment deleted (off-topic)
or
Comment deleted (inciting).
Of course this makes it extra work for you, but it will act as a dis-incentive for those that try to post those type of comments here in the future.
192 • What happened to the page hit ranking table? (by ladislav on 2007-10-18 03:56:54 GMT from Taiwan)
It was a 24-hour experiment to see how the missing PHR table affects the page hits. I wanted to keep it quiet - that's why I never announced it and did not answer any questions about it yesterday. I'll publish the results in next week's DWW.
Happy Ubuntu release day everybody :-)
193 • #192 • What happened to the page hit ranking table? (by Tony on 2007-10-18 04:17:04 GMT from United States)
LOL - Smooth move! That's one issue of DWW I won't miss!
(Wait a minute - I read DWW every week)
194 • Re #182 MBR corruption (by Glenn at 2007-10-18 04:40:08 GMT from Canada)
Hi.
Actually I had 2 distros blow up MBR's on me. One of them was when I was installing on a collegues Laptop after I had created Logical partitions , the other was on my AMD64 SATA system... I reported both incidents to their respective forums. I was the only one who did have theseproblems and I suspect it was a misconfiguration some how. The AMD had a H/W glitch caused by a malfunctioning Videao card so I closed the incident with that explanation, the other is still unresoived but I suspect that it was a bad burn of the ISO.
For the AMD I had no choice but to rebuild my partition sturcture from scratch. For the laptop I used supergrub and restored at least the windows boot.
In neither case was the distro Suse. I will not name the distros publicly to avoid misconceptions and arguments but In neither case did it turn out to be the distro's fault but other circumstances which caused the distro to malfunction.... For windows users who may be reading this, I had the same thing happen when upgrading windows from one release to the next. The upgrade torched my harddrive and i had to do a reformat. .
Glenn
Keep the ice in your drink. Landor will put his stick in it. . That will get us all kicked out of the bar. # Insert a big g
rin here #
195 • Page Hit Rankings (by Alexandru on 2007-10-18 08:12:18 GMT from Germany)
Good move Ladislav !
Among others, I DO like to see this feature at Distrowatch page.
One negative aspect of Page Hit Rankings is that the most popular distributions get more hits and the less popular distributions become even less popular.
Is there any possibility to redirect attention on these less-popular distributions?
196 • RE 192 "Is there any possibility to redirect attention " (by dbrion on 2007-10-18 08:54:29 GMT from France)
on these less-popular distributions?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes : an obvious way would be to display the * reverse * order.
It was recommended by Jesus ca 2000 years ago, and Matthew wrote it down.
"20.16: Ainsi les derniers seront les premiers, et les premiers seront les derniers. "
197 • ubuntu 7.10 is out! jay! (by stefan on 2007-10-18 09:26:41 GMT from Netherlands)
just noticed that ubuntu 7.10 is ready for download:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/gutsy/
have fun!
stefan
198 • Mandriva 2008 (by Alen on 2007-10-18 11:52:32 GMT from France)
I've borrowed my brother Mandriva 2008 Powerpack DVD to look at this distribution that I've watched from afar for many years.
I allways had a love/hate relationship with this distribution. Nice and very deep hadware/software integration and great admin tools (drakeconf) but time to time I had the feeling that it was too bleeding edge, released in an hurry with unexpected incredibly crippling bugs and thus hurting badly the credit of this former Mandrake distribution.
To be honest, I've been using linux for about 13 years at home (slackware), Windows at work and in a previously job, SuSE enterprise and RedHat enterprise servers too. I'm not exactely a nooby in the linux world.
Having this shinny laptop with a new virgin hard disk, I've thrown in the Mandriva 2008 DVD and... I was nicely surprized.
Everything worked well, out of the box. No install or post install troubles. Everything needed for usual homework/play/Internet is present. Even if I don't like the theme for KDE, I must admit that, maybe for the first time, I'm happy to see this company achieve this level of quality.
Good job peeps.
Keep on the good work !
199 • @192 • What happened to the page hit ranking table? (by EduardoZ on 2007-10-18 12:40:38 GMT from United States)
I'm interested in what you will have to say. But, let me be the first (well, 2nd, if you count #198) to say that 24 hours probably would not give much of an indication of the change your site would experience with long-term removal of the page hit rankings. I'm thinking a month would really bring the issue to light. Not that I want to see it gone at all...
200 • Moderating (by Barnabyh on 2007-10-18 13:27:03 GMT from United Kingdom)
Good move ladislav, and badly needed to keep it from turning into OSNews. Maybe you could also consider locking the comments section after 3 days or so, otherwise you'll have too much work monitoring all these posts.
Thanks for your work.
201 • RE 110 Religious linuxen, market and propaganda. (by dbrion on 2007-10-18 15:48:31 GMT from France)
" This kind of respin is for a market that apparently
exists. There is nothing illegitimate about being a Christian or a Muslim, IMNSHO.
There is nothing propagandistic about Ubuntu ME or Ubuntu CE either, nor is there any reason for them (or you, brave Anonymous) to 'go to hell'.
I almost agree with you, except for 2 points:
* [ problematic market ]
*religions were created a long time ago, and do not need new technology (for prayer times in Muslim rites, one just needs ... an alarm clock and perhaps a cassette player [ this is cheaper, less power consuming, and easier to fix than a computer which needs mains power]). That makes such a "market" very problematic. (OTOH, having a word processor in Arabic might be useful, at least in France as many pple send e-mails to their wives/old parents in North Africa and spend a lot of time *drawing* their e-mails).
*[ unprovable absence of propaganda]
* I do not know whether UBUME is propagandistic or not (one should look -and understand- at everything in a new DVD : it is too early and anyway an huge task).
As far as UBUCE is concerned, I noticed last year that the developper did not want [though there was users pressure] to add some specific games (and children are more likely to be caught by propaganda than adults).
202 • Wrong entry in DistroWatch? (by Anonymous on 2007-10-18 16:13:17 GMT from United Kingdom)
Shouldn't clicking on Ubuntu ME Leads to separate page from Ubuntu?
203 • @190, Re Red Flag Linux (by DrDOS on 2007-10-18 17:11:06 GMT from United States)
I figured that the Chinese would hedge their bet when they made the agreement with Microsoft and continue development of Red Flag. In a couple of years they could become a major force in software and the replacement of Windows on the desk top.
I found a torrent download for RFL6.0 which is probably much faster than the server, about four hours instead of three days.
http://www.tuxdistro.com/torrents-details.php?id=610
204 • DrDOS Red Flag (by Jim Robinson on 2007-10-18 19:01:53 GMT from United States)
DrDOS thanks for the info on the torrent site, will pass it along to others. It is a great program and haven't found any problems yet. Hope others will try it and give feedback. I'm newly retired and new at this Linux thing but really enjoying staying up all night trying to learn all of the things I've never known before. (Too old to keep up this late night stuff, wife beginning to wonder :)
Again thanks,
JimR
205 • re 76 (by bernie on 2007-10-18 21:38:43 GMT from United States)
"76 • Patent war and Mandriva (by voislav on 2007-10-15 22:00:02 GMT from Canada)
I was really looking forward to tring out Mandriva 2008 last weekend, but I downloaded the 586 version instead of x64, oops. I guess it will have to be the next one. It nice to see so many positive reviews. Another good release should be Mepis 7, I really like the idea of incrementaly upgradeable Debian, looking forward to the stable version (since I don't have much time for beta testing right now)."
i have played with Mepis 7.0 an i must say it works great an i think it is ready an is more stable then win98 (they still have not fixed it yet) an i know they no longer do anything with it but......... 98 is not ready to be realesed yet nor ME 2000 XP or even Vista ) lololololol ;) but i think Mepis could be final now as is......if it does not set up your printer or scanner as is i would be suprised. Warren out did himself this time as far as microcrap people will find out what they are up to but i too think with vista they know they need to do something an what a better way to make them look good is make someone else look bad !!!! seems i remember my mom telling me that was wrong..and something they need to rember when you point a finger at someone you have 3 pointing back at you.........
206 • Religious distributions (by Duhnonymous on 2007-10-18 23:55:41 GMT from United States)
The whole purpose of a religious distribution is to provide tools that religious people are actively looking for (whether you think there's a need or not). Saying that one tool or another is "propaganda" is the same as saying that a hammer or a nail is propaganda.
The only real propaganda is the idea that computers and religion don't mix.
Just because a computer goes along with anything you tell it to believe does not make it into a religious (or anti-religious) device. All computers do is store and communicate data, the same as any other medium. Condemning a program because it conveys religious data is the same as condemning the idea of using a computer.
207 • Ubuntu 7.1 DVD will be available when? (by Andre Gompel on 2007-10-19 00:51:20 GMT from United States)
Ubuntu 7.1 CD has been released today.
Any idea when the DVD will be available?
Thanks
Andre.
208 • RE: 207 Ubuntu 7.1 DVD will be available when? (by ladislav on 2007-10-19 00:57:01 GMT from Taiwan)
See here:
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/gutsy/release/
http://torrent.ubuntu.com/releases/gutsy/release/dvd/
209 • RE: 203 • 190, Re Red Flag Linux (by johncoom on 2007-10-19 02:27:06 GMT from Australia)
PLEASE NOTE: this torrent is a multi Tracker torrent and has two announce URL in it.
This means that peers that get the torrent from either tracker are all in same swarm.
The torrent from http://www.tuxdistro.com/torrents-details.php?id=610
Is the same as from http://linuxtracker.org/torrents-details.php?id=4730
So this doubles the number of Chinese or anyone that could seed/leeche
210 • test (by Anonymous on 2007-10-19 03:14:17 GMT from Australia)
test
211 • Download Links For Bigpond ADSL + Cable Broadband Subscribers (by Observer on 2007-10-19 03:18:09 GMT from Australia)
Download Links For Bigpond ADSL + Cable Broadband Subscribers
NB: Downloads are Free (metered but non-chargeable) for Bigpond ADSL + Cable
subscribers. So, if you are paying top dollar for your service, make use of it!
Ubuntu:http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=cat&id=812&order=time+DESC
Ubuntu v7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) i386 CD ISO
OpenSUSE: http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=cat&id=122&order=time+DESC
OpenSUSE v10.3 KDE CD ISO
openSUSE v10.3 DVD x86_64 ISO
OpenSUSE v10.3-GM Addon-NonOss ISO
openSUSE v10.3 DVD i386 ISO
Mandriva: http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=cat&id=159&order=time+DESC
Mandriva Linux v2008 One Gnome i586 CD ISO
Mandriva Linux v2008 One KDE i586 CD ISO
Mandriva Linux v2008.0 i586 DVD ISO
Linux Distributions:
http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=cat&id=32&order=time+DESC
Filename.......Category........Size.......Date.......Expiry Date....
openSUSE-10.3-GM-GNOME-i386.iso.....Linux Distributions......697,245,696......05-10-2007......28 Dec 07
openSUSE-10.3-GM-KDE-x86_64.iso.....Linux Distributions......724,930,560......08-10-2007......31 Dec 07
mandriva-linux-2008.0-free-dvd-x86_64.iso.....Linux Distributions......4,612,227,072.......15-10-2007.....07 Jan 08
mandriva-linux-2008.0-free-mini-dual.iso......Linux Distributions.....735,477,760......11-10-2007...... 03 Jan 08
212 • Download Links For Bigpond ADSL + Cable Broadband Subscribers (by part 2 on 2007-10-19 03:20:53 GMT from Australia)
Linux Distributions:
http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=cat&id=32&order=time+DESC
Filename.......Category........Size.......Date.......Expiry Date....
SabayonLinux-x86-3.4f.iso.......Linux Distributions....4,530,497,536.......15-10-2007...... 07 Jan 08
http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=details&id=31376
SabayonLinux-x86-3.4.miniEdition.iso......Linux Distributions......731,901,952.....15-10-2007......07 Jan 08
http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=details&id=31375
LinuxMint-3.1.iso......Linux Distributions........724,080,640......08-10-2007.......07 Nov 07
http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=details&id=31192
systemrescuecd-x86-0.4.0.iso.......Linux Distributions.....163,090,432.......05-10-2007.......28 Dec 07
http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=details&id=31136
puppy-3.01-seamonkey.iso.......Linux Distributions......103,546,880......18-10-2007.......10 Jan 08
http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=details&id=31430
19-10-07........Vixta Linux v0.95 ISO.....725,684,224.....9
http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=details&id=31475
Vixta Linux v0.93 ISO
05-10-2007......Vixta.org-093.En.iso......Linux Distributions......08,110,336.....63
Vixta.org is a Fedora-based Linux distribution designed to be user-friendly and
eye-catching, similar in look and feel to Windows Vista. Trying to bring linux to
the "masses", not just sysadmins.
Fedora: http://files.bigpond.com/library/index.php?go=cat&id=1160&order=time+DESC
Fedora-7.92-Live-KDE-i686.iso
Fedora-7.92-i386-DVD.iso
Fedora-7.92-x86_64-DVD.iso
Fedora 8 Test 2 (7.91) i686 ISO
213 • Brief test comment for Mandriva One 2008 (Kde and Gnome) (by Observer on 2007-10-19 04:03:17 GMT from Australia)
Machine is Acer 1644 WLMi Notebook with intel M 760 CPU (CPU Frequency Scaling control is a must) and 915GM Graphics Board.
Both Cds have display issues - they boot into an unreadable (oversize fonts) selection or greeter window. I reported this when testing the last KDE RC here a couple of weeks ago and AdamW said it was fixed in the final. Couple of workarounds for this: 1.Kde version , just press Control+Alt +Backspace and boot process continues as normal. 2. Gnome version, only Control+Alt+F1 works on this. Once in console mode, login as root and get to init 3 level and run drakx11 graphics setup tool and configure your display and monitor settings.
Power Management is a big issue with this machine and KDE Kpowersave (with "tickless" kernel) power management is not good enough at this stage, as is the case with Fedora 7, openSUSE 10.3, and many other distros. To my surprise, I found that Mandriva Gnome One 2008 has a very efficient CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor applet that offers a variety of power control modes and (so far) works very well! Mandriva does not provide the extra function key control that both Ubuntu and openSUSE do with their hotkey-setup method.
Conclusion: Mandriva-2008-Gnome might have the BEST power management control at present! All the other distros should consider implementing, or, if possible, implementing an improved version of, this "CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor" package.
214 • A very useful Firefox Addon tool - FEBE (by Observer on 2007-10-19 04:14:16 GMT from Australia)
It backs up all your addons + prefrences, bookmarks, etc and you can then synch or install on any Firefox setup.
Items processed: 11 total (Created in: /home/guest/Documents/FEBE 2007...
Extensions processed: (9 total) - indicates a user disabled extension.
1. AdblockPlus{0.7.5.3}
2. EnglishAustralianDictionary{0.2}
3. FEBE
4. FEBE{5.0}
5. FastVideoDownload{1.3.1.4}
6. FileTitle{1.2}
7. NoScript{1.1.7.2}
8. TitleSave{0.1d}
9. WebDeveloper{1.1.4}
Bookmarks backed up to: bookmarks{default}.html
Preferences backed up to: prefs{default}.js
http://customsoftwareconsult.com/extensions/febe/febe.html
215 • RE #201 (dbrion) (by herman on 2007-10-19 05:30:51 GMT from Europe)
I'm a bit amazed by one point.
(try to go into other thing later on):
Fedora and Suse have offered SCIM almost out-of-the box for a few years.
You can so incredibly easily type Arabic with that.
CTL works very well with Linux.
It's such a shame it can still be troublesome to geet SCIM to work in for example Ubuntu, the most popular distro.
I've tried Ubuntu several times; each time, bugs in some input methods, no way to enable Arabic and Hebrew (which I both use).
This made me love Fedora first.
I'll advise anyone who uses "funny" script to use Fedora and CentOS, since SCIM there really *does* work 99% flawlessly.
216 • @213 (by Adam Williamson on 2007-10-19 05:58:18 GMT from Canada)
Sorry about the big font bug - a bug that sounds the same definitely was fixed, I guess this is a different incarnation or a slightly different bug, not sure.
"Mandriva does not provide the extra function key control that both Ubuntu and openSUSE do with their hotkey-setup method."
What do you mean by "extra function key control" exactly? The volume control, suspend, monitor switch etc functions that laptops tend to put on function keys? I think you may need to load the acer_acpi module.
217 • Re 216--AW (by Observer on 2007-10-19 07:33:32 GMT from Australia)
>>"Mandriva does not provide the extra function key control that both Ubuntu and openSUSE do with their hotkey-setup method."<<
AW: "...What do you mean by "extra function key control" exactly? The volume control, suspend, monitor switch etc functions that laptops tend to put on function keys? I think you may need to load the acer_acpi module...."
Yes, Mute, VolUp, VolDn (mainly) and external monitor (pressing it now does nothing, but I don't have an external monitor hooked up). The monitor brigtness contol, mousepad, screen off/on and sleep mode keys all seem to be working OK!
What is the correct procedure for loading acer_acpi?
/lib/modules/2.6.22.9-desktop586-1mdv/kernel/3rdparty/acer_acpi
acer_acpi.ko.gz
[root@localhost ~]# modprobe acer_acpi
FATAL: Error inserting acer_acpi (/lib/modules/2.6.22.9-desktop586-1mdv/kernel/3rdparty/acer_acpi/acer_acpi.ko.gz): No such device
[root@localhost ~]#
218 • RE 215 (by dbrion on 2007-10-19 09:17:57 GMT from France)
That is rather a matter of audience : pple I was thinking of were pple in a cybercafe (I thought they had given a PC to their wife/old parents in Maghreb, say) trying to email by drawings. a priori, they have no knowledge of Linux at all [even its existence], little of computers in general, and the most useful tool to write in Arabic would be a lifeCD/DVD with a good HD/USB keys recognition (it is a topic where Suse is not that good, and I do not know about Fedora) [ perhaps they have an unconnected PC at home, or they can convince the cybercafé landlord to start on a life CD...).
This audience (migrants who have to type in Arabic, I do not know wheteher they have religious feelings and I do not think a computer is a way to share/affirm religious feelings) might be not negligeable.
219 • @217 (by Adam Williamson on 2007-10-19 16:55:50 GMT from Canada)
Ah, guess you don't need acer_acpi then (not all Acers do).
I think I read a post from someone with a similar issue (just the volume control keys not working) who said he had to go into the KDE special-keys setup tool (in the KDE Control Center, think it's called khotkeys or something) and set them there, and then it worked...
220 • not serious comparison, but... (by glyj on 2007-10-19 22:10:35 GMT from New Caledonia)
It's good to see distro-competitions because that means those distros will try to do things better and better.
All in all : Opensuse and Mandy are both good.
I'd choose Mandriva because Opensuse smells too much Microsoft, though
http://www.tuxmachines.org/node/21155
http://beranger.org/index.php?page=diary&2007/10/19/12/33/32-starting-from-susan-s-mandriva-v
++
221 • "rolling releases" (by beenz on 2007-10-19 22:39:16 GMT from United States)
what are the distros with ongoing rolling releases so you don't have to keep reinstalling?
no lecture please, just a list or link will be helpful for our project. thank you!
222 • Rolling releases (by anticapitalista on 2007-10-19 23:00:27 GMT from Greece)
antiX, Mepis7, sidux, debian are some to get the list going :-)
223 • @221 (by Adam Williamson on 2007-10-19 23:35:13 GMT from Canada)
The development distro for any stable-release distro (e.g. Debian sid, Mandriva Cooker, Ubuntu-whatever-the-next-version's-called-as-they-don't-use-a-single-development-distro, openSUSE Factory, Fedora Rawhide etc etc etc).
Gentoo.
PCLOS.
Arch, I think.
224 • So when will "Goofy Guppy" be released for Ubuntu?? (by ROC on 2007-10-20 02:26:34 GMT from United States)
That is obviously a burning question - or at least I am burned out with all this weird Ubuntu code-naming.
My point is that numbered versions are much easier to keep track of for currency purposes. Frankly, I have lost track of whether Edgy Eft is older or newer than Feisty Fawn. I know I have one on one of my PC's, and the other on another, but darn if I can keep straight which is which by those names - I just know I have 7.04 on one, and 6.10 on the other.
I am reluctant to "upgrade" when I know it will be a major pain to re-discover how to get Mozilla/Seamonkey back on it due to the repositories' omission since I have email going back to Netscape 3 on OS/2 days, and am not willing to start from scratch with Evolution, and not quite trusting Thunderbird to migrate it (if it even will try...).
When all these sites throw those code names around like we are supposed to know which is which, I give up, and move on to something else.
Maybe I am just too much into numbers, and not enough into cute names...
ROC
225 • Re #221, 223 Rolling release distros (by rglk on 2007-10-20 03:35:04 GMT from United States)
That's correct: Arch.
226 • Re #222 Rolling releases (by DG on 2007-10-20 08:27:48 GMT from Netherlands)
Don't forget SourceMage and Lunar Linux
227 • RE 224 Distrs names (by dbrion on 2007-10-20 08:31:08 GMT from France)
The ideal way (and sometimes packages are indexed like that) would be the release date [ it would be very pleasant to compare two stable releases of distrs with the same policy of having up to date packages]...
228 • Page Hit Ranking (by Max on 2007-10-20 08:55:01 GMT from Australia)
Ladislav
Just food for thought, but why not remove the links to the distro pages on the page hit ranking? Like just having plain text with the distro name, instead of a link... That way people can no longer so easily click-to-vote on their distro of choice...
If people are really interested on a given distro they would have to do a "manual" search, which is a lot more cumbersome...
229 • Fixing the PCLinuxOS DW page hit rankings problem (by Benjamin Franz on 2007-10-20 13:43:17 GMT from United States)
The listing of site page hits for PCLinuxOS may not be fraud, but there is an easy way to fix it if the problem is more or less "because they are number 1 on the list, people click on them a lot and that makes them number 1".
Link all clicks through the 'top hits' list through a script that counts the number of 'clicks from the top hit list' for each distro and *SUBTRACT* that count from the net hit rate for each distro before using it to compute rankings. IOW, _compensate_ for the effect of the 'top hit' list itself on the top hit list rankings by directly measuring and discounting it. You could do it alternatively by adding a CGI parameter like '?from=rankinglist' to the links and eliminate all counts containing that from the final rankings.
If on the other hand the problem is someone has figured out how to 'game' the rankings, it won't affect the counts. And we will know that the rankings are being manipulated by someone (even if we don't know how).
230 • updates versus fresh install (by senorian on 2007-10-20 14:06:03 GMT from Canada)
Just been looking at the poll at Ubuntu re the installation of 7.10.
It is interesting that distros (in general) don't concentrate on getting their updates to function well.
If you are planning a fresh install you have to have backed up all your data. So if the install fails you have lost nothing and have ~500 other distros to try.
If upgrading you might be tempted not to save your data beforehand (bad boy!)
which may leave a bad taste!
(the kubuntu forum seems to be offline )
231 • Qu 130 Would you trust your bank? (by dbrion on 2007-10-20 14:19:57 GMT from France)
If you knew it has its OS automatically upgraded ?
If its OSes were tested in 2 weeks (it is
232 • scary (by herman on 2007-10-20 16:23:26 GMT from Europe)
It's scary, how seriously some people seem to take the "page hit ranking".
It's fun, but that's about it.
If any given distro would need the page hit ranking to realise they're doing something right or something wrong, I'd say there's something seriously wrong with their development model.
233 • re#232 (by hab on 2007-10-20 18:09:19 GMT from Canada)
Exactly.
I've been visiting dw since the site came up, btw thank you ladislav for the time and effort you put in to keep dw going, and i have always understood that the distro rankings are at best a rough and ready guide. I think one can put as much (or as little) stock in the rankings as one would in political polls at election time.
That being said i would like to see the rankings stay 'cause to me a rough guide for potential converts to the way of the penguin is better than none at all.
cheers
234 • XUbuntU 7.10 i386 (by capricornus on 2007-10-20 18:33:59 GMT from Belgium)
HORRIBLE XPerience, I' ve never seen in Distro land: install stalls on ordinary pc's. Checksum is right, CD content is checked.
While Wolvix Hunter does a perfect job on EVERY pc, from PIII to DC, accepting CrossOver without any hesitation.
Are we being pulled a leg by Canonical?
:-(
235 • @229 (by memena on 2007-10-20 18:50:30 GMT from Philippines)
Why, is PCLinuxOS at #1 a problem that needs fixing?
236 • @ 235 (by Jmiahman on 2007-10-20 20:32:34 GMT from United States)
Because people are Closed minded.
237 • @224 (by jed on 2007-10-21 00:41:04 GMT from United States)
Dapper
Edgy
Fiesty
Gutsy
Looks like they were starting to follow a new pattern here after Breezy, but they have already used H on Hoary so I don't know if they will continue the trend or not.
238 • Page Hit Ranking trend (by Anonymous on 2007-10-21 01:28:25 GMT from Australia)
Not even a feverish 'buntu season could knock PCLOS off the top of the rankings - amazing. So perhaps the page hit rankings are an indication of a "Windows to Linux migration trend" rather than a reflection on code quality, design, or work usage, etc.
When 'buntu came out it was the new easy way to change from Windows to Linux, so it became the new Window to Linux trend and rose to number one. For one reason or another 'buntu lost favour (too idealistic?) and PCLOS - which is very Windows-like in design - has become the new Windows to Linux trend and so has rose to the number one spot. Does this seem logical?
239 • @238 (by DrDOS on 2007-10-21 03:17:50 GMT from United States)
I think you are spot on. Windows Vista is only selling at %40 of what XP was in the box, so people are looking for alternatives, and want something that is simple to install, nearly as simple as Win98 in the case of pclos, and has a familiar look and is easy to navigate.
240 • Mandriva Powerpack Quicktime Support (by chris on 2007-10-21 04:30:43 GMT from United States)
Today I got the Apple home page Quicktime videos to play with Mandriva's Powerpack.
They played without sound with the default packages in the install.
I added the Penguin Liberation Front repo, via Easy Urpmi.
Installed Mplayer and the 'essentials' from mplayerhq.hu.
Probably overkill.
Just what multimedia formats is Powerpack supposed to support out of the box?
After reading Jem Matzan's 'Software in Review' review,
I thought everything was supported.
Questions for Adam Williamson, if he reads this.
241 • Re 241...IMO, you keep deluding yourself about "fill in the blank" distro (by popularity on 2007-10-21 06:43:28 GMT from Australia)
But I observe the downloads on my BigPond Server and see that Ubuntu 7.10 family scores over 1000 downloads in less than 2 days and PCL could only manage just over 200 in 4 months (and that is with all the added hype from its DW "top ranking"! Its previous release only scored 50 downloads). I know which indicator I am going to use as guide to distro popularity! :-)
http://files.bigpond.com/library/latestfiles.php?go=latestfiles&order=&limit=30&start=30
Date............File..........................................Size............Downloads
19-10-07.......Ubuntu v7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) amd64 DVD ISO......1,044,381,696......45
19-10-07.......Ubuntu v7.10 amd64 Alternate ISO.................727,488,512.......8
19-10-07.......Ubuntu v7.10 amd64 CD ISO........................730,691,584......45
19-10-07.......Ubuntu v7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) i386 DVD ISO.......1,864,604,256.....279
19-10-07.......Ubuntu v7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) i386 CD ISO..........729,608,192.....342
19-10-07.......Ubuntu v7.10 i386 alternate ISO..................726,663,168......76
19-10-07.......Ubuntu v7.10 Server i386 ISO.....................524,060,672......34
18-10-07.......Ubuntu v7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) server only ISO......524,066,816......30
ubuntu st = 859 (21-10-07 - 4:30 PM AEST)
19-10-07......kubuntu v7.10 desktop amd64 ISO...................530,519,552......11
19-10-07......kubuntu v7.10 desktop i386 CD ISO.................731,009,024......79
Kubuntu st = 90 (21-10-07 - 4:30 PM AEST)
19-10-07......xubuntu v7.10 desktop i386 ISO....................593,889,280......56
18-10-07......xubuntu v7.10 i386 Alternate ISO..................723,580,928......41
Xubuntu st = 97 (21-10-07 - 4:30 PM AEST)
19-10-07......Edubuntu v7.10 PowerPC desktop CD ISO.............707,481,600......11
Edubuntu st = 11 (21-10-07 - 4:30 PM AEST)
ubuntu Family Total = 1057 (21-10-07 - 4:30 PM AEST)
Observer
242 • @241 (by memena on 2007-10-21 07:18:42 GMT from Philippines)
I've never even heard of your server until now. Anyway, use what you like to use, we just happen to like the indicator in this server here just fine. ;-)
Oho, "Dumbledore is gay: JK Rowling". what the hell..
243 • Some more stats fromBigpond Server (by Observer on 2007-10-21 08:05:57 GMT from Australia)
Bigpond Server Download Stats For Small Selection (based on number of downloads) Of Current
Stable Linux Distro Releases.
1. Total Fedora 7 = 2,344 (21-10-07 - 4:30 PM AEST)
(Most popular single Linux iso is Fedora Core 7 i386 DVD = 1486 downloads)
2. Total Ubuntu Family = 1057 (21-10-07 - 4:30 PM AEST)
3. Total openSUSE 10.3 = 811 (21-10-07 - 4:30 PM AEST)
4. Total Mandriva 2008 = 566 (21-10-07 - 4:30 PM AEST)
NB: Ubuntu 7.04 family previously had scored 5000 + downloads and was easily No1.
244 • Re 243 ...correction (by Observer on 2007-10-21 08:08:50 GMT from Australia)
It should read as below:
2. Total Ubuntu [7.10] Family = 1057 (21-10-07 - 4:30 PM AEST)
245 • "Upgrade season" (by Anonymous on 2007-10-21 09:16:25 GMT from Malaysia)
I did clean installs of the latest releases from Ubuntu, Suse and Mandriva on my notebook (Pentium M 2.0 GHz with ATI Mobility Radeon X700) and am now wondering whether this should be termed "downgrade season" instead.
Installed Ubuntu first. Feisty used to boot without problems on the same notebook but Gutsy goes into a fugue-like state (blank screen) for over 3 minutes before GDM finally makes an appearance. With the "nosplash" option, it boots in around 1 minute. I remember having similar problems with Edgy (but not Dapper) on my desktop last year. Of course, this is more an annoyance than a show-stopper, but it was disappointing to find that Gutsy (like Feisty before it) refuses to connect to my wireless network with a WEP password.
Installed openSUSE 10.3 and discovered a similar fugue-like state on first boot. Waited 10 minutes for the log-in screen, then gave up. For the record, 10.2 used to boot without problems on the same notebook.
Booted from the Sabayon 3.4 mini CD while waiting for Mandriva to download and was surprised to find that it wouldn't connect to the wireless network either (3.3 used to connect immediately).
Installed Mandriva 2008 next. It booted into KDE wthout any problems and I was able to connect to the wireless network immediately (just like 2007.1), but logging out of KDE brought up a blank and unresponsive screen (unlike 2007.1) which required the X server to be restarted to get back to the KDE login screen.
Conclusion - if your current system is working adequately, "upgrading" to a new release is a waste of time.
246 • 245 (by Anonymous on 2007-10-21 09:39:17 GMT from Malaysia)
By the way, Fedora 7 (and PCLOS) can only boot with vesa on this machine and I couldn't get an ipw2200 driver or ndiswrapper working on Fedora.
247 • Stats / Rolling Releases / Page Hit Rankings (by DG on 2007-10-21 10:03:27 GMT from Netherlands)
This is all sort of 'Advertising 101' but...
I have the impression, but no hard proof, that a distro that has an official release and makes a release announcement on DW has a corresponding surge on the page hit rankings. And that a distro that makes frequent minor update releases, with announcements, maintains a higher ranking over the long term.
A distro with a rolling release stategy, where an official release announcement may be infrequent, is therefore not in the public eye as often, and tends to be forgotten and so its page hit ranking will fall over time.
I'd be interested to see whether Ladislav's article next week shows some statistics about page hit rankings and number of releases in that period. What would a page hits divided by a "release factor" show? If a distro has made no release announcements during the period, its "release factor" is 1, if it has made one its "release factor" is 2, etc. I'm not a statisticion, so I don't know if this has real meaning, but it might be interesting.
248 • UbuntuStudio 7.10 is out (by kanishka on 2007-10-21 10:41:08 GMT from Italy)
Just discovered it at http://ubuntustudio.org/downloads
249 • RE 247 : I agree with the presence of a peak (by dbrion on 2007-10-21 14:15:45 GMT from France)
in DW's HPD after a release announce;
it occurs also in the number of downloads (on sourceforge, you can find some linux distrs and have a look at a graph of the temporal evolution of downloads) and has been used, AFAIK, as a means of choosing the release date by at least one linux distr (if you announce a release during the holy days, the peak might be less pronounced => the FTP server/s has/have less work....) Sorry, I forgot the link...
If this point is real, the amplitude of the post release announce peak (in curiosity/mouse-voting/downloading) may vary (according to circumstances such as
* holy days,
* saturated FTP servers -such as PClos; PCloss users wanted to have news and went to DW, and perhaps got accustomed to cli-cli-voting-) ,
and
a division by a constant factor (as you suggested) would then introduce newer errors.
250 • RE 242 Affectve / love links with numbers are (linuxly??) insane.. (by dbrion on 2007-10-21 14:32:07 GMT from France)
"we just happen to like the indicator in this server here just fine. ;"
I DO NOT like this indicator : as it is a number, and as I am in a normal mental state of mind, I do not have any affective link with an indicator......
Perhaps DW HPD can be compared with the number of ppople looking at shoes (spontaneously or ??????) in a shop.
BigPound's valuable numbers count the number of shoes which were bought.
The number of comfortable shoes remains unknown.
251 • @250 (by Anonymous on 2007-10-21 16:12:54 GMT from Malaysia)
"BigPound's valuable numbers count the number of shoes which were bought.
The number of comfortable shoes remains unknown."
I'm inclined to believe that the number of "comfortable shoes" is probably quite low. Of the 6 distros I tried out on a 2-year-old notebook recently, only 3 were able to configure the open-source ati driver correctly and only one (Mandriva) could get wireless working with ipw2200. On my hardware (which is hardly cutting-edge), PC-BSD has already caught up with most major Linux distros!
252 • Ubuntu frame-buffer issue (by Anonymous on 2007-10-21 16:39:54 GMT from Malaysia)
The frame-buffer problem with Ubuntu is interesting. It seems to be a feature of 6.10 as well as 7.10 but not the intervening 7.04 release.
???
253 • RE: # 63 • Is OpenSUSE 10.3 a compelling upgrade? (by Anonymous Penguin on 2007-10-21 19:26:11 GMT from Italy)
Well, here is what is better in 10.3
1)Newer packages, of course
2) (Much) faster boot and launching applications
3)Useful new modules in YaST
4)Beautiful fonts out of the box
5)Package management in theory should be faster. However I prefer Smart (using the 32 bit edition), which needs to be manually configured for extra repositories (unlike YaST which makes the task extremely easy with the new module "Community Repositories")
Cons:
1)I couldn't get my favorite screen resolution to work. I solved the problem by using a xorg.conf generated by Kanotix
2)USB pendrives don't automount, must be manually mounted every time (a known bug)
3)Smart for the 64 bit edition can't be used, it fails almost every time because of conflicts.
I can't think of anything else, 10.3 it is one of the most stable and complete distros I have tried in this release season. Mandriva could be OK, but it overrides my ADSL/pppoe configuration.
Ubuntu 7.10 has been a nightmare for me (I'll post my experiences here tomorrow).
254 • Ubuntu 7.10 install (by Tony on 2007-10-21 20:49:06 GMT from United States)
I guess since everybody is giving their experiences with Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10 I'll give mine. On my Toshiba laptop - simply put - forget it!
Bios Bug error, slow to boot OR sometimes not at all. The one time I did get it to boot I couldn't do anything with it. Sluggish and non-responsive. I tried dual booting and the Ubuntu partition program whacked my XP partition, but it was able to repair itself. I tried a different approach by installing 7.10 on the complete hard drive and deleted my XP partition. Still Gutsy barely ran the one or two times I waited it for it to boot. I then tried the alternate 7.10 install and the results where the same - Bios bug and the rest.
While I have yet to try installation on one of my desktop test boxes - to my dismay I now know why 7.10 is called "Gutsy"...
Canonical should've worked on this version a couple more months!
255 • Ubuntu 7.10 install (by rac on 2007-10-22 00:53:04 GMT from United States)
...And my two cents on my Ubuntu 7.10 experience. A clean Gutsy install on my Thinkpad worked perfectly. An upgrade from Feisty on my Dell desktop worked equally well. For me, these might have been the cleanest installation experiences ever. Lucky me!
256 • 255 (by Anonymous on 2007-10-22 04:59:24 GMT from Malaysia)
What's the wireless chipset on your ThinkPad? Couldn't get wireless working with Gutsy on my notebook, but it works with an rt2500 usb adapter on my desktop (unlike Feisty).
257 • evolution of crap (by Doper on 2007-10-22 10:12:26 GMT from Belgium)
History learns that programs and os's have a certain evolution once they become too populair.
Icq, was a lean program for messaging. over the years it became bloated, and full of crap. Skype was a nice small program for VOIP, and now it is bloated and full of crap.
win2k (and previous releases.. i don't mention winME) was a lean fast crapless operating system. Look at Vista now, and i don't have to say anything.
Now we come to Ubuntu. (they have the statement "Ubuntu will always be free of charge, including enterprise releases and security updates.")
I predict the same future for ubuntu. Once it becomes more populair, they become more bloated and full of crap. Why, they want/and have to to implement all possible technologies (because eveyone is expecting it), more populair is commercially more interesting, and stats/data/info have huge value in "please produce and consume more land"
So, in a few years I see Ubuntu filled with bullshit on layers of crap as well.
That's why i keep using operating systems where i still have a complete overview and control on what is installed, and how i can manually configure/install it. And don't go for any hype.
The installationprocess is not everything.. it's how it's working over the years what makes the difference.
258 • Can't wait for Ladislav's DW Weekly comments ... (by Coffee on 2007-10-22 10:56:52 GMT from France)
... I wonder what the outcome of last week's experiment with the DW Ranking was and to what conclusions he has come.
@ Doper (257)
Your "evolution of crap" theory is a rather mechanistic view of the world, don't you think? Do you really believe because Skype and Windows became bloated over time Ubuntu has to go the same way as if this was a rule of nature? People make software and as long as sane people are in charge bloat can be avoided. So far Ubuntu has developed in the right direction and at the moment there's no sign this will change in the future.
259 • Re: 256 Wireless chip set (by rac on 2007-10-22 11:43:46 GMT from United States)
It's an Atmel PCMCIA wireless card, something like an AT76C502A I believe. It's at home and I'm at work so I can't check for sure right now. The Thinkpad is a T23 and does not have a built-in wireless adapter. It's worked out of the box with Edgy, Feisty and Gutsy. It's also worked with most other distros I've tried with various degrees of fiddling around.
Number of Comments: 259
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
| | |
| 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.
|
| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
| • Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
| • Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • 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.
|
| Random Distribution | 
MCNLive
MCNLive was a Mandriva-based distribution designed to run from a USB Flash drive or a CD. It aims to be a user-friendly and complete mobile Linux solution for desktops and notebooks, running in live mode with dynamic hardware detection. It was developed by Mandrivaclub.nl.
Status: Discontinued
|
| 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.
|
|
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
