 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 261, 14 July 2008 |
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Welcome to this year's 28th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! It's been a slow distro week, but not completely dead. We've had a few releases, several developmental releases, and a bit of news. We also have a guest writer with us this morning, Maurice Lawles. You might know Maurice from his TechieMoe website and hard-hitting distro reviews. Today he shares some of his thoughts on the KDE 4 situation.
All this and more in this week's DistroWatch Weekly - happy reading!
Content:
 Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in ogg (14MB) and mp3 (13MB) formats (many thanks to Russ Wenner)
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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| Feature Story |
A Fork in the Road, with No Clear Direction?
(by Maurice Lawles)
There's been quite some controversy over the recent release of KDE 4, which brought with it sweeping changes to the way many very basic things work, including such fundamental elements as how icons are dealt with on the desktop (broadly speaking, they're not). Volleys have been thrown from one side and the next and casualties have been suffered, but one thing remains clear: the KDE development team is sticking to their guns. KDE 4 is here to stay.
The inclusion of KDE 4.0 in several major distribution releases (Fedora 9, openSuSE 11) has brought the new baby to unprecedented numbers of people, many of whom have noted that it's missing a few limbs here and there. 4.1 is supposed to fix that. There are those who are skeptical.
In light of this debacle, there are quite a few Linux folks out there wondering what the future may hold for their choice desktop. For those in the KDE 3.5 camp, a hard decision awaits. Do we hold on to 3.5 as long as possible and perhaps hope it will be forked? Do we embrace the new (warts and all) and trust that the KDE team knows what's best in the long run? Or do we consider jumping to another ship entirely? If you're unsure about where you might go, consider the alternatives.
Please note that I'm in no way trying to give an exhaustive overview of all the available desktop alternatives here. That would be (for lack of a better term) exhausting. I'm just hitting the more popular and feature-complete ones.
KDE 3.5
Yes, for the moment there is no "drop dead" date for KDE 3.5, so it's still a viable alternative if you're not a fan of Plasmoids. This version of KDE is still standard in Kubuntu 8.04 and comes as an option in most of the large distributions out there (openSuSE 11, Fedora 9). You will, of course, have to be okay with the idea that at some unspecified point in the future support for the 3.5.x branch will go away.
Gnome
The Gnome desktop is stable and feature-rich. It is the default in several high-profile distributions such as Ubuntu and Redhat Enterprise Linux. The interface is simple (sometimes frustratingly so). It's well-maintained and hasn't changed dramatically for a while. This is both a blessing and a curse. There are many long-term Gnome users (myself included) who are simply getting bored with it. No earth-shattering improvements have shown up in the last few releases. End-users know what to expect and we get it: nothing more, nothing less. Where is an adventurous Linuxer to go?
Enlightenment
It's not the standard desktop, or even available as a default choice in most of the major distributions out there, but it certainly can't be called boring. Enlightenment prides itself in making things interesting. There's even a LiveCD designed specifically to show off all its bells and whistles. If you're an Ubuntu fan, there's an off-shoot, OpenGEU that comes with it preinstalled and configured. In my personal experience, getting it pre-packaged is the way to go. Enlightenment is highly configurable, but the sheer number of configuration options can confuse the uninitiated.
The Lightweights
Gnome and KDE 3.5 offer not only a desktop but a suite of applications that go with it. Not everyone buys into that, and for them I present the Lightweights. They won't tax your RAM, your CPU, or your patience, just offer the bare minimum and stay out of your way.
The desktop of choice for the Xubuntu project, XFce is somewhere between a full desktop environment and just a window manager. It can be configured to use fewer resources than KDE or Gnome, but still offers creature comforts to those used to more resource-intensive GUIs.
When I really want to shut off the world and get geeky, I tend to use Fluxbox. It's minimal, configurable, and uses an incredibly small amount of RAM (less than 5 MBs on some of my systems). It sports an impressive collection of themes as well. It has a minimal number of distractions for when I really want to dig in and get work done.
FVWM is another small-footprint window manager I've run into from time to time. It's available as a failsafe session on some distributions, but it can be quite useful in its own right. Some lightweight Linux distributions use it to offer a more traditional application menu than Fluxbox. It can even be made to imitate other operating systems.
If your aesthetic taste lies somewhere closer to 1993, you might consider GNUStep, an OSS implementation of OpenStep. I've successfully run this on an old Acer Aspire (with a whopping 4MB video device) that I was given when someone cleaned out their garage. If it can work with those limited resources, anything of the Pentium II line and above should have no issues.
Conclusion
History will have to determine whether the changes made in KDE 4 are the right ones. Events like this are not without precedent in the open-source community. There's a real possibility that KDE's developers will build functionality in the future to better imitate what many people grew to love about KDE 3.5. At this point it's too early to tell.
The road to the next stable version of KDE is rocky, but perhaps instead of complaining that it hurts our feet we should consider an alternate path. Unlike some other operating systems, a Linux user need never be forced to use a desktop that no longer fits their needs. There are a number of excellent choices out there for those willing to explore.
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| Miscellaneous News |
Gentoo's False Start, Debian Day 2008, openSUSE Build Service 1.0
 The release of openSUSE's Build Service generated quite a bit of buzz around the Internet last week. The Build Service allows developers to create and maintain packages for openSUSE and several other Linux distributions. This 1.0 milestone expands its scope to building the entire openSUSE release and allows access to the entire distribution as the developers' full working copy is available. So, it's not just for developers anymore. Check out the full announcement on that if interested. In other news, openSUSE will be at the LinuxWorld Expo being held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on August 6. If you're in the area, you might want to stop by their first openSUSE Day. Learn all about openSUSE and pick up some nice swag too. Here's the full schedule for those lucky attendees.
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 Mandriva had a little oopsie with their GUADEC Spring Flash keys. If you were one of the lucky recipients, you'll have to fix it before you can install it and you might have to restart the display manager the first run. Oh well, at least it was a gift. And speaking of Mandriva and gifts, you might be able to win a Mandriva Flash (one of the fully functioning versions) if you'd like to offer some feedback. Mandriva says, "Mandriva wants to know its users better, so we're giving you the floor. We're opening a completely anonymous questionnaire for you to give your views on your favorite distribution. By giving a little of your time you can help us improve our products and services." You only have until July 17, so if you use Mandriva take the survey soon.
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 Debian Day 2008 is coming August 16 to commemorate Debian's 15th birthday. Celebrations are planned all around the world. Brazil is right on ball with four planned events so far and Portugal is planning one in Aveiro. Time is running short, but I hope we see more countries celebrating one of most important projects in Open Source. Thank you Mr. Murdock, and Happy Birthday Debian!
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 Ubuntu posted their UDS Intrepid Report on their wiki summarizing some of the plans cooking for the upcoming 8.10 release. Some of the current ideas include fixing bugs in Xorg 1.5, new features for Wubi, improved Flash support, improved Firefox KDE integration, faster boot times, and OpenOffice.org 3.0. Keep an eye on the wiki page if you'd like to follow the developments.
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 After the long awaited Gentoo 2008.0 release, many users were disappointed to find they weren't able to use it. The LiveCD for x86/amd64 couldn't copy the kernel when installing the system and the LiveCD for AMD64 wouldn't even fit on a standard 700 MB CD without overburning. Revisions were posted quickly, but not fast enough for some. Robbat2 posted some rough download numbers for this release. He calculates the total number of downloads to be 106450 so far.
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 Red Hat has announced a planned outage of their bugzilla.redhat.com servers on August 2nd, 2008 from 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST in order to update to the latest upstream code base. The announcement states, "During this time the web servers will be reinstalled with the latest OS updates as well as the latest Bugzilla code. Also the database servers will undergo a data migration to be made compatible with the latest Bugzilla code. The web UI, database, and all XMLRPC services will be unavailable during the migration." For those effected, please plan around that.
* * * * *
 Speaking of KDE 4, Sebastian Kügler of the KDE e.V. Board of Directors addressed many of the concerns so loudly voiced last few months. Publishing an extensive article on Groklaw Friday, Kügler answers such criticisms as releasing 4.0 was a mistake, KDE needs to drop Plasma, and KDE needs a fork. See that full article for answers to these concerns and much more.
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| Released Last Week |
Absolute Linux 12.1.02
Paul Sherman has announced the release of Absolute Linux 12.1.02, the second bug-fix and security update of the stable 12.1 series: "Absolute Linux 12.1.02. Changes: Firefox updated to 3.0, this necessitated installation of XULRunner 1.9, which can also subsequently be used to build Firebird and other applications; MPlayer plugin on Firefox 3 is a wash - had to go with gecko-mplayer; updated PCMan File Manager with much more robust handling of file types; added isomaster for working with CD image files; added KFileReplace; added a few games (Monsterz, LBreakout2, Njam and BumpRace); added scripts and desktop files to convert FLV and OGG video to AVI; added lshw, along with script (run_lshw) that outputs in HTML format and opens the results in Links; updated to xorg-server 1.4.2; Fox (toolkit) and Fluxbox moved to CD2." Read the rest of the changelog for further details.
Absolute Linux 12.1.02 Desktop
(full image size: 51kB, screen resolution: 1280x800 pixels)
GoblinX 2.7
Flavio Pereira de Oliveira announced the availability of GoblinX 2.7 Standard, a Slackware-based desktop distribution and live CD: "After more than four months of development, as GoblinX 2.6 was released at February 18, we are pleased to announce the availability of the new stable edition... It includes five Windows Managers: KDE, Fluxbox, Xfce, Enlightenment and WindowMaker. Main upgrades since rc01 edition: Corrected some small errors and bugs. Upgraded some packages and libraries, including some security fixes. Added extra folders to be used as package repository. Added media package repository to Slapt-getrc. Added interface to build module with Slapt-get help. Added GUI for deactivate script to let anyone remove modules of the livecd. Added directly autologin to Xorg as user for the installed system. Added package upgrade check to Xfce panel with Xfce4-smartpm-plugin." Visit the project's news page for the full announcement.
LinuxConsole 1.0.2008
Yann Le Doarè announced a new release of LinuxConsole, an independently developed, modular Linux live CD: "This '1.0.2008' release has been built from a new toolchain based on gcc 4.2.2 and glibc 2.7. The 2.4 kernel is not available for that release, but you can continue using 2007 ISOs if you have to install linuxconsole on very old computers. The kernel is 2.6.25.4, patched with squashfs (module format for linuxconsole) and aufs (can write on modules). Since bootsplash is obsolete, usplash replaces it. GNOME is available in 2.20 release, since it's very stable; an update to 2.22 will be available soon. KDE is in 3.5.9 release, but not present on CD (not enough disk space). You can install it with modules manager or wait the 'DVD' release... DVD release will be ready in September." Visit the project's home page to read the full release announcement.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Reviewed Last Week |
Among the reviews noted last week Linux.com concentrated on two small flexible distributions that have gained a lot of respect in Linux circles. CodingExperiments.com looked at Foresight Linux 2.0.2.1 and PlanetOSS reviewed SabayonLinux 3.5. And not surprisingly, the new Mandriva 2009.0 Alpha 2 got tested as well.
* On SliTaz GNU/Linux 1.0 Linux.com concludes: The SliTaz developers have redefined what a micro GNU/Linux distribution can and should be, even if the developer's goals for the distribution may not be the same as the goals of a normal desktop or laptop user, who might expect wireless support, as well as video, office, and email applications by default. Not everything works perfectly -- for example, the Tazpkg package manager file dependencies and the Flash plugin for Firefox. However, Slitaz 1.0 does provide a fast, responsive, stable, and workable GNU/Linux system usable on older PCs. It also seems to be a great distribution to use as a rescue CD or to use as a baseline GNU/Linux system where you choose what additional packages you want to include. (It even includes a tool called Tazlito to create your own distribution.) The good impressions left by this first release guarantee that I'll be following further releases with keen interest.
* On Puppy Linux 4.00 they said: Puppy seems to have an application for just about every need already included. There are also hundreds of additional programs available for download via the Petget utility. The new Puppy 4.00 release is the cat's meow. Puppy Linux 4.00 is fast, reliable (on my systems it ran for days with no issue), has good wireless support, new scanner tools that work well, all the necessary multimedia codecs, and has a minimalistic yet usable approach that allows older computers to be functional machines again. Puppy also excels as a rescue CD or OS. Puppy also has good documentation.
* CodingExperiments.com wasn't very impressed with Foresight Linux 2.0.2.1. They had trouble with the installer as well as disappointment in the GUI: The installation process was fairly linear and simple, with an attractive theme. However, I am not happy with the partitioning system. I also specified to use the GRUB bootloader instead of the default EXTLINUX. I rebooted, and got, instead of a bootloader? "err3err4". Huh? I tried the installation again. This time, I left the bootloader with EXTLINUX, and everything worked fine.
Post-installation I briefly had a sense of relief, as things appeared only gone uphill from there, especially compared to the nightmares that I endured with 2.0. I had a window manager after the installation (metacity), and the package manager was a little bit better in terms of telling me what?s going on. So, yeah. That illusion was partially shattered when I rebooted.
* PlanetOSS reviewed the Gentoo-based SabayonLinux 3.5. They had this to say: The live DVD booting is a lot faster than the previous versions. This version also sports a new boot/installation/desktop themes. I was able to get the 3D effects running with just a single click.
Sabayon team developed a unique binary package management which makes it easy to install updates and applications. Entropy has a cursor based front-end "equo" and a GUI based front end "Spritz". The Spritz simplifies adding, removing and updating packages. The update notifier helps the users to update the system with three mouse clicks.
SabayonLinux 3.5 provides a truly "out of the box" experience. Sabayon brings the highly technical Gentoo to the masses. Though Sabayon may not be best suited for a first time Linux user, I highly recommend Sabayon for the users with some Linux experience.
Within hours of Mandriva's 2009 Alpha 2 release, three sites posted initial looks. Softpedia.com gave us lots of nice screenshots and a run-down of expected features while Blogbeebe dug a bit deeper to dredge up some early shortcomings. Lxer posted a first impression.
* Softpedia.com said: Mandriva 2009 brings KDE4 (default desktop), GNOME 2.23.4, and support for the newest NVIDIA and ATI/AMD video cards. Some of the interesting features that will be introduced [are] Linux kernel 2.6.26, GCC 4.3, Firefox 3.0, OpenOffice.org 3.0, revamped installer, and improved boot speed. There are also some rumors that X.org 7.4 and GRUB2 will be included.
* Blogbeebe wrote: Nobody seems to really dig in and use the distribution. If they did, they might discover that many of the latest distributions aren't just pretty, but pretty useless. Alpha 2 is also supposed to ship with the latest video drivers for both ATI and nVidia, which means that it should also support Compiz. Unfortunately alpha 2 did not, even though the current [stable] version of Mandriva does, and quite well. The first problem with this release is that I can't see /home directories. I then brought up Firefox and discovered that at least for KDE alpha 2 is still at version 2.0.0.15. And finally there's System Settings which I offer as but one example of the lack of polish in the KDE 4/4.1 desktop. Who knows when the situation will improve.
* Lxer posted:
All in all I'm impressed, both with Mandriva 2009.0, and it's only an Alpha release, and KDE4. Never thought I'd say that.
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| DistroWatch.com News |
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As you probably noticed, Ladislav is on his much needed vacation this week and I'm filling in. Some of you might remember me from last year. I'm Susan Linton and I'll be with you doing the weekly newsletter for the next few weeks. Thank you for your patience and continued support while Ladislav is away. If you'd like to share any good distro news in the next few weeks, you may email me at srlinuxx at gmail dot com.
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DistroWatch database summary
And this concludes the latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next installment will be published on Monday, 21 July 2008.
Susan Linton
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Full list of all issues |
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Guix System
Guix System (formerly Guix System Distribution, or GuixSD) is a Linux-based, stateless operating system that is built around the GNU Guix package manager. The operating system provides advanced package management features such as transactional upgrades and roll-backs, reproducible build environments, unprivileged package management, and per-user profiles. It uses low-level mechanisms from the Nix package manager, but packages are defined as native Guile modules, using extensions to the Scheme language.
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| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
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| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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