 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 354, 17 May 2010 |
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Welcome to this year's 20th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! As the new OpenBSD CD sets start showing up in the mailboxes of users who support the development of the project, we speak to Stefan Sperling, an OpenBSD developer. What's new in version 4.7? And what's it like being part of a mysterious group of hard-core developers who have been so successful in producing one of the most secure operating system on the market? Read on to find out. In the news section, Mandriva CEO Arnaud Laprévote diffuses rumours about the company's existential concerns, BLAG developer community revives a long-dormant Fedora-based distribution with "libre" characteristics, and Dianne Ursini of Technology Alignment explains the reasons for terminating the development of Pioneer Linux. Also in this issue, links to two excellent articles on APT and RPM package management and an interesting opinion on barriers to Linux adoption. Happy reading!
Content:
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Chatting with OpenBSD's Stefan Sperling
 In an ever-changing world where technology moves forward so rapidly, there is something to be said for projects which focus on stability and security. One of the best examples of such a project is OpenBSD, an operating system which has had only two remote holes in its default install “in a heck of a long time”. The OpenBSD team is busy gearing up for the 4.7 release due out in May. The new release carries many enhancements, including better hardware support, improved network stack and new OpenSSH features. One of the developers, Stefan Sperling, took time out of his busy day to share of his personal views about the OS.
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DW: Could you start by telling us a little bit about yourself, where you're from and how you got involved with BSD?
SS: I'm Stefan Sperling, born and living in Berlin, Germany. I started using BSD in my early 20s, using FreeBSD as a desktop system. Later I was introduced to OpenBSD by OpenBSD developer grunk@. I used FreeBSD on the desktop and OpenBSD on the laptop for some time. When I moved to Ireland for my final year of college I didn't bring the desktop machine. I did not mind leaving FreeBSD behind because of their permissive policy on binary blobs, and also because I had more luck submitting patches to OpenBSD.
DW: When did you start working on OpenBSD?
SS: I became an OpenBSD developer while doing my Master's degree on software development for computer networks. My main project for this degree was to improve the work-in-progress OSPF for IPv6 implementation in OpenBSD. I have been working on ospf6d together with OpenBSD developer claudio@ since. My work on it slowed down after I graduated, but I still like working on it as time permits.
DW: Is there a specific part of the project you focus your development efforts on?
SS: My main focus has been on ospf6d. I have also been looking into improving UTF-8 support. I use mutt for email and many people send me UTF-8 email these days. It is a bit annoying that mutt cannot display UTF-8 out of the box on OpenBSD. This is mainly because our libc only supports single-byte character encodings. I managed to add the missing libc parts to my system, based on code from FreeBSD and NetBSD. I can now read UTF-8 email in mutt. I hope that all OpenBSD users will eventually benefit from this work. Very small parts of this have already gone in, but there is still a lot to do to get it all committed. It has to be added in incremental steps, and each step has to pass peer review. And because OpenBSD is a volunteer project this takes time. But I am not in a rush.
DW: Looking at the upcoming OpenBSD 4.7, there are some great-looking changes to OpenSSH and hardware support. What other new features and improvements are people going to see over 4.6?
SS: For me, the most important change is that ospf6d is now installed by default. It is still work-in-progress, but Claudio especially has made many improvements which make ospf6d work for simple setups. We would love to receive test reports for ospf6d. We hope to eventually provide a complete, solid, interoperable, and free implementation of OSPF for the IPv6 internet.
DW: Back in January a developer released GNOBSD, which sets up OpenBSD in a live environment with a desktop. How do you feel about GNOBSD and do you think it will have any impact on the OpenBSD project?
SS: That project sounds like an entertaining and educating experience for its developer, which is great. I don't think OpenBSD will ever adapt a graphical installation environment, so it won't have an impact on the OpenBSD project.
DW: There is a lot of code in a modern operating system. How does the OpenBSD team keep track of and audit so much code to ensure there aren't any security holes introduced?
SS: Every change has to pass peer review. A lot of the developers are very experienced with reviewing code for bugs. Getting my changes reviewed by others has already caught, before commit, a number of mistakes I had made.
Also, the project focuses on implementing various security features consistently, which increases overall system security by limiting the impact of mistakes that will invariably creep in (we're humans, not machines). One such feature is privilege separation of daemons. Every daemon added to OpenBSD has to be privilege-separated. For instance, ospf6d is a privilege-separated daemon split into three independent processes, each performing a separate subtask of the OSPF protocol, and only one of which runs as root. See here for more information.
To ease review and help fix bugs, great effort is spent on keeping the code of the system consistent. For example, ospf6d shares code for passing messages between privilege-separated processes with other OpenBSD daemons, like ospfd and bgpd. Bugs found in the shared code will be fixed in all daemons.
DW: OpenBSD is able to run binaries from other systems (such as FreeBSD, Linux and Solaris). Each of those is a constantly evolving platform, is it hard to keep up?
SS: Linux binary emulation only works on OpenBSD/i386 at the moment. I don't find much need for it to be honest. The only reason I'd use binary emulation is to run proprietary software, but I don't usually use proprietary software. A vast amount of free and open-source software has been ported to OpenBSD and runs very well on it. On the rare occasion that I have to run proprietary software, I just use Linux. It is much easier to run proprietary software on Linux than it is to run it on OpenBSD. This, combined with the fact that no proprietary drivers are used in OpenBSD, makes OpenBSD a very good platform for free and open source software enthusiasts. And no, I don't miss Flash and NVIDIA drivers. I don't want them.
DW: OpenBSD has a fairly rapid release cycle, putting out a new version about once every six months. Yet the operating system has a reputation for being stable. How do the developers keep pace with technology and maintain a stable and secure system?
DW: Once 4.7 has hit the download mirrors, what comes next? Does the OpenBSD team have any specific goals for 4.8?
SS: I cannot speak for the entire team. I hope to get some degree of UTF-8 support into 4.8, but this depends on whether I manage to keep my work up to the standards set by the other developers. And of course I also hope to further improve ospf6d.
DW: Stefan, thank you for taking the time to talk about OpenBSD and best of luck in your work.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Ladislav Bodnar) |
Mandriva CEO on company situation, BLAG gets revived with new alpha, Pioneer Linux closes shop, APT and RPM package management
 Arnaud Laprévote, the newly appointed CEO of Mandriva S.A., has reacted to the recent rumours about a possible sale of the company. Apparently, the media got it all wrong - Mandriva isn't seeking a buyer; instead it's the other companies which are looking to acquire some of the assets belonging to the French distribution maker: "We are beginning to harvest the results of this development work with hundreds of thousands of PCs using the Mandriva operating system sold in South America, Asia and rapid sales of Pulse2 and MES5 in Europe. So it is unsurprising that Mandriva has once again attracted the interest of industry decision-makers." The Mandriva CEO has carefully side-stepped the issue of the situation financière tendue as reported on the Boursorama forum and which gave rise to the media speculation about the company's health. The good news is that the development of Mandriva Linux 2010.1 continues normally and that the release candidate for the new stable version, although delayed by a few days, should arrive later this week. The final release is still scheduled for arrival on June 3rd.
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 BLAG Linux And GNU, a Fedora-based, 100% "libre" distribution, hasn't seen a new release in nearly two years and has been labelled as "dormant" by DistroWatch for some time. Will it ever awake? There is hope. A reader emailed us last week saying that efforts are being made to prepare for a new release, with a first alpha build announced just a few days later: "Our first alpha for BLAG 119k has been released. Based on Fedora 12, it represents what our next release, 120k, will include. This release is a culmination of discussions revolving around reviving BLAG. Conversations within our community by veteran 'BLAGgers', long-time supporters, new contributors and users who have stood beside the values and principles of the distribution for a long time. BLAG is 100% free software and this release includes updated packages familiar to most users to get up and running with a stable desktop all on one CD. BLAG 119k by default is a live CD. It includes Alexandre Olivia's Freed-ora linux-libre kernels. GNOME, LXDE and Openbox are now available for choices of desktop environments." Quick download links for those interested in testing the new release (MD5): BLAG-119999-Live-i686.iso (676MB), BLAG-119999-Live-x86-64.iso (683MB).
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 While some distributions get revived, others disappear into the annals of history. Diane Ursini, the CEO of a company called Technology Alignment which used to produce Pioneer Linux, has now called it a day: "Pioneer Linux is pretty much at the wayside since two years ago now and we've just stopped development." But the blog post is a very interesting read; it touches on some of the highlights of the project and gives some advice to people who still hesitate about switching to Linux: "I just installed Ubuntu 10.04 on most of our systems. We replaced all of the Pioneer Linux systems with it and I'll tell you what, this is the operating system the masses need and should be using. It's good for three years and five years on a server. It's real easy to use, it installs everything really easily. It's what the masses really want, or do they? It's scary to lose what you're accustomed to. I'd be really worried going to Windows 7 since I can't stand using Windows. I remember marketing and selling Linux to computer stores way back when and the comment we always got back was they wouldn't sell or market it because people would stop coming in to get their Windows serviced. My stars, I suppose people need to make money and off the sweat of others, but again my stars."
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 Finally, something rather technical, but also a great resource for those preparing for their Linux Professional Institute certification exams. IBM developerWorks has published a comprehensive article on Debian package management: "Learn how to install, upgrade, and manage packages on your Linux system. This article focuses on the Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, which is the package management system used by Debian and distributions derived from Debian, such as Ubuntu. You can use the material in this article to study for the LPI 101 exam for Linux system administrator certification, or just to explore the best ways to add new software and keep your system current. Learn to: install, reinstall, upgrade, and remove Debian binary packages; find packages containing specific files or libraries, even if the package is not installed; obtain package information like version, content, dependencies, package integrity, and installation status, even if the package is not installed. This article helps you prepare for Objective 102.4 in Topic 102 of the Linux Professional Institute's Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) exam 101. The objective has a weight of 3." A separate article covers RPM and YUM package management.
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Linux adoption
Climbing-the-wall asks: What's the biggest barrier to Linux adoption?
DistroWatch answers: I suppose the obvious, and not very helpful, answer is that Linux is held back from adoption by its lack of adoption. It's a circular problem. Linux needs more commercial applications, but commercial vendors won't port their software to Linux until it gains more market share. The Linux community needs more drivers from hardware vendors, but those hardware companies won't spend the money to make Linux drivers without a bigger market. The Linux community would benefit from more computers being sold with a Linux OS pre-installed, but that's not going to happen until more consumers request it. All these things which would greatly encourage people to cross over to the Penguin side require that Linux have more users. Preferably users willing to spend money to support their choice. It's getting better. Linux has made a lot of progress in the past ten years. Even in the last five years. But it still has a long road ahead of it.
From my personal experience, there are two things which keep coming up as preventing people from using Linux. The first is that their current operating system is good enough. It runs what they want, it works in a manner they're used to and they've already paid for it. There really isn't any need for them to switch. Sometimes I get these folks to try Linux and they use it and agree that, yes, it works great, but they already have a working operating system. Why switch? They're not interested in free software, they're interested in their computer continuing to work the way it has.
The other big barrier is applications. For average home users, Linux has most of the programs a person will want. It does e-mail and web browsing, rips and burns CDs, word processing and spreadsheets. But for gamers and office work, it's a completely different story. Linux has games, it has great games, but it doesn't have the big-name games. And, more to the point, it doesn't have exclusive big-name games, which might draw gamers over to the penguin. And a lot of software designed for the corporate office just doesn't work on Linux, or Linux with WINE.
Two years ago, I took about seventy-five applications which were used in the office where I worked and tried to install them on various modern Linux distributions with WINE. I also tried to find Linux alternatives which would fit the same role as the Windows apps used in the office. Less than a dozen of the seventy-five applications either worked properly in WINE or had comparable open source alternatives. Obviously, I couldn't go to the IT manager of that company and suggest a switch which would cause 85% of the company's software to stop working. Sometimes I see the same problem with users who work from home. They like how stable and fast Linux is, but it won't run That One Application they need for work.
Perhaps a more important question would be: How do I support Linux and help the community to grow? There are a lot of options there. For example, make it a point to buy hardware that is Linux compatible wherever possible. When buying new computers, make a point of asking the vendor if they sell Linux machines or computers without any OS pre-installed. If they don't, tell them you'll buy from another supplier for that reason. When I see a game I like, I'll write to the developers and ask if they sell a Linux port. On-line retailers or government organizations whose web sites don't support Firefox/Linux should get e-mails asking them to expand their support. When friends or family are looking to fix, upgrade or replace their computers, I'll ask them to try Linux to see if it fits their needs.
Those are all things aimed at people outside of the Linux community, but things can be improved within the "Linuxsphere" too. It's important to take the time to report bugs, to write documentation, to donate funds to projects that produce useful software and to submit feature requests. In short, if you wish to see Linux expand its user base, it's important to be engaged, both inside the community and outside.
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| Released Last Week |
PCLinuxOS 2010 "Openbox"
The lightweight and fast "Openbox" edition of PCLinuxOS 2010 completes the release line-up of the distribution's 2010 series: "PCLinuxOS 2010 Openbox edition provides a fully-featured desktop, showcasing the small, fast, and fully compliant Openbox window manager. Internet applications include Firefox web browser, Sylpheed email client, Pino twitter client and Pidgin for instant messaging. Office applications include AbiWord word processor, Gnumeric spreadsheet and Mozilla Sunbird calendar. Graphic applications include GIMP, GQview, and MTPaint. Features: Linux kernel 2.6.32.11-bfs for maximum desktop performance; Openbox desktop with Tint2 panel; NVIDIA and ATI fglrx driver support; multimedia playback support for many popular formats; wireless support for many network devices...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details.
eBox Platform 1.4-2
José Antonio Calvo has announced the release of eBox Platform 1.4-2, an Ubuntu-based server distribution for small and medium-size businesses: "We've done a lot of bug-fixing and small improvements since the last 1.4-1 release. All those enhancements have now been included in a new installer. Here is a summary of the most relevant changes: DNS - added support for internal networks allowed to recourse the caching server; Ebackup - improvements on frequency and keep options, added backup and restore of logs, added restore configuration from backup action; Egroupware - now works properly in a master-slave scenario; firewall - new firewall table containing rules added by eBox services; network - failover test are more robust now; Samba - allow guest shares; Squid - new bandwidth throttling support with delay pools...." See the release announcement for a complete list of improvements.
CentOS 5.5
Karanbir Singh has announced the release of CentOS 5.5, a distribution created by compiling the source packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5: "We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of CentOS 5.5 for i386 and x86_64 architectures. CentOS 5.5 is based on the upstream release 5.5 and includes packages from all variants including Server and Client. All upstream repositories have been combined into one, to make it easier for end users to work with. Live CDs for CentOS 5.5 on i386 and x86_64 are being released at the same time as the main distro. The live CDs are meant to be used to run a CentOS 5.5 environment or to start a network-based install. The live CDs are set up to allow running from either optical media like CDs and DVDs or from USB keys and other portable media." Read the release announcement and release notes for additional details.
Toorox 05.2010
Joern Lindau has announced the release of Toorox 05.2010, a Gentoo-based live DVD featuring the latest KDE 4 desktop and a graphical system installer: "Toorox 05.2010. A new version has been finished; it contains the Linux kernel 2.6.33. The KDE desktop environment has been updated to the recent version 4.4.3. All KDE 3 applications and dependencies have been removed. KlamAV has been replaced by ClamTk and K3b has been updated to the latest Qt 4 RC version. Guarddog and kdetv have been removed. Also umtsmon has been removed, but now the complete network configuration and Internet connection is handled by NetworkManager and you can establish a mobile connection via nm-applet. Nearly all packages have been updated to the latest version. The binary ATI driver (fglrx) still doesn't support the latest X.Org Server 1.8 so this release contains version 1.7.6." Here is the complete release announcement.
Puppy Linux 5.0
Larry Short has announced the release of Puppy Linux 5.0: "Puppy Linux 5.0, code name 'Lupu' and also referred to as 'Lucid Puppy' as it is built from Ubuntu 10.04 'Lucid Lynx' binary packages, is now available. It is a typical Puppy, lean and fast, friendly and fun, with some new features. Puppy 5.0 features Quickpet, with some of the best Linux productivity and entertainment programs, configured and tested, available with one-click. It also introduces choice in browsers - pick one or all and choose the default. Lupu boots directly to the desktop and has tools easily at hand to personalize Puppy, if they are needed. Language and locale are easy to set. Barry Kauler's Simple Network Setup is another of those easy configuration tools. Updating to keep up with bug fixes is another one-click wonder." For a detailed description of the new release please see the release announcement and release notes.
Puppy Linux 5.0 comes with updated packages and artwork.
(full image size: 448kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
Quirky 1.1
Barry Kauler has announced the release of Quirky 1.1, a bug-fix update to the recently released version 1.0: "I am pleased to announce the released of Quirky 1.1. Briefly, the main focus was to fix bugs in 1.0, but I also upgraded many applications. Most importantly, SeaMonkey has migrated from the 1.x series, after we solved some bugs with the 2.x series. JWM is now the default window manager and tray, as it is noticeably faster (and looks nicer) than Openbox/Fbpanel. Two show-stoppers were Ayttm and You2pup which did not work, both fixed. Release notes: The 'xfontsel' utility was missing although had a menu entry; upgrading (and rollbacks) of the X.Org drivers; Partview utility (to view free space in partitions) fixed for more than 11 partitions; Ayttm chat client did not work, upgraded and fixed...." See the release announcement and release notes for a full list of changes and bug fixes.
Element 1.2
Katie McCarley has announced the release of Element 1.2, an Ubuntu-based distribution for home theatre or media-centre personal computers: "The Element team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Element version 1.2. This version includes general package upgrades and upstream bug fixes to the application stack in addition to introducing three new utilities: E-Bar Editor - a minimal and to-the-point configuration editor for the central launcher bar; NVIDIA HDMI Audio Switch - a simple on/off switch that channels audio through the HDMI port on ION and 8X00 series cards; Update Manager - a fork of the standard Update Manager from Ubuntu and GNOME, packaged and configured for use on Element with distribution upgrade options omitted. Other important features and requests include the addition of Thunar file sharing plugins, easier Bluetooth setup, removal of Compiz window effects, and an optimized package list." Here is the full release announcement.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Fedora 13 delay
 The release of Fedora 13 has been delayed by a week. Paul W. Frields explains the reasons in this post published on the project's announce mailing list: "The Fedora 13 final readiness meeting, also known as the 'go/no-go' meeting, was held this evening. As the meeting notes indicate, there are bugs remaining on the blocker list. According to the release criteria, the decision was made to slip the release of Fedora 13 by one week, to Tuesday 2010-05-25. During composition of any further release candidates, the Fedora Release Engineering and Quality Assurance teams plan to be conservative in accepting fixes for the release, and will limit these to blocker items and critical fixes. The Fedora 13 release schedule has been updated to reflect the new release date. We regret any inconvenience to the community."
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
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New distributions added to database
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New distributions added to waiting list
- OwnOS CreativeSuite. OwnOS CreativeSuite is a multimedia-oriented distribution and live DVD based on Ubuntu. The project's web sit is in German.
- Xin. Xin is a Linux live CD offering the following features: remote media player / media center supporting multi-file playback, playlists and drag-and-drop URLs; remote desktop display; media player or desktop controllable from multiple clients; multiple Xin media players or displays controllable from a single PC; all controllable and configurable from Windows, be it Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.
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DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 24 May 2010.
Jesse Smith and Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
| • Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
| • Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
| • Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
| • Issue 1040 (2023-10-09): CROWZ 5.0, changing the location of default directories, Linux Mint updates its Edge edition, Murena crowdfunding new privacy phone, Debian publishes new install media |
| • Issue 1039 (2023-10-02): Zenwalk Current, finding the duration of media files, Peppermint OS tries out new edition, COSMIC gains new features, Canonical reports on security incident in Snap store |
| • Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years |
| • Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
Neat-GNU/Linux
Neat-GNU/Linux was going to be like any other GNU/Linux distribution with a couple of differences, the most notable was the installation procedure, but also by keeping the number of packages at a minimum, hence the name; Neat. The installation was not done by copying precompiled packages but by actually compiling packages from source and then install them to the system. By making the list of software as small as possible we hope to create a system that was easy to maintain, that requires little space on the hard drive(s) but at the same time was fully functional. We will also try to include configuration scripts for some administrative tasks, like setting up the network, to make it easier to administrate. Update: As of December 2002, the Neat GNU/Linux distribution was no longer available.
Status: Discontinued
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| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
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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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