 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 376, 18 October 2010 |
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Welcome to this year's 42nd issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Every Ubuntu release is followed with great attention in the media, often accompanied by reviews, first look stories and other impressions. DistroWatch is no exception; this week's feature story, written by Susan Linton, presents Kubuntu 10.10, a distribution that always features the latest version of the popular KDE desktop. Does it deliver on the promise to be a one-stop distro for KDE fans? Read on to find out. In the news section, Ubuntu developer Dave Walker looks back at the development cycle leading to the "Maverick Meerkat" release, the MeeGo project objects to openSUSE's new netbook release called Smeegol, and Arch Linux delivers an updated 2nd edition of their excellent handbook - in both electronic and hard-copy forms. Also in this issue, an interview with Elizabeth Naramore, a newly-appointed community development manager at SourceForge, and Fusion Linux, a new addition to the DistroWatch database, whose developers try to provide a more user-friendly Fedora variant for beginning Linux users. Happy reading!
Content:
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| Feature Story (by Susan Linton) |
First look at Kubuntu 10.10
 Lot of people were looking forward to October 10, 2010 for quite some time. Many since April! This date, of course, was the release of the Ubuntu 10.10 family of Linux operating systems. While Ubuntu has been getting most of the press, some folks require or prefer KDE. For those, Kubuntu might fill the bill.
Kubuntu 10.10 arrived with Linux 2.6.35, X.Org Server 1.9.0, GCC 4.4.5, and KDE 4.5.1. Many of the new features and improvements from Ubuntu have made it into Kubuntu as well. One of these is the revamped installer, which one can run before fully booting the live CD or from within the desktop environment. It seems more streamlined and faster. Perhaps some of that is because a portion of the process is conducted while files are being copied to your hard drive in the background. Additionally, your time zone and keyboard are auto-detected (possibly from hwclock) but require your confirmation. Perhaps the best new feature of the installer is the offer to install third-party typically closed-sourced code such as Flash or MP3 codecs. The hard drive boot seems a bit peppier, but the GRUB screen could use lots of attention.
Kubuntu 10.10 - the default desktop on the live CD
(full image size: 468kB, resolution 1024x768 pixels)
Any hopes for some customization of the GUI like Ubuntu faded rather quickly. In fact, it's practically default KDE - at least in appearance. For NVIDIA users, the KDE 4.5.x desktop might present further issues if the proprietary NVIDIA graphic drivers are used. KDE 4.5.x has known issues with NVIDIA drivers especially when using Oxygen decorative components. The live CD used the Nouveau drivers by default and displayed no negative issues. In addition, Nouveau allowed the configuration of resolution and even of dual displays through the KDE System Settings. On top of that, (K)Ubuntu is having issues with NVIDIA as well this release, but these are fixed with manually editing the xorg.conf file. However, even after fixing any graphics issues, KDE 4.5.x and X.Org on Kubuntu exhibit performance degradation that can be alleviated somewhat by restarting KDE/X every few days.
The major disappointment with KDE and Kubuntu was not being able to use Akregator with my admittedly long RSS feed list. Akregator did function very well with the few feeds found in the default Kubuntu install, but trying to import my list (exported from another Linux/KDE install) always resulted in crashing and escaping of the import process. Trying to copy the Akregator directory from another system didn't work either (which usually works in other distros). Exporting and importing my feed list is a standard procedure after a fresh install and this result was a bit surprising. Akregator is known to crash from time to time in every distro since KDE 4 became the standard, but I can usually count on importing my feeds and using it - even if putting up with periodic crashes. As a result, I employed and quickly adapted to Liferea, with all its pluses and minuses.
Those were really the only issues I had worth mentioning with Kubuntu 10.10. Minor annoyances include HTML default of KMail, the OSD notification (or new Message indicators) of every email message arrival, and no additional backgrounds, themes, icons, and stuff. While the graphics might present a major obstacle to some, none of these issues were a deal breaker for me. However, they do prevent me from saying Kubuntu is the best KDE distro I've ever tried. Conversely, they don't make me say Kubuntu 10.10 is the worst either. This is precisely the position I didn't really want to find myself. It makes for such boring reviews.
Some other updated features include KPackageKit. Ubuntu developers have been spending a lot of effort trying to update the Ubuntu Software Center and the new KPackageKit resembles their efforts a bit. When opened, the user is presented with icons and categories to explore such as Office or Themes and Tweaks. When the category icon is click, a list of available software is presented. Contrary to conventional experience, available software titles are listed in light italic font while applications already installed are normal font. Selecting applications to install is a bit awkward at first as well. A moving arrow indicates the application that is in focus and clicking upon this arrow sets the application for install. The background seems to change behind the arrow as a visual clue, but all in all it just feels a bit awkward. It does seem to function well though.
Kubuntu 10.10 - managing software with KPackageKit
(full image size: 355kB, resolution 1058x680 pixels)
Included software is primarily for the KDE desktop. You'll find applications like KMail, Dragon Player, Kopete, Gwenview, and OpenOffice.org. Fortunately, Kubuntu software repositories seem fairly well stocked. Which is good because you'll have to break out KPackageKit and install the GIMP yourself.
Rekonq is the new default web browser for Kubuntu. It features a simplified interface and is built on the much touted Qt WebKit. It also includes a Favorites screen of your favorite web sites much like Opera's Speed Dial or Firefox's Panorama. It also has a lot of modern amenities such as Java and Java script support, built-in ad block, cache and offline caching. Rekonq is YouTube ready (if you chose to include third-party software during the install). I'm a Konqueror user usually, but Rekonq is fairly slick too. Firefox can be installed with the included installer scripts with little more than a mouse-click.
PulseAudio as the default sound server for Kubuntu. There have been lot of complaints about PulseAudio since its introduction, but the only issue I experienced was a lack of volume control with an added TV application. In this one case, I had to use Alsamixer to control it. Everything else would show up in the mixer when executed. This is to allow individual application control rather than having them all lumped into one.
Another handy feature in Kubuntu is the offer to install codecs the first time the user tries to enjoy certain video or audio files (if needed). While some distros include them by default and some others leave it entirely up to the user, Kubuntu has found the happy medium by offering to easily install them. That way purists can decline if they so choose.
Finally, a word about the new Ubuntu font that Kubuntu included. Marvelous. The new font that has been in the works this development cycle turned out really well. It just looks great.
In conclusion, Kubuntu 10.10 might not bowl you over, but it seems to function fairly well if you're a bit forgiving. I would have liked to have seen a prettier desktop and I'd really like someone to look into the NVIDIA and Akregator issues, but overall it wasn't an unpleasant experience. This is the first time I've used Kubuntu for any real length of time, and at the end of my excursion, I am moving on (but I'm taking that font with me). Kubuntu won't be leaving my desktop with a lot of bad memories, it just didn't win me over. Like I said before, it wasn't the best desktop I've ever used, nor was it the worst. It's just stuck right there in the middle of the road. And sometimes, that's good enough.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Ladislav Bodnar) |
Looking back at Ubuntu "Maverick" release cycle, Smeegol versus Meego, Arch Linux Handbook and security guide
 Ubuntu 10.10 arrived eight days ago so last week was the time of first impressions. In between the usual horror stories of failed upgrades and complete amazement at an excellent release, the general perception of the distribution hasn't changed much over the last few years. It still rules the Linux desktop, but it hasn't succeeded in converting the masses. Nevertheless, sometimes small, incremental success stories are more important in the long term than dramatic landslide victories. So what makes "Maverick Meerkat" better than its predecessor? Ubuntu developer Dave Walker takes us through the major milestones of the development process in an article entitled "Ubuntu 10.10 - the release cycle in review": "As is increasingly common, with better quality assurance (QA) / testing than ever before – and wider adoption of the milestone and daily snapshots pre-releases – we are able to identify more bugs, earlier. It used to be the case that many of the rare or edge bugs were only discovered post-release, and were then either fixed as an SRU (Stable Release Update) or if minor, left until the next release to implement the fix. This generally means that with each subsequent release there is increased stability."
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 In last week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly we mentioned the release of Smeegol, an official openSUSE distribution combining the openSUSE base with the MeeGo user interface, to create a powerful and usable distribution for deployments on netbooks. Unfortunately, the MeeGo project wasn't impressed by a name that might be infringing on the project's trademark and has asked openSUSE to rename the release. Linux Weekly News reports in "Smeegol encounters a ring of power": "Smeegol is an implementation of the MeeGo user experience on top of an openSUSE base; the 1.0 release was announced on October 6. On the 14th, the project was told that it cannot use the 'Smeegol' name: 'It is not in the benefit of MeeGo project to use 'Smeegol'. We therefore can not approve such usage of MeeGo mark in 'Smeegol'. We understand that you've already announced it and we will be happy to work with you to come up with a different name (for the good of the MeeGo project).' Some Smeegol developers are not pleased by this development and have announced their intent to 'push back'; meanwhile, openSUSE community manager Jos Poortvliet has proposed renaming the distribution to 'DarkRider'. What the final resolution will be is unclear."
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  Arch Linux has experienced a tremendous growth in popularity over the last few years. But with the fairly technical nature of the distro, together with the developers' insistence that their users do RTFM, good documentation has become a must. Now it its second edition, the Arch Linux Handbook is a superb way to find your way around this excellent and powerful operating system. Dusty Phillips, the books editor, writes on his blog: "Over a year ago, I released the Arch Linux Handbook, a print copy of the Arch Linux Beginners' Guide. It proved to be far more popular than I expected, with nearly 400 copies in print. Of course, the Beginner's guide is a community edited document for a rolling release Linux distribution, and after a year, the Arch Linux Handbook became somewhat dated. So I've created a second edition. It is currently available directly from the eStore and will be available on Amazon within a couple weeks. The International Amazon sites, other booksellers, and brick and mortar stores should have the book available for order after about six weeks."
Speaking of great Arch Linux documentation, here is another excellent guide, written by Rene Rasmussen. It's called Securing Arch Linux and while it is written specifically for one popular distro, many of the concepts discussed in the article can easily be applied to other distributions: "The first question you have to ask yourself is: How paranoid are you? It is possible to tighten the security so much as to make your system unusable. The trick is to secure it without overdoing it. ... The first step actually already starts before you install the system. You should take a minute to consider your partition layout. There are many other things that can be done to heighten the security, but the biggest threat is, and will always be, the user himself. When you think security, you have to think layers. When one layer is breached, another should stop the attack. But you can never make the system 100% secure unless you unplug the machine from all networks, lock it in a safe and never use it! Be a little paranoid. It helps. And be suspicious. If anything sounds too good to be true, it probably is!"
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Interview with Elizabeth Naramore, Community Development Manager at SourceForge
Last month the open source hosting web site SourceForge announced they had appointed Elizabeth Naramore as their Community Development Manager. We got in contact with Ms Naramore and she brought us up to speed on who she is, what she does and what's happening behind the scenes at SourceForge.
DW: Could you start off by giving us a little background on yourself. Where you're from and how you got involved with SourceForge?
EN: I started as a PHP developer back in 2002 and this was my introduction to the open source world. Over the years, besides coding, I have been an author, speaker, and an active PHP community member, through organizing local and national PHP events and through our local user group (OINK-PUG). I am also President and co-founder of PHPWomen.org, a non-profit organization designed to bring women out of the woodwork and give them a place to connect with each other and the PHP community at large. I am a huge advocate of open source, and I also help evangelize projects like Spaz and Habari. I have always had a huge amount of respect for SourceForge and so when the pieces fell into place for me to work here, I was thrilled.
DW: What does a Community Development Manager do exactly?
EN: My job here is two-fold; first, I interact with our project leaders to make sure we're doing what we can to keep them successful and help them grow. Secondly, I help SourceForge help the broader open source community by interacting through outlets like Twitter and the blog. We want to help spread the word about community driven projects and events, and we want to help anyone running an open source project by giving them helpful information. Basically, we want to do what we can to help keep open source vibrant and growing.
DW: SourceForge has been going through a lot of changes in the past few years. There was the data centre move, the new look, new file release interface. What new things will we see next?
EN: Our engineering team has been hard at work on the new beta version of SourceForge.net. We've listened to our users and have implemented many changes, which they have been rolling out incrementally. Recent changes include changing to a permission-based file system, reworking the algorithm of our search engine, improving the stats for our projects, and as you mentioned, numerous UI improvements. We're also improving version control support, including Git, Hg, and SVN. You will soon see a streamlined version of the SourceForge.net beta, with even more improvements in UI and performance.
DW: Earlier there was some concern (and hurt feelings) over SourceForge blocking access to developers and users in countries due to USA law. Could you tell us how SourceForge is trying to balance staying open to the community with legal restrictions?
EN: Of course, this was an unfortunate situation for everybody. We are all bound by the laws of the country where we reside. Thankfully, we were able to come up with a compromise that still allows us to abide by US laws, but also satisfies the needs of our users. We now give each project the ability to decide if their projects are subject to export restrictions based on where they are. This export control has proven to be an acceptable method of keeping everybody happy.
DW: There are some other big names in the open source project hosting field, Google Code being a good example. What does SourceForge offer that other hosts don't? Is there anything the other hosts have you'd like to adopt?
EN: I'm personally a huge fan of the other open source repositories, and anything that helps open source gets bonus points in my book. I also think project leaders don't realize they can capitalize on the strengths of the different sites to fill their needs. For instance, it's possible to use Github and SourceForge.net together; if you wanted to use Github for collaborative development, and SourceForge to host downloads, that's entirely possible. SourceForge has a lot of great perks, such as the searchable directory, the extensive mirror network, and the fact that you aren't limited to one version control system. We are also going to start rolling out efforts to help promote our projects. That being said, I strongly feel that at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference -- using whatever tool fits the job.
DW: What do you think is the biggest barrier to getting end-users to adopt open source solutions?
EN: I think there are two main barriers, actually. The first is just getting the word out to the average consumer. I think that people are finally starting to embrace products like OpenOffice.org and VLC, but we still have a long way to go in promoting open source in general. I think if people knew just how many cool pieces of software were out there, that were free and readily available for them to use, we would see a huge growth spurt. Secondly, I think a lot of open source projects struggle with UI and documentation. Despite the fact that the software is free, if a non tech-savvy person is looking at a piece of software that doesn't look polished and professional, or if they have no documentation but a Wiki to go by, they are much less likely to use it.
DW: How does SourceForge decide which projects to approve or which to deny? Are there restrictions in size, licenses, legal concerns, do any developers get told "we don't need 1001 text editors"?
EN: We no longer "approve" projects per se; all projects are automatically approved, and then we remove any spam projects after the fact. Anyone is free to upload a project at any time, and in any category.
DW: Is there a project that isn't in place yet you'd like to see created? A void you think should be filled in?
EN: I would love to see more tools for educators in there. We have a nice selection available already, but many times teachers are limited by budget constraints, and it would be great to give them even more options. Free software helps them be better teachers, which in turn, helps us all.
DW: Is there anything you'd like to add regarding SourceForge or open source?
EN: The only other thing I want to add is that I am completely open to ideas, suggestions, and general comments from anyone (regardless if you host a project on SourceForge.net or not) on ways we can improve, or how we can help the open source community in general. That is our ultimate goal, after all, to help promote open source, and keep it a viable industry.
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| Released Last Week |
Super OS 10.10
Miguel Costa has announced the release of Super OS 10.10, an Ubuntu-based distribution with pre-installed multimedia codecs, extra applications, and other user-friendly features: "Here is Super OS 10.10, 32-bits edition. Changes: based on Ubuntu 10.10; easy installation of NVIDIA, ATI and Broadcom drivers, even without an Internet connection; USB Creator - live USB creator right from the DVD menu (replacing cd2usb); Java re-added, replacing OpenJDK (only Java works with some banking websites); all software in the Super OS repository updated to their latest versions; additional Multimedia support: VLC, DVD playback, MP3 and support and for other formats, including QuickTime, Real video, Windows Media video, Flash, DivX, Xvid; Internet software - aMSN, Skype, Opera, Google Chrome and Firefox (all browsers include Flash); other software: Ubuntu Tweak and GParted...." See the release announcement and release notes for a full changelog and a few screenshots.
Parted Magic 5.6
Patrick Verner has announced the release of Parted Magic 5.6, a specialist live CD with a collection of utilities designed for disk partitioning, disk cloning and data rescue tasks, with support for a large number of common file systems: "Parted Magic 5.6 includes some new features as well as bug fixes. The Nouveau X.Org driver was added and can be activated from the Fail Safe Menu at the first boot screen. Systester was also added. A default root password (partedmagic) has been added to make using SSH easier. The following programs have been updated: Linux kernel 2.6.35.7, GParted 0.6.4, gDisk 0.6.11, hdparm 9.33, stress 1.0.4, UNetbootin 490, NTFS-3G 2010.10.2, BusyBox-1.17.3 and udev 163." Visit the project's home page to read the complete release announcement.
Sabayon Linux 5.4 "SpinBase", "CoreCDX"
Fabio Erculiani has announced the release of Sabayon Linux 5.4 "SpinBase" and "CoreCDX" editions: "Directly from our server department, two new Sabayon editions officially thrown to the crowd. They are called SpinBase and CoreCDX. SpinBase can be used as a base to make new Sabayon spins, or customized Sabayon ISO images. CoreCDX is built on top of the SpinBase module and features X.Org and Fluxbox, our favourite tiny geeky environment. Shipping with X.Org, also means shipping with our new Anaconda full-blown graphical installer. Features: bootable image suitable for a CD or USB thumb drive; basic default networking; based on new GCC 4.4 and glibc 2.11; completely customizable system after install; desktop-optimized Linux kernel 2.6.35...." Here is the full release announcement.
Ubuntu Privacy Remix 10.04r1
Andreas Heinlein has announced the release of Ubuntu Privacy Remix 10.04r1, an Ubuntu-based live DVD with a goal of providing a completely isolated working environment where private data can be dealt with safely and to protect data against unsolicited access: "After a long period of work and testing, the UPR team has released the final version of Ubuntu Privacy Remix 10.04. We have extended and improved the following features: TrueCrypt has been updated to version 6.3a; we have written our own front-end to GnuPG, which replaces Seahorse, with it you can use GPG features like key groups or restoring original file names; the scripts for extended TrueCrypt volumes have been improved and the backup feature during close can backup other open containers as well; new applications: VYM Mindmapper, GIMP, Xterm (for enabling the 'repair file system' feature of TrueCrypt); simple creation and use of LUKS-encrypted volumes." Read the full release announcement for further information.
Tiny Core Linux 3.2
Robert Shingledecker has released Tiny Core Linux 3.2, a minimalist distribution with a graphical user interface in just 10 MB: "Team Tiny Core is pleased to announce that Tiny Core Linux 3.2 is now available. Change log: updated BusyBox to 1.17.2 + patches; improved language translation support in Appsaudit, Wallpaper, and Swapfile; updated AppBrowser, all tabs now allow mouse 'select for copy'; updated System Stats, all tabs now allows mouse 'select for copy'; updated Appsaudit and Appbrowser to eliminate trailing null item in FLTK browser widget; updated tce-load which now handles case of missing dependency file; updated filetool.sh: -d for dry run option, comparerestore boot code, and improved encrypted backup; updated filetool GUI to support options of None, Backup and Safe; updated tc-config: moved 'protect' and 'secure' after extension loading to support alternate layout keyboards...." For further details please read the 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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| DistroWatch.com News |
New distributions added to database
- antiX. antiX is a fast, lightweight and easy-to-install linux live CD distribution based on MEPIS and Debian's testing branch for Intel/AMD x86-compatible systems. antiX offers users the "Magic of MEPIS" in an environment suitable for old computers. The goal of antiX is to provide a light, but fully functional and flexible free operating system for both newcomers and experienced users of Linux. It should run on most computers, ranging from 64 MB PII systems with a pre-configured 128 MB swap partition to the latest powerful boxes. 128 MB RAM is the recommended minimum for antiX while the installer needs a minimum of 1.2 GB hard disk space. antiX can also be used as a fast-booting rescue CD.
antiX 8.5 - a lightweight MEPIS-based distribution with IceWM
(full image size: 619kB, resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
- Fusion Linux. Fusion Linux is a Fedora remix that adds all the best software that is available for Linux (free, non-free and even some non-open source firmware and applications for better user experience). It is an installable live DVD image that includes multimedia functionality out of the box, with added desktop tweaks for better usability, and additional software. Fusion Linux is 100% compatible with Fedora, including packages from Fedora and RPM Fusion software repositories.
Fusion Linux 14 Beta 8.5 - a Fedora remix with many user-friendly touches.
(full image size: 1,356kB, resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
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New distributions added to waiting list
- Linux MintPPC. Linux MintPPC is a Linux distribution for 32-bits PowerPC computers which is based on Linux Mint "LXDE" edition, ported to Debian/PPC. The idea behind MintPPC is to have a fast, good-looking and lightweight desktop manager, which runs well on older G3 and G4 machines. MintPPC is directed at desktop users who want a very fast system without the need to install the software themselves. It is easy to use and it is complete.
- 3MX. 3MX is an alternative, Debian-based distribution designed for the 400 MHz MIPS netbooks.
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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, 25 October 2010.
Susan Linton, Ladislav Bodnar and Jesse Smith
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| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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Melawy Linux
Melawy Linux is an Arch-based desktop Linux distribution featuring a customised KDE Plasma as the preferred desktop. It uses the alternative XanMod Linux kernel designed for improved performance and responsiveness. Some of the distribution's features include the Calamares installer, a custom-designed rEFInd boot manager, a Plymouth boot screen, and the Simple Desktop Display Manager (SDDM) desktop login manager. Melawy Linux is available in "Base" and "Developer" editions.
Status: Active
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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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