 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 435, 12 December 2011 |
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Welcome to this year's 50th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Puppy Linux is a remarkably versatile distribution that keeps delivering great surprises. The project's latest version, 5.3, demonstrates this flexibility by turning to Slackware repositories for extra software packages. Is Puppy "Slacko" a major turning point in the distro's history or just a stop on a never-ending road that keeps reaching new, experimental avenues? Read our first-look review to find out what we think. In the news section, Fedora developers reveal a feature set for their upcoming "Beefy Miracle" release, openSUSE community launches a live CD featuring the good-old KDE 3 desktop, and Canonical hints at Ubuntu's possible stab at trying to conquer certain consumer devices. Also in this issue, a nostalgic look at the once-popular gOS distribution and its unceremonious end, a notice of end of life of a number of popular server operating systems, and an attempt to estimate the market share of various open-source desktops based on data collected by some distributions and online polls. Happy reading!
Content:
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Review: Puppy Linux 5.3 "Slacko"
 Puppy Linux is a fascinating little distribution which regularly thinks outside the box. The little Linux distro, which typically finds a home on low-end hardware, tries to strike a balance between being small and being complete, being efficient and being user-friendly. There are many different flavours of Puppy Linux and it's a flexible distribution, able to take on many roles, which has endeared it to a large community. This week I decided to take the latest version, Puppy Linux 5.3 "Slacko", for a test run.
Slacko is available as a 124 MB download and gets its name from being binary compatible with Slackware Linux 13.37. This edition of Puppy Linux is able to connect to Slackware package repositories, greatly increasing the pool of software available to users. Booting off the distro's live CD brings up a quick boot screen and then we're asked to select our screen resolution from a list. On my test machines reasonable settings were provided and helpful tips were shown, indicating which settings had the best support. We're then presented with a traditional desktop interface. Several icons are displayed on the screen and the background is mostly black with refracted light passing across the display. At the bottom of the screen we find an application menu, task switcher and system tray. Shortly after we login a window appears offering to let us customize the environment and change the screen resolution. In the background a dog barks, testing our audio settings. The icons on the desktop are labeled by task, rather than by program name. For instance, the SeaMonkey web browser is labeled "browser", the GNOME front-end for MPlayer is simply labeled "play". This should make it easy for people to find the applications they're looking for even if they don't have any previous experience with open source software.
Puppy Linux 5.3 "Slacko" - browsing the web and the application menu
(full image size: 199kB, screen resolution 1366x768 pixels)
Earlier I mentioned that Puppy Linux is quite flexible and there are several aspects to this. Some Puppy editions are compatible with Slackware, others with Ubuntu. Puppy Linux has the ability to run from a CD or USB drive and to save the user's settings to a single file. This makes Puppy a good, adaptable companion when travelling. Like most distributions Puppy Linux can also be installed to the local hard disk, which is what I eventually did with it.
Puppy's installer is an interesting breed. We're given the option of installing the distribution on a hard disk, USB stick, ZIP drive, memory card or CD. In my case I chose to install the distro to the hard disk and was handed over to the GParted disk manager to create the appropriate partitions. There's a good explanation of what is required and helpful suggestions are provided by the Puppy installer, so less experienced users should be able to fumble their way through. With the disk divided, we tell the installer where our source files are located. When the installer is finished we're advised that to install a bootloader we need to run another program and we're given directions on how to do that. Once GRUB is set up we can reboot and experience Puppy Linux running from the local drive.
One thing about Puppy which stands out is that while many programs may be primitive in appearance due to the small size of the distro, users are consistently given clear explanations as to what a given program does. We're often presented with a recommendation and, if appropriate, a warning. This gives us a clear path through touchy procedures (like the installer) without needing to fall back on external documentation. The first time we boot into the locally installed Puppy Linux we're asked to repeat the same steps of setting our video resolution and going through the customization steps. These screens don't come back during future boots, just the first time to make sure the system is set up the way we want it.
While running Puppy we find much of the software we're likely to want on a day-to-day basis on the desktop. We're given SeaMonkey for browsing the web and handling e-mail. The XChat IRC client is included along with two drawing programs, a text editor and the AbiWord word processor. There's a calculator, an archive manager, package managers (which we'll touch on in a moment), a multimedia player, personal organizer and a network settings wizard. In the application menu we find the same programs, but also an array of more technical tools. Most of these utilities are the same as what we'd find on larger distributions. For instance, the gFTP client is included, there's a CD ripper, disc burner, and sound recorder. There's a handy firewall configuration tool, the Transmission BitTorrent client, instant messenger and ad-blocker. There's a menu entry included which should download and install Flash, though it didn't work on my machines (I suspect the URL has been updated). We find accounting software and the Gnumeric spreadsheet program. There's an image viewer, PDF viewer, a document scanner, programs for partitioning the disk and utilities for monitoring processes. On top of all of these Slacko is compatible with Slackware Linux 13.37, which provides a reasonable range of additional software.
Puppy Linux 5.3 "Slacko" - getting more software packages
(full image size: 141kB, screen resolution 1366x768 pixels)
I found that Puppy Linux would play most common multimedia files out of the box. Flash isn't included and I couldn't get the downloader to work, but Flash could be installed by other means, such as from a Slackware repository. Due to its small size, Puppy Linux doesn't feature a compiler or Java and most Puppy users probably won't require these extras. In the background we find the Linux kernel, version 2.6.37.
There are two package mangers included with Puppy Linux. The first is called Slickpet which can be located on the desktop. This program isn't a full package manager in the normal sense, but more of a simple panel for installing popular software packages. These packages include common web browsers, the GIMP, Java, LibreOffice and a few others. Installing these pieces of software is as simple as clicking the icon next to the software's name. The other package manager, which is simply titled "Puppy Linux Package Manager", gives us a simple interface with a list of filters on the left side, software categories in the centre and a list of individual software packages from those categories down the right. At the bottom of the screen is a search box where we can try to locate packages by name.
Installing a package is usually as easy as clicking on it and confirming that we wish to download the software. Removing existing software is similarly simple. The package manager knows about other package repositories, such as Slackware's, and will assist us in adding those repositories. I ran into two issues while using the package manager. The first is that some mirrors do not contain all of the listed packages and the package manager doesn't automatically try the next mirror. This means that we may find ourselves clicking on a package, confirming the install request, selecting a mirror and receiving an error, which sends us back to clicking on a package, confirming the action, manually trying the next mirror, etc. Another concern is there doesn't appear to be any way to install all available updates, which means that maintaining an up-to-date Puppy Linux installation on a hard disk or on a USB stick poses a challenge.
One of Puppy's unusual characteristics is that the distribution, by default, automatically logs the user in with the root account. While this is convenient (we're never prompted for a password when logging in or performing administrative tasks) it means that an important layer of security is stripped from the distribution. Any compromised application has access not only to the user's files, but to the system as a whole and users should be aware of this.
Puppy Linux 5.3 "Slacko" - setting up a wireless network connection
(full image size: 203kB, screen resolution 1366x768 pixels)
Puppy Linux seems best suited for dealing with older computers and so I was expecting a bit of a rough ride when running the little distro on my laptop (dual-core 2 GHz CPU, 3 GB of RAM, Intel video card). But Puppy is full of surprises. During the boot process it properly detected my laptop's maximum screen resolution. At first when I arrived at the desktop it appeared that my wireless network connection wasn't running, but within a minute Puppy had brought up a window offering to help me configure a network connection. It took a few attempts, but Puppy was able to find my Intel wireless card and connect to a local network. More to the point, the steps to do so were well laid-out and the user is warned a few attempts may be required to get everything working properly, so Puppy wins full points here for hand-holding.
Sound worked out of the box and the only complaint I had was with my touchpad. By default Puppy Linux set my touchpad to respond very very slowly, so it could take the better part of a minute to get the mouse pointer from one side of the screen to another. Fortunately, bringing up the Settings panel, which has an icon on the desktop, allows the user to adjust all aspects of the mouse and keyboard. I was able to configure the mouse to respond the way I wanted it to and it was smooth sailing from there. Everything worked without any problems on my desktop machine (2.5 GHz CPU, 2 GB of RAM, NVIDIA video card). The desktop was set to a good resolution, audio worked and my network connection was picked up without any effort on my part. Puppy Linux is a remarkably fast distribution and surprisingly light on resources. Typically the system used around 50 MB of memory on my machines while sitting at the desktop, which left plenty of space for additional applications.
This is the third or fourth time I've tried Puppy Linux and my impression is one of gradual improvement. Slacko is remarkably quick to boot, very responsive, uses little memory and carries a surprising amount of functionality for such a small download. I particularly like the way in which Puppy's tools provide short, clear explanations as to what is happening and every effort is made to walk the user through important steps, such as installing the system, adding repositories and acquiring software. There were a few issues I'd like to see improved upon, for example automatically trying another mirror if a package isn't found in the selected package repository. I would also like to see an option added during the boot process which would give the user the choice of running in unprivileged mode as opposed to running as root. Always being the administrator has its advantages for convenience, but it means that the user is always one careless click away from deleting their files and one exploit away from a compromised operating system. As a live CD it's hard to beat Puppy Linux for both performance and functional software. It has minimal hardware requirements and is very flexible. It's a great distro as long as you don't push it too far out of its niche.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Ladislav Bodnar) |
Fedora 17 feature list, openSUSE 12.1 with KDE 3, Ubuntu on TV, remembering gOS, end of life for Red Hat 4 and Debian 5.0
 The influence of Fedora on other distribution has been considerable over the years; this is largely due to the fact that it's developed by the world's most powerful and profitable Linux company. As such, it's always interesting to follow the meetings to the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee. The latest one, attempting to mould a feature list of the upcoming Fedora 17 (code name "Beefy Miracle"), took place last week. Heise Open Source summarises the discussion in "Btrfs and new file system structure agreed for Fedora 17": "The members of the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee (FESCo), who decide on the technical development aspects of Fedora, have accepted a range of new features proposed by developers for version 17 of the Linux distribution. As things currently stand, the project plans to make another attempt to switch to using Btrfs as its default file system in this version, scheduled for release in May 2012. Such a move had been discussed for Fedora 16, but was later postponed because the file system didn't meet several criteria essential to allow the switch. For example, an improved tool is needed for checking and repairing Btrfs drives; such a tool continues to be a requirement, and its unavailability may cause Fedora to further postpone the switch. The list of accepted new features also includes the plan to store all applications and libraries in the /usr/ directory." For the current list of accepted features please see this page on Fedora Wiki.
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 Are you one of those Linux users who believe that the good-old KDE 3 was the best and most intuitive desktop environment ever created? After nearly four years since the (infamous) release of KDE 4.0.0, it's no surprise that almost all of the major distributions have long abandoned support for the classic desktop. But there is one exception. Thanks to community effort, openSUSE is one of the few major projects that still offer an installable live CD edition featuring KDE 3: "As KDE 3 is again part of the official openSUSE 12.1 repositories (thanks to all who made this happen), I took a chance to create an installable live CD. Besides a preconfigured KDE 3 desktop, it contains additional software like Mozilla Firefox, Thunderbird and LibreOffice. YaST2 is available for administrative tasks like system configuration or software management. The media does not contain all language packs due to size limitations, but they could be easily installed. In order to emphasize the feeling of good-old times, the artwork is based on openSUSE 10.1. The kde3-gtk-qt-engine is included to give a unique experience over GTK+ and Qt applications and KDE 4 applications make use of the Plastique widget style and Plastik colors." Quick download links: KDE3_desktop.i686-0.1.1.iso (674MB), KDE3_desktop.x86_64-0.1.1.iso (683MB).
openSUSE 12.1 with KDE 3
(full image size: 536kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
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 Ubuntu's quest for world domination has taken a new turn recently, with tablets and mobile phones often seen as the next frontier Canonical's flagship product wants to conquer. But there is more. As Alastair Otter reports in "Ubuntu everywhere" the television is another appliance which could soon be conquered by this ever-more ambitious Linux distribution: "If Mark Shuttleworth has his way we will soon be seeing Ubuntu devices everywhere -- from telephones to tablet PCs to desktops -- and perhaps even on our televisions. In a recent blog post, Ubuntu chief Shuttleworth listed some of the work being done towards creating Ubuntu TV. Although still in the early days of discussion with just a few mock-ups available, ambitions for Ubuntu TV are very much in line with Shuttleworth's apparent new focus on 'Ubuntu everywhere'. When Ubuntu was first released in 2004 the focus for the new distribution was the desktop. There was a server edition, but the real focus was the desktop. Then, a few years later there was a gradual shift towards cloud computing and hosted services. Then last year there was another shift; one that is only now becoming clear. Ubuntu introduced the new Unity interface in an apparent reaction to delays in GNOME 3. However, it now seems that Shuttleworth had other plans for Unity as the default interface that would position Ubuntu for a new world of mobile devices."
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 Here is a link to an interesting story that perfectly characterises the inherent dynamism of the free software axiom -- but also its underlying dangers. In "Whatever happened to... gOS?", Joey Sneddon investigates the fate of gOS, once a reasonably popular and well-received distribution with a unique integration of Google software and services which later simply disappeared from the Internet without as much as a good-bye note: "gOS has to be admired for being one of few Linux distributions to ship on hardware by default, as well as have said hardware sold on the shelves of Walmart. But where is gOS now? The short answer is 'defunct'. Swelled on by the initial success of gOS, David Liu, the distribution's founder, began work on a truly web orientated OS called 'Cloud OS'. A handful of devices running Cloud OS were shown off during Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2009. Despite promises of deals that would see the OS ship alongside Windows on various laptops, that was, pretty much, the last heard of both Cloud OS and gOS." gOS is just one of the 325 distribution labelled as discontinued in the DistroWatch database. Incidentally, it was earlier this year that the number of discontinued distributions surpassed the number of active ones, which currently stands at 314.
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 Finally, a quick note about the end of life of one of the distribution that greatly contributed to the success of Linux in the enterprise arena over the last decade - Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. Originally released in February 2005, the product will conclude its 7-year support cycle in just two months from now: "Red Hat recently released a reminder that the series 4 versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) will reach their regular end of life at the end of February 2012. Regular subscribers to this Linux distribution, which will then be seven years old, will no longer receive any updates after this time. The distributor has therefore advised users to switch to version families 5 or 6; the latter will be maintained by Red Hat until the end of November 2017. RHEL 4 will continue to be supported for a further three years within Red Hat's Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) scheme. The projects developing the free CentOS and Scientific Linux (SL) RHEL clones recently announced that the RHEL 4-based series 4 of their Linux distributions will also reach their end of life in three months. The CentOS project also pointed out that Red Hat doesn't publicly release the source code of ELS updates." On a related note, security support for Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 "Lenny" will also end in February 2012.
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| Statistics (by Jesse Smith) |
Estimating desktop environment share
Desktop numbers asks: Is it possible to create statistics concerning the desktop environment? All I could find concerning the desktop environments were opinions of individuals and I don't know how representative they are.
DistroWatch answers: It's quite difficult to get accurate numbers showing how many users are on each desktop. When measuring Linux distribution usage we can look at download figures, web logs showing browser identification and the number of connections to update servers and those will give us a rough idea of the number of users a distribution has. In a similar manner we can find usage information for web browsers, since they generally leave an identifying mark in the log files of web servers. But finding usage information for open-source desktop environments is more difficult. Part of the trouble is that the desktop environments usually don't interact directly with the outside world. Certain web browsers (such as Konqueror and Epiphany) usually indicate which environment is in use, but those browsers aren't tied to their environments, nor are they commonly used. To further complicate things, most open-source users don't download their desktops directly from the upstream projects and instead get their packages from distribution repositories.
Following this line of thought it probably seems reasonable to look at the statistics for the repositories and see which desktop packages are most popular. It's a nice idea, but most distributions don't publish such information. Debian GNU/Linux and Ubuntu keep and publish package popularity information from users who are willing to share it, but the idea hasn't really taken root elsewhere. Another approach is to look at online polls. Both the repository information and the polls are limiting as we only get a small sampling of people voluntarily sharing what we hope is correct information, but it seems to be all we have to study. With that in mind I took a look at the Debian and Ubuntu popularity statistics and took a poll from LinuxInsight to come up with some percentages on desktop environments. The following charts represent approximate desktop environment usage for Debian, Ubuntu and the LinuxInsight readership.
Estimated Debian desktop usage
Estimated Ubuntu desktop usage
Estimated desktop usage of LinuxInsight readership
The above charts for Ubuntu and Debian are admittedly very rough estimates and both Debian and Ubuntu ship with GNOME software by default, which inflates the GNOME usage numbers. Unfortunately I didn't have any numbers from KDE-, Xfce- or LXDE-centric distributions for comparison. I feel it's also important to note some users have multiple desktop environments installed, and others have at least enough applications which depend on libraries from other environments to make it look as though multiple desktops are installed. The short of the long of it is that these charts should be considered in much the same way as the DistroWatch page hit rankings: for entertainment purposes or, at best, a crude guess at the install base of each desktop environment.
That being said, there do appear to be some consistent elements. The GNOME 2 desktop appears to have the lion's share at the moment. In each chart KDE 4 puts in a good show with around 20% of the user base. I find it interesting that legacy versions and spin-offs of KDE and GNOME (KDE 3, Trinity & MATE) have such small shares they barely register on the charts. In each chart LXDE and Xfce have small, but notable shares, hanging on in the light environment niche.
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Going back to distribution popularity, last week we talked about the usage numbers behind Ubuntu and Mint. Before running the column I had contacted Mint's lead developer, Clem Lefebvre, to ask about his distributions' user base. Unfortunately he'd been busy then (Mint 12 was coming out around that time) and so I'd published the numbers and growth mentioned on the Mint blog. Clem got back to me this past week with a correction and some comments which I would like to share.
First, in regards to the 40% growth number, Clem had this to say: "The figure is correct but the interpretation is wrong. It wasn't a 40% increase in the user base. It was a 40% increase in our income over a period of a single month. Of course, this income is directly related to the size of the user base (donations, advertising), but the 40% was observed on our income figures." In response to my question about the size of Mint's user base, Clem replied, "It's extremely hard to estimate. Ubuntu announces 20 million people. I don't think they're actually able to measure the size of their user base, so this figure seems really unreliable to me. What we know for a fact is that our user base was three times smaller than theirs a year ago, and that we've been catching up with them extremely fast since. Are we to estimate between 10 and 15 million Linux Mint users? I don't see a point in doing so. We're focused and confident we'll outgrow Ubuntu eventually though in 2012."
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| Released Last Week |
Ultimate Edition 3.0
Glenn Cady has announced the release of Ultimate Edition 3.0, a Linux Mint-based distribution and live DVD featuring the GNOME 2 desktop, extra software packages, and various other enhancements: "Sorry for the great delay in release of Ultimate Edition 3.0. Ultimate Edition 3.0 is unlike any previous release. Ultimate Edition 3.0 was built from Linux Mint 11 'Katya', which in itself was built from Ubuntu 11.04 'Natty Narwhal'. I hope I did not lose anyone there. A slew of issues have been resolved. I have dubbed this release 'ULTAMINT'. It is a real piece of eye-candy and it has a comprehensive software package. I have included repositories from GetDeb, Ubuntu and Linux Mint. If there is something missing you just can't live without, just a few clicks of a mouse away. On behalf of the UE development team please enjoy Ultimate Edition 3.0. Here is the brief release announcement.
TurnKey Linux 11.3
Liraz Siri has announced the release of Turnkey Linux 11.3, an Ubuntu-based set of highly specialised virtual appliances which integrate open-source software into ready-to-use solutions: "We've just pushed out TurnKey Linux 11.3, the final maintenance release based on Ubuntu 10.04. The next release will be based on Ubuntu 12.04. We're already shifting into high gear for that. There will be surprises. Hopefully good ones! The new images we just pushed out from our CloudTask automation swarm include fixes for various bruises and scrapes, as well as the very latest security updates. If you've already installed a previous version of TurnKey 11, you don't need to download anything because by default TurnKey is configured to automatically install all of the security updates over the network. The maintenance release will mainly be of interest to new users and existing users doing new deployments." Read the release announcement and see the virtual appliances page for further details.
Ubuntu Privacy Remix 10.04r2
Andreas Heinlein has announced the release of UPR (Ubuntu Privacy Remix) 10.04r2, a new revision of the project's live CD whose goal is to protect the user's privacy and prevent data theft: "The UPR team has published the second stable release of Ubuntu Privacy Remix 10.04r2. UPR is a live system to protect from spying and data theft. Apart from the changes with UPR itself, we now offer a dual-boot ISO image for DVD or USB drive which includes the current version 0.9 of the TAILS live system, a live system focused on anonymous internet usage over the Tor network. This way, the user can choose to either work in an isolated, secure environment with UPR or use the Internet anonymously with TAILS, using the same media. Changes in UPR 10.04r2: based on Ubuntu 10.04.3; new program 'tellico', a small database; new program 'Grsync' for making backups; new program 'X-Tile' to arrange windows...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2
Red Hat has announced the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2, an updated version of the world's most widely deployed enterprise Linux distribution: "Today Red Hat announces the general availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2, which delivers to customers a second wave of feature enhancements and demonstrates the continued value that Red Hat delivers as part of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 life cycle. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2 delivers significant improvements in virtualization, resource management and high availability, and offers new features in storage and file system performance and identity management. The key benefits for organizations employing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2 are higher levels of efficiency realized through resource management and performance optimization." See the release announcement and the press release for an overview of the release and read the release notes for technical details.
CentOS 6.1
Karanbir Singh has announced the release of CentOS 6.1, a new version of the popular distribution built from source code for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1: "We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of CentOS 6.1 install media for i386 and x86_64 architectures. CentOS 6.1 is based on the upstream release EL 6.1 and includes packages from all variants. All upstream repositories have been combined into one, to make it easier for end users to work with. All machines running CentOS-Release-CR on 6.0 would already be running code that is included in the 6.1 install media. We highly recommend everyone use the CR repository in order to get all bug-fix and security updates as soon as possible." See the release announcement and read the detailed release notes for information about known issues and upgrade instructions.
KahelOS 111111
KahelOS 111111, a new version of the rolling-release desktop Linux distribution based on Arch Linux, has been released: "Announcing the release of KahelOS 111111 live CD with GUI installer, desktop edition. The fast, simple and rolling-release Linux desktop OS is also 100% free. What is new? The Mabuhay welcome center introduces you to what is in store when one installs and uses KahelOS; hassle-free automatic installation; pre-installed Apache web server, MySQL database, PhpMyAdmin and Bluefish as your editor. These are some packages that you'll enjoy when using KahelOS: Linux kernel 3.1.2, GNOME 3.2.1, Chromium 15.0.874.121, Firefox 8.0.1, LibreOffice 3.4.4, X.Org Server 1.11.2, GIMP 2.6.11, GnuCash 2.4.8, TweetDeck 0.37.5, Miro 4.0.3, Thunderbird 8.0, Bluefish 2.2.0. And finally, we are also introducing the new KahelOS mascot, MULAT." Read the full release announcement for additional information.
KahelOS 111111 - an Arch-based rolling-release desktop distribution
(full image size: 746kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
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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 waiting list
- Petite Linux. Petite Linux is an openSUSE-based distribution featuring the Enlightenment 17 desktop.
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DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 19 December 2011.
Jesse Smith and Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Ussye 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 |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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Zorin OS
Zorin OS is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution designed especially for newcomers to Linux. It has a Windows-like graphical user interface and many programs similar to those found in Windows. Zorin OS also comes with an application that lets users run many Windows programs. The distribution's ultimate goal is to provide a Linux alternative to Windows and let Windows users enjoy all the features of Linux without complications.
Status: Active
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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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