 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 442, 6 February 2012 |
Welcome to this year's 6th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Dreamlinux may be one of the more overlooked distributions on the market, but the attractive design of its default Xfce desktop has been appreciated by many loyal users over the years. But how does the recently released version 5 stack up against other popular desktop choices available today? Jesse Smith investigates what is perhaps Brazil's prettiest Linux distro in a first-look review. In the news section, Red Hat extends official support of its enterprise Linux products from seven to ten years, PCLinuxOS founder hands over development of the distribution while taking a leave of absence, and Linux Mint continues to promote Cinnamon as a GNOME Shell alternative for change-averse users. Also in this issue, a fresh perspective on Cannonical's claim over the Ubuntu user base and a plethora of new distribution options, including an OpenIndiana-based Illumian with a Debian touch and a CentOS remix with a desktop focus. Finally, we are pleased to announce that the recipient of the DistroWatch.com January 2012 donation is the GnuPG project. Happy reading!
Content:
- Reviews: I dream of Linux - Dreamlinux 5
- News: Red Hat introduces 10-year support, Texstar takes leave of absence, Mint banks on Cinnamon
- Questions and answers: Revisiting Ubuntu market share numbers
- Released last week: Linux Mint 12 "KDE", PCLinuxOS 2012.2, DEFT Linux 7, KahelOS 020212
- Upcoming releases: Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.02, Frugalware Linux 1.6, openSUSE 12.2 Milestone 1
- Donations: GnuPG receives €260.00
- New distributions: Brasa OS, Byzantium Linux, Illumian, Linux Ogigia, RebeccaBlackOS, SolusOS, Stella
- Reader comments
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
I dream of Linux - Dreamlinux 5
 Dreamlinux is a distribution which was seemingly asleep for a few years. Back in early 2009 the team released version 3.5 of their distro and then we didn't see another release until January 2012. Now, with version 5 available, it is once again time to take a look at this dreamy distribution.
Dreamlinux is based on Debian's 'Testing' branch. Unlike many projects these days, Dreamlinux keeps downloading simple by providing a single edition, a one-size-fits-all 32-bit build. The DVD image is approximately 965 MB in size and is available via direct download and via BitTorrent. Booting off the DVD brings up a graphical login screen where the default username and password are displayed so we can login. The Debian derivative comes with the Xfce desktop and the environment has been given a slightly OS X styled interface. Along the top of the screen we find the menu bar and task switcher. At the bottom we see a long launch bar filled with colourful and (when clicked) bouncy icons. Something I immediately noticed about the launch bar is that it doesn't display the name of an icon when we hover the mouse over it. This made the first several minutes of launching programs very much like the proverbial box of chocolates. On the desktop we find icons for opening the install guide and launching the installer.
Dreamlinux 5 - browsing the web
(full image size: 729kB, screen resolution 1024x768 pixels)
The Dreamlinux installer is unusual in that it is a graphical installer, but all of the steps are presented on one page. The installer's window expands downward rather than having us proceed through pages. There aren't many steps and I found the approach worked well. At first we're asked if we need to set up partitions and, if the answer is affirmative, the GParted disk partitioning tool is opened for us. Once we're done with GParted we select which partition to use for the root file system. We're also given the option of placing our home directories on a separate partition. We have the option of installing a boot loader and, from there, the installer copies its files to the local drive. A few times it appeared as though the installer had stalled, but eventually it completed its steps and then I rebooted.
Once the machine reboots we're bought back to the Dreamlinux desktop and presented with another dialog box. This one asks us to set a hostname for the computer, create a user account and set a password for the root user. With those steps completed the computer reboots once more and we're brought to a graphical login page.
The distribution comes with a small, yet well-rounded, collection of software. We're given the Chromium web browser, the Foxit PDF reader, the GNU Image Manipulation Project, the Imagination slide show maker and Inkscape. We're also provided with the Orage calendar app, Planmaker (a spreadsheet application), MPlayer for multimedia, Shotwell for handling photos and a disc burner/ripper. There are also copies of SoftMaker Presentation and TextMaker (a word processing program). I hadn't used the SoftMaker office suite before and I found it to be similar to using OpenOffice.org, but with regular requests for registration. Also in the application menu we find a file manager, archive manager, calculator, GParted and the Synaptic package manager. The full range of Xfce configuration tools are included. Java is present, as is the GCC. When browsing the web we have a Flash plugin provided and, behind the scenes, we're running version 3.1 of the Linux kernel.
Dreamlinux comes with a few other small utilities which can be found in the application menu. These are generally terminal tools which can be launched from the GUI. One, for example, attempts to perform a Debian dist-upgrade. Another launches the Midnight Commander text-based file manager. Since I brought this up during my look at VectorLinux I think it's only fair I bring it up again here. If developers want to present a program like Midnight Commander to users (either by placing it in the application menu or mentioning it whenever a terminal window is opened) I think it's important they make sure the terminal they use to open the program doesn't use conflicting short-cut keys.
Dreamlinux 5 - browsing files and using the media player
(full image size: 391kB, screen resolution 1024x768 pixels)
I ran Dreamlinux on two machines, a desktop box (2.5 GHz CPU, 2 GB of RAM, NVIDIA video card) and my HP laptop (dual-core 2 GHz CPU, 3 GB of RAM, Intel video card). On the desktop computer all my hardware was detected and utilized out of the box. Performance was good and the desktop was responsive. On my laptop I found things worked well. Again, everything functioned, including my Intel wireless card. I found my laptop's touchpad wouldn't treat taps as clicks under the default configuration, but otherwise everything performed as expected.
Software management on Dreamlinux is handled by the Synaptic package manager. The old, yet trusty, application allows us to search for software, install, remove and upgrade packages. Usually Synaptic lets users manage repositories, but I found whenever I tried to do this on Dreamlinux Synaptic would tell me that changes had occurred and I would have to reload my repository information. This message continued to appear after the package information had been refreshed. Fans of the command line can make use of the apt-get family of tools. Being based on Debian, Dreamlinux has a large collection of software, over 35,000 packages are available in the repositories. The one thing I missed with regards to packages was any sort of available updates notification. The user is expected to update repository information and manually check for updates.
Dreamlinux 5 - running office software and upgrading packages
(full image size: 101kB, screen resolution 1024x768 pixels)
At this point I've only been using Dreamlinux for a few days and so this is really just a first-look review. I don't think I can fairly judge the distribution's performance one way or the other. That being said, my impression so far is of a distro which presents a nice design, but which I feel needs to polish the implementation further in order to see the benefits of that design. There are a number of little differences in Dreamlinux which stand out - it has an unusual installer, a different method of organizing the application menu, a slight variation on the bottom launch panel. And, while all of these design differences take some getting used to, I found they had good ideas behind them, they just needed some more work. For example, the application menu could probably benefit from either a little restructuring or renaming items to reflect task rather than application name. The launch panel should probably display the name of a program when the mouse moves over it, otherwise the user is playing icon roulette by clicking on unfamiliar pictures.
I liked the everything on one page approach to the installer, but I wasn't crazy about having to reboot an extra time to complete the setup. Synaptic is a good package manager and Debian provides a good base, but I missed having update notifications. And I found it strange that the developers went with the software they did. Why use Foxit when there are so many good open source PDF viewers? Why use SoftMaker office software rather than a more common suite like OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice? Given my brief exposure to the included software I found it worked much the same, but being greeted with requests for registration isn't something I welcome in an open-source operating system. In short, Dreamlinux supported my hardware well and comes with Debian's large repository of software, but it could use a 5.1 release to round out the interface and add a different office suite.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Ladislav Bodnar) |
Red Hat introduces 10-year support, Texstar takes leave of absence, Mint banks on Cinnamon
 Over the years Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) has become, by far, the most widely deployed enterprise Linux distribution. Pushing the support limits to the extreme, the company has now decided to extend the life cycle of RHEL versions 5 and 6 from seven to ten years: "Today Red Hat is pleased to announce that it has extended the life cycle of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6 and future releases from seven to 10 years, effective immediately. This announcement is in response to the widespread adoption of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 since its introduction in 2007, and the increasing rate of adoption of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 since its launch in 2010. During the life cycle of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, customers take advantage of a multitude of benefits, including feature enhancements, critical bug and security fixes, as well as award-winning support from Red Hat's Global Support Services team." As the announcement emphasises, "the result of the extended life cycle is that customers will enjoy all of the benefits of their subscription over a longer period of time." With this new development, the official support for RHEL 5 will end in March 2017, while RHEL 6 will be reach end of life in November 2020.
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 Bill Reynolds, aka Texstar, the overworked founder of PCLinuxOS, has been a well-known force in the open-source community for well over a decade - first packaging software for Mandrake Linux, then working on his own distribution. Unfortunately, the endless and thankless task of a distro maintainer has taken a toll on Texstar's health. Posting a brief message on the project's user forum, he explains, in his typical jargon-like writing, that he is about to take a "leave from the project for medical reasons": Making some changes around here. The Dr. says no more PCLinuxOS for me for a while cuz I've been doing way too much and ran out of gogo juice. Sooo I'm turning over lots of duties to others. Neal and Old-Polack will be taking care of business and others in the community will be stepping up to handle packaging, ISO's and other goodies. Please be patient until everyone can get up to speed on things ok? I'll continue dropping in on the forum from time to time, and helping the team if they have questions or need advise, but for now I'll be leaving the day to day management of PCLinuxOS to Neal, Old-Polack, and the rest of the team. Please treat them all with the kindness and respect you've always shown me. I'd appreciate it. Thanks a lot! Tex."
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 Cinnamon, a fork of GNOME Shell initiated by the developers of Linux Mint and designed to bring back the GNOME 2 look & feel to the GNOME 3 desktop, has been attracting much interest from users who find it hard to change their desktop usage habits. ZDNet's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols takes a look at the new software in "Mint's Cinnamon: The Future of the Linux Desktop?" "There are also some bugs in Cinnamon. For example, the Pidgin icon disappears from time to time. A more noticeable example is that I couldn't add some applications to 'Favorites' from within the menu or by using the dconf-editor. Curiously, I could add them to the Desktop or Panel. This is a known problem, and it has already been fixed in the source code. I also see display quirks such as oddly overlapping windows from time to time. What concerned me the most though is that some applications, the Evolution e-mail client and LibreOffice would sometime freeze up under Cinnamon. I can forgive a lot, but having my e-mail and word processor lock up on me is close to unforgivable. It doesn't happen very often at all, but even once a day or so is really vexing. Still, these are very early days for Cinnamon, so I'm willing to give this desktop a good solid B."
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Revisiting Ubuntu market share numbers
About-those-numbers asks: In DistroWatch Weekly number 434 of the 5th of December 2011 (Lies and Statistics), Jesse Smith interviewed Gerry Carr, Director of Communications at Canonical. Here is the excerpt that took my attention: "I was able to get firmer numbers from Ubuntu and the results were interesting. In early 2010, around the time Ubuntu 10.04 was released, Ubuntu had an estimated install base of 12 million users. About a year ago, after the launch of Ubuntu 10.10, it was estimated there were 16 million users. Now, in the wake of version 11.10, Ubuntu has an estimated 20 million users. Gerry Carr, Director of Communications at Canonical, says these figures come from a variety of places: 'It's a combination of things -- active connections to our security servers being one of the most prominent. We also get other connection data, we look at downloads and a small number of other checks, So it's robust.' Mr Carr also informed me that over one million Ubuntu One accounts have been created since the service launched."
When I read that, I thought how, on earth, after such a hectic year as 2011, could Ubuntu increase its user base by 25% (from version 10.10 to 11.10)? I first thought it was just a marketing boast. Then, I realized that, maybe, there could be another explanation to this miracle. Here it is. I am an average Linux Mint 12 user. Reading the above quoted paragraph, I realized that, maybe, I was also counted as a Ubuntu user by Canonical because my computer also connects to the Ubuntu security server under my own IP. This also was probably true for all Ubuntu derivative users, either official or non-official derivatives like Linux Mint. If we take this into account, the suspected 25% increase looks credible. And, after all, why would they take out the Linux Mint numbers? They are true users registered to their systems. What would be their advantage not to do it?
DistroWatch answers: I suspect you're right as far as Mint installations being counted as Ubuntu machines. In the past I've stated that Linux Mint qualifies as a separate entity, a separate distribution, not just another Ubuntu edition. And I think the moves we've seen by the Mint team to make their own desktop environment and spread their Minty layer over a Debian base confirm that point. However, that being said, Mint (and other Ubuntu-based projects) do use Ubuntu's repositories, they use the same packages, they are binary compatible. This means that one machine contacting the Ubuntu repositories to grab update information is probably going to appear much the same as any other machine contacting the repositories.
In short, I do think Canonical's numbers do include some (maybe all) of Ubuntu's children, and why wouldn't they? Does it really matter if you installed an operating system branded as Mint or Kubuntu or Peppermint if your machine is running and downloading packages built and provided by Canonical? It becomes more of a philosophical question rather than a technical one. If you install Mint's Main edition and remove the Mint-specific repositories, are you then running Ubuntu? If you install Ubuntu and add the Mint repositories, are you running Mint? Is there any reason why Canonical shouldn't count Ubuntu-based distributions as Ubuntu machines, since they do provide most of the support and repository infrastructure for those spin-off distributions? For that matter, could Canonical separate Ubuntu installs from the derivatives based on the information sent to the servers hosting the repositories? Vincent Vermeulen, a moderator on the Linux Mint forums, did some checking and this is what he had to say on the subject.
"I've had a chat with the other mods about this. First, there are at least 60 other Ubuntu derivatives using these repositories. And considering that, is it even incorrect if Canonical is counting all the users using the Ubuntu repositories? But let's leave that to others to consider. I've tested [the apt-get user agent string] on a Linux Mint 12 live session. Running sudo ngrep -eq tcp and port 80 to snoop on outgoing traffic. Then I did a sudo apt-get update. And I see the following GET request going to the security servers of Ubuntu: GET /ubuntu/dists/oneiric-security/InRelease HTTP/1.1..Host: security.ubuntu.com..Connection: keep-alive..Cache-Control: max-age=0..User-Agent: Debian APT-HTTP/1.3 (0.8.16~exp5ubuntu13).... The version of the apt package installed is being sent, and this is indeed the package from Ubuntu. I imagine this is no different for any of the other Ubuntu derivatives. Now, what this actually means and how it is being used over at Canonical, no clue."
I contacted Canonical to see if they could shed some light on the matter. At the time of writing I have not received an answer.
The original question suggests that 2011 was a hectic year, which I suspect is a reference to the introduction of the Unity desktop environment. And I won't deny that Unity is a dividing issue. However, I don't think it's nearly as widely disliked as its vocal opponents make it out to be. Partly because whenever any change happens in any operating system there are people who don't like it and claim it's terrible. I remember when KDE 4 was held up as the end of the KDE project and when Red Hat discontinuing their free distribution in favour of Fedora was a signal that the company was sinking. Rarely does the hype live up to reality. And I think that's reflected in the numbers. Let's say Ubuntu + Kubuntu + Lubuntu + Xubuntu + Mint + all the other dozens of Ubuntu-based derivatives which use the Ubuntu repositories make up about 20 million users. According to the installation stats on the repositories Unity is installed on over 12% of those machines, and it has only been available for two releases, neither of which was an LTS release. Considering that Unity is only offered as the default desktop on the main Ubuntu distro and considering that it has been out for less than a year, it has gained a respectable following.
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| Released Last Week |
Clonezilla Live 1.2.12-10
Steven Shiau has announced the release of Clonezilla Live 1.2.12-10, a new stable version of the project's utility live CD designed for disk cloning tasks: "This release of Clonezilla Live (1.2.12-10) includes major enhancements and major bug fixes: the underlying GNU/Linux operating system was upgraded, this release is based on the Debian 'Sid' repository as of 2012-01-27; the Linux kernel was updated to 3.2.1-2; PartClone was updated to version 0.2.45; Syslinux was updated to 4.0.5; a better mechanism was implemented in ocs-update-syslinux - 'syslinux -i' will be run only when the files to be updated are found on the system; a better mechanism was implemented to keep the MS Windows boot reserved partition size when option '-k1' is chosen; a better mechanism to deal with UFS partitions in a GPT table when saving FreeBSD 9.0...." Read the rest of the release announcement which includes a full changelog.
Endian Firewall 2.5.1
Endian Firewall 2.5.1, an updated version of the Red Hat-based firewall distribution, has been released: "An update for Endian Firewall Community to version 2.5.1 is now available. This release introduces a number of new features. Connectivity - support for most modern UMTS/3G USB dongles. By adding new drivers Endian Firewall 2.5 now supports most modern UMTS/3G dongles. Once plugged in they appear as serial devices and can be configured by choosing Analog/UMTS modem as uplink type. System - performance improvements. The whole system start-up procedure has been rewritten. Endian's new jobs engine decreases the start-up by 50 percent. Additionally major improvements have been made in memory usage. A fully configured system's memory footprint has been reduced by more than 200 MB." See the full release announcement for additional information and a complete list of new features.
DEFT Linux 7
Stefano Fratepietro has announced the release of DEFT Linux 7, an Ubuntu-based distribution and live DVD containing a collection of tools for penetration testing and forensic analysis: "The DEFT team is pleased to announce the release of the stable version of DEFT Linux 7, a toolkit able to perform computer, mobile and network forensics, incident response and cyber intelligence. DEFT 7 comprises of a GNU/Linux-based system optimized for computer forensics and cyber intelligence activities, installable or able to run in live mode, and DART (Digital Advanced Response Toolkit), a graphical user interface that handles the execution of incident response. Main features: based on Lubuntu 11.10; installable distro; Linux kernel 3.0, USB 3 ready; Libewf 20100226, Afflib 3.6.14, TSK 3.2.3, Autopsy 2.24, Digital Forensic Framework 1.2, PTK Forensic 1.0.5 DEFT edition...." Read the rest of the release announcement for a full list of included utilities.
DEFT Linux 7 - an Ubuntu respin with tools for penetration testing and forensic analysis
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SalineOS 1.6
Anthony Nordquist has announced the release of SalineOS 1.6, a Debian-based distribution and live DVD featuring the Xfce desktop: "SalineOS 1.6 images are now available for download. This brings SalineOS in line with the recent 6.0.4 release from Debian GNU/Linux. New in this release is a set of Thunar custom actions and scripts to greatly increase the functionality of the Thunar file manager. These include: open a directory as root, open a root terminal here, mark as executable, run an MD5SUM, convert stupid image formats (NGG, MDF) to standard ISO images, a simple disk usage utility, mount/unmount an ISO, convert to ODT, Export to PDF, search for files or folders using Catfish, rotate resize scale and convert image files, write an ISO or IMG file to a USB key and edit a text file as root. You can get all these custom actions on any previous release of SalineOS by running a command in a root terminal." The release announcement.
IPFire 2.11 Core 56
Michael Tremer has announced the release of IPFire 2.11 Core 56, a new stable release of the project's specialist distribution for firewalls: "Today, we are releasing Core Update 56 for IPFire 2.11. It is a minor bug-fix and security update. The most exciting new feature can be found in the pre-installed images that automatically scale up the partitions at first boot. If you use a 8 GB SD card, you install the 2 GB image and it will grow the partition sizes to use all space that is available on that SD card. Note: The minimum required size of Flash media has changed from 1 GB to 2 GB. This is because the / partition was too small for installing bigger add-ons. An update of OpenSSL to version 0.9.8t fixes a security flaw that could be exploited in a denial of service attack." Continue to the release announcement for a list of bug fixes.
Tails 0.10.1
Tails 0.10.1, an updated version of the Debian-based live CD designed for anonymous Internet surfing, has been released: "The Amnesic Incognito Live System (Tails), version 0.10.1, is out. This is a bug-fix release mainly aimed at fixing serious bugs and security issues. All users must upgrade as soon as possible. Notable user-visible changes include: make Startpage the default web search engine, Scroogle does not look reliable enough these days; upgrade WhisperBack to 1.5.1 (update link to bug reporting documentation); update MAT to 0.2.2 (fixes a critical bug in the GUI); upgrade Linux kernel to 3.2.1; time synchronization - serious rework that should fix most, if not all, of the infamous time-sync bugs some Tails users have experienced recently; make htpdate more resilient by using three server pools, and allowing some failure ratio...." See the release announcement for a full changelog.
PCLinuxOS 2012.2
Bill Reynolds has announced the release of PCLinuxOS 2012.02, the latest stable update of the project's mainstream distribution. There are no major new features as the Linux kernel remains at version 2.6.38.8 and the KDE desktop at 4.6.5. From the release announcement: "PCLinuxOS KDE and KDE-MiniME 2012.02 are now available for download. These are 32-bit quarterly update ISO images which can also be installed on 64-bit computers. Features: Linux kernel 2.6.38.8bfs kernel for maximum desktop performance; full KDE 4.6.5 desktop; NVIDIA and ATI fglrx drivers support; multimedia playback support for many popular formats; wireless support for many network devices; printer support for many local and networked printer devices; Addlocale allows you to convert PCLinuxOS into over 60 languages.... See also the download page for a list of main applications and system requirements.
Linux Mint 12 "KDE"
Clement Lefebvre has announced the release of Linux Mint 12 "KDE" edition: "The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 12 KDE. Linux Mint 12 KDE comes with updated software and brings refinements and new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use. This edition comes with the latest and recently released KDE 4.7.4. This is the first release of Linux Mint using Hybrid ISO images. Traditionally, tools such as 'Startup Disk Creator' or 'UNetbootin' were needed to install Linux Mint via USB. With hybrid images, you can simply use the 'dd' command or a graphical front-end to make a bootable USB stick with no efforts which acts exactly like a live DVD. Consult the release announcement and the what's new page for more information and system requirements.
Salix OS 13.37 "Live Xfce"
Cyrille Pontvieux has announced the release of Salix OS 13.37 "Live Xfce" edition, a Slackware-based live CD featuring the latest Xfce desktop: "The Live team is proud to present the final release of Salix OS Live Xfce 13.37. After some months developing, testing and improving a lot of little details, this version is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit variants. It will serve as a base for all other editions of Salix Live, namely KDE, LXDE and Fluxbox. This version is build using SaLT (Salix Live Technology), a new system of live tools for Slackware-based distributions, developed in-house, to build live CDs in a more dynamic fashion with very little modifications from the host system. This includes the same applications and packages as the regular Salix OS Xfce 13.37. Read the rest of the release announcement for a full changelog.
KahelOS 020212
Meric Mara has announced the release of KahelOS 020212, a desktop Linux distribution and live DVD featuring the GNOME 3 desktop and based on Arch Linux: "Following the release of KahelOS 111111 last November is today's launch of KahelOS 020212. KahelOS 020212 improves on what the earlier installer can offer. It caters to advance Linux users who wish to have the freedom in the first step of installing an operating system, i.e. a manual partitioning system which also has the ability to resize (stretch and shrink) both NTFS and Linux partitions. Graphically, this enhanced installer is still GUI-friendly plus the automatic 'dual boot with Windows' option is an added feature for those who are technology neutral. Fresh features: updated Bluefish to 2.2.1, Dia to 0.97.2, Evolution to 3.2.3, Filezilla to 3.5.3.... Read the rest of the release announcement for a full changelog.
KahelOS 020212 - an Arch-based distro with GNOME 3
(full image size: 727kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
Netrunner 4.1
Clemens Toennies has announced the release of Netrunner 4.1, the latest update of the project's Kubuntu-based desktop Linux distribution featuring the KDE 4.7.4 desktop - now also available in a 64-bit variant: "Accompanying the release of Netrunner 64-bit edition, we today release version 4.1 for 32-bit systems with the following changes compared to 4.0: switched to hybrid ISO images; Linux kernel 3.0, KDE 4.7.4 (latest stable); Muon 1.2.95; kde-gtk-config module for easy GTK+ 2/3 configuration under KDE; several bug fixes, including system freezes during automatic update. Since 4.0 had a critical bug related to the automatic package updating, we suggest that users of 4.0 manually upgrade to 4.1. Here is the brief 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 |
January 2012 DistroWatch.com donation: GnuPG
We are happy to announce that the recipient of the January 2012 DistroWatch.com donation is GnuPG, the GNU project's complete and free implementation of the OpenPGP standard The project receives €260.00 in cash.
Although GnuPG is perhaps a more low-profile open-source project than those developing visible end-user applications, it is nevertheless included in just about every Linux distribution and other free operating system. In other words, all of us use it, often without realising it. From the project's website: "GnuPG allows to encrypt and sign your data and communication, features a versatile key management system as well as access modules for all kinds of public key directories. GnuPG itself is a command-line tool without any graphical stuff. It is the real crypto engine which can be used directly from a command prompt, from shell scripts or by other programs. Therefore it can be considered as a back-end for other applications. However, even when used on the command line it provides all functionality needed - this includes an interactive menu system. The set of commands of this tool will always be a superset of those provided by any front-ends." Here is GnuPG's features page if you'd like to learn more.
Launched in 2004, this monthly donations programme is a DistroWatch initiative to support free and open-source software projects and operating systems with cash contributions. Readers are welcome to nominate their favourite project for future donations. Those readers who wish to contribute towards these donations, please use our advertising page to make a payment (PayPal and credit cards are accepted). Here is the list of the projects that have received a DistroWatch donation since the launch of the programme (figures in US dollars):
- 2004: GnuCash ($250), Quanta Plus ($200), PCLinuxOS ($300), The GIMP ($300), Vidalinux ($200), Fluxbox ($200), K3b ($350), Arch Linux ($300), Kile KDE LaTeX Editor ($100) and UNICEF - Tsunami Relief Operation ($340)
- 2005: Vim ($250), AbiWord ($220), BitTorrent ($300), NDISwrapper ($250), Audacity ($250), Debian GNU/Linux ($420), GNOME ($425), Enlightenment ($250), MPlayer ($400), Amarok ($300), KANOTIX ($250) and Cacti ($375)
- 2006: Gambas ($250), Krusader ($250), FreeBSD Foundation ($450), GParted ($360), Doxygen ($260), LilyPond ($250), Lua ($250), Gentoo Linux ($500), Blender ($500), Puppy Linux ($350), Inkscape ($350), Cape Linux Users Group ($130), Mandriva Linux ($405, a Powerpack competition), Digikam ($408) and Sabayon Linux ($450)
- 2007: GQview ($250), Kaffeine ($250), sidux ($350), CentOS ($400), LyX ($350), VectorLinux ($350), KTorrent ($400), FreeNAS ($350), lighttpd ($400), Damn Small Linux ($350), NimbleX ($450), MEPIS Linux ($300), Zenwalk Linux ($300)
- 2008: VLC ($350), Frugalware Linux ($340), cURL ($300), GSPCA ($400), FileZilla ($400), MythDora ($500), Linux Mint ($400), Parsix GNU/Linux ($300), Miro ($300), GoblinX ($250), Dillo ($150), LXDE ($250)
- 2009: Openbox ($250), Wolvix GNU/Linux ($200), smxi ($200), Python ($300), SliTaz GNU/Linux ($200), LiVES ($300), Osmo ($300), LMMS ($250), KompoZer ($360), OpenSSH ($350), Parted Magic ($350) and Krita ($285)
- 2010: Qimo 4 Kids ($250), Squid ($250), Libre Graphics Meeting ($300), Bacula ($250), FileZilla ($300), GCompris ($352), Xiph.org ($250), Clonezilla ($250), Debian Multimedia ($280), Geany ($300), Mageia ($470), gtkpod ($300)
- 2011: CGSecurity ($300), OpenShot ($300), Imagination ($250), Calibre ($300), RIPLinuX ($300), Midori ($310), vsftpd ($300), OpenShot ($350), Trinity Desktop Environment ($300), LibreCAD ($300), LiVES ($300), Transmission ($250)
- 2012: GnuPG ($350)
Since the launch of the Donations Program in March 2004, DistroWatch has donated a total of US$30,540 to various open-source software projects.
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New distributions added to waiting list
- Brasa OS. Brasa OS is a Brazilian desktop Linux distribution based on Debian's stable branch. The project's website is in Portuguese.
- Byzantium Linux. Byzantium Linux is a live distribution of Linux designed to fulfil a crucial role in the evolution of the Internet. That role is a rapidly deployable ad-hoc wireless mesh network which can augment or replace the current telecommunications infrastructure in the event that it is knocked offline (for example, due to a natural disaster) or rendered untrustworthy (widespread surveillance or disconnection by hostile entities).
- Illumian. Illumian is an operating system that combines the Illumos (OpenIndiana) kernel with Debian GNU/Linux software and packaging utilities.
- Linux Ogigia. Linux Ogigia is an Italian distribution based on Puppy Linux. The project's website is in Italian.
- RebeccaBlackOS. RebeccaBlackOS is an Ubuntu remix dedicated to Rebecca Black, American pop singer and dancer. Besides a custom theme, the live CD also offers an opportunity to try out the Wayland display server.
- SolusOS. SolusOS is a lightweight Debian-based desktop Linux distribution with integrated multimedia software and functionality.
SolusOS 043 - a Debian-based desktop distribution with GNOME 2
(full image size: 562kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
- Stella. Stella is a remix of CentOS with a desktop focus. It is available as installable live media and contains standard CentOS software, the GNOME 2 desktop and some multimedia and desktop additions.
Stella 6.2 Test 12 - a CentOS-based desktop distribution with GNOME 2
(full image size: 467kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 13 February 2012.
Jesse Smith and Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
Liquid Lemur Linux
Liquid Lemur Linux was a desktop Linux distribution that was based on Ubuntu and Linux Mint, with modern versions being built on Debian. It delivers a "hybrid" desktop experience, combining the Window Maker window manager with elements of the Xfce desktop environments. Its other features include a utility for install various desktop enhancements and add-ons, a Conky system monitoring tool to select predefined Conky scripts, and a custom live system installer.
Status: Discontinued
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Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
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| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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