 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 479, 22 October 2012 |
Welcome to this year's 43rd issue of DistroWatch Weekly! It was a busy week here at DistroWatch as we worked to keep up with all of the new releases notices, especially those coming out of the Ubuntu community. Canonical launched version 12.10 of the Ubuntu distribution and it was quickly followed by several community editions, you can get all the details below. While Canonical and friends certainly took a great deal of the spotlight this week, other exciting releases also arrived. The continuation of KDE 3.5, Trinity, launched a new release as did the highly flexible NetBSD project. We also bring you news this week of Linux-based mobile operating systems looking to break into the expanding market of tablets and smart phones. Plus we cover bug report statistics being compiled by Debian developers. In our feature article this week Jesse Smith takes the Zentyal distribution, a project targeting small business servers for a test run. Read on to find out how the distribution fairs in functionality and friendliness. Also in this week's edition we cover podcasts, reviews and newsletters from Around the Web, we look forward to releases to come and we talk about the various ways available to shut down a Linux distribution. We here at DistroWatch wish you a pleasant week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: Qubes OS and Zentyal
- News: Debian users report fewer bugs, Trinity releases bug fixes, NetBSD and Ubuntu release new versions and Android gets some competition.
- Questions and answers: Initiating a halt
- Released last week: CrunchBang Linux 11 R20121015, BlankOn 8.0 "Sajadah", OpenELEC 2.0, NetBSD 6.0, Ubuntu 12.10
- Upcoming releases: Fedora 18 Beta, ROSA 2012.1 Beta2, Mandriva Linux 2012, OpenBSD 5.2
- Around the Web: Reviews, podcasts and newsletters
- New additions: OpenELEC
- New distributions: Santoku
- Reader comments
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (24MB) and MP3 (18MB) formats
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
 Qubes R1
Last week, when I went in search of a distribution with which to experiment, I thought the choice seemed obvious: Qubes OS. The Qubes project is working to produce a Xen- and Linux-based operating system with a strong focus on security. As the project's website says, "Qubes is an open source operating system designed to provide strong security for desktop computing. Qubes is based on Xen, X Window System, and Linux, and can run most Linux applications". Qubes, which comes from Invisible Things Lab, takes an unusual approach to security where the user's desktop system is divided into separate domains. Each domain gets its own virtual machine. A person might have a few of these different domains, such as one for work-related applications and files, another for casual web browsing & e-mail and perhaps another for security-sensitive tasks like on-line banking.
The Qubes project recently released version 1.0 of its Xen-based project and I was curious to see what it would be like to use such a compartmentalized system. Unfortunately, for me, the experiment came to an early end. The installer used by Qubes, Anaconda, refused to run smoothly, coming to a halt at various points through the installation. This left me with a project which sounds promising in theory, but did not run for me in practice. Still, the concept behind the project strikes me as appealing and I recommend checking it out if you have a healthy dose of paranoia.
Moving on, I still needed some open source software with which to play and, for some reason, I wasn't in the mood to try a Linux desktop distribution this week. With that in mind, I drifted through the recent DistroWatch release announcements until I found Zentyal.
 Zentyal 3.0
The Zentyal project is based on Ubuntu Server and the latest version of Zentyal, version 3.0, is based on Ubuntu's 12.04 long term support release. The Zentyal distribution is aimed at the small business community and offers the following blurb on its features: "Zentyal can act as a Gateway, Infrastructure Manager, Unified Threat Manager, Office Server, Unified Communication Server or a combination of them. One single, easy-to-use platform to manage all your network services." Besides offering a free (and fully functional) distribution, the Zentyal team also sells cloud services for monitoring, backing up and managing servers. Support is also available from the Zentyal company with subscriptions ranging from 49.50 Euros/month to 119.50 Euros/month. I found the documentation on the Zentyal website to be quite clear and well presented. It's nice to see a company lay out exactly what potential customers can expect as it avoids unpleasant surprises later. I opted to download the Basic edition of Zentyal which is approximately 580MB in size.
Booting from the Zentyal disc provides us with two installation options, an expert mode or an automated mode, with the latter option allowing Zentyal to take over the entire hard drive. I opted for the longer expert mode approach which kicks off a series of text-based menu screens.
We are asked to choose our preferred language and provide our location. Then we confirm our keyboard layout and set a name for our Zentyal host. We're asked for a name for a new user account and then we're asked to confirm our time zone. The penultimate screen covers disk partitioning and, despite the fact we're using a text installer, I found the partitioning section to be fairly intuitive. The installer is flexible and supports a wide range of file systems (including ext2/3/4, XFS, JFS, Reiserfs and Btrfs) and we can configure LVM layouts. With our partitions created the installer goes to work copying its files to the local drive. A few minutes later the final screen appears, asking if we would like to install a boot loader, GRUB in this case, on our hard disk. After that we can reboot the machine and get underway with Zentyal.
The first time we boot into Zentyal the distribution announces it is installing some additional packages and then we are automatically logged into a graphical interface. The Firefox web browser is launched and we are shown a web-based login screen. This login screen is hosted by our own machine and gives access to the Zentyal web dashboard and control centre.
Zentyal 3.0 -- Installing optional components.
(full image size: 178kB, resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
Before getting into the web portal, which took up most of my focus during my trial, I want to briefly go over the software available on Zentyal's desktop. The graphical interface itself is Openbox combined with LXDE components. It's a nice, light environment and comes with just a handful of software packages. Mostly the programs to be found in the application menu are small apps that we can find in almost any distribution. We are provided with a file manager, a document viewer, text editor and archive manager. There are virtual terminals and the Firefox web browser. The distribution uses version 3.2 of the Linux kernel and, as with its parent distribution, Zentyal comes with the APT package management tools. There are no frills, no Java and no compiler. There is a music player hiding in the menu, but it's not likely to get much use given the focus of the distribution.
Logging into the web interface (with our local username and password) brings up a screen with a list of many modules represented by icons. We are asked to choose which of these modules to install. Most of the items are clearly labeled, presenting us with such optional components as “firewall”, “web server”, “anti-virus” and “backup”. A few of the other components are somewhat vague, for example, it wasn't initially apparent what the difference was between “users & groups” and “user corner”. Naturally, I decided to install them both to find out. Aside from these individual modules, there are bundles of packages put together to make common server roles easy to set up. These roles include Internet Gateway, Office Server, General Infrastructure, and Communications. Each bundle comes with a description of what is inside. I opted to try out a variety of services, including anti-virus, domain control, both “users” modules, backups and most of the Infrastructure bundle. When we click to move to the next page we're shown a list of all the items we have selected and asked to confirm these are the modules (roles) we wish to install for our server. One final configuration page then appears asking us to take any special steps we want to adjust our network connection. We're asked if the Zentyal server's network ports face out to the Internet or are internal to the network (or both). After these steps have been completed we are presented with the Zentyal dashboard.
Zentyal 3.0 -- The server's dashboard.
(full image size: 192kB, resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
The dashboard shows us a detailed and compact summary of the server's status. A notice of available updates is displayed, system and network load are shown. Further down the page we can find our network address and a list of services and their running status. Down the left side of the page we find a menu tree listing various components and configuration options for the server. One group of settings deals with adjusting the network interfaces, another section deals with managing the server's software. I found it interesting that upstream software (sometimes referred to as “community packages”) is handled separately from custom Zentyal modules, yet both categories of software are managed in much the same manner. Other menu items help us enable, adjust and disable system services, another section deals with infrastructure concerns, such as DNS, another set of pages deals with enabling network shares. I found the menu options in Zentyal's interface to be intuitively laid out and navigation of the entire dashboard is quite easy.
The dashboard is fairly open ended, giving administrators the chance to explore and, after exploring, there were a few points of interest I'd like to share. One is that Zentyal appears to be focused on security. When we first login to the control panel one of the first things we see is notification of whether the operating system is up to date with security packages. Further, it is possible to turn on automatic updating by clicking a box. Accessing the portal is automatically done via the secure HTTPS protocol and additional modules I added on were also accessed through HTTPS. The one exception to security-by-default was the anti-virus software. The anti-virus service was turned off when I first logged in, but a click of a button enabled the scanner and also turned on the automatic check for virus definition updates. A few paragraphs ago I mentioned there were two user modules, one of which was called Users Corner. As it turns out, the “Users & Groups” module is for the administrator, it allows us to create, delete and manage both user accounts and groups, much the way we would in a desktop environment. The Users Corner module starts another web service on port 8888 and, through this portal, regular users can login and change their passwords. I suspect other options will be made available later, allowing users to personalize their accounts, but for now only password changes can be accomplished through the Users Corner.
A few other items stood out while I was using the Zentyal control panel. One was the firewall manager, which is broken down into sub-modules, depending on where the Zentyal server is in relation to the rest of the network. This streamlines creating rules a bit as the administrator is able to click on a network map to indicate whether the rules they are going to create relate to the server talking to the outside world, or internal network traffic and the type of traffic. A final positive characteristic I noticed was the way in which the web portal would inform the user of dependency issues. For instance, when I went to set up network shares I was informed that to enable Samba shares I should first enable the Users & Groups module and the DNS module. The interface also provided tips on setting up DNS to make the process smoother. This sort of hand holding, present yet out of the way, is welcome and, I find, reduces the reliance on documentation.
Zentyal 3.0 -- Creating network shares.
(full image size: 128kB, resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
There were a few areas where I felt Zentyal didn't perform quite as well, or perhaps it just took a period of adjustment. For instance, when we make changes to modules the changes aren't applied right away, rather the system waits until we hit a Save Changes button in the upper-right corner of the web page. This in itself seems sensible, however my first day of using Zentyal I was sometimes scrolled further down the page and didn't see the Save button and switching to a different page discarded my changes without warning. Another thing I noticed was when I enabled Samba shares the system began using 100% of the CPU and continued to do so until I rebooted the server. When it came back on-line, the CPU load was normal (mostly idling) and I had no issues accessing the new shares. The only other complaint I had was that sometimes it was hard to tell if a desired change or action had taken affect. For example, when clicking on the button to download new versions of the installed Zentyal components the interface didn't change. Later I noticed the updates had been applied, but there didn't appear to be any indication the system was working on the action when I requested it.
There are some people who feel a graphical desktop and web interfaces are unneeded for system administration. However, for people who just want to get the job done with a tool which is both quick to set up and easy to use, Zentyal does provide a compelling option. Its level of automation and the clear, nicely presented web pages are quite handy. It is easy to get the server up and running with a few modules in less than a hour without ever needing to visit the command line or edit a text file. That kind of ease of use is quite attractive, especially in a small office setting where proprietary operating systems (with graphical utilities) are often favoured. Though I have yet to try Zentyal's cloud services, with their promise of monitoring and configuration backups, they do add appeal to the distribution and, assuming they are set up with the same graceful approach, I think the additional services will add value to the overall product. The current release of Zentyal comes with approximately five years of support, thanks to its Ubuntu base, installation can be accomplished in a few minutes and configuration is easy. I ran into a few minor problems, but nothing serious during my trial and I think Zentyal would make a good home or small office server.
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| Miscellaneous News |
Debian users report fewer bugs, Trinity releases bug fixes, NetBSD and Ubuntu release new versions and Android gets some competition.
In an interesting blog post one of the Debian Developers pointed out last week that the rate at which bug reports are being submitted to the Debian project is decreasing. At first this was thought to be a direct result of the feature freeze imposed on Debian's Testing branch as we get closer to a new Debian release. However, another Debian developer decided to look at bug reports coming into the project over a longer period of time and found the rate at which new bug reports are submitted has been dropping for approximately six years. This, despite the fact that the number of software packages included in Debian has been increasing. Some people may optimistically hope this trend indicates improved quality of software in the open source ecosystem. Others are raising concerns that interest in Debian, or at least in maintaining and improving Debian, is waning. Either way it is important to keep an eye on Debian's vitality given the project's important position in the Linux community.
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The Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE) is a continuation of the popular KDE 3.5 desktop series and a welcome alternative to more modern desktop interfaces. The project's developers have been at work over the past year, fixing bugs and making improvements to the stability of the environment's code. A new release was launched last week, bringing version 3.5.13.1 into the world. People who miss the light, clean and classic desktop will be happy to learn pre-compiled packages of Trinity are available for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Mandriva, Mageia, openSUSE and Arch. The new release does not contain any new features, which should make upgrading to the latest release a smooth process.
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While Linux has always struggled to gain a share of the desktop space, the open source kernel has gained large portions of the mobile market as a base for Android. The Android operating system has done very well on tablets and smart phones, but it is not the only Linux-based solution available. Tech writer Eric Brown has a list of mobile operating systems which are looking to challenge the dominate Android OS. The battle for the mobile market has really been heating up this year and it will be interesting to see which players come out on top and which quickly disappear.
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It's not often the NetBSD project makes the news. The operating system, which is best known for its ability to run on a wide range of architectures, recently hit a milestone, version 6.0. The new release runs on over 50 hardware platforms, improves disk quotas and enhances multi-core support. The addition of a new file system, CHFS, has been introduced and experimental support for the popular Raspberry Pi computer has been added. Many other little fixes and enhancements have made it into this release and fans of the flexible OS will definitely want to give it a test run.
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Also making headlines this week was the Ubuntu distribution and its entourage of community projects. The popular Linux distribution went gold with version 12.10 last week and first impression reviews were already appearing the same day. The latest version of Ubuntu contains some controversial features, including the Unity desktop, search results featuring on-line products and tighter integration with web apps. This version of Ubuntu also increases the size of the distribution's default download image to be larger than a single CD. Have you tried the latest Ubuntu release? Leave us a post with your thoughts on it below in the comments section.
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Initiating a halt
Shut-it-all-down asks:
I always hear people use the commands "halt" or "reboot" or "shutdown -h" or "shutdown -r" for shutting down or
rebooting a Linux system from the command line. That's fine, but I have come to a fixed habit of rebooting simply by typing "init 6" or shutting down and turning off the computer using "init 0", but these are never mentioned
anywhere as options. Am I mistaken in doing this versus the common commands everyone else uses? Run "init 6" and boom, it is done! Why type more than necessary to accomplish the same thing?
DistroWatch answers:
From a practical sense, on a home machine with just one user (at a time), there isn't much of a difference. As you've discovered, running "init 0" will turn off the machine and "init 6" will reboot the computer. The reason the "shutdown" command is generally preferred (either "shutdown -r" to reboot or "shutdown -h -P" to poweroff) is that the shutdown command takes steps to bring down the system cleanly. If you run "init 0" everything immediately gets killed and the computer is on a one-way trip to a halted state, whether the users realize it or not. The shutdown command allows us to set a time to shutdown which could be immediately or it could be a later point in the future. Either way, when we get close to the appointed time the shutdown command will warn other users on the system and prevent new users from logging in. This makes shutdown a bit more polite than a simple "init 0".
Another thing to keep in mind, especially with the various competing init systems out there, is that init runlevels (zero for off, six for reboot, etc) may not always mean the same thing from one operating system to another. We are accustomed to the tradition of runlevel 0 meaning "poweroff" and we are used to runlevel 6 meaning "reboot", but there is always the possibility of these values being redefined. We see a touch of that now where Upstart's default runlevel for a multiuser system is "2", while Slackware typically boots into runlevel 3 or 5, depending on its role. Both these init systems still define zero and six the same way, for now, but that could change in a future version. The shutdown command is unlikely to get redefined.
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| Released Last Week |
BlankOn 8.0 "Sajadah"
Ainul Hakim has announced the release of BlankOn Linux 8.0 "Sajadah" edition, an Indonesian distribution with a collection of Islamic software, based on Ubuntu. Some of the new features of the release include: Manokwari BlankOn desktop; QiOO - Al Quran in LibreOffice; Zekr - Al Quran translations and voice Tartil online; Minbar - prayer time reminder; Stellarium - an application to see the solar system and a planetarium; support the writing of Arabic alphabet; calculator Zakat Indonesia; Nawala DNS - a DNS domain filter; Hijra - an Islamic calendar; Monajat - a prayer viewer applet; Thawab - an encyclopedia and ebook viewer and books.... Read the release announcement (in Indonesian) for more details.
OpenELEC 2.0
Stephan Raue has announced the release of OpenELEC 2.0, a Linux-based distribution featuring the XBMC media centre and designed for home theatre PCs: "We are happy to announce to our users and partners the release of the OpenELEC 2.0 operating system with embedded XBMC V11. OpenELEC is a Linux distribution that aims to allow people to use their Home Theatre PC (HTPC) in the same manner as any other device attached to a TV - like a DVD player or Sky box. Turn on your box, and OpenELEC is ready for usage in less than 10 seconds - as fast as some DVD players. A simple remote control is all you need to complete the experience. With OpenELEC you do not need to worry about updating, as the whole operating system will seamlessly self-update everything automatically when connected to the Internet (this includes XBMC)." See the release announcement for a detailed list of features and some screenshots.
NetBSD 6.0
NetBSD 6.0, a major new update of the free and highly portable UNIX-like operating system available for a large number of platforms and processor architectures, has been released: "The NetBSD project is pleased to announce NetBSD 6.0, the fourteenth major release of the NetBSD operating system. Changes from the previous release include scalability improvements on multi-core systems, many new and updated device drivers, Xen and MIPS port improvements, and brand new features such as a new packet filter. Some NetBSD 6.0 highlights are: support for thread-local storage (TLS), Logical Volume Manager (LVM) functionality, rewritten disk quota subsystem, new subsystems to handle Flash devices and NAND controllers...." Read the full release announcement and release notes for more information.
Ubuntu 12.10
Ubuntu 12.10 has been released. Featuring many popular open-source applications, up-to-date Unity desktop and new cloud-related features, the latest version of Canonical's Linux distribution for desktops and servers is ready for download: "Ubuntu 12.10 introduces innovations that bring together desktop and cloud-based experiences, representing the next stage in the transition to a multi-device, cloud-based world. New Previews give large, clear previews of content as it appears in the Dash search results, giving users a quick way to get more information to help find what they are looking for. The new Web Apps feature makes frequently used web applications available through the desktop." Read the release announcement and see the release notes for further information.
Ubuntu 12.10 -- The Unity desktop.
(full image size: 843kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Kubuntu 12.10
Following the release of Ubuntu 12.10 earlier today, Kubuntu 12.10 is the brand-new version of the project's Linux distribution showcasing the latest KDE desktop: "The Kubuntu community is proud to announce the release of 12.10, the Quantal Quetzal. This is the first release to burst free from the limits of CD sizes giving us some more space for goodies on the image. It also does away with the alternate installer images, adding advanced partitioning options to the desktop image. Built on Ubuntu's core and polished with KDE's applications and workspaces, Kubuntu 12.10 is a grand example of friendly, fast and beautiful software." See the full release announcement and read through the detailed release notes to learn more.
Xubuntu 12.10
Distribution Release: Xubuntu 12.10, an official Ubuntu project providing a desktop operating system with Xfce as the distribution's preferred desktop, has been released: "The Xubuntu team is glad to announce the immediate release of Xubuntu 12.10, code-named Quantal Quetzal. Xubuntu 12.10 will be supported for 18 months. New features: Xfce 4.10; completely rewritten offline documentation; in the application menu, all settings-related launchers are now grouped under the Settings Manager; updated artwork, including new wallpaper, documentation looks and updates to LightDM, Greybird and Ubiquity slideshow; new versions of Catfish and Parole. Notable bug fixes: no more window traces or 'black on black' in installer." Read through the brief release announcement and the more detailed release notes for additional details and known issues.
Lubuntu 12.10
Lubuntu 12.10, a new version of the lightweight Ubuntu variant featuring the LXDE desktop environment, is out: "Lubuntu 12.10 is now available. Features: based on the lightweight LXDE desktop environment; PCManFM, a fast and lightweight files manager; Openbox, the fast and extensible, default window manager of LXDE; LightDM, using the simple GTK+ greeter; Chromium, the open-source version of Google Chrome. Improvements since Lubuntu 12.04: update of the visual identity of Lubuntu, including a completely new icon theme, a new wallpaper and improvements to the current theme, a selection of community wallpapers, and Improved integration of many applications with the new artwork. A new version of the session manager is available, including more customizations and integration options." For more information please see the release announcement and the release notes.
Edubuntu 12.10
Edubuntu 12.10, a special flavour of Ubuntu designed for educational institutions, was also released yesterday as part of the Ubuntu product family: "The Edubuntu development team is proud to announce the release of Edubuntu 12.10. Edubuntu 12.10 is a regular release bringing updated software and a few improvements. For larger deployments and environments where a stable, well tested system is preferred, the Edubuntu development team strongly recommends staying on the long-term support releases (current release is 12.04.1). LTSP users should also remain on Edubuntu 12.04 LTS as 12.10 is lacking Unity support for LTSP and has been reported to be much slower than 12.04. This new release is well suited for home users and users who wish to use the latest versions of the available software." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information.
Ubuntu Studio 12.10
Ubuntu Studio 12.10, a new version of the official Ubuntu variant compiled to give sound, video and graphics artists a free computing platform on which to unleash their creativity, is out and ready for download: "Ubuntu Studio is the Ubuntu flavour designed for content creation. Improved interface: a new web page, the help button on the main menu points there; Task Manager has been switched to System Monitor for better memory use display; a main menu tool has been added to setting to allow the user to change their menu; add/fix text Plymouth theme; set up Software Centre menu items for our workflows; fixed submenu icons for accessories, education and network. New software include: Xfce updated to version 4.10; Linux kernel (low latency) is now version 3.5." See the complete release notes for more details.
Pear Linux 6
David Tavares has announced the release of Pear Linux 6, an easy-to-use Ubuntu-based distribution for the desktop. What's new? "Based on ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS without Unity and the GNOME panel; new Pear Linux Shell (6.0); new Pear Linux Panel (1.0.4); new Pear Aurora 1.0.5 - a new window manager for Pear Linux; new Pear Linux theme and new icon theme; new Dock - the dock is no longer based on Docky (Mono code has been removed), it is now faster and uses fewer resources; new boot splash and login screen; new desktop notifications; new Pear Appstore 6.1.0; new Pear WiFi 1.0 (installer for Windows WiFi drivers); new Mission Control; new Virtual Desktop Switcher; new social applications for Facebook, Twitter and Google+; new version of the Alt-F2 command...." See the release announcement for additional details.
IPFire 2.11 Core 63
Michael Tremer has announced the release of IPFire 2.11 Core 63, a bug-fix version of the project's specialist distribution for firewalls: "Today, we are releasing the 63rd Core update for IPFire 2.11. This update fixes some minor problems and fixes two security issues in Apache. Software updates: Apache 2.2.23 - because of CVE-2012-2687 aka CVE-2008-0455 and CVE-2012-0883; DHCP 4.2.2 - because the older version got confused with VLANs; fireinfo 2.1.6 - ignore some more invalid ID strings. Other bug fixes: the long awaited OpenVPN fragment/mssfix bug has been fixed and the network VLANs initscript is not too noisy any more. Despite that, some invalid HTML output was generated by the index.cgi script." 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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| Around the Web |
Latest reviews
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Latest podcasts
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Latest newsletters
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| DistroWatch.com News |
New distributions added to the database
- OpenELEC. OpenELEC is a Linux-based embedded operating system built specifically to run XBMC, the open source entertainment media hub. The idea behind OpenELEC is to allow people to use their Home Theatre PC (HTPC) like any other device one might have attached to a TV, like a DVD player or Sky box. Instead of having to manage a full operating system, configure it and install the packages required to turn it into a hybrid media center, OpenELEC is designed to be simple to install, manage and use, making it more like running a set-top box than a full-blown computer.
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New distributions added to waiting list
- Santoku. Santoku is dedicated to mobile forensics, analysis, and security.
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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, 29 October 2012. To contact the authors please send email to:
- Jesse Smith (feedback, questions and suggestions: distribution reviews, questions and answers, tips and tricks)
- Ladislav Bodnar (feedback, questions, suggestions and corrections: news, donations, distribution submissions, comments)
- Bruce Patterson (feedback and suggestions: podcast edition)
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
| • Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
| • Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
| • Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
| • Issue 1040 (2023-10-09): CROWZ 5.0, changing the location of default directories, Linux Mint updates its Edge edition, Murena crowdfunding new privacy phone, Debian publishes new install media |
| • Issue 1039 (2023-10-02): Zenwalk Current, finding the duration of media files, Peppermint OS tries out new edition, COSMIC gains new features, Canonical reports on security incident in Snap store |
| • Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years |
| • Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session |
| • Full list of all issues |
| 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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Murena
Murena is an umbrella name for the /e/OS operating system, associated open source powered smartphones, and cloud-based services. The Murena project provides open source images for common smartphones, open source cloud-based storage, calendar, and backup solutions, and sells phones with /e/OS pre-installed. The project's operating system is based on LineageOS, itself based on Android. The Murena team removes closed source applications, trackers, and Google-specific elements of Android and replaces them with open source alternatives.
Status: Active
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| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
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| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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0x969CD4E778C7b6549A2B00e34114e0168c86A542 
