 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 522, 26 August 2013 |
Welcome to this year's 34th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Software freedom is an important aspect of the GNU/Linux community. The concept and practice of sharing source code and taking steps to make sure the code remains available for people to use, modify and redistribute is a key part of what makes the Linux ecosystem work. Free software isn't just a development model, it is also a philosophy which conveys rights to the individual users of the software. This week we focus on software freedom, first by looking at a GNU/Linux distribution which is sponsored by the Free Software Foundation. The project, called gNewSense, provides highly valued software freedom, but how does it stand up to less-free distributions with regards to functionality? Read Jesse Smith's review to find out. We will also be talking about the Parted Magic project's decision to start charging for downloads, the reaction of the Parted Magic community and what the GNU General Public License has to say about cases such as these. In other news, Canonical is finalising plans to ship the Mir display server in Ubuntu 13.10 and the Ubuntu Edge crowd source project has reached its conclusion. Plus there is interesting news coming to the surface about why some USB devices disconnect unexpectedly from Linux machines. We also cover the releases of the past week and look forward to distribution releases to come in the future. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Freedom and gNewSense 3.0
 The gNewSense distribution is derived from the Debian GNU/Linux project. The goal of gNewSense is to provide a completely free software distribution, one which contains no binary blobs or proprietary software. The distribution not only sticks to the strict guidelines of software freedom, as laid out by the Free Software Foundation, it is also sponsored by the FSF. The latest release of gNewSense, version 3.0, comes with a conservative line up of software, including the GNOME 2.30 desktop. In fact, it looks as though the only desktop spin of gNewSense comes with GNOME 2 and this edition is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit builds. The download image for the distribution is approximately 1.1 GB in size.
Booting from the gNewSense disc brings up a menu which allows us to either launch the distribution's live desktop environment or run the distribution's system installer. The installer is available in four possible modes: graphical installer, graphical expert installer, text installer and expert text installer. Opting to start the live environment brings us to the GNOME desktop. The environment is fairly simply decorated with application and system menus at the top of the display. The task switcher sits at the bottom of the screen. Icons for launching the graphical system installer and browsing the file system sit on the desktop. The environment's wallpaper is a soft and pleasing (to my eye) blue.
Launching the graphical installer, either from the live desktop or from the disc's boot menu runs what appears to be a mostly-unmodified copy of the Debian system installer. This graphical installer walks us through confirming our current location, our preferred language and keyboard layout. We're asked to set a hostname, create a password for the root account and then create a regular user account. Next comes disk partitioning and I find the Debian installer, while flexible, feels a bit clumsy when it comes to navigating all of the disk options. Guided partitioning is available for users who would rather not get into the gritty details of carving up the hard disk. The installer supports a small range of file system types, including ext2/3/4, JFS and XFS. After the disk has been partitioned we are asked if the installer should set up the GRUB 2 boot loader on our drive. Once these steps have been completed, and the appropriate files have been copied to our hard drive, the system can be rebooted.
gNewSense 3.0 - playing games and browsing information
(full image size: 154kB, screen resolution 1366x768 pixels)
Booting into gNewSense brings us to a simple graphical login screen. From there signing into our account brings us back to the simply decorated GNOME 2 desktop with its soft, blue background. Upon signing in there are no pop-ups, welcome screens or other notifications. We are simply handed the graphical interface and turned loose. On my machines there did not appear to be any visual effects enabled, which may have accounted for GNOME's surprisingly responsive nature. Glancing through the application menu I found the distribution came with a strong collection of software, though many of the version numbers of these applications are showing their age. GNOME comes with its Epiphany web browser and the Iceweasel (Firefox) web browser, version 3.5, is included. I found the Gnash free software implementation of Flash is installed for us and it worked on most of the websites I browsed, including YouTube. The Empathy instant messaging client is installed alongside the Ekiga software phone. The OpenOffice.org 3 productivity suite is installed for us as is the Evolution e-mail and calendar software.
The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is included in the distribution as is the Inkscape image editing application. The Cheese webcam utility is installed as are the Totem video player and an audio CD ripper. The Brasero disc burner is also included. I found gNewSense ships with multimedia codecs for playing most popular media formats, including MP3 audio files. The distribution features a few accessibility tools, including an on-screen keyboard and a text-to-speech screen reader. We're also given a text editor, archive manager, a few games and a virtual calculator. Looking in the System menu we find administrative tools for managing users and groups, a utility for enabling/disabling system services, a printer manager and network configuration app. GNOME comes with several small apps for configuring the look and feel of the desktop and I found these worked well. In the background I found Java support, provided by GNU's GIJ software, and we are given a copy of the GNU Compiler Collection. Under the hood gNewSense runs on the Linux kernel, version 2.6.32.
The gNewSense project maintains its own software repositories, which appear to be copies of Debian's package repositories, but with the non-free elements removed. This gives us a large selection of software and I suspect most users will find everything they need in gNewSense's repositories. To access all of this software we are given the Synaptic graphical package manager. Synaptic, like much of the gNewSense distribution as a whole, may not be pretty, but it is certainly effective. Synaptic takes a package-oriented approach to software, allowing us to browse individual packages and hunt for items by name or description. Synaptic allows us to create batches of actions to perform on multiple packages and processes these batches all at once. While the package manager is working it gives us detailed information on what it is doing, useful if we need to debug issues later. I used Synaptic for adding software and checking for updated packages and found the application worked flawlessly.
gNewSense 3.0 - managing software packages with Synaptic
(full image size: 114kB, screen resolution 1366x768 pixels)
I had the opportunity to run gNewSense on two physical machines and in a virtual machine powered by VirtualBox. First I tried the distribution on my laptop (dual-core 2 GHz CPU, 4 GB of RAM, Intel video card, Intel wireless card). I found gNewSense booted quickly, ran smoothly and my desktop was set to its maximum resolution. The one problem I had when running gNewSense on the laptop was with the wireless network card. The Intel card in my laptop requires non-free firmware and, as the distribution does not ship non-free components, I was unable to get on-line without physically connecting a network cable. Next up I tried gNewSense on a desktop machine (dual-core 2.8 GHz CPU, 6 GB of RAM, Radeon video card, Realtek network card) and found the distribution performed beautifully. Again, gNewSense ran quickly, all of my hardware was properly detected and my display was set to its maximum resolution.
I was quite pleased with the distribution's showing on the desktop machine. In the VirtualBox virtual machine I found gNewSense didn't seem to be at home. Perhaps it was just due to a lack of VirtualBox modules being included in the distribution. Whatever the cause I found gNewSense ran slowly in the virtual environment and the screen resolution was quite low (800x600 pixels). This discouraged me from using the distribution in the virtual environment as I much preferred running it natively on the desktop box. On each machine the distribution used approximately 100MB of RAM when logged into the GNOME 2 environment. Considering the amount of power and customization GNOME 2 provides I was quite happy with the small memory footprint. Usually I would have to use a tiny desktop environment, such as LXDE, to get such lean performance out of a graphical desktop.
gNewSense 3.0 - GNOME settings and Iceweasel web browser
(full image size: 148kB, screen resolution 1366x768 pixels)
Generally speaking, I was happy with gNewSense 3.0. Being based on Debian, the distribution can be counted on to provide both stability and amazing performance. The distribution is lean, fast and uncluttered. The flip side to this is gNewSense's system installer and default package management tools are geared more toward experienced users and will probably provide a steep learning curve to novice Linux users. Not much is automated and there is a minimum of hand holding. The main feature of gNewSense, the lack of proprietary software, is also a double-edged blade. On the one hand, it means the entire operating system can be audited, modified and redistributed. This is great from the perspective of software freedom. The fact that the distribution can play most multimedia formats and handled Flash content fairly well is a testament of the power of free and open source software. The one problem I ran into with gNewSense's software policy was with regards to my wireless network card. Most distributions ship with the non-free Intel firmware, but gNewSense doesn't include it and this means the distribution isn't a good fit with my laptop. It is, on the other hard, a great match with my desktop system.
Finally, I want to acknowledge that gNewSense is pretty conservative in its software selection. OpenOffice.org 3, the 2.6.32 Linux kernel and GNOME 2.30 are all getting long in the tooth. Some people will appreciate this conservative (ie stable) approach, while others may feel the distribution is out of date. I personally felt that the software provided was up to the tasks I wanted to perform. The distribution doesn't have the latest shiny offerings, but I think it performs well enough. In fact, given its tiny memory footprint, it may be well suited to older hardware and be able to provide performance which would usually require a distribution with less functionality.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Updates on Mir display server, Ubuntu Edge fails to gain funding, common problem with USB devices may have solution
 Jono Bacon, the Ubuntu community manager at Canonical, has posted some updates regarding Canonical's plans for the Mir display server technology. The new display server, which Canonical hopes to deploy on desktops, laptops, phones and tablets, has generated a lot of interest over the past few months. Some Ubuntu-based projects are moving to adopt the new technology, others are avoiding it in favour of the competing Wayland display protocol. Mr Bacon writes: "Our goal has been clear that in Ubuntu 13.10 we will include Mir by default for cards that support it and fall back to X for cards that don't (primarily those that require proprietary graphics drivers). In 14.04 we will deploy Mir but not provide the X fallback mode, and we are in active discussions with GPU manufacturers for them to support Mir in their drivers." While Mir is still under heavily development and therefore not yet ready for day-to-day usage, people interested in trying Mir can find packages for the display server in the Ubuntu 13.10 software repositories.
Kevin Gunn, who leads the Display Server team at Canonical, has some further updates which dig more into the technical nature of Mir. Gunn's status update covers Mir/Unity support, driver support, multi-monitor successes & problems and fallback support using X. Gunn also lays out some details as to what features and bug fixes are in the works and should be complete before Mir lands in the next Ubuntu long term support release.
Canonical is always experimenting, whether it is with display servers, desktop environments or phones. A month ago Canonical launched an Indiegogo fund raising project in an attempt to fund development of an Ubuntu-powered phone. While the funds came in fast at first, they eventually trickled to a halt. The Ubuntu Edge project managed to pull in approximately $12.8 million dollars of the required $32 million, which means backers will be refunded and Ubuntu fans will have to wait for mobile carriers to ship devices powered by Ubuntu. Not all experiments yield positive results, but it looks as thought Canonical has successfully tested the waters and are now aware just how much of the mobile market is interested in running Ubuntu on hand held devices.
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 Do you have USB devices which regularly disconnect when they are plugged into your Linux-powered computer? If so it may not be a fault of the device as some people have long thought. Sarah Sharp, who has been working on USB drivers in the Linux kernel for eight years and who was at the forefront of bringing USB 3.0 support to the kernel, has made an interesting discovery. Namely, it seems that the core USB system does not give USB devices long enough to wake up which can cause disconnects. "If the USB core attempts to access those ports while the device is still coming out of resume, such as issuing transfers to the device, or resetting the port, the device will disconnect, or transfer errors will occur. This causes the USB core to mark the device as disconnected." No doubt we will soon see a fix for this issue arriving in future kernel updates.
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| Opinion (by Jesse Smith) |
Exploring the GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is an important document in the open source community, especially in the realm of Linux distributions. Much of the software we use on a regular basis, including the Linux kernel itself and most of our command line tools, are distributed under the General Public License (GPL). The GPL and the software freedoms it represents are key to the success of many free and open source software projects. Software freedom and the licenses which help enforce it are cornerstones in the GNU/Linux community and often used to entice users away from proprietary operating systems. The GNU GPL is frequently (almost continually) discussed on technology forums, free & open source websites and development mailing lists. With all this discussion, one thing becomes quite clear: relatively few people have read and understood the GPL.
This lack of understanding can be quite frustrating for free and open source software advocates as it makes having a reasonable discussion of the merits (or limitations) of the license difficult. A vocal portion of the open source community will talk at length about the license, praising it or tearing it apart, based on their (incorrect) assumptions. This has lead to further misunderstanding and, in some cases, a good deal of distress for developers. Take Patrick Verner, the lead developer of Parted Magic, as an example. In an effort to help make ends meet, Mr Verner recently started charging a small fee for direct downloads of Parted Magic, a project distributed under the GPL. Despite there being other avenues to acquire the Parted Magic software, the response was, Verner reported, unpleasant. "People are going nuts saying Parted Magic is no longer free software. People can still redistribute it under the terms of the GPL. Nothing has changed." Verner commented. He went on to say: "Some the forum posts said stuff about hacking my website and beating me up because my address is on-line."
These unfortunate comments seem to stem from a common misunderstanding, namely that software freedom requires that software be made available without cost. Such is not true and there is nothing in the GNU GPL which prevents charging for software. In fact the GNU website states that charging money for software licensed under the GPL is allowed. This is why software freedom advocates often quip that they are in favour of "free as in freedom, not free as in beer".
Another common misunderstanding with regards to the General Public License is that anyone modifying the source code of a program must then give back their changes to the original project. While this may be in the spirit of the GPL, it is not one of the requirements of the license. Individuals and companies can modify software licensed under the GPL all they want without sharing their changes. The GPL, after all, only covers software distribution. This is why companies, such as Google, can create their own GNU/Linux distributions and use them within the company and not share their modifications. So long as the company doesn't distribute their software outside of the organization there is no requirement for them to share their source code.
Speaking of the source code, there is a good deal of confusion about when a distributor must release their source code if their program is licensed under the GPL. Many people mistakenly believe a GPLed program must be accompanied with source code, freely available to anyone who wants it. This is not the case. When someone distributes software under the GPL they must comply with one of the three following options:
- Accompany [the program] with the complete corresponding machine-readable source code.
- Accompany [the program] with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give any third-party, for a charge no more than your cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code.
- Accompany [the program] with the information you received as to the offer to distribute corresponding source code.
While most free software developers go with the first options, which is very polite and accommodating, developers are well within their rights to simply provide a written offer to provide their source code at cost. Or, in the case of non-commercial usage, people sharing programs can refer to upstream providers of the source code.
There is a lot of passion surrounding the GPL and the license includes some unusual concepts with regards to software distribution. This combination makes for a situation ripe with misunderstanding and heated debate. It is my hope that both proponents and detractors of the license will take the time to read this important document. The GPL is a useful and philosophically interesting license and I think we would all be better off if people took the time to better understand it.
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| Released Last Week |
OS4 OpenLinux 13.7
Roberto Dohnert has announced the release of OS4 OpenLinux 13.7 and also OS4 4.1.4 "Enterprise" edition: "Today we are pleased to announce the release of OS4 OpenLinux 13.7 and OS4 Enterprise Linux 4.1.4. OS4 OpenLinux 13.7 is our updated KDE release that we provide for users. With OS4 OpenLinux 13.7 we have created a best of breed KDE desktop based system and the fastest KDE live image available. With that we also updated the OS4 OpenLinux core system with all applicable kernel bug fixes and updated kernel with new drivers and speed improvements. OS4 Enterprise Linux has undergone some major changes here. OS4 Enterprise Linux will be KDE-based for the rest of its life cycle. Xfce is still available via the custom image service. The DWM tiling window manager is still installed via default." Read the full release announcement for detailed information regarding both releases.
LXLE 12.04.3
LXLE is a respin of Lubuntu aiming at a fast and capable desktop for ageing computers. Version 12.04.3 has just been unleashed: "LXLE Paradigm goes final with 12.04.3 update. 'Paradigm' is a tentative attempt to create four different desktop paradigms for users to choose from once they start up their aging computers when using LXLE. LXLE paradigm is not an attempt to completely mimic other desktops features and functions but to provide a desktop scheme that is familiar to all different types of computer users whether you are comfortable with Linux, Mac or Windows operating system. Currently the paradigms available at start-up are, Gnome 2 (G2), Windows (XP), Mac (OSX) and Ubuntu's Unity. Each desktop can be entered and/or used at anytime, and you can switch back and forth at will." Follow the complete release announcement for more information including nearly thirty screenshots.
LXLE 12.04.3 - a Lubuntu-based distribution for older computers
(full image size: 1,338kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
Proxmox 3.1 "Virtual Environment"
Martin Maurer has announced the release of Proxmox 3.1 "Virtual Environment" edition, a Debian-based distribution offering a complete server virtualization management solution based on KVM and containers: "We just released Proxmox VE 3.1, introducing great new features and services. We included SPICE, GlusterFS storage plugin and the ability to apply updates via GUI. As an additional service for our commercial subscribers, we introduce the Proxmox VE Enterprise Repository. This is the default and recommended repository for production servers. To access the Enterprise Repository, each Proxmox VE Server needs a valid Subscription Key. There is no change in licensing (AGPL v3), also packages for non-subscribers are still available. Changelog: pve-kernel-2.6.32-23-pve (2.6.32-109) - update to vzkernel-2.6.32-042stab079.5.src.rpm, remove fix-ipoib-add-missing-lock.patch (now upstream), include Highpoint 2710 RAID driver...." Check the release announcement, release notes, upgrading instructions, and the Download page for detailed information including download links.
NetBSD 6.1.1
NetBSD 6.1.1 today was announced as the first security/bugfix update of the NetBSD 6.1 release branch: "It represents a selected subset of fixes deemed important for security or stability reasons. Please note that all fixes in the prior security/bugfix updates (NetBSD 6.0.1 and 6.0.2), as well as those in 6.1, are also in 6.1.1. See the release map graph on the NetBSD website for a visual representation of the relationship between releases. Complete source and binaries for NetBSD 6.1.1 are available for download at many sites around the world. We encourage users who wish to install via ISO or USB disk images to download via BitTorrent by using the torrent files supplied in the images area." Read the release announcement and the release notes for full information.
Antergos 2013.08.20
Antergos (previously known as Cinnarch) is an Arch based distribution that previously focused on the Cinnamon desktop but now provides multiple choices on desktop environments. Antergos 2013.08.20 has been released: "We are glad to announce the release of Antergos 2013.08.20 with a lot of improvements in the installation process for you to enjoy your system from the start. This new release comes after several months' working mostly on our graphical installer Cnchi and on Remendo. Openbox has been included as an option to be installed along with GNOME, Cinnamon, Xfce, Razor-qt or Base. You will end up with a lightweight desktop, while having up to date software. The software included with Openbox was chosen to be in the line of the Openbox spirit." Read the release announcement for detailed information.
Antergos 2013.08.20 - the default GNOME 3 desktop
(full image size: 208kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
SolydXK 201308
Arjen Balfoort has announced the release of SolydXK 201308, the latest update of the project's desktop Linux distribution with Xfce (SolydX) or KDE (SolydK) based on Debian's "testing" branch: "The new SolydXK ISO images include the latest updates from the August update pack. Some things are changed, and some are new. Here's a short list: the default start menu has been replaced by the Whisker menu, this menu has a built-in search function, and you can easily change your favorite programs list; the wicd network manager has been replaced by NetworkManager, NetworkManager supports mobile broadband by default; KDE has been upgraded to version 4.10.5; the Zurmo CRM software has been upgraded to version 2.0.21; for those who'd like to try them all, we've released a SolydXK Multi DVD, the DVD consists of all five distributions." Here is the full release announcement.
Macpup 550
Johnny Lee has announced the release of Macpup 550, a Puppy Linux-based distribution featuring a customised Enlightenment 17 desktop: "Prit and I are proud to announce the release of Macpup 550, our newest E17 Macpup. It is based on Precise Puppy 5.5.0, an official Woof build of Puppy Linux that is binary-compatible with Ubuntu 'Precise' packages. Macpup 550 contains all the applications from Precise Puppy with the addition of Firefox 21. It also includes the Enlightenment 0.17 window manager. The EFL libraries version 1.7.5 and E17 version 0.17 were compiled and installed from source. To keep your CPU cool and your fan quiet use the CPU Frequency Scaling Tool; Menu, Applications, System, CPU frequency Scaling Tool. The first time you run Macpup the system will be running totally in RAM, click on htop on the ibar to check working space left in RAM." Continue to the release announcement for further information and acknowledgements.
Macpup 550 - a Puppy-based distro with Enlightenment
(full image size: 829kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
Endian Firewall 2.5.2
Version 2.5.2 of Endian Firewall, a specialist distribution designed for firewalls and routers, has been released: "After a long time, we are ready to announce the Endian Firewall Community 2.5.2 release. This release is mainly a bug-fix one. A list of the main changes: antivirus - ClamAV has been updated to the most recent version to make sure signature updates will continue to work; anti-spyware - lists are now being provided by PhishTank instead of Malware Domains, this not only results in more sites being recognized correctly but also allows us to show an information page with a link to PhishTank's description of the malicious website instead of displaying an empty page; hardware support - support for various hardware devices has been added, including support for USB modems as well as drivers for network interface cards and hard disk controllers." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details.
Ubuntu 12.04.3
Stéphane Graber has announced the release of Ubuntu 12.04.3, an updated set of live and installation images incorporating all security and bug-fix updates since April 2012 when Ubuntu 12.04 was first released. This is a version with an LTS (long-term support) feature, providing security fixes until 2017. From the release announcement: "The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS (Long-Term Support) for its Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products, as well as other flavours of Ubuntu with long-term support. As with 12.04.2, 12.04.3 contains an updated kernel and X stack for new installations on x86 architectures." See also the release notes for link to a change summary and product overview.
Slackel 4.0 "Openbox"
Dimitris Tzemos has announced the release of Slackel 4.0 "Openbox" edition, a lightweight Slackware-based distribution featuring the Openbox window manager: "Slackel 4.0 Openbox has been released. Slackel is based on Slackware Linux and Salix OS. Includes the Linux kernel 3.10.9 and lots of updates from Slackware's 'Current' tree. Slackel 4.0 Openbox includes the Midori 0.5.0 web browser, Claws-Mail 3.9.2, Transmission, SpaceFM, OpenJRE 7u40, Rhino, IcedTea-Web, Pidgin 2.10.7, gFTP 2.0.19, wicd. AbiWord 2.8.6, Gnumeric 1.12.2 and ePDFViewer office applications are included. Whaaw! Media Player is the default movie player, Exaile 3.3.0 is the application to use for managing your music collection, Asunder CD ripper, Bracero for writing CD/DVDs and more. In the graphics section Viewnior 1.3, GIMP 2.8.6 and Scrot the snapshot utility." Here is the brief release announcement with a screenshot.
OpenMediaVault 0.5
Volker Theile has announced the release of OpenMediaVault 0.5, a major update of the project's Network-Attached Storage (NAS) solution based on Debian GNU/Linux: "Today I am proud to release OpenMediaVault 0.5 (Sardaukar) after a long time of development. The following changes and new features have been implemented: complete refactoring of the backend, the main processing unit/engine has been relocated into a forking daemon process; IPv6 support; upgrade WebGUI to Sencha ExtJS 4.2.x; add new panel in the 'System - Network' section to configure Zeroconf/Service Discovery; add option to enable AIO support for SMB/CIFS, AIO is enabled by default; do not execute a file system check during boot on USB devices; add ability to enable/disable scheduled S.M.A.R.T. tests; add ability to initiate a S.M.A.R.T. test via WebGUI; display an information dialog after RAID has been created...." Read the full release announcement for more information and upgrade instructions.
Manjaro Linux 0.8.7
Philip Müller has announced the release of Manjaro Linux 0.8.7, an Arch-based distribution and live CD with a choice of Xfce or Openbox desktop user interfaces: "on behalf of the Manjaro development team I'm happy to announce our new stable release of Manjaro Linux 'Ascella'. A special 'thank you' goes to Arnt who joined our team. His work, Octopi 0.2.0, gets introduces with the Openbox edition. This new front-end for pamac makes it really simple to keep your boxes up-to-date. With the additional support for Yaourt the whole AUR repository extends the official Manjaro repositories. With a new welcome screen we ease up the introduction to Manjaro Linux. Important information and links to our forum, wiki and documentation plus buttons to start our graphical and text installers give you an amazing entry to this distro. Features: Linux kernel: 3.4.59 LTS, X.Org 1.14.2, Firefox 22.0.1, Thunderbird 17.0.8, VLC 2.0.8a...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more new features and screenshots.
Manjaro Linux 0.8.7 - the default Xfce desktop interface with the Whisker menu
(full image size: 551kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
July 2013 DistroWatch.com donation: DVDStyler
We are happy to announce that the recipient of the July 2013 DistroWatch.com donation is DVDStyler, a free DVD authoring application for creating professional-looking DVDs. It receives €200.00 in cash.
 Quoting the project's own description, DVDStyler is "a cross-platform free DVD authoring application for the creation of professional-looking DVDs. It allows not only burning of video files on DVD that can be played practically on any standalone DVD player, but also creation of individually designed DVD menus. It is open-source software and is completely free." Released under the General Public License (GPL), the program offers a large number of useful features, such as: "create and burn DVD video with interactive menus; design your own DVD menu or select one from the list of ready to use menu templates; create photo slideshow; add multiple subtitle and audio tracks; support of AVI, MOV, MP4, MPEG, OGG, WMV and other file formats; support of MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, Xvid, MP2, MP3, AC-3 and other audio and video formats...." DVDStyler has been included in the repositories of many popular distributions, including Arch Linux, Mageia, PCLinuxOS and Gentoo Linux, but curiously it is still absent from most Debian and Fedora-based distributions.
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, credit cards and Bitcoins 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), ImageMagick ($350), GNU ddrescue ($350), Slackware Linux ($500), MATE ($250), LibreCAD ($250), BleachBit ($350), cherrytree ($260), Zim ($335), nginx ($250), LFTP ($250), Remastersys ($300)
- 2013: MariaDB ($300), Linux From Scratch ($350), GhostBSD ($340), DHCP ($300), DOSBox ($250), awesome ($300), DVDStyler ($280)
Since the launch of the Donations Program in March 2004, DistroWatch has donated a total of US$36,105 to various open-source software projects.
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New distributions added to waiting list
- BlackArch Linux. BlackArch Linux is a lightweight expansion of Arch Linux with tools for penetration testing.
- EdgeBSD. The primary goal of EdgeBSD is to provide an ambitious environment for working as a bigger community together on the NetBSD Project. This will be achieved thanks to a more modern development infrastructure, while taking a more aggressive stance on integrating and enabling features.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 2 September 2013. 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 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 |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
TA-Linux
TA-Linux was a free Linux distribution that targets Linux power users. Its main goal was to have a small base installation that the end-users can expand to include the software they need. The secondary goal was to support as many different architectures as possible, at this time x86 was fully supported with Alpha, Sparc, PPC and PA-RISC around the corner. Extra software not included in the base was handled using a system resembling the *BSD ports system, called Collection, which handles installation, upgrading and dependencies. The primary way of installing new software was to download the source, compile and install it (totaly automatic). The user can also choose to install already built binary packages, also automaticaly using the Collection system.
Status: Discontinued
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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!
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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