 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 571, 11 August 2014 |
Welcome to this year's 32nd issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Most of us want our computers to be easy to use and we also want our computers to be secure. Unfortunately convenience and security are typically in opposition to each other. Making a system both secure and easy to use is often a juggling act involving compromise. This week we turn our attention to projects which want to provide stable, secure and easy to use operating systems. We begin with a review of HandyLinux, a project which is designed for new computer users. In our News section we discuss Ubuntu's push to improve the distribution's documentation, a tutorial on securing FreeBSD and a recommendation from the EFF for people maintaining many complex passwords across multiple computers. In addition, we discuss Linux Mint's plans for the project's "Debian" edition. Plus, in our Questions and Answers section, we talk about what to do when running out of disk space on an advanced file system such as Btrfs or ZFS. We also discuss software back doors and rumours of compromised open source projects. We wrap up this week by covering recent distribution releases and looking ahead to fun new developments to come. We wish you all an amazing week and happy reading!
Content:
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (32MB) and MP3 (37MB) formats
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
HandyLinux 1.6 - a handy distribution to have
 The HandyLinux distribution is a desktop operating system based on packages from the Debian project. HandyLinux is, according to the project's website, designed for "absolute beginners" and it appears as though the developers mean both Linux beginners and newcomers to desktop computers in general. The latest release of HandyLinux, version 1.6, is available in two 32-bit x86 builds, one with PAE support and one without. The project's website and the distribution itself primarily support the French and English languages. I downloaded the PAE-enabled edition of HandyLinux and found the ISO for this build is 1.2 GB in size.
Booting from the HandyLinux media brings up a menu where we are asked if we would like to try running HandyLinux in a live environment or if we would like to launch the project's system installer. This boot menu provides each of its options twice, once in French and once in English. Assuming we decide to try the live desktop environment first we are asked to choose our keyboard's layout from a list and then we are brought to a welcome screen. This welcome screen tells us how to access the project's documentation and the application menu. It also explains how to shutdown the computer and offers to show us a tutorial outlining basic controls. I found the tutorial covers such computer basics as how to click on buttons and controls, how to open files, how to play media and how to select, copy and paste text.
HandyLinux 1.6 - the welcome screen
(full image size: 305kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
HandyLinux runs the Xfce desktop environment (version 4.8), an interface which is fast and light on resources. The default theme is flat and comprised of soft colours. Most of the desktop's features, such as the application menu button, task switcher and system tray, are placed at the bottom of the screen. Clicking the application menu button brings up a window in the middle of the display. This window is divided into a handful of tabs. Each tab contains a small collection of software or folders. For instance, one tab features a web browser and e-mail software, another tab contains commonly accessed folders in our home directory. Anther tab contains productivity software, another features games and another features system administration utilities. These tabs each feature only a few application launchers and most include a Help button which opens a web browser and shows us documentation on the available software in the current tab.
There are three things I like in particular about this unusual menu system. One is that it is not at all crowded. The icons and text are big, the categories are few and well presented. Second, there is a documentation button in each software tab explaining what each program does and some basics on how to get started using it. Finally, HandyLinux has not only focused on one-application-per-task, the developers have also placed some of the most popular software in this menu. It is certainly possible to access more software, but for complete beginners the developers have exclusively presented popular software in an easy-to-access fashion.
HandyLinux 1.6 - default application menu and settings panel
(full image size: 500kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
I did not find a system installer in the main menu of the live environment and so I rebooted the computer and opted to run the HandyLinux system installer in English from the boot menu. HandyLinux uses the Debian graphical system installer. The installer walks us through selecting our preferred language, the region of the world where we live and our keyboard's layout. Next we are asked to create a name for our computer and then we are asked to create a user account for ourselves. Partitioning is probably the only potentially difficult part of the installer to navigate. We have the option of either manually dividing up our hard disk or, alternatively, we can simply let HandyLinux take over our disk. Assuming we take the automatic ("guided") partitioning option, HandyLinux sets us up with a swap partition and a root partition, with the latter formatted using the ext4 file system. HandyLinux then copies its files to our hard drive. When the installer is finished we reboot the computer and are presented with a simple, graphical login screen.
Signing into our account for the first time brings up the same welcome screen we saw when using the live environment. When we dismiss the welcome screen another window appears asking if we would like check for software updates. I agreed to perform the update check and was soon shown a simple software updating application. This program basically just shows us a list of available updates and offers us two buttons. One button checks again for more updates and the other downloads available packages. When I installed HandyLinux there were just two updated packages waiting for me and these totalled less than 1 MB in size. These updates downloaded and installed without any problems. In the future, when new updates were available, a small icon would appear in the system tray. Clicking on the update notification icon would launch the software updating application.
HandyLinux 1.6 - updating software packages and alternative application menu
(full image size: 681kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
I tried running HandyLinux in two environments, on a physical desktop computer and in a virtual machine provided by VirtualBox. In both instances HandyLinux ran smoothly. My desktop's display was set to its maximum resolution, sound worked out of the box and my Internet connection was automatically configured. In both environments the Xfce interface was highly responsive. HandyLinux was quick to boot and performed tasks without delay. I found that logging into my account used approximately 140MB of memory, a relatively low amount for a modern Linux desktop distribution.
At first it appears as thought HandyLinux does not feature many applications. The main application menu provides us with some important items such as the Chromium web browser with Flash and AdBlock enabled. We are given the Icedove (Thunderbird) e-mail client, the Skype software phone and LibreOffice. The Minitube YouTube client is installed for us along with the VLC multimedia player, the Quod Libet music player and popular multimedia codecs. We are also given the Xfburn disc burning application, the Shotwell photo manager, a scanning tool, a few games, a calculator and text editor. Finally, we find the Xfce settings panel and the Software Centre package manager. At first this may seem to be the full array of installed software, however one of the icons in the application menu opens a window that provides us with a list of all the installed desktop applications. This list can be searched using keywords and categories of software to help us find more programs.
I also found it was easy to add a traditional application menu to the Xfce panel, giving the user a way to access Handy's full catalogue of software. Some of the other programs available include configuration utilities for handling printers, network connections and user accounts. TeamViewer is available as are an audio disc ripper and the Cheese webcam utility. I also found a PDF viewer, the Synaptic package manager and the GParted partition manager. Java is installed for us, Network Manager helps us get on-line and there is an app for enabling/disabling system services. Behind the scenes, HandyLinux runs on the Linux kernel, version 3.2
HandyLinux 1.6 - Software Centre and application finder
(full image size: 523kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
HandyLinux ships with two graphical package managers, Synaptic and Software Centre. These package managers pull software from the Debian Stable repository with a few items coming from Handy's custom repository. We also connect to a VideoLAN repository which I suspect supplies up to date versions of the VLC multimedia player. Software Centre is the primary package manager and it provides users with a pleasant, friendly interface. We can browse through categories of software or perform searches using keywords. While browsing through items we can click on a package to gain detailed information about the selected software. Installing or removing a program happens with a single button click and we can continue to use Software Centre while it is adding or removing packages.
Synaptic is quite different in its approach. Synaptic presents us with a plain, alphabetical list of available packages. We can filter the list using various controls and search for items. Synaptic allows us to create batches of actions to perform and then locks the interface while these actions are completed. Synaptic is quite fast and flexible, but has a more business-like interface. I mostly used Software Centre during my time with HandyLinux and found it worked well, performing new installations and removing unwanted programs without any problems.
Conclusions
I try to evaluate distributions based upon their stated goals and so my views on HandyLinux are quite straight forward. The HandyLinux project claims they want their distribution to be easy to use, that they want to appeal to beginners. The HandyLinux project is, at times, described as "Debian without the headaches". With regards to this stated goal I must say HandyLinux does very well. The distribution is fairly easy to install, especially if we take the guided partitioning option. HandyLinux has a very simple desktop environment that is virtually void of clutter and very easy to navigate. The distribution has some nice tutorials and a friendly welcome screen to help newcomers get started. HandyLinux ships with some of the greatest gems of the open source community and makes these applications easy to access. The project's documentation is easy to find and helpful. In short, the only way I believe HandyLinux could be easier to work with is if the developers came over to the user's home and operated the computer for them.
HandyLinux 1.6 - the browser's start page with search options
(full image size: 136kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
While HandyLinux is quite easy to use, I feel the distribution avoids falling into two common traps. Often "beginner friendly" distributions either make it harder to perform certain tasks or they enable too much eye candy in order to look appealing. HandyLinux gets around both problems by shipping with the Xfce desktop and disabling visual effects. This leaves us with a clean, responsive desktop environment. Customizing Xfce to add in a traditional application menu is straight forward. Likewise, adjusting the layout of the desktop or changing the appearance is fairly easy. Under the hood, HandyLinux is Debian Stable with very few adjustments. This means we have access to the huge catalogue of software in the Debian repositories and can access all the tools and command-line power provided by the Debian distribution.
What my time with HandyLinux really boiled down to was the distribution was very easy to use while the novice-friendly features did not get in my way. HandyLinux assumes we have no experience with computers, going so far as to explain copy/pasting text in a tutorial and telling us how to use the video player. However, the flexibility and power of Debian is always under the surface, always a click or two away. The distribution is very fast, ships with a great default collection of software and is one of the easiest to use operating systems I've had the pleasure to try. Plus, HandyLinux will be supported for about another two years or more, making it a good, stable option for friends or family members who call on you for tech support.
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Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a desktop HP Pavilon p6 Series with the following specifications:
- Processor: Dual-core 2.8 GHz AMD A4-3420 APU
- Storage: 500 GB Hitachi hard drive
- Memory: 6 GB of RAM
- Networking: Realtek RTL8111 wired network card
- Display: AMD Radeon HD 6410D video card
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith and Ladislav Bodnar) |
Ubuntu seeks documentation writers, FreeBSD releases updated package manager, Mint's Debian edition to be based on Debian "Stable", Debian re-opens default desktop discussion, EFF recommends new password manager
 A very common complaint about open source software, or indeed any software, is the lack of proper and complete documentation. Both new and experienced users benefit greatly from correct and detailed documentation. With that in mind, the Ubuntu project is putting out a call for volunteers to help polish and extend the project's documentation. If you would like to give back to the open source community and have been looking for a way to help, you can visit the Ubuntu wiki and join in the documentation writing process.
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 We want our computers and operating systems to remain just that: ours. We do not want our computers giving away our secrets or becoming spam-spewing bots under the control of someone else. For this reason security is important and the twisteddaemon blog has some good tips for keeping systems secure. These steps mainly focus on FreeBSD, but most of the tips can be applied to Linux distributions as well: "I like the warm and fuzzy feeling of snug blankets and a secure computer. So all of these suggestions are related to security. I would recommend these to anyone that is playing around with a FreeBSD install which will connect to the internet."
In other FreeBSD news, the team which develops the FreeBSD package manager, pkg, has released a fresh version of the powerful application. The new package manager includes new options, better dependency resolution and the ability to install software packages from local files while resolving dependencies using remote repositories.
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 Last month we reported the Linux Mint distribution was considering re-basing Linux Mint "Debian" edition from Debian Testing to Debian Stable. This would make Linux Mint "Debian" a more conservative, more stable platform and move the distribution from a rolling release base to a fixed base. Last week a new post on the Linux Mint blog confirmed that, after careful consideration, Linux Mint Debian Edition will be based on Debian "Stable": "After a long reflection and many discussions the decision was made to switch Linux Mint 'Debian' edition (LMDE) from its current snapshot cycle to a Debian 'Stable' package base. The transition from Update Pack 8 to Debian 'Jessie' should be smooth and similar to a traditional UP upgrade, in sync with the upstream 'Jessie' freeze planned for November this year." The distribution's lead developer, Clem, further explained how the new edition will work, stating: "On top of 'Jessie', we'll be doing something similar to what we're doing with 'Trusty' i.e. you'll get security updates and bug fixes from upstream on an ongoing basis with the same filter/policy as in Mint Update and we'll backport popular apps, DEs and Mint tools."
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 When hundreds of developers work on a large project it's only natural that consensus is sometimes hard to reach. The Debian project has seen a fair share of heated debates over the years and it looks like a new one is beginning to brew once again. This time it's about the default desktop environment in the upcoming release. For various reasons, Debian has switched from GNOME to Xfce during the current development cycle, but there are developers who would like to see the decision reversed. One of them is Jordi Mallach, the maintainer of a number of GNOME packages, whose blog post published last week provides some interesting reasons: "In short, we think defaulting to GNOME is the best option for the Debian release, and in contrast, shipping Xfce as the default desktop could mean delivering a desktop experience that has some incomplete or rough edges, and not on par with Debian quality standards for a stable release. We believe tasksel should again revert the change and be uploaded as soon as possible, in order to get people testing images with GNOME the sooner the better, with the freeze only two months away."
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 Password managers are applications which securely store collections of passwords. This allows people to maintain large numbers of user name and complex password combinations without needing to remember them all. Password managers typically store credentials in an encrypted file for security purposes, but this can cause problems when we want to access our passwords from multiple computers or hand held devices. The Electronic Frontier Foundation posted a solution which offers people the security of password managers with the flexibility to access passwords from multiple locations. The solution is a cloud-oriented password manager called Mitro: "Mitro is distinctive amongst free/open source password managers in that it's architected around cloud storage. For security, the online password databases are encrypted with client-side keys derived from your master password. For availability, they are mirrored across three cloud storage providers." More information on Mitro and how it works can be found on the project's website
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Running out of disk space and software back doors
Out-of-room asks: I ran into a problem yesterday where my NAS, running ZFS, warned me it was out of disk space. I tried deleting a bunch of files, 30 GB worth, but the system still complained it was out of space. Rebooting and checking available space still showed no disk space free. Is my ZFS install broken or is there something special I need to do to free up space? Do I need to re-install?
DistroWatch answers: Since you rebooted your computer and gave the file system a chance to sync, I suspect the reason your operating system is reporting it is out of space is that there are file system snapshots taking up room on the disk. With modern file systems, such as Btrfs and ZFS, creating a snapshot is a good way to maintain older versions of files. A snapshot makes it easy to restore a corrupted or deleted file and it can restore an operating system should a package update prevent the system from booting. When a snapshot is initially created it does not require additional disk space, more disk space is used only when the current file system is changed, diverging from the created snapshot.
What may have happened is your file system ran out of space and you then deleted a bunch of files without deleting the snapshots of those files. The deleted files may still exist in a snapshot (or multiple snapshots) and so they are still taking up space on your hard drive. Another way to think of it is this: Imagine deleting a file from your computer, causing the file to be moved into your operating system's trash can. This gets the file out of the way, but disk space will not be freed until you also empty the operating system's trash can. Likewise, you will need to remove existing snapshots of your file system to completely erase all copies of the files you deleted.
The Oracle documentation has a good explanation on running out of disk space with ZFS and a tutorial for working with file system snapshots. For people running on Btrfs who run into similar problems, the Btrfs wiki documentation has tips for dealing with disks running out of space.
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Checking-for-security-holes asks: I read your review on Deepin in the Weekly of July 28th and the (earlier) interview with the lead Deepin developer. Hardware, phones and distributions from China sometimes raise questions about involvement of the China government in having back doors installed. Strangely these questions aren't raised with US or UK hardware, phones and distributions. Is this an aspect you take in consideration while testing new distributions? Do you, not being in the security business I suppose, hear of such rumours?
DistroWatch answers: I am aware of the rumours that circulate about various computer products and, especially those originating from China. Regarding the distributions I choose to review and what I write about them, I can tell you the primary country of origin of a software product has no impact on whether I will review it. Open source software is, by its nature, international. All Linux distributions contain code from multiple countries and I see no reason to be biased for or against a distribution just because the many components are assembled in one country or another.
I can tell you that my reviews contain only my observations, facts I can gather and my opinions on the experiences I have. I see no reason to consider rumours about which products may or may not include malware without proof. Almost all governments use spy tools and find ways to introduce back doors into operating systems. Those which do not make their own software back doors purchase such tools from companies in other countries. People who point fingers solely at Chinese products and complain about intentional back doors are either ignorant of other governments' actions or simply bigoted. I think it is worth noting that China has been restricting sales of selected closed source products because their government is just as concerned about American technologies as American organizations are concerned about products made in China.
There are always people spreading rumours about governments slipping malicious code into open source projects. When SELinux first arrived on the scene a lot of people pointed fingers at the Linux kernel and the Fedora distribution and suggested these projects were compromised by the NSA. A little while ago rumours circulated that OpenBSD might contain a back door introduced by the FBI. So far as I know, no proof has ever surfaced that the Linux kernel, Fedora, OpenBSD or Deepin contain back doors. Should evidence be found I will report it, but without proof such rumours are idle speculation and should not be used in any decision making process.
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| Released Last Week |
Porteus 3.0.1
Jay Flood has announced the release of Porteus 3.0.1, a set of lightweight Slackware-based distributions and live CDs in five editions (with KDE, LXDE, MATE, Razor-qt or Xfce): "The Porteus community is elated to announce the release of Porteus Desktop edition 3.0.1, as well as Porteus Kiosk edition 3.1.1. As usual we have available pre-packaged modules for Google Chrome, Opera, LibreOffice, AbiWord, Skype and printing/scanning software, which can be dropped in place to get out-of-the-box functionality. The 'Development' module will now need to be downloaded as a stand-alone module if you wish to compile additional software in Porteus. Changes in this release include: upgraded to latest LTS kernel - Linux 3.14.15; kernel configuration - added ecryptfs, ipv6 iptables and aloop kernel modules." See the release announcement for a complete list of changes.
KNOPPIX 7.4.0
Klaus Knopper has released version 7.4.0 of KNOPPIX, a Debian-based live CD/DVD with a choice of LXDE (default), GNOME 3.12 and KDE 4.13.3 desktops: "Version 7.4.0 of KNOPPIX is based on the usual picks from Debian 'Stable' and newer desktop packages from Debian 'Testing' and 'Unstable'. It uses Linux kernel 3.15.6 and X.Org 7.7 (X.Org Server 1.16.0) for supporting current computer hardware. In addition to the 32-bit standard kernel, the 64-bit edition of the same kernel is installed on the DVD edition, supporting systems with more than 4 GB of RAM and chroot to 64-bit installations for system rescue tasks. In the DVD edition, the bootloader will start the 64-bit kernel automatically if a 64-bit capable CPU is detected (unless manually specified otherwise). New, experimental version of 3D window manager Compiz 0.9.11.1. Partial integration of systemd...." Continue to the release notes for further details.
Ubuntu 12.04.5
Stéphane Graber has announced the release of Ubuntu 12.04.5, a new set of live and installation images that include all recent security and bug-fix updates for the project's older LTS (long-term support) release, supported until April 2017. From the release announcement: "The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS for its Desktop, Server, Cloud and Core products, as well as other flavours of Ubuntu with long-term support. As with 12.04.4, 12.04.5 contains an updated kernel and X stack for new installations on x86 architectures. As usual, this point release includes many updates, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. Kubuntu 12.04.5 LTS, Edubuntu 12.04.5 LTS, and Ubuntu Studio 12.04.5 LTS are also now available."
Anroid-x86 4.4
Chih-Wei Huang has announced the release of Android-x86 4.4, an unofficial port of Google's Android mobile operating system to Intel and AMD x86 processors: "Android-x86.org is glad to announce the 4.4-r1 release to public. This is the first stable release Android-x86 4.4 (KitKat-x86). The 4.4-r1 release is based on the Android 4.4.2 (KitKat-MR1) release. We have fixed and added x86-specific code to let the system run smoothly on x86 platforms, especially on tablets and netbooks. The key features include: integrate FFmpeg as the stagefright plugin to support more multimedia files; use the latest long-term stable kernel, version 3.10.52, with more drivers enabled, most netbooks can run Android-x86 in the native resolution; OpenGL ES hardware acceleration for AMD Radeon and Intel chipsets; enhance the installer to support upgrade from previous versions...." Read the full release notes for more information and known issues.
Android-x86 4.4 -- the app launcher screen
(full image size: 951kB, screen resolution 1221x1000 pixels)
Slackel 1.0 "Fluxbox Live"
Dimitris Tzemos has announced the release of Slackel 1.0 "Fluxbox Live" edition, a Slackware-based live CD featuring the lightweight Fluxbox window manager: "Slackel 1.0 Live Fluxbox includes the latest 3.14.13 kernel and the latest updates from Slackware's 'Current' tree. Slackel is based on Slackware Linux and Salix. The project is distributed as two live hybrid CD images, one for each of the supported hardware platforms (64-bit and 32-bit). They can be easily burned onto CD discs, as well as written on USB sticks of 1 GB of larger. As mentioned, the graphical session is powered by the lightweight and minimal Fluxbox window manager, which is comprised of a single, transparent panel located on the bottom edge of the screen. From this bottom taskbar, users can easily and quickly access the main menu, launch applications, interact with running programs and the system tray area, as well as to switch between virtual workspaces." Read the complete release announcement for further information.
DEFT Linux 8.2
Stefano Fratepietro has announced the release of DEFT Linux 8.2, an updated build of the project's Lubuntu-based distribution featuring a collection of open-source utilities for digital forensics and penetration testing: "Hello, it's hot here in Italy as well as in other countries, and a lot of people are on vacation, but only now – I'm sorry for that – I found the time to fix the known issues of DEFT 8.1. DEFT 8.2 is the latest release of DEFT 8. What has been fixed? Fixed a bug that under some conditions prevented the system to be installed; fixed the DNS bug in resolv.conf; fixed a bug in the apt-get sources.list; improved device recognition in live mode; updated all packages to the latest Ubuntu release available for 'Quantal'. The next release, DEFT 10, celebrating the first decade of the DEFT project, will be presented during the fourth edition of DEFTCON. Enjoy your holidays! Enjoy DEFT!" Here is the brief release announcement.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 18 August 2014. 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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Definity Linux
Definity Linux was a Brazilian Linux distribution based on Slackware Linux.
Status: Discontinued
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