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1 • Debian 8.0 EFI support? (by Brad on 2015-04-27 00:37:51 GMT from North America)
Just installed this on an old i386 laptop. It works very well, although I was surprised by the installation message informing me that the software had detected an EFI environment. I'm quite sure one does not exist for this laptop (Compaq nc6120). In any case, I let the installer do as it wished, and the install completed without issue. The laptop is very responsive, and I think I'll stick with this environment for a while.
2 • Debian 8 (by cykodrone on 2015-04-27 02:36:29 GMT from North America)
I have to admit I'm very tempted to download the netinst and try this...
http://without-systemd.org/wiki/index.php/How_to_remove_systemd_from_a_Debian_jessie/sid_installation
...but all my USB sticks are 'busy' and I'm down to only one blank DVD (I may need it for something more important). Not only that, my spare SSD now has a slim install of Xubuntu 14.04.2 LTS stripped of Ubuntu's spyware (Ubuntu Mini CD install). To be a guinea pig or not to be a guinea pig, that is the question. Even if I do do this, I shouldn't have to surgically replace the init, it *should* be an install option, before the user picks the DE. I guess the little ginger cowgirl will just have to wait until I feel like it, sorry Jessie.
3 • @2: Make A Backup, Then Experiment On Live Install (by Serge on 2015-04-27 03:17:29 GMT from North America)
Hi cykodrone,
Do you have an existing Debian install somewhere already? I have a suggestion: make a backup of the file system, upgrade to Jessie, and then experiment away with no remorse. When you're done, restore the machine back to the way it was from the backup.
4 • Debian 8 Maté vs Cinnamon (by Somewhat Reticent on 2015-04-27 06:16:22 GMT from North America)
I can echo 'cykodrone' to a degree: I tried these two DEs Live on an old Intel box. For me, with Maté, testing HDMI sound circuits failed, even though system sounds worked. With Cinnamon, HDMI sound settings worked - and an icon labelled "Install Debian Sid" was on the 'desktop', which suggests minimized (non-critical, ignore) QA. I am reminded of the reason I prefer pulseaudio - heaps of confusion sabotage ALSA documentation, and I have yet to see a working GUI for its settings.
But surely it isn't major "surgery" to opt for a non-default init-daemon or process-manager?
5 • @2 No need of USB/DVD to install Debian (by bobzr on 2015-04-27 07:23:07 GMT from Europe)
I also like to test a lot of distros. Many of them have live CDs images (ISOs files) that can boot straight from grub2. It's just a matter of adding some lines to the /etc/grub.d/40_custom file and then update grub. You'll have them listed in the grub menu, load them to RAM and you have a live system up & running without using any USB stick or CD. You can install if you unmount the partition where the iso file is stored.
6 • @5 No need of USB/DVD to install Debian (by condor from Europe on 2015-04-27 08:34:29 GMT from Europe)
Excellent idea! Could you be more specific about the line/lines from /etc/grub.d/40_custom file ? Many thanks!
7 • how to boot iso from grub (by forlin on 2015-04-27 10:03:56 GMT from Europe)
http://www.howtogeek.com/196933/how-to-boot-linux-iso-images-directly-from-your-hard-drive/
8 • Vivid Kubuntu and Xubuntu (by jg on 2015-04-27 10:43:23 GMT from Europe)
I decided to be a guinea pig and installed first Kubuntu vivid. After a couple of hours I decided to wipe it out. It was like using an amateur student programmer work for perhaps an exam. There were fonts of uncoordinated size and type, cryptic icons of dubious style in all uncoordinated sizes and several color themes instead of one. Solution = make a fundraiser (I'll chip in 5$) and hire a professional to do it. Many applications would not work or work improperly, this was really an unpleasant surprise. One thing - the system was snappy - this one was a real positive thing. But this is still just a work in progress. So next come Xubuntu. All perfect for the first 3 days and then, the system starts to fail to mount partitions first from sdb, then randomly from sda. User permissions conflicts start to appear at random, then some launchers on the desktop stop working. Finally, the main boot option - Xubuntu with system.d would boot no more. Thanks to Distrowatch I found the upstart option - it works, hurrah, a miracle indeed. Just as a side note - Xubuntu Vivid boot times - with system.d - 27 sec., with upstart - 6 sec. This is what we call the advantage of system.d over other legacy init systems, as documented by my latest experience. "Quicker boot times and greater system stability". Indeed, you may count my experience as testimony that system.d, while brilliant in design, is creating problems where there were none. If you were running a nuclear power station, managed transportation vehicles, satellites or anything of use, would you use a system which more like windowz or Unix? I think Red Hat is going to see itself in big trouble, as customers will start questioning the sanity of its choices.
9 • Ubuntu review (by Jeff on 2015-04-27 11:08:42 GMT from Europe)
Thanks for an excellent Ubuntu review. I have one suggestion: since the positioning of menus was new, I'd like to see that in a screenshot. An old/new comparison would even be better.
Also a question, does Unity allow discovery of applications without having to think up a name of what you are looking for? It's just that I don't even know that something exists to even search for it, that I might like. I like to discover things by looking through menus/icons/categories.
10 • Kubuntu 15.04 Gorgeus!!! (by Ari Torres on 2015-04-27 11:11:49 GMT from North America)
I have never been a big fan of KDE always sticking with the big players,Ubuntu-Unity,Ubuntu-Mate,LinuxMint-Mate but after these waves of new releases a downloaded Kubuntu and went for a live boot on my desktop,nah! it was ok BUT and yes BUT and later on decided to try Kubuntu on my little ASUS X200CA laptop with a 64GB SSD and 4GB DDR3 and boy was I in shock!!! Kubuntu 15.04 Plasma 5 it absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! no other words and everything worked right out of the box,no errors just AMAZING!!! the eye candy effects,the glide,the air look,glass look I am using Kubuntu more and more everyday now.
Good job Kubuntu team,Kudos!!!
11 • Unity applications (by Jesse on 2015-04-27 12:15:19 GMT from North America)
@9: Yes, with Unity you can browse through applications just like you can with any other application menu. Click the dash icon and then click the application buttion. All installed desktop software is listed. You can filter it by category too.
12 • Debian 8.0 (by Rick on 2015-04-27 13:37:11 GMT from Planet Mars)
With the release of Debian 8.0 and live images again, I gave it a try. Alas, it still would not recognize my wireless setup. I tried to configure it but the screen froze and I simply had to shutdown. The same thing happened with Debian 7.0. In this age of very user friendly distros, Debian still continues to be difficult to use. As such, I will stick with Linux Mint.
13 • Kubuntu 15.04 (by kc1di on 2015-04-27 13:54:24 GMT from North America)
@ 10 I too love the look and feel of Kubuntu 15.04. it's working real well on my laptop but have been unable to get it going on my desktop machine (Nvidia drivers not working yet. ) anyway I concur with you that it's a very good release.
14 • Antergos Review (by Marco on 2015-04-27 14:37:36 GMT from Europe)
When shall we have a review of Antergos distribution on this site?
I am unable to sucessfully install from the live CD but i love the concept behind this distro: users can decide which desktop and packages to include in the system at installation-time.
15 • Debian 8.0 in Mars (by Uncle Martin on 2015-04-27 15:01:32 GMT from South America)
@12: Ask to Curiosity the driver for your laptop.
16 • comment # 12 (by Brad on 2015-04-27 15:34:20 GMT from North America)
FWIW, wireless never works out-of-the-box for me on Debian; however, it usually doesn't take too long to find the correct firmware package and install it. Google is your friend here.
17 • search vs select (by M.Z. on 2015-04-27 16:24:54 GMT from Planet Mars)
@9
All the times I've played with Unity versions of Ubuntu I came away with the conclusion that while menu based selection was possible, it was rather messy in Unity. I think that this is also a weakness in the default KDE kickoff menu, but there is more clicking & hunting in Unity's Dash than most other GUI driven menus. I do think Gnome 2 is worse in this regard, but Unity comes in second for most inefficient menu design. Personally I think the Dash GUI was made defective by design so Canonical could rake in more search money by getting users to rely on search almost exclusively while sending related data to third parties; however, their Dash search privacy issues have made me a cynic about all things Canonical.
18 • Debian 8 and wireless (by Ralph on 2015-04-27 17:11:20 GMT from North America)
@12, 16 - if your wireless works with Mint but not Debian (out-of-the-box) chances are all you need to do is enable the non-free repo on Debian and the requisite firmware will be there. There is a firmware package called 'firmware-linux' which is a metapackage that includes most non-free firmware. Or you can install just the package for your specific wireless by locating it on Debian's website package search and typing in 'firmware'.
19 • Antergos (by Jesse on 2015-04-27 19:32:17 GMT from North America)
@14: We reviewed Antergos here last year. http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20140721#feature
20 • Ubuntu (by silent on 2015-04-27 20:04:15 GMT from Europe)
My first experience after upgrade from Utopic to Vivid was that Synaptic has rejected to run because of unavailable default Utopic repositories. However, the APT configuration files were correct. After some websearch I could find that a line in the synaptic config file in 'root' should be modified. It was a rather unfortunate bug: although I generally only use apt-get, but right after an upgrade synaptic is useful.
Another strange point was that unity-tweak-tool was missing something. After some search I have found the missing package. But it would have been more than 50MB download just for tweaking. I mean that a lightweight fully functional WM is less than 1MB with completely customizable and transparent text configuration files.
21 • grub ISO booting and DW reviews (by cykodrone on 2015-04-27 20:10:55 GMT from North America)
Re: grub ISO booting, thank you all for your suggestions, you're very kind, great info. :)
@14 DW reviews are listed in the reviews section of each distro's page on this site as themselves ('DistroWatch'), just below the description/introduction section (scroll down a bit). I read a lot of reviews, that is why I know this. ;)
22 • Debian 8 Live CD / Installers with non-free drivers (by Freddy on 2015-04-27 20:41:44 GMT from Europe)
if you would like to install Debian Jessie with working Intel WLAN drivers out of the box just use the unofficial Live CDs:
http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/8.0.0-live+nonfree/amd64/iso-hybrid/
23 • GrUB4dOS ISO booting (by Somewhat Reticent on 2015-04-27 21:19:30 GMT from North America)
Another choice/option: http://rmprepusb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/linux-script-to-install-easy2boot-to.html
allows multiple ISOs on one stick (space permitting, of course!)
Still handy for demo of multiple DEs, architectures, toolsets, distros, etc.
24 • This and that (by eco2geek on 2015-04-27 22:55:30 GMT from North America)
@2 wrote:
> a slim install of Xubuntu 14.04.2 LTS stripped of Ubuntu's
> spyware
What "Ubuntu spyware" is in Xubuntu?
@9 - You can install an "application indicator" named ClassicMenu Indicator, that puts a GNOME2-style hierarchical menu in the top bar of your Unity desktop. It's in the repositories, or you can download it from the author's web site:
http://www.florian-diesch.de/software/classicmenu-indicator/
Re: changing font sizes in Chapeau:
The Chapeau review complained about its using small font sizes. Probably the best way to change this is to use "gnome-tweak-tool". You can set the fonts used in the UI, their sizes, the hinting, etc. (along with a whole lot of other things). Many GNOME-based distros come with it pre-installed.
25 • @2 easily booting ISOs (by just Bob on 2015-04-28 02:08:36 GMT from North America)
You could also simply try grub-imageboot (a standard package)
Once installed, it lets boot ISO files by just putting them in /boot/images/
then run update-grub2
Another great solution (for USB, already mentioned above) www.easy2boot.com
26 • Booting image: RAM=ISO+OS (by Somewhat Reticent on 2015-04-28 02:27:30 GMT from North America)
Some methods require enough RAM to hold the entire image, plus enough to run the distro … sometimes this is not optimal.
27 • Worrying Package Management on Fedora (by Richard on 2015-04-28 07:16:31 GMT from Europe)
Am I the only one worried about naming the new Fedora package manager DNF, which I've always known from sporting events as standing for Did Not Finish?
# dnf install Shiney-New-Kernel
# Progress...10%...20%...30%..
# Error! dnf DNF!
28 • DNF, Kubuntu (by Johannes on 2015-04-28 10:57:24 GMT from Europe)
@ Richard on Fedora's 'DNF': as non-native speaker such mistakes are really difficult to avoid - in an international team probably no one did realize what DNF could mean. It remembers me the German city of Mannheim, near the frontier to France, which renamed its Opera 'NTM'. Fine for Germans, but it is so gross in French that I can't even mention it here.
Anyway, who cares about a bad name when the software works well enough?
29 • @27 Worrying Package Management on Fedora (by far2fish on 2015-04-28 12:02:16 GMT from Europe)
@27 Am I the only one worried about naming the new Fedora package manager DNF, which I've always known from sporting events as standing for Did Not Finish?
No, that was my first thought as well. And the first time I ran dnf, I was also behind a proxy that required authentication, so dnf timed out :)
(yum had of course the same problem)
30 • Kubuntu 15.04 (by Bernard Victor on 2015-04-28 16:44:10 GMT from Europe)
Why use Kubuntu when you get the same thing from Netrunner plus more applications. Rocksteady and beautiful.
31 • Re: Linux spyware (by cykodrone on 2015-04-28 16:57:39 GMT from North America)
Are you denying a certain distro is purposely writing many packages in to their default installs that 'phone home' to their and other corporate servers? I keep up with tech news and pick everything apart on my own machine just to see for myself, and sadly, it's true. Xuspyware removed, replaced with Salix 14.1 MATE. Salix is still very pure, ZERO traces of a certain unnamed init, Salix and Slackware should be worshipped like gods.
32 • Desktop Debian 8 without *any* systemd (by solt87 on 2015-04-28 17:21:47 GMT from North America)
Up until now, I didn't know how to replace Jessie's systemd with sysvinit *while* keeping my LXDE desktop. Now I found a solution.
1. Install Jessie as you would do normally.
2. Install sysvinit and purge systemd as per http://without-systemd.org/wiki/index.php/How_to_remove_systemd_from_a_Debian_jessie/sid_installation
3. Add the "angband" repo as per http://lkcl.net/reports/removing_systemd_from_debian/
gpg signing key here: http://angband.pl/deb/archive.html
4. Do an apt-get update and upgrade
5. Check for any systemd leftovers (dpkg --get-selections | grep systemd), and purge them. (I had to purge libsystemd0 this way.)
It works for me on my LXDE desktop machine, I trust it may work for other non-Gnome DEs/wms too.
33 • DNF (by BlueJayofEvil on 2015-04-28 21:32:18 GMT from North America)
As a long time gamer, DNF will always be synonymous to me as "Duke Nukem Forever".
34 • DNF, APT, & RPM (by M.Z. on 2015-04-29 03:59:23 GMT from Planet Mars)
I've seen DNF fairly often at sports car races & in other auto racing. A fair amount of vehicles will DNF at say the 24 hours of Daytona or the other big 24 hour race held at Le Mans. Then again according to my dad APT is for programming at machine shops rather than managing Linux packages, and he is right it was associated with parts manufacturing long before Linux even existed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APT_%28programming_language%29
Of course we all know that 99% of everyone associates RPMs with rotations rather than Red Hat family distros. I think most acronyms are probably used in at least two if not a dozen totally unrelated places, so I don't really see anything new here. In fact if you check acronymfinder.com all three Linux package management terms are associated with dozens of different things.
There are 30 different meanings for DNF:
http://www.acronymfinder.com/DNF.html
89 for RPM:
http://www.acronymfinder.com/RPM.html
and 110 for APT:
http://www.acronymfinder.com/APT.html
The only real surprise for an acronym would be to find one that's truly novel & unused elsewhere. Anyone who does any digging into such terms would likely realize how common acronyms are rather than make spurious associations.
35 • April releases (by forlin on 2015-04-29 04:56:44 GMT from Europe)
As usual, April was a month of great releases, this time with the added bonus of Debian.8.0. Sometimes a look into the DW's PHR disclose the rising stars and give an idea about user curiosity on new launches, in this case if using 7 day data span. It's what I did right now and found a massive number of hits in the top 10 with *buntu adding 5700+. This is very good. Not to Linux, because Linux was/will always be fantastic. It's good for the regular computer user, because more and more people are now finding what's better for them to use. Regarding Ubunto, though many criticism all over the world is still the preferred distro.
36 • Zen_in_the_art_of_ArchLinux (by k on 2015-04-29 09:30:10 GMT from Europe)
Many like Debian, and Tails, for fine and free qualities, security and privacy, Ubuntu for some of same and customization, so how about trying the one that offers all those attributes, with steep Zen 'learning curve', ArchLinux. Remember Dennis Brown's wisdom, "take it easy, take it slow, just enough now, just enough". :)
37 • DNF (by Anglican on 2015-04-29 09:33:47 GMT from Europe)
From Charles Dickens' "Little Dorrit":
DNF = Do Not Forget
38 • Chromixium? (by frank on 2015-04-29 17:21:45 GMT from North America)
"Announced" on the distrowatch homepage. I've never seen it listed on the "waiting list". Somebody paid to jump the line and get immediate exposure on distrowatch?
39 • Chromixium (by RichJack on 2015-04-29 21:32:07 GMT from Europe)
@38 I actually submitted my distro back in November when Chromixium was still in testing stage. There was no queue jumping or money changing hands. I was pleasantly surprised to be listed so soon after releasing the stable version.
See http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20141124#waiting
Anyway, thanks Distrowatch for listing Chromixium it's much appreciated :)
40 • Chromixium (by forlin on 2015-04-29 22:17:37 GMT from Europe)
Good note, RichJack. I've been following DW since a few years and learned by myself and others long before me, that Distro entrance in DW is about merit, nothing else. As DW is weekly, I guess it would no be fair to drop the announcement of a new release of a new Distro due to a mere timing issue. That said thanks both, for the opportunity to bring fore and test a relative novelty (Chrome based) in distroland.
41 • Ubuntu MATE (by Tim Dowd on 2015-04-30 11:55:24 GMT from Planet Mars)
I'm a bit religious about keeping old hardware going and out of a landfill, and I'm so excited about Ubuntu MATE 15.04. My two old Pentium 4s are running quickly and so far bug-free in one of the best looking desktop environments I've seen in years. The default software is well curated, the customization to the vanilla MATE desktop improves efficiency, and I think it's a distro you can just give to someone who wants to "try Linux" that will keep them using it. Great Job, Ubuntu MATE team.
42 • MATE (by M.Z. on 2015-04-30 18:31:24 GMT from Planet Mars)
@41
The Mate DE has been available in Mint for the past three years or so & I think LMDE 2 Mate seems like a perfectly decent choice for a semi-light distro. Sorry to be negative but I really don't see what any Ubuntu respin brings to the table at this point besides mistrust & the fear of spyware. Canonical have just been far too underhanded toward users for me to use anything released under the Ubuntu label, at least not until all privacy concerns are remedied. There are also plenty of other Distros like Mint & PCLOS, and if the DW search filter is to be believed over two dozen others that ship Mate versions, so why use an untrustworthy Distro vendor when there are so many good choices out there?
43 • Not all Martians wear blinders (by Kragle von Schnitzelbank on 2015-04-30 20:54:10 GMT from North America)
Even a sociopathic purely-proprietary distro can be brought to heel and trained (usually when the would-be master is trained in tandem); even a distro that proclaims great virtues has its seamy underbelly. If you choose to see only the unattractive aspects, you miss the rest - persist in that practice, and eventually you see nothing good anywhere, become depressed, lose hope, and despair.
Open your mind; just make sure you don't let your brains fall out…
44 • please be specific about privacy concerns (by Tim Dowd on 2015-04-30 22:35:52 GMT from North America)
@42
Correct me if I'm wrong about this, but the only privacy concerns I've ever heard with regards to Ubuntu are from the unity 7 dashboard searches. As Ubuntu MATE by definition doesn't use Unity, I don't see how it can be considered tainted. Are there other concerns? I tend to agree with the criticism of the Amazon searches, but I don't think that smears the entire Ubuntu family tree.
45 • Privacy Concerns (by Chris on 2015-05-01 01:15:39 GMT from North America)
@44 Even if Ubuntu hasn't infected with spyware its entire product family YET, they have shown that they are willing to do so. 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'
Ubuntu's amends, you can now opt-out of their spyware instead of opting into it... Gee, thanks Canonical.
There are too many quality, ethical, distros today to tolerate such behavior. As such, I now avoid all Ubuntu distros, even independent respins (e.g. Linux Mint (not LMDE), Linux Lite, etc.). And I love what Linux Lite is doing, but I won't risk upstream spyware.
YMMV
46 • Privacy (by M.Z. on 2015-05-01 01:54:38 GMT from Planet Mars)
@45
I agree with much of what you said wholeheartedly; however, I don't really think that Mint should be defacto grouped in with any of the Ubuntu family distros. If anything the Ubuntu based versions of Mint provide an outside auditor who is far more trustworthy & could potentially point out a privacy breach deeper in the Distro if one were to exist. That being said I can respect wanting to avoid the entire Ubuntu family tree, even if I personally draw the line at direct members of the Ubuntu family. Canonical has done too much to destroy trust & privacy rights for me to use anything with the label Ubuntu, but I have a fair degree of trust in Mint & their intentions. I also think that given the blow back against Canonical over the _relatively_ benign spyware in Unity they would not be likely to put anything deeper into the Ubuntu base. Of course trusting a distro vendor or even their base product is a personal decision. I personally will treat anything with the Ubuntu label as toxic until I'm confident that their behaviour has changed, though I won't treat Mint as guilty by association unless I see a compelling reason to distrust the Ubuntu base.
47 • Privacy Concerns 2 (by Chris on 2015-05-01 03:14:14 GMT from North America)
@46 Thank you for the feedback. The third-party audit function is an excellent point; however, such requires one: 1. Trust the third-party; 2. Know that the third-party has the time/resources to adequately investigate any upstream spyware infestation; and 3. Know the third-party can fully purge any upstream spyware infestation.
Many Ubuntu respin distros, such as but not limited to Linux Mint and Linux Lite, likely meet requirement numbers one and two listed above (I know via Linux Lite forum discussions that the removal of Ubuntu's known spyware (zeitgeist and Firefox extensions) is attempted). However, due to various software dependencies (see gedit, etc.), small parts of Ubuntu's zeitgeist remain as requirements or are introduced by users adding common apps, and every user update of Firefox from Ubuntu's repositories reintroduces Ubuntu's browser extension which must be manually purged each time by the user. While an Ubuntu respin could use a different repository to provide a clean Firefox, Ubuntu's zeitgeist cannot be completely eradicated or avoided while being based upon Ubuntu. Therefore, condition number three listed above is practically impossible even for the most diligent of Ubuntu respins.
Ultimately, it comes down to each individual's or organization's level of trust. A trust hopefully rooted in knowledge over hope.
48 • Privacy (by M.Z. on 2015-05-02 21:53:15 GMT from Planet Mars)
@47
After checking though most of the stuff you mentioned on my Mint systems I only found one minor annoyance. A single library related to zeitgeist is present on Mint 17.1 Cinnamon, while the 17.1 KDE & LMDE 2 versions of Mint seem to not have any of the software you mentioned. It's really only a single library & not all of zeitgeist & I believe its related to the Gnome media player Totem & allowing media playback on Firefox. I never particularly liked the 'recent documents' functions built into most desktops I've used since some old version of windows started doing it long ago, & I think recent applications is nearly pointless. That being said I'm no too worried about one annoying internal software usage monitoring package on my system especially since the rest of zeitgeist is listed as uninstalled by Synaptic.
I've been running Mint 17.x on the same since it came out & nothing ominous has spread, so I'm still not worried about it even if Ubuntu is a bad actor upstream of Mint. I'm also fairly confident that zeitgeist is just giving those still using Gnome a little bit more convince in their odd ball DE & giving Unity users the same, though I wouldn't put bad use of the software past Canonical. I suppose giving up on privacy all goes back to the words of The Dead Kennedys "give me convince or give me death", though they weren't being serious when they said it. I guess Ubuntu users have simply taken that notion to heart.
49 • 48 • "Hardcore Punk" quote (by Kragle von Schnitzelbank on 2015-05-03 06:36:50 GMT from North America)
"Give Me Liberty\\\\\\\Convenience or Give Me Death" was indeed intended as parody (of a line from a speech given by a legislator from the first colony of the British Empire) suggesting consumerism displacing patriotism. The reference is an apt application of such satire, however crass.
I was born before suitable devices were available for people dependent on them for smart began appearing in the gene-pool, though I suspect the gene involved was rampant before technology began to accommodate those affected. I don't know whether this is a beneficial mutation, but it does seem to be associated with privilege or artistic talent.
I would expect any normal business to be unabashedly sociopathic (amoral) in separating such individuals from their funding. I would be concerned if government allowed excesses in such practice, or if they failed to confine the same to those particular persons.
Certain OS+DE versions may be aimed primarily toward that demographic, and understandably so. I suggest Truth-in-Labeling laws should provide sufficient notification to allow the rest of us to keep a safe distance, but should not be required to prevent intended customers from happily enjoying their services. Such labels should not be over-generously applied to other versions, DEs, OSs, remixes, spins or derivatives, of course. (TL;DR?)
50 • Privacy Concerns 3 (by Chris on 2015-05-03 18:20:45 GMT from North America)
@48 As previously noted, I have no doubt that Linux Mint and other quality Ubuntu respins do their best to eliminate/reduce Ubuntu's 'convenience' spyware (I appreciate The Dead Kennedys quote), but questionable upstream dependencies tie their hands. Mint Cinnamon 17.1 stock shows such with the single lib noted. Mint KDE 17.1 stock obviously avoids it based upon default app choices, but beware any dependencys of newly added apps. LMDE, being based on Debian, avoids it and therefore would be my choice of Mint distros (YMMV).
BTW, make sure to check your Ubuntu respin's browser addons. It has been quite awhile since I ran Mint, etc. and things may have changed, but 'Ubuntu's Appearance' addon is nothing but their tie to various search engine's for revenue, etc. It can be disabled/removed if you choose.
@49 Ubuntu certainly is a useful addition to the Linux community, if for no other reason than their product's 'convenience' to new Linux users. I agree with your Truth-in-Labeling proposition, but would also like to see an Opt-In philosophy (e.g., Debian's Popularity Contest) and better dependency limitations (but such a discussion is a bigger can of worms).
51 • Ubuntu/privacy (by Dave Postles on 2015-05-03 18:52:21 GMT from Europe)
I expect that I should post this on the Trisquel forum, but does anyone know whether Trisquel strips out all the Ubuntu spyware (as a proprietary add-in)? It would be an issue for FSF.
52 • Ubuntu Privacy (by Chris on 2015-05-03 23:06:26 GMT from North America)
@51 I have never tested Trisquel, but as an Ubuntu respin it is possible such spyware is lurking in the repos. Easy way to know, start Trisquel, fire up the package manager, and search for 'zeitgeist'. That should tell you if it is installed by default, not installed but in the repos, or clean of zeitgeist. Be sure to also check the browser addons as discussed above.
BTW, Richard Stallman commented on this a couple of years ago... https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/ubuntu-spyware-what-to-do and https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/ubuntu-spyware.html
Number of Comments: 52
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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!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
| • Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
| • Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • 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 |
| • 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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| Random Distribution | 
SpiralLinux
SpiralLinux is a selection of desktop spins built from Debian GNU/Linux, with a focus on simplicity and out-of-the-box usability across all the major desktop environments. SpiralLinux serves as an alternative live installation method for a highly reliable customized Debian system using only official Debian package repositories. Unlike Debian's official install media, SpiralLinux includes non-free firmware. It also provides popular media codecs out of the box.
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!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| 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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