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1 • Headlines (by brad on 2016-04-04 00:12:27 GMT from North America)
Yes - I find this feature useful. Thanks!
2 • A shift of focus? Or at least a little? (by Interested on 2016-04-04 00:39:19 GMT from Europe)
Hello folks @DistroWatch
I feel Distrowatch could have been a lot more interesting if there was at least some more focus on distroes that does something new. Like today anyone can download a distro and probably boot into it in 10 minutes after making a live USB.
Distrowatch just repeats its self with testing things that are SO WELL KNOWN..
Why not step out of this boredom and try to look for the gems?
Do I want to read a test about some distro that is mainstream and has been around for like ten years? Their new installer? Packet manager?
What about looking at those new specialized desktop/server solutions that brings something NEW. Its just to much to ask for?
I find the only reason to visit DistroWatch is to look at the NEW distributions.
Who cares if Ubuntu has a new desktop or PCLinux a new installer?
Tomorrows Linux is more like personalized. Remember how this all startet?
PERSONAL Computer ;-)
3 • Reviews (by Jesse on 2016-04-04 01:18:00 GMT from North America)
>> "I feel Distrowatch could have been a lot more interesting if there was at least some more focus on distroes that does something new."
We tend to review projects people ask us to review, so if you want to see something different, please tell us. Actually, you may be happy to know we have Qubes OS, Redox and two specialized distributions coming up in the coming weeks. Yes, there will be a Ubuntu review coming too for the mainstream folks, but we are exploring some new/unusual projects too in April.
4 • Old is New again? (by Kragle von Schnitzelbank on 2016-04-04 01:21:04 GMT from North America)
Windows has had FOSS Cygwin for years, providing bash, Qt and KDE bases that have eased bringing benefits from the Linux world to many.
5 • Reviews (by InuitKaribou on 2016-04-04 01:35:33 GMT from North America)
The Gnome and Cinnamon offerings from Apricity OS beta 03.2016 were released last week. I am currently testing the Gnome version. One word to describe it : awesome - very very impressive. On a second spare box, I am testing Tanglu-4 Plasma 5 offering: surprisingly a very stable KDE on a combo of Debian stable+testing+experimental. And I run Betsy Mate 64bit on my everyday desktop workstation and I like it a lot. Just love the variety of the Linux ecosystem. Cheers and peace.
6 • Ubuntu tablets and phones (by slick on 2016-04-04 01:45:52 GMT from North America)
To be quite frank and honest, cannot, will not use Ubuntu.
Simply, it is already a comprised distribution, lack of security features and incorporates it's own spyware, an established well known fact.
Not anti-Ubuntu, just the exploitation of it's users.
Appreciate if DW not censor this comment, since you asked!
7 • Ubuntu Tablets and Phones (by Zork on 2016-04-04 02:12:05 GMT from Oceania)
I have zero interest in either these devices.
I'm so "Old-School" my mobile phone does nothing except send/receive phone calls and SMS. I rarely ( if ever ) even use the camera in it.
My personal opinion is that "Smart"Phones are possibly the dumbest idea that has ever been successfully mass-marketed. You pay $100's for a device that, if you look at it realistically, you probably use only 5-10% of its capability and still spend 1/2 your life interacting with it instead of with real people. Then you upgrade to the new model and get no added functionality out of it but pay for the privilege/status of having it.
Tablets are not much better. I don't have a need to access a computer 24/7 so the portability of a tablet ( it's only true reason for existence ) is not an issue. Specifically, my desktop can outperform all but the latest tablets anyway and was 1/2 the price with better graphics / storage / memory.
Whether these devices run on Android, iOS or Ubuntu is not that important. It's what you can actually get a use for them that counts. You need to ask yourself, "Do I really need to have access to FaceBook/Twitter etc wherever I go??? Is that the sum total of my existence???"
Of course, if you like carrying a $1000+ of tech with you that's you business. I've better uses for my money
8 • Re: Parsix's niche (by eco2geek on 2016-04-04 02:34:59 GMT from North America)
In my opinion (I obviously don't speak for Parsix's developer), I think Parsix's niche is combining a recent version of GNOME with Debian stable.
For example, Parsix just released version 8.10 TEST 0 (I guess you could say it's an alpha release of their next version). It has GNOME 3.20 running on top of Debian Jessie. The version of Parsix reviewed above has GNOME 3.18. Stock Debian stable comes with GNOME 3.14.
9 • @8 - Parsix's old niche (by Hoos on 2016-04-04 04:11:12 GMT from Asia)
I miss the good old days when Parsix was running on Debian Testing base and using the Gnome 2 desktop environment. That to me was their niche. If they had moved to MATE and stayed on Debian Testing, I would have continued using it. I found their updates surprisingly trouble-free despite it being Debian Testing.
When they moved to Debian stable and Gnome 3, I was still on my old computer and Gnome 3's 3D graphics were beyond its capability. So when their last Gnome 2 version was EOL, Parsix was gone from my computer. It had gone from light and quick to something that could no longer work on my machine.
Since getting a new computer, I have tested Parsix twice and each time found nothing that really grabbed my attention. Gnome shell? I might as well (and do) use MATE. Gnome 3? Why not use it on an Arch- or Fedora-based distro so you can get updates to Gnome 3 more quickly? Debian Stable? There are already quite a few good distros around based on this.
Quote from Jesse's review:
"The installer works, it provides useful options to partition a hard disk and set up a root password and user account, but it is not anything special."
I think that similar to OpenSUSE's installer, you could use a live CD/USB of the latest version of Parsix to upgrade an older installed version.
Jesse, you might wish to try that out, since that might be something that makes Parsix's installer a bit more than "not anything special"?
10 • finger london@graph.no (by Yan on 2016-04-04 04:21:56 GMT from North America)
I didn't know about this; it's hilarious. Thanks for the tip!
11 • linux for everyone (by bluphoenyx on 2016-04-04 04:25:15 GMT from North America)
It is interesting to note that the Linux community finally has what they have been trying to develop over the last couple of decades, an easy to use operating system, and people still don't seem to be happy. Linux brings some of the easiest desktop systems to a HUGE variety of hardware and this is the main thing that makes using a Linux OS so great for so many people.
Sadly, most Linux distro's are moving away from the user's desires and into other areas. This is especially true for people that like to use older hardware. Yes, there are still a few of us that prefer keeping those old devices out of the landfills. I personally enjoy taking older laptop systems and refurbishing them. Parts are reasonably cheap and these little systems can perform much better than many folks realize.
Here's the problem though, most mainstream distributions are reducing support for older hardware. This presents a problem because attempting to use the MS operating system the computer was designed for leaves it open to attacks.
Luckily, for me at least, the developers of distro's like Slackware and Vector still strive to make a useful OS for a variety of systems. This is important as well because older versions of Linux operating systems usually don't support newer versions of software applications unless the user is able to build them themselves.
I know it isn't possible to please everyone, but I hope that some distro maintainers keep in mind that 32 bit versions are very useful, not only in real hardware usage, but in emulation as well.
One way to help ensure the various distributions hang around is to contribute something back. Many new users don't bother because they think it isn't necessary. This frame of mind could spell the death of a favorite OS or lack of support when the user needs it.
12 • trust (by M.Z. on 2016-04-04 06:02:04 GMT from North America)
For my part the only reason I would want to switch from Android into something else would be to get something that is both a more open & a more trustworthy mobile OS. Obviously all the big players fail to deliver, but as # 6 indicates Ubuntu has serious issues with being trustworthy. I do think Android has some of the same sorts of issues that Ubuntu has had with getting into the business of their users, but why waste time, $, & energy on making a change to something from a company likely to be just as bad? It will be some time before I bother considering an Ubuntu anything, though I may play with their desktop distro in a VM after the spyware goes away.
13 • ubuntu tablet (by garrod on 2016-04-04 06:16:08 GMT from North America)
Wishing them success, but I cannot justify purchasing this priced at 50euro premium over the identical BQ tablet running android. Aside from price, must ask myself why would I purchase this "convergence" tablet which has a much weaker CPU than its sibling ubuntu "convergence" phone (Meizu)?
the same ridiculously-inflated pricing is an ongoing trend. Are these vendors deluded? They expect us to buy laptops or NUCs with mint/ubuntu preinstalled at a premium price compared to comparable devices having windows OS preinstalled?!?
The glaring exception, in terms of pricing, is google's Pixel C ultrabook. I don't want chromeOS, thanks, but its specs are much more appealing than the ubuntuBQ tablet (which incurs yet additional cost for keyboard sold separately).
I'm really interested in hearing what brand/model tablets people have successfully installed linux onto, regardless whether the DE is unity, or gnome, or kdeplasma
14 • Linux and tablets (by Andy Mender on 2016-04-04 06:41:01 GMT from Europe)
I also barely use my smartphone. The only advantage I see in it is a dual SIM card setup and the ability to play some NES and GBA games. Other than that it's just texting and making calls. I fail to imagine how can browsing the Internet be comfortable on a 9" display, especially that many websites don't have a mobile version/mode.
However, I do appreciate the whole 'cloud' business, deployment of virtual operating systems for development, going minimal with PC design (System76, MintBox, etc.) and striving to write efficient code for better user experience :).
15 • Ubuntu tablets (by Anonymous on 2016-04-04 06:54:58 GMT from Europe)
Besides the BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition (MediaTek) https://store.bq.com/en/ubuntu-edition-aquaris-m10/ there are alternative products from MJ Technology Bushido series of tablets (Intel) https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/worlds-first-true-linux-x86-and-x64-tablet#/
16 • Linux tablet and phone (by gizz on 2016-04-04 07:37:49 GMT from Europe)
I like the idea to have a linux phone, and I got one used n900 with maemo (debian derivative) for a fairly low price. That's an amazing phone even today, even if it is slower than most of the smart phones that you can find on the market, even if you don't have the app-store which some might want in order to install games and other stuff. Battery life does not outperform compared to modern phones, and with some involvement, you can experience a very good and stable linux for most practical tasks (from office tasks to network administration, mail, web, coding, and plenty of other things -- disclaimer: I have nothing to do with maemo or the n900 itself, but I should congratulate the maemo people always supporting this device today, and doing a great job at it). It's a bit of hack, but once you get it right, and if you don't fear the command line, you get almost the perfect linux pocket device to work with.
I have bought a tablet with android because I naively believed that I could work with it on special occasion (travels) -- it was a useless investment. I gave it to my child in order for him to play some games at spare times. Maybe I just don't get the point with tablet pc. It's not so much a question of software for me -- it could be a ubuntu tablet or an android one, I won't use a tablet pc anymore because it is not my size. It is too large to fit in you pocket, and if I would like a little pc to do some remote job, I would go for my phone. It is too slick to compete even with cheap little laptops, so that I would need such a laptop in order to have some more functionalities. Tablet pc are for me definitely devices made to play games or to view movies.
17 • Docker, Docky, etc ... (by Greg Zeng on 2016-04-04 07:39:46 GMT from Oceania)
"As Docker containers and the Internet of Things become ever more popular ... "
In Linux repositories, Docker-io and Docky are very different from the OP in Dw.
Dw's url gave me the idea that it was a Fedora-only idea. Luckily I had read about these initiatives elsewhere. It is blue-sky vaporware, atm. In the category - being developed" - as Btrfs, Wayland, Ubuntu-tablet-phone, Android-N, etc. Google confirmed that my suspicions were correct.
Wikipedia entry on Docker is wrong and outdated as usual. More explanations from: https://www.docker.com/what-docker
"Docker allows you to package an application with all of its dependencies into a standardized unit" ... "Docker containers are based on open standards allowing containers to run on all major Linux distributions and Microsoft operating systems ... "
18 • Reviews, Ubuntu phones and Distrowatch beefs (by Mark B on 2016-04-04 07:41:13 GMT from Europe)
I would consider buying a Ubuntu phone IF I needed it. I have an old Android (2.3) mobile which suits me fine. I wouldn't buy one just because it's the latest new, shiny thing.
@7 - I agree very much with the theme of your post. We have become a society fixated on tech toys - Apple fans are the worst, in my view. Check out this article from The Sunday Times on 'Smombies' (Smartphone Zombies) - http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/article1670471.ece
Regarding reviews, there is a place for the 'boring' standard reviews but novel things are of great interest too. Recently, I was searching for an old Debian-based distro that acted as a 'live' Samba server sharing out all attached USB devices. Incredibly useful! I still have the iso for this depsite not being able to find any details on Google. Trinity Rescue Kit did a similar thing with internal hard drives. I would love to see updated versions of these or, better still, a distro that does both.
Which brings me to my next point, I wish there was somewhere to go to offer ideas for specialised distros for clever coders to create. I think it would be great if Distrowatch had a 'Great New Find' section to share cool tools.
I love Distrowatch and visit every day and have only one beef with it as it stands - I do wish you wouldn't jump the gun with new package announcements when the packages themselves are not available to download - that really bugs me.
19 • re. 10: Whither the Weather (by Someguy on 2016-04-04 09:08:54 GMT from Europe)
Jesse exceeds himself again - now we get the entire archive, too. Too much. If you live in a temperate zone LIFE itself is mediated by the weather...
20 • Phones and tablets (by Platypus on 2016-04-04 09:17:58 GMT from Oceania)
I was stung by the failure of the Jolla Tablet. I gave up waiting for it and now have an Android tablet that does the job. When the time comes to replace my phone and/or tablet I will consider Ubuntu if it does the job, is well priced and has the apps I use. I genuinely with Canonical well with their phones and tablets and I hope they succeed. But I won't shell our big dollars just because it is Linux and/or Ubuntu.
21 • @2 - A shift of focus? Or at least a little? (by Jura321 on 2016-04-04 10:27:26 GMT from Europe)
Hello,
here I would like to express full support for DistroWatch as "interesting" distro may be something totally different for you than for me. You mentioned PCLinux - you probably meant PCLinuxOS if so, then let me say that it's very interesting distro for me as there is no SYSTEMD, uses unusual package manager and creates its owl solutions. In my waiting list are : New OpenBSD(5.9), FreeBSD 10.3(When released), Void Linux, Gentoo, NixOS, Slackware(14.2 when released) etc.. all of them uses their own technologies and ways and are independent. I very happy with DS and reviews here and from my point of view Jesse tries to cover as much as it's possible.
Best regards
Jura321
22 • Wine reversed aka URINE (by pcninja on 2016-04-04 11:28:40 GMT from North America)
This whole reversed wine thing has already been done before. Remember coLinux? That was an awesome program until the project died and this was years ago. MS just likes taking other people's ideas, call them their own, and make it proprietary.
23 • @6 ubuntu (by Jordan on 2016-04-04 12:02:54 GMT from North America)
All those factors mentioned are in the most used OS on the planet. Won't say the name here. ;)
It's apparently about marketing, not integrity. Not functionality. Just marketing.
24 • @7 Dumb Smart Phones (by Angel on 2016-04-04 12:21:41 GMT from Asia)
I'm sure there were lots of folks happy with horse-drawn carts who thought cars were the dumbest idea.
Just spent 2 weeks in Malaysia. Using the Uber app saved us lots of money on taxis, plus the attendant hassle. Were out and got hungry? Found the closest restaurants, with reviews, prices and step-by-step directions. All this from a device that fits in one's pocket. The smartphone also served as a decent camera, allowing us to see, review, and retake photos if necessary. It also provided entertainment while traveling, movies, music, etc. These are just a few benefits. There are many more.
If you prefer horse-and buggy, that's fine, But don't disparage others' choices.
25 • finger and Ubuntu tablet/phone (by far2fish on 2016-04-04 12:34:26 GMT from Europe)
Oh my God...'finger' is a command I thought i would never hear about again. I used it a lot in the late 90'ies to look up friends on university servers - often used in relation to the 'talk' command. Did not know it was still around and used. And I certainly did not know it could be used to check the weather. Amazing.
Ubuntu on a table or phone is no-go for me. So is Windows 10. Not that I have any bias towards any of those. My main reason for having a tablet is to be able to watch Netflix + several local streaming services that I subscribe to. For the latter, apps are only available for iOS and Android. There are also quite a few other apps that I rely on that only exists on iOS and Android.
26 • Ubuntu (by Poet Nohit on 2016-04-04 12:39:52 GMT from North America)
Ubuntu is stagnating, but mainly because they are so popular that their repository servers and mirrors can't handle all the bandwidth expense. Try updating Ubuntu around 7 to 10pm EST and I'm fairly certain you'll see what I mean. I usually get between 10 to 20 kb/s on my updates.
Ubuntu could mitigate this problem if they took debdelta more seriously, but they actually advise people to use apt-fast instead (which only makes the above problem much worse).
Using openSUSE lately, I've received hundreds of updates that use about 10% to 20% of the bandwidth used by Ubuntu. Granted, openSUSE doesn't give you deltas for Firefox or Chromium, but I think people would be very pleased to spend 30 or so seconds applying a 20 MB delta to an otherwise 200 MB download (a typical LibreOffice update).
27 • Ubuntu repositories (by Jesse on 2016-04-04 13:34:45 GMT from North America)
>> "hey are so popular that their repository servers and mirrors can't handle all the bandwidth expense. Try updating Ubuntu around 7 to 10pm EST and I'm fairly certain you'll see what I mean. I usually get between 10 to 20 kb/s on my updates."
No, that isn't normal at all. What you are experiencing is not common and is probably a sign you're connected to an unusually slow or far away mirror. Remember, Ubuntu has community mirrors all around the world, there are dozens of them and they're definitely not all overloaded like that. You should probably switch to a different repository server.
28 • Home Directory contents (by SallyK on 2016-04-04 13:38:54 GMT from Europe)
If I can ask a stupid question - I know it's standard Linux (or at least Debian/Ubuntu etc) practice to create Music,Video etc directories in the home directory, deleting them is one of the first things I have to do when I install a new system.
I'm just wondering why you think it's a good idea to have them created by default, and why the lack of them is an issue?
29 • More distros (by John on 2016-04-04 13:41:53 GMT from North America)
Hi All,
I think it would be a good idea to include distros that run on routers. Particularly small routers.
Using one as a local library to eliminate the World Wide Wait works well for me. I just wget -r the whole website and put it on a memory stick and plug it into my router.
See VillageTelco - RACHEL edition for example
John
30 • Dark blue, Ubuntu phones and xdg directories @28 (by a on 2016-04-04 14:06:32 GMT from Europe)
It is indeed surprising that terminal devs decided to show unreadable dark blue text on black background by default, but at least in Xfce’s terminal you can configure the colors and select something brighter. :)
I’m thinking of buying an Ubuntu phone (or another Linux phone with root access) because I can’t trust Android apps that require access to everything (contacts, phone number, GPS position, SD card contents, wifi network…) and they are *extremely* common. Ubuntu phones are said to have better security, and I should be able to configure an additional firewall if I want. Plus, Android is really not user-friendly.
@28, yes, I agree that these default Documents/Pictures/Movies/Music/etc. directories are a huge pain, and they also tend to get re-created when you delete them… Super annoying. Who is going to store their MOVIES in their home dir?! That’s ridiculous. Anyway since they keep on showing up I finally caved in and started using Documents and Pictures because I at least have a use for these two… But if someone it courageous enough to try to get rid of them they have something to do with the xdg-user-dir command…
31 • Ubuntu Tablets (by Chris on 2016-04-04 14:29:30 GMT from North America)
I was looking at the Ubuntu tablets the other day. I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of owning an Ubuntu tablets, but just not those. First, it looks like they don't even ship to the US, or the western hemisphere at all, making it very difficult for someone over here to even buy one. Second, I don't see why these are the price they are for what you get. Much like Ubuntu laptops, these seem to be oddly priced higher than comparable models with the more popular OS on them. (in this case, Android) I don't get why that is. It's not like you have to pay those ridiculous licensing fees with Ubuntu. If these companies seriously want us to pay for devices with Ubuntu or any Linux OS besides Android preinstalled, they need to think of competitive pricing. Right now I'll stick with Android. Not only can I get a tablet with better specs for cheaper, but I also have a decent library of Android apps built up. Besides, Android is Linux too.
32 • xdg directories (@28, 30) (by SuperOscar on 2016-04-04 14:49:33 GMT from Europe)
I don’t think xdg directories are a bad idea; it’s after all easy enough to edit ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs and point their locations wherever you want. I quite agree no one in their right mind would store movies or music to a subdirectory of their home dir, but that’s only a matter of setting the XDG_* vars sensibly.
33 • Ubuntu Tablets (by dragonmouth on 2016-04-04 15:12:58 GMT from North America)
I am very much interested in Linux-powered tablets and phones. I am NOT interested in anything Ubuntu-powered.
34 • balance (by Tim Dowd on 2016-04-04 15:23:07 GMT from North America)
I think Jesse does a good job picking a variety of distros. If I could offer any suggestion, it would be that occasionally it would be good to maybe pick a desktop environment, and shoot through all the distros that use it as their default and talk about the differences between how they implement that. I think such a column could be written simply by parsing research already done for recent reviews.
I've really liked the reviews of software, and I'd like to see more of that, because most of us are already pretty set in our ways about what distros we like, but we probably are willing to learn about new applications. I'd love an article about old favorites (like Banshee) that seem to have slowed over the years and what the outlook is like for them.
35 • Parsix Review (by dragonmouth on 2016-04-04 15:31:51 GMT from North America)
"I started the installer. While perfectly functional...."
What is wrong with 'perfectly functional?' Why does every app have to be filled with bells and whistles and be entertaining. An installer is a utility designed to perform one specific task - install a distro to a drive. Why does it also have to cook your food and/or fetch your slippers?
" I am not sure what its specific niche in the Linux ecosystem is"
The same can be said about 75% of the distros in the DW database. Other than some cosmetic changes and minor software variations most distros are boringly the same.
36 • Finger (by Pearson on 2016-04-04 16:24:29 GMT from North America)
I remember when there were all kinds of things that finger could return. The london@graph.no is a great example of things. Some folks would set it up to check the status of vending machines, and such. Lots of fun.
Likely related, a lot of cooperate environments block the ip port for finger (port 79) because it is unencrypted and can be used in various nefarious ways. My attempt to
37 • Linux on Android (by K.U. on 2016-04-04 16:50:11 GMT from Finland)
I have run several Linux distributions on my cheap Chinese Android laptop using Berryboot installs: http://www.berryterminal.com/doku.php/berryboot_a10 . I assume the installs made with Berryboot on an SD-card would work on several other devices than the one for which the install was originally made. Therefore SD-card could be moved from an Allwinner A10/A20 tablet/laptop/TV-stick to a Raspberry Pi or vice versa and in many (but not all) cases the install would work in both. I suggest Berryboot to be reviewed here in DW in future.
38 • Linux Tablets (by Anonymous on 2016-04-04 17:47:36 GMT from Europe)
@31 and @33 Ubuntu Tablets. Please see @15 Ubuntu Tablets above.
The MJ Technology Bushido series of tablets https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/worlds-first-true-linux-x86-and-x64-tablet#/ can be single or dual boot, e.g., Ubuntu 16.04 (or other Linux operating systems) with Windows 10 Home (or Windows 10 Professional).
39 • linux (by Ricardo Rodriguez Garcia on 2016-04-04 18:07:55 GMT from Europe)
hola, soy un novato nuevo, y me gustaría saber por favor , ¿que distribucion linux , es optima para mí ?. para uso de conexión a bancos.
Quedo en espera de una posible respuesta y muchas gracias. R.R.G.
40 • Positive Feedback & PM Distros (by Jake on 2016-04-04 18:14:20 GMT from North America)
Love the new headlines! I definitely enjoy the snacking, and I've discovered a few new projects that way. I also loved this week's tips and tricks. I didn't know I could do the batch rename or print the calendar. I enjoy discovering little gems like these.
It seems there were new releases for distros that seem to exist simply to show off their package managers. Are these showcases successful? Does anyone ever pick up these managers in the future? Or are the technologies adopted? It seems like it would be a lot of work to put together and maintain a distribution just for a custom package manager, especially if not many people actually use it.
41 • Reverse search and other command line tricks (by K.U. on 2016-04-04 17:25:13 GMT from Finland)
The best ever bash command line trick which I have learned is the reverse search of the command line history to run a long and complicated command again.
For example I use the following command to play the "Science in Action" podcast:
mplayer `curl http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p002vsnb/episodes/downloads.rss | awk -v RS="enclosure.+url=" -F\" '{if (i++ >0) print $2}'` #Science in Action
To run the command again run reverse search as follows Ctrl-R Ac
Example 2: To find commands which start with the word mplayer I run the command
history | awk -F" " '$2~/^mplayer/{print $2}' | sort | uniq
To find the above command again use Ctrl-R hi
In this way I can easily show a list of recently played webstreams. To play one of the found commands use reverse search again. It is easy and fast.
This reverse search feature is explained in the bash manual page.
42 • @30 and 32 Home folder directories (by SallyK on 2016-04-04 20:04:25 GMT from Europe)
@30 Maybe I've been lucky, but I've never had mine reappear - getting rid of the bookmarks to them in the file manager can be challenging though.
@32 I'm not quite sure what you mean by xdg directories - are you suggesting editing some kind of system file to make them point somewhere else? Why would you do that, rather than just put the directory where you want in the first place? Sure, make a link to it in your home directory, if you want, but you can do that through the file manager for the ones you want, rather than having them forced on you.
43 • Parsix Review (by Alan Baghumian on 2016-04-04 20:05:44 GMT from North America)
Thanks much for taking time and reviewing Parsix. Just a quick note that, the shell crash issue in virtual environments has been resolved. 8.10-TEST-0 already ships with the fixed version and next ISO release of 8.5 will also include the fix.
@8 you are absolutely correct!
44 • @42 xdg directories (by SuperOscar on 2016-04-04 20:18:08 GMT from Europe)
Well yeah, I mean “some kind of system file” but as it’s already there whether I want it or not, why not utilize it? Some programs, Amarok for one, uses the xdg vars to search for its files, so pointing it to a sensible location saves you a couple of configuration steps.
45 • ls colors (by Drift on 2016-04-04 20:30:26 GMT from North America)
Have a look at the dircolors command and related docs to change the colors of files and directories in ls instead of disabling colors. We always change the dark blue of directories to a bright yellow, much more readable on a black background.
For example just using "dircolors" by itself, assuming no prior setting up, will dump it's defaut configuration for the LS_COLORS variable, which you can then copy-paste into your .bashrc. To change the directory color from blue to yellow, change the value of "di=01;34" to "di=01;33":
LS_COLORS='rs=0:di=01;33:ln=01;36:mh=00....(very long variable)
export LS_COLORS
You can also use "dircolors --print-database" to obtain a more human-readable output (that also contains the color codes) which you can dump in a file, modify and then re-feed to dircolors (see man page and info). Note that on RedHat-based distros that file already exists as /etc/DIR_COLORS, so you can modify it directly then simply relog.
46 • @44 Home folder directories (by SallyK on 2016-04-04 20:57:03 GMT from Europe)
I think we're just operating from very different starting points.
The idea that it's easier to edit a file buried somewhere in your system (a file I've never even previous seen mentioned) to point the directory somewhere else, rather than just going into the settings in your music player of choice and telling it where to find your music doesn't sound particularly intuitive to me, but I freely admit I'm not a technical user.
I just like to keep my directory tree tidy - I don't want other people creating directories in my /home folder, I'd rather decide for myself what I want there. Obviously other people find them useful, or installers wouldn't keep creating them.
47 • @41 Fix for the second command (by K.U. on 2016-04-04 21:02:21 GMT from Europe)
The second command should have double space between the double quotes in order to work (-F"double space"). I assume, this web site dropped the second space automatically. Anyway, in this case, it was essential.
48 • xdg dirs @46 (by a on 2016-04-04 23:05:25 GMT from Europe)
You’re perfectly right, technical user or not. XDG dirs only make things worse, they are totally useless and wasted many hours of my time. But idiots have to make stupid things like that and enforce them on others.
49 • @comment 5 Apricity (by erinis on 2016-04-05 01:51:21 GMT from North America)
Wow is right. Installed both 6 days ago. Have used every Linux distro ever since 1999 and got to say Its a joy to use and gnome is a breath of fresh air. What will tommorow bring I wonder. Thanks
50 • @comment 5 Apricity (by erinis on 2016-04-05 01:52:33 GMT from North America)
Wow is right. Installed both 6 days ago. Have used every Linux distro ever since 1999 and got to say Its a joy to use and gnome is a breath of fresh air. What will tommorow bring I wonder. Thanks
51 • XDG News Weather Finger (by Arch Watcher 402563 on 2016-04-05 01:56:06 GMT from North America)
Define XDG vars early in /etc/security/pam_env.conf (non-shell syntax) or later in /etc/profile.d scripts, or via xdg-user-dirs package.
Assign XDG_CACHE_HOME and XDG_DATA_HOME on tmpfs to run faster and cleaner, not forgetting KDETMP and KDEVARTMP as well. Trash lives in XDG_DATA_HOME.
More headline news:
Docker standardized on Alpine Linux, whose main developer is now employed there.
http://irclogger.com/.alpine-devel/2016-03-12
Void Linux released new live CD images for March 2016.
http://repo.voidlinux.eu/live/20160316/
Weather reports:
Beware installing finger.
https://startpage.com/do/search?q=finger+protocol+security+hole
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_protocol#Security_concerns
Other means yield weather at the console. It was a fine tip, Jesse!
https://startpage.com/do/search?q=Linux+weather+command+line
52 • About rename (@jesse smith) (by Ricardo on 2016-04-05 02:44:15 GMT from South America)
Beware of your version of rename, Ubuntu comes with Larry Wall's version:
$ mane rename | cat
[...snip...]
To translate uppercase names to lower, you'd use
rename 'y/A-Z/a-z/' *
[...snip...]
AUTHOR
Larry Wall
[...snip...]
This one comes with perl:
$ file /usr/bin/rename
/usr/bin/rename: symbolic link to `/etc/alternatives/rename'
$ file /etc/alternatives/rename
/etc/alternatives/rename: symbolic link to `/usr/bin/prename'
$ dpkg -S $(which prename)
perl: /usr/bin/prename
But Slackware and CentOS come with util-linux's version, which has a different sintax:
$ man rename | cat
[...snip...]
For example, given the files
foo1, ..., foo9, foo10, ..., foo278, the commands
rename foo foo0 foo?
rename foo foo0 foo??
will turn them into foo001, ..., foo009, foo010, ..., foo278.
[...snip...]
AVAILABILITY
The rename command is part of the util-linux-ng package and is avail-
able from ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux-ng/.
[...snip...]
Unfortunately, there's no prename in Slackware or CentOS as far as I can see...
For now, I just copied prename from an Ubuntu install to my SlackBox :)
53 • #39 Conexión a bancos (by Kubelik on 2016-04-05 03:47:24 GMT from Europe)
Todas las distribuciones!
54 • @53 and 39 (by erinis on 2016-04-05 04:11:10 GMT from North America)
Corason Espinado. I don't know what that means but I like it. Merci and do try Apricity.
55 • There's an App for That (by Arch Watcher 402563 on 2016-04-05 04:50:13 GMT from North America)
http://gprename.sourceforge.net
GPRename has a tab just for letter case change, including one for "all lowercase." Another tab handles regex.
Crusty old emelfm2 has nifty renaming with Copy-As / Move-As, easily accessible by right-click. Every other file manager lacks a clean fast union of these functions that you can get by right-clicking a file. (I know some can be customized to do it, thanks. My tip for the devs involved is to ship this nice rigging as the default config.)
Re $HOME horror clutter: ~/.thumbnails can grow monstrously large and AFAIK isn't part of XDG specs. Dump it in tmpfs.
56 • Parsix (by Hosein on 2016-04-05 06:48:41 GMT from Asia)
@Alan Baghumian
There is something wrong in Parsix forum as I registered twice with different mails and I haven't received my activation key yet.
Also, as an Iranian I think Parsix needs to provide some mirrors for it's repositories in Iran as US mirrors are damn slow here.
I am looking forward to find enough times helping Parsix team to update documentation.
57 • Command-line on the Ubuntu tablet... Ewww... (by Nadine Nerdlinger on 2016-04-05 08:24:24 GMT from North America)
The Ubuntu command-line revolution is horrible on that tiny little tablet keyboard! My fat fingers can barely type on it. How am I supposed to sudo and fsck my drive whenever I feel like it?
58 • Re: Dumb Smart Phones (by Zork on 2016-04-05 09:50:38 GMT from Oceania)
@24...
As far as I know, Malaysia was still only looking at whether Uber should be legalized at the start of 2016... This was from the perspective of consumer protection and safety... So you saved a few bucks dealing with people working outside any "legal" framework in what I assume is a foreign country for you... Yeah, That's a big plus for Smart Phones...
Do you honestly believe that the reviews written about restaurants you got with your Smart Phone aren't primarily written by the people who own the restaurant and their friends??? Directions??? Did you think of actually ASKING someone??? That might just be another tick for Smart Phones... All with some hefty Global Roaming Data fees most likely...
And was it so boring you had to resort to watching movies on a 7 inch screen for entertainment??? From "saved us", I'll assume you had a traveling companion you could have TALKED to...
I'll grant you the point of it being a handy camera when traveling... So the score??? 1 positive / 3 negatives...
If you re-read my comment, I don't actually disparage your choice to own/use a Smart Phone, I merely point out my personal opinions about the lack of value such devices would have to my own existence and the reasons why...
As such, I refute the insinuation that I'm some technophobic Luddite your "Horse and Buggy" comment implies..
59 • finger / weather (by Mark D on 2016-04-05 10:11:14 GMT from Europe)
Using 'finger' command is a blast from the past; I had to apt-get install it because it doesn't come by default in Ubuntu! The graph.no weather site is good though, I never knew about it before. Convenient because I'm on the command line most of the time anyway.
By the way I like Distrowatch just the way it is. No need for a 'shift of focus' as far as I'm concerned. More like: keep up the good work!
60 • AI_takeover (by k on 2016-04-05 17:06:56 GMT from Europe)
@7 (Zork) and 18 (Mark B)
Whether artificial intelligence (AI) or "smart" technologies, in a sense AI takeover has already much developed through modern humanity's "infatuation" with it to the point where it has become rare to observe others just sit or stand peacefully in public transport or "waiting" areas, the majority so "absorbed" by their devices that they seem detached from reality, here/there and now.
Still, being able to phone for help on the move "outdoors" in case of emergency can be vital, so if I have to replace my 8 years old mobile phone anytime soon, it'd probably be a device with an OS like Sailfish, and/or encryption capability. The Turing is too expensive, but perhaps a Jolla.
61 • cli_tips_and_tricks (by k on 2016-04-05 17:18:35 GMT from Europe)
@Jesse and 59 (Mark D)
Very useful, especially simple and practical calender, thanks Jesse.
Thank you Mark for pointing out finger not default installed, nor in Debian-based, but not able to install in "firejail/tools" sandbox, access/permission denied.
Any help much appreciated.
62 • Ubuntu Tablets (by Jack on 2016-04-06 00:32:26 GMT from Europe)
I'm looking at buying one of the Ubuntu tablets. My last tablet, a HP Touchpad is aged and about dead, and is running outdated software. I never used the tablet often anyway, mostly for a bit of reading, web browsing and the odd film when traveling, so a tablet would be a low risk way of trying Ubuntu (If I bought one of the phones and then didn't like it, I would have a problem).
I also like the convergence idea - I can't imagine doing heavy work on the tablet but I can imagine doing light work like updating the content of a website or fixing problems in a pinch, especially when traveling.
Finally, I'm undergoing a bit of a Google purge. I don't need to rid myself of Google entirely, I don't hate them, but I have had too many eggs in the Google basket in the past and currently find some of the products, especially Gmail, search and Google Now to have declined in quality/usefulness in recent years, and stunts like forcing their half baked social media and mic drop buttons on their users make me feel they are a bit too unreliable for important stuff. I have replaced Gmail, Search, and Drive, but I'm struggling to replace Android and i think Ubuntu could be the best option.
On the other hand, I've been using Ubuntu on the desktop in one form or another for about ten years, I trust Ubuntu and Canonical as much as I trust any other OS despite the 'spyware' issue and would love to see the tablet and Phone OS do well, especially since so many others have failed (or are floundering now). The more competition iOS and android have, the better.
63 • Ubuntu Tablet (by Brock on 2016-04-06 02:04:24 GMT from North America)
MJ-Technology has started a crowdfunding campaign to help finance their tablet that is running Ubuntu. Take a look and maybe put something on your website. Here is a link to their Facebook page and the crowdfunding campaign.
https://m.facebook.com/MJ-Technology-LLC-576568032444682/?ref=ts&fref=ts&__nodl
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/worlds-first-true-linux-x86-and-x64-tablet
64 • Phone Zombie Apocalypse (by Arch Watcher 402563 on 2016-04-06 03:37:45 GMT from North America)
Every cellphone owner needs a shielded carry pouch. Now you have an "off" option telcos and spooks don't like. Telcos and many apps market your data, while spooks want mics and cams for the usual reasons. These days you can't buy a phone without a camera, and sometimes TWO.
Some may recall when phones lived on buildings. Emergencies were not fretted. I think phone zombies just rationalize addiction in various ways. The government piggy-backs their claim, since "emergency" feels like radical terrorism on the way: be afraid, be afraid, be afraid. You're more likely to die in a car wreck - fearing neighborhood traffic is far more rational.
If you spend time deep outdoors, get field medic training and a kit, not a cell phone. In the city, someone will let you borrow theirs.
I'd love a cellphone that just makes calls - no apps, no e-mail, no SMS text, no web browsing, no MP3s, no games, no accelerometers, no GPS, no way to turn people and their children into phone zombies. Just buttons, like the good old days!
In the meantime, here's my model:
http://www.thenophone.com
65 • Vision of the future??? (by Zork on 2016-04-06 03:38:59 GMT from Oceania)
@18, 60
Are the Solarians from Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Robot Series' a prophecy of things to come for humanity??? Humans (sic) whose only social contact/interaction with others is via telepresence except for the purpose of procreation...
Both series are well worth the read and, considering they started being published in the late 1940's, are scarily representative of where current tech seems to be driving us a species...
Even if it's on an old, battered paperback...
66 • @64 - Why disparage cell phones? (by Ben Myers on 2016-04-06 03:52:00 GMT from North America)
Look, all the things a cell phone can do are not for you. A cell phone is a tool, like a computer, pliers, a screwdriver. You get the tool that fits your needs, no more, no less. You can still get an old school cell phone that only makes and receives calls, and maybe has an address book to store numbers you call frequently. They don't like to sell these phones, because they do not make a lot of money in extra charges for texting and data.
I use my cell phone as a tool to do my job and to call people off hours. I resent being classified as a phone zombie, which definitely am not.
Now, how about some comments that relate to the purpose of this web site?
67 • That's brilliant!!!! (by Zork on 2016-04-06 03:52:26 GMT from Oceania)
@64
Shared the link to Facebook... The irony is not lost on me...
68 • emphasis of Distrowatch (by frodopogo on 2016-04-06 05:19:51 GMT from North America)
I did a search on "easy Linux distros for Windows users" , and got a hit for Linux Mint here at Distrowatch in about 2008 when my Windows XP installation was starting to slow down and caught a virus or two. Distrowatches list of reviews helped me decide for Mint over Ubuntu.... I've been using Mint since Elyssa (version 5!).
So, from the very beginning, Distrowatch has helped me decide which easy to use popular Ubuntu-based distro to use.
But it is clear to me that people with much more specialized uses for Linux use it too.
I think the present balance is a good one.
I actually do think that there is now a need for a second Distrowatch or equivalent.... one for the easier distros, and one for the harder, more specialized ones.
69 • Ubuntu tablets,etc. (by frodopogo on 2016-04-06 05:39:45 GMT from North America)
I am not planning on getting an Ubuntu tablet, but neither have I decided against it.
Price, apps, etc will all figure in if and when it should happen.
70 • latest newsletters (by peter on 2016-04-06 07:51:26 GMT from Oceania)
The last 2 weeks you seem to have jumped 1 ahead on the Ubuntu weekly newsletter link. The current newsletter is no 360.
71 • latest newsletters (by peter on 2016-04-06 07:53:20 GMT from Oceania)
Oops! Current newsletter is 460.
72 • @62 Ubuntu vs the competitions (by far2fish on 2016-04-06 08:58:39 GMT from Europe)
I can fully understand your desire to be less depending on Google services.I think about doing the same for privacy reasons, and have found options for most.But it would be very time consuming and challenging to do it. And to be honest for some tings it would be impossible.
Ubuntu, Amazon or whoever want to get on the smartphone marked would follow the same business plan: You are the product, and you "get" all these smart features by paying back with your personal data.
73 • @11 (by kc1di on 2016-04-06 10:39:15 GMT from North America)
Very well put. I agree that the jump to new hardware standards put pressure on everyone to leap to 64 bit , but the problem for many of the smaller distros is they don't have enough developers or packagers to handle the extra load of maintaining two separate repositories of pancakes.
The larger Distros have the man power perhaps but not the incentive.
32 bit will eventually die. And a lot of good hardware with it.
74 • Parsix and /home (by Bob Hayden on 2016-04-06 12:41:23 GMT from North America)
I too have no use for the gratuitous subdirectories many distros put in /home. To me it feels like just another example of Linux blindly copying Windows mindlessness. I think Linux should strive to create functionality that Windows finds it needs to copy;-)
75 • Phones (by Scrumtime on 2016-04-06 14:11:12 GMT from North America)
@64 Well said I am in total agreement with you
I asked a local company recently for a pay as you go phone with 1 ringtone, no text, voicemail, camera, apps, GPS etc.....and a way to block everyone that i havent asked to call me..
The shop assistant just looked at me, in between checking texts and plugging her phone into the charger couldn't offer me anything at all..
I tried a Ipad when they were first on the Market and after ridding myself of that after it sitting about collecting dust.....I recently tried an android Tablet.as people said they wer a lot better, Thats just a Big cell phone with no phone ,and with pointless garbage installed on it I have no need for an app to see what the weather is...I look outside....I dont need GPS to know where i am or where im going I've travelled the world every 3 or 4 months for 20 yrs and have never been Lost....i don't have any mental disability that requires me to text inane messages every few seconds,
So sadly for Ubuntu I wont be purchasing 1 from them any time soon...
76 • Lost in translation (by dbrion on 2016-04-06 15:44:45 GMT from Europe)
At the end of Parsix review, Jesse wrote :
"Bizarrely, switching Parsix to Persian did not even change the direction of GNOME Shell to a right-to-left orientation; it places the desktop icons on the right, but the top bar and Activities overview do not switch direction. "
Does it mean that
a) icons remained where they were, which is not that disturbing?
or
b) did the words appear yaw gnorw eht?
Hypthesis b) (icons labels being spelt the wrong way) seems absurd; but it happened ca 10 years ago, with Edubuntu : when choosing the language, there was a menu written with the native set of characters: however, Arabic and Farsi came written the latin way, which was somewhat suolidir for an education dedicated distro. Same phenomenon did not appear with werbeH (nor yiddish IIRC) and I believe debianeros decided the menu to choose the lacalisation would be ... in plain ASCII, every one could cope with (and Ubuneros followed this wise decision).
Such a weird, horrible, thing can be reproduced to day by cutting and pasting , say, the yiddish part of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zog_Nit_Keynmol into an xterm, under cygwin.
But how can people make a farsi english dictionary, if it is a general phenomenon?
77 • Linux Archaeology (by Hunter on 2016-04-06 16:03:11 GMT from North America)
@Jesse: Thanks so much for maintaining Distrowatch! I find it's a valuable resource and use it by default. Today I needed to access information on Fedora Core 5 (from 2006). It is really helpful to have a version summary of the default packages and even a full package list.
78 • DistroWatch_spirit_of_education (by k on 2016-04-06 19:26:37 GMT from North America)
@77 and Jesse
Absolutely seconding what Hunter wrote: "Thanks so much for maintaining DistroWatch!"
Free open-source operating systems and software (FOSS), especially Linux-based, blossoms from the excitement and power of learning and education, as exemplified by the newly released version of Debian-based French language operating system PrimTux Eiffel, transcending language, culture, and egos. Thank you for the help Jesse and DistroWatch.
79 • DistroWatch (by Jesse on 2016-04-06 19:48:00 GMT from North America)
@77 and @78:
My pleasure. Thanks for the kind words of encouragement.
80 • Strange... (by Vukota on 2016-04-06 21:56:50 GMT from Europe)
Survey does not have radio buttons in a "Web" browser (default under Cinnamon desktop).
81 • Nice, Interesting, User-Friendly, Fedora Based, "PRIVACY" Distribution !! (by NICK VLAHOS on 2016-04-06 22:51:59 GMT from North America)
Hi...Came across THIS while browsing around and it looked "too good" to pass up!! t's called IPREDIA. It's hosted @ www.ipredia.org. What appealed to me was it"s ease of use (USB, LiveCD or HD) but its inclusion of BOTH Gnome or LXDE !! Seemed a LOT LESS "over the top"compared to what's currently out there! Might be worth giving it a try (and even a short review)? Anyway keep up the GOOD work!! Know you've got a LOT on your plates already!!**THANKS**(NGV)
82 • IprediaOS (by Jesse on 2016-04-06 23:01:59 GMT from North America)
@81: I looked at IprediaOS and I think the project is dead, it hasn't been updated in the past year and a half. Being based on Fedora means that the distribution probably not getting security updates anymore. Not exactly an ideal situation for a seurity-oriented operating system. I'm going to have to pass on it and, until the project shows some sign of life, I wouldn't recommend it.
83 • Subgraph OS (by hackytrixters on 2016-04-07 02:22:46 GMT from Oceania)
Jesse, how about a review of Subgraph OS which proposes to be a new security distro. It claims to be different, but sounds similar to others like TAILS. Although at present it's in alpha stage .
84 • Security distro(s) (by Kragle on 2016-04-07 04:26:37 GMT from North America)
Isn't IprediaOS's community via Twitter/Facebook/Google+? How private/secure are those?
Hasn't Subgraph_OS been in alpha since 2014/06?
Some say 32-bit distros will die away, but some distros only do 32-bit ...
85 • @2 "more focus on distroes that does something new" (by Greg Zeng on 2016-04-07 07:38:27 GMT from Oceania)
2 • A shift of focus? Or at least a little? ...
"I feel Distrowatch could have been a lot more interesting if there was at least some more focus on distroes that does something new. Like today anyone can download a distro and probably boot into it in 10 minutes after making a live USB. "
Jesse quickly put his reply, which did not answer your question. After "testing" hundreds of Linux distributions, I found that each new distro generally does have unique and new features. Most "reviewers" just give ten minutes, as you suggest, versus my intense two hours, or more, per Linux distro.
As I have published years ago here, some distros are vanity publications; done because of personal ego of an iSheep. Most are trying to repair the failings and faults left by the upstream Linux coders. The downstream tweakers (Mint, Manjaro, PCLOS, Centos, Fedora, ... ) are generally repeatedly trying to bypass the same Linux faults.
Older Linux parts are not yet optimized: Synaptic Package Manager, gkrel, Grub-customizer, etc. So the many versions of Linux re-invent the badly designed wheels created by the upstream coders. The closest that Linux tries to imitate Servant Salamander (Windows only) is Nautilus file browser. Thunar, PCMan, Nemo etc are vastly inferior, etc. Luckily Linux's WINE can try to run the better applications from Windows eg FastCopy, etc). Hopefully I'll document these results in the near future. Then Wikipedia might allow such facts to be published; they don't value original findings; only reports of these findings.
86 • Authors of DWW reviews. (by Antony on 2016-04-07 10:00:05 GMT from Europe)
I know we pretty much take it for granted that the DWW reviews are nowadays written by Jesse. Sometimes though, a review is submitted to DWW for inclusion - and this week's review was actually provided by Joshua Allen Holm.
Some comments this week (and previous occasions), have mistkenly assumed a revew to be Jesse's.
87 • Human_Linux_and_BSD_innovators,_DWW_experts,_users_and readers (by k on 2016-04-07 10:41:57 GMT from Europe)
@86 Authors of DWW reviews by Antony
Why "take it for granted" DWW reviews are nowadays (all) written by Jesse?
Rather that someone else must help, or else Jesse would not have time or energy
to be a human, enjoying the wonders of sentience that Linux and BSD computing
frees up time and energy for.
If a reader mistakenly assumed a review to have been worked up by Jesse and
commented -- critically or constructively, it is fairly understandable, and "forgivable",
readers are human too.
88 • @87 (by Antony on 2016-04-07 10:58:08 GMT from Europe)
I'm not having a go at anyone, just pointing out that sometimes people may automatically assume (take it for granted) that a review will have been written by Jesse. I thought that it is something worth highlighting.
And yes, I know Jessie has an ever increasing workload - and yes, I think it is good to have review submissions.
89 • Review submissions (by Jesse on 2016-04-07 12:28:35 GMT from North America)
>> "I know Jessie has an ever increasing workload - and yes, I think it is good to have review submissions."
I too think it is good to have article submissions. Let's me focus on other things and gives our readers a perspective other than mine. Plus we pay for reviews that we feel are well put together, so it's win-win.
Side note: Later today I hope to try out the Ubuntu-bash feature that was added to Windows 10. I plan to live tweet the experience over at @blowingupbits if anyone wants to join in the experience or ask questions.
90 • Bash-ing about Windblows, etc (by Kragle on 2016-04-07 19:36:20 GMT from North America)
How does Canonical on 10 (news at 11) compare to Cygwin/Qt/KDE on XP/Vista/7/8/2k3 ?
I'd expect more Legacy functionality-drop ...
91 • It's the freakin' Phone Zombie Apocalypse, I tell you (by Arch Watcher 402563 on 2016-04-07 23:19:10 GMT from North America)
@66 I didn't disparage them. I want one.
That. Makes. Calls.
With an OFF switch. And reception worth the cost. That ain't easy to crack on a floor.
Not a big bro bug ^H^H^H travel tracker ^H^H^H^H^H^H marketing data mineshaft ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H ... selfie cam ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H .... payment terminal ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H ....music player ^H^H^H^H^H^H^ video game ^H^H^H^H^H^H flashlight ^H^H^H^H^H^H^ .... pocket touchscreen 720p PC.
If a cell phone exists with more circuits for rx/tx quality than data management, consider me sold.
Tools: Handymen wear toolbelts. If you want a good knife or screwdriver, you carry one, not a Swiss Army Knife. That's for unknown scenarios in combat. Each tool on it is subpar. For weekend warriors, they're just toys.
Look around while shopping. I do. I see phone zombies down each aisle. People wander starting into screens. Back home, they stare at TV. It's the zombie apocalypse.
Last Thanksgiving we enjoyed a restaurant. At tables on either side of ours sat warm human bodies incubating alien spores, cuddling phones. Not saying a word to each other on Thanksgiving Day isn't humanity; it's the borg.
The relevance of cell phones to this website is that desktop OSes influence phone OSes and vice-versa. Apple plans to ditch OS X for iOS on Mac, says OS News. And OS X was the crowned king of desktops - being that good was going to win consumerland for us. The goalposts moved, because phones.
The burning consumer question now isn't "Does it work on Linux?" but "Is there an app?" If the Year of the Linux Desktop dies forever, I'll blame these toys. Google took Linux and made it Android, or "not quite Linux." Linux devs now count cell phones as deployments. Growing masses write phone apps. LibreOffice has apps. You'll do spreadsheets on your phone, apparently. Of course, the desktop interface won't change for phone interfaces. He said hopefully, ambling away, babbling to himself on the horror, the horror.
92 • @91 - Of course it's the apps! (by Ben Myers on 2016-04-08 00:26:49 GMT from North America)
The success or failure of an Ubuntu phone depends its ease of use for its prime purpose, making phone calls, and the easy availability of lots of apps, comparable to what is available on either iOS or Android.
For a long time, DEC thought that Alpha hardware was the best ever in the whole wide world. HP thought similarly about Intel's Itanium. IBM thought that OS/2 was far better technically than DOS/Windows. Maybe it was, whatever technically better means. None of these survive because there were too few software applications comparable to other hardware software, e.g. x86/x64 Windows (and Linux).
Android is derived from Linux, so if Ubuntu has all of its smarts organized, it would approach Android developers and provide an almost mindless way to port Android apps to Ubuntu. Failure to offer lots of apps consigns Ubuntu phone to a likely failure, same as Windows phone.
One last comment: Look for a wireless phone carrier that allows calling either over the internet via wifi or via cell towers. And you still won't get 100% phone call coverage.
93 • Good Job guys! (by DoctorDavid on 2016-04-08 01:24:01 GMT from North America)
Just wanted to say thanks for the sitemap and archive page. Nice resources added to an already great site. Keep up the good work people, very much appreciated. Trying to focus in on BSDs lately, but keeping my nose in Fedora, Debian, and other Linuxes too. Best wishes to all.
94 • LXLE (by DoctorDavid on 2016-04-08 01:54:47 GMT from North America)
Hey thanks for covering LXLE. This is a really great desktop distro, especially for those wanting a lightweight OS that runs great on old hardware. It installs great in VirtualBox or VMware Workstation 12, and is ZIPPY even on very old hardware (bare metal). I hope it continues.
Also I saw a sentiment on the comments that we should support efforts to support old hardware, like i386-only versions. I totally agree but I also like to use advancements and OSs that run on more modern - but not necessarily cutting edge - hardware. You can sure save lots of money when not insisting on cutting edge! (And often still get good results.)
Still looking at firewall and router type distros, and looking forward to personal trips into pfsense real soon.
Thanks for covering the gamut, and for tips, opinions, and looking to enhance the distrowatch site. Love it.
95 • Old Hardware (by Zork on 2016-04-08 03:51:50 GMT from Oceania)
@94
Agree totally with your views on lighter distros... In the past I've had machines with no Boot from USB or DVD-ROM and finding 32-bit distros that fit on a CD-R was a pain...
Even Lubuntu 15.10 has bloated to 744 MB ( You think Canonical would know better )...
There is a certain satisfaction taking an old piece of hardware and giving it a new use on your network as a server ( proxy, print, media etc )... I have an old Pentium 3 running as a development LAMP server that hasn't missed a beat in 5 years...
Largest problem with old hardware is often finding suitable legacy drivers...
96 • Intriguing_OMA_with_Wayland (by k on 2016-04-08 09:23:51 GMT from Europe)
I have the impression that the new testing release -- Beta 1 -- of OpenMandriva Lx 3 featuring KDE's Plasma 5.6 desktop running on Wayland is one of the first actively developed projects to rely on Wayland? Even before the much touted Fedora whatever/whenever :).
Of course tempted to download -- AND verify authenticity of ISO --, but would MUCH APPRECIATE any shared insight(s), please.
97 • pfSense & Wayland on KDE (by M.Z. on 2016-04-08 18:56:01 GMT from North America)
@94 - pfSense
I've been running pfSense on & off for years & have found very little to do in terms of admin work. It's a great little firewall distro, though I haven't heard many tips on it beyond setting snort to block intruders & white-listing things if snort gets too aggressive. After it's set up right it pretty much just goes & makes me feel more secure, & of course makes BSD work far better for me than it ever does on the desktop.
@96 - KDE on Wayland
The main thing that struck me about the OpenMandriva announcement was that they were working on a KDE + Wayland set up. The older X11 stuff Wayland is meant to replace has always been described to me as ancient code that is full of problems, & I've been a bit annoyed that the big activity on the subject always seems to be going on in Fedora with Gnome 3. I know some people still like Gnome a lot even after all the weird stuff that has happend in Gnome 3, but it strikes me as an increasingly irrelevant specialist desktop that is no longer for normal PC users. It seems like XFCE & KDE have become the big independent players in the Linux desktop space, while Cinnamon & Unity are both tied more to specific distros.
I'm just really glad a good sized distro is working on Wayland on a widely used, useful, mainstream DE. I think it's work that is badly needed; however, I can't say much about the distro because amongst rpm distros I've tended to stick with PCLOS & Mageia & have barely ever played with OpenMandriva. The last time I tried OpenMandriva for any length of time I was struck by how odd & flat the default theme tended to be & it seemed like they were doing something that made KDE theming act differently. Many of their components didn't seems as attractive & integrated with theme changes as most KDE distros are. Of course that was a few years back, probably during their fist release as a new project, so things are likely much different now.
98 • Conexiones a bancos (by Oriol on 2016-04-09 03:10:24 GMT from Europe)
Tal y como ha dicho un compañero, cualquier distro linux vale. Si yo fuese nuevo novato, como dices, empezaria por LINUX MINT CINNAMON que es muy muy facil. La descargas, la metes en un USB y ya te conectas al banco con el usb, sin instalar nada en el ordenador, si no quieres. En el usb no queda guardado ningun dato de ningun tipo y por tanto te da seguridad total. A eso se le llama Live USB sin persistencia.
99 • Phone Zombies everywhere - read this! (by Mark B on 2016-04-09 11:46:49 GMT from Europe)
@64
Hey Arch Watcher you will LOVE this YouTube video with Bill Maher. It's called 'Yes We Cam' and it sums up beautifully the point I made before.
Enjoy it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzi2UvzFEOU
100 • pfSense & Wayland... (by k on 2016-04-09 18:28:29 GMT from Europe)
... on KDE (by M.Z.)
@97 Very informative AND further intriguing, thank you very much.
Actually, having never used a "firewall distro", I understand it to function differently than a firewall application, like "ufw", or sandboxing like "firejail".
Is a firewall distro an operating system you run another more "featured" distro inside of, from a virtualbox or such?
Now I am unable to find a DistroWatch review on firewall distros to learn from. May/can you or someone else please refer me to a DistroWatch site on use of a firewall distro? I shy from other sites. Thank you.
Frankly, got very distracted from OMA and Wayland, but thank you for that insight too. Wayland, even with Weston on a well-develped project like OMA, does seem too experimental for my limited knowledge. Perhaps later.
101 • Firewall distros (by mcellius on 2016-04-10 01:14:24 GMT from North America)
@100 A firewall distro is a distro (of Linux or BSD) that runs on a separate computer, acting as a firewall to the rest of the network. It's a full Operating System, but one that is dedicated to the specialized purpose of protecting a home or business network.
For example, I use IPFire as my firewall at home. Like most firewall distros, it is easy to install and configure. It's in a bit of an older computer into which I have placed two ethernet cards: one is connected to the "outside world" and the other to my home network of several computers and devices. It sits between the outside world and my home network, just as a router would do. If all works as it should, it will intercept and block unauthorized attempts to reach my other computers and devices from the outside world, keeping them safe. (It works very well and I feel quite secure: nothing, of course, is completely invulnerable, but as an added measure of security it is quite useful and effective.)
In addition, most firewall distros also provide additional networking services, such as acting as a DHCP server (if desired).
102 • Firewall_distros_explained_like_I_am_5... (by k on 2016-04-10 06:38:36 GMT from Europe)
@ 101 Firewall distros by mcellius
Really clear and concise explanation, with practical example, thank you very much!
Going into my 2nd childhood :) , I really find explanations like I am 5 most helpful.
Sometimes have wondered what more we could use our old desktop for, besides storing backups and testing distros. It is still fairly "well-equipped" -- just one ethernet card, to my knowledge --, my technical abilities might confound this, but now I definitely have your know-how to try from.
103 • firewall distros (by M.Z. on 2016-04-10 08:07:59 GMT from North America)
@100/102
Yep, as #101 said firewall distros are just a specialized version of another OS. I added an extra network card card to an old pc & went through the install procedure on pfSense & I have a dedicated firewall PC sitting between my modem & LAN. The main feature I add to it is the Snort program I mentioned above, which is added via a package manager like most other programs on Linux & BSD.
There are also lots of other options for things you can make your firewall OS do like adding virus scanners to check files passing through the network. As another example I have a friend who I think added in some stuff to pfSense that blocks a lot of pop ups & scripts from appearing on various ad infested websites. There are also a lot of options to track what is being blocked & log activity so you can spot suspicions activity like your connection being maxed out due to someone taking over part of your system. Of course if you want to turn more bells & whistles on you need more RAM & processing power to sniff through more data faster.
Whatever you want to do with such a system you generally log in through you browser by going to the firewall systems IP address (it's 192.168.1.1 by default on pfSense, which is a standard local ipv4 address) & logging into a web interface that allows you to do GUI based admin. Once you get the basics down pfSense is quite easy to run, & provides more security tools & options than most people would know what to do with. Of course such systems usually come standard with some type of firewall enabled like the ones included in Linux by default, or the pf firewall used in BSDs like pfSense. This creates a central point so those who know about firewall rules can better protect their network, & from what I hear pf in particular is considered a very powerful tool for filtering potentially dangerous packets passing over the network. Personally I've never gone beyond the 'block all incoming connections' default setting, but pf is supposed to be fairly powerful for those in the know.
If you want to know more I know there are a fair number of useful videos on youtube, & there are a few websites on the distrowatch pages of these types of distros like this one:
http://lwn.net/Articles/384419/
& there are couple of reviews linked on ths DW page:
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=untangle
Just tick the firewall box on the DW search page & you should be able to find more reviews in the summary sections of the DW pages of the various distros.
http://distrowatch.com/search.php
Number of Comments: 103
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