 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 656, 11 April 2016 |
Welcome to this year's 15th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Security and privacy are increasingly popular topics in the field of software. The conversation seems to have changed in recent years from whether we should be concerned about on-line privacy to how much we should be concerned. For people who want to protect their operating systems and their data there are plenty of options out there and we talk about a few of them this week. We begin with a look at Qubes OS, a solution which tries to completely separate tasks and our data into different containers (or domains). In our News section we talk about Whonix, a project which forces all network traffic through the Tor network. We also discuss a new distribution featuring the Budgie desktop environment and the growing family tree of Puppy Linux editions. In our Questions and Answers column we discuss setting up disk partitions and trying to run Ubuntu's command line software on Windows. In our Opinion Poll we ask if our readers prefer running upstream or downstream distributions. Plus we share the releases of the past week and provide a list of the torrents we are seeding. We are also happy to welcome three new distributions to our database: AryaLinux, Lakka and PrimTux. We wish you all a terrific week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: Isolating processes with Qubes OS 3.1
- News: Whonix offers bug bounties, Ubuntu Budgie edition planned, Puppy's family tree
- Questions and answers: Setting up disk partitions and bash on Windows
- Torrent corner: FreeBSD, NuTyX
- Released last week: FreeBSD 10.3, NuTyX 8.1, PC-BSD 10.3
- Opinion poll: Upstream or downstream distributions?
- DistroWatch.com news: Updated contact and feed information
- Distributions added to the database: AryaLinux, Lakka, PrimTux
- New distributions: X-LFS-2010, Open Network Linux, EasyNAS, JyllDeveloper
- Reader comments
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (30MB) and MP3 (41MB) formats
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Isolating processes with Qubes OS 3.1
There are several approaches to computer security. One method is to try to make every component work as correctly and error-free as possible. This is called security through correctness. Another approach is called security by obscurity and it involves hiding secrets or flaws. A third approach to security is isolation, which is sometimes called security by compartmentalization. This third method keeps important pieces separate so if one component is compromised, the other components can continue to work, unaffected.
These different styles of security might make more sense if we look at an example from the non-digital world. Imagine we have some valuables we want to keep locked away and we decide to buy a safe to store our precious documents, jewels and money. If we buy a high quality safe that is hard to force open, that is security through correctness. If we hide our safe behind a picture or in a secret room, that is security through obscurity. Buying two safes and placing half of our valuables in each so if one is robbed then we still have half of our items is an example of security by compartmentalization.
This week I want to talk about Qubes OS, a project which takes a strong stance in favour of security by compartmentalization. The project's website describes Qubes OS as follows:
Qubes takes an approach called security by compartmentalization, which allows you to compartmentalize the various parts of your digital life into securely isolated virtual machines (VMs). A VM is basically a simulated computer with its own OS which runs as software on your physical computer. You can think of a VM as a computer within a computer.
This approach allows you to keep the different things you do on your computer securely separated from each other in isolated VMs so that one VM getting compromised won’t affect the others. For example, you might have one VM for visiting untrusted websites and a different VM for doing online banking. This way, if your untrusted browsing VM gets compromised by a malware-laden website, your online banking activities won’t be at risk.
People who have used virtual machines to run alternative operating systems on their desktop might wonder how Qubes differs from running multiple instances of VirtualBox or KVM. There are two important characteristics which set Qubes apart. The first is that Qubes runs programs in Xen which essentially means Qubes is working at a lower level. VirtualBox runs on top of our existing operating system, effectively stacking operating systems, one on top of the other. The guest system can be compromised if the host is compromised. With Qubes, the Xen hypervisor is running directly on the computer's hardware and the various virtual machines are running beside each other instead of one on top of the other. This should make it harder for one compromised compartment to gain access to the others.
From the end user's perspective though the main difference is Qubes will run applications from different virtual machines on the desktop just as if they were regular applications. This means the separate virtual machines integrate with the desktop. As the project's website explains: "Qubes makes it so that multiple VMs running under a Type 1 hypervisor can be securely used as an integrated OS. For example, it puts all of your application windows on the same desktop with special coloured borders indicating the trust levels of their respective VMs."
Qubes OS is available in two editions, the main edition is a 2.3GB download and boots straight into a system installer which will help users set up Qubes on their computer. The second option is a Live edition which is available as a 4.6GB download. I have tried each major version of Qubes OS and have been unsuccessful in getting it to install, so this time I decided to try the new Live edition. Though the Live edition is considered to be of alpha quality, I was able to boot Qubes OS Live on my laptop and experiment with the new 3.1 release.
Booting from the live media takes a while, but we are eventually brought to a KDE desktop. Qubes runs KDE 4.14 with grey wallpaper. The application menu, task switcher and system tray are placed at the bottom of the screen. The application menu is presented in a classic tree layout. Shortly after logging in, an application called "Qubes VM Manager" appears on the desktop. This manager application, at a glance, looks like a task monitor for virtual machines. The Qubes VM Manager lists three virtual machines (or domains) by default: dom0, sys-net and sys-firewall. I will come back to the VM Manager and the domains it controls in a bit.
Qubes OS 3.1 -- The Qubes VM Manager
(full image size: 321kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
At a glance, Qubes OS runs the KDE4 desktop and ships with quite a few common applications. LibreOffice, Firefox, the Thunar file manager and a text editor are available. Qubes uses Fedora 21 as a template for its virtual machines and this gives us access to a wide range of software in Fedora's repositories. Locally, we find Qubes uses the YUM package manager, systemd 208 and version 3.18 of the Linux kernel. Upon signing into the Qubes live session, I found the system actively used about 500MB of RAM, but had filled up my laptop's memory with about 4GB of cached files.
On the surface, Qubes OS looks a lot like any other desktop distribution. However, the system is divided into separate regions or domains. At the centre is dom0 (Domain Zero). We can think of this as the hub of Qubes. Domain Zero is where the management controls are, it is where we can configure other domains and it is where we can launch or terminate applications that are running in other domains. Another key component of Domain Zero is it has no Internet access. A domain called sys-net handles networking and sys-net can share its network connection with other domains, but not Domain Zero. This idea can take a while to get used to, but it means Domain Zero, the central managing domain of the system, is walled off from the Internet.
Let's look at some of the domains available to us and how they work. If we look in the KDE application menu we find a list of domains, each domain has its own sub-menu with a list of applications that domain can access. The listed domains include Banking, Personal, Untrusted, Work, sys-net, sys-firewall and Disposable. I would like to point out that the names of most of the domains (apart from sys-net) are fairly arbitrary. We can use the Work domain for entertainment and the Personal domain for banking, if we want, but it is easier to keep functionality straight if we perform tasks in their corresponding domains.
In each tree of the application menu we can see the applications which can be launched from a given domain. By default, each domain typically starts out with just the Firefox web browser and we can add more applications later. Each domain is associated with a colour: red, yellow or green. Launching an application, like Firefox, from the application menu opens the web browser and places a coloured border around the browser's window. The copy of Firefox run from the Personal domain will have a red border while the copy of Firefox running in the Banking domain will have a green border. This helps us tell programs apart in case we have multiple browsers or terminals open on the desktop.
Each domain has its own file system and its own applications. This means if we download a file using Firefox in our Personal domain, the file is not available in the Banking domain. On the positive side, this keeps malicious programs from spreading, but it also means it is difficult to share files between domains. The Qubes documentation claims there are two ways to share files between domains, one uses a command line program while the other method can be accessed through the file manager. I found that the cross-domain copying command did not exist in the Live edition of Qubes and two of the three file manager icons did not launch a file manager, instead opening a file manager configuration window. The third file manager icon launched the Thunar file manager and, from it, I was unable to find the cross-domain copying function.
Qubes OS 3.1 -- Applications in separate domains have their own files and directories
(full image size: 92kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
The easiest way I found to transfer files between domains was to plug a USB thumb drive into my laptop, copy files onto the drive and then restore them from somewhere else. Copying files to another computer over the network and reading them back in another domain is a second option. However, as I mentioned before, Domain Zero does not have network access, limiting our options when it comes to transferring files.
Earlier I mentioned that each domain will have Internet access, assuming the sys-net domain has been connected to our network. Connecting sys-net to the Internet is fairly straight forward. There is a Network Manager icon in the KDE system tray, surrounded by sys-net's distinctive red border. We can click on the Network Manager icon to connect to local networks. Once we have logged into a network all domains, apart from dom0, can access the Internet. Early on I noticed DNS look-ups were not working, effectively making it impossible to browse the Internet. To fix this, I opened up a terminal in the sys-net domain and edited my /etc/resolv.conf file. I changed the default name servers in the resolv.conf file to valid ones and networking in each domain worked as expected afterwards. I noted at the time that we can use the sudo command, without a password, to perform administrative functions in each domain. This passwordless access may seem like a security issue at first, but since each domain is isolated from the others, having the ability to perform administrative actions in any one domain has minimal impact.
At the heart of the Qubes experience is the Qubes VM Manager. This application lists the running domains and provides us with CPU and memory usage statistics. From the VM Manager we can start/stop domains. The VM Manager also allows us to assign application launchers to each domain. This allows us to put, for example, the Transmission bittorrent application in the Personal domain and LibreOffice in the Work domain. Once an application has been added to a domain, its launcher appears in the KDE application menu under the selected domain's sub-menu.
Qubes OS 3.1 -- Assigning application launchers to a domain
(full image size: 120kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
There is an option in the VM Manager to perform upgrades to Domain Zero. I was not certain whether this update function would cause the programs in each domain to also be updated or if the packages in each domain had to be upgrade separately. When I tried to install all waiting updates, a window appeared and told me the update process had started, but then nothing happened. After several minutes I tried to stop the update process and the VM Manager became unresponsive and I had to terminate the VM Manager. The VM Manager can be re-launched from the KDE application menu.
I had better luck working with packages from the command line. Qubes uses Fedora software and can install packages from Fedora repositories using the YUM command line package manager. I found it possible to install packages into each domain, giving me the chance to customize each isolated portion of the system with the tools I wanted to use.
Something I found interesting was that after I had run YUM for the first time in the Work domain, the system notified me that the sys-firewall domain was checking for software updates. A short time later the Apper package manager appeared and offered to download all waiting updates, 114MB of packages in total. While this use of Apper may be convenient, it was not clear which domain was being updated. I think Apper was updating Domain Zero, but there was no immediate information to support this idea.
Conclusions
This lack of clarity with regards to software updates underlines what was, for me, the biggest hurdle I had with Qubes. I was sometimes unclear as to whether I was updating all domains or just one; if my connection to the Internet was not working in dom0 by design or because I needed to adjust a configuration option; was I unable to take screen shots from within domains due to a security feature or a technical problem? With some trial and error, I was able to find my way around Qubes and make use of it, but the system felt awkward, at least during my first afternoon with it.
I had a revelation though on the second day of my trial when I realized I had been using Qubes incorrectly. I had been treating Qubes as a security enhanced Linux distribution, as though it were a regular desktop operating system with some added security. This quickly frustrated me as it was difficult to share files between domains, take screen shots or even access the Internet from programs I had opened in Domain Zero. My experience was greatly improved when I started thinking of Qubes as being multiple, separate computers which all just happened to share a display screen. Once I began to look at each domain as its own island, cut off from all the others, Qubes made a lot more sense. Qubes brings domains together on one desktop in much the same way virtualization lets us run multiple operating systems on the same server.
Qubes presents us with an interesting idea: running multiples applications on one desktop that are not only sandboxed (as with Firejail), but completely walled off from each other. This presents us with a great deal of security as it does not matter to our Banking applications if our Personal domain is taken over by attackers. Running multiple windows, each in its own, isolated domain requires some adjustment in thinking. It's not easy for me to look at a text editor and a web browser on the same screen and know they cannot share access to the same file. But, after experimenting with Qubes for a few days, the idea of each application as an island started to make sense. Qubes is probably more security than most people need right now; managing the applications in each separate domain would be confusing to a lot of people. However, I can certainly see the appeal of Qubes for people who need to keep their work safely separate from their personal life.
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Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a de-branded HP laptop with the following
specifications:
- Processor: Intel i3 2.5GHz CPU
- Display: Intel integrated video
- Storage: Western Digital 700GB hard drive
- Memory: 6GB of RAM
- Wired network device: Realtek RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast
- Wireless network device: Realtek RTL8188EE Wireless network card
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Whonix offers bug bounties, Ubuntu Budgie edition planned, Puppy's family tree
The Whonix project, which seeks to make web browsing more secure by forcing all network traffic through the Tor network, wants to create a more robust and secure distribution. In an effort to engage the community, some key Whonix tasks have been assigned bounties. Contributors who submit working solutions can earn cash, up to $3,000 USD. A list of the current outstanding tasks, including bootstrapping Debian packages from their source code, can be found on the Whonix blog. The bounty program allows users to contribute money towards projects they feel should be given more attention and gives developers a way to earn money working on open source projects.
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Since the Budgie desktop made its debut in Solus there have been efforts to package the desktop environment for other Linux distributions. One such effort, currently called Budgie Remix, is seeking to create a new Ubuntu community flavour. "Budgie desktop is designed with the modern user in mind, it focuses on simplicity and elegance. A huge advantage for the Budgie desktop is that it is not a fork of another project, but rather one written from scratch with integration in mind. [This is a] community based distro based upon the Ubuntu base combined with the elegant Budgie desktop. Ideally we would like to become 'Ubuntu Budgie' - a member of the official community based Ubuntu distros." The progress of this project can be tracked on its GitHub page.
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The Puppy Linux distribution has a well earned reputation for being easy to use and for offering older computers a new lease on life. The Puppy Linux distribution has grown more popular over the years and this has lead to a number of extra editions and forks. It can be difficult to keep track of Puppy's growing family and this has lead to the creation of the Puppy Linux family tree. This chart, and accompanying write-up, explain how the many flavour of Puppy relate to each other.
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Setting up disk partitions
Seeking-the-perfect-disk-layout asks: I am building a PC specifically for Linux distributions only and I've read a lot of opinions on partition arrangement. Other than having separate partitions for /home, swap, and root (for each distribution install), is there any need for a /boot partition or a separate /tmp partition? Secondly, during installation there is a check box for picking where to install that distribution's boot loader. Where should this point to and why? If there is a separate /boot partition, would it point there or is it always supposed to be the root partition for that distribution?
DistroWatch answers: First, I would like to say my general rule when it comes to disk partition layouts is to make things as simple as possible. While there are situations where separate /boot, /tmp or /var partitions make sense, for most people running Linux at home, these are not necessary. Quite often we will just need a single /home partition, some swap space and one root partition for each operating system installed. There are some exceptions to this general rule, but that is where I suggest people start. As for the specific questions asked:
1. Is there any need for a separate /boot partition? Often no, if you are using standard partitions. Having a /boot partition can be useful if you are using Btrfs, ZFS or other advanced file systems as some distributions do not support booting from these file systems directly. To make sure you can boot into a Btrfs, ZFS or another non-standard file system, set up a separate /boot partition and format it with the ext4 file system. When in doubt, it doesn't hurt anything to have a separate /boot.
2. Is there need for a separate /tmp? For a home computer, no. It can be useful in professional settings so malicious or careless users do not fill up the root partition by filling /tmp which is writable to everyone. Some people set up /tmp to function in RAM for improved speed. However, most applications tend not to use /tmp anymore so it is usually safe to ignore /tmp and just leave it as part of the root partition.
3. Where should the boot loader be installed? Usually in the MBR. That is where the system will look for it. In some situations where you boot multiple distributions you might want to give each OS its own boot loader on its own partition, but most people will be fine having a boot loader in the MBR. If you do end up giving each OS its own boot loader, then put one boot loader in the MBR and the rest in each distribution's /boot. Additional information on setting up the GRUB boot loader can be found in this helpful article.
Finally, I would like to suggest that you consider maintaining just one Linux distribution on your computer and run alternative distributions in virtual machines. Unless your computer has limited memory (less than 4GB of RAM) you should be able to run at least one distribution in a virtual environment while running your main operating system. Using virtual machines is convenient as it avoids the need to reboot the computer to switch operating systems. It also keeps your partition layout simple as each virtual machine is self contained and does not require an additional partition.
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Does Ubuntu's bash run on Windows?
A few weeks ago we reported that both Canonical and Microsoft had announced it would soon be possible to run Ubuntu command line programs on Windows 10. This would be achieved through a compatibility layer, similar in concept to the way Linux distributions can run Windows software using WINE. Due to the timing of the announcement and Microsoft's past statements about Linux, there was some doubt as to whether the announcement was real or an April Fools joke.
There was a lot of debate over whether Ubuntu's bash shell really would run on Windows and, if so, how well the GNU command line utilities would run on Microsoft's operating system. As a curious soul who was asked to weigh in on the legitimacy of Microsoft's announcement, I decided to give running Ubuntu's bash on Windows a try. I have an Insider account that mostly collects dust and it gives me the opportunity to test previews of Microsoft technology.
For those of you who want to know what it was like for me, someone who uses Linux and BSD almost exclusively, to install and configure Windows 10, you can read my series of live tweets from last Thursday.
After following the directions to access the latest developer builds of Windows and installing all available updates, I found that the Ubuntu compatibility layer, mentioned on the Windows blog, was not available. I tried trouble-shooting the issue, removing and re-adding my computer to the Insider program, rebooting, manually checking for new builds/updates, but in each case I came up empty. My version of Windows was stuck on an older build (10586) and I was unable to find any way to upgrade to the new build (14316) which allegedly features Ubuntu compatibility. As it turned out, I was not alone. Several other members of the Insider program reported they too were unable to access the latest build.
In the end, I was unable to definitively answer the question as to whether Windows supports running Ubuntu software through a compatibility layer. Microsoft seems serious about the idea and it's mentioned on several pages of their website and in their Insider Hub application. One OSNews reader confirmed that the bash command line shell does work, in a limited way, under Windows. However, for those of us who have been unable to upgrade to the latest build of Windows, the feature effectively does not exist. At least not yet.
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Past Questions and Answers columns can be found in our Q&A Archive.
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| Torrent Corner |
Weekly Torrents
Bittorrent is a great way to transfer large files, particularly open source operating system images, from one place to another. Most bittorrent clients recover from dropped connections automatically, check the integrity of files and can re-download corrupted bits of data without starting a download over from scratch. These characteristics make bittorrent well suited for distributing open source operating systems, particularly to regions where Internet connections are slow or unstable.
Many Linux and BSD projects offer bittorrent as a download option, partly for the reasons listed above and partly because bittorrent's peer-to-peer nature takes some of the strain off the project's servers. However, some projects do not offer bittorrent as a download option. There can be several reasons for excluding bittorrent as an option. Some projects do not have enough time or volunteers, some may be restricted by their web host provider's terms of service. Whatever the reason, the lack of a bittorrent option puts more strain on a distribution's bandwidth and may prevent some people from downloading their preferred open source operating system.
With this in mind, DistroWatch plans to give back to the open source community by hosting and seeding bittorrent files. For now, we are hosting a small number of distribution torrents, listed below. The list of torrents offered will be updated each week and we invite readers to e-mail us with suggestions as to which distributions we should be hosting. When you message us, please place the word "Torrent" in the subject line, make sure to include a link to the ISO file you want us to seed. To help us maintain and grow this free service, please consider making a donation.
The table below provides a list of torrents we currently host. If you do not currently have a bittorrent client capable of handling the linked files, we suggest installing either the Transmission or KTorrent bittorrent clients.
Archives of our previously seeded torrents may be found here. All torrents we make available here are also listed on the very useful Linux Tracker website. Thanks to Linux Tracker we are able to share the following torrent statistics.
Torrent Corner statistics:
- Total torrents seeded: 182
- Total data uploaded: 34.1TB
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| Released Last Week |
FreeBSD 10.3
The FreeBSD project has announced the availability of a new version of their stable branch. The new release, FreeBSD 10.3 improves UEFI support, introduces ZFS boot environments and the ability to run 64-bit Linux applications on 64-bit x86 builds of FreeBSD. "The FreeBSD Release Engineering Team is pleased to announce the availability of FreeBSD 10.3-RELEASE. This is the third release of the stable/10 branch, which improves on the stability of FreeBSD 10.2-RELEASE and introduces some new features. Some of the highlights: The UEFI boot loader received several improvements: It now follows /boot/config and /boot.config files, multi-device boot support works and command line arguments are parsed. Additionally, its framebuffer driver has been enhanced with GOP (Graphics Output Protocol) and UGA (Universal Graphics Adapter) handling, allowing to set the current graphics mode on systems using one of these methods. Moreover, ZFS boot capability has been added to the UEFI boot loader, including support for multiple ZFS Boot Environments (BEs), e. g. those provided by sysutils/beadm..." Additional information can be found in the release announcement and in the detailed release notes.
NuTyX 8.1
The NuTyX project produces a French distribution based on the Linux From Scratch and Beyond Linux From Scratch guides. The project has released NuTyX 8.1 which contains many software updates and is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit x86 builds. The new release features version 4.4.6 of the Linux kernel, Firefox 45 and version 5.3 of the GNU Compiler Collection. "Six months after the first Houaphan 8.0 version release, I am proud to announce the release of NuTyX 8.1. The code name remains Houaphan. Time's flying, Houaphan is already the 8th major release since the first public version of NuTyX in 2007. This 8.1 version is available in 64- and 32-bits. Boths should have all the available packages." A list of important changes, along with upgrade instructions, can be found in the project's release announcement.
PC-BSD 10.3
Kris Moore has announced the launch of a new stable PC-BSD release. The project's latest version, PC-BSD 10.3, is intended to be the final release in the project's 10.x branch and is based on FreeBSD 10.3. PC-BSD 10.3 uses the FreeBSD boot loader with GRUB offered as an optional alternative. UEFI support has been improved in the system installer and the operating system ships with Lumina 0.8.8 as one of the available desktop environments. "The PC-BSD team is pleased to announce the availability of 10.3-RELEASE! This is currently planned to be the last maintenance release in the 10.X series, and we are currently working hard on the upcoming 11.0. A very special thanks to all the developers, QA, translation and documentation teams for helping to make this release possible." PC-BSD is available in two editions, the desktop edition and the TrueOS edition for servers. Additional changes and upgrade instructions for existing users can be found in the project's release announcement.
Univention Corporate Server 4.0-5
Univention has unveiled an new update to the organization's Univention Corporate Server (UCS) 4.0 series. The new release, Univention Corporate Server 4.0-5, features mostly minor updates and security fixes. "We are pleased to announce the availability of UCS 4.0-5 for download, the fifth point release of Univention Corporate Server (UCS) 4.0. It includes all errata and security updates issued for UCS 4.0-4 and provides various improvements and bug fixes especially in the areas of Active Directory compatibility and the UCS management system. The Linux kernel has been updated to 3.16.7-ckt20. This includes several stability and security updates. Diverse further security updates, among others for OpenSSL, Samba, NTP, GNU C library (glibc), sudo or Apache, are included..." Further information is available through the release announcement and release notes.
PrimTux Eiffel
The PrimTux project, which develops an education-oriented distribution based on Debian, has released a new version of the French language operating system. The new release, which carries the label "PrimTux Eiffel", features educational programs, LibreOffice 4, games and an easy to navigate interface designed with young children in mind. The distribution also features the Handy menu from Handylinux. "PrimTux is developed by a small team of school teachers and computer enthusiasts in the educational environment. For its lightness, it is not intended to replace or become the main operating system of a modern computer, but an upgrade obsolete equipment and pointing toward the school or educational environment in the spirit of education."Further information on this young distribution can be found on the project's information pages. This release of PrimTux is available for the 32-bit x86 architecture exclusively and can be either be installed on the user's hard drive or run as a live DVD.
PrimTux Eiffel -- Default desktop environment
(full image size: 889kB, resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Opinion Poll |
Upstream or downstream distributions?
In the Linux ecosystem there are many upstream and downstream projects. Upstream projects, such as Fedora and Debian, tend to get access to new technologies and bug fixes sooner and often provide a lighter operating system. Downstream projects, like Linux Mint and Manjaro Linux, tend to have more user friendly features and added tools over their upstream parents, but may lag behind new software releases while they wait for their parent project to make new packages available.
This week we would like to know if you prefer using an upstream distribution or a downstream distro? Do you like the more vanilla experience offered by Arch Linux and Slackware, or the extra sauce provided by downstream projects like Korora and Zorin?
You can see the results of our previous poll on Ubuntu-powered mobile devices here. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Upstream or downstream distributions?
| I prefer upstream distros: | 843 (40%) |
| I prefer downstream disros: | 609 (29%) |
| It depends on the situation: | 479 (23%) |
| I have no preference: | 186 (9%) |
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| DistroWatch.com News |
Updated contact and feed information
There are a lot of ways to follow what is happening at DistroWatch. We have many RSS feeds, a handful of social media pages and e-mail addresses. Previously these were scattered around the website, but we have compiled them into one collection. Our new Contact page provides a list of e-mail addresses where we can be reached, official RSS feeds that can be followed (with a description of each feed) and a collection of social media pages which mirror on our announcements. Public security keys will also be made available through the new Contact page.
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Distributions added to the database
AryaLinux
AryaLinux is a source-based GNU/Linux distribution that has been put together using Linux From Scratch (LFS) as a guide. The AryaLinux distribution uses a source/ports style of package management and a custom package manager called alps.
AryaLinux 2015 -- Running the Xfce desktop environment
(full image size: 377kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Lakka
Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that transforms a small computer into a full blown game console. The distribution is based on OpenELEC and runs the RetroArch console emulator. Lakka is capable of running on a variety of hardware, including personal computers, Raspberry Pi boards and WeTek Play devices.
PrimTux
PrimTux is a Debian-based distribution developed by a small team of school teachers and computer enthusiasts in the educational environment. It is not intended to replace or become the main operating system of a modern computer, but an upgrade for obsolete equipment and benefiting the school or educational environment in the spirit of education.
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Distributions added to waiting list
- X-LFS-2010. X-LFS-2010 is a collection of build scripts which essentially automate the compiling and installation steps presented by Linux From Scratch. X-LFS-2010 automatically builds a minimal Linux distribution from source code.
- Open Network Linux. Open Network Linux is a Linux distribution for "bare metal" switches, that is, network forwarding devices built from commodity components. ONL uses ONIE to install onto on-board flash memory. Open Network Linux is a part of the Open Compute Project and is a component in a growing collection of open source and commercial projects.
- EasyNAS. EasyNAS is a storage management system for home and small office use. It is based on openSUSE Leap and uses Btrfs as its file system, providing flexible storage and data snapshots.
- JyllDeveloper. JyllDeveloper is a minimal desktop distribution for software developers. It is based on Ubuntu and is available in 32-bit and 64-bit x86 builds.
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DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 18 April 2016. To contact the authors please send e-mail to:
- Jesse Smith (feedback, questions and suggestions: distribution reviews/submissions, questions and answers, tips and tricks)
- Ladislav Bodnar (feedback, questions, donations, comments)
- Bruce Patterson (podcast)
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1 • upstream, downstream (by richrd on 2016-04-11 00:30:21 GMT from North America)
I use Mint but as I like the latest & greatest photo tools, I add darktable and GiMP PPAs to the downstream base repositories (thanks, Ubuntu ecosystem!)
That gives me the best of both worlds.
2 • poll (by a on 2016-04-11 00:53:52 GMT from Europe)
I want a distro without systemd that works, and there is only one. So upstream, downstream, who cares…
3 • @2 (by Will B on 2016-04-11 01:18:40 GMT from North America)
> I want a distro without systemd that works, and there is only one. So upstream, downstream, who cares…
I thought there were a few without systemd? Which one do you prefer? (I don't like systemd either)
4 • Ads slowing down DW (by Will B on 2016-04-11 01:20:10 GMT from North America)
Hi Jesse and the team.
Lately I have noticed that your ad providers are slowing down, or downright pausing, the loading of DW. Maybe you can rewrite your site so the main content renders first, *then* the ads. Just a thought. :-)
5 • @2 (by Dr_CR on 2016-04-11 01:43:55 GMT from North America)
What "just works" depends on the situation.
I love Slackware and Arch but depending on the situation, I use derivatives as well and particularly Ubuntu (formerly Mint) for Linux gaming since Ubuntu/Mint are what "just works" without fanfare for Steam.
6 • Upstream Downstream (by DrDavid on 2016-04-11 02:10:31 GMT from North America)
I like main distros like Debian for learning and for production use in enterprise and other critical situations. I like experimenting with downstream distros to see what works for desktops, old computers, and other specialty uses like routers/firewalls, because there are some great choices in these downstream distros. Lately looking at pfsense (router/firewall), lxle and various xfce spins of several main ("upstream") distros for desktop use for old and new computers. The lightweight distros don't just work on old computers, they run like lightning on new ones, and I like that! Of course, the thing to look for in desktop distros is the mix of applications (available in default install OR via easy download from repos) to let you DO what you need in a desktop!
Thanks to Redhat we have CentOS/Scientific/etc (directly), and Fedora as a derivative. Thanks to Debian we have tons of derivatives, but I like the special-use and the lightweight derivatives best.
Then there's the specialized security and pen-testing and forensics distros, and I don't fret about where they come from, I want to check out them all. Unfortunately some seem abandoned, like Blackbuntu, but I am pressing on with Kali and others.
Keep on learning and having fun.
7 • I miss the old Arch..... (by McRae on 2016-04-11 02:50:57 GMT from North America)
I know things progress but I really miss the old Arch linux......I'd install, break out nano, edit the rc.config and was good to go! I know I could go to a BSD system but I prefer linux. Is there a simple distro like that out there anymore?
8 • partitioning (by Reuben Perelman on 2016-04-11 02:58:36 GMT from North America)
For a desktop system, it's a good idea to put your important data on a separate partition. Usually that means giving /home a separate partition. That way you can easily install a new Linux distro without disturbing your important data.
Alternatively, you could use a single btrfs and zfs partition, and divide the data up onto multiple subvolumes. This is the setup that I use. The problem with this, not many installers allow setting this up, so you'd have to create a setup like this manually.
Finally, if you're using UEFI, then you have to have a seperate UEFI partition to store the bootloader.
As for upstream/downstream, don't really have a preference. Just want stuff that isn't ancient. Recently switched from Debian Sid (an upstream distro) to Manjaro (downstream) because Manjaro is more up to date.
9 • My preference (by Brenton Horne on 2016-04-11 03:36:10 GMT from Oceania)
I prefer distributions that are simpler to package for, install desired packages on and otherwise work with. Arch Linux and Sabayon Linux are probably my favourite distros because they fulfill these requires. Sabayon maybe downstream from Gentoo but Gentoo is such a complex and tedious distribution that I prefer Sabayon. Arch Linux is my preferred distro instead of Manjaro, although I have used Manjaro in the past, because of the fact that software updates come out so infrequently with Manjaro that I can't really call it a bleeding edge system like Arch or Sabayon.
10 • Release schedule of Fedora 24 had been delayed (by LiuYan on 2016-04-11 03:50:07 GMT from North America)
Fedora 24 Beta: 2016-05-03.
Fedora 24 Final: 2016-06-07.
11 • Upstream, downstream (by argent on 2016-04-11 05:19:06 GMT from North America)
@2: There are many systemd less distros, antiX, Devuan, and Openrc, these are but a few of them.
Check out Sourceforge: Devuan currently alpha 4, soon to be released beta, very good solid distro.
Star Morbius - Devaun
ZephyrLinux - Devuan
antiX - also a very excellent systemd-less distro.
Systemd can be removed and install Openrc, currently running VSIDO with this process.
@3: Yes, the options and choices are there!
12 • pclinuxos does not use systemd (by Elcaset on 2016-04-11 05:52:51 GMT from North America)
pclinuxos works well, & it's another distro that doesn't use systemd.
13 • Puppy Linux: downstream lighweight ... (by gregzeng on 2016-04-11 06:29:42 GMT from Oceania)
http://puppylinux.com/family-tree.html shows that there are only two living distributions; based on Slackware or Ubuntun14.04 LTS trusty tahr packages, 3.14.20 kernel. So they have old Linux kernels, which could be user updated.
"sharing the same principles, built using the same set of tools, and provide consistent features between all of them" ... meaning that it has ease of compilation for distribution creators, but nothing else for end-users?
According to Dw, the last Puppy release was Version 5, 28th Oct 2014 Version 6, dated 16th Dec 2015 has never been reviewed? http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/puppy-tahr/iso/tahrpup -6.0-CE/
As others have commented here, downstream lightweight versions of the upstream parents can easily be customized for our specific needs. All these lightweights can also be upscaled to most specialist needs, such as "Security", server, etc.
In my tests, I will now compare Puppy (#16, Ubuntu) with other similar Ubuntu-based distributions: Peppermint (#47) and wattOS (#63 on Dw). btw: the Dw distribution numbering system gives different results. If you use Dw:Search, this differs from the results on the home screen.
Puppy's claim to be able to run in memory, or off a CD, is no longer so amazing. Most good Linux distributions can now run "Live", in memory, without installation. I found that this "Live" method is the fastest, most accurate way to install any of the hundreds of Linux distributions that I have tested. If it can be put onto a USB stick and run "Live", it is very silly and primitive, so don't bother with it imho.
14 • Partitioning. (by Jag59 on 2016-04-11 06:32:35 GMT from Asia)
On my 500 GiB harddisk,I have 3 partitions of 30 GiB each and a 'data' partition of @370 GiB and a swap of 5 GiB. Three Linux OSs reside on each of 30 GiB partition without a separate home partition i.e. '/home' being in '/' of every OS.
Keeping a single '/home' for different OSs may lead to conflicts due to different versions of applications in the various OSs installed.
GRUB is installed at MBR of my main LTS Linux and other OSs' boot loader is at their '/'.
Better to keep minimum primary partitions to facilitate rearrangement of partitions if needed later.
PC-BSD needs 'Primary' partition to get installed.
Jesse already mentioned regarding presence of 'boot' partition if you want use ZFS or Btrfs.
I am not using LVM.
Folders in 'data' partition can be simlinked in each OS to store data accessable from all OSs.
15 • pclinuxos does not use systemd (by Elcaset on 2016-04-11 06:43:40 GMT from North America)
pclinuxos works well, & it's another distro that doesn't use systemd.
16 • Testing distros in VM. (by Jag59 on 2016-04-11 06:47:58 GMT from Asia)
I prefer real installation over VM, because in VM
1)Hibernate, sleep and successful resumeing from these cant be checked, which is required in real senerio.
2)Working of blue tooth can't be confirmed if it is not working in the the host OS.
3) Duel head/monitor performance, working of wacom pen tablet, smartphone connectivity etc. are the other things for which real installation is a must.
17 • pclinuxos does not use systemd (by Elcaset on 2016-04-11 06:50:45 GMT from North America)
pclinuxos works well, & it's another distro that doesn't use systemd.
18 • sorry for the unintentional triple posting. (by Elcaset on 2016-04-11 06:53:48 GMT from North America)
sorry for the unintentional triple posting. it happens every time I reload this page in my web browser. I'll stop using this browser until I fund the cause.
19 • puppy linux "family tree" page (by sam on 2016-04-11 07:00:25 GMT from North America)
@13 Seems you just glanced at the chart, without reading the entire page.
debiandog, fatdog64, simplicity linux... several current (active) puppy linux variants exist which aren't based on Slackware or Ubuntu.
20 • upstream, downstream (by thim on 2016-04-11 08:05:53 GMT from Europe)
For the last 3-4 years, my distro of choice is Slackware and it's vanilla approach has something to do with this.
IMHO, there are two kinds of downstream distros.
Some distros, (let's take the *buntus as example), are miles ahead in terms of compatibility with their mother distribution.
And there are distros fully compatible backwards (Salix to Slackware etc..). I think this is a huge difference too (for some users at least).
21 • Data partition. (by Antony on 2016-04-11 10:26:50 GMT from Europe)
Jag59 (@14) comments: " ..... a 'data' partition .... Linux OSs reside on each partition without a separate home partition i.e. '/home' being in '/' of every OS."
I have used this approach for *many* years. Works well.
22 • partitioning @14 (by Hoos on 2016-04-11 11:39:44 GMT from Asia)
My setup is similar to @14, except I have many more distros, each residing in a root partition of 25GB with no separate /home partition for each. My data and media are all in a large separate partition which each distro automounts on bootup.
For fixed release distros with no upgrade path, if there is a new version of the distro, I just install the newer version to an empty partition (lots of space on my HDD) and then copy over whatever configuration files, icons and themes I want from the older installed version.
I don't need to have the newer version look or be set up exactly the same as the older version so a fresh install gives me the chance to change things up if I choose.
Once everything I want has been copied, the older partition will be reformatted over, leaving an empty partition for future use.
23 • upstream or downstream (by Kazlu on 2016-04-11 12:21:26 GMT from Europe)
Normally, I would prefer upstream distros. After a few years of distro-hopping I drastically reduced the number of distros I was even willing to consider trying and eventually install due to lack of spare time. I ended up staying in the Debian ecosystem as much as possible. Vanilla Debian works fine and the Debian way of managing packages works fine with me. My most trouble free machine is a 9 year old HP laptop with Debian Wheezy, used 2 to 6 times a week.
The only problem I have with Debian is that it lacks some tools and configurations that I would normally expect from a desktop OS. I regularly discover I have to go command line to enable this or activate that in order to do simple tasks. For example, users are not by default in the group you need to be able to print... Not that it is necessarily bad, but it is what I would expect from a desktop OS. I have become tired of these little things and although I learned by setting those things right, sometimes I just don't have time for this. That's why I tried some downstream distros with varied rates of success. The last one is MX Linux (the antiX variant) and I must say it has impressed me a lot. It is downstream Debian but it uses the Debian repositories and is much easier to use from the beginning without being slowed down. Everything does not have the same level of polish and hand-dolding as an Ubuntu for example, but it is very complete, it has many tools which explain to you what they do even if they are not always pretty and it bloody works. In addition, no systemd, which has become optional to me but today I am satisfied I can still avoid using it for at least a few years. MX is clearly meant for intermediately experienced Linux users: a lot of thigs are already installed, available and configured with sane defaults, but you have many options you can tweak. I feel particularly well with this design, it really is what I needed.
The fact that MX uses the Debian repositories and adds its own software on it (most of it actually being backports from Debian Testing) instead of using its own repositories is really giving me trust in the quality of what I have installed on my machine. And it is for me an argument to take into account when comparing upstream and downstream distros: do they use their own repos or the parent distro repos? There are pros and cons in both ways, I personnaly prefer the second way, which allows for a distro that is closer to "the original distro with additional things" than "a complete distro which happens to use existing packages from another one". Besides, with antiX and MX, you have two distros with two similar yet different philosophies but with the same quality code base, that is a really good way to do things in my opinion.
24 • Down vs Up (by Jordan on 2016-04-11 12:40:11 GMT from North America)
Years ago I tried Slackware and Gentoo within about a week of each other.
That week between them was my ineptitude at getting Gentoo to work much at all.
Slackware went better, but I found myself wondering something like, "..just wtf am I DOING?"
So, yeah, downstream won, big time. Manjaro has my fancy now.. with a bit of chance taking on thumb drives with other distros of similar ilk.
25 • Ups & Downs (by Bill on 2016-04-11 14:07:40 GMT from North America)
I like both distro's as they both offer great performance. My main distro for the past several years has been Debian xfce 6, 7 & 8. My latest distro is Manjaro xfce. Manjaro does some things better than Debian such as auto setup of discard on a SSD and imagewriter for booting from a USB drive. It is a very fast and easy install compared to Debian.
The reason Debian is still my favourite distro is that it has a faster boot up time and quick overall with smooth operation of all the apps that I have installed and no update issues that Manjaro has had. However, I am impressed with how fast Manjaro has improved and have it installed on a separate HHD. They both are great distros, There are many others great choices in the Linux family.
26 • upstream vs downstream (by Bob McIsaac on 2016-04-11 14:28:57 GMT from North America)
I prefer Xubuntu because it has a comfortable look-and-feel and because it just works. Nothing interesting should happen with a daily distro because "interesting" usually leads to tedium and time wasted.
I just installed Manjaro 16 Xfce on a spare computer. It looks good and had no problems doing upgrades and web surfing.
27 • upstream and downstream (by ken on 2016-04-11 14:42:41 GMT from Africa)
I have voted upstream because my favourites are debian, centos and slackware but after voting I have thought of whether centos is upstream. Centos should be downstream of fedora I think.
28 • @8 Partitioning (by vw72 on 2016-04-11 16:20:24 GMT from North America)
openSUSE is one of the distros that allows/creates subvolumes for btrfs during the install. Coupling btrfs with snapper for rollbacks is pretty slick. If something goes wrong with an update, it is a simple matter to boot back into a previous snapshot.
29 • @28 going back to snapshot (by Bill Gates on 2016-04-11 17:06:06 GMT from North America)
Sort of like Windows. ;)
j/k
30 • @8 Old Arch Linux (by SilentSam on 2016-04-11 17:56:35 GMT from North America)
I definitely feel your pain... Old Arch Linux with the /etc/rc.conf file was the epitome of K.I.S.S... Definitely miss the ease of the one stop shop for configuration.
31 • Qubes OS (by Teresa e Junior on 2016-04-11 18:26:24 GMT from South America)
Qubes OS is an awesome idea, and is probably the best one can get today in terms of security. I know they support Debian besides Fedora too. The only problem for me is that it doesn't support 3D, which I need for Google Earth.
32 • @28 re:openSuSE (by Reuben Perelman on 2016-04-11 19:38:43 GMT from North America)
The problem with the SuSE installer is that it expects the top level subvolume to be /. Anaconda offers more flexibility.
33 • Upstream or Downstream (by Mike on 2016-04-12 04:45:25 GMT from Oceania)
I was a dedicated Debian user until a hardware failure just before Easter. I bought a new laptop and needed to be up and running real fast; including Java and MariaDb. So Mint became the obvious choice. It's horser for courses
34 • Disk Partitions: no /home (by cpoakes on 2016-04-12 07:44:36 GMT from North America)
If your hard disk contains multiple distros and even versions of those distros, a /home partition does not make sense. Your home directory doesn't contain generic data; the ~/.files and ~/.directories (including ~/.config) are often incompatible between versions and/or distros. It does make sense to have another common data partition for your well-defined/generic data (JPG, MP3, video, text, open document format files) to share between installed operating systems. One can even map the freedesktop.org XDG directories (XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR "Documents", XDG_MUSIC_DIR "Music" et al ) to this common data partition rather than leaving them assigned to directories in $HOME. (See .config/user-dirs.dirs).
35 • can I delete contents of /tmp (by Vytas on 2016-04-12 08:48:30 GMT from Europe)
Can I do?
rm -r /tmp/*
Is it safe?
36 • Success or not of new versions (by Gerhard Goetzhaber on 2016-04-12 14:22:47 GMT from Europe)
This is a matter rarely reported. So I want to mark out some according positive notice herein:
1. A distro I think much lesser recognized than actually worth is SPARKY! It's a kind of Debian Testing that brings with it the experience of a dynamically rolling as well as top administrated Debian. So trying it you may see the advantage of best hardware and even protected driver and software compatibility combined with pure progress in development. And the prerelease 4.3 is the first system of so many I've tried out where LXQt is really working fine. I suppose Sparky being the very best Debian based system at all!
2. For those who prefer the well established OSs CentOS should be possibly more often given a chance. Getting multimedia functionality on it may need a lot of commandline action to do, but EPEL, NUX and RPMFORGE do integrate well and make a stable and fine working multipurpose desktop out of the good old enterprise determined RedHat!
37 • RE: can I delete contents of /tmp (by Devesh on 2016-04-12 14:29:18 GMT from Africa)
Hi Vytas.
There is some session information stored in tmp so deleting it might cause some issues in your current session. Restarting in some distros, I know Debian, does clear it out. Is there any particular reason you want to do this?
I will give it a try sometime and report back.
38 • One more systemd-free distro (by bigbenaugust on 2016-04-12 14:30:33 GMT from North America)
LinuxMint Debian Edition (currently in its second iteration, based on Debian Jessie) is still on sysvinit. It's almost as friendly and easy to deal with as Mint, but all Debian Stable under the hood. Since you can treat it like a vanilla Debian box, apt and backports and switching init systems works great too. The Mint MATE setup is also great.
I have one LMDE2 box on systemd and one on sysvinit, and am using backports repos for LO and the kernel on both.
39 • security OS (by phishing licence $1m on 2016-04-13 02:39:03 GMT from Oceania)
As others have noted, new tech developments like wifi maintenance feature built into CPUs (like i5 & i7), offer new means of exploitation by hackers. So while security distros like Qubes and TAILS try to protect against malware, hackers have moved on to trying to infiltrate air-gapped computers. As always, security OS's are one step behind the hackers.
40 • Qubes (by some guy on 2016-04-13 04:08:40 GMT from Europe)
I've been wanting to try out Qubes for some time, but have been stymied verifying the download. There is no published checksum, and I just don't seem to be smart enough to follow the instructions for verifying signatures.
Also, the iso image is too large to fit on a standard DVD. Distrowatch reviews are usually all about installing the different distros, but you seem to have blown right past these two roadblocks without comment this week. Was your review system already installed?
41 • Linux Mint Debian & Qubes (by Rocket on 2016-04-13 06:58:52 GMT from North America)
Linux Mint Debian was awesome, I've installed it on many computers back in the day, unfortunately I dont know if its still being maintained at all. Qubes is awesome too, but you have to learn allot to be able to use it, and it was just too much for me, but I will keep coming back to this distro in the future cause its just so cool, then again I dont know if I will be able to figure out a way to do what I want on it.
I've been running FreeBSD 10.3 since the day it was released, been great so far. For people hating systemd and talking about old Arch, you should really try FreeBSD for a week. You can install binary packages from a repo by doing the pkg install command, you dont have to compile everything from ports, you have to edit rc.conf just like you used to in Arch years ago, the packages are mostly pretty recent, the OS is really solid and will probably last longer than your hard drive.
42 • Rollbacks (by Barnabyh on 2016-04-13 11:54:44 GMT from Europe)
Kind of reminds me of the Mono controversy back in the day. So SUSE still is the Windows of the Linux world with its snapshots -;). But no, yes I agree, it's good to have backups, it just so much reminds of the bad old days...
43 • Qubes (by Jesse on 2016-04-13 15:35:03 GMT from North America)
>> "Also, the iso image is too large to fit on a standard DVD. Distrowatch reviews are usually all about installing the different distros, but you seem to have blown right past these two roadblocks without comment this week. Was your review system already installed?"
Qubes OS publishes both checksums and signatures. And we included these in our release announcement for the project (https://distrowatch.com/?newsid=09323)
As for the size of the ISO, I believe Qubes is meant to be transferred to a thumb drive, not run from a DVD. As i started in my review, I did not install Qubes, I ran the operating system as a live environment.
44 • Qubes (by some guy on 2016-04-13 16:16:30 GMT from Europe)
So you did publish the checksums! Thanks.
The newest 3.1 Qubes only had instructions for verifying the earlier version. I gave up on that and tried the install anyway. USB drive weirdness across three operating systems prevented me from going further.
Just my experience. Maybe it will help in making the next version a bit more accessible.
45 • Upstream vs. Downstream (by Microlinux on 2016-04-13 17:18:44 GMT from Europe)
I *am* downstream. http://www.microlinux.eu
:o)
46 • LMDE 2 (by M.Z. on 2016-04-13 19:42:27 GMT from North America)
@41 - LMDE 1 reached EOL in January
If you had an original LMDE system you should have upgraded the old rolling release version to LMDE 2 already. The Mint team tried to make it clear that the old rolling version was being dropped & that users needed to switch to the new version based on Debian Stable. The new LMDE maintains a piece of the old versions cutting edge nature my automatically updating Mint tools & the desktop (either Cinnamon or Mate) to the latest version, while keeping the same Debian Stable base. The End Of Life plans for LMDE 1 & the upgrade path to LMDE 2 were covered many months ago:
http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2832
I don't know about the upgrade path, but I put LMDE 2 Cinnamon on my laptop around the time it came put & have been fairly happy with it since. It's quite solid & easy to use as ever, though I find Mint KDE has easier to configure wifi than the LMDE & Mageia systems I'm multi-booting with. The only other thing I don't like is that Cinnamon has a tearing issue with some full screen video that I don't really get in KDE. Overall LMDE 2 is excellent, & if you had version one installed on anything you want security updates for you should definitely upgrade.
@46 - Firefox
Firefox works well for me, while Chrome is a fat memory hogging piece of spyware. I do like Opera okay & have some trust in them even if their product is no better than Firefox, & of course I need Chrome for Netflix. Otherwise I wouldn't use Chrome for anything as it's fat & slow compared to Firefox & yes I also speak from experience.
47 • Clementine 1.3.0 (Music Player) Released @ 4/15/2016 - A Massive Release! (by iateachickenonce on 2016-04-16 08:09:34 GMT from Netherlands)
"Clementine is a modern music player and library organizer for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X."
https://www.clementine-player.org/
48 • http://buymadden15coins.spruz.com/pt/nba-2k16-mt-a-step-by-step.4-14-2016/blog.htm (by nba2k16mtratings on 2016-04-17 04:21:04 GMT from North America)
I like this site - its so usefull and helpfull.|
49 • 47 - Clementine (by edked on 2016-04-17 04:42:03 GMT from North America)
Clementine is dead to me until they reverse their decision to remove lipgpod support.
They could also remove "copy to and from your iPod and iPhone" from the feature list on their main page while this feature continues to be missing.
50 • xfce (by xfce on 2016-04-17 06:18:32 GMT from Europe)
"Recently switched from Debian Sid (an upstream distro) to Manjaro (downstream) because Manjaro is more up to date."
Use the Xfce desktop and proprietary drivers form nvidia site. For amd graphics, amdgpu and radeon kernel drivers are good. Play dx9 games and don to cry after lates opengl features. Use a custom kernel from kernel.org to speed up your system. No reasons to switch from debian sid.
Number of Comments: 50
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| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Full list of all issues |
| 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 | 
Lonix
Lonix was a console-based full Linux system which runs from a live CD. It includes a lot of useful utilities for students and developers, along with some servers like Apache, Proftpd, sendmail, and sshd (all pre-configured). It can also be used as a partition tool (featuring fdisk, parted, and partimage) or as a rescue CD.
Status: Discontinued
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| Tips, Tricks, Q&As | | Tips and tricks: Rescuing encrypted home directory data |
| Tips and tricks: Creating, removing, modifying, and ignoring aliases |
| Questions and answers: Why there are so many Linux shells |
| Tips and tricks: Simple rsync examples |
| Tips and tricks: Verifying ISO images |
| Questions and answers: Smbclient |
| Questions and answers: Strange, unusual, and fun things to do with Linux |
| Questions and answers: Source based Linux distributions |
| Tips and tricks: Play nicely, drop secure shell sessions cleanly, check init's name |
| Questions and answers: Secure Boot, stuff stored in swap when memory is not full, enabling the firewall |
| More Tips & Tricks and Questions & Answers |
| 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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