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1 • phone os (by Jordan on 2017-01-30 00:26:13 GMT from United States)
Feh... see no reason to mess with the phone much. Did root my android phones off and on. But the stock os remains with a tweak or three.
2 • Phone OS (by Ant on 2017-01-30 02:17:07 GMT from Australia)
My main phone is a Galaxy S2, so without Cyanogenmod it'd be running an outdated version of Android. Same goes for my previous phones - the only way to extend their lives was custom OS usage.
3 • question regarding SubgraphOS application firewall (by gh on 2017-01-30 02:23:44 GMT from United States)
"application firewall will restrict which applications can connect to the network based on the name of the application"
Does it employ filter rules based on application name or full PATHstring of the executable? I haven't found docs explaining which
4 • Phone OS Poll (by Rev_Don on 2017-01-30 02:36:07 GMT from United States)
You need to add a fourth option, I don't use a Dumb Phone. There are still a lot of us out there that use old fashioned cell phones that don't have a touch interface/OS. Phones like the legendary Razr V3 series or similar. Whole the first response of sticking with the stock OS would be essentially correct, it would be extremely misleading
5 • Multiple (by Chris on 2017-01-30 02:44:39 GMT from United States)
SubgraphOS:
I am extremely happy to see a distro in development that focuses on equal defaults of both security (hardened kernel, default encryption, exposed application sandboxing, etc.) and anonimity (TOR system-wide). I look forward to giving it a try once it is past the alpha phase. It has a very high potential to become my daily driver one day, hopefully soon.
While TAILS has been a great distro, its focus has been primarily on anonimity with only some security added by default. Inversely and equally great, QubesOS has focused on security with a little added anonimity. And then there are the pleathora of quality penetration distros (i.e., Kali) who have a little of each (security and anonimity) but, understandibly, with their focus on various testing and forensic applications. Each is great in its niche, but hardly daily-drivers like SubgraphOS could be.
My only major problem with TAILS, QubesOS, and now SubgraphOS is their focus on 1st World hardware (e.g., 64-bit multi-core processors, multi-gigs of memory, etc.) and large desktop environments (e.g., Gnome, KDE, etc.). YMMV; however...
I have said it here before and I shall continue to tilt at this proverbial windmill, but what about the people, who's lives are literally at risk, in some 3rd World country (or maybe higher) who can only obtain a 32-bit single core computer with at-best one gig of memory? Is their computer security and network anonimity irrelevant?
I highly encourage these security and anonimity distro developers to create and maintain minimal spins (e.g., 32-bit, lite DEs/WMs [e.g., Mate, Xfce, LXDE, LxQt, Openbox, etc.], etc.) for as long as such hardware is prevalent in the communities most desperite for their products.
Poll:
I would love to remove iOS and Android (I have switched back and forth, unhappy either way) from my life but I currently only have one phone at a time and I cannot risk it based on unfinished and unpolished alternatives. But when the day comes where I can load an equally functional and polished linux distro onto my smartphone it will be done quickly!
6 • Mint, Ubuntu stats disguised, as usual on Distrowatch (by Greg Zeng on 2017-01-30 03:05:27 GMT from Australia)
This comment will be seen as another positive, realistic statement of factual improvement for Distrowatch, I hope.
Mentioned before (years ago) here in Dw "Comments", that the top Linux distros have had their popularity ratings disguised. This week's new release of Mint is actually the release of two versions of Mint (KDE, XFCE), not just the one distro.
Similarly the supposed releases of Ubuntu are disguised separately rather than combined. So Xubuntu, Ubuntu Gnome, Ubuntu MATE, Kubuntu, etc are treated extremely opposite to Mint, PCLOS, etc. If the Ubuntu family (officially known as "family" were treated as fairly as the Mint family, then it would be the NUMBER-ONE on Distrowatch.
Fanboy of either the "official families": Mint, Ubuntu, Fedora, Puppy, etc: NO. I just want Linux's strengths to be stronger than the two main operating systems on the Desktop (Windows & Apple), for well-deserved reasons. Off the Desktop, Linux already is the leader: IOT, servers, cloud, etc.
Generally SOME derivatives of the "official family" are not bound by the puritanical, legalistic strictures of the "official". In contrast, the adventurous renegade distros do "treacherous" things like mixing GTKx, QT and "non-free" applications. These teenage youngsters are not at all PC (politically correct), and far too user friendly. A few dare try new Linux installers like Calamares.
Hopefully, a true record of Linux usage might accurately reflect actual usage, of both Family members, and renegades, equally. One of my favorite distros is Ubuntu MATE, which is part of an official family. As such, it too suffers from the usual family "genetic" diseases ("memetic"). BlackLab (another "family", which is part of the wider Ubuntu family) is an improvement imho, on U-MATE. Lite might be my favorite Linux distro, atm.
There are many other memetic disease through-out the Linux families. That is why the BSD-derived families exist. Generally the RPM families (Redhat, Centos, Fedora, PCLOS, etc) have more disorders than the even bigger, more popular DEB families: Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Lite, BlackLab, Neon, Watt OS, etc.
Because these families of cognitive-emotional disorders are part of my human behavioural studies, I really need to publish the results of my multi-disciplinary research elsewhere soon. But this web-site might only be interested in the how & why its official statistics are not (YET) reflecting how the Linux world really operates imho.
7 • Simplified manual Pages (by Michael5 on 2017-01-30 03:11:05 GMT from Australia)
A great addition to find simplified examples not overloaded with {} () etc.
8 • Ubuntu phone date of last update (by Bob on 2017-01-30 07:09:46 GMT from Italy)
I can see _Ubuntu phone is back to the future! (last updated in '71 :)
9 • Phone OS (by Alexandru on 2017-01-30 08:39:49 GMT from Romania)
I have Samsung Galaxy S II phone as my main phone. I am happy with it, but the stock Android 2.3 is really old and bloated. So, Cyanogen images solved both problems.
As I have experience of playing and switching of my desktop OS, including the realistic expectations about the functionality, I tried many different images on the phone. The key idea to not be afraid to flash the phone is save/restore functionality, which I tested first. After that, whatever happens I can always restore the stock OS. After playing with different images, I choose Cyanogenmod based on Android 4.4.4.
Advantages:
- Light and more responsive phone;
- All functions are working.
Disadvantages:
- Sometimes it loose the signal, reboot helps;
- Sometimes SMS application crashes after successfully sending SMS. Annoying, but not a really a problem as it doesn't lead to data loss and the SMS application is still available.
I would like to see real Linux on tablet / phone.
10 • Open Phone (by John on 2017-01-30 09:01:56 GMT from United States)
Thanks for you incisive work on Ubuntu Phone.
Glad to see where progress on getting a really open phone is.
Won't it be nice when I can buy a cheap TracFone and plug it into my laptop and browse the web using whatever radio signal happens to be around.
And plug the same TracFone with an adapter into my 'normal' house telephone wiring and make regular telephone calls.
John
11 • Multiple (by Dave Postles on 2017-01-30 09:21:00 GMT from United Kingdom)
@5 Kali has 32-bit version - at the download page from its website. I've just installed it on an old netbook as well as on a usb.
Parrot, if I remember correctly, has no print facility - can't even connect to localhost:631.
Slowness of TOR: appreciate the issue; my response is to un-complicate websites; they are now beyond information. I have to reiterate the importance of demonstrating to governments even more so now that, e.g., IP Act in UK, is a nonsense. Requiring ISPs to retain metadata for a year and submit it to the UK govt solves no problems. It's an intrusion on freedom, is likely to capture all and sundry, and will not capture those whom they seek. Govts shd rely on traditional methods of intelligence not stupid blanket approaches.
12 • Parrot 32-bit (by Dave Postles on 2017-01-30 09:23:13 GMT from United Kingdom)
I shd also have mentioned that there is 32-bit version of Parrot.
13 • Ubuntu Phone (by Marcel on 2017-01-30 09:37:55 GMT from Netherlands)
Of course I would love to try the ubuntu phone!
The only thing I might be missing is whatsapp.
The usability of an alternative phone-OS stands or falls with the availability of the mayor apps. Some of them can be replaced by accessing the website with a browser (Facebook, twitter, .....) but others will be missed.
Can't wait to test it!
14 • Phone OS (by Dave on 2017-01-30 11:32:19 GMT from United Kingdom)
Have SailfishOS installed on a Nexus 7 after smashing the screen on my original Jolla Phone. Only thing I miss not having the Android compatibility (alien-dalvik) part is OSMand maps. Can't go back to the clunky Android way of doing things after a proper touch only system. Pity that Jolla seem incapable of putting out any new hardware in Europe. Have tried flashing it with Ubuntu Touch but unlike my M10 tablet too many things just don't work.
15 • Nexus 5 Ubuntu Touch (by silent on 2017-01-30 12:04:21 GMT from Hungary)
Ok, let's start the auction with an opening bid of 40 USD ;)
16 • KDE - really that bad? (by Bob on 2017-01-30 12:35:50 GMT from Austria)
Tried a few installations, but KDE's fuzzy behavior drives me crazy. Sometimes just a few quirks but after a couple of reconfigurations disaster usually looms. XFCE and LXDE seem to work on the same hardware without problems but Win95 looks almost modern in comparison to them. Gnome (including all variants) is not made for me. So I am pretty clueless how to waste my time in the near future. Linux desktop market share has recently risen to a whopping 2% thanks to the fact that many MS customers have dumped their desktops and laptops in favor of smartphones. Even Linus Torvalds seems to have doubts that Linux will ever be able to take over the desktop market. I can only agree :-((
17 • Phone OS... (by Vukota on 2017-01-30 12:53:55 GMT from Montenegro)
I would never tinker with new, working and well supported phone, unless there is some serious reason to do so. With older, more deprecated, and not well supported phone (or the one that has so many updates that it can't work), its a different story. From the experience, I rarely saw "alternative" firmware that works 100% as it is supposed to, and it is always question can you live with it, and it usually involves some kind of hacking of the phone with the exploits and software that are shady to begin with, and not to mention app stores with questionable things/sources in them.
About simplified man pages, I think it is a great thing, as usually it is the only thing I need.
About @6 & "popularity ratings disguised", yes it was never about objectivity, but rather consistency. People's reviews and ratings OTOH (introduced last week), may provide more objective picture if DW wishes to tackle this problem, as people tend to complain about things that doesn't work and in contrast praise things that does work, so one can create more objective picture what does and what doesn't work and why it may be important and when (which use case). Only dangerous thing that may skew those numbers/reviews would be weird population of people visiting DW and participating, but then again, it would be consistent with this population of people (visitors of DW). It would be nice to see there somehow reviews in particular "timespan", like we have on the home page for ratings, so we (readers) can see the trends, and what is "in" and why.
18 • @11, @12, and @16 (by Chris on 2017-01-30 13:09:23 GMT from United States)
@11 & @12: Understood, Kali and Parrot do have 32-bit builds and even lighter desktop environments available (default or spins); however, both are primarily penetration testing distros, not general security/anonimity ones like TAILS, QubesOS, and now SubgraphOS, which are the focus of my complaint.
@16: While I have little experience customizing LXDE; with various themes, one can make Xfce look at least equal to, if not better than, W95. Search "Xfce Themes" and have some fun.
19 • @4 phone OS (by Any User on 2017-01-30 13:37:58 GMT from United States)
Got that back-words. Either:
"You need to add a fourth option, I don't use a Smart Phone."
OR
"You need to add a fourth option, I use a Dumb Phone."
20 • desktops (by Tim Dowd on 2017-01-30 14:19:56 GMT from United States)
@ 16
I've had great luck with MATE. I don't think saying Linux is poor on the desktop without mentioning it or Cinnamon is too accurate.
21 • @16 KDE gripes (by Sam on 2017-01-30 14:26:28 GMT from United States)
I used to alternate between KDE and Gnome back in the olden days (pre KDE 4 or Plasma or Neon or whatever; and that weird "everything is full screen, you MUST use full screen" tablet-ized Gnome). I haven't used KDE for several years - and every time I've tried it out after reading about some new great feature, I found most distros with a KDE version were just using a vanilla KDE over the underlying OS (for which, much more love was given to Gnome, or Cinnamon, or Unity).
I downloaded the latest Linux Mint KDE distro this weekend and have been impressed with small touches that help make the interface (to me) more logical, snappier.
22 • Application firewall, poll (by a on 2017-01-30 15:28:43 GMT from France)
Thanks for the review of Subgraph OS Jesse. I will not use it since it uses systemd and Gnome 3, but their application firewall and Tor router are very interesting. I hope they make these applications easy to install in other distributions. I would really like a firewall that tells me when closed source programs try to access the net and lets me block them.
About the smartphones OS, I’d like to install one but it’s simply impossible on my phone, as it’s not one of the most popular ones. Android sucks but there is no way to root my phone and alternative OSes have no support for it. I didn’t answer the poll because saying "I stick with the original OS", while true, would not express my sentiment.
23 • Subgraph OS firewall (by a on 2017-01-30 15:41:44 GMT from France)
After a bit a searching I found the source code for the application firewall of Subgraph OS: https://github.com/subgraph/fw-daemon
Good surprise: it’s written in Go! And at first sight it seems to depend only on iptables, so it should be fairly easy to use it in any distro.
24 • Phone OS (by Francesco Turco on 2017-01-30 15:43:28 GMT from Italy)
On my Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100 smartphone I installed LineageOS (previously known as CyanogenMod).
25 • KDE et al (by Bob on 2017-01-30 15:51:22 GMT from Austria)
Thanks guys for your feedback.
Mate, Cinnamon: tried them at an early stage - promising but not fully convincing.
XFCE: never had the patience to reconfigure it until it worked for me.
LXDE: tried to boost it with KDE applications, unsurprisingly some of them did not work as hoped for.
Mint KDE: Printer configuration sent 2 windows above screen edges (Alt-F4 helps), otherwise no major hick-ups so far. Compares favorably to another KDE distro which I don't want to mention here ;-)
26 • Phone OS (by paperman on 2017-01-30 16:02:24 GMT from Iran, Islamic Republic of)
I've installed LineageOS on my phone without gapps so I only use open source apps on it. FREEDOM!!!
27 • desktops (by Tim Dowd on 2017-01-30 16:24:50 GMT from United States)
@16 @ 25
I guess where I'm concerned about your comments are that MATE and Cinnamon are great desktop experiences, and have been since at least 2014 when I switched first to Cinnamon and then MATE after using LXDE for several years.
It's perfectly ok to say that you've had frustrating experiences with Linux on the desktop, but your comment in 16 implies that Linux in general can't get the desktop right. It can, and has for several years.
28 • @19 Phone Poll (by Rev_Don on 2017-01-30 16:32:40 GMT from United States)
My Razr will run for 4+ days of medium use and 3 days of hard use between charges. It will also get a signal allowing me to make/receive a voice call or text message while most "so called" smart phones can't get a signal at all. Now tell me, which is the real smart phone. Sorry, but I got it right the first time.
29 • @16 look and feel (by far2fish on 2017-01-30 17:18:38 GMT from Denmark)
It takes from a few hours to a day to learn the basics for styling your window manager or desktop environment or you can download themes to get up to speed faster.
Few distros seems to style out of the box though, which at first sight looks like something the cat dragged in. Some nice exceptions though. KDE Mint have already been mentioned. For XFCE I will recommend having a look at Manjaro.
30 • Phone poll (by Poet Nohit on 2017-01-30 18:33:57 GMT from United States)
Where's the "I don't use a phone that needs an OS" option?
31 • Phone OS (by Steve on 2017-01-30 18:37:52 GMT from United States)
You need another choice in the poll:
I don't have or want a "smart" phone
...and maybe one more:
I don't have or want a cell phone
32 • Phone OS (by argent on 2017-01-30 18:48:36 GMT from United States)
Certainly welcome any real change other than Android, not even going to be negative but would welcome a good solid based distribution that isn't as intrusive. Good thing on one aspect of offering so many apps, but really the constant notifications make owning a phone unattractive.
Eventually believe there will be some real change and be more user friendly without the clutter. Approach computing with a minimalist attitude and would prefer a phone in the same regards.
Best regards to DW and the awesome job of having such a resourceful site as it is, thanks.
Special Kudos to Questions and Answers, solved a lot of mysteries on this end.
Thanks again!
33 • Phone OS (by Laubster on 2017-01-30 19:14:40 GMT from United States)
When my flip phone died 12 months ago I would have gone with another, but wanted to play with convergence. I purchased a Nexus4, and opted for the dual boot option even though I spend 100% of my time in Touch. With no Android experience I can't compare them, but I've found the Touch solidly capable for typical use, and a pleasure to use, though I'm far from a power user. I can recommend Touch on a Nexus4 to others.
34 • KDE (by havenchaz on 2017-01-30 19:44:21 GMT from United States)
@21 Maui is the slickest version of Plasma out there. Very stable with enhancements to the menu making it an easy OS to use as soon as it is installed.
Also it is Semi-Rolling and uses Ubuntu LTS and KDE Neon for the latest and greatest that Plasma has to offer.
35 • Phone OS (by blabber on 2017-01-30 19:58:47 GMT from Sweden)
I use a feature phone. No way android or ios will ever be allowed in my pockets!
36 • Tracking distros just for fun (by M.Z. on 2017-01-30 21:31:26 GMT from United States)
@6
It sounds to me like you've got an axe to grind about how distros are tracked & want to anoint you preferred distro 'king of the hill' because it gives you some warm fuzzy feeling like you'd be winning some popularity contest. Tracking clicks doesn't give any objective measure of distro popularity & it never has, it measures interest of people on the DW site. If you want the most popular desktop OS then use Windows, but if you want the best for you then dig through the options here on DW. Of course you could blindly download the most popular distro here on DW & call it a day, but the point of the site is to give potential users information about distros & their project objectives. If it was an objective of Ubuntu to offer all major desktop options as official versions, then they would publish all releases as official announcements the same way they do with their Unity desktop & they would own the number one spot on DW.
The project obviously felt that there were reasons to do things in a different way & do 'community versions' rather than release more official desktop versions. A very similar situation exists with Mint Debian and the SolydXK distro, so it isn't as though the situation is unique to Ubuntu. Either project could inflate their numbers on DW at least a little bit more by centralizing all releases, but they don't care about that so why should the rest of us?
Also I use both RPM & Deb distros regularly & have no idea what you could mean by "...the RPM families ... have more disorders..". The only gripe I have is that Chrome was easier to install (especially security signatures) on Mint than on Mageia & made watching Netflix easier. Of course Fedora's delta-RPMs could be said to be far superior to the default setup on any major Deb based distro I'm aware of, but there are other reasons I'm not to interested in using Fedora as my main OS. Anyway, the point is both RPM & Deb have some strengths & weaknesses, though most users will hardly notice as they both work more than well enough to go unnoticed in my experience.
If you want something that can "..accurately reflect actual usage..." then never look at DW numbers, because they are unofficial & only reflect the interests of DW visitors. I'll admit that I felt good back when Mint became #1 on DW, but the truth is it doesn't mean any more than DW visitors are more interested in Mint & perhaps there is a good buzz about the distro. That actually doesn't mean anything huge & was never meant to be any kind official or statistically valid count of anything.
37 • trivialities (by jos on 2017-01-30 21:57:59 GMT from United States)
Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Mubuntu... listed separately because their respective devs ASKED to have them listed separately? Maybe lack of clarity around that is what led to #6's wonderment.
When "cub linux" showed up on the list, I'd never seen it on the waiting list & so posted to ask "poof. where dat come from?"
Similar questioning might arise if a reader doesn't realize TrueOS is actually FreeBSD in sheep's clothing, but whatchagonna do? List both the old name(s) and current name for each distro/project?
Wait, what was the question? Did we gather here to chase windmills, or molehills?
38 • man pages and application firewall (by Joe P on 2017-01-30 22:13:33 GMT from United States)
I have long hoped that man pages with common examples become available. I recall the dos help file from DOS 6.2 had hyperlinks and examples. If you loaded the correct driver you could use a mouse with it back in the pre Windows days.
I have also hoped to find a good application firewall like the old WRQ Atguard program from the Win 98 days. You could even drag and drop the order of the rules. Netfilter has similar capabilities but no GUI as friendly as Atguard was then.
39 • Organization (by Jesse on 2017-01-30 22:57:40 GMT from Canada)
>> "Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Mubuntu... listed separately because their respective devs ASKED to have them listed separately? Maybe lack of clarity around that is what led to #6's wonderment."
@6, @37: We get asked this enough that it is on our FAQ page: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=faq#ubuntusplit
40 • Phone OS and more (by mikef90000 on 2017-01-30 23:06:31 GMT from United States)
@Jesse, no nag screens on my new Moto G4 Play with Android 6.0.1; perhaps the Nexus has an extra crap layer installed. :-(
@25, I'm always puzzled with folks who have difficulties with customizing Xfce - you must be Extra Picky about something. IMO it is extremely easy to customize if your right mouse button works .....
41 • @6 Re:Mint, Ubuntu stats disguised, as usual on Distrowatch (by Greg Zeng on 20 (by ArchUser on 2017-01-31 00:24:05 GMT from Norway)
Distrowatch does not track distros' underlying technologies, but individual distro projects and the numbers on the right are just how many people viewed that page on Distrowatch. It indicates nothing of install base or real world popularity. That Linux Mint divides its resources to different DEs and even the Debian edition does not mean that it isn't one distro project, but Ubuntu is just Ubuntu with Unity, while the official respins are separate projects that cooperate and contribute back to Ubuntu. Distrowatch only claims to track page views of individual distro projects which is in fact what they do. That people sometimes do not understand what these statistics are do not make them false.
42 • Ubuntu Phone (by jasonmm1979 on 2017-01-31 00:31:43 GMT from United States)
I've always used Android smartphones (with the exception of Nokia WAY back), I'd be interested in seeing how an Ubuntu phone operates.
43 • PhoneOS (by Dave Postles on 2017-01-31 13:43:51 GMT from United Kingdom)
I was fortunate enough to get an Alcatel onetouch FireE with Firefox OS before Mozilla abandoned the project. I love it and it cost (if I remember correctly) just over £60. There are enough apps available for my interest (mainly languages).
44 • Weekly (by Andy Mender on 2017-01-31 15:58:42 GMT from Austria)
Very well done on this week's DW Weekly, Jesse! Though a grumpy person by nature, I was delighted to read this week's edition.
I never tried Ubuntu Touch as it's quite literally out of my touch (pun intended). However, seeing as Android is getting more bloated by the day, I might hazard a switch at one point.
Shame to see Arch's i686 going away, as I found it (apart from Debian) to be THE distribution to run on Pentium IV computers. The KISS-centered minimalism shines on legacy PCs, truly.
Finally, I've tried this Super Hardening called Grsecurity via Gentoo's "hardened" profile. It's great on a server, but can prove problematic on desktop systems.
Wonder how OpenBSD or FreeBSD would compare to a hardened Linux system?
45 • my phone (by dave on 2017-01-31 18:08:53 GMT from United States)
lol I'm still using a Palm Pixi
(outdated, double-discontinued webOS)
I'm the last holdout.
46 • Man pages (by Martin on 2017-01-31 21:29:40 GMT from United Kingdom)
Thank you so much for providing these man pages, I have long felt this was something that should be available. Please keep up your good work.
47 • Looking forward to Ubuntu on smartphones (by RJARPCGP on 2017-01-31 22:25:39 GMT from United States)
Still looks like a WIP.
48 • New listener (by Eric Reed on 2017-02-01 06:17:12 GMT from United States)
I've given up the ship on Windows and am pretty well settled in with Mint 18.1. I've been a visitor to your site for a while but it was not clear to me that there was a podcast. One of the best I've come across. You asked about ditching Android, and I've had some small experience there. I put Cyanogenmod on a Galaxy III and for the most part it worked very well. I bricked it twice in the process though. Not a process for noobs like me. I subscribe to you now and would really like a good source for Linux lessons. I have fits dealing with gz.tar kind of stuff. .deb files install with no problem. FYI the trailer music made me get up to see if I downloaded Frampton for some reason. (Well I guess I did). Nice touch.
49 • My Old Android Phone... (by cykodrone on 2017-02-01 06:44:21 GMT from Canada)
...is now a $650 solitaire player. I dumped the carrier and yanked out the SIM card (leaving it in still bounces the phone off local towers). With the carrier dumped but SIM still in, no Google Play or updates with wifi, same with the SIM card yanked. I just go so sick of the background spyware trying to tell endless amounts of corporations what I look at or where I go, etc. You shouldn't have to white knuckle fight with your devices to maintain even a small degree of privacy. FYI packet data users, when you are not on wifi, YOU are paying for the data all those background snoopware processes use, the carriers love you, and your wallet/purse. I was going to Hiemdall it but then I would have lost a ton of old favourite games in the process, that and my new pay-as-you-go cell carrier uses different call/data frequencies anyway, so I was told (I purposely downgraded to an old school snoopware free flip-phone). I voted stuck with default.
Passwords, hmm, my BIOS password is set to ask on boot (you're not getting to either grub without it), I never allow auto logins, anything that needs root permissions, I create gksu launchers (remember password unchecked). I know the BIOS password can be cleared (jumper and/or battery removal) but that would set my finely tuned machine back to all the garbage default settings, and actually make my Linux installs dysfunctional in the process, lol, so if a thief were to steal it, good luck with that. If your machine has an internet connection, password laziness (convenience) is asking for trouble, especially with elevated privileges. It's almost as if some entity out there wants us to let our guards down, do so at your own risk.
50 • @36, 39, 41. Life-spans of distributions, including DW. (by Greg Zeng on 2017-02-01 09:37:00 GMT from Australia)
distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=faq#ubuntusplit "Frequently Asked Questions".
Thanks for the FAQ. It is recent, and undated. Since 31 May 2001, https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=about DW guidelines have changed, and hopefully will continue to change.
Levels of Linux communities
(1) Meta-structures (eg Unix), which then create:
(2) Isolated coders (or forked).
(3) Teamed coders (or forked).
(4) Incorporated group (or forked).
(5) Community of Corporations (or forked).
(6) Buy-out or Sell-out.
(7) Dying.
8) Dead (Abandon-ware?)
There are several types of Linux coders. They generally start & finish in the order 1 to 8, above.
In Level (5), only some distros are officially accepted as Ubuntu-derivatives by Canonical. Not all the coders in any sub-community feel happy about being part of the larger community. Many Lower Levels (One to Five) want to be recognized (or NOT) as part of any Level-Five consortium.
To officially join the official community, there are several "MUSTS", similar as being listed in any way for listing in DW. These "MUSTS" change over time, and they also have insider-secretive operations as well.
Interesting to see Microsoft (Level 4) sneaking into the official Linux Foundation (Level 5), Ubuntu (Level 4). This planet's chief Windows reverse-Windows-engineer noticed that Ms is unofficially "borrowing" Linux structures since Windows 8.1 (or earlier).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36Ykla27FIo&t=1427s "The Linux Kernel Hidden Inside Windows 10" Published on Nov 22, 2016
by Alex Ionescu, from BLACK HAT, USA. July 22-27, 2017. Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas blackhat.com/
My comments on that YouTube:
@1:57 Windows fan-girl correctly comments that the Linux kernel is not (YET) hidden in Windows 8.1. Just some of the Ubuntu & Android structures (@40 mins 30 secs).
@11:19 Linux subsystems mentioned
@13:18 Ubuntu & SystemD mentioned
Windows-10 is the Microsoft's self-proclaimed last operating system, since it will probably buy out Ubuntu, and then release it, like their purchases of Nokia,to "replace" the Microsoft phone, imho.
This is Microsoft last operating system, since it will probably buy out Ubuntu, and then release it, like their purchases of Nokia,to "replace" the Microsoft phone.
Linux, BSD and later operating systems ... ? History, or very deliberate software engineering, right now, will determine the futures. Theoretically, some claim "open-democracy" is the best way to evolve. Witness "The Linux Foundation" and Wikipedia? Or the 2016 USA election results, which now have created an anti-rationality Leader of the "Free" world.
Then we are so lucky that DW is at: "Physical Address: ... Wanchai, Hong Kong SAR ... E-mail: distro@distrowatch.com https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=about
51 • @50 Why? (by curious on 2017-02-01 10:36:03 GMT from Germany)
You say that Microsoft "will probably buy out Ubuntu". How do you know that Canonical / Shuttleworth will sell it (or be able to)? And what about the Ubuntu community and the GPL? Do you really think they would just disappear?
"Open Democracy" - do you mean Debian? It is clear that they - after long and sometimes bitter discussions - just follow the corporate developments made by others (Redhat).
For software development, it would appear that the "benevolent dictator" (NOT like the malevolent Trump) is the most promising model, as long as it is combined with a libre license that allows forking, so that others, who might disagree with the direction, can follow their own path and develop alternatives.
Btw, the DW server that I see appears to be in Denmark.
52 • FF OS you are missed (by Justinian on 2017-02-01 14:59:33 GMT from Philippines)
@43
Too bad Mozilla discontinued Firefox OS for phones. I got one the other year in Manila for not even $25 and have used it as a backup ever since. Mozilla conceded that they could not raise the user experience competitively. Was hoping they could come up eventually with a Linux system compatible with low-mid-range units, not just a few supported phones.
53 • The GPL makes that notion irrelevant (by M.Z. on 2017-02-01 18:43:35 GMT from United States)
@50
"..it will probably buy out Ubuntu, and then release it, like their purchases of Nokia..."
Now that's just totally off the rails pointless paranoia. On the off chance that both MS & Canonical are actually interested in the deal, the only possible gain in folding Canonical completely would be setting back all the projects based directly on Ubuntu by whatever amount of time it would take to switch their base to Debian proper & port all their custom tools. Debian & Ubuntu are mostly the same, so it wouldn't really take all that much effort & some projects like Mint Debian Edition show that it is fairly doable. Also all the things MS would control in that scenario would likely be forked like LibreOffice was from OpenOffice, & the code would remain in the hands of the community as the GPL creators intended. It would also be a sure bet that many Canonical employees would move swiftly to other parts of the Linux community, creating a 'hydra' type problem for anyone who would try to take over a Linux company. Also there would be legal issues with anti-competitive behavior.
I'm not a huge fan of Canonical especially after their former privacy issues, but that's just nonsense.
54 • Alternative phone OSes (by Дмитрий on 2017-02-01 20:08:20 GMT from Russian Federation)
I've tried literally every OS that are available for my Nexus 5: Ubuntu Phone, Sailfish OS, Firefox OS, some lightweight desktop distros on Bochs and even some old Windows (3.1? I don't remember), not to mention uncountable number of Android variants.
The ability to try different OSes was one of the main reasons why I chose Nexus and not some Samsung or whatever.
Anyway, now I use (good old) Android 5.1.1 ROM called Cataclysm. Although it's just a stock Google ROM with some neat features, it's definitely not default OS.
55 • mainline Linux kernel version 3.4 (by FOSSilizing Dinosaur on 2017-02-01 22:16:15 GMT from United States)
So W'8.1+ uses (perhaps independently-developed) code compatible with Linux kernel 3.4 ? (And/or ARM-related forks thereof?)
Like Google's Android, not using Linux libraries or applications?
(Also in EOMA68 plans, for similar reasons?)
(I thank our devoted curmudgeon(s) for bringing this up)
56 • Cloudready (by adam on 2017-02-02 08:22:30 GMT from Canada)
"other than Windows are not supported for dual-boot with CloudReady."
Any reasons?
57 • Alt OS on phone (by Vytas on 2017-02-02 09:51:27 GMT from Lithuania)
I am interested to get used phone and to play around with OS reinstall. Maybe actually use it if all goes well.
58 • Gaming on Linux. Best current sources, all Linux distros. (by Greg Zeng on 2017-02-02 13:47:14 GMT from Australia)
Late in this week's Comments. Holidays, so few readers? Viewing the best video I've seen on GAMING IN LINUX.
Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhcQ7jibiC4 "My Top Linux Gaming Distros", Don't Call Me Lenny!
Cover most Linux distros, i3 & i7 CPU, etc. Many resources given. Comparisons, like & dislikes, limitations, with well explained reasons.
59 • Phone masochism (by PJ on 2017-02-02 15:47:59 GMT from Ireland)
I rooted my HTC phone in order to be able to back it up properly with the Titanium app. That worked for a year or so and then it stopped getting software updates, after which it became gradually more and more flakey. Searches in the phone's contacts triggered a crash more often than not. I could play around with different distros or reset it to the factory default but I'm unlikely to revert to it; had already moved on after a couple of years. Back then I used the spare battery frequently. Now I carry a spare external battery.
Lesson learned: unless you've got the time to spare and you're willing to spend it may not be worth the trouble to root the phone. I'd rather spend the time on Linux.
My next phone was and still is a Nexus 5 running Android 6.0.1. I prefer the UI. It's been reliable, apart from losing signal more often than my wife's Galaxy 5. Not convinced the Pixel is worth the money so sitting tight for now.
60 • Phone OS & OBRevenge OS (by GiantBoyscout on 2017-02-03 10:25:42 GMT from France)
Phone OS: Currently, using default OS, but would looooove to install Sailfish OS, with Ubuntu Touch as a second choice.
OBRevenge OS: OBRevenge OS is here...OBRevnge OS is here!! Excellent distro, definitely worth a spin or install (Arch Base) rolling, with "easy" config. tools. A future DistroWatch review would be great.
Peace out.
61 • Alt Phone OSs (by M.Z. on 2017-02-03 23:08:00 GMT from United States)
I'd have to empathize in part with #59s reading of the issues with smart phone OSs. With PCs there seems to be plenty of fairly compatible slightly older hardware floating around that makes it fairly safe cheap & easy to try another OS on. Well at least in the case of Linux it generally goes without compatibility issues, though I do have issues with the BSDs. If I thought there were smart phones floating around that were as easy & reliable to try new OSs on I'd probably do it, but at present there seem to be hurdles. Even the most compatible phones that the review linked to had issues with either GPS or Bluetooth, & if you don't have one of those what's the chance anything will work? For now stock Android is the most open phone option that is still reliable, though hopefully that will change in the future.
62 • Arch vs Windows-10, on high-end hardware (4K graphics, etc). (by Greg Zeng on 2017-02-04 23:14:48 GMT from Australia)
Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ke_CnTsJlM&t=612s
Windows 10 Vs Arch Linux ★Geeking Off★
My comment is there as well. If he chose a Ubuntu-derivative, instead of Arch, then it could beat Windows-10? He has yet to reply to my comments.
63 • 62 • Arch vs Windows-10 (by mandog on 2017-02-05 13:53:10 GMT from Peru)
No way Ubuntu is slow and sluggish compared to Arch.
64 • wm/de/tk (by FOSSilizing Dinosaur on 2017-02-05 18:55:15 GMT from United States)
Wouldn't Subgraph_OS find their development base less challenging if they chose a (less unstable) window-manager/desktop-environment like OpenBox or Qt/Xfce on which to build? Why did they commit to GNOME (and not just Gtk - or Qt)? How stable a base for development is that likely to be long-term?
Number of Comments: 64
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
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