 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 742, 11 December 2017 |
Welcome to this year's 50th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Many of our readers will be familiar with a distribution called Tails, a Debian-based project which strives to keep its users anonymous on-line. This week we begin with a review of a similar distribution, called heads, which shares the same goal, but which is based on Devuan and strips out all non-free software from the operating system. Read on to find out how heads compares to Tails. If you use either of these distributions (or others like them), we would like to hear from you in this week's Opinion Poll. In our News section we further our discussion on privacy-protecting distributions by covering improvements coming to the Tails project. Plus we share details on the Debian project making it easier for people to access the source code used to make Debian packages. We also share tips for using the Void distribution, cover Debian's media update and talk about Ubuntu phasing out Python 2. This week's Tips and Tricks column covers manipulating images from the command line. Plus we share the open source operating system releases of the past week and provide a list of the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: heads 0.3.1
- News: Improvements coming to Tails, Debian makes all package code available on the web, plans automatic updates and updates install media, Ubuntu phasing out Python 2, tips for using Void
- Tips and tricks: Working with images from the command line
- Released last week: Puppy 7.5, Uruk 2.05, ROSA R10
- Torrent corner: Bodhi, Peppermint, Puppy, ReactOS, ROSA, Urk
- Opinion poll: Privacy protecting distributions
- DistroWatch.com news: Moving to HTTPS only -- Part 2
- Reader comments
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
heads 0.3.1
heads is a live Linux distribution which can be run from a DVD or USB thumb drive. The distribution connects to the Internet through the Tor network. This helps protect the identity and location of the person using heads. The heads distribution is very similar to its popular sibling, Tails, in its mission, but heads has some special characteristics which set it apart. The heads distribution is based on Devuan while Tails is based on Debian, which means heads uses the SysV init software rather than systemd. The heads project is also dedicated to shipping a distribution which features free software only, as the heads website explains:
Non-free software can not be audited and as such cannot guarantee you security or anonymity. On the other hand, with heads you only use free software, meaning you can gain access to any source code that is included in heads, at any time. Using free software it is far easier to avoid hidden backdoors and malware that might be in non-free software.
heads is available in a single edition which is 831MB in size. When booting from the project's ISO, we are given the option of booting heads normally from the disc or loading the distribution into RAM. The latter option frees up our removable drive and can make applications load faster after the initial boot process has completed.
The distribution boots to a command line interface and automatically logs us in as a user called luther. On the screen we are shown the root account's password along with commands we can run to launch a graphical interface. The default shell for the luther account is zsh, a less common shell than bash, but often loved for its additional features. heads ships with the Awesome and Openbox window managers and we can choose which one we wish to launch from the command line. I focused on using Openbox during my trial.
heads 0.3.1 -- The welcome screen
(full image size: 1.0MB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Launching the Openbox environment brings up a welcome window which explains where we can find launchers for the distribution's applications and how to access our network settings through the Wicd connection manager. Dismissing the welcome window leaves us in the Openbox environment. Along the bottom of the screen we find a panel crowded with an application menu, quick-launch buttons, a task switcher and a system tray. There are a few icons on the desktop. One icon launches a file manager, another opens a text file with the same message we read in the welcome window. A third icon opens a text file containing URLs for services on the Tor network.
I found the Openbox window manager to be quick and responsive. The environment looks and acts like a heavier, full featured desktop environment, but with the performance of a minimal, well configured window manager.
Hardware
I explored running heads in a VirtualBox virtual machine and on a laptop. When run in VirtualBox the distribution performed fairly well. heads booted quickly, automatically connected to the Internet and sound worked. However, heads was unable to make use of my host computer's full screen resolution. I also found that sometimes the integrated mouse would stop working in heads. I could work around this by turning off mouse integration to get my pointer back.
When run on my laptop, heads started out well, using my full screen resolution and audio worked. However, heads was unable to use my laptop's wireless card. This left me without an Internet connection unless I was plugged directly into a router. This limitation appears to stem from the project's free software only policy as it means firmware my wireless card requires to function is removed from the operating system.
In either test environment, heads used approximately 100MB of RAM when booted to the text console and about 180MB when logged into the Openbox interface.
Applications
Digging through the application menu we find an interesting combination of software, with many applications geared towards communicating on-line. The Tor Browser is present and includes the NoScript and HTTPS Everywhere extensions by default. These extensions try to keep us on encrypted versions of websites and block unwanted scripts which may be used to track us. The Thunderbird e-mail client is included along with the Psi+ XMPP client and the HexChat IRC client. I found copies of Abiword and Gnumeric included for editing word processing and spreadsheet documents. The Evince document viewer is included too along with a desktop application for creating and managing security keys.
heads 0.3.1 -- The Tor Browser
(full image size: 527kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
heads ships with a few media players, including the mpv multimedia player and the LXMusic audio player. The GNU Image Manipulation Program is featured too. One uncommon program included is the Electrum Bitcoin Wallet. The distribution also provides us with the PCManFM file manager the GNU Compiler Collection and the Htop process monitor. In the background we find the distribution runs SysV init and version 4.9 of the Linux kernel.
Most of the applications included with heads worked well and most programs appear to have been selected for their lightweight, simple nature. Still, I did run into the occasional issue. For example, trying to open the Evince documentation simply brings up a blank page. Another problem I found was double-clicking an audio file in the file manager causes a media player window to open and then immediately crash. I could get around this problem by opening the LXMusic player and using it to select and play audio files.
Browsing the web through the Tor Browser is, as expected, a slow experience. This is a problem one often runs into when using Tor and not an issue with the distribution. I had hoped to sometimes work around slow sites by disabling Tor or using an "unsafe" browsing option, but heads does not offer an "unsafe" option that will connect us directly to the Internet. This is probably a good security feature, but having an unsafe option to test is a feature I have enjoyed on other privacy-oriented distributions.
In the Tor Browser there is a Tor button next to the address bar. This button lets us select a security level and request a new Tor circuit to reroute our traffic. These options both worked, but a third option for opening the Tor network settings did not do anything. Unlike Tails, the heads distribution does not appear to have a Tor control panel and we cannot access the Tor settings.
The Tor Browser can check for updates to the browser and install them. This gives us a chance to patch security issues. At one point I updated the browser and tried to restart it, whereupon I found Tor Browser would no longer start. I was running from live media, so I was able to fix the issue by rebooting the computer and reverting back to the old (and insecure) version of the browser.
One minor bug I ran into was each time I opened a virtual terminal the zsh shell would report there was an error in the zsh start-up file. As it turned out, one line in the file which should have been commented out was missed and it caused an error to be displayed each time the terminal was launched.
heads 0.3.1 -- zsh error in a virtual terminal
(full image size: 934kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
One security feature of heads I did appreciate was that each user's processes are hidden from other users. This means the default user account, luther, cannot see processes run by other users, including the root user. This process hiding feature is available in several distributions and on FreeBSD, but I almost never see it activated. I like it as it gives each user some privacy and a little extra security, especially against command line snooping.
Package management
While heads does not include a graphical package manager the distribution does feature the APT command line utilities for finding, installing, removing and upgrading packages. By default, APT is set up to pull in software from Devuan's repositories. Unfortunately heads does not recognize Devuan's security keys. This means package information (and the packages themselves) cannot be verified. If we download new packages or upgrades we risk downloading compromised packages. Given the security focus of heads, this omission of verification keys seems like an odd oversight.
Conclusions
In principle, I like what heads is trying to do. The project is basically attempting to do what Tails does - provide safer, anonymous web browser and on-line communication - with the added benefit of having a completely auditable operating system. heads is also lighter on resources, using minimal user interfaces, when compared next to Tails. However, heads faces several problems which make it less user friendly and less polished than Tails.
heads 0.3.1 -- Generating an encryption key
(full image size: 412kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
One area where heads faces an uphill battle is with hardware. Some computers (including my laptop) require non-free firmware or drivers to get on-line and, without an Internet connection, the benefit of an anonymous distribution like heads disappears. There are other little problems like the zsh start-up error which makes me wonder if anyone opened a virtual terminal during the testing of heads before the 0.3.1 release was published.
My big issue though was with updating software, especially the Tor Browser, which is the centrepiece of the distribution. If we cannot update software to more secure versions, due to bugs or missing package verification then that leaves us with a potentially unsafe operating system. Tails, while it ships with non-free firmware, has been good about releasing regular ISO updates and making updated Debian packages available to help users avoid potential security exploits.
I like what heads is trying to do by making a lighter, more open distribution for anonymous communication, but I'm not sure it is practical. heads requires more technical knowledge and, in my experience, does not work as well as Tails which I think will hinder its adoption.
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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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Visitor supplied rating
heads has a visitor supplied average rating of: N/A from 0 review(s).
Have you used heads? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Improvements coming to Tails, Debian makes all package code available on the web, plans automatic updates and updates install media, Ubuntu phasing out Python 2, tips for using Void
The Tails project, which makes a privacy-focused operating system for anonymous web browsing and on-line communication, has published a list of big picture tasks the developers are working on. These tasks include stronger random number generation, the ability to mount VeraCrypt volumes in GNOME and improved document translations. "As part of our current donation campaign, we recently explained why we need donations and what we accomplished this year. Today we are sharing with you some of our plans for the next years. Applications and features: Tails Server - run Onion services from Tails (VoIP chat rooms, collaboration tools, web servers, messaging servers, etc). VeraCrypt support in GNOME - graphical utilities to mount VeraCrypt volumes. Graphical interface for the Additional Packages persistent feature: allow users to customize which applications are available in their Tails." The complete list can be found on the distribution's news page.
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People curious about the components and code which are used to make their applications like open source software because it is possible to review and audit the building blocks of the packages they install. One hurdle to reviewing a package's source code is finding the code in question, which is often tucked away on some obscure server. The Debian project is making code reviews easier by hosting a service called Debian Sources. Matthieu Caneill reports: "We're happy to announce that Debsources, the web application that allows to browse and search the entire source code of all Debian releases, is now hosted on the official Debian infrastructure and available at sources.debian.org. You may already know this service as previously hosted at sources.debian.net . We took the move to Debian hardware as the opportunity to officially announce it here. Debsources is a web service that exposes the content of Debian source packages on the web, both via an HTML user interface and a JSON API." More information on the Debian Sources site can be found in Caneill's mailing list post.
The Debian developers recently published an update for Debian's system installer. The new system installer, which will be used to set up Debian 10 "Buster" offers a number of changes, perhaps the most interesting one being enabling automatic software updates. "The unattended-upgrades package is now installed by default through the pkgsel component. The intent is to ensure the automatic installation of security upgrades. Feel free to help documenting this in the release notes!" According to the corresponding issue ticket, it looks like it will be possible to disable automatic updates, possibly at install time.
The Debian team has released refreshed installation media for both Debian 8 "Jessie" and Debian 9 "Stretch". The new installation discs do not represent new versions of Debian, just refreshed media for existing versions with bug fixes. Information on the new installation media can be found in two separate news posts for Debian 8.10 Jessie and Debian 9.3 Stretch.
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Matthias Klose has posted an update on the progress made phasing Python 2 out of the Ubuntu distribution. Python 2 will reach the end of its supported life in about two years and distributions are trying to make sure all software packages work with the newer Python 3. "Getting Python 2 demoted has been an ongoing task for several Ubuntu releases, now finally having a desktop CD image in Ubuntu 17.10 which ships without a Python 2 interpreter. The next step is to get Python 2 demoted to Universe, before finally in the far future it can be removed entirely from the archive. To get this done, we need: OpenStack package builds using Python 3. Removing or updating Python 2 packages in the Ubuntu seeds. Fixing remaining packages to use Python 3 instead of Python 2. Make sure that no new Python 2 packages enter Main (now being a topic for the MIR process)." Further details can be found in Klose's e-mail.
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For many people, December is a time of winter festivals and holidays. The Void team is celebrating the season with a series of tutorials which cover lesser known programs and features of the distribution. The Advent of Void series begins with a post about the gcal command line calendar. A new tutorial is published each day and all the posts can be read on the distribution's news page.
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These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
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| Tips and Tricks (by Jesse Smith) |
Working with images from the command line
When we think of tasks which are better suited to a graphical environment than a command line, image editing is a natural choice. After all, if we are going to work with images it helps to be able to see the adjustments we are making. That being said, there are command line tools for manipulating digital images and the power of the command line allows us to work with multiple images at once. This week we explore how to tweak images using the ImageMagick suite of command line utilities and how to work on multiple images at the same time.
On the ImageMagick website most commands are prefixed with the word magick, but on my system the equivalent command is named convert. This is why my examples here may not match up exactly with the documentation on the project's website.
In this first example we engage in a fairly simple manipulation of an image, converting it from a JPEG file to a PNG file. This example converts the file yellow-submarine.jpg into yellow-submarine.png:
convert yellow-submarine.jpg yellow-submarine.png
We can adjust the image conversion process slightly and use multiple JPEG images to make one animated GIF. This example takes all the JPEG files in the current directory and turns them into one rapidly changing, animated GIF:
convert *.jpg animated.gif
To slow down the animation of the GIF we can add a delay parameter:
convert -delay 100 *.jpg animated.gif
One common task I often find myself performing is resizing images, particularly screen shots or photos I want to e-mail to people. ImageMagick offers a few different approaches to resizing an image. One method is to shrink (or enlarge) the dimensions of an image to a percentage of its original size. This example creates a new image with the width and height set to half (50%) of the original:
convert original.jpg -resize 50% new-and-smaller.jpg
Should we wish to create a larger image, we can use a resize percentage larger than 100%.
What if we have an existing image and we want to find out its current dimensions and then shrink it down to a specific size, given in pixels? We can do that with a combination of the file and convert commands. The file command can tell us the size of the original image. Here we run the file command and it tells us our original photo is 500x500 pixels:
file original.png
original.png: PNG image data, 500 x 500, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced
We can then shrink the file down to 400x400 pixels using the convert command:
convert original.png -resize 400x400 new-image.png
These steps on their own are fine, but it does not save us any time compared to working with our images in a desktop application such as Gwenview or the GNU Image Manipulation Program. Where the ImageMagick command line tools shine is when we use the power of the command line to work on multiple images. We can do this with a for loop. In this example we access every JPEG file in our current directory and shrink it down so its dimensions are a quarter of the original size. The new images are saved with the suffix "-small".
for oldname in *.jpg; do newname=$(basename "$oldname" .jpg)-small.jpg; convert "$oldname" -resize 25% "$newname"; done
A lot is happening in the above command so let's break it down a little. The for oldname in *.jpg part looks for all files with the .jpg extension and, one at a time, processes them using the variable name oldname. The next part, do newname=$(basename "$oldname" .jpg)-small.jpg uses the basename command to strip away the file's suffix, .jpg. Then we add on a new suffix, -small.jpg, that will be appended to the new image's filename. For instance, my-photo.jpg would become my-photo-small.jpg with this step. Then the convert command at the end takes the original file, shrinks it down and saves it under the new name. The double-quotes around the filenames is a way to avoid trouble if there are spaces in a file's name which might confuse our shell.
One artistic touch we can perform on photographs is adjusting them from full colour to black and white. This can be done by adjusting the image type to grayscale. In this example we change a family photo from colour to black and white:
convert family-photo.jpg -type grayscale family-photo-bw.jpg
Rotating an image is often useful and ImageMagick will allow us to select a number of degrees to turn an image. The following example turns my family photo 90 degrees clockwise:
convert family-photo.jpg -rotate 90 family-photo-turned.jpg
As before, we can mix the conversion of an image with the power of the command line's processing power. In this example we both shrink and rotate all of the images in our current directory with the suffix .JPG, using a for loop. In the process we convert the JPG suffix to lowercase:
for oldname in *.JPG; do newname=$(basename "$oldname" .JPG)-small.jpg; convert "$oldname" -resize 50% -rotate 90 "$newname"; done
Using a command like the one shown above we can tidy filenames, correct rotation and shrink hundreds of images in preparation for transmission or storage in a matter of seconds - a much more efficient approach than working with each photo manually in a desktop application.
If you use ImageMagick to manipulate images, please share your favourite tricks in the comments.
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More tips can be found in our Tips and Tricks archive.
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| Released Last Week |
Puppy Linux 7.5
Philip Broughton has announced the release of a new version of Puppy Linux. The new version is Puppy Linux 7.5, code name "Xenialpup". The new version of the lightweight distribution is built using packages from Ubuntu's 16.04 "Xenial" release and Puppy maintains binary compatibility with Ubuntu packages. "Puppy Linux is small, runs in RAM, is lightning fast, very versatile and good fun! It has everything a novice will need while allowing full control to the experienced user. It comes in both 32-bit & 64-bit versions that can boot in both BIOS and UEFI enabled computers. The 32-bit version has kernel 4.4.95-noPAE for better compatibility with older hardware while the 64-bit has kernel 4.9.58 for better modern hardware support. True to Puppy Linux tradition both versions come with a full range of communications, productivity and entertainment applications as well as a wide range of the unique puppy-specific utilities and applications. The 330MB ISO includes: JWM window manager and ROX file manager. Palemoon browser and Claws mail client. FTP, torrent and chat applications. MPV media player, Simple Screen Recorder and Deadbeef audio player. Abiword word processor and Gnumeric spread sheet application." Further information can be found in the project's release announcement.
Puppy Linux 7.5 -- The default desktop
(full image size: 132kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Uruk GNU/Linux 2.0
Uruk GNU/Linux is a completely free software distribution based on Trisquel and featuring the MATE desktop. The project's latest release, version 2.0, includes an updated Linux-libre kernel, version 7 of the GNU Compiler Collection, MATE 1.12 and a new welcome screen. "We grew up, and the project grew up with us. At this time we worked a lot, and we made great changes. The big change came today, yes today, it's Uruk GNU/Linux 2.0 "lugalbanda". We use "lugalbanda" as a code name for this release, Lugalbanda is a character found in Sumerian mythology and literature in ancient Iraqi history. It's come with many changes like: Build new repository for Uruk GNU/Linux 2.0; Linux-libre 4.9.66 LTS; GCC 7; MATE 1.12.1; Abrowser 57; new welcome screen; replace MDM with LightDM as a default DM; new control center; Guix Installer; new customization with new themes, cursor and wallpapers; comes with many useful apps as default... Further details can be found in the project's release announcement.
ROSA R10
Vladimir Potapov has announced the release of ROSA R10, the latest stable build of the desktop-focused distribution with support for KDE 4 and Plasma 5 desktop environments: "ROSA Desktop R10 is the second release based on the ROSA 2016.1 platform. The distribution is targeted mainly at the Linux advocates eager to try new software versions. According to the updates policy, the ROSA 2016.1 platform will have four years of technical support. Technical changes in comparison with ROSA R9: many system libraries, system and software packages were updated to their latest versions; Linux kernel 4.9.60 LTS is used by default, other kernel versions and variants are available in special repositories; the proprietary NVIDIA drivers have been updated to new versions - 384.90 and experimental 387.12 for the relatively new video cards, 340.104 for GeForce 8 and 9, 304.137 for GeForce 6 and 7; MESA has been updated to version 17.1.6 with OpenGL support up to version 4.5...." See the release announcement (in Russian) and release notes (in English) for more details.
ROSA R10 -- The application menu
(full image size: 254kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
ReactOS 0.4.7
ReactOS is an open source operating system which strives to be binary compatible with Microsoft Windows and is capable of running many Windows applications. The project has released ReactOS 0.4.7 which introduces improvements to application skins, better disk usage reporting and a smoother experience when sending files to the Recycle Bin. "James Tabor has put in a great deal of effort into getting the ReactOS painting process as close to Windows as possible. Furthermore, Katayama Hirofumi MZ has fixed the anti-aliasing text when a button was grayed out (and which was impossible to read before this fix). Another major achievement brought to you by Giannis has been to solve the Clipboard and Recycle Bin bugs. Now, in 0.4.7, ReactOS won't crash due an invalid/empty clipboard as it did previously, copy/pasting multiple files and pasting folders in the background should work well and now follows the Windows specs more closely. In 0.4.7, ReactOS now correctly manages file deletions when dragging them to the Recycle Bin thanks to a patch from Serge Gautherie. Add to that numerous fixes regarding Drag and Drop and the whole user experience now feels much more polished for end users." Further details and screen shots can be found in the project's release announcement. ReactOS is available in two editions, one for installing the operating system and a LiveCD edition for testing.
Peppermint OS 8-20171130
Mark Greaves has announced the release of an updated build of Peppermint OS 8, a lightweight distribution based on Lubuntu (the long-term support branch) and featuring the LXDE desktop: "Team Peppermint is pleased to announce the latest iteration of our operating system, Peppermint 8 Respin, which still comes in 32-bit and 64-bit variants, with the 64-bit variant having full UEFI and Secureboot support. Whilst a respin is generally a minor release intended as an ISO image update, the Peppermint 8 Respin does contain some significant changes: Nemo 2.8.7 updated to 3.4.7 which seems more stable during large file operations and now has a separate process for controlling the desktop; OpenVPN updated in the repository to version 2.4.4 to support mixed mode IPv4/IPv6 VPNs; switched to slick-greeter, a much prettier login screen and a GUI utility in the menu called 'Login Window' for login screen settings, including the ability to add, change, remove an auto-login user; added a desktop right-click 'Open Peppermint Settings Panel' context menu item...." Read the rest of the release announcement for a complete list of changes.
Bodhi Linux 4.4.0
Jeff Hoogland has announced the release of Bodhi Linux 4.4.0. Bodhi Linux is based on Ubuntu LTS and features the Moksha desktop environment, a fork of Enlightenment. The new version of Bodhi Linux features several package updates, including version 4.13 of the Linux kernel. The project's release announcement states: "Today I am pleased to announce the release of Bodhi Linux 4.4.0. This is a normal update release and it comes three months after the release of Bodhi 4.3.1. Existing Bodhi 4.x.y users do not need to reinstall as the primary goal of this update release is to simply keep the current ISO image up to date. This release image includes EFL 1.19.1, Terminology 1.1.0, Ephoto 1.5, and Linux kernel 4.13. As with every release in the 4.x.y Bodhi series it is built on top of the rock solid foundation that is Ubuntu 16.04." Bodhi Linux is available in three editions: Standard, AppPack (with additional applications), and Legacy for older computers.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Torrent Corner |
Weekly Torrents
The table below provides a list of torrents DistroWatch is currently seeding. If you do not 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 in our Torrent Archive. We also maintain a Torrents RSS feed for people who wish to have open source torrents delivered to them. To share your own open source torrents of Linux and BSD projects, please visit our Upload Torrents page.
Torrent Corner statistics:
- Total torrents seeded: 671
- Total data uploaded: 16.9TB
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Opinion Poll |
Privacy protecting distributions
In our Feature Story we discussed the heads distribution which strives to keep its users anonymous on-line. heads, and its close cousin, Tails, have become increasing popular lately among people who wish to avoid being tracked while they communicate over the Internet. This week we would like to find out how many of our readers use privacy-protecting distributions.
You can see the results of our previous poll on scheduling tasks in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Privacy protecting distributions
| I use Tails: | 245 (18%) |
| I use heads: | 22 (2%) |
| I use another privacy protecting distro: | 91 (7%) |
| I do not use a privacy protecting distro: | 1008 (74%) |
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| DistroWatch.com News |
Moving to HTTPS only -- Part 2
Last week we reported that, following two years of serving up DistroWatch over both plain HTTP and secure HTTPS connections, we would transition to using the secure protocol only. HTTPS has become standard for the web over the last few years, to the point where sites offering both options are sometimes flagged with warnings by security software. We have also found some search engines still link to our insecure HTTP option, which is not ideal for most of our readers.
On Friday we flipped the switch and now all connections to DistroWatch.com are handled by the secure HTTPS protocol. This transition should be seamless for virtually everyone, nothing needs to be done by people visiting DistroWatch to take advantage of the offered security features.
After last week's announcement about the pending change, some readers expressed concern that people on very slow network connections and people running operating systems from removable media would have trouble reaching DistroWatch.com over the secure connection. In an effort to avoid cutting off anyone's access to the site, our backup domain, DistroWatch.org, will continue to be served over the classic HTTP protocol.
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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 December 2017. Past articles and reviews can be found through our Article Search page. 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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| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Poll (by Juan on 2017-12-11 00:56:11 GMT from Panama)
I answered "other" because I use heads in a multitool usb stick for privacy in public places and whonix in my main laptop.
2 • DistroWatch.org, nice! (by LiuYan on 2017-12-11 02:55:35 GMT from United States)
Thanks for provides an alternative site. It's helpful for me who like naked (plain HTTP) on the internet.
3 • Poll (by denflen on 2017-12-11 04:04:17 GMT from United States)
I answered "other", which isn't actually true. I use TOR, and have for years. But I use it as needed, not daily. I think having TOR on your favorite distro, to use when you feel the need, is certainly good enough for me.
4 • 3 + 1 (by kernelKurtz on 2017-12-11 04:12:42 GMT from France)
Yes to Tor on distro-of-choice, and yes to Whonix as well.
5 • Other (by azuvix on 2017-12-11 04:24:48 GMT from United States)
Qubes OS here. I don't use it primarily as I ought to, but its security model is unique and desirable enough to use for certain situations when you need increased security.
6 • https (by david esktorp on 2017-12-11 05:27:32 GMT from United States)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the only reason we 'need' https for distrowatch, is to facilitate 'safer' datamining / ad server communication / etc?? I don't get what the point could be other than this, since we're not logging in and still using form-filled guestbook style comments rather than a proper forum.
7 • continued.. (by david esktorp on 2017-12-11 05:28:27 GMT from United States)
and the PayPal link maybe?? I just can't think of what else could be demanding it.
(sorry for the double post)
8 • URUK, the distro, or a new gift to the world by the Mesopotamians (by Szulejmán on 2017-12-11 07:43:41 GMT from Canada)
Mesopotamia, the indisputable cradle of civilization, the great land of Babylon, Hammurabi, Xerxes, and Cyrus, and the birthplace of the father of one magnificent man, who created Apple/ macOS ...
They invented zer0 ...
They invented the alphbet ...
They invented the wheel ...
They invented the irrigation system and agriculture ...
They inscribed the first concept of human rights ...
They have discovered, developed and laid down fundamental foundations for every social and scientific field ....
And, continuing the same proud tradition, its current decedents have -- despite the ongoing war and savagery -- now, humbly, gave the world at large, a new gift of science, in the form of Uruk -- one of the most sophisticated and polished Linux distro to date.
Peace to Mesopotamia ... !
Peace to the World ... !
9 • VPN (by Will Son on 2017-12-11 08:29:21 GMT from United States)
I answered "other" because I use a VPN. Linux itself offers a level of privacy and security to it already no matter what the distro. I use a VPN for added privacy since ISPs will be able to sell our web history now. A good VPN makes this impossible for them.
For those of you who wonder, I am use Linux Mint. My VPN choice is Perfect Privacy. There are other and better choices, depending on your needs.
10 • heads is 32 bit (by Uncle Slacky on 2017-12-11 08:44:10 GMT from France)
I think the review missed the important point that heads runs on 32-bit architectures that have been abandoned by Tails.
11 • Tor/heads/etc. (by Sondar on 2017-12-11 09:28:03 GMT from United Kingdom)
"I do not use a privacy protecting distro" - yet! Neither of those exactly matches my ideal spec. for simplicity, small size, portability, 32bit, upgradable, other...
12 • Opinion Poll (by ptyerman on 2017-12-11 10:26:27 GMT from United Kingdom)
There should have been a option there for "other" or VPN.
I voted for "don't use a privacy protecting distro" as I use a VPN instead. With today's internet and our corrupt governments it's very unwise to use the internet without one.
13 • The best way to remain anonymous on the internet ... (by curious on 2017-12-11 11:28:38 GMT from Germany)
... is to remain offline and not connect at all. "heads" (and other operating systems that refuse to include needed drivers or firmware) can help ensure that you remain offline and thus anonymous.
Of course, that is a big fail if you actually (God forbid!) want to get any work done ...
A distro like "heads", i.e. lightweight, with a simple init system, DE and apps instead of systemd and Gnome, and still willing to support 32bit, BUT including all the necessary drivers to get online, would be a very good and useful thing.
14 • anonymous on the internet... (by OstroL on 2017-12-11 12:19:06 GMT from Poland)
To a certain level, you can be anonymous on the internet by using Opera browser. You can be in 5 different countries and most certainly not in your country and using your internet provider. If you are using Windows, you can be in few other countries than your own, using Epic browser. You can be not-in-your-country by using Tor browser in any distro, or in any platform, and you don't have to use a "dedicated" distro such as Heads or Tails. Only, some of the sponsors of the Tor project are government agencies...
15 • Convert PDF for Tesseract OCR (by CONVERT on 2017-12-11 13:18:29 GMT from United States)
I use the following Convert command to prepare a typical low resolution pdf for OCRing with Tesseract:
convert -density 600 Source.pdf -depth 8 -monochrome Destination.tif
OR
convert -density 600 1.pdf -background white -depth 8 -monochrome 1.tif
Now tesseract can properly OCR the PDF
16 • Privacy and graphics from the command line (by Anonymous on 2017-12-11 13:54:19 GMT from Canada)
Privacy - voted other. Do not use a privacy focused distro, but first of all extra care when sending/receiving confidential information online (ex. nothing running but the browser and files needed for the task, verify the website is actually the one I want to be on), then use any or all of VPN, browser with addons and settings for best privacy possible (Firefox now, looking at others), and a portable distro.
Jesse and @15, I haven't done any graphics manipulation in the CL, but thanks for the tips, especially OCR. Something new to learn to do in FOSS.
17 • HTTPS only (by Jesse on 2017-12-11 14:12:03 GMT from Canada)
>> "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the only reason we 'need' https for distrowatch, is to facilitate 'safer' datamining / ad server communication / etc??"
Those things are not at all a factor in DistroWatch providing https connections. We don't do datamining and ads are served up over their own connections, and are not affected by our switch. I laid out the reasons for the switch last week (linked above). In short, not being https exclusively gets us blocked by some security extensions and some browsers flag non-https-exclusive sites as insecure. We either had to switch to https only or some of readers would get blocked by their own security-enabled software. Plus many of our readers have been asking for https to avoid man-in-the-middle attacks, going https-only avoids injected, fake download links, for example.
You are right, we do not have logins or handle sensitive information. Browsing DistroWatch over http was low-risk. But it was still more risk than using https and having an http option was causing an increasing number of readers problems, especially those with security add-ons. We want to make sure everyone can reach us and we want to make sure no one injects a bad ISO or checksum link into your browser.
18 • imagemagick (by dogma on 2017-12-11 15:46:03 GMT from United States)
I’ve avoided imagemagick because I see security vulnerability notices for it constantly. Maybe if it stops being a rich source of unsafety, though…
19 • Heads: Is it guest network friendly? (by Clicktician on 2017-12-11 15:56:53 GMT from United States)
Is Heads able to work with unsecured networks and sites as well? Or is it all or nothing?
I use VPN or tunneling only when I am a guest on any network other than my own. A popular security scheme at hotels world wide is based on a password using your last name and room number.
The WiFi is password-less, so you connect to the LAN, but the first time you try to reach to a web site, the hotel's router hijacks the requested page to present you with an unsecured login screen. It then permits your subsequent MAC traffic on the WAN.
For years, I used Google as an initial site. But that changed with https. If a browser like Chrome can't reach the Cert Authority, it will rightly refuse to display the router's login page. Haha! It must be an http site. It's essential to me that a privacy distro be able to negotiate around this simple security scenario.
BTW: This hotel WiFi access scheme can't use SSL because there is no Cert Authority since the WAN isn't yet available to you. That's a security nightmare because it allows anyone sitting in the car park to freely connect to the LAN first... where one can shark the logins and passwords of other guests -- which are sent in the clear. Using their credentials, one can then connect to the WAN as another guest. Not that I have done this, of course. :-)
20 • https (by Vukota on 2017-12-11 17:19:24 GMT from Serbia)
@6: It is incorrect that HTTPS helps Ad networks. It is exactly opposite, as some network proxies (and some free AVs) can insert ads when plain HTTP is used. Also, many enterprise firewalls/content filters block all or some non-https sites automatically so that employees dont do surfing during work, but leave HTTPS through as they can't inspect its content and it is essential for regular business needs.
21 • Uruk? (by edcoolio on 2017-12-11 17:37:57 GMT from United States)
@8, less spam, shorter off-topic comment, and more compelling data might get more people to try that distro.
Just sayin...
22 • Puppy Linux, ImageMagick (by Jake on 2017-12-11 19:13:58 GMT from United States)
Ah, the venerable Puppy... I remember when it was a cute pup under 100MB. My how you've grown!
Also, there's a typo in the screen resolution: it should be 1920x1080, not 1820x1080 (I checked the image resolution as well).
Regarding ImageMagick, I found that tool when I wanted to shrink hundreds of images but didn't want to do them manually through a GUI. Instead of using a for-loop, I use xargs, which I learned about here on DW:
ls -1 *.JPG | xargs -n1 -P8 -I{} convert {} -resize 25% {}
This line gets the filenames for ls, sends them to 8 processes (how many I have), and overwrites the original file. Great for pulling a bunch of high-res smartphone pictures and distributing them ("exiv2 rm *" also removes all that identifying metadata). It runs as fast as my PC will go, and my favorite thing to do is queue up this command, open the System Monitor, and then watch all my processors hit 100% CPU.
23 • Of Tails and others... (by Tom Joad on 2017-12-11 20:00:27 GMT from Germany)
I voted Tails. But I was torn too. I thought there should have been a few other choices.
But I use Tails and always have working copy close by. I like the sandboxed Tor version too and use it sometimes when I am in a hurry or too lazy to go through the rigamarole of Tails.
Both serve a very useful purpose...privacy or as much as we can get these days. And both will tell you being safe online includes better personal internet habits.
What I find disheartening though is the fact that Tails and Tor are still pretty much alone in the privacy area. One would have thought and expected more distros to jump to fill the niche. The news reports constantly about stories detailing hacks, breaches,"phishing," etc. Then there is the plain old fashion skullduggery from the NSA, GCHQ and who knows who else.
Cheers.
24 • Thank you DW for introducing us URUK, and outstanding distro, ever created ...! (by Szulejmán on 2017-12-12 02:56:34 GMT from Canada)
@21 - edcoolio
Listen, obviously you are new here on this forum, otherwise you would have noticed me praising, over the years, a number of other uniquely outstanding distros, as i just did with my above-posted legitimate comment #8 praising Uruk ....
So, here's the list of those uniquely outstanding distros i had "spammed" about it over the years:
-- Slax,
-- PapyrOS
-- VeltOS
-- Nutyx
-- AryaLinux
-- Pardus
-- Pisi Linux
-- SliTaz
-- Porteus
-- Voyager
-- Trisquel
-- Redcore Linux
and GoboLinux, TinyCore, Korora, NixOS, BunsenLabs Linux, ferenOS, Nitrux,
and a few more alike.
And, once again, (repeating my aforementioned comment @8) i want to state, unreservedly, that, URUK, is not only totally outstanding among my above-named progressive distro list, but URUK, is also, an incredibly unique distro among all the mainstream distros (as listed here on Distrowatch) i had tried for myriad years.
Peace !
https://urukproject.org/dist/en.html
25 • @24 - Uruk (by Hoos on 2017-12-12 04:11:50 GMT from Singapore)
Regardless of whether or not you had previously praised that list of other distros (I can't recall and I have been on DW for quite a few years), @21 also stated that "more compelling data might get more people to try that distro."
You have called it "totally outstanding" without actually explaining why you think so.
In your view, what are the things about Uruk that make it stand out?
26 • URUK, the rocet ...., (by Szulejmán on 2017-12-12 16:12:45 GMT from Canada)
@25 -- Hoos
Hi, and, first of all, thank you for responding to my comment at issue .....
I volunteer teaching computers to adults..., and, similarly, here in my community center, we recyle old computers using Linux .... and over the years, i had a chance to experiment with so may different distros, and. i, especially loved (and still do) Slax, Pardus/PisiLinux, and SolusOS ....
So, few days ago, once we had spotted Uruk here on this forum, i gave a it try (both 32 bits, and 64 bits) ...
and i, personally, fell in love with it immedietly, as Uruk, is, exteremly fast, well polished and very user-friendly, even for those users with basic computer literacy. Yet, at the same, underneat, if you're willing explorei it in=depthly, you will find out how it's sphisicated, and inceribly designed and polished. Additionally, i should mention that Uruk is, undoubtedly, the fastes distro i haver tried, and fell in love it at first sight. My only wish is the hope that Uruk had tbuilt-in support for propitiatory media s file, and it would be truly great itf its devs respond to this issue before they release the next edition.
27 • @ 26 Uruk and Szulejman... (by lenn on 2017-12-12 16:53:09 GMT from United States)
So, Uruk is that good, because it is made by an Ali and a Majid? Alimiracle, eh?
28 • @26: (by dragonmouth on 2017-12-12 16:56:53 GMT from United States)
How unique can Uruk be? It is a Trsiquel spin which is an Ubuntu spin which is based on Debian. It's not like it is written from scratch, like Arch.
29 • URUK (by edcoolio on 2017-12-12 18:51:03 GMT from United States)
@24 @25 @26 @27 @28
I was considering placing this distro in my Top 10 to try out/review because I had assumed the first comment was just to get attention. Regardless of how odd the approach (cultural differences and all), I figured it would be followed-up by some more compelling data.
Unfortunately, it does not look particularly compelling what little information is available from a technical standpoint. A spin of a spin of a spin... plenty of those around.
Either way, good luck Szulejmán.
30 • forums lol (by david esktorp on 2017-12-12 19:55:28 GMT from United States)
Thanks for the clarifications.
I'm guessing the decision was made to not have a forum for specific reasons. The expected traffic increase alone is probably a huge turn off + moderating flamewars, typical forum crap, etc..
Even though forums aren't my favorite thing, I've always felt that if there was a phpbb or whatever attached to this site, that it would quickly emerge as one of the best places to get community tech help. That's kinda what happened with Ubuntu Forums for a while (not sure if it's still any good). Arch has the wiki version of that story.
Distrotalk.com anyone??
31 • Tails (by MikeCebula on 2017-12-12 22:51:16 GMT from United States)
I do use TOR when I feel it necessary. My attempt to run Tails resulted in a USB stick that would not boot on my primary laptop, but would boot on my wife's. Attempting to chase down the problem with Tails help resulted in 'just won't work on some machines'. This is after verifying latest firmware on the laptop. Tails is the only one I've tried on this machine that will not boot. They obviously do something different, but couldn't explain it.
32 • @26 - uruk (by Hoos on 2017-12-13 04:50:31 GMT from Singapore)
"...My only wish is the hope that Uruk had tbuilt-in support for propitiatory media s file, and it would be truly great itf its devs respond to this issue before they release the next edition."
That's a really strange wish, since Uruk states on its website that they support the principles of free (libre) software. You have to take them as they are.
Anyway, thank you for your further explanation, even if I may not share your sentiments.
33 • wrong to dissmis URUK, a promising distro, simply because it's not from scratch (by Szulejmán on 2017-12-13 04:50:33 GMT from Canada)
@28 -- dragonmouth
Thanks for responding and i appreciate your comment, but your argument is weak at best, and unjustly false at worse. I mean you can't dismiss, so casually, a great distro (and that's ANY distros for that matter) simply because it's based on another distro ...
You had, correctly, pointed out that Ubuntu is based on Debian, but skipped the fact that despite Ubuntu is so much so unique now that it has, almost, nothing to do with Debian anymore ...
Similarly, Android is, also, a spin of Linux, and yet, you perfectly understand that it's so much so different that it's not even considered to be a distro ...
Likewise, macOS is a derivative of BSD ..., and are you, therefore, going to dismiss this one too, as not being "unique" enough because "it's not like it is written from scratch, like Arch" ??
@27 -- lenn
Sorry, but no "thank you" to you because you are totally wrong ... I dearly admire the Mesopotamian civilization .., but i do not have any affiliation with Uruk distro, nor i'm related to its developers in any ways as you alleged. I do not appreciate your narrow-minded one liner. Peace. Period. /
@29 -- edcoolio
Thanks for responding again. It appears that you're influenced by dragonmouth's comment (@28) and that's a pity, because if you were to try Uruk, you would discover for yourself that it is, indeed, very easy on resources, extremely fast, and a beautifully well-designed distro ...
Anyway, going back to my original comment at issue (see my comment @8) i listed (see my comment @24) the names of distros which are, indeed, cutting edge and eminently inspiring.
I believe it would make a highly interesting read if Jesse or Ladislav were to (perhaps by interviewing few developers) enlighten us more about, at least, some of those distros (especially Uruk, VertOs, OpenIndiana and LSD-based NuTyX and AryaLinux) which are, indeed, outstanding and uniquely promising "hipster" Linux operating systems ...
Peace !
34 • Uruk and the proprietary software problem (by Szulejmán on 2017-12-13 05:30:16 GMT from Canada)
@32 - Hoos
Thanks for responding again, and yes i admit what you pointed out is, indeed, a strange wishful thinking I'm carrying. I guess it has to do with the fact i really never understand the pervasive fuss and criticism against proprietary software by the Linux community at large ...
35 • Why use Tor? (by Andy Prough on 2017-12-13 12:07:34 GMT from United States)
I'm interested in why other posters use Tor, when it's been revealed time and again that government spies are operating some unknown number of the nodes? Just curious. Not being a Tor user, I assume that you folks must know some way to use it safely.
Myself, I just don't put data that I'm worried about online, or I use a VPN. As one poster said, I find Opera to be a browser with decent privacy features, including a simple built-in VPN, and built-in ad-blocking.
36 • @33: (by dragonmouth on 2017-12-13 16:16:38 GMT from United States)
All I want to know is what makes URUK different enough from the dozens of other Ubuntu-derived distros to make me want to try it. Before I even try them, I know that Arch, Gentoo or Slackware, will teach me Linux. I know that Zorin comes the closest to Windows in look and feel. I know that TAILS will provide me with a very secure online environment. WHAT will URUK do for me, other than be "wonderful"? Just the facts, man, just the facts. Skip the fanboi propaganda.
37 • @33 Debian off-spring (by pengxuin on 2017-12-13 19:13:38 GMT from New Zealand)
"Ubuntu is so much so unique now that it has, almost, nothing to do with Debian anymore ..."
except that its packages are all .deb, not ....ubuntu.deb.
When that happens, it will truly be unique, no longer a derivative.
38 • uruk (by tim on 2017-12-13 23:02:06 GMT from United Kingdom)
Is this interesting? not seen it elsewhere
"Uruk GNU/Linux comes with Package Managers Simulator. This program can simulate popular package managers' commands. This means that you can install, uninstall, update, and remove packages with any package manager you wish."
39 • Which one is the best distro? (by l@@K 4 Best on 2017-12-14 07:45:15 GMT from Canada)
DW listed more than 1000+ distro.
Which one is the best distro?
any suggestion, any help?
40 • package manager simulator (by skeptical on 2017-12-14 08:00:13 GMT from Portugal)
@38 What could possibly go wrong with that?
@39 why not try the "top 10" ? .....
41 • Post # 39 (by Winchester on 2017-12-14 12:40:12 GMT from United States)
The best distribution largely depends on your specific hardware and your specific purposes for using an operating system.
I would experiment with some live CD's and / or live USB's.
Some quick recommendations if you are a beginner ..... PClinuxOS (LXDE or Trinity community editions), Solus , Debian, MX-Linux, Refracta, Peppermint, WattOS, Shiba-Inu (which is a customized Puppy Linux Slackware), Mageia, OpenSUSE Tumbleweed (KDE Plasma,LXQT,or LXDE),maybe even Calculate Linux or RedCore if you're willing to read the "Emerge" manual pages.
Gentoo itself is right up there but,it takes a little more to configure it or to personalize it. Calculate has tools built-in to make things easier for beginners. As for the Less beginner friendly ... Clear Linux is good if you have an UEFI system ... it doesn't seem to work with BIOS systems. Void Linux pretty much falls into that same category but without SystemD init software.
42 • @39: "Best" distro (by dragonmouth on 2017-12-14 12:54:00 GMT from United States)
That's like asking what is the "best" car or "best" movie or "best" ice cream. It is an opinion call and everybody has a different opinion. The "best" distro is the one that works for YOU.
Users with lot of Linux experience may consider Gentoo, Arch or Linux From Scratch as the "best" but newbies and beginners should stay away from those distros. They should try Ubuntu or one of its derivatives. If you want the "best" distro for all kinds of multimedia then PCLinuxOS Full Monty might be your choice. For strong security, TAILS and OpenBSD are the "best".
Every distro has its strong and weak points. You should choose a distro based on what features you need and what weaknesses you can live with. All that the "top x" lists tell you what distros are the most used. In spite of what advertisers and pundits try to convince us of, number of users does not indicate the level of quality. After all, Windows is the most used O/S in the world. Is it the "best"?
43 • Post 22 - xargs (by kilgoretrout on 2017-12-14 16:38:13 GMT from United States)
I used to use xargs all the time with the find command but ran into problems with certain files. Namely, xargs will refuse to process files with a single quote like "Dec. '97" or "Jerry's Kids". If xargs encounters such a file, it will spit out an "unmatched single quote" error message and stop in its tracks. Unfortunately, many of my picture files tend to have filenames with single quotes, eg Mom's_Birthday. The easiest workaround I've found is using the find command exec option instead of xargs.
44 • @39 Best Distro (by Rev_Don on 2017-12-14 17:05:13 GMT from United States)
I am guessing that you haven't used a lot of Linux based on your question. Based on that assumption I would recommend one of the 'Buntus. They tend to be reliable, easy to install, support most of the hardware out there, and are what some call "newbie friendly" (or good for beginners).
Now which 'Buntu can be tricky. If you have a computer from the last 5 or 6 years any of them should be fine. If it's an older system, or one that isn't very powerful Xubuntu, Lubuntu, or Ubuntu-Mate would probably be the best options. I would also stick with one of the Long Term Support (LTS) releases as they are supported longer and tend to be more stable. That would mean one of the 16.04 releases.
I know that there are other options, but 'Buntus tend to be a fairly safe choice.
45 • Privacy Distro (by Rick Smereka on 2017-12-14 18:37:21 GMT from Switzerland)
I have taken a similar route to some here that use a VPN. I have a dedicated server in Switzerland that (among other things) is an OpenVPN server as well as a Squid3 server. which gives me automatic, whole-house privacy with no application or OS configuration changes including a whole-house automatic block list. My house router (PfSense or IPFire) uses an 'upstream proxy' which is in Switzerland. This puts the kibosh to geolocation and tracking (like Distrowatch geolocating based on browser IP address, you will notice that it says I am from Switzerland even though that is not correct).
46 • @45: Request (by Chris on 2017-12-14 19:47:58 GMT from United States)
@45 - Interesting strategy. Can you recommend any online guides to acheive similar? Any other recommendations? Thanks.
47 • Response (by Rick Smereka on 2017-12-14 21:18:40 GMT from Switzerland)
@46 - Solution too complex to post here (off topic anyway). Email me.
48 • Best Distros (by M.Z. on 2017-12-14 22:04:29 GMT from United States)
@39
"Which one is the best distro?"
As others have said best is largely a matter of personal preference. That being said, Mint has obviously become the most looked at distro here on DW & has been for some time. It's a near perfect distro for those seeking an easy transition form Windows to Linux & has both a traditional PC desktop & excellent tools to help you admin your new Linux system & easy to install media support.
Also PCLinuxOS is great if you want media support, the latest software (which is what you get with a rolling release distro), & don't mint that it is a little less pretty than Mint (i.e. synaptic package manger is a bit more technical than Mint software center). I also like Mageia for a fairly easy desktop, though those that consider themselves super nerds will go straight to something like Arch regardless of the learning curve.
There are a lot of potential factors to consider such as:
Do you have a desktop preference? ( among full featured DEs Cinnamon is very easy & classical DE, KDE is similar but with more customization & flash, & Gnome is just trying to be very different)
Does community Vs corporate backed matter to you? (big community projects include: Mageia, Mint, PCLinuxOS, & Debian; while Fedora & Ubuntu are corporate backed)
Do you care about easy media & hardware support (PCLinuxOS & Mint) or are you big on totally free & open software (Trisquel)?
I think most potential users are looking for an easy desktop solution. Given that I'd say there is a very small learning curve for Mint which is best for most people & things get progressively harder from there depending on how much you want to dig in & customize your system or what special features you want to focus on. One of the big things DW is here for is to let you dig in & do a little research before choosing. Also feel free to hit the search link at the to of the DW page to help you look at the most researched distros in each category:
https://distrowatch.com/search.php
49 • Best Distro (by Niles Crane on 2017-12-14 22:09:42 GMT from Germany)
Obviously there is no best!
But there are trends that can be derived from popularity:
The past two years have seen the rise of Manjaro and Antergos and lately even Solus began a steep climb in popularity.
What I take from it is:
For the normal user the rolling release model of for instance Arch mixed with the ease of use approach of the Buntus (yes Mint also) is very attractive. Don´t get me wrong those releases with 5 Year warranty have their followers. I don´t see the point for private users though. Even Microsoft seems to go the rolling release way nowadays, correct me if I´m wrong!
I´ll go ahead and say for the moment try Solus Budgie edition works like a charm has some software restrictions, the desktop is neat. If you run an older computer try the mate edition.
If you get firmer in the Linux way and want to learn more there is Manjaro or Antergos.
But the learning curve never ends. Try Arch after that, then you might be ready to compile everything yourself. Gentoo will be there waiting for you. Linux from scratch is one task that seems to stay on my bucket list for the rest of my life. But You´ll never know one desperate day may come...
50 • Best Distro (by Bonky Ozmond on 2017-12-15 12:49:41 GMT from Nicaragua)
When Quoting "Best Distro" You need to quantify that with "in my Opinion and Ability" .. Slackware for Instance has been there from the start and proven the test of time ......Gentoo Must be there..as its you who "builds it"
Debian must be there as like Slackware been around from the start..and has been the main base for many many many offshoots,
Arch should now also be there as again You pretty much build it how you like and has a growing family of offshoots and a huge offering of programs in Repo and AUR.
Puppy should get an Honourable mention
I don't use a Privacy Type distro...I do have a few of the same Privacy type programs installed anyway...and
I don't use any online payment, I dont store any personal info or use social media.
like @45 above I have a server in a Non US Country as well as more Local Home /Business servers VPNs and so on
51 • THANKS 2 EVERYONE (by l@@K 4 Best on 2017-12-16 04:40:30 GMT from Canada)
Just AWESOMe!!!
THANKs & GENUINE Penguin HUG to everyone those who took their time and provided their
valuable inputs, feedback and suggestions.
@ #40
why not try the "top 10" ? .....
- I did. And, that is only the comment I can make.
@ #41
The best distribution largely depends on your specific hardware and your specific purposes for using an operating system.
Hardware : Not latest, Not up-to the date.
Purpose : Just web browsing. I do not have much expectations.
@ #42
The "best" distro is the one that works for YOU.
- I liked that. A warm HuG.
@ #44
I am guessing that you haven't used a lot of Linux based on your question.
If it's an older system, or one that isn't very powerful Xubuntu, Lubuntu, or Ubuntu-Mate would probably be the best options.
- I just jumped out of Windows and was looking for one, that works for me.
My not to recent and latest hardware does not keep-up with buntus latest releases.
However some old release of Lubuntu and Xubuntu kept up with the show.
@ #48
That being said, Mint has obviously become the most looked at distro here
- Ofcource, Linuxmint made easy to jump out of Windows and land in Linux grass-roots.
PCLinuxOS is great if you want media support, I also like Mageia for a fairly easy desktop.
- Gonna try sooner or later.
Do you have a desktop preference?
- Nothing really particular like picky choices. plain vanila works for me sometimes better than black current.
Does community Vs corporate backed matter to you?
-Ofcourse it does. I would always prefer community.
Here is my statement, Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds. They always live and belongs to the community.
Where as bunch of rich oligarchies trapped the tux as a pet for pesonal profiting without feeding the community.
Anyway, I would love and prefer community. Community is the one that makes the trends to be changed.
Do you care about easy media & hardware support?
are you big on totally free & open software (Trisquel)?
- Trisquel - I really loved this one. As a poor, what only I can offer
to Trisquel Author and Trisquel Community is my heart-felt warm genuine penguin
hug, A BiG THANkS, and bunch of roses.
how much you want to dig in & customize your system
- In search of the real gold, I can dig endlessly to the center of the earth.
@ #49
Obviously there is no best!
- I liked that one.
But there are trends that can be derived from popularity.
- The trends are always changing over by the time as you already said.
Only thing that matters to change the trend is either to give-in or not to give-in.
Try Arch after that, then you might be ready to compile everything yourself. Gentoo will be there waiting for you. Linux from scratch is one task that seems to stay on my bucket list for the rest of my life.
- A warm hug. Arch has some beautiful derivatives, and Slackware too.
I have came across or pass-by a few, and liked those tuxes.
@ #50
Debian must be there as like Slackware been around from the start.
- I just said Slackware has some beautiful derivative, as Debian already does.
Puppy should get an Honourable mention
- I luv puppies in real world. I still scratch my head an pull my hairs that how that a guy called
Barry with barrels packed everything in less than 300mb, where as when I jumped out of Windows, someone inside shouted 30GB is just not enough.
Thanks in advance to those who wish to provide their inputs, feedback and suggestions later while
I might be digging to hard to the center of the earth.
And, obviously THANKS to Jessie and DW Families Memebers.
52 • 39 • Which one is the best distro? (by dick on 2017-12-16 15:04:22 GMT from Canada)
@39 Perhaps give the new MX-17 a spin,
looks good, works well, install-media thin.
Most apps you might need~want are in repos.
It's one-of-the-better-respins of Linux distros.
imo, dick
53 • Power of the GPL (by M.Z. on 2017-12-16 23:09:49 GMT from United States)
@51
"Where as bunch of rich oligarchies trapped the tux as a pet for pesonal profiting without feeding the community."
One important thing to think about when making such statements is that there are a few different open source licenses that open OS projects like Linux & BSD can use. In the case of BSDs there is certainly a transfer of software from open & community based into the proprietary world of things like Mac OS X. This is more or less by design & very much allowed under the BSD license.
By contrast large parts of Linux are the property of the community & can not be turned into something truly proprietary/closed source. I think some companies in the Linux community do a great deal of back end work on things like the Linux kernel & yet get constant flack because they made money via a subscription model while doing improving Linux.
At any rate, there should be room for ethical profit in the Linux community & the GPL license has a proven track record of protecting the community of Linux users from having their software taken away from them. If at any point someone tried to take a GPL part of Linux, they would be legally obligated to offer the source code to their users. These users can not only do whatever they want with the code themselves, but they can & do give copies out to the wider community so they can do what they want with it. That obligation to give back to users & by extension the wider community is what the GPL is all about.
54 • GPL Freedom (by Kragle von Schnitzelbank on 2017-12-17 01:35:28 GMT from United States)
Ah yes, the freedom for developers to require support exactly ONCE … at best.
…
GPL code "cannot be turned into something truly proprietary/closed", but larger organizations can crank out enough obfuscated spaghetti to make it extremely difficult for others to clean out or maintain.
…
Nothing's perfect …
55 • I've heard that theory, but what's the reality? (by M.Z. on 2017-12-17 07:55:21 GMT from United States)
@54
"... but larger organizations can crank out enough obfuscated spaghetti to make it extremely difficult for others to clean out or maintain."
Oddly enough, the only organizations I can think of that do that have done that are the very tiny OpenSSL team & Red Hat who are huge & contribute vast amounts of code upstream & give away both Fedora & CentOS, but who also don't want Oracle making a direct copy of their work & usurping their business model without giving back nearly as much. Given ho badly Oracle botched OpenOffice after their accusation, I tend to think pushing back against Oracle is a favor to the community. They seem from my perspective to be far less interested in the good of the open source community than Red Hat is.
Of course if you can think of anyone who fits the model you describe I'd be interested to know.
56 • @54 & 55 (by pierre on 2017-12-17 15:16:26 GMT from France)
@54
"... but larger organizations can crank out enough obfuscated spaghetti to make it extremely difficult for others to clean out or maintain."
I was just thinking, what might have Cannonical had done all these years, other than making money for itself, and once it can't earn more money any more, it is slowly (and surely) dropping the desktop and leaving the present Ubuntu to fate. Its not that hard to fathom that Ubuntu might not be there as a desktop after 19.04.
Number of Comments: 56
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