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1 • Focus Stealing (by Friar Tux on 2019-02-25 00:46:33 GMT from Canada)
I voted 'use one app at a time' though I should say that with the amount of time it takes for a programme to open, I just wait for it to open and minimize it. That way I also get a wee break from what I'm doing. Also, if I know I'm going to use 5 or 6 different programmes, I just open them all up to the taskbar at the start. Jesse, I've never personally used it but is there not a 'command option' that one can add to the Property/Command of each menu icon link to open them minimized? (Used this in Windows XP a lot way back when.)
2 • Minimized applications (by Jesse on 2019-02-25 00:52:26 GMT from Canada)
@1: Some desktop applications can be started minimized or displayed in the system tray. Transmission, for example, and some chat clients will do this. However, I am not aware of any universal flag that will force any/all applications to start minimized on Linux.
3 • Focus stealing (by Vukota on 2019-02-25 01:06:11 GMT from Serbia)
I don't see a problem with applications which I or OS installed, as they are "trusted" applications and can be uninstalled if that is a problem. If they are taking focus or opening behind, that is in 99.99% of cases a Feature.
If there is a virus, none of the mentioned measures will work. In case of browsers (which are loading dynamic and untrusted things) I do use pop-up/ad blockers to deal with those.
4 • Focus stealing (by Angel on 2019-02-25 02:31:24 GMT from Philippines)
I prefer the opposite of what the questioner does. If I open a window, I want it up front. One of my pet annoyances is when I open a window and can't input anything because there's some little popup requiring attention while hiding behind, sometimes a password, sometimes just "OK" or "Apply."
5 • Alternative to Blocking Focus Stealing (by Bruce Fowler on 2019-02-25 03:19:15 GMT from United States)
I seldom run more than four applications at a time, so I just keep four workspaces around and let each application have all the screen space it wants. It's easy to switch workspaces, and in the meanwhile, the different applications stay out of each other's way.
6 • Focus stealing (by pin on 2019-02-25 05:05:04 GMT from Sweden)
I didn't vote on the poll, because I just use a tiling window manager, awesome wm. This is basically a non-issue, unless, you add transparency shades to focus/unfocus clients.
7 • Focus problems (by Bobbie Sellers on 2019-02-25 05:24:43 GMT from United States)
I switch between mailer-newsreader, 2 browsers, one or two text editors,
and multiple documents when busy constantly.
Focus stealing prevention would just slow me down and I am too slow already.
Tried out Windows Lister widget and it was good until the number of the
Virtual Top vanished.
bliss
8 • Sloppy Focus (by RoboNuggie on 2019-02-25 12:00:20 GMT from United Kingdom)
I use Motif Window Manager....but any lightweight DM should work the same way, in that if I set to sloppy focus, I can type in a window underneath the top one easily if need be....
Sometimes the old ways are better..... :-)
9 • Focus (by dragonmouth on 2019-02-25 12:48:36 GMT from United States)
I'm with Angel. When I open an application, it is because I want to use it NOW, not at some undetermined time in the future. I think it is counterproductive to load any and all applications that one MAY use during the day first thing in the morning. The unused applications not only clutter up the desktop and task bar but they also use up resources.
10 • Focus stealing (by SuperOscar on 2019-02-25 13:20:04 GMT from Finland)
I chose “I use the Prevent Focus Stealing feature of my desktop” although I haven’t really tuned the KDE Plasma’s focus stealing prevention’s defaults. I use the so-called X mouse, already did during my OS/2 and Win9x/XP days, where the mouse pointer always points the focussed window. Unfortunately, there are always SOME apps that either are too slow to respond to the mouse movement or eager enough to hold the focus in any case. Maybe I really SHOULD try to use a stricter focus policy
After all, what’s the use of running KDE Plasma unless you fine-tune everything exactly to your liking? ;)
11 • Focus Stealing (by Kevin on 2019-02-25 14:53:28 GMT from United States)
With dwm I rarely have focus stealing issues. I do occasionally have one Java based app, IBM i ACS, that occasionally steals focus with a message dialog. And every once in a great file I think I remember Firefox doing the same, but those instances are so few and far between they're hardly worth mentioning.
12 • Focus (by Christian on 2019-02-25 15:28:01 GMT from Brazil)
If I open an application, I want it now, no point in preventing it on gaining focus.
If I already have what I need running, and there's a window demanding attention, then I want it to only flash or call for attention in a non intrusive fashion. It could even be a notification.
BTW, I find the Gnome notifications usefull and annoying at the same time. I've tried to change the position, but I always find it getting in my way... If there's any Gnome dev here, I would love to have my notifications like a news ticker, birefly displayed over the panel (just like Android used to do) and not taking any space in my screen...
13 • Focus Stealing considered evil (by Sitwon on 2019-02-25 15:38:32 GMT from United States)
I think focus stealing pop-up windows are the cardinal sin of GUI interfaces.
There's nothing worse than typing away and having a pop-up window flash on the screen and disappear as you don't stop yourself from hitting the space bar in time... and you're just left wondering what you just confirmed or cancelled with no way of knowing even which application it was.
This was also one of the main reasons I switched to Linux. While there are some applications which suffer from this bad design habit in Linux, it had become the status-quo in the Windows world with every application shouting for your attention like a toddler.
Today, I use a tiled/dynamic window manager that helps manage the apps with bad behavior.
It's FINE to pop up a new windows, but never to steal focus. Focus changes should always require a deliberate action from the user.
14 • focus follows mouse (by Luke on 2019-02-25 19:12:06 GMT from United States)
I have focus stealing disabled, focus set to follow my mouse pointer, and windows are only brought to the front on click. This lets me, for example, partially obscure a terminal window with a browser window if I'm using it for reference. And yet, Alt-Tab still works exactly as you'd expect--it will give focus to the chosen window (until the mouse is moved).
It's such a simple thing and probably not even that hard of a habit to break, but it's the first thing I miss when I sit down at a Windows PC.
15 • Survey (by Mitch on 2019-02-25 19:54:01 GMT from United States)
I selected: "do not block focus stealing:" because "I only use one application at a time:"
Make sense. And, the available screen size after some window resizing allows for two or three to be seen as needed. Every day computing for me is in a linear method; I am not prone to tile windows, etc. One task at a time, maybe two if needed with the file manager minimized and waiting.
16 • Focus Issues (by M.Z. on 2019-02-25 20:40:59 GMT from United States)
As with most of the poll responses so far, I don't generally mess with focus settings because the default behaviour is unobtrusive enough on most every Linux Distro I've tried. It's always been worlds better than the aggravation of 'Acer Portal Service Termination Notice' garbage I got using a family member's new/refurbished laptop with Windows 10. Apparently Acer thought it was nice to load some already discontinued crap-ware into Win10 & make a giant pop up window to inform users that the pre-installed crap-ware nobody asked them for was being discontinued 6 months before they got the laptop. Not only that, it comes back again & again until you uninstall the crap-ware. Not exactly an enticement to go back to Windows.
I guess the worst I've seen recently in Linux is a little pop up windows that moves between virtual desktop when I'm running updates in the Mageia Control Center. Perhaps changing the KDE focus settings will prevent the issue? Either way it's fairly minor compared to what I see in MS machines.
17 • @1 @2 Start applications minimised (by Charles on 2019-02-25 20:59:50 GMT from United Kingdom)
It depends on the window manager. Some will support starting an application (or all applications) minimised, some won't. Just a couple of examples I know of, with Fluxbox you can right click on a the window button of a minimised window, and choose "Remember -> Minimized" and then all subsequent instances of that application will start minimised.
Likewise, with FVWM you could do:
Style _appname_ StartIconic
or
Style * StartIconic (to match all applications)
which accomplishes the same thing.
18 • NVMM and NetBSD rocks! (by Oscar on 2019-02-25 23:58:01 GMT from Spain)
Great job for NVMM as the rest of the NetBSD projects: Xen port, rump kernels, Kernel sannitizers, npf, pkgsrc and many more... those NetBSD developers worth four!
19 • focus stealing (by tim on 2019-02-26 06:00:45 GMT from United States)
when using fluxbox window manager, your can right-click an application window and choose "Layer". Additionally, you can choose "Remember--}Layer" and that will establish a permanent rule (matches based on the title of window). Separately, you can edit ~/.fluxbox/apps and add a rule applicable to all windows of a named applicatio, e.g. [firefox]
20 • Focus stealing (by Simon on 2019-02-26 07:33:34 GMT from New Zealand)
Focus stealing is very annoying. Overwriting windows visually is OK...there can be legitimate reasons for bringing something urgent to a user's attention (e.g. in a pop-up notification near the corner of a desktop) no matter what else s/he is doing...but to grab the input without warning is infuriating and I'm surprised anyone tolerates it: all these desktop environments have focus-stealing prevention features for good reason. It has the potential to grab a user's password and send it somewhere else... ("please enter your publicly visible username for our crappy software" pops up just as you're typing your root password into a shell...) many things can go wrong when someone is assuming that their input is going into one window, and then an application decides to jam itself in between the user and the user's intended application. Maybe not if you're a drooling one-finger typist pecking painfully along at three words per minute...but for anyone with good muscle memory and a fast workflow, focus stealing is a nightmare, because the odds are pretty high that your fingers will already be interacting with something else when the focus stealer pushes in, so it will receive input that wasn't intended for it.
21 • Window focus: set it one time and leave it alone. (by R. Cain on 2019-02-26 14:30:43 GMT from United States)
Regarding Linux Mint--
Under “System Settings/Preferences/Windows/Behavior”, one finds the following Windows Focus menu of choices, along with “On/Off” switches, for selection--
● Automatically raise focused windows
● Bring windows which require attention to the current workspace
● Prevent focus stealing
● Attach dialog windows to the parent window
Switches are set, respectively, to ‘Off’, ‘Off’, ‘On’, ‘Off’.
Works for me. Always has. Zero aggravation.
*********************************
Because of all the horsesh*t from the Mint organization since v. 17.3, I'm switching to MX-Linux 17.3, and would appreciate hearing from users of this distribution as to how to easily manipulate 'windows focus' in this new distribution (will consider v. 18 when it has a few more miles on it, a couple more point releases, as well as the expected great reviews. 'Til then...)
22 • @21 - MX17.3 and MX18 (by Hoos on 2019-02-27 17:21:49 GMT from Singapore)
" I'm switching to MX-Linux 17.3, and would appreciate hearing from users of this distribution as to how to easily manipulate 'windows focus' in this new distribution (will consider v. 18 when it has a few more miles on it, a couple more point releases, as well as the expected great reviews. 'Til then...) ..."
A fully updated MX17+ is essentially MX18, except for the newer default kernel (4.19) of MX18, a new set of backgrounds/wallpapers and other default artwork, all of which you could manually install if you wished.
I don't recall being annoyed with window focus behaviour in MX while using the default setup. MX uses XFCE 4.12 so you could just check the general literature on XFCE.
23 • @21 (by Az4x4 on 2019-02-27 18:07:44 GMT from United States)
"Because of all the horsesh*t from the Mint organization since v. 17.3, I'm switching to MX-Linux 17.3.."
---------------------------------------
What "horsesh*t" specifically do you have in mind R. Cain? Broad brush strokes like "all the horsesh*t" don't tell us anything..
24 • MX17.3 and MX18 (by Hoos on 2019-02-27 17:21:49 GMT from Singapore) (by R. Cain on 2019-02-27 23:04:15 GMT from United States)
@22 --
Thank you very much for this information; it's one more piece which will lead--hopefully--to the use of MX-18.X
This is a great help; it lends further validation to my decision to download MX-17.3's latest update, which was updated in October (or November) of 2018. I'll still reserve judgement until good, hard data is available on MX-18.xx.
[I'm a firm believer in the old, VERY wise piece of advice: "Never use, or trust, a piece of software whose revision number ends with 'Point-Oh' "]
25 • MX 17.3 (by Andy Figueroa on 2019-02-28 05:25:01 GMT from United States)
"... validation to my decision to download MX-17.3 ..."
This, sir, is wrong. MX-18 is effectively a point release of MX-17. MX-18 is built on the solid base of the same Debian stable as MX-17. The number only changed to 18 (now 18.1) because of their tradition to apply a new number each December. MX-17.3 cannot be updated to a better MX-17.3 or 17.4. It automatically becomes MX-18.~.
Installing an out-of-date distribution iso does not give one stable, it just gives less secure and not-corrected.
26 • Mis-directed, valuable information. (by R. Cain on 2019-02-28 10:17:50 GMT from United States)
@25 --
You have made some extremely valuable points, but they are of such importance that you really should make better use of your time by directing this extremely valuable information not to me or to the discerning, misinformed members of this venue, but to the developers of MX-Linux.
I'm certain that the MX developers will be relieved to be disabused of the notion that any of their point releases, into which one must infer from your very knowledgeable post that not much effort is expended on their part "...cannot be updated to a better..." version. I'm just as certain that MX-Linux, as well as the entire Linux community will be extremely comforted in knowing from you--by inference--that not very much effort has gone into the development of MX-18--that it is simply a minor--how did you put it--"...*point release* of MX-17...". No one even SUSPECTED that MX-17 was simply a "point release" of MX-16; that MX-16 was nothing more than a "point release" of MX-15; that MX-15...
I know that *I* feel extremely more comfortable and much better informed about computing in general to have been informed that my use of Linux Mint 13--Maya--considered to be one of the best and most stable of ALL Linux Mint distributions *by no less than the entire Mint community*, is a serious error; and that all the stability which Maya has offered over all these years, and still continues to do so, is simply a figment of my imagination--a chimera, so to speak.
Once again, thank you from the entire community for this extremely lucid and valuable clarification and amplification; and for yet one more addition to the (amazingly) rapidly-growing sentiment--among EXTREMELY knowledgeable Linux experts--that the only valuable Linux distribution is the very latest one.
27 • @24, 25 and 26 (by Hoos on 2019-02-28 11:15:37 GMT from Singapore)
Re: @26,
@Andy Figueroa is correct. At least one developer has commented on their forum that there was some debate among the team as to whether to call it "MX17.whatever", or MX18.
The reason is that both 17 and 18 are based on Debian Stretch. MX15 and MX16 were based on Debian Jessie.
Of course there was more to MX18 than the name. There was a move to default plymouth boot splash, the introduction of Gimp 2.10 (which had to be backported and by necessity some dependencies had to be upgraded), new kernel for newer hardware, etc. MX18 was a release that also pulled together various bug fixes/improvements to installer and MX tools.
See -- https://mxlinux.org/mx-18-continuum-now-available
However, these updates also came to MX17 users through their normal updating process, except for the new kernel, artwork and setting plymouth as default boot option.
See -- https://mxlinux.org/updates-coming-soon-mx-17
If you fully update your MX17+, the name of your installed distro does change to "MX18".
========================================
@25 was what I was trying to express in my post @22.
MX18.1 iso is more updated than a Oct/Nov 2018 iso of MX17+. There was at least one large Debian point release update in the interim, and bug fixes/improvements of some MX apps, including the installer.
@R.Cain, if you have really old hardware, sometimes an older kernel may work better than the newest one. You know your hardware best. If you still choose to install MX17+, I recommend updating the installer first before installation.
On the other hand, you could also change kernel from MX18 live iso. If your live run shows you that the newer 4.19 kernel doesn't work as well on your hardware, you could install any other kernel from the repositories, then use the MX app called "Live usb kernel updater" to remaster the live usb with the newly-installed kernels.
28 • @27 (continued) (by Hoos on 2019-02-28 11:25:54 GMT from Singapore)
MX18 also introduced full disk encryption for the first time.
Obviously if you have already installed MX17, you can't change that installation to a fully-encrypted one just by installing the updates.
29 • Not miss-directed, and very valuable . (by Garon on 2019-02-28 13:59:42 GMT from United States)
@Hoos, and Andy,
Thinks for the info on the MX17 and MX18 differences. Being able to install using a fully-encrypted disk is very valuable information for many of us. That's why I read these comments.
30 • @29 a slight clarification (by tim on 2019-03-01 03:37:41 GMT from United States)
The "live-kernel-updater" utility featured in MX Linux and in antiX, it involves a separate operation, it operates separately from the "live-remaster" tool. One must first perform a "live-remaster" operation to ensure that a safe rollback is possible in case the new kernel doesn't operate smoothly with your system (the live-kernel-updater checks for this, it will not allow you to proceed with the kernel update operation if a safe rollback is not possible).
31 • @21 (by Justin on 2019-03-01 20:50:49 GMT from United States)
While I'm not sure what @21 is referring to specifically, I'm planning to migrate to Debian "Cinnamon" when 17.3 hits EOL and Ubuntu stops providing updates for Mint. That way I can continue to get the desktop I like but closer to the "mothership." You can even install all the artwork packages manually to get a very similar look to Mint 17.3. It isn't packaged such that this is super easy to do if don't want extra stuff, but it's close enough. I had to change a couple defaults to fix a few things broken in the theme, but it was easy enough.
32 • Misdirected, INVALUABLE information for the MX-Linux development team. (by R. Cain on 2019-03-02 21:17:02 GMT from United States)
I am almost certain that--to a newcomer to the Linux scene, as well as long-time Linux users, the questionable logic employed here to justify (some)one’s stance that MX-Linux 18 is nothing more than a “point release” of MX-17 must seem to the first group to be yet one more example of the disarray in the Linux community; and to the second group...simply laughable.
I have here excerpted some comments which are used to “PROVE” your points that MX-18 is nothing more than a “...point release...” of MX-17--
**********************************************
“This, sir, is wrong. MX-18 is effectively a point release of MX-17....”
“...A fully updated MX17+ is essentially MX18, except for the newer default kernel (4.19) of MX18, a new set of backgrounds/wallpapers and other default artwork, all of which you could manually install if you wished...” [“...MX-18 is effectively a point release of MX-17...”]
"...MX18.1 iso is more updated than a Oct/Nov 2018 iso of MX17+. There was at least one large Debian point release update in the interim, and bug fixes/improvements of some MX apps, including the installer....”-- [“...MX-18 is effectively a point release of MX-17...”]
”...Of course there was more to MX18 than the name. There was a move to default plymouth boot splash, the introduction of Gimp 2.10 (which had to be backported and by necessity some dependencies had to be upgraded), new kernel for newer hardware, etc. MX18 was a release that also pulled together various bug fixes/improvements to installer and MX tools...” [“...MX-18 is effectively a point release of MX-17...”]
"...MX18 also introduced full disk encryption for the first time. “ [“...MX-18 is effectively a point release of MX-17...”]
*************************************************
As I stated earlier, you people need to direct your not-inconsiderable efforts at trying to convince ME--using your convoluted logic--but directly *to the source* to let the developers know how badly THEY are out of step with the rest of the Linux-development world when it comes to assigning version numbers. Do PARTICULARLY stress that MX-18 is simply an MX-17 “point release”...PLEASE.
Since you obviously have such a hard time trying to determine how to get in touch with the MX-Linux development team in order to convince them of the errors of their ways, I have expended a TREMENDOUS amount of energy unearthing this information for you...here it is; and please DO report back with the response--and tremendous thanks we’re sure you’ll get-- from the MX-Linux team--
https://mxlinux.org/
So that _NO ONE_ forgets--
"... MX-18 is effectively a point release of MX-17....”
33 • MX Linux Releases (by Arcane on 2019-03-03 00:42:38 GMT from France)
Release cycle
MX Linux makes three kinds of releases:
Official release: once a year, typically in December. The year of the release is used for the version number, so MX-17 was released at the end of 2017.
Point release: when needed. These can occur when major software changes are required, such as a kernel upgrade to fix a vulnerability as with MX-17.1.
Snapshot: monthly. These unofficial releases serve to update all software, and are designed to avoid lengthy download and setup time after a new installation.
NOTES
MX Linux follows a modified fixed-release model: users will upgrade between major MX releases that are still within the same Debian version (e.g., MX-18 will still be based on Stretch so there will be no need to reinstall from MX-17.x).
Although MX Linux is always based on the Stable version of Debian, packagers continually backport newer software versions to the main repository.
https://mxlinux.org/release-cycle
34 • Distinctions & Differences (by M.Z. on 2019-03-03 05:32:45 GMT from United States)
Beyond all the foolish snark the big debate this week seem to about a distinction without a difference. From the MX site on upgrades it looks an awful lot like the guts of an MX 17 & 18 have all the distinction of a Linux Mint 18.1 & 18.3 upgrade. Which is to say you get wallpapers, kernels, & certain apps, all either optional or manual to some degree in each while maintaining a compatible base. On many distros like PCLinuxOS kernel upgrades are a fairly trivial process & fairly easy to roll back once you've done them, though Debian Stable follows one of the most cautious approaches around & only does patches to their set kernel version from what I can tell.
The practical differences between different recent Mint lines like the point releases in 17.x, 18.x & 19.x, and the MX 17-18 series appear to be all but non existent. Meanwhile the jump between MX 16 & 17 is much the same as the jump between Mint 18 & 19, which is to say far more substantial. Yes, _Effectively_, there is little practical difference & the biggest difference is what the MX team chose to name their Distro releases. There are no hard & fast rules on software naming conventions, to one groups 1.x release may get a bump from 3-4 from another. Groups even decide to change naming conventions on occasion, as has happened with the Linux kernel in the 3.x & 4.x lines verses the 2.x line. The jump from 3.20 to 4.0 was roughly as minor as the jumps within 3.x, it was just done because .20 sounded like a good place to change the big version number.
Version number can mean either a lot or very little depending on the project & context. All the sarcasm in the world can't change a perfectly reasonable interpretation from being valid, though some seem to enjoy attacking people over their own foolish misinterpretations. It's unfortunate because there is no good reason for it, if certain people would try to understand rather than attack with mounds of snarky garbage.
35 • Snark (by Friar Tux on 2019-03-03 20:40:38 GMT from Canada)
#34 (M.Z.) Not to worry M.Z. most of us pass over the snark and read on, especially if the snark is consistent from week to week. Trolls are just shoved 'under the bridge' where they belong. And don't worry about new comers misreading the snark and being scared away from Linux. Most new comers are here because of their intelligence, not the lack of it.
Number of Comments: 35
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| • Issue 1159 (2026-02-09): Sharing files on a network, isolating processes on Linux, LFS to focus on systemd, openSUSE polishes atomic updates, NetBSD not likely to adopt Rust code, COSMIC roadmap |
| • Issue 1158 (2026-02-02): Manjaro 26.0, fastest filesystem, postmarketOS progress report, Xfce begins developing its own Wayland window manager, Bazzite founder interviewed |
| • Issue 1157 (2026-01-26): Setting up a home server, what happened to convergence, malicious software entering the Snap store, postmarketOS automates hardware tests, KDE's login manager works with systemd only |
| • Issue 1156 (2026-01-19): Chimera Linux's new installer, using the DistroWatch Torrent Corner, new package tools for Arch, Haiku improves EFI support, Redcore streamlines branches, Synex introduces install-time ZFS options |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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Sonar GNU/Linux
Sonar GNU/Linux aims to be an accessible GNU/Linux distribution to people of all needs. The project's goal was to bring awareness of free accessible software to people that depend on assistive technology. It was based on Manjaro Linux.
Status: Discontinued
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View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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