 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 821, 1 July 2019 |
Welcome to this year's 26th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Mandriva, previously called Mandrake Linux, was once the go-to distribution for new Linux users and people who wanted to configure their operating systems through a graphical user interface instead of from the command line. Over time most other distributions adopted graphical tools and friendlier installers and Mandriva lost some of the easy-to-use spotlight. However, while Mandriva has faded away into the history books, community projects continue its legacy of providing polished looking, friendly desktop operating systems. This week we begin with a look at OpenMandriva Lx, a project which maintains Mandriva's style while introducing a few new features of its own. In our News section we talk about new technology coming to Fedora Workstation and the GNOME desktop. Plus we talk about work going into making DragonFly BSD's kernel use less memory, and a new TurnKey appliance. Then we discuss the controversy over Ubuntu's plans for 32-bit and provide updates on the situation and explain why phasing out 32-bit support worries some people. Our Opinion Poll then asks how many of our readers still use 32-bit programs, whether they are running on 32-bit or 64-bit machines. Plus we are pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a superb week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: OpenMandriva Lx 4.0
- News: Improvements to Fedora Workstation, DragonFly BSD shrinking kernel memory usage, Turnkey updates several appliances
- Questions and answers: Ubuntu's plan to drop 32-bit packages
- Released last week: SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP1, Kodachi 6.1, Raspbian 2019-06-20
- Torrent corner: ArchBang, Bluestar, Container, GParted, Kodachi, KDE neon, Raspbian, Slax, SwagArch,Tails, Trident, Zorin
- Upcoming releases: Debian 10
- Opinion poll: Running 32-bit applications
- Reader comments
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
OpenMandriva Lx 4.0
OpenMandriva is a desktop-oriented distribution that originally grew from the Mandriva family of Linux distributions. Like other community projects which rose from the ashes of Mandriva, OpenMandriva places a focus on providing a polished desktop experience that is easy to install. Unlike most other community distributions in the Mandriva family, OpenMandriva uses the Calamares installer, its own custom settings panel for managing the operating system, and builds packages using the Clang compiler instead of the GNU Compiler Collection.
OpenMandriva 4.0 introduces some other changes too, including using Fedora's DNF command line package manager and switching from using Python 2 to Python 3 by default. Python 2 is still available in the distribution's repositories for people who need to use the older version of the language.
The project's latest release is available in two builds and both of them feature the KDE Plasma desktop and run on 64-bit (x86_64) machines. One build (called "znver1") is for modern CPUs while the other is a generic 64-bit build. I was unable to find any precise information on what the minimal requirements were for running "znver1" and so used the generic build for my trial. There are mentions of ARM support in the project's release notes, but at the time of writing there is just one tarball for an ARM build on the distribution's mirrors.
Curiously, on release day, the release notes also mentioned a LXQt build of OpenMandriva and a minimal desktop build. Neither of these were available on release day and it seems the release notes are out of date (or premature). The release announcement also offers a link to torrent downloads, but there were no torrents available on the server, even a week after OpenMandriva 4.0 was launched. (The following week torrent files were made available.) All of this is to say the documentation did not match what was actually available when version 4.0 became available.
The generic 64-bit build of OpenMandriva was a 2.4GB download. Booting from the project's ISO seemed to get stuck for a minute after passing the boot menu, but eventually a splash screen appeared, followed by a welcome window. The welcome screen offers us information on package versions and displays links to on-line resources. The welcome window also offers to help us change settings, which we can probably skip until after the distribution has been installed.
OpenMandriva Lx 4.0 -- The welcome window
(full image size: 809kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Dismissing the welcome window presents us with the Plasma desktop. A panel at the bottom of the screen hosts the application menu and a system tray. There are four icons on the desktop for opening the welcome window, launching the Calamares installer, donating to OpenMandriva, and joining the community. The Donate icon opens a browser to a page that links to payment options. The icon for joining the community links to various on-line forums and portals to contribute to the distribution.
Installing
Launching the Calamares system installer opens the graphical application and asks us to select our preferred language from a list. The installer also gives us the option of opening a web browser to view OpenMandriva's release notes. We are then walked through selecting our time zone and picking our keyboard's layout from a list. Partitioning is pleasantly straight forward with a nice, simple interface and visual representation of our disk. The installer offered to set up partitions with ext2/3/4, Btrfs, JFS and XFS filesystems. I opted to use ext4 for my root partition. We are then asked to make up a username and password for ourselves and Calamares copies its packages to the hard drive. The whole experience is quite straight forward, allowing us to click "Next" through most steps, and quick.
Early impressions
The locally installed copy of OpenMandriva booted quickly in my test environments and presented a graphical login screen. The distribution offers two session options, Plasma (running on X.Org) and Plasma on Wayland. Signing into either of these sessions brings up the welcome screen again where we are shown information on key components, such as the kernel version, LibreOffice and Plasma. We are also given an overview of OpenMandriva's license.
The welcome screen has a few more tabs. One lists commonly used configuration modules that aid the user in setting up printers and adjusting the display's resolution. Another tab lists software categories and lists up to nine popular applications in each highlighted category. Clicking a button installs the selected package, after we provide our admin password. I tried installing a few items and experienced mixed results. When trying to install Tuxpaint, the install process always failed with an error saying the package was not installed, but with no reason given as to why. Other programs such as SuperTux and FileZilla did install successfully and were immediately added to the application menu. The media codecs package failed to install, again with no reason given, but it didn't matter since I could play any audio or video file I threw at the default media players.
I liked the theme and layout of OpenMandriva's desktop. It uses a mostly dark theme with bright, detailed icons and the text is pleasantly high-contrast. There were no pop-ups or other distractions. Plasma stayed out of my way and worked smoothly. The only tweak I had to make was disabling the screen locking function which would kick in after just five minutes of inactivity. This is an easy adjustment to make through Plasma's System Settings panel and the option is even shown as a short-cut on the first page of the panel to make the process quicker.
Hardware
When I started playing with OpenMandriva I was running it in a VirtualBox instance. For the most part, the distribution worked well in the virtual machine. The desktop operated quickly, my host computer's full screen resolution was used and programs ran smoothly. I found the Wayland session would not work for me; trying to login to Plasma on Wayland just caused the display to lock up. However, everything else worked. I also noticed Plasma used more of my host's CPU than usual. Sitting idle at the desktop used 15% of my host's CPU, about triple what I usually expect to see. Opening the application menu and just leaving it open increased CPU usage to 20%.
OpenMandriva Lx 4.0 -- Browsing the application menu
(full image size: 919kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
These performance concerns did not affect OpenMandriva when running directly on physical hardware. On my workstation, the distribution offered even better performance and relatively low CPU usage. All of my hardware was detected and the operating system was stable.
I found a fresh install of the distribution used 5.8GB of disk space and Plasma consumed 440MB of RAM. Both of these seem pretty normal when compared next to other distribution running recent versions of the Plasma desktop.
Applications
OpenMandriva ships with some familiar programs, though there is a tendency to use KDE/Qt applications over more popular alternatives. For instance OpenMandriva uses Falkon as the default browser instead of Firefox, KMail instead of Thunderbird, KTorrent over Transmission, and so on. Konservation and Kopete are included for on-line messaging, the LibreOffice suite is available, and Okular is present for viewing PDFs. The Dolphin file manager is included along with the Kwave sound editor and the Kdenlive video editor. The Kamoso webcam utility is available along with the Krita drawing program and the digiKam photo manager.
The distribution ships with the mpv and VLC media players along with multimedia codecs that played everything I threw at the system. The KDE help documentation is installed and offers a nice guide to available applications. We are also treated to Java, and a couple of text editors, including Kate and KWrite. In the background OpenMandriva uses systemd as the init implementation and runs on version 5.1.9 of the Linux kernel.
OpenMandriva Lx 4.0 -- Running the Falkon browser and Konsole
(full image size: 456kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
While the distribution tends to favour KDE/Qt applications, alternatives are often available in the repositories, though I found I often did not need to use them. The software included in OpenMandriva, and the additional programs presented by the welcome window, generally provided me with the functionality I wanted during the week.
I ran into just a few problems relating to OpenMandriva's default software selection. For instance, when running Falkon from the live disc, whenever the browser would open I was repeatedly asked to create a passphrase for KWallet. This password prompt popped up at least three times whenever Falkon was opened and was annoying. The password prompt did not appear once OpenMandriva was installed, so the problem took care of itself.
An ongoing problem I noticed was that if I typed a command at the terminal which was not available (usually due to a typo) the shell would pause for a long time, then print a list of similar program names. Sometimes a suggestion was provided for another package we might want to download. While this feature is well meaning, it is ultimately more annoying than helpful as it slows down the command line experience and does not always provide helpful suggestions.
OpenMandriva Control Centre
Members of the Mandriva family are famous for their beginner friendly, powerful Control Centre. While this settings panel gets rebranded slightly for each distribution, the tools and presentation have largely stayed the same over the past decade or more. Until now.
OpenMandriva offers users a new settings panel, called OpenMandriva Control Centre. The new centre places tabs of categories along the top of the window instead of to the left. These tabs are labelled Software, Hardware, Network, System, and Security - much the same as the old panel. The tools this centre launches are often different than the old Drake tools used by the classic centres.
From the Software page we can launch the dnfdragora package manager, click buttons to enable or disable extra software repositories and launch the KBackup archiving tool. The Hardware tab presents modules for changing display settings, setting up printers and adjusting audio controls. The Network tab naturally helps us set up network connections.
OpenMandriva Lx 4.0 -- The Control Centre
(full image size: 734kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
The System tab is more diverse, presenting us with tools for managing user accounts, enabling/disabling background services, enabling a guest account, setting the system clock and adjusting the desktop theme. Finally, the Security page can launch a firewall configuration tool and change the way users sign in.
I don't mind change when it streamlines things or offers a better approach to getting things done. And sometimes the new control panel does offer a fresh perspective. For instance, OpenMandriva has several additional repositories and if you try to navigate the many options through the package manager one can easily get lost trying to figure out which one we need. However, the new settings panel lets us enable the key repositories with a click or two and that is nice to have. Likewise, being able to enable the guest account with a single click is nice. I like that this distro does not assume we want a guest account while making it super easy to set up one.
That being said, I did run into some frustrations while using the new Control Centre. For instance, while it is easy to enable new repositories, not much information is provided to describe what the different repositories hold. I can enable the Non-Free, Restricted and Unsupported repositories with a click, but I don't know what is in each one. What is the difference between Non-Free and Restricted? The settings panel doesn't tell us so we need to find out elsewhere.
Most of the tools in the Control Centre need admin access to run and so I found it frustrating that I was prompted for my admin password each time I opened a new module. It would have been nice if the settings panel prompted once and passed that permission onto each module we opened.
My final complaint was that several of the tools provided throw lots of options at the user and have cluttered interfaces. The firewall tool is probably the best example of this. It features three panes and two sets of filter tabs and lists all known service names we can allow or block. There are nine different preset firewall profiles we can use. All of this is packed into one screen and it feels like overkill for a default firewall tool - probably better suited to servers in a business environment than a workstation or laptop that may be used in a couple of locations.
The background services tool felt the same way. There are two set of filters to help us navigate nearly 400 service units. This makes for a lot of clutter and extras to sift through looking for one item we want to turn on or off. The KBackup tool has a similarly busy interface. Like the above utilities, it works, but it throws everything at the user at once, as opposed to the streamlined nature of, for example, Deja Dup. To make matters worse, KBackup defaulted to saving user archives in a public location under the /usr directory instead of a private location, making it harder to protect (and even find) newly created archives.
While the new Control Centre handles low-level operating system adjustments, the Plasma desktop can be tweaked through the System Settings panel. Plasma offers lot of options, with over a dozen category groupings and a search function to help us navigate them all. Personally, I liked most of OpenMandriva's default desktop settings and did not use the System Settings panel much, but it offers a great deal of flexibility for people who want to change things.
OpenMandriva Lx 4.0 -- The System Settings panel
(full image size: 494kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Software management
Software management on OpenMandriva is primarily handled by a program called dnfdragora. This application displays groups of packages to the left of the window and specific packages, listed in alphabetical order, on the right. There are filter options to narrow down displayed items based on whether they are installed or not. Software packages are listed with their name and a brief summary. We can select which packages we want to install or remove by clicking a button next to the package's name and then clicking another button to apply our changes.
Generally speaking, I found dnfdragora worked smoothly for me. The software manager handles installs, removals and updates. We can launch dnfdragora from a variety of locations, including the Control Centre and from an icon in the system tray. The application was responsive and I did not run into any issues with it.
OpenMandriva Lx 4.0 -- The dnfdragora package manager
(full image size: 638kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
I did find that the list of available software seemed limited. I'm not sure if I was missing a key add-on repository, but the options of what was available, versus what was not, was unusual. For instance I could find no package for the Calibre e-book manager, relatively few games and few terminal emulators. There was a copy of the relatively rarely used Lumina desktop, but I found no results when searching for the popular Xfce desktop. I did see more options after enabling the extra repositories, but I still came up short on some searches.
For people who prefer to work from the command line, OpenMandriva includes the DNF package manager. It also worked smoothly and I encountered no problems while using DNF.
Conclusions
Exploring OpenMandriva was a mostly positive experience for me, with the occasional rough patch. Right from the start I was wary going into this experiment as the documentation and release announcement did not always match what was available. After that, things looked up as OpenMandriva was straight forward to install and worked properly with all of my hardware.
Desktop performance was good, certainly better than average. The Plasma desktop ran smoother than usual, perhaps a positive side-effect of using a different compiler?
This distribution does not offer as many software options as Fedora or Debian, though there were enough packages for me to get my work done during the week without difficulty.
My one serious concern was how complex the settings modules were in the Control Centre and how different some features felt from the norm. The services and backup managers were prime examples of this unusual level of complexity. There were other little things too, like dnfdragora always defaulting to showing available updates when it opened, rather than available software. This means the user needs to adjust filters before they can see what is available to install. It is a small feature, but one which is likely to trip up people who have not used dnfdragora in the past.
On the whole, OpenMandriva is a friendly, fast, and useful distribution. Personally, I'd like to see some administration tools and a few desktop applications swapped out for more popular, and more streamlined, alternatives. But generally I think OpenMandriva offered a good desktop experience that will appeal to most users.
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Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a desktop HP Pavilon p6 Series with the following specifications:
- Processor: Dual-core 2.8GHz AMD A4-3420 APU
- Storage: 500GB Hitachi hard drive
- Memory: 6GB of RAM
- Networking: Realtek RTL8111 wired network card, Ralink RT5390R PCIe Wireless card
- Display: AMD Radeon HD 6410D video card
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Visitor supplied rating
OpenMandriva has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8.1/10 from 46 review(s).
Have you used OpenMandriva? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Improvements to Fedora Workstation, DragonFly BSD shrinking kernel memory usage, Turnkey updates several appliances
Christian F.K. Schaller has written a detailed blog post about work going into Fedora 31 which should make the operating system more attractive to desktop users. Schaller outlines improvements to GNOME, getting Wayland and XWayland to work smoothly with NVIDIA's binary drivers, fingerprint reader support, and building more applications as Flatpak packages. In particular, Flatpaks may soon be able to use a common, Red Hat supported base. "Work on Flatpak in Fedora is continuing. Current focus is on improving the infrastructure for building Flatpaks from RPMS and automating what we can.This is pre-requisite work for eventually starting to ship some applications as Flatpaks by default and eventually shipping all applications as Flatpaks by default. We are also working on setting things up so that we can offer applications from flathub.io and quay.io out of the box and in accordance with Fedora rules for 3rd party software. We are also making progress on making a Red Hat UBI based runtime available. This means that as a 3rd party developer you can use that to build your applications on top of and be certain that it will be stay around and be supported by Red Hat for the lifetime of a given RHEL release, which means around 10 years."
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People running DragonFly BSD may have noticed their operating system is consuming less RAM these days, due to improvements in the kernel. Efforts have been made to free up RAM from the kernel, making more memory available to userland processes: "The prime motivation for this commit is to target about 1/20 (5%) of physical memory for use by the kernel. These changes significantly reduce kernel memory usage on systems with less than 4GB of RAM (and more specific for systems with less than 1TB of RAM), and also place more reasonable caps on systems with 128GB+ of RAM. These changes return 100-200MB of RAM to userland on systems with 1GB of RAM, and return around 6.5GB of RAM on systems with 128GB of RAM." Further details on these memory improvements can be found in Matthew Dillon's mailing list post.
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TurnKey Linux is a project which publishes a library of ready-to-use software services which are designed to immediately work once the operating system is installed. This makes setting up a web server, forum or torrent server (to name a few) very quick and easy. The TurnKey project has published many new updates and bug fixes, along with a new appliance: "TurnKey Redis appliance is a new addition to the library. Redis can be used as a database, cache or message broker. It supports many different data structures. Redis has a range of advanced features. It is generally used in conjunction with other software (especially when used as a DB or cache) but can be set up in a cluster and/or for High Availability (HA) - hence the value of it as a stand-alone appliance." Further details on the available updated packages can be found in the project's blog post.
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These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Ubuntu's plan to drop 32-bit packages
Should-we-mourn-32-bit asks: What is the deal with Ubuntu dropping 32-bit builds? Aren't most distributions already 64-bit? It seems like this should not be a big deal, so what am I missing and what possible affect could it have on the Linux community?
DistroWatch answers: In case some of our readers have not heard, one of Ubuntu's developers announced recently that Ubuntu 19.10 (and presumably future versions) would no longer offer new 32-bit packages. A key element of this announcement is that Ubuntu is not just dropping installation media for 32-bit machines (as several distributions have), they are also ceasing builds of updated 32-bit packages.
Often times a distribution will stop supporting 32-bit builds, meaning you cannot install their newer versions on computers running 32-bit CPUs. We need to download the 64-bit build (ISO file) to install the distribution and it will only run on 64-bit computers. However, it is usually still possible to install and run 32-bit packages on a 64-bit operating system. This is because 64-bit kernels can still run 32-bit applications and many 64-bit distributions still provide 32-bit copies of libraries in their repositories.
What the Ubuntu team appeared to be saying was that they will not only cease providing 32-bit ISO files, preventing their distribution from running on 32-bit machines, but they are also working on cutting out 32-bit libraries at some point in the future. "This means we will not provide 32-bit builds of new upstream versions of libraries," was a key phrase in the announcement. The result is that 32-bit programs, which rely on having 32-bit libraries available on the system, will no longer work.
I feel it is important to note two things at this point. The first is that while the Ubuntu team has indicated they will not be providing new versions of 32-bit packages, at least one developer has said the distribution plans on providing existing 32-bit packages for Ubuntu 19.10. What this would mean is Ubuntu 19.10 users would be able to install the same 32-bit packages that are already available for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. This is not ideal, as those packages are older, but it would provide a level of 32-bit support.
The second important point is that it seems the Ubuntu team is still sorting out how to handle the transition away from 32-bit. The intention is there to phase out 32-bit packages, but the exact method and time-line is still being worked on. Right now it looks like Ubuntu will be providing some 32-bit packages for Ubuntu 19.10 and 20.04, though which ones and with how much support is still unclear. In other words, if you use 32-bit software: don't panic - nothing is set in stone yet.
For some people this potential lack of 32-bit packages won't be a big deal. Most open source software is perfectly capable of running in pure 64-bit environments and the Ubuntu team seems to be counting on this fact to let them drop 32-bit packages in the future. However, there are some important corner cases to be considered.
One of these is that most Windows software is either 32-bit or uses 32-bit installers. This means running Windows programs through WINE may no longer be an option if this plan goes through. Likewise, some older programs which haven't been ported to 64-bit will need to be dropped or patched. Another potential victim of the move to pure 64-bit environments is Steam, which runs using 32-bit libraries.
In short, while most open source software works perfectly well in the pure 64-bit environment Ubuntu's team is proposing, there are some important exceptions and non-free corner cases which would stop working if this plan is implemented. This is making some people, particularly gamers who use Steam and people who run Linux but have a Windows program they need for work, upset.
To be fair to Ubuntu's developers, there are ways to get 32-bit programs running on an otherwise pure 64-bit system. Snap packages may offer an alternative, along with Linux containers. In a pinch, a virtual machine could be used to run a 32-bit compatible system on the desktop. Some enterprising people could set up PPA repositories with needed 32-bit dependencies. However, all of these approaches have important limitations or drawbacks. They generally rely on enabling third-party repositories, or large downloads, or performance handicaps. None of them would be nearly as smooth and transparent as the existing, multi-architecture packages available in the default repositories.
A bigger concern though is: who makes and supports the 32-bit solutions? It seems Ubuntu does not want to put the effort into maintaining a 32-bit repository in the long-term that is kept up to date, so that leaves the question of who will provide 32-bit packages. At the moment it seems unlikely that WINE or Valve (the company behind Steam) will step forward to fill the gap, leaving it up to members of the Ubuntu community to provide a solution.
Unfortunately, this change (in whatever form it takes) is not going to only affect Ubuntu. There are approximately 50 distributions based on Ubuntu. In the long term, once support for Ubuntu's 18.04 LTS branch reaches the end of its life, those 50+ projects are also going to want a solution to enable their users to run 32-bit software.
There are some potential solutions to the current plan to phase out 32-bit packages from Ubuntu. For instance, some people have discussed setting up an add-on repository (PPA) which would provide all the same 32-bit libraries Ubuntu currently offers. There have been suggestions that System76 will set up a 32-bit package repository for Pop!_OS which would, in turn, be compatible with Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based distributions. It is even possible the Ubuntu team will reconsider their course and maintain 32-bit packages for a longer period of time.
However, if none of those alternatives appeal, there are still plenty of Linux distributions which are either 32-bit or make it possible to run 32-bit packages on a 64-bit base. In fact, I think there are about 75 in our database which offer a 32-bit build and are not based on Ubuntu, so people still running 32-bit applications have plenty of options.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
Raspbian 2019-06-20
Eben Upton has announced the release of a major new version of Raspbian, a Debian-based distribution for the Raspberry Pi single-board computers. The updated build, version 2019-06-20, is the first image based on the upcoming release of Debian 10 "Buster". Information about the new Raspbian was provided as part of today's blog post announcing the brand-new Raspberry Pi 4: "To support Raspberry Pi 4, we are shipping a radically overhauled operating system, based on the forthcoming Debian 10 'Buster' release. This brings numerous behind-the-scenes technical improvements, along with an extensively modernised user interface, and updated applications including the Chromium 74 web browser. ... Some advice for those who are keen to get going with Raspbian Buster right away: we strongly recommend you download a new image, rather than upgrading an existing card. This ensures that you’re starting with a clean, working Buster system. If you really, really want to try upgrading, make a backup first."
Raspbian 2019-06-20 -- Running a graphical interface
(full image size: 2.2MB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP1
The SUSE team has announced the release of a new service pack (SP) for SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE). The new update, SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP1, offers security improvements, techniques to reduce downtime during security patches, and a smoother transition from openSUSE Leap to SUSE Linux Enterprise: "Improved hardware-based data security - This release offers full support for AMD's Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) technology. SEV enables guest virtual machines to run in encrypted memory, helping to protect them from memory scrape attacks from the hypervisor. Enhanced Arm server support - In SP1, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Arm 15 has doubled the number of supported System-on-a-Chip (SoC) processor options. Reduced downtime for updates - Transactional updates (a tech preview with SP1) offer a significant reduction in the maintenance window for updates, providing more production uptime. Simplified installation with enhanced Modular+ - The Unified Installer can now be used to install more portfolio products, including SUSE Manager, SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time and SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Service. Faster and easier transition from community Linux to enterprise Linux - It now takes just a few clicks for developers and operations to move a openSUSE Leap system to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server." See the release announcement for further details.
Linux Kodachi 6.1
Warith Al Maawali has announced the release of Linux Kodachi 6.1, the latest stable build of the project's Xubuntu-based distribution and live DVD with built-in privacy and anonymity features: "Version 6.1 based on Xubuntu 18.04 LTS. Changelog: Linux kernel upgrade from 4.19 to 5.0; added Zelcore wallet; added Sphere anonymous browser; added Remmina remote tool; added simplescreenrecorder; added Riot chat; added Tox chat; added Zswap swap compression tool; added XnView; added IP verify on security services; added Mullvad VPN service; added Mullvad DNS; added 3 new profiles for Kodachi browser (Light, Loaded, Noscript and Ghacks); added Firefox plugins (Privacy badger, Decentraleyes, Multi Account containers, AudioContext finger printing, Private bookmarks, Do not track me Google, Searchonymous, NoScript, LibreJSCanvas Defender, PeerName); added new bookmarks on Kodachi browser; added BTC donations balance - now you can see how much Kodachi has received in donations live on the screen; Conky performance improvement lsof to lsof -n; memory tools will now show you keyboard status as well; fixed a bug where VPN password is rejected if it contains the $ character; fixed a few DNS bugs." Here is the complete changelog.
Project Trident 19.06
Project Trident is a rolling release operating system based on TrueOS. The project latest release, Project Trident 19.06, features many application and base package upgrades. "This is a significant package update for the repository, not just for applications, but also for some of the base system packages. There are a lot of changes from upstream FreeBSD and TrueOS in this release, from additional '-bootstrap' base packages to the renaming of the 'zol' flavor of base packages to 'nozfs', as the 'zol' version of the ZFS packages was also renamed to 'openzfs'. In addition to this, a ton of the default settings from upstream TrueOS were changed. We have tried to track down and re-enable every setting which Project Trident needed from TrueOS, but if you find some functional regression (particularly when it comes to which kernel modules are loaded by default), please let us know so that we can track that down and re-enable any additional settings as needed." Further details can be found in the project's release announcement.
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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: 1,473
- Total data uploaded: 26.2TB
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
Running 32-bit applications
In this week's Questions and Answers column we talked about some cases where it is still useful to have 32-bit packages on a 64-bit operating system. Having 32-bit libraries means it is possible to run older or proprietary software that is not 64-bit compatible.
When we like to know if you still run 32-bit software, whether it is on a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system.
You can see the results of our previous poll on running Android applications on GNU/Linux in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Running 32-bit applications
| I run 32-bit applications on a 32-bit OS: | 419 (22%) |
| I run 32-bit applications on a 64-bit OS: | 862 (45%) |
| I do not run 32-bit applications: | 511 (27%) |
| Unsure: | 115 (6%) |
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| Website News (by Jesse Smith) |
DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 8 July 2019. 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)
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1 • What about existing 32BIT LTS? (by Bob on 2019-07-01 01:23:42 GMT from United States)
Will Ubuntu still support 32bit 16.04 LTS and 32bit 18.04 LTS with updates?
2 • 32-bit applications (by Thomas Mueller on 2019-07-01 01:47:59 GMT from United States)
I run mainly 64-bit OSes and applications but run NetBSD both 64-bit (amd64) and 32-bit (i386). I believe Linux amd64 has multilib capabiloty, able to run applications 64-bit and 32-bit. I wouldn't want a Linux distro to take away the ability to run 32-bit MS-Windows applications through Wine.
3 • 32-bit (by mcellius on 2019-07-01 01:52:00 GMT from United States)
Ubuntu's announcement on providing 32-bit support:
https://ubuntu.com/blog/statement-on-32-bit-i386-packages-for-ubuntu-19-10-and-20-04-lts
is quite good and helpful. They heard and listened to the uproar after the first announcement from a developer that they would stop including those 32-bit libraries, and that's good: it's important to listen to the community.
They also mentioned that they will work with Wine and with Steam to make sure that the necessary libraries are present. I don't think they understood, before the first announcement, how much controversy would arise, but they listened and have walked it back. That's what we hope a good community-drive distribution will do.
4 • @1, Re: 32Bit LTS 16.04 and 18.04 (by Rev_Don on 2019-07-01 02:17:32 GMT from United States)
Yes. They have made that abundantly clear. Jesse also points that out in the Q&A article, although a bit esoterically.
5 • 32bit (by codemasters on 2019-07-01 05:32:09 GMT from Australia)
Look on the upside. If Linux drops 32bit support, many ppl would probly contribute to alternative OSs, which are all 32bit compatible: reactos, redox, genode, minix, helen, menuet, kolibri, haiku, etc. Wine could also be ported to some of them (it's already being contributed to Reactos). So more OSs being developed means more to try on our computers and more fun :)
6 • 32bit (by Gerhard Goetzhaber on 2019-07-01 05:34:47 GMT from Austria)
Here and there, any average PC user will end up with the need of some proprietarily derived software based on 32bit libraries as in my case there is Canon's UFR2LT printer driver exclusively being able to fairly work my brave LBP-7100Cn colour laser requiring libxml2:i386, libstdc++6:i386, libc6-i386, lib32z1 and libjpeg62:i386 on Debian/Ubuntu, corresponding to i686 versions of libxml2 glibc, libgcc, libstdc++ on RH derived and (Open)SuSE.
Me, I left Ubuntu a lot of time ago for in my opinion Canonical have just been continuing turning more and more towards a wrong direction of development that's to be evenly called badly mutilizing Linux, in many a way! By this, today I've become quite happy with doing all my serious computing by going with OpenSuSE (mainly Leap with up2date kernel) and sometimes with Sparky (based on Debian Testing).
From time to time I still find myself sniffering into Fedora Rawhide, but also the way of this distro because of extremely focusing on Wayland and GNOME can never ever get mine ...
7 • 23 but (by ou_ryperd on 2019-07-01 07:00:25 GMT from South Africa)
Third world countries are still a large user base of 32bit desktops.
8 • 32bit Windows apps and Wine (by OstroL on 2019-07-01 07:53:40 GMT from Poland)
@2 "I wouldn't want a Linux distro to take away the ability to run 32-bit MS-Windows applications through Wine."
The question is why so much worry about Windows apps in Linux!
It should be Linux apps in Linux, not windows apps in Linux. By keeping this idea for such a long time that Windows apps must be run on Linux is only diluting Linux on the whole. Wine actually advertises Windows, not Linux.
The existence of Wine tries to prove that those Windows apps are much better than the Linux ones, and tells users in a way that, if there's no ability to run Windows apps on Linux, the Linux distros are not good enough. The existence of Wine is actually detrimental to Linux.
None of the other OSs, Windows, iOS, MacOS etc are interested in creating a way to run Linux apps on them, for it only dilutes that OS. (Except for WSL, but that's calculated and planned.) There are Window apps for Android, but MS has to create them themselves under Android's specs.
Running Windows apps on Linux through Wine is like running a Diesel vehicle with petrol. That kills the engine!
In the Linux world, Wine should not be advertised, for it in turn advertises Windows.
9 • OstroL you overlook a matter here (by MadmanRB on 2019-07-01 12:03:21 GMT from United States)
There is still a lot of windows software that is 32bit only and while its nice to use linux native apps there are some cases where its not viable.
For example what about accessibility apps? Linux does have them but there are some windows only accessibility apps that many favor over their linux counterparts.
And then we have games, yes i know that seems like a frivolous use of a computer but hey if people want to use their computer for gaming let them do so.
And this isnt just about "living in the past" either. A lot of printers have drivers that are 32bit only
skype is 32bit only
What about playonlinux?
Or Lutris?
Its not just wine and steam here
Brother printer drivers remain 32bit only, even in 2019.
10 • 32 bit: (by dragonmouth on 2019-07-01 13:00:36 GMT from United States)
I agree with OstroL. Why is there so much concern about Windows apps among the Linux community?! Instead of catering to the Windows crowd, Linux developers should put their efforts towards creating new or improving current applications so that the need for Wine and Windows is eliminated or at least severely reduced. The continual use of Wine and other emulators shows everybody that Linux developers are admitting that Linux programs are inferior to Windows ones.
On a different tack. Linux community loves to brag that revitalizing and extending the usefulness of computers that are no longer able to run Windows is one the major reasons for using Linux. Eliminating 32 bit libraries will consign millions of still perfectly useful PCs to the scrap heat, contributing to environmental pollution. It will also make liars out of Linux proponents.
11 • Nothing to worry about. (by Garon on 2019-07-01 13:04:51 GMT from United States)
As far as the 32-bit problem goes, I don't really see it as a problem. 32-bit will be phased out all over the world at some point in the future, (even in third world countries). I cannot see having problems with WINE as being harmful to the Linux ecosystem. Using a program that only supports Microsoft Windows seems a little hypocritical in my opinion. There is no more software freedom using WINE in Linux then there would be just using MS Windows. It's the same way with games and Steam. Another thing that also bothers me is that no pressure is being put on the developers of all this 32-bit software to rewrite it for 64-bit. All the pressure is being put on Linux distribution developers to find a solution. It seems a bit unfair. I'm sure there will be a solution to this 32-bit disturbance in the Linux Force. Change your distro, change your applications, or go back to using MS Windows and not worry about it (if you don't value freedom).
See how easy that was. : p
12 • Good point (by Garon on 2019-07-01 13:09:31 GMT from United States)
@10,
Good point about the hardware. I didn't think about the problems that could pose. what did you mean about, "It will also make liars out of Linux proponents". Thanks.
13 • @8 and @10: religion or tool? (by curious on 2019-07-01 13:15:48 GMT from Germany)
You both illustrate one extreme of the two ways of looking at an operating system:
Is it a belief system, something that must be defended against the heathens or non-believers and must be better than any other?
Or is it a tool, a means to an end, something to make your computer work and provide functionality?
I couldn't care less what my OS is called, as long as my computer does what I want and I can run the software I want - and I don't want the choice of OS to limit that more than absolutely necessary. That is why WINE and other compatibility layers or emulators are good and useful things.
Also, it is often not a question of whether a Linux app or a Windows app is "better", but simply what I, the owner and user of the computer, am used to and more productive with. Somebody else might choose a different app, which is perfectly fine, as long as they can run their favourite app on whatever OS is on their computer.
14 • Choice, Software Freedom and the real world (by Xymox on 2019-07-01 14:05:17 GMT from United States)
While I can understand some of the apprehension at catering to windows software in gnu/linux, I think the people are missing quite a bit of real world scenarios. I am talking about those of us who simply need to multitask and have extreme responsibility regarding our work. We are expected to maintain or use a host of gnu/linux specific software (which we can't really do on windows) yet also *NEED* to churn out polished and professional media content. Gimp is great for photo work but video editing can be quite lacking on the gnu side. Kdenlive might be great for a small school or family project but it does not cut it for freelancers that are under contractual obligation to continually churn highly polished video content (often with use of specific filters and plugins that dont have a gnu/linux counterpart).
It is very easy to take a firm stance and draw a line in the sand if one is only doing more casual work like web browsing (primarily) and less quantity of more intensive tasks (daily video, sometimes multiple videos per day), extensive audio remastering and the like. I won't even get started on things like DVD and Blu Ray authoring, but that is another arena gnu linux is lacking in. Are there options for that? Yes. Are they the types of options that organizations and businesses that shelled out thousands will necessarily be happy? Not really, and that is unfortunate. That being said, there are also certain software solutions that absolutely are best met via gnu linux.
The big concern for me here is that of primary host OS and related implications. I find it painfully ironic that in a general sub-movement of software freedom and philosophy, so many would resort to statist-tactics of control over others and cursory scenario examination. That may ultimately force freelancers, power users and high obligation users to endure the annoyance of stopping workflow to boot into win on a dual boot setup...or just use windows as a daily driver with a gnu linux OS in a virtual machine. Why is that not good for open and free software? Such users would essentially enter a bit of an insulated chamber, literally only using the virtual machine for a number subjective and specific tasks. They would be unlikely to use a wider variety of gnu linux software (e.g., music players or the gnu version of GIMP and similar software) if the host OS can run something natively faster (such as Win GIMP) Less potential for bug reports and overall usage within the gnu OS doesn't seem like the insulation will serve gnu linux overall; users will just have to go back to drawing lines in the sand again.
15 • 32-bit (by dogma on 2019-07-01 15:02:34 GMT from United States)
I have a backup laptop that’s 32-bit. If I had a reasonable way to put an LED backlight into it, I’d still use it somewhat regularly, as I like the keyboard, I like the 4:3 display, etc.
16 • 32-bit libraries in Wine (by Fox on 2019-07-01 15:43:41 GMT from United States)
@8 and @10. For those of us who collaborate with non-Linux users in the real world, access to Windows software can be necessary. I am one such person; I collaborate with other scientists on research publications. It would be nice to use LibreOffice, but it isn’t 100% compatible with MS Word. No Linux word processing app is. So I use MS Word (and PowerPoint for the same reason on Wine. (Crossover actually.) The version that runs best (2010) needs those 32-bit libraries. If I couldn’t use it directly on Linux, I would have to dual boot, and that would be quite often.
17 • I agree with @8 and @10 (by user on 2019-07-01 16:31:54 GMT from France)
The argument of those who want 32-bit maintained is that Linux users want the "freedom" to use Windows software without paying for Windows OS.
18 • Windows apps are better than Linux? (by user on 2019-07-01 16:39:23 GMT from France)
@ 8
"Wine tries to prove that Windows apps are better than Linux ones"
@13, @14, @ 16
Are saying it very clearly in their comments/arguments!!!
19 • Never a religion (by Garon on 2019-07-01 16:49:12 GMT from United States)
@13,14,16
I do believe that you took me wrong on several layers. There are several among our little cult that feel it is wrong to use closed source software at any time. Alas I am not one of them. I do a lot of PLC programing with robotics and automation. There is no other way to run this software without using MS Windows. Yes, computers are just tools. Tools for work and tools for pleasure. Even in Windows I have the 32-bit / 64-bit nightmare. Some of my automation and PLC software will not run under 64-bit. As with a lot of people I have to use what the company provides. Right now I have a 64-bit host and a 32-bit guest VM running on my company laptop. Does the IT department hate Linux? Of course not. It's what's on the servers. Still I ask the question, if people really need MS Windows programs badly for what they do, then why use Linux at all. Personally I do it for the enjoyment factor. Others do it for the kind of work they do. I also like the open source factor. To each his own, but don't tell the zealots that.
By the way, none of my work software will run under Crossover or WINE.
20 • Replacing Wine and in defense of games (by Bobbie Sellers on 2019-07-01 17:15:52 GMT from United States)
Well if you have to use Windows programs a way
to do that would be via a virtual machine if you
cannot get the 32 bit libraries you need to use
Wine, Dual-booting is its own problem.
Games may be the most important use of a
computer. They fill in otherwise useless time
and may help with keyboarding. The entertainment
value of a game may be very important to people
in stressful work.
21 • Running native apps on their own OSs (by OstroL on 2019-07-01 19:03:08 GMT from Poland)
I have a 32 bit Windows on a 64 bit device and 64 bit Windows on a 64 bit device, and they are not set to dual booting. I also have a 64 bit Windows on 64 bit device that multi boot with Linuxes and Phoenix OS (Android). And also a fully dedicated Linux only box that multi boot only Linuxes. I am not going to throw away Windows that came with any of the devices that I paid for, whether it was just a 10$ OEM Windows. So, if I badly need a special Windows app, they run natively on the Windows OS.
I don't use Wine/Crossover on principle. Never used them. I have nothing against Windows, so I use Windows apps without any grudge. And, I do that on Windows, not on something that secretly propagate Windows (Wine/Crossover). Today, we have a problem because of that. Linux can't go forward faster, because some "Windows apps on Linux" guys are demanding a slow down. Linux doesn't have to follow Windows, it can and should create its own paths. Let others follow (WSL for example).
If anyone wants to use Windows apps, then do it on Windows. Pay for the OS, OEM or not, just as you pay for the games. Don't use Windows apps on Linux through an emulator, (or non-emulator, or whatever). It is just a dirty hack, that's all. And, it propagate Windows. Help Linux grow, not Windows. A company at Redmond would look after it.
22 • Ubuntu's plan to drop 32-bit packages (by Flavio on 2019-07-01 19:36:22 GMT from Brazil)
I have dropped Windows 3 years ago, but I will not drop my workfiles from the last 30 years. So, I don't start any new work with any software other than Linux software, but I need to keep my old works. For this and other reasons, I started moving out from any dependency on Canonical, since 2017.
It is sad. Kubuntu was my "main" distro from 2009 to 2016. But I cannot stay dependant on corporative decisions which don't keep in mind its desktop users.
I was testing Kubuntu 19.10 (development branch), but recently it has forced me to replace chromium.deb package with chromium.snap2 package, and it is not what I want. I have never wanted to use Snap (like not all people wanted to use Unity, Mir, Upstart).
23 • What's on here - Linux or Windows? (by Gerhard Goetzhaber on 2019-07-01 20:07:30 GMT from Austria)
I'm wondering about that few guys making it a matter herein! Does Ostrol stand all alone?
Me, I'd been successful with having stepped over to Linux completely. It'd been a project that lasted years but was lastly a win over all:
O.k., there are cases of emergency as for instance you might have received a disk from your radiologist's containing some software requiring Windows and .NET while even missing image files declared in a way thet they can be opened under Unixoid systems as well. Such a situation may have you "legally" ask for Wine. However, most Linux users seen talking about seem to hold Linux as atoy only, living all besides the great possibilities the free OS would offer to them if they just experienced it.
Drivers to get periphery work (as I wrote in @6), o.k.! But just running more and more Windows apps under Linux?
If there will be too few serious Linux desktop users this might kill Linux some day, forcing us to seek our fortune with BSDs: Oh Lord, help us!
24 • Linux v Windows (by JediKnight on 2019-07-01 20:42:31 GMT from United Kingdom)
Most of us buy a desktop or laptop which boots to windows by default. Its installed on the HD or SSD and the ID to reinstall Windows s probably hard coded into your BIOS.
Given that large HDs are cheap these days the simplest solution to running Windows or Linux applications is to purchase a cheap HD and install Linux on that. I have several gigabit HDs purchased for around £34.
A simple screwdriver will allow swapping of Operating systems.
Thats what I use and it is a lot less hassle than dual booting which I've done in the past.
Why on earth would you kill performance of programmes you want to run by using an emulator?
Horses for courses.
25 • @24 JediKnight: (by dragonmouth on 2019-07-01 21:49:28 GMT from United States)
No need for a screwdriver to swap O/Ss. I use removable trays with a dock. Pull an O/S out and push another one in. I have HDs with Windows, various Linux and BSD distros. Each O/S runs natively on the system. No emulators, no containers, no VMs.
26 • Wine, Linux Desktop Market Share (by Kim on 2019-07-02 01:11:21 GMT from Austria)
Funny comments: "Wine promoting Windows ..."
Imho Wine only exists because a few Linux enthusiasts desperately wanted to run programs which would otherwise have been unavailable. The microscopic desktop share of Linux (about 2% as of June 2019, Windows 88%) makes it absolutely impossible to catch up with Windows in terms of useful commercial programs such as CAD, CAM, etc. Students who are trying to mimic successful Windows programs are usually starting with great enthusiasm and only a fraction of them will ever get their project beyond alpha. Most companies simply don't care about Linux because chances that they'll earn enough to justify their efforts are pretty slim. That is exactly the place where Wine fits in. So for a certain type of users Wine mainly keeps Linux alive rather than promoting Windows.
On the other hand I can gladly acknowledge that a few Linux distros nowadays are stable enough to offer a viable desktop environment for general use. That is why I am using both OSes on a daily basis without being biased towards any of them.
27 • Debian (by Tim on 2019-07-02 01:39:18 GMT from United States)
@22
I've had the same thoughts as you. Ubuntu MATE has been my go to Linux for years, but I've always seem it as a version of Debian that was quicker to get running. I'm not really interested in any major structural changes, so I started to switch back to pure Debian.
The buster rc2 had some install issues for me, but once I got through them it seems like an extremely rock solid version of Debian. It shares a kernel with my favorite Ubuntu MATE (4.19) so I'm not surprised. It has a good selection of software and I could see myself using it for it
28 • Continued (by Tim on 2019-07-02 01:40:29 GMT from United States)
Sorry, bad touch screen.
I could see myself using it for its 5 year life cycle.
29 • 32-bit reasons?, and dual boot (by Angel on 2019-07-02 03:31:46 GMT from Philippines)
I'm sure many people use 32-bit software, judging by the survey results. Ubuntu has relented and clarified. No matter what, 32-bit will be available for some years. Good for those who need it. But some of the reasons given make me scratch my head.
Wine: Great if you want to run old versions of MS Office and things of that sort, but CAD/CAM and video editing? Be serious! When I want to use Windows software, I use Windows.
Third World: Ever hear of the smartphone? My Filipina wife has a laptop, touch-screen and all, which she very seldom uses. I've had the SSD out of it for 2 weeks now, and she has not asked about it. Family in the hinterlands have no PCs. They use smartphones, as she does. The only locals around here who own a laptop are an old couple next door; (yes, a 32-bit netbook,) but you would have to pry their Windows 7 out of their cold dead hands. Students buying PCs for school use, new or used, will get 64-bit. Maybe you'll find some 32-bit PCs at some schools, businesses and government offices, but none are asking for Linux so they can run their software on wine. Linux saves? Not really, just about all software in the 3rd worlds and most of Asia just "fell off the truck."
@24 -Dual-boot harder than pulling swapping drives? I can reboot, switch and be back in less than 2 minutes, hitting a few keys. How is that harder? I do have an SSD in the DVD player bay of one laptop. I can hit F12 when starting and boot from there, but no screwdrivers needed.
30 • Re: Ubuntu's plan to drop 32-bit packages (by Daniel on 2019-07-02 06:04:40 GMT from United States)
A potential problem with a PPA using Launchpad was outlined in www.winehq.org/pipermail/wine-devel/2019-June/147991.html, but as the headache has been delayed until after Ubuntu 20.04, it's not an immediate issue.
The idea of 32-bit application support in Ubuntu being dependent on frozen 20.04 libraries seems unappealing the further time progresses beyond 2020; certainly for those who use the most recent version of 32-bit Wine, the same general pitfall as mentioned regarding 18.04 packages in the post @ discourse.ubuntu.com/t/intel-32bit-packages-on-ubuntu-from-19-10-onwards/11263/121 will in time exist for 20.04 packages. For 32-bit proprietary software that is no longer developed, frozen 32-bit libraries (in sandboxed containers) won't really matter.
I don't expect Wine to be significantly redesigned in a way that allows 64-bit Wine to run 32-bit Windows programs. I'm not going to finger-wag at people for using Wine, nor am I going to outright admonish a distribution for discontinuing 32-bit package builds. Different people have different wants and priorities. I will say that the quality of communication prior to the June 18 Ubuntu announcement was lacking, but I am glad Ubuntu devs ended up extending the time frame due to the pushback they received.
Assuming Ubuntu does freeze select 32-bit packages after 20.04 (while having dropped others), for those Ubuntu users that in the years after 2020 feel they need newer versions of those packages than Ubuntu 20.04 provides, I would question the point of anyone creating a containerized 32-bit runtime environment based on another distro (e.g. Debian, etc) for use on Ubuntu instead of just switching to another distro altogether.
31 • 32 v 64 bit OS (by zykoda on 2019-07-02 06:37:10 GMT from United Kingdom)
When 32bit precision is sufficient for an application running the code on a 64bit multicore CPU or GPU with CUDA, openmp or openacc directives can yield significant performance gains over similar 64bit code. At present the gcc compiler collection lags behind the Portland Group compilers of which the community edition is freely available and released twice annually.
32 • cost (by anticapitalista on 2019-07-02 08:19:36 GMT from Greece)
@24 - Not everyone lives in a country where hardware is 'cheap'. For some (many?) £34 is a months income.
33 • 32 bit (by Jim on 2019-07-02 10:22:46 GMT from United States)
Ubuntu can do what they want. They are under no obligation to anyone. I can do the same, and quit using Ubuntu anytime I want.
34 • 32-bit (by Chris on 2019-07-02 12:28:38 GMT from United States)
I run 64-bit Linux but I'm a gamer, so I obviously run 32-bit games on a 64-bit OS. I have over 100 Linux compatible games in my Steam library, and close to that in my GOG library. Even some of the GOG games require 32-bit libs to be installed to run the game. If Canonical wants to take away my ability to run those games on Ubuntu or any OS based on Ubuntu, I'll switch to another OS. I've been using Ubuntu-based operating systems for about 10 years, but I'm not married to them. That's the great thing about Linux, there are plenty of options out there.
An example of a Linux distribution that only has a 64-bit .iso but still maintains 32-bit packages is Solus OS. I have that installed on an Alienware Steam Machine, and it works great for playing my Steam games. GOG games work great on it too. So, no sweat Canonical, it's been a fun ride, but I'll drop you before I'll drop my games.
35 • 32-bit (by Sanjay on 2019-07-02 12:43:16 GMT from India)
I am using 64 bit OS (kubuntu 18.04) for android development and for Web Development that still need some of 32 bit library so untill we don't have any substitute and Canonical remove, then I have to move to Manjaro or OpenSUSE ....
36 • Ubuntu's plan to drop 32-bit packages (by Flavio on 2019-07-02 15:11:08 GMT from Brazil)
@27 I have been trying Debian (5, 6, 8...) KDE since 2009 but sadly I have never achieved to make it work so fine as Kubuntu, Mint KDE or KDE Neon. I have a Debian Testing for 3 years, now (Jessie > Stretch > Buster), and it has never broken. Just, doesn't work so fine, to me.
So I have been trying other distros. ─ Mageia, openSUSE, PCLinuxOS, Arch, Slackware are fine, and I think I will stay with them.
I will keep KDE Neon (Bionic) and Mint 18 KDE (Xenial), too, while possible.
37 • @32, Cost (by Angel on 2019-07-02 15:15:24 GMT from Philippines)
"For some (many?) £34 is a months income" .Quite a few people around here earning not much more than that, but I assure you, at that income level people have much more pressing concerns than the cost of hardware.
38 • @ 34 (by akoy on 2019-07-02 20:37:54 GMT from United Kingdom)
"So, no sweat Canonical, it's been a fun ride, but I'll drop you before I'll drop my games."
Do you pay the same amount of money to Ubuntu that you pay for games?
39 • Windows 32-bit software (by Dave Postles on 2019-07-02 21:16:22 GMT from United Kingdom)
I inherited a Compaq box from my wife who wanted something more current. It ran Windows 7 64-bit. It refused to install MapInfo 4, Minitab 14, and Ucinet 6, all 32-bit. These run fine in Wine on Linux. Perhaps I'm missing something.
40 • buster (by Tim on 2019-07-03 00:21:19 GMT from United States)
@36
Your experience is similar to mine, except i use MATE instead of KDE. I've bounced between Debian Stable, Debian Testing, LMDE, Mint, Ubuntu, and now for 3 years, I've been very happy with Ubuntu MATE.
It's only been for the past several days, but running the MATE desktop Debian Buster seems to be one of the best I've used.
It's not an easy setup, and there were definitely issues to sort out. To be fair I was using an rc2 installer and not a release. But the reward has been a system running as well as my favorite Ubuntu MATE (18.10) and I'm really excited about the idea that I could get 5 years out of the install. This is definitely the best Debian stable (compared to its peers) that I've used since 6 or 7.
41 • 39 Windows 32-bit (by Angel on 2019-07-03 06:20:13 GMT from Philippines)
Backward compatibility is not perfect. Nothing to do with 32 or 64-bit. WIndows does have its dependencies. Newer versions of Minitab run on 32 or 64-bit Win 7 and 10. MapInfo 4 is quite old (1995?) so probably nothing doing there. The other two are not as old, so they may run in 7 incompatibility mode if you haven't tried it. No guarantee. Wine, on the other hand, can't run most newer 32-bit software. It's still lost somewhere in XP SP2 or 3.
42 • Re 39 Windows 32-bit (by mini on 2019-07-03 10:42:55 GMT from France)
@ 39 "Windows 7 64-bit. It refused to install MapInfo 4, Minitab 14, and Ucinet 6, all 32-bit." >>> "Perhaps I'm missing something."
As Angel from Philippines already says, use compatibility mode.
(Right Click on program's shortcut, .exe file, or installation file - Click on Properties - Click on the Compatibility tab - Check the box: Run this program in compatibility mode for - Click on the drop down menu arrow and select Windows XP)
Have you even bother to do a search for "run in compatibility mode"?
43 • cost (by anticapitalista on 2019-07-03 11:37:20 GMT from Greece)
@37 - "Quite a few people around here earning not much more than that, but I assure you, at that income level people have much more pressing concerns than the cost of hardware."
That was exactly my point.
44 • @43 cost (by Angel on 2019-07-03 11:52:59 GMT from Philippines)
"That was exactly my point." Then I am missing something. @24's post was about dual-booting versus buying an HDD. I'll expand. People at that income level are not worrying about whether hardware is cheap, or about Linux, Windows, dual-booting, or even computing as a whole. They would be more concerned about the price of a kilo of rice.
45 • @43, dual vs hdd affordability (by Angel on 2019-07-03 13:10:44 GMT from Philippines)
I don't mean to seem too contrary. I appreciate very much the work you do in MX an AntiX. With that said, it's just that something about your argument strikes me as wrong. Whether someone else somewhere can or cannot afford to do what @24 does has no bearing on whether he should or should not do it. And when you bring up bare subsistence earnings, it reminds me too much of the old maternal custom of admonishing their young ones to eat all their food because there were children starving in China. The one is irrelevant to the other. What @ 24 does I find inefficient, but if he wants to the time and money, they are his time and money, and whether someone else can afford it has no relevance.
46 • Windows 32-bit software (by Dave Postles on 2019-07-03 13:58:55 GMT from United Kingdom)
@42 Nope, I didn't bother because I am not a Windows user. I haven't used Windows since 2005 (when I was compelled my my employer).
47 • cost (by anticapitalista on 2019-07-03 15:10:32 GMT from Greece)
@44,45 - Post 24 says "Given that large HDs are cheap these days the simplest solution to running Windows or Linux applications is to purchase a cheap HD and install Linux on that. I have several gigabit HDs purchased for around £34."
I answered that £34 is not cheap so this option is not a 'universal' one. My post was simply to point out that what some see as a cheap, simple solution is not the case to others.
48 • Re, Re 39 Windows 32-bit (by mini on 2019-07-03 17:17:04 GMT from United Kingdom)
@46 Big surprise! It's obvious that you didn't know how to use Windows and didn't bother to look for a solution, that's why I wonder why do you say that "Windows 7 64-bit refused to install" soft that "run fine in Wine on Linux."
I'm not looking for a fight, just that is annoying to see people complaining about any OS when they are to lazy to even look for a solution.
49 • back to 32bits (Linux) (by Titus_Groan on 2019-07-03 19:16:42 GMT from New Zealand)
Canonical, as a Business, is making decisions, as a Business.
That it affects "downstream" distros is a side issue.
That those "downstream" distros have chosen to take a shortcut with their distro and choose to ride on the work of and make use of a business product should not be surprised, that a business decision made by "upstream" may be unpopular with their users.
There are choices for such "distros",
Either give up 32bit support when Ubuntu does, or become a real "distro" and maintain all the libraries, both 32 and 64bit, that Ubuntu formally did.
If 32bit support is REQUIRED by a user, then those users will have to locate a distro that still meets their hardware/software needs.
Some users may have a learning curve ahead.
I would be starting to look now, if I was affected.
50 • @46, WIne, Windows (by Angel on 2019-07-04 01:34:24 GMT from Philippines)
You are the reverse side of those who say Linux sucks and that's why they've never used it.
51 • @ 48, 50 (by OstroL on 2019-07-04 08:51:37 GMT from Poland)
Linux doesn't suck, and actually the Windows users don't say that, for they don't use Linux and don't care, mostly don't care.. Linux, actually is very good, even excellent. It doesn't have to run any Windows apps for that matter. Linux runs excellent Linux apps, quite enough for a normal user to live with, without yearning for another OS and its apps.
If anyone wants to run another OS platforms apps, get that OS or get a device that runs that OS. There's no sin in using many OSs and many different devices. Don't use emulators, for this is not the '90s. And, emulators are...well, emulates, but never good enough, always running after never catching up. The OEM Windows 10 is about $10, so not much and the laptop comes fully configured. Disks are larger, so you can have quite a lot of Linuxes (@20GB per one).
52 • @ 51 That's what we're saying (by mini on 2019-07-04 10:06:33 GMT from United Kingdom)
"Linux doesn't suck, and actually the Windows users don't say that, for they don't use Linux"
Windows doesn't suck either, actually, but (some) "Linux users" say that, even though they don't use Windows. (see @39 and @46)
I use whatever works best, probably like Angel, you and others do. Now, I'm on Linux Mint; I play 32-bit old games on a machine running Windows XP (with no internet connection); I have over 200 silly old Games on floppy disks, and play them on a machine with a Z80 CPU and CPM operating system.
I don't expect to run my games on others OS, I'm not complaining and I'm not blaming any OS because I don't know (or bother to find out) how it works.
53 • @ 52 (by OstroL on 2019-07-04 10:23:40 GMT from Poland)
"Windows doesn't suck either, actually, but (some) "Linux users" say that, even though they don't use Windows."
Oh, they are simply misguided people, living in a well (frog).
54 • I'll use what I like, thank you very much (by curious on 2019-07-04 14:13:52 GMT from Germany)
@8, 21, 51
Please stop telling me what software to use or not to use. As I have already stated, emulators and compatibility layers are good and useful things.
Especially for running old Windows apps, Linux with WINE can in some cases be BETTER than Windows 10, so I will most definitely try to use that. And that does not mean that I want to make any operating system grow or shrink.
Whether I have (or get) a device to run any other OS is not relevant.
"This is not the 90s" is certainly not an argument. On the contrary, in the 90s, computing power was much lower, so emulation would often not work. This isn't the 2050s either.
55 • Dangers of Emulators & "Compatibilty Layers" (by Dr. E.S. Ktorp on 2019-07-04 15:01:47 GMT from United States)
Anyone claiming that emulators are not a threat should read about OS/2. DOS programs ran so well, there was no incentive for anyone to write native OS/2 programs. You will note that nobody uses OS/2 anymore.
56 • Dangers of Emulators & "Compatibilty Layers" (by Angel on 2019-07-05 10:00:37 GMT from Philippines)
The commercial failure of OS/2 is a tad more complex than you make it look.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/11/half-an-operating-system-the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-os2/5/
Today there are ways other than emulators to run non-native software. So are they also dangerous? When or if I need to install and old Windows software in Linux, I fire up an XP VM. It uses little memory, integrates quite well, and I need not worry whether it's gold, silver, or will sink like lead. I don't see VMs as a danger, and the only danger I see from Wine is to XP. If and when Wine progresses, it may be a different thing.
Number of Comments: 56
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