 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 876, 27 July 2020 |
Welcome to this year's 30th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Keeping computers and networks secure is a process involving many approaches. The software we use is certainly a component, but there are other, non-technical, factors to consider. There is a human element to security, a balancing of approaches and procedures to consider. This week in our News section we discuss a few security tips. First we hear from the IPFire team on locking down and maintaining a network. Then we share tips from Fedora Magazine on how to migrate from the secure copy (scp) tool to the more flexible rsync command. We are also pleased to share some positive information about newer versions of the Linux kernel using less energy. Then, in our Questions and Answers column, we discuss different types of release models and how they stay up to date in different ways. This week we also share a review of the Artix Linux distribution. Bernhard Hoffmann took this project for a spin and he reports on his experiences with the various editions in our Feature Story. Though we mostly talk about Linux, in particular GNU/Linux distributions, on this website there are plenty of other open source operating systems in the world. We would like to know if you use any of them in our Opinion Poll. Please let us know which open source, non-Linux platforms you are using in the comments. Plus we are pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: Artix Linux 20200125
- News: IPFire shares security tips, Fedora offers guide for switching from scp to rsync, Manjaro user tests kernel power consumption
- Questions and answers: Updating a rolling release versus a fixed release distribution
- Released last week: SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP2, GeckoLinux 152, REMnux 7
- Torrent corner: CloudyReady, GeckoLinux, IPFire, KDE neon, Omarine
- Upcoming releases: Tails 4.9
- Opinion poll: Open source alternatives to Linux
- New distributions: Laxer OS, AlterLinux, Serene Linux, RoshanTech POS OS, dahliaOS
- Reader comments
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| Feature Story (by Bernhard Hoffmann) |
Artix Linux 20200125
This is one of the lesser known distributions but it has garnered quite a few fans in its relatively short existence. Artix Linux, from hereon Artix in short, has a reader supplied rating of 8.4 as an average of 94 opinions on DistroWatch at the time of writing, which isn't bad for a distribution that is slightly more involved in terms of technical knowledge and experience a user should possess. Not to discourage the curious and the newcomers, but it is not an install and forget type of Linux though not really that hard to use either.
Artix is a systemd-free fork of Arch Linux that grew out of the Arch-OpenRC and Manjaro-OpenRC projects joining forces to provide installable images with alternative init solutions to Arch users who were unhappy with the parent moving to systemd. In fact, Arch was one of the early adopters. While in the beginning only OpenRC might have been offered, Artix now also provides install images using the runit and s6 init software, "because PID1 must be simple, secure and stable." [1] There's great variety and choice on the download page, but only the x86_64 architecture is supported. The project provides Artix base images of 520MB each, similar to a net-install or the Arch install image, and with Cinnamon, MATE, Plasma, Xfce, LXDE and LXQt ISO files for almost every major desktop environment. They weigh in between 939MB and 1.1GB depending on your chosen flavour. The page makes it clear what to expect with these, i.e. only a basic set of applications is included to get the user started: a file manager, a media player (MPV), a network manager, a document viewer, a web browser and the graphical installer. It is then up to us to add applications and shape the system to our needs and liking.
There are also community supported images labelled community-gtk and community-qt which are much larger at 2.3GB and 2.8GB respectively.
You can get every flavour with any of the three supported init systems. Official images seem to be respun now and then. At the time of writing most stable images are dated from February 2020, with the Xfce ISO labelled 20200506 apparently released in May. Further down the page there are also weekly snapshots that I guess incorporate the latest package updates, and testing images for GNOME and i3, again for all three init systems. That's a huge library to maintain and gives us a hint of how dedicated folks behind this project are. Should you have trouble with the latest version a few older ISOs have been archived and are accessible at the bottom.
Artix has been mentioned a few times in the comments section and having used ArchBang for a few years without the need to reinstall I'm quite comfortable with the Arch way. I quit this branch of Linux distributions when they moved to systemd so I kind of fall into their target audience and thought I would give it a try.
It needs to be said from the outset that this installation is only for testing purposes as I usually prefer an unchanging underlying base these days so as to avoid surprises with incompatible libraries and whatnot when gaming or just wanting to watch a movie with Kodi. While this has never really been an issue with Arch when I was running it you do not want to find out that something isn't working when you just sat back ready to watch the football or a TV show. Try explaining to your wife that the last update might have hosed something. She'll want her PayTV and Netflix back the next day. So stable it is for me, you get the picture. However, if this goes well Artix may stay on this machine as a secondary option, replacing an unused Manjaro.
For my trials I went for the latest KDE Plasma and Cinnamon editions with runit. The nice thing is these are all live images so we can check them out first and then decide which one we like most. I had also tried the 20200125 OpenRC Cinnamon image previously and compared to the one using runit with the same date but did not notice any difference in boot times or otherwise. For various reasons runit it is for me.
Live mode
Booting from the media brings up a menu of several boot options. We can set timezone, keyboard layout and language independently from each other as these are not linked, handy for example if you want your interface language to be British English but have a different keyboard. We can then tell the boot loader which media to boot from - optical media or USB. In practice this does not make any difference. If you choose CD but a USB stick is inserted it will boot this one anyway with a short delay.
Artix Linux 20200214 -- The Artix boot screen
(full image size: 708kB, resolution: 1021x768 pixels)
At the bottom there's an empty line where we can edit boot options. We get a very short boot sequence showing the Artix logo and kernel in use and it's off to the desktop.
I tested both the Plasma and Cinnamon editions in live mode. Multimedia keys on my Dell laptop are supported. Sleep and waking up worked fine. The lock screen has a short timeout and if you are left wondering how to log in again the password is 'artix'.
Artix Linux 20200214 -- The live Cinnamon desktop
(full image size: 735kB, resolution: 1280x800 pixels)
Both desktops are almost identically set up, only differentiated slightly by their particular theming and menus. In Cinnamon we get the usual links to access computer, home directory and Trash (or Wastebasket in British English), plus some additional links named Configuration and one for the particular init system chosen. They are essentially pointing to different sections of the same file to help us get started, with tips on how to set hostname and keymap in the virtual console, and configure ALSA and user permissions (OpenRC only). Troubleshooting includes some useful hints, for example if one should encounter problems with D-Bus in the KDE Plasma edition. The Readme file shows where a log of the live session can be found. KDE is a bit cleaner and does not include desktop specific shortcuts.
Artix Linux 20200214 -- The KDE Plasma desktop
(full image size: 742kB, resolution: 1280x800 pixels)
One thing to note is that if choosing a different language than English translations in Cinnamon are inconsistent. As an example, even though I chose German keyboard and language at the GRUB boot screen, links on the desktop remained in (American) English, as did parts of the menu relating to all applications, places and recent documents. Only the sub-menus of the software section were translated. The K menu was fully translated and not pre-populated with any favourites on the left.
The Plasma edition is also a bit more sparse with the wallpapers, with only the default Artix and Plasma 5.18 backgrounds included. The Cinnamon edition offers a large choice of Artix artwork plus several others. Interestingly, these were translated so it's a bit hit and miss on this front.
Artix Linux 20200214 -- Wallpaper selection in the Cinnamon edition
(full image size: 805kB, resolution: 1280x800 pixels)
Internal hard drives can easily be mounted by clicking on devices in the file manager.
This all looked good if you're not too fussy about the localization. The important thing is that the keyboard was set correctly to my chosen locale, in this case de_DE. I decided to proceed with the Cinnamon edition for further testing from hereon.
VirtualBox
First up was a test of the live session in VirtualBox. Mouse integration works. Ability to change the display resolution - check, but not in the resolution required for fullscreen. This persisted in the installed system. I need 1920x1080 and for full display and for some reason this wasn't possible so in order not to have to scroll in the VirtualBox window the highest practical resolution I could get was 1680x1050, or 1440x900 in windowed mode. I'm sure this can be fixed but it's not working right from the start.
Artix Linux 20200214 -- Installed in VirtualBox with a mix of German and English in the display settings
(full image size: 603kB, resolution: 1440x900 pixels)
I then proceeded to install Artix on a virtual disk which when finished gives us pretty much the same experience as in the live session, sans the helpful desktop shortcuts, so live mode is an accurate representation of the system, as it is supposed to be.
Installing Artix
In the KDE edition there's a shortcut to the installer on the desktop which can also be found under system settings. There seems to be a bug in that the installer shows up on the desktop only if the session has been started with the default US locale, at least it did not show up when selecting several other language settings I tried - German, Dutch, Polish and Czech.
Clicking on it opened a box that turns out to be the Calamares installer. In the Cinnamon edition however there was no obvious way to install the system and only after going through all applications in the menu was I able to locate the installer.
The installer starts in a window and walks us through the usual steps of choosing location and language, keyboard layout, partitioning scheme and setting up users. It also gives us a summary of our selections which really should be read before committing everything to disk. The customization module for various sets of software mentioned for an earlier iteration of the Artix installer seems to have been stripped out again.
For some reason Calamares insisted on installing Artix to the SD card left in the slot so be careful here in the partitioning phase. Worse, even after designating several partitions on my sda drive with mount points to Artix it still chose my SD card to install the boot loader on. As this entry is right at the bottom it is easy to overlook and I had almost missed it had I not read the summary provided before the install commenced for real.
The first boot up after finishing ended at a blinking cursor, with the hard drive light showing intermittent disk activity but apparently to no avail. I decided to pull the plug so to speak and booted again. The second time all went well and I was presented with the Cinnamon desktop.
Running Artix
Starting up, the distribution on another partition had been recognized and added to the GRUB menu.
The system booted from an SSD in a matter of seconds, shutdown time was incredibly fast and not even worth mentioning. Every interaction just felt incredibly fast and light. The main thing I noticed was that the Cinnamon environment was not localised or translated at all, just like in live mode, except parts of the menu.
A desktop notification let me know that wireless networks were available. Network manager is in use and after entering my credentials I was off to a good start. Despite the wallpapers, theming is not Artix's strong side. The default Artix-dark theme is a bit plasticky. A few nice Matefaenza icons are included but not used by default, which immediately give it a bit of a Mint flair. Luckily Cinnamon's themes panel makes downloading additional themes easy as pie after a quick refresh.
The entire fresh install used about 4.2GB drive space and htop showed 550MB of memory in use. As noted in the introduction, the project aims at not including too much software to start with. You get the control panel and tools of the desktop environment, the Nemo file manager, the Atril document viewer, a screenshot tool, a picture viewer, MPV for playing videos and Midori as browser (Falkon with the Plasma desktop). We can add from here but there is no graphical package manager. Using "sudo pacman -Syu" we can update the system. Having used the last stable image from February 2020 there were 146 packages to the tune of 245MB to download, not really too much given that nearly five months have passed.
The entire update process took less than two minutes on a 10MB/s connection, including the automated running of build hooks. Unfortunately, upon reboot a problem already encountered at the first boot persisted, namely going into a blank screen, no cursor this time. Shutting down and rebooting the desktop came up as normal and the issue did not crop up again during subsequent smaller updates.
Artix Linux 20200214 -- Checking out software repositories with Pamac
(full image size: 269kB, resolution: 1280x800 pixels)
Time to add more applications. Several repositories have already been added for us. The more interesting ones for a broader choice are probably Extra and Community, and we could also add the AUR from Arch Linux. For the graphical package manager I tried Octopi and Pamac. Octopi requires gksu which was unavailable. Pamac works well but requires a lot of scrolling as it always shows installed packages first. For this reason I would recommend staying with pacman at the command line. If you want to use Pamac however, it provides easy access to the Arch User Repository with its contributed build scripts which needs to be enabled in settings and it also adds an update notification to the system tray. This makes keeping track just as convenient as some of the major distributions.
Artix Linux 20200214 -- The settings panel and red update notification
(full image size: 406kB, resolution: 1280x800 pixels)
I was able to install the latest Kodi from the official repositories (be sure to choose the kodi-x11 package), the client for my chosen VPN and the Brave browser from AUR so my requirements were met. There's also a link to the Brave package from the contributor of the build script for those who don't want or cannot spend a lot of time compiling. Overall this and the efficiency and pure speed of package management made me quite happy to be using Artix.
Artix Linux 20200214 -- Watching an old video file in MPV
(full image size: 758kB, resolution: 1280x800 pixels)
Multimedia codecs seem to be onboard from the start as I was able to watch several video formats.
Resources
After a few days running the system on and off I noticed that the battery drained rather qickly when compared to my other install on this machine and set about to investigate. Running the 5.7.8 kernel CPU usage was intense, consistently using around 50% across both cores with no other applications open. This meant with 1 hour 40 minutes the battery lasted less than half as long as with my other system.
Conclusion
I really like Artix because it is providing us with a fine line-up of ready-made images of various desktops combined with a choice of several alternative and probably underused init systems. It even introduced me to one I had not heard about, s6, and made me look more into the pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses of the different ones available. If these environments are not to your liking, there's always the minimal base install to build from the ground up.
Former Arch users who did not like the move to systemd will enjoy Artix, as will new users with a basic level of understanding and knowledge of what applications are available they would like to install. Anybody already experienced with the pacman syntax of updating and installing applications should be comfortable with it and not have much of a learning curve.
If you are looking for a fully localized system, at least with Cinnamon, there is additional work to do. Turns out the cinnamon-translations package is needed. Even after this though the menu entry for Advanced Network Configuration pointing to Network Manager stubbornly remains. Perhaps this package could in future be included just to bring the desktop experience up to par with KDE Plasma where out of the box localization does not seem to be a problem. I also made the observation that the Cinnamon desktop is slightly less responsive on the same machine than my Debian 10 Plasma instance on another partition. Opening the Nemo file manager takes a good 3-4 seconds on an SSD and battery drain is a concern.
Artix also has a wiki, a mailing list and a forum and the team can be contacted via IRC channel. This being essentially Arch Linux the parent distro's wiki can also be consulted. This means there is a great deal of documentation and support available for those willing to look and read, which is a pre-requisite with this type of distribution. If you are looking for a fully localized system, at least with Cinnamon, there is additional work to do. It also pays to keep an eye on the Artix home page. Just like with Arch, news, arising issues and changes that require manual intervention are posted here so one is not caught out by a potentially troublesome update. Happy camping!
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Hardware used in this review:
- Dell Latitude E4300, 13.3" notebook display 1280x800 (WXGA) used with external monitor
- 6GiB DDR3 RAM
- 250GB Samsung SSD 860 EVO,
- Intel Centrino Core2Duo 9300 @ 1.6GHz (up to 2.26 with Boost)
- 1066MHz FSB, USB 2.0
- Intel Mobile 4 Series Chipset integrated graphics
- Intel Corporation Ultimate N WiFi Link 5300 wireless
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To get an idea of the features, pros and cons of each of these you might consult this overview, for example, and check out the Gentoo and Arch wikis. You can hop directly to this comparison.
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Visitor supplied rating
Artix Linux has a visitor supplied average rating of: 9.2/10 from 177 review(s).
Have you used Artix Linux? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
IPFire shares security tips, Fedora offers guide for switching from scp to rsync, Manjaro user tests kernel power consumption
The IPFire team develops a distribution focused on security, and network security in particular. Since the software we run is only ever a small part of the security puzzle, the IPFire team has begun publishing a series of guides to keeping computers and networks secure. "When it comes to IT security, you will need to rely on the users sooner or later - think about being lured to enable macros in malicious MS-Office documents. This is why raising security awareness of both administrators and users is the first step to a less insecure network. Hence this post focuses on non-technical aspects and preemptive information security (sometimes abbreviated as "infosec") considerations." The first article gives a good overview of important tips to consider when trying to secure a computer network, whether it is at home or in an office.
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The scp secure copy program is a widely used method to transfer files between computers. However, due to some limitations and weaknesses in the scp protocol, the developers have suggested people should migrate to other methods of transferring files, such as the sftp (secure file transfer protocol) and rsync synchronization software. Fedora Magazine has published a guide on how to use rsync along with a comparison of how to perform similar tasks using both scp and rsync. "As part of the 8.0 pre-release announcement, the OpenSSH project stated that they consider the scp protocol outdated, inflexible, and not readily fixed. They then go on to recommend the use of sftp or rsync for file transfer instead. Many users grew up on the scp command, however, are not familiar with rsync." Though the guide is published on Fedora Magazine, it should be applicable across all Linux and BSD platforms.
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A member of the Manjaro Linux community was curious about benefits (or drawbacks) to using different versions of the Linux kernel with regards to power consumption. After doing some experiments with a Dell XPS 13 laptop, the results were posted. Power consumption was shown to be greatly reduced (from about 6.09 watts down to 3.47 watts) on a recent development snapshot of the kernel and the results were posted on Reddit. "I tried as soon as I had some spare time available to do a simple comparison between the idle power consumption with the actual 5.4 stable kernel (5.4.52-1-MANJARO) and the 5.8rc5 experimental kernel, as described in the aforementioned post. Both the tests were taken 5 minutes after a cold boot, at around 95% of battery charge. In both tests the laptop (Dell XPS 13 9343) was connected to a WiFi network, no external monitors attached, 50% brightness, TLP in battery mode."
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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) |
Updating a rolling release versus a fixed release distribution
Catching-up asks: Sometimes I see people saying that they're still on older versions of a particular distro, like say CentOS 7 or Debian 8. How do they do this? How are they updating the programs installed but not the operating system itself? Because if I were to install, say, Debian 9 and then updated it, wouldn't it just jump to 10?
DistroWatch answers: When it comes to updating the software included in Linux distributions there are two main approaches developers can take. The first is called a "rolling release" model. When new versions of applications become available in a rolling release distribution the new versions replace the old versions of software. This causes the whole operating system to be gradually updated over time as old components are replaced with new ones. Users who regularly install updates are continually upgrading their operating system to its latest version.
In other words, if you installed a rolling distribution such as Manjaro Linux 19.0 and downloaded all the available updates for it, you would effectively be running Manjaro Linux 20.0.
The second approach to upgrading software in a Linux distribution is called a "fixed release". In a fixed release, the included software is "frozen" at the time the distribution is published. New versions of applications are not introduced (with some very rare exceptions). When problems are found in applications and a new version released the distribution's developers do not package up the new version of the application. Instead they take just the fixed piece of code and apply it to their existing, older version of the software. They "patch" their old version of an application to fix problems, but they do not package up an entire new version. This means, when the user installs new updates, they are getting security fixes for old problems, but not getting new versions of software or new features.
If you were to install Debian 9 and install all of its software updates, what you would end up with is still Debian 9, with some critical problems fixed. Your software packages would not be upgraded to match the ones available in Debian 10.
People often run rolling release distributions when they want to stay up to date with the latest software releases and enjoy a steady stream of new features. Fixed release distributions, which usually only update their software with security fixes, do not change much over time and are better suited for environments where the operating system needs to be static and predictable.
To make matters slightly more confusing, many fixed release distributions can perform a special kind of upgrade which jumps the operating system from one major version to the next. Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu users, to name a few, have the option of jumping from one major version to the next. This is not the default behaviour when installing updates on any of these distributions, but it is an option people can use if they wish to run newer versions of their fixed release operating system without performing a fresh install from scratch.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
GeckoLinux 152
GeckoLinux is a desktop-oriented distribution based on openSUSE. The project's latest version includes updated desktop environments and enables several third-party software repositories. "GeckoLinux continues to be focused on eliminating pain points and polishing its unique out-of-the-box configuration on top of the stable and flexible openSUSE base. Proprietary media formats play out of the box, and additional user-installed multimedia applications work automatically with restricted media codecs thanks to the prioritized inclusion of the Packman repository. Google and Skype repositories are also configured out-of-the-box for optional installation by the user of proprietary applications from those vendors. Third-party RPM packages can be easily installed using the graphical YaST package manager. GeckoLinux uses the Calamares system installer at version 3.2.15, providing easy but powerful options for reliable installation of the live system. A variety of GeckoLinux ISO spins are available with polished desktop environments to suit every need and preference. Each spin contains a well curated selection of preinstalled applications appropriate for the particular desktop environment. Current highlights include: Cinnamon 4.4.8; MATE 1.24.0; Plasma 5.18.5 / KDE applications 20.04; Xfce 4.14; GNOME 3.34.4; LXQt 0.14.1." Further information can be found in the project's release announcement.
SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP2
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 SP2, offers security improvements, techniques to reduce downtime, and improvements to ARM platforms. "Greater security for federal government and public sector organizations as well as others running high-security environments with FIPS 140-2 certification-ready packages. Ensure protection against outsider threats for IBM Z installations with support for IBM Secure Execution and Secure Boot. Support for a complete and secure offline installation for air-gapped deployments, which are typical for military and healthcare environments. Protect data at rest without additional software cost using cryptctl. Local and Remote disk encryption can be setup for all on-premises, cloud and hybrid installations along with enterprise key management KMIP standard. Increase Linux system uptime by up to 12 months while maintaining highest security standards with SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching, now also available for IBM Z and LinuxONE." Further details can be found in the company's release announcement.
REMnux 7
Lenny Zeltser has announced the release of REMnux 7, a major update of the project's Ubuntu-based distribution with a toolkit for reverse-engineering and analysing malicious software. The new version continues to be delivered as an OVA virtual appliance, but is now based on Ubuntu 18.04: "Ten years after the initial release of REMnux, I'm thrilled to announce that REMnux version 7 is now available. This Linux distribution for malware analysis includes hundreds of new and classic tools for examining executables, documents, scripts, and other forms of malicious code. What's new in REMnux 7? Almost everything! All the tools have been refreshed, some have been retired, and many new ones have been added to the distro. Browse the expanded, categorized listing of the tools to get a sense for what you can do with REMnux and learn about the tools' authors. For a quick glance, check out the one-page summary. Revamped REMnux documentation provides an extensive, categorized listing of the installed malware analysis tools, and lists their authors, websites, and license details. REMnux has been fully rebuilt to help stay up-to-date with the rapid pace of today's tool releases. To achieve this, the distro now uses SaltStack behind the scenes for automating the installation and configuration of software."
REMnux 7 -- Running the GNOME desktop
(full image size: 33kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
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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: 2,078
- Total data uploaded: 32.8TB
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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) |
Open source alternatives to Linux
When it comes to open source operating systems, GNU/Linux distributions tend to attract the most attention. The Linux kernel is used in billions of mobile devices, millions of desktop and server systems, and powers most of the world's top super computers. However, there are many other (often less talked about) open source operating systems in the world. Some are widely used behind the scenes in businesses, such as FreeBSD, others are providing lightweight desktop experiences the way Haiku does, while still others are embedded in places we might not expect, the way MINIX is. We would like to know if you run any non-Linux open source systems. Let us know which ones in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on purchasing support for LibreOffice in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Open source alternatives to Linux
| I run one or more BSDs: | 319 (17%) |
| I run Haiku: | 46 (2%) |
| I run MINIX: | 8 (0%) |
| I run ReactOS: | 34 (2%) |
| I run all of the above: | 19 (1%) |
| I run some of the above: | 92 (5%) |
| I run another alternative: | 54 (3%) |
| I do not run any non-Linux open source OS: | 1272 (66%) |
| I do not run any open source OS: | 69 (4%) |
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| Website News (by Jesse Smith) |
Distributions added to waiting list
- Laxer OS. Laxer OS is a rolling-release platform based on Arch Linux. The distribution ships with the GNOME desktop environment.
- AlterLinux is a Japanese distribution based on Arch Linux. The project uses the ZEN Linux kernel and is available in three desktop editions: KDE Plasma, LXDE, and Xfce.
- Serene Linux. Serene Linux is an Ubuntu-based distribution from Japan that strives to run on low-resource computers.
- RoshanTech POS OS. RoshanTech POS OS is a point-of-sale platform based on Linux Mint which uses web-based technology for its user interface.
- dahliaOS. dahliaOS is a minimal Linux distribution featuring a custom desktop environment called Pangolin. The graphical user interface is constructed using Google's Flutter toolkit.
- LudoOS. LudoOS is an Ubuntu-based distribution that runs the Pantheon desktop.
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DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 3 August 2020. Past articles and reviews can be found through our Article Search page. To contact the authors please send e-mail to:
- Jesse Smith (feedback, questions and suggestions: distribution reviews/submissions, questions and answers, tips and tricks)
- Ladislav Bodnar (feedback, questions, donations, comments)
- Bruce Patterson (podcast)
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| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Alternative to GNU/Linux (by EssexSun on 2020-07-27 01:16:31 GMT from United Kingdom)
OpenIndiana/Illumos
2 • Other open source OSes (by Elcaset on 2020-07-27 01:30:31 GMT from Australia)
I run OpenWrt,Tomato & Android.
3 • Other Open Source OS (by Ed on 2020-07-27 01:43:35 GMT from United States)
MorphOS.
4 • dahliaOS (by Newby on 2020-07-27 01:49:16 GMT from Canada)
At the end of this week's edition, on the waiting list is something called dahliaOS.
It apparently contains a new desktop called pangolin.
Alarm bells start going off in my head.
Isn't that the critter some scientists claim is the likely missing link in transferring the covid corona virus from bats to humans???
Could this be some diabolic scheme to now transfer covid to our PC's???
Not wanting to raise any undue panic in these parts (and especially not wanting to get banned here), I did what any good reporter would do - I attempted to check out the "facts".
Proceeded to dahlia website and found section about the pangolin desktop. That takes us to the pangolin developers page on GitHub. Code is there, but unless I missed it, no history of project (ie - explanation for origin of picking name as opposed to index of releases). OK, I am apparently a terrible reporter. Maybe the answer is there under my nose, but I have t run a genetic sequencing on the source code. Oops, another problem; it's written in "flutter". I seem to have waded in waay above my depth.
That does seem to be an interesting desktop. So tempting to look at; sort of like opening an email from an unknown source.
Anyway, do we have a good conspiracy theory here? Do we have any Sherlock type code sleuths out there?
Disclaimer: With everyone being so stressed out, this is meant to give a good laugh. Hopefully nobody will take offense........
5 • dahliaOS (by mandatory on 2020-07-27 02:32:37 GMT from United States)
Yes.
(It would have been funnier if you had left off the disclaimer. Oh the humanity.)
6 • Beta Linux Through Chrome (by Roy on 2020-07-27 02:50:00 GMT from United States)
The only way I was getting Chrome was through Windows till I got the HP Chromebook 11.6. I found that the Beta Linux is Buster through Debian. It gives me a terminal like with my regular Linux through Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix 2020.
7 • Non-Linux open source OS (by TheTKS on 2020-07-27 03:12:43 GMT from Canada)
OpenBSD dedicated installation on one box, and use it regularly.
I play around every once in awhile with Haiku live, but have never installed it. Tried OpenIndiana live a couple of times.
It's good to have a look from time to time at what else is out there and what's new.
TKS
8 • Other Open Source OS-MorphOS (by Terry on 2020-07-27 03:25:35 GMT from United States)
@3
Unfortunately hardly anyone is using G5 Macs or lower or old AMIGA computers ro run MorphOS...what a pity :o(
Your in the old days...and way behind the times. We are in the year 2020 now. Get a new computer.
9 • Non-Linux Open Source (by anonymous on 2020-07-27 03:37:34 GMT from United States)
I run NetBSD with twm and X apps on a spare 2-core dell inspiron that I have lying around. I had slackware installed on it, but it kept making this horrible grinding sound. Since I've put NetBSD on it, the machine runs so quietly that I forget that it is even on. I don't use it for much, really. Some (very) basic browsing with netsurf, and mostly to consume media via xmms and xine. It has definitely piqued my interest in the *BSD side of things. I dabbled with IllumOS here and there over the years, but it never quite stuck. OpenIndiana is decent for desktops, but other than native ZFS and snapshot/rollback features, it didn't offer me anything that a desktop focused Linux distro couldn't provide. I will admit, however, that I find it very nice to have other options outside of Linux, especially with so many questionable corporations becoming a little too chummy with Linux, lately. GhostBSD is also a nice fallback option.
10 • opnsense firewall / router (by James H on 2020-07-27 04:17:35 GMT from New Zealand)
I use opnsense on a spare core i5 desktop machine for firewall, lagg group and fibre internet at home. Much better control than the broadband company supplied modem - that's for sure! (they even put a sneaky backdoor in for remote administration..)
11 • Non-Linux Open Source (by voidpin on 2020-07-27 04:36:52 GMT from Sweden)
I run NetBSD and use it on a daily basis. Play with SculptOS every now and then.
12 • Artix - now which inti and why (by yrotadnam on 2020-07-27 04:45:00 GMT from New Zealand)
Thank you Bernhard for an excellent review of a distro I had somehow not heard of. I'm on a journey away from systemd and Debian/Ubuntu/Mint... at least got to the Arches with Manjaro, but they too use systemd. Artix will merit a look.
Now I have a new problem - which init system of the three they offer fits what scenario / usecase? Is there someplace I can look for a comparison? Each must exist for its own reasons, just like all the DE's we can pick from, and all those countless Linux distros.
13 • Alternative OS (by speedytux on 2020-07-27 06:24:31 GMT from France)
I run in virtualbox Guix, a GNU distribution with Hurd as a kernel.
14 • BSDs, Haiku (by SuperOscar on 2020-07-27 06:32:32 GMT from Finland)
I have tested but do not regularly run any other open source OSes.
I wish I could actually use BSDs, but FreeBSD is the only one that reasonably seems to support UTF-8. With the others, it’s always a struggle to even be able to type in the names of my files!
Haiku feels great but it’s not ready to use on a daily basis.
ReactOS usually crashes every time I try to use it :)
15 • Non-Linux OS (by Alexandru on 2020-07-27 06:56:51 GMT from Austria)
I really tried all of the listed alternatives and others, but now I choose "I run some of the above". I do not more run MINIX and ReactOS. On the other hand, I run OpenIndiana. Additionally, I in the past tried more exotic OSes, such as Debian GNU/Hurd, Plan 9, ColibryOS, HelenOS and almost anything else I could install.
16 • Footnote (by barnabyh on 2020-07-27 08:54:42 GMT from United Kingdom)
Thank you, yrotadnam. To answer your question, there are several places you can find this information.
To get an idea of the features, pros and cons of each of these you might consult this overview for example https://www.slant.co/topics/4663/~linux-init-systems, check out the Gentoo and Arch Wikis or hop to this comparison at https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Comparison_of_init_systems.
17 • Templeos And fpcdos (by Alternative on 2020-07-27 09:36:02 GMT from United States)
Templeos os And fpc dos
18 • FreeBSD (by Will on 2020-07-27 09:47:26 GMT from United States)
I use FreeBSD - much more stable than most Linuxes in my experience (run both all the time). The cutting edge goes to Linux of course and there's a learning curve involved that is steeper than Linux when it comes to getting everything working and installed. But for server processes, FreeBSD is actually very straightforward and reliable. If I were recommending one over the other, I would say Linux is great for newbs and lazy admins, game players, or grandparents. FreeBSD is for developers, serious admins, middle aged folks. A good though perhaps slightly flawed analogy would be Linux is to FreeBSD as Z80 or Ferrari is to Volvo or Mercedes. One's fast and fun and sleek, the other is spacious, and it's gonna run 800,000 miles :).
19 • rolling releases vs static releases (by TuxRaider on 2020-07-27 10:36:06 GMT from United States)
i stick with static releases because they tend to be more stable and reliable, like the article says, "dont want any surprises" so i avoid arch, artix, manjaro, and others that want to ride the crest of the bleeding edge software,
and alternative open source OSs & software, i have used FreeBSD & NetBSD, but found them a little arcane and cumbersome having to relearn what i do on Linux with ease, i have used Tomato and DD-WRT on a Linksys router but i think those are built out of Linux, i have tried ReactOS and it installed but would never boot up after the install finished so ReactOS dont really count,
20 • Artix review, Pamac, Octopi (by Angel on 2020-07-27 10:51:48 GMT from Philippines)
"Pamac works well but requires a lot of scrolling as it always shows installed packages first."
There is a sorting function. (Top right) Sorting by relevance is default, which shows installed packages first, but you can change it to sort by name, repository, size and date. The search function also works quite well, just start typing when Pamac is focused. I'm a fan of Synaptic, and so far I've found nothing as good or better, but Pamac comes close.
Octopi works fine on my Plasma VM. requiring only my password. It does have kdesu installed by default, so that may make a difference. Gksu is available in the AUR if needed for Cinnamon.
21 • Other Open Source OS (by Ed on 2020-07-27 11:19:22 GMT from United States)
@8 The same could be said for some of the other OS mentioned. And MorphOS is not my main OS. It's just a hobby. Although, I did own several Amigas and did a lot of programming on them as well.
Anyway, I do have a "new" computer and my main OS is mine, Liquid Lemur Linux (I still develop it for personal use).
22 • Atrix Linux - Current Octopi status & init selection answer. (by linuxer on 2020-07-27 11:24:23 GMT from Greece)
Adding some notes:
Octopi 0.9.0 which is currently in our repos, is the same that Arch Linux has, so yes, it depends on the depreciated gksu.
I hope that we will shift to 0.10.0, which uses Octopi-sudo instead.
For the time being, 0.10.0 exists on AUR, alone with the relative notifiers, as separated packages.
The selection of init system, is a definitely a personal matter of taste, but I would suggest people to read our Wiki pages, in order to select:
https://wiki.artixlinux.org/Main/OpenRC
https://wiki.artixlinux.org/Main/Runit
https://wiki.artixlinux.org/Main/S6
Thank you for the review Bernhard.
23 • Rolling release distros (by Otis on 2020-07-27 12:13:02 GMT from United States)
Thank you for using Manjaro as the example of a rolling release in your answer to the query about updating/upgrading. It's one of those that don't break upon installing updated software (an issue I've had off and on over several rolling release distros).
24 • Linux/BSD (by Dave Postles on 2020-07-27 13:25:34 GMT from United Kingdom)
'I would say Linux is great for newbs and lazy admins, game players, or grandparents.'
and scientists, NYSE and LSE, and the world's top 500 computers?
25 • non-Linux open source operating systems (by Sitwon on 2020-07-27 13:42:25 GMT from United States)
If we consider busybox/Linux and Android to fall under the larger umbrella of Linux, then I do not currently run any non-Linux open source OSes.
However, I have in the past, and a I plan to in the future. So I am still interested in news about non-Linux OSes. But I would expect that the vast majority of DW Weeklies should continue to cover */Linux and GNU/* distros.
There are other communities that cover the *BSDs, Solaris and it's descendants, and other comparatively niche alternatives.
26 • @24 - Fair enough (by Will on 2020-07-27 13:50:26 GMT from United States)
Fair enough, I forget about the RedHats an enterprise versions. But, yeah, Linux can be stable :). So, I retract the stability sentiment - although, on the whole, I think it's true enough. But I'm not out to start a flame war. The average user or admin wouldn't even recognize those systems as being of the Linux variety they'd ever see anyway.
27 • Artix (by Andy Prough on 2020-07-27 14:45:24 GMT from United States)
Artix has been a pleasure to work with over the past year. It's not usually my daily production machine, but I have used it for that and it has always performed well. KDE and DWM run extremely fast on an Artix setup. I've gotten Artix + DWM down to 90 mb of ram in use.
Cinnamon has always given me problems on any distro I tried it on. In recent years it's been about twice as heavy on CPU use as KDE or XFCE when I've tried it, so I avoid it.
When choosing an init manager on Artix, keep in mind that s6 is still new and may have some rough edges, runit is the smallest and seems fastest, and openRC is the one that is a little larger but seems best supported. If you want a very fast and stable system, openRC would be a good choice.
28 • CPU usage (by barnabyh on 2020-07-27 14:53:39 GMT from Germany)
Thank you linuxer, much appreciated. These links will be handy.
I went back one more time and have finally found the reason for the high CPU usage which was the service for my VPN client. Apologies for that as it is not due to the kernel or Artix per se.
But it illustrates another issue, which is using programs written to start up with another init system that do not have a, in this case, runit service package and trying to create your own when not experienced with this init.
Removing the custom VPN package solved this and CPU is now down to the 5-8 % range.
This will be something to ponder for new users who need to start services when asking themselves which one to choose. Perhaps go for the more traditional OpenRC in this case.
29 • OSOS (by Cheker on 2020-07-27 14:55:33 GMT from Portugal)
Every now and then I check out how ReactOS is doing - I've managed to do some things in a VM, could never get it to boot on baremetal though. It's one of those things that I need to see completed one of these days because I love the concept.
30 • dahliaOS "pangolin" desktop (by Noah on 2020-07-27 15:01:04 GMT from United States)
haha, uh, it's named after animals with a shell (we came up with it in February 2019) xD
31 • That about Artix (by Otis on 2020-07-27 15:23:09 GMT from United States)
I found it not stable.. admittedly only trying it once for a day earlier this year. It was a struggle all day. I went with OpenRC and was at first generally happy with that, but don't they just stuff openrc and runit files directly from the master branch of either Gentoo or Void Linux into a PKGBUILD and call it "stable?" Seems like a ticking time bomb, to be a bit hyperbolic. ;)
I generally like parts of the distro's concept.
32 • Rolling release distros (by David on 2020-07-27 15:41:32 GMT from United Kingdom)
Rolling release distros are not all "bleeding edge" nor all prone to unexpected surprises. Last Christmas for various reasons I switched, rather apprehensively, from CentOS to PCLinuxOS. The only surprise so far was when updating python-pillow caused Pysol to stop working — and the developer got my one and only game repaired in 24 hours!
33 • FreeBSD (by User141 on 2020-07-27 16:00:00 GMT from United States)
I use Nomad BSD. Its based on FreeBSD and can run on or installed from a persistent Live USB stick. Theres a hard drive installer.
34 • Artix and other non-Linux OSes (by Jyrki on 2020-07-27 17:16:53 GMT from Czechia)
I have been running Artix since the day it got born. It had few issues right after the project started. But within half a year all got resolved and it got rock solid. When it comes to my own data, it's the only Linux distro I trust and I use.
I try other Linux distros from time to time in Virtualbox but it just convince me that there is no other Linux distro suitable for me.
When it comes to non-Linux OSes, OpenBSD is the most interesting, complete and perfect OS out there. Very simplistic, straight-forward and easy to use. Whenever I work it, I appreciate perfect documentation, choice of software and overall system cleanliness. It's not the fastest OS, but that's often not so important. It's also interesting how well it works with UEFI, hibernate and sleep works perfectly if you're using ThinkPad (developers use it too). Upgrading to newer verion also works very well.
I also run NetBSD, it's interesting piece of software but hardware support is not as good as with OpenBSD.
I run DragonFlyBSD on one pc and it's fine though a bit incomplete (eg wifi, it has same issues as FreeBSD does, which is not so surprising). The only way to upgrade is to build kernel and world.
I tried other OSes in Virtualbox, eg. ReactOS but I don't know any apps I would like to use it for. Minix, Haiku....Haiku is a system I would like to try a bit more but I found it impossible to install it on real hardware....
35 • Artix (by Martin on 2020-07-27 17:54:38 GMT from United Kingdom)
Another happy Artix user here, I have it installed on two desktops andone laptop. They all have run almost faultlessly so far. A very helpful forum isalways ready to help, I highly recomend this distro.
36 • shamed to say, i dont run any otherish other than linux (by fonz on 2020-07-27 18:14:20 GMT from Indonesia)
nice review of artix IMHO, very lengthy. it makes me want to try it soon as my older laptop with 50GB SSD is annoying me. win10 keeps complaining about not enough space, and with ccleaner (crap cleaner) and custom .INI, it detected over 10GBs of win10 trash (caches, crashes, logs, backups and whatnot). and some other stuff auto installed (very malware like) by them adding up another 10GBs. go figure -_-
there are some pretty fun new OSs on the waiting list, wonder if i should jump into the deep end before trying out a noob friendly BSD...
37 • BSD (by Martin on 2020-07-27 19:44:42 GMT from United Kingdom)
@36 Try NomadBSD for a user friendly BSD.
38 • source alternatives to Linux (by Visopsys or on 2020-07-27 20:41:31 GMT from Hungary)
KolibliOS and MenuetOS are cool too. [DW lists Kolibri]
They are fast, cause they're small and simple.
FreeDOS for some games on retroPC
UBports on my LG Nexus5
On the list to play with:
- Ghost OS (ghostkernel)
- SerenityOS
- HelenOS
- Genode OS
- Android-x86 (& co)
- MorphOS (for my G4)
And yes, they're ALL active :)
And hardly waiting to Syllable Desktop to resurrect ...
...
(http://simplicitylinux.org/ is up again)
(Makulu Shift Tablet looks to be cool)
39 • Redox OS (by Ralph on 2020-07-27 21:01:50 GMT from Canada)
@ 38 - interesting 'playlist': you might consider adding Redox OS to it - its is a very interesting system with a Rust-based microkernel...I was able to install just fine but coudl not get networking going....
40 • RoshanTech POS OS (by frnz on 2020-07-27 21:25:28 GMT from Italy)
Wanted to try it so I downloaded the ISO. Burnt to a usb dongle.
Fired up the PC but can't login. On the OS website they say
for OS login
user: roshantech-com
pwd: roshantech.com
for me there was no way to log-in. Does anybody has a clue?
41 • Artix init choices (by yrotadnam on 2020-07-28 00:41:23 GMT from New Zealand)
@16 - thank you for those links, the Slant article is useful as they explain the why. A lot of the forums just say 'go test out all three and see what you like', but the average person does not know what to even look for, or ask the right questions. I now have the ISO (I chose openRC and Cinnamon).. next step: go and clear a test machine.
42 • @40, RosanTech password (by Angel on 2020-07-28 00:44:27 GMT from Philippines)
You might try esite.pk. (See the top of download page.) If still trying, the dev has a Facebook page. You can ask there:
https://www.facebook.com/RoshanTech/
43 • Odd Linux OS's (by Friar Tux on 2020-07-28 01:12:16 GMT from Canada)
One of my loves is to try odd OS's. I have yet to get any of the BSD's to boot for me. None work.
I liked Haiku a lot EXCEPT for all the menu chasing. That makes it a 'no-go' for me. ReactOS never installs no matter the hoops I try to jump through. Makulu Linux/LinDoz... This one is hilarious. It installed and rebooted nicely, and worked beautifully. What's funny about it is that it's Linux, but everything MSWindows. You can set it to look like Windows 95, XP, 7, or 10. (Notice the 'LinDoz' in the name.) I am really surprised that Microsoft has not stomped on their collective tail. Quite configurable, even the 'Start Menu' has about a dozen themes. Of all the distros claiming to be MSWindows-like for those switching from MSWindows to Linux, THIS one is at the top of the list, numero uno!!
But I do have a favourite - Q4OS/Trinity DE. This one is my toy distro. If Linux Mint ever goes with the Grim Reaper, Q4OS will replace it.
KolibriOS, MinuetOS, and, MinixOS also were a bust. They either wouldn't install, or once installed, wouldn't boot. (Though, it has been a while ago since I tried them. I may play with them again.)
44 • Other open source OS (by Keith S. on 2020-07-28 01:58:06 GMT from United States)
I've been running OpenBSD on laptops and desktops for many years. It runs very well, and has had many major improvements in the last few years. I also run a couple of Linux boxes.
45 • MINIX is probably number 1 in this week's poll (by denPes on 2020-07-28 05:22:13 GMT from Belgium)
I think that everyone that runs an Intel CPU, that features the intel management system, is running Intel's own fork of Minix, since that is always running in the background.
46 • @42 RoshanTech POS OS password (by frn on 2020-07-28 11:31:30 GMT from Italy)
Thanks Angel
despite what was written on the download page at sourceforge
https://sourceforge.net/projects/roshantech-com-pos-os/
the right password is - esite.pk -
have a nice day :-)
47 • Used to run FreeBSD (by CS on 2020-07-28 15:26:19 GMT from United States)
I used to hack FreeBSD for a living back in the 4.X days. Ditched it for Linux when it was just taking too long to get stable SMP support. Boy that was a long time ago. These days I view the BSDs as hobbyist systems, nothing wrong with that I just don't have time for it.
And TempleOS guy, thanks for the smile. Sort of. Sad story really.
48 • NomadBSD (by babu Swah on 2020-07-28 15:43:39 GMT from Belgium)
@33,@37 : Fully agree with you.
It's a pleasure to work with NomadBSD and the people behind the distribution are so kind.
But it's true that you have a few things to learn if you are coming from Linux.
49 • BSDs and additional thoughts (by Cheker on 2020-07-28 17:06:57 GMT from Portugal)
I keep hearing a lot of good things about OpenBSD, I want to give it another go. Last time didn't go that well, it's merciless.
@43 Yes, I love Q4OS Trinity as well. It's the main OS on my laptop and I don't intend to replace it.
@17 @47 Oh man, I forgot about TempleOS, it's good to see it getting shout outs. Feel so sorry for King Terry.
50 • ChromeOS? (by James LaRue on 2020-07-28 21:15:47 GMT from United States)
I wrote that I don't use any non-Linux OSs, but upon reflection, I don't know as this was meant to include ChromeOS. I spent a lot of time thinking through the replacement of a cheap flip Chromebook. A Thinkbook, a System76 laptop? I retain an old (2011) Macbook Pro running elementary OS that I quite like. But the new Pixelbook Go, with its ability to run Debian Buster 10.4, hits a nice balance between proprietary appliance and open source options.
51 • Open source alternatives to Linux (by bison on 2020-07-29 00:19:07 GMT from United States)
I run AROS on occasion.
52 • @4 (by edcoolio on 2020-07-29 03:39:03 GMT from United States)
@4 wins the Internet for the week.
I vote conspiracy theory!
53 • RoshanTech POS OS (by Aamir Shahzad on 2020-07-29 04:44:22 GMT from Pakistan)
@40 I'm sorry, password is given on the top of the page and in the installation help pdf file.
@42 @46 thank you for pointing out.
Also "Will my Linux Distro be helpful for newbies?" issue is created on source software "Open Source Point of Sale"
https://github.com/opensourcepos/opensourcepos/issues/2904
YouTube video in Urdu language
https://youtu.be/mhD8G03_dVc
54 • ReactOS??? (by tom joad on 2020-07-29 15:59:37 GMT from Germany)
Ok, I am shocked that 17 folks, as of this writing, are running ReactOS. And more shocked that 15 folks, as of this writing, are running 'all of the above.'
Really????
And 2/3, 1031, of the respondents, as of this writing, run ONLY Linux Open Source OS's.
Not sure what to make of all that. But it is something to reflect on.
55 • 17 folks (by Otis on 2020-07-29 16:04:59 GMT from United States)
@54 Are you shocked that ONLY 17 people are running ReactOS? Or that anybody at all is running it?
If only 17 people IN THE WORLD are running it, I'd be shocked. But just 17 of the respondents to a poll on one website in a field of several choices run ReactOS, that seems reasonable to me.
56 • ReactOS (by OstroL on 2020-07-29 19:19:38 GMT from Poland)
Just downloaded and tried to have a look. React OS live doesn't boot on an uefi laptop. EFI doesn't see the usb stick. The /efi/boot folder has file named bcd, which is not seen.
57 • ReactOS, (by WhatMeWorry on 2020-07-30 03:00:43 GMT from United States)
@54, 55 - I am also puzzled, if not actually shocked as to why more than 17 people in the world excluding the developers would be using ReactOS.
"The ultimate goal of ReactOS is to allow you to remove Windows and install ReactOS without the end user noticing the change." I suppose that could work for anyone still using Windows 95. But they do get many points for persistence.
58 • Open source alternatives to Linux (by BL@pp on 2020-07-30 10:33:22 GMT from Australia)
GNU+Hurd (Debian)
59 • Shocked (by Otis on 2020-07-30 12:02:49 GMT from United States)
@57 .. and #30 in the DW PHR. Far above a couple of 'buntus, Devuan, Artix, et al.
Are those 17 people the tip of the iceberg?
FWIW, I got the stick to boot but only up to the frozen detection scroll. So, I'm not the 18th.
60 • ReactOS (by Friar Tux on 2020-07-30 13:43:04 GMT from Canada)
@57 (WhatMeWorry) Points for persistence is about all there is for them to get. They've been at it for years (since 1996) and still haven't got a marketable OS. Even Gates or Apple didn't take that long. Still, you have to applaud the persistence.
61 • Artix, ReactOS (by yrotadnam on 2020-07-31 00:19:19 GMT from New Zealand)
ReactOS - 10 points for trying, -100,000 for anything actually working.
I have tried it a number of times over the years - no visible progress. It remains broken. And I'm not trying it on obscure hardware, plain vanilla...
So back to Artix and this week's adventures. Vanilla gen-3 i7 laptop from 2012. Boots from CD (no USB boot on older hardware), no icon responds. On the 5th try I got the installer up. Several rounds of this and I got it to actually install. 1st boot - blank screen with just a cursor, no GUI, nothing. I just reached for my Manjaro disc, installed in about the same time, zero drama, works.
If I'm going to build a shed, I cannot wait 4 days for "hammer" to build / load....
Computers are for getting projects out the door, just sayin. An OS has to work, 1st time, every time.
62 • Artix (by barnabyh on 2020-07-31 10:29:28 GMT from Germany)
At least you tried. Shame it didn't work out. My experience showed a few creases but yours is way worse.Interesting to see that the blank screen, blinking cursor thing persists even in OpenRC edition which I believe you were going to use. Thought it may be related to runit.
I have since installed openRC KDE edition on the same testing machine and so far did not have this issue.
Have a good weekend everyone.
63 • ReactOS and others (by Jeff on 2020-08-01 14:34:42 GMT from United States)
@59 re: .. and #30 in the DW PHR
That number is hits to go to the DW page and look at it, not how many actually use it.
I keep looking at non-Linux open source OS operating systems, but never get so far as trying them.
64 • phr (by Otis on 2020-08-01 16:05:55 GMT from United States)
@63 of course the PHR is the Page Hit Ranking. lmao
It's pointed out as an aside in the discussion about ReactOS garnering such a ranking in spite of being basically an ongoing ..er, difficult OS and showing (then) 17 reported users.
65 • Artix Runit / OpenRC / XFCE4 (by David on 2020-08-01 19:26:38 GMT from United States)
@61 @62
I experienced the same boot hang issue with Artix/Runit/XFCE4 several months ago on two separate i5-Haswell generation PC's, and an older i3-530 distro hopping, bare metal test unit.
After fiddling unsuccessfully with multiple BIOS setting configurations, which is where I thought the problem resided (it didn't), I abandoned Runit, and installed the OpenRC version. It booted up with no problems, but would spontaneously reboot persistently when I hit my usual "poweroff" command, so I waved the white flag of surrender with my Artix distro hop.
It wasn't until after I went racing back to plain vanilla Arch, via the Anarchy Installer - https://anarchyinstaller.org/ - that I read in one of the Arch forums that the problem may reside in an XFCE4 Session and Startup bug. One of the contributors suggested unchecking "The Xfce Settings Daemon," as a possible boot hang / shutdown workaround. I can't confirm that it will work, since I had already given up on Artix and returned to Arch, and I don't know if it would be relevant to any other DE's, but it may be worth a try for any fellow XFCE4 users that might be experiencing the same problem with your Artix installation.
My days of whining and crying about systemd bloat and operational issues are over, at least for the time being, which is what motivated me to try Artix in the first place. My production boxes boot-up, run, and shutdown flawlessly under stable, fast and minimal plain vanilla Arch, so I'll continue to be standarized with it as my daily driver.
JMHO
66 • Haiku (by GreginNC on 2020-08-01 23:30:33 GMT from United States)
I ran Haiku as my main OS on a HP laptop back around 2015 or 2016. Wireless worked perfectly with no issues using or setting up. The only issue I had was when running BeOS software which was supposedly still compatible at that time I would sometimes get an error message that the application had crashed but if I simply moved the error box and continued to use the application it worked perfectly and I would simply close it when done by clicking "OK" in the warning box. Unfortunately everytime I've tried to run it since on the same laptop I've run into several issues and even when it ran refused to connect through wireless. They may have improved and modernized the system in many ways since I used it but from a daily usage standpoint they're moving backwards in my experience.
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| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Full list of all issues |
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PHLAK
PHLAK (Professional Hacker's Linux Assault Kit) was a modular security distribution, geared to be used as a live CD. PHLAK was created to become the only tool security professionals would need to perform security analysis, penetration testing, forensics, and security auditing. PHLAK comes with two light GUIs (fluxbox and XFCE4), packages for printing, publishing, a little multimedia, many security tools, and a file cabinet full of security related documentation for your reading/educational purposes. This distro was based off of Morphix.
Status: Discontinued
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TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
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| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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