 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 877, 3 August 2020 |
Welcome to this year's 31st issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Though Linux distributions tend to get the majority of the spotlight in the open-source community, there are many other open-source operating systems available. Haiku is one such small, open source project which continues on the legacy and look of BeOS while providing modern applications and hardware drivers. This week we begin with a look at Haiku and how the latest development release of the operating system functions. Have you tried Haiku? Let us know what you think of the latest beta release in the comments. In our News section we talk about DragonFly BSD getting improved support for the ext2 family of filesystems, thanks to an imported driver from FreeBSD, and we also mention the dramatic regression in Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS systems that rendered many installations unbootable. Then we revisit the available Linux platforms for mobile phones in our Questions and Answers column. Do you own a phone that runs a GNU/Linux distribution? Let us know which one in our Opinion Poll. We also discuss how to identify the distribution and version of a Linux system you are logged into. Finally, we present two new projects for our distro-hopping clientele - the Arch-based RebornOS and a Debian-based Caprice Linux. We wish you all a terrific week and happy reading!
Content:
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Haiku R1 beta 2
Haiku is an open-source operating system that specifically targets personal computing. Inspired by the Be Operating System (BeOS), Haiku aims to be fast, efficient, simple to use, and easy to learn. It is specifically geared toward desktop usage and maintaining a responsive desktop environment.
The Haiku project has been, to date, in perpetual development mode. Which is to say the releases to date have been labelled as being alpha or beta releases. I mention this because while the version label is R1 beta 2, the platform should probably be regarded a relatively mature project with the benefit of nearly 20 years of development behind it.
The R1 beta 2 release includes a number of new features such as improved font scaling and HiDPI support, along with the ability to work with mouse devices that offer more than three buttons. More applications have been ported and are now available through the project's software manager. The installer has mostly remained the same, however users can now exclude the installation of optional packages while setting up Haiku. New driver support has been added and there are some new options for keeping the Deskbar (a sort of combined desktop panel and system tray) out of the way.
The project's latest release is available in 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x86_64) builds. There are also builds for ARM, PowerPC, m68k, and SPARC architectures, however these builds are considered to be unsupported. I downloaded the 64-bit build which is available as a 955MB ZIP file. Unpacking the ZIP file presents us with a 1,108MB (1GB) ISO file we can write to optical media or a thumb drive.
Early impressions
Booting from the live media brings up a graphical interface with a welcome screen. The welcome screen invites us to select our preferred language and keyboard layout (the defaults are English with a US keyboard mapping). We can then click buttons that start the live desktop environment or launch the system installer. If we choose the live desktop option we can launch the installer later from an icon on the desktop.
The live environment presents us with a mostly empty desktop. The background is a neutral blue and there is a panel or dock in the upper-right corner. Along the top of the screen are icons for opening documentation, a quick-start guide, the system installer, and the file manager. As there are multiple documentation options I think it is worth talking about them a little more.
One of the documentation options on the desktop is the manual, called the Be Book. This seems to be an updated manual from what I assume BeOS shipped with in the past. There is a quick tour option which gives users a summary of desktop features and options. I like the quick tour guide as it includes screenshots and an overview of how the user interface works. There is a user's guide too which seems to focus more on lower level system functions such the filesystem layout and operating system settings. The documentation strikes me as being well organized and I appreciate the work that has been done to explain what Haiku is and how it works.
In the upper-right corner of the desktop is a small system tray and an icon decorated with a blue feather, the latter opens the applications and settings menu. Right below the menu is a list of open applications and we can click an application's entry to give its window focus. The menu includes demo programs, system utilities, settings modules, mount options, and shutdown options.
Haiku R1 beta 2 - reading the documentation and running a demo program
(full image size: 81kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Installing
Haiku's system installer is a graphical application which begins by telling us to set up a BeOS partition. From this initial screen we can click a button to launch a partition manager called DriveSetup.
DriveSetup is a fairly straight forward desktop partition manager. Its layout reminds me of GParted, though the menu options are a little different. Once a partition has been created of the BeOS type we can exit DriveSetup and return to the installer. At first the installer did not seem to recognize the new partition, even after I had closed and restarted the installer. With a little experimenting I discovered the installer needed us to not only created a partition of the BeOS type, but also format it with the BeOS filesystem. Then the installer would recognize the partition and agree to copy its files to this prepared location.
The only other thing the installer gives us to do is, optionally, we can choose to not install some non-critical components. The optional items are listed with their name and size only, without a description. This means we can choose to not install curl, bison, gcc, and other packages, but we need to know what they are based solely on their names. Most of the optional components appear to be development utilities. I chose to install everything.
When the installer begins copying its files the entire process, which placed 2.5GB of files on my drive, took approximately five seconds. (Not, as one might expect, five minutes. Just five seconds.) The installer reported it was then finished with no further configuration steps required. This means, in theory, an install (including boot time from the live media, partitioning, copying files, and rebooting) can be completed in well under five minutes.
Hardware
I tested Haiku in VirtualBox first and found the operating system to be highly responsive. Boot times were under five seconds and the desktop was always quick to react to input. My mouse pointer did not integrate with Haiku when I was running Haiku in a virtual machine on my laptop, but it did when I switched over to a desktop machine running the same host platform and the same version of VirtualBox. In either virtual instance, Haiku's desktop would not dynamically resize with the VirtualBox window, however I found a settings tool which would allow me to resize the desktop in the feather menu.
While in the virtual environment the mouse pointer was very touchy and would zip across the screen with the slightest provocation. This sensitivity could also be toned down in using a graphical configuration tool.
When I switched over to running Haiku on my physical laptop, the operating system performed beautifully. It was quick to boot, it shutdown almost instantly, and the interface was wonderfully responsive. All of my hardware worked flawlessly, including my wireless network card.
A fresh install of Haiku with all of its optional components took up 2.5GB of disk space. Not much memory was required, typically around 230MB of RAM while sitting idly at the desktop, according to the ActivityMonitor tool.
Included applications
Looking through the list of available applications I find it interesting that there are a lot of familiar functions being provided, however the names and styles of the applications are different from what we see in the Linux and BSD families. There is a system monitor (called the ActivityMonitor), a PDF viewer, and DriveSetup to partition disks. Many programs have simple, descriptive names such as Media Player, Mail, and Terminal. The contact manager is called People. There is a web browser called, optimistically, WebPositive. One of the few oddly named applications was the IRC client which is called Vision. There are also some common small utilities such as a text editor and archive extractor.
Haiku R1 beta 2 - running the WebPositive web browser
(full image size: 133kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
For people who are new to Haiku there is a great list of default programs presented in the project's documentation which describes the available applications. People coming from a Linux or BSD background will be happy to learn Haiku ships with UNIX command line utilities such as ls, ps, and grep. These programs are bundled with manual pages.
Something which stands out about Haiku is its focus on desktop computing, that is to say graphical utilities. While there is a terminal interface and there are powerful command line tools, virtually every task can be performed through the desktop. This focus on graphics and visual touches shows up in Haiku's configuration tools. The time zone tool shows the flags of countries next to each region's entry in the list of locations. The input configuration utility shows a picture of a mouse. The tool for setting the time shows both digital and analog clocks to display the system's current time.
Haiku R1 beta 2 - adjusting settings in two configuration tools
(full image size: 71kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Haiku also shows off its focus on graphics in a sub-section of the feather menu which features demo programs. These demos test the screen's frame rate, show off simple animations, and show fractal images we can zoom in on. These tools don't do much, in a practical sense, but they are fun to play around with.
Software management
Managing software packages is handled by a tool called HaikuDepot. While most software managers take either a low-level package view of the system (the way Synaptic does) or a high-level view of desktop applications (as we see in GNOME Software), HaikuDepot tries to do a bit of both. The software manager has two tabs, the first shows a list of popular applications with their icon and a brief description. Entries in the list also have a rating out of five stars. We can click an item in this curated list and a longer description with a screenshot will appear in a pane at the bottom of the HaikuDepot window. Installing new packages can be achieved by clicking an Install button, followed by a confirmation prompt showing any dependencies the software needs. We can only install one new package at a time, but we can continue to browse available software while downloads are happening in the background.
Haiku R1 beta 2 - the HaikuDepot software manager
(full image size: 123kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
The Depot's second tab lists all available, low-level packages in one long list. This approach is more in like with Synaptic or Pamac in the Linux community. Once again we can select and quickly install desired items.
HaikuDepot, while it straddles two approaches, manages to maintain a fairly simple user interface and does not overwhelm the user with a lot of options. It also works fairly quickly and in my experience, without fuss or problems. The one time I ran into a problem with HaikuDepot, I found out I had filled my operating system partition with new software packages and it caused HaikuDepot to give cryptic errors and bail out from installing new applications. Cleaning out my package cache directory to free up space corrected the problem.
A second utility, called SoftwareUpdater, handles updating installed packages. Here Haiku again takes a simple approach, displaying a list of new packages and giving us the chance to install them. Packages are listed with a brief description. Installing new updates is an all or nothing experience; as far as I can tell there is no way to only install some available updates.
Conclusions
Haiku is an interesting creation for several reasons. First of all, it does not generally feel like a modern operating system. The look of the desktop, the icons, the layout, the lack of user accounts - all of this feels very much a product of the 1990s. Which makes sense, Haiku is following in the footsteps of the BeOS legacy. In some ways the project has defied modernization, for better or for worse.
However, in disregarding many modern tools, Haiku has also stayed relatively small, fast, and efficient. It focuses on one market (the desktop) and strives to be responsive and consistent in its design which it accomplishes beautifully. It installs, boots, shutdowns, and responds faster than about 95% of the Linux distributions I have used. The focus on providing graphical utilities and keeping a trim collection of utilities means Haiku is approximately on par in terms of user friendliness with such mainstream Linux distributions as Linux Mint or Pop!_OS, while being a fraction of their size.
However, there are some downsides to not modernizing. The application menu does not offer much in the way of organization or searching for programs, which means if we install a dozen new programs the feather menu soon becomes large and unwieldy. The lack of user accounts means Haiku is really only suitable for single-user systems and ones where the user does not wish to use passwords or encryption at that. This puts Haiku into a small, special niche. An important niche to be sure, but a relatively small one.
There are two more things I'd like to acknowledge. The first is that while Haiku does not have a huge collection of open source software in its Depot, it does have a lot and probably enough for many people to get by. There are web browsers, games, development tools, some rich text editing functions, e-mail clients, and so on. Perhaps not the same mainstream fare we are used to in the Linux ecosystem, but plenty of functionality is available to cover the basics.
My second point is that the big issue I run into when reviewing non-Linux operating systems, particularly the BSDs and MINIX, is the lack of hardware support. Even Linux distributions that ship without non-free firmware tend to cause me problems. Haiku is rare in that it worked with all of my laptop's hardware. This meant I could fire up the laptop and be on-line in under 30 seconds from the power button being pressed to the time I was checking my preferred news sites. Not many operating systems can balance that kind of efficiency with this level of hardware support and my hat is off to the Haiku team.
I will be honest in that, in the past, I did not feel I got much out of Haiku and its previous alpha releases. They were interesting from a design standpoint, certainly, but not practical operating systems I could use to get things done on real hardware. That has changed. Haiku can be used almost exclusively to accomplish my work on a day-to-day basis on my laptop now and I am impressed with what this light, responsive, desktop-oriented project has accomplished in recent years.
* * * * *
Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a de-branded HP laptop with the following
specifications:
- Processor: Intel i3 2.5GHz CPU
- Display: Intel integrated video
- Storage: Western Digital 700GB hard drive
- Memory: 6GB of RAM
- Wired network device: Realtek RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast
- Wireless network device: Realtek RTL8188EE Wireless network card
* * * * *
Visitor supplied rating
Haiku has a visitor supplied average rating of: 7.2/10 from 16 review(s).
Have you used Haiku? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith and Ladislav Bodnar) |
DragonFly BSD gets updated ext2 driver, GRUB security update renders Red Hat and CentOS systems unbootable
 The DragonFly BSD team has announced new driver, imported from FreeBSD will be used in the future to work with the ext2 Linux filesystem. The new driver will also support reading ext4: "The new ext2 will replace the existing sys/gnu/vfs/ext2fs in future, which is known to have lots of issues. This is already better than sys/gnu/vfs/ext2fs in many ways, but will keep it as an option for now as there seems to be htree dirents and/or vop_readdir related bugs. The new implementation supports ext3 htree dirents. Read support for ext4 extents which exists in FreeBSD ext2 isn't implemented yet (to-do). ACL/xattr are unsupported, and likely never will be. With exception of DragonFly VFS specific part that can't reuse FreeBSD code (vfsops, many vnops, bread/getblk/bio i/f difference), the new ext2 is designed to be close to upstream as much as possible."
 A remote computer rendered unbootable, a nightmare scenario for any system administrator, turned into a reality last week when a GRUB security update issued by Red Hat made some Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS systems fail to load the GRUB boot menu: "Applying the RHSA-2020:3216 grub2 security update and the RHSA-2020:3218 kernel security and bug fix update on a fresh 'minimal' installation of RHEL 8.2 renders the system unbootable. Actual results:
system hangs after POST and the GRUB menu never loads. Expected results: system should display kernel version selection menu and then boot to RHEL." One reported workaround was to boot a live Linux image, chroot into the installed system and downgrade the shim-x64 and grub2 packages. Red Hat was eventually able to resolve the problem on Saturday by updating shim packages: "Red Hat has fixed the bug in the shim packages. Updated shim packages are now available and can be used in conjunction with previously released grub2, fwupd and fwupdate packages."
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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) |
Evaluating available Linux mobile phones and checking system identification
Waiting for a call asks: When do you think we'll have a fully usable Linux phone?
DistroWatch answers: I suppose the answer to this question depends on how we define two criteria. What do you consider to be a Linux phone, and what do you need to have it do in order to be fully usable? I've been able to run pure open source, GNU/Linux on my mobile phone since 2016 and have enjoyed the experience. However, each person has different requirements.
If we look exclusively at open source, GNU/Linux operating systems for mobile devices then there are some attractive options available. The UBports platform has been around for several years now. It can make calls, send and receive text messages, take pictures, browse the web, connect to most social media networks, and so on. I ran UBports for three years and generally had positive experiences with it. The platform's one weak point, in my opinion, is that it doesn't run many applications available on iOS and Android devices. In other words, if you need any web browser then UBports has your needs covered. However, if you specifically want Firefox, then UBports is not the right operating system for you.
The Librem 5 phone is designed to be an open platform and works with a few different Linux-based distributions, including PureOS. I have not personally used this platform, however it appears to have similar capabilities (and limitations) when compared next to UBports.
When we move away from GNU/Linux distributions and cast a wider net to include free and open Linux-based operating systems, then there is some promising work being done, especially in the LineageOS and /e/ OS camps. These platforms are basically Android, which uses the Linux kernel, but with non-free and Google components removed. This gives the user more control over the experience and /e/ provides cloud and sync services that run on open source software.
The benefit to using products like /e/ is we can access virtually all the software one can run on Android, but with a greater focus on privacy in the base system.
Finally, I'd like to point out Android, while parts of it tend to be closed by the companies that ship it with their phones, does run on the Linux kernel, making Android the world's most common, Linux-powered mobile platform.
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Checking identification asks: Is there a way to tell what distro I'm running if I'm logged in to someone else's machine?
DistroWatch answers: There are a few ways to tell which Linux distribution you have logged into that work across most platforms. Even if you don't spot the distribution's logo or custom wallpaper on the desktop, there are ways we can check a system's identity. Linux is a diverse enough family that these tricks will not work on every single distribution, but they will give you a good idea of which distribution, or at least which family of distribution, you are running.
One easy approach is to run the lsb_release command. On most distributions this will give you the name of the distribution (or its parent) and its version number. Here is an example, being run from MX Linux:
$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
| Distributor ID: | Debian |
| Description: | Debian GNU/Linux 10 (buster) |
| Release: | 10 |
| Codename: | buster |
As you can see, lsb_release incorrectly identifies the system as being Debian 10, however since MX Linux is binary compatible with Debian it does correctly give us the proper family and version of the distribution for most practical purposes.
Another quick trick we can try is to check the menu entries for the GRUB boot menu, which usually lists the names of the distributions we can launch. We can check the boot menu on most distributions by running:
$ grep -i "menuentry" /boot/grub/grub.cfg
menuentry 'MX 19.1 patito feo'
menuentry "Memory Test (64-bit UEFI)"
The above command and output show us that the system is most likely MX Linux and there is a secondary boot option to perform a memory test.
Some families of distributions will place their name in the file /etc/issue. This file typically contains the name, and possibly version number, of the distribution you are running:
$ cat /etc/issue
Welcome to MX Linux! Powered by Debian
Most distributions also have a "release" or "version" file in the /etc directory. These files usually have the name of the distribution, followed by the word "release" or "version" in the name. For instance /etc/os_release or /etc/debian_version. You can check for this by running:
$ ls /etc/*release /etc/*version
If the above command turns up any matches you can open the file and read its text to get an idea of which distribution, and maybe which version, you are running.
Finally, you might want to try running the uname command. This command is usually used to provide kernel versioning information, but some distributions tag their kernel with the distribution's name, or the name of their parent distribution. For example, this command lets me know I am using a kernel built for the Debian family:
$ uname -a
Linux gwen 4.19.0-6-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.19.67-2+deb10u2 (2019-11-11) x86_64 GNU/Linux
These are a few quick and easy ways to check a Linux distribution's identity. Feel free to share your favourite approach to figuring out which distro you are running in the comments.
* * * * *
Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
OPNsense 20.1
Jos Schellevis has announced the release of OPNsense 20.1, the latest stable version of the project's open-source, easy-to-use, HardenedBSD-based firewall and routing platform. This version is based on HardenedBSD 12.1 and it ads several interesting enhancements to its web-based user interface: "For five and a half years, OPNsense has been driving innovation through modularising and hardening the open source firewall, with simple and reliable firmware upgrades, multi-language support, HardenedBSD security, fast adoption of upstream software updates as well as clear and stable 2-Clause BSD licensing. 20.7, nicknamed 'Legendary Lion', is a major operating system jump forward on a sustainable firewall experience. This release adds DHCPv6 multi-WAN, custom error pages for the web proxy, Suricata 5, HardenedBSD 12.1, netstat tree view, basic firewall API support (via plugin) and extended live log filtering, amongst other new features. Here are the full patch notes against version 20.7-RC1: system - syslog-ng RFC5424 on FreeBSD 12 needs flags (syslog-protocol); installer - welcome users as genuine 20.7 installer...." Read the full release announcement for a changelog and known issues.
GeckoLinux 999.200729.0
The GeckoLinux "Rolling" edition, which is a desktop-oriented distribution based on openSUSE's "Tumbleweed" branch, has been updated to version 999.200729.0. It brings a new set of installable live images with a choice of Cinnamon, Xfce, GNOME, KDE Plasma, MATE, LXQt and IceWM desktop environments. From the release announcement: "GeckoLinux is pleased to announce the 999.200729 update to its 'Rolling' editions, thus completing the current refresh cycle of the entire GeckoLinux line-up. GeckoLinux 'Rolling' spins are generated directly from unmodified openSUSE Tumbleweed and Packman repositories, and the installed system can be updated directly from those official sources. This design decision has allowed GeckoLinux 'Rolling' users to install and update their systems in a constant rolling fashion over the past two years from the cutting-edge and highly-stable openSUSE Tumbleweed distribution."
ALT Linux 9.1
Michael Shigorin has announced the release of ALT Linux 9.1, an updated version of the project's independently developed distribution for workstations, servers and educational institutions: "BaseALT Ltd announces the availability of an update to its family of Linux distributions, ALT 9.1. The stable Platform 9 repository supports 8 architectures (ppc64le, aarch64, armh, mipsel, e2k, e2kv4 in addition to i586 and x86_64) and the releases published cover all of them as appropriate; riscv64 support stays in Sisyphus development repository until production hardware is on the market. ALT Workstation is now available for armh (armv7hf) too, with Elvees Mcom02 CPU/board being the first supported one; both Workstation and Education are available for aarch64 CPUs, namely Baikal-M, Huawei Kungpeng Desktop and Raspberry Pi 3/4. A new gpupdate utility and tooling was introduced to make use of Active Directory group policies. ALT Server for x86_64 got Jitsi Meet videoconferencing. Most of the architectures were moved to the Linux 5.4 kernel." Here is the full release announcement (in Russian).
BunsenLabs Linux Lithium
The BunsenLabs development team has announced the release of BunsenLabs Linux Lithium, a major new version from the project that offers a lightweight and customisable Linux distribution based on Debian's "stable" branch and featuring the Openbox window manager: "BunsenLabs Linux is pleased to announce Lithium, the latest release of our Debian stable (currently 'Buster') derivative. Core components include the Openbox window manager, tint2, a highly configurable panel, and jgmenu - a menu replacement for the Openbox menu, featuring menu auto-updating when new applications are installed and type-to-search for finding apps in the menu. Some major features of BunsenLabs Lithium: new dark default theme, featuring custom-colored Papirus icons; more modularity and flexibility, eg. the BunsenLabs session can coexist with a default Openbox or Xfce session; Openbox can be replaced with another window manager and keep BunsenLab's auto-started apps, menu and key bindings...." See the release announcement and release notes for further information.
The long-awaited BunsenLabs Lithium introduces "jgmenu" for Openbox
(full image size: 2,554kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
* * * * *
Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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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) |
Do you own a Linux-powered phone?
In our Questions and Answers column we talked about mobile phone options that run the Linux kernel. There are several options available these days, including devices running UBports, Purism's Librem, /e/ OS, and Android phones. We would like to hear what Linux-based mobile operating system you use, if any.
You can see the results of our previous poll on open source alternatives to Linux distributions in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Do you own a Linux-powered phone?
| I run /e/ OS or LineageOS: | 123 (7%) |
| I run PureOS/Librem: | 9 (0%) |
| I run UBports: | 250 (14%) |
| I run an Android phone: | 962 (53%) |
| I run another Linux-base mobile OS: | 73 (4%) |
| I do not run a Linux-based mobile OS: | 391 (22%) |
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| Website News (by Ladislav Bodnar) |
New distributions added to database
RebornOS
RebornOS is a desktop-oriented Linux distribution based on Arch Linux. Although the RebornOS live image provides a GNOME desktop only, the installation process offers a choice to install one of the many popular desktop environments and window managers. Other interesting features of the distribution include support for Flatpak packages, optional installation of Anbox for running Android applications, a capability to rollback the system to a previous date, and graphical system configuration and maintenance tools.
RebornOS 2020.07.30 features a customised GNOME desktop
(full image size: 2,554kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
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New distributions added to waiting list
Caprice Linux. Caprice Linux is a lightweight, minimalist desktop Linux distribution based on Debian's "stable" branch and featuring a customised Xfce desktop.
Caprice Linux 1.0 with a customised Xfce desktop and Whisker menu
(full image size: 2,255kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
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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, 10 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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| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
| • Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
| • Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
| • Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
| • Issue 1040 (2023-10-09): CROWZ 5.0, changing the location of default directories, Linux Mint updates its Edge edition, Murena crowdfunding new privacy phone, Debian publishes new install media |
| • Issue 1039 (2023-10-02): Zenwalk Current, finding the duration of media files, Peppermint OS tries out new edition, COSMIC gains new features, Canonical reports on security incident in Snap store |
| • Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years |
| • Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session |
| • Issue 1036 (2023-09-11): SDesk 2023.08.12, hiding command line passwords, openSUSE shares contributor survery results, Ubuntu plans seamless disk encryption, GNOME 45 to break extension compatibility |
| • Issue 1035 (2023-09-04): Debian GNU/Hurd 2023, PCLinuxOS 2023.07, do home users need a firewall, AlmaLinux introduces new repositories, Rocky Linux commits to RHEL compatibility, NetBSD machine runs unattended for nine years, Armbian runs wallpaper contest |
| • Issue 1034 (2023-08-28): Void 20230628, types of memory usage, FreeBSD receives port of Linux NVIDIA driver, Fedora plans improved theme handling for Qt applications, Canonical's plans for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1033 (2023-08-21): MiniOS 20230606, system user accounts, how Red Hat clones are moving forward, Haiku improves WINE performance, Debian turns 30 |
| • Issue 1032 (2023-08-14): MX Linux 23, positioning new windows on the desktop, Linux Containers adopts LXD fork, Oracle, SUSE, and CIQ form OpenELA |
| • Issue 1031 (2023-08-07): Peppermint OS 2023-07-01, preventing a file from being changed, Asahi Linux partners with Fedora, Linux Mint plans new releases |
| • Issue 1030 (2023-07-31): Solus 4.4, Linux Mint 21.2, Debian introduces RISC-V support, Ubuntu patches custom kernel bugs, FreeBSD imports OpenSSL 3 |
| • Issue 1029 (2023-07-24): Running Murena on the Fairphone 4, Flatpak vs Snap sandboxing technologies, Redox OS plans to borrow Linux drivers to expand hardware support, Debian updates Bookworm media |
| • Issue 1028 (2023-07-17): KDE Connect; Oracle, SUSE, and AlmaLinux repsond to Red Hat's source code policy change, KaOS issues media fix, Slackware turns 30; security and immutable distributions |
| • Issue 1027 (2023-07-10): Crystal Linux 2023-03-16, StartOS (embassyOS 0.3.4.2), changing options on a mounted filesystem, Murena launches Fairphone 4 in North America, Fedora debates telemetry for desktop team |
| • Issue 1026 (2023-07-03): Kumander Linux 1.0, Red Hat changing its approach to sharing source code, TrueNAS offers SMB Multichannel, Zorin OS introduces upgrade utility |
| • Issue 1025 (2023-06-26): KaOS with Plasma 6, information which can leak from desktop environments, Red Hat closes door on sharing RHEL source code, SUSE introduces new security features |
| • Issue 1024 (2023-06-19): Debian 12, a safer way to use dd, Debian releases GNU/Hurd 2023, Ubuntu 22.10 nears its end of life, FreeBSD turns 30 |
| • Issue 1023 (2023-06-12): openSUSE 15.5 Leap, the differences between independent distributions, openSUSE lengthens Leap life, Murena offers new phone for North America |
| • Issue 1022 (2023-06-05): GetFreeOS 2023.05.01, Slint 15.0-3, Liya N4Si, cleaning up crowded directories, Ubuntu plans Snap-based variant, Red Hat dropping LireOffice RPM packages |
| • Issue 1021 (2023-05-29): rlxos GNU/Linux, colours in command line output, an overview of Void's unique features, how to use awk, Microsoft publishes a Linux distro |
| • Issue 1020 (2023-05-22): UBports 20.04, finding another machine's IP address, finding distros with a specific kernel, Debian prepares for Bookworm |
| • Issue 1019 (2023-05-15): Rhino Linux (Beta), checking which applications reply on a package, NethServer reborn, System76 improving application responsiveness |
| • Issue 1018 (2023-05-08): Fedora 38, finding relevant manual pages, merging audio files, Fedora plans new immutable edition, Mint works to fix Secure Boot issues |
| • Issue 1017 (2023-05-01): Xubuntu 23.04, Debian elects Project Leaders and updates media, systemd to speed up restarts, Guix System offering ground-up source builds, where package managers install files |
| • Issue 1016 (2023-04-24): Qubes OS 4.1.2, tracking bandwidth usage, Solus resuming development, FreeBSD publishes status report, KaOS offers preview of Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1015 (2023-04-17): Manjaro Linux 22.0, Trisquel GNU/Linux 11.0, Arch Linux powering PINE64 tablets, Ubuntu offering live patching on HWE kernels, gaining compression on ex4 |
| • Issue 1014 (2023-04-10): Quick looks at carbonOS, LibreELEC, and Kodi, Mint polishes themes, Fedora rolls out more encryption plans, elementary OS improves sideloading experience |
| • Issue 1013 (2023-04-03): Alpine Linux 3.17.2, printing manual pages, Ubuntu Cinnamon becomes official flavour, Endeavour OS plans for new installer, HardenedBSD plans for outage |
| • Issue 1012 (2023-03-27): siduction 22.1.1, protecting privacy from proprietary applications, GNOME team shares new features, Canonical updates Ubuntu 20.04, politics and the Linux kernel |
| • Issue 1011 (2023-03-20): Serpent OS, Security Onion 2.3, Gentoo Live, replacing the scp utility, openSUSE sees surge in downloads, Debian runs elction with one candidate |
| • Issue 1010 (2023-03-13): blendOS 2023.01.26, keeping track of which files a package installs, improved network widget coming to elementary OS, Vanilla OS changes its base distro |
| • Issue 1009 (2023-03-06): Nemo Mobile and the PinePhone, matching the performance of one distro on another, Linux Mint adds performance boosts and security, custom Ubuntu and Debian builds through Cubic |
| • Issue 1008 (2023-02-27): elementary OS 7.0, the benefits of boot environments, Purism offers lapdock for Librem 5, Ubuntu community flavours directed to drop Flatpak support for Snap |
| • Issue 1007 (2023-02-20): helloSystem 0.8.0, underrated distributions, Solus team working to repair their website, SUSE testing Micro edition, Canonical publishes real-time edition of Ubuntu 22.04 |
| • Issue 1006 (2023-02-13): Playing music with UBports on a PinePhone, quick command line and shell scripting questions, Fedora expands third-party software support, Vanilla OS adds Nix package support |
| • Issue 1005 (2023-02-06): NuTyX 22.12.0 running CDE, user identification numbers, Pop!_OS shares COSMIC progress, Mint makes keyboard and mouse options more accessible |
| • Issue 1004 (2023-01-30): OpenMandriva ROME, checking the health of a disk, Debian adopting OpenSnitch, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1003 (2023-01-23): risiOS 37, mixing package types, Fedora seeks installer feedback, Sparky offers easier persistence with USB writer |
| • Issue 1002 (2023-01-16): Vanilla OS 22.10, Nobara Project 37, verifying torrent downloads, Haiku improvements, HAMMER2 being ports to NetBSD |
| • Issue 1001 (2023-01-09): Arch Linux, Ubuntu tests new system installer, porting KDE software to OpenBSD, verifying files copied properly |
| • Issue 1000 (2023-01-02): Our favourite projects of all time, Fedora trying out unified kernel images and trying to speed up shutdowns, Slackware tests new kernel, detecting what is taking up disk space |
| • Issue 999 (2022-12-19): Favourite distributions of 2022, Fedora plans Budgie spin, UBports releasing security patches for 16.04, Haiku working on new ports |
| • Issue 998 (2022-12-12): OpenBSD 7.2, Asahi Linux enages video hardware acceleration on Apple ARM computers, Manjaro drops proprietary codecs from Mesa package |
| • Issue 997 (2022-12-05): CachyOS 221023 and AgarimOS, working with filenames which contain special characters, elementary OS team fixes delta updates, new features coming to Xfce |
| • Issue 996 (2022-11-28): Void 20221001, remotely shutting down a machine, complex aliases, Fedora tests new web-based installer, Refox OS running on real hardware |
| • Issue 995 (2022-11-21): Fedora 37, swap files vs swap partitions, Unity running on Arch, UBports seeks testers, Murena adds support for more devices |
| • Issue 994 (2022-11-14): Redcore Linux 2201, changing the terminal font size, Fedora plans Phosh spin, openSUSE publishes on-line manual pages, disabling Snap auto-updates |
| • Issue 993 (2022-11-07): Static Linux, working with just a kernel, Mint streamlines Flatpak management, updates coming to elementary OS |
| • Full list of all issues |
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