 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 877, 3 August 2020 |
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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, shuts down, 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.
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Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a de-branded HP laptop with the following
specifications:
- Processor: Intel i3 2.5GHz CPU
- Display: Intel integrated video
- Storage: Western Digital 700GB hard drive
- Memory: 6GB of RAM
- Wired network device: Realtek RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast
- Wireless network device: Realtek RTL8188EE Wireless network card
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Visitor supplied rating
Haiku has a visitor supplied average rating of: 7.1/10 from 21 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.
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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)
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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 |
| • Ussye 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
| • Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
| • Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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LinuxPPC
LinuxPPC was a Red Hat 6.2-based distribution for the PowerPC platform. It was no longer supported.
Status: Discontinued
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View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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