 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 894, 30 November 2020 |
Welcome to this year's 48th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
The concept of software freedom states that people should be able to view the code of the software they use as well as improve and share it with others. While there are several projects and distributions which strive to provide software that upholds these ideals, there are still many applications and hardware drivers which do not and this can make software freedom a difficult goal for user friendly distributions to achieve. We begin this week with a look at a project called Trisquel GNU/Linux, one of the few Linux distributions on the Free Software Foundation's list of endorsed operating systems. Trisquel provides a friendly desktop experience while running free software exclusively. Our Feature Story this week shares a look at what it is like to run Trisquel. Are you able to accomplish everything you want with your computer running only freely licensed software? Let us know in this week's Opinion Poll if your needs are entirely met by free software. In our News section we talk about the HardenedBSD project gaining new contributions and explore how an operating system boots, using NetBSD as an example. We also report on work going into the UBports installer which makes it easier to switch between mobile operating systems. Plus we talk about kernel stability and how it affects both applications and hardware drivers. Then 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: Trisquel GNU/Linux 9.0
- News: HardenedBSD welcomes new contributors, exploring how NetBSD boots, UBports installer now works with LineageOS and Android
- Questions and answers: Consistent stability from the Linux kernel
- Released last week: Proxmox 6.3 "Virtual Environment", Guix System 1.2.0, AV Linux 2020.11.23
- Torrent corner: AV Linux, GParted Live, Guix System, NethServer, Nitrux, openmamba, Proxmox, Snal Linux, SystemRescue
- Opinion poll: Does an entirely free operating system cover all your needs?
- Reader comments
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (13MB) and MP3 (10MB) formats.
|
| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Trisquel GNU/Linux 9.0
Trisquel GNU/Linux is an entirely free (libre) distribution based on Ubuntu. Trisquel offers a variety of desktop editions, all of which are stripped of non-free software components. The project is one of the few Linux distributions endorsed by the Free Software Foundation and a rare project that attempts to both be entirely free and friendly to less experienced Linux users.
The Trisquel website lists several desktop editions. The main edition (which is a 2.5GB download) features the MATE desktop environment while the Mini edition is about half the size and runs LXDE. There is also a KDE Plasma edition (called Triskel) along with Trisquel TOAST which runs the Sugar learning platform. Finally, there is a minimal net-install option for people who are comfortable building their system from the ground up using a command line interface.
The release announcement for Trisquel 9.0 is fairly brief and does not mention many features. The bulk of the information is provided in this paragraph: "The default web browser Abrowser, our freedom and privacy respecting take on Mozilla's browser, provides the latest updates from upstream for a great browsing experience. Backports provide extended hardware support." Though it does not appear to be mentioned specifically in the release announcement, Trisquel 9.0 looks to be based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS packages, with some applications backported.
Live disc
Booting from the distribution's ISO brings up a menu asking us to select our preferred language from a list. Then we are shown the project's boot menu where we can set startup options. We can also choose between trying Trisquel's live desktop, installing the distribution, or running a text-based system installer. Taking the Try option loads the MATE desktop.
Trisquel GNU/Linux 9.0 -- Running Abrowser on the MATE desktop
(full image size: 998kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
MATE places its panel across the bottom of the screen. An application menu and a few quick-launch buttons sit in the bottom-left corner of the display. The system tray takes up the lower-right corner and a task switcher sits in the middle of the panel. On the desktop we find icons for launching the file manager and opening the Ubiquity system installer.
The application menu has a tree-style layout and no search option. This makes it easy to browse categories of software, but harder to find programs where we only know the name and not the category. Some of the sub-menus get pretty deep. For example, to adjust the monitor settings we need to burrow through four layers of the menu (System -> Preferences -> Hardware -> Displays) or, alternatively, we can visit the settings panel.
Installing
Trisquel uses the Ubiquity graphical installer which will be familiar to most people who run members of the Ubuntu family of distributions. Ubiquity quickly and smoothly walks us through the paces, selecting our language, keyboard layout, time zone, and picking a username for ourselves. Ubiquity offers to show us the project's release notes which opens a web browser to display Trisquel's on-line release announcement. We are also asked if we would like to download any available package updates during the install process. When I was first starting to use Trisquel there were no updates available so this option made no difference.
When it comes to dividing up the local disk Trisquel offers us guided and manual partitioning options. Ubiquity's manual partitioning is quite friendly and easily to navigate with nice graphics outlining the layout of the disk. When it comes to guided partitioning Ubiquity will take over available space, setting up an ext4 filesystem to hold the operating system and a swap partition. Alternatively we can enable a guided option that uses LVM volumes and encryption to protect the system.
The system installer performed all of its tasks without any issues. When it was finished Ubiquity offered to restart the computer.
Early impressions
My fresh copy of Trisquel booted to a graphical login screen. Signing into my account brought up the same MATE desktop I explored on the live disc. The login page and default MATE wallpaper display a blue seascape with fluffy clouds in the background. It's a scene I found quite pleasing and it worked fairly well with the light grey default theme. Trisquel does not include any welcome screen or first-run customizations. We dive straight into using the desktop, which displayed no notifications or distractions.
Hardware
The distribution ran unusually well in VirtualBox. The MATE desktop was highly responsive, new applications opened quickly, and the operating system ran smoothly. The desktop would not dynamically resize with its VirtualBox window, but I could set the desktop resolution in the Displays settings module.
Trisquel GNU/Linux 9.0 -- Exploring configuration options in the settings panel
(full image size: 708kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
When I switched over to testing the distribution on my workstation the performance was again great. I love how responsive MATE was in both test environments. The desktop flies on this distribution and windows are wonderfully snappy. MATE is a mid-weight desktop environment, yet it performs like a lightweight window manager on this distribution.
The one serious problem I ran into with Trisquel is that, being an entirely free operating system, it does not include non-free firmware. This means the operating system cannot use my wireless card. In an environment where wired Ethernet connections are available this won't be a problem, but for anyone who uses wireless networking, Trisquel will likely not be able to set up a network connection. Likewise, people hoping to use non-free video drivers for improved video and/or gaming support will not find them included in this distribution or its repositories.
Trisquel uses a relatively small amount of resources. When signed into MATE I found the system consumed 340MB of RAM and a fresh install used up 5.6GB of disk space. This is just slightly lighter than what Ubuntu MATE, one of Trisquel's closest relatives, used when I tested it last year.
Applications
Trisquel ships with a fairly standard collection of applications. Though, in some cases, popular software has been swapped out for more libre or privacy-protecting alternatives. For instance Trisquel uses Abrowser as the default web browser, which is a modified version of Firefox. Likewise Icedove replaces the Thunderbird e-mail client.
Looking through the application menu we also find the Pidgin and Jami communication clients, the Liferea feed reader, and the Electrum Bitcoin Wallet. The Transmission bittorrent software is included along with LibreOffice and a remote desktop viewer. The GNU Image Manipulation Program is included along with the Cheese webcam utility and Brasero disc burning software.
Trisquel GNU/Linux 9.0 -- Playing a game and running LibreOffice
(full image size: 196kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
The Rhythmbox audio and VLC multimedia programs are available along with a extensive collection of media codecs. There are a few games present along with the Caja file manager and the Back In Time backup software. To tweak the desktop and adjust some underlying settings, such as setting up printers and creating user accounts, we can visit the MATE settings panel. The settings panel is nicely laid out and offers a search box to help us filter the list of available modules. These worked quite nicely for me.
In the background Trisquel ships with the systemd init software and version 4.15 of the Linux kernel.
Software management
When it comes to managing software the utility which sits front and centre in the application menu is called Add/Remove Applications. This program, also known as trisquel-app-install appears to be a Python application that is divided into three panes. One large pane on the left shows software categories similar to those in the application menu. Clicking these categories shows packages in that category in the upper-right pane. Clicking a specific program in the upper-right pane shows a description of the software in the lower-right corner of the window.
Trisquel GNU/Linux 9.0 -- The software manager
(full image size: 954kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
We can click a box next to programs we wish to install and choose to download these programs in a batch. Once packages begin to download the software manager's interface is locked until the operations are all completed. It appears as though the Add/Remove Applications tool calls Synaptic in the background as Synaptic is the program which prompts us for password authorization.
While Add/Remove Applications worked quite well for me and I had no problems with it, in fact I quite like the simple, uncluttered interface, we also have the option of launching Synaptic directly to install, remove, and upgrade packages. Alternatively, we can manage software packages through the APT command line tools.
In addition to these options there is a simple update manager in the System sub-menu of the application menu. I like that this tool asks if it is okay for it to access the network before checking remote repositories for new packages. This potentially reduces bandwidth consumption and improves privacy on untrusted networks.
Trisquel maintains its own software repositories which appear to contain exclusively free software, mostly pulled from Ubuntu. By default there is no portable package framework (such as Flatpak or Snap) installed. I found Flatpak can be installed from Trisquel's repositories. There are also tools in the repositories for creating Snap packages, but the Snap software itself is missing.
Other observations
While exploring Trisquel and using it to get some work done I started noticing a few things. One is that, unlike many modern distributions, Trisquel does not activate the screensaver after just five minutes of inactivity. The screensaver kicks on after 30 minutes which is much more to my taste.
The Jami communication client, when closed, remains running in the system tray. Even if we terminate the program from the system tray it always restarts itself the next time we login, taking up about an extra 100MB of memory. There is no in-app setting to disable this automatic start-up. Fortunately MATE can disable Jami's automatic activation through the Startup Applications module in the settings panel.
Pressing the Ctrl+Shift+E combination brings up a window for selecting emjoi characters. This interferes with the GNU Image Manipulation Program's keyboard shortcuts. As far as I can tell this key combination is not defined in MATE's global keyboard shortcuts and I did not find an easy way to disable it, slowing me down when I was editing images.
Conclusions
Trisquel is a fairly solid desktop operating system. The distribution ships with many useful applications and provides access to a large amount of software. It has a highly responsive desktop that I found fairly easy to navigate and a flexible & friendly settings panel. The system looks fairly nice with the default theme and offers some alternatives for people who want darker or higher contrast themes.
Trisquel GNU/Linux 9.0 -- Trying alternative themes
(full image size: 832kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
On the whole I found Trisquel to be pleasant to use, easy to set up, and pretty capable out of the box. I really like how fast it performed tasks and how uncluttered/unbusy the desktop felt.
The one problem I had with Trisquel was the lack of wireless networking support. The distribution strives for software freedom (as defined by the Free Software Foundation) and this means no non-free firmware, drivers, or applications. This slightly limits its hardware support compared to most Linux distributions. It also means no easy access to applications such as Steam, Chrome, Spotify, and so on. This may make Trisquel a less practical operating system to some, but that is sort of the point: Trisquel takes a hard stance in favour of software freedom over convenience.
If you are a person who does not use non-free software and doesn't need non-free wireless support, then Trisquel is probably the best experience you can have with an entirely free Linux distribution. It is painless to set up, offers several desktop flavours, and runs quickly. For free software enthusiasts I would highly recommend giving Trisquel a try.
* * * * *
Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a desktop HP Pavilon p6 Series with the following specifications:
- Processor: Dual-core 2.8GHz AMD A4-3420 APU
- Storage: 500GB Hitachi hard drive
- Memory: 6GB of RAM
- Networking: Realtek RTL8111 wired network card, Ralink RT5390R PCIe Wireless card
- Display: AMD Radeon HD 6410D video card
* * * * *
Visitor supplied rating
Trisquel GNU/Linux has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8.3/10 from 24 review(s).
Have you used Trisquel GNU/Linux? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
|
| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
HardenedBSD welcomes new contributors, exploring how NetBSD boots, UBports installer now works with LineageOS and Android
The HardenedBSD team works to develop a more security-rich version of FreeBSD. The project's latest newsletter outlines some progress the team has made with their infrastructure and mentions the project is now receiving contributions from commercial vendors. "I've worked on merging in some code and documentation contributions. We had our first vendor code contribution this month. I still need to review and merge in their patch for the hardening-check port. Our self-hosted git server is still experiencing issues, but is still getting more stable as time goes on. We've noticed malicious bot scanning activity over our Tor Onion Service endpoints that put a lot of pressure on Gitea, to the point of crashing Gitea. Happens every other week or so." Technical details of the team's work can be found in their November newsletter.
* * * * *
Have you ever wondered how a computer knows how to start its operating system? What goes on under the hood when a computer's CPU tries to load a kernel? Maciej Grochowski goes into a detail-oriented exploration of how a modern computer boots, using NetBSD as an example. "System initialization is one of the niche areas that few people look into. The exact details vary considerably between different platforms, firmwares, CPU architectures and operating systems, making it difficult to learn it all. Usually, if something is not working correctly during the early stages of system startup or if the OS does not boot, it rarely has anything to do with the code responsible for booting. Most of the time, it is due to other factors, such as the boot media or BIOS configuration. However, understanding the early initialization process may help debug or to familiarize yourself with a new platform or hardware." It's a fascinating dive into the nuts and bolts of the boot process.
* * * * *
The UBports team has added an unusual new feature to their system installer: the ability to install alternative operating systems. The UBports installer is being modified to also function as an installer for LineageOS and Android as well as Ubuntu Touch (UT). The project's latest newsletter explains: "Installer updates are arriving twice a week at the moment. There are both bug fixes and new features. Devices are now correctly detected in fast-boot and OEM unlocking is done automatically in many cases, if you forgot. The installer now reconnects if you get the 'authorization is required' screen. USB debugging is sorted out live. It now acts as an Android and Lineage OS installer, so you can now easily go back if you were just curious to try UT."
* * * * *
These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
|
| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Consistent stability from the Linux kernel
Where-is-the-stability asks: I thought I'd heard that Linux doesn't break userland. But then just the other week you said the NVIDIA driver was broken. Has Linux policy changed?
DistroWatch answers: It is true that the kernel team has a guiding principle that changes made to the kernel should not break programs running in userspace. (Userspace referring here, basically, to programs and data not contained in the kernel.) The idea is that if an existing program uses some kernel function or feature that the kernel developers should not change or remove that feature. This avoids kernel developers deciding to bring in some new, exciting change or alternative way of doing things that suddenly causes a bunch of programs to stop working.
The NVIDIA video driver however is not a part of userland, it is a kernel module. The Linux developers do occasionally tweak the internals of how the kernel works. This can cause existing components of the kernel, including drivers, to stop working. Usually this just happens with non-free drivers which are maintained by third-party companies (like NVIDIA). Open source drivers which have been added to the kernel get updated by their maintainers when changes happen in the kernel so that the drivers continue to work.
In some rare instances open source drivers and modules may also be affected if they are not included in the kernel. The ZFS on Linux module, for example, occasionally needs to be updated by its developers to maintain compatibility with the rest of the kernel because (though ZFS is open source software) ZFS's license prevents it from being merged with the rest of the kernel source code.
I'd also like to note there are some rare exceptions to Linux not breaking userspace applications. Some long-term Linux users may remember when cutting edge distributions such as Fedora and Arch Linux ran into an issue with the K3b disc burning software no longer working on Linux 2.6.8.1. If memory serves this was the result of a security fix. The "don't break userspace" rule followed by the upstream kernel developers also doesn't protect users from distributions patching changes into their own kernel packages. I can recall Red Hat backporting features from the 2.5.x development kernel into Linux 2.4 and causing some issues. The vanilla kernel was fine, but the Red Hat Linux package for the kernel caused issues which were outside of the upstream developers' hands.
In short, the "don't break userspace" guideline is still there. It's almost always still followed, except in some very rare instances. However, NVIDIA's module is a third-party kernel module rather than part of userland and therefore doesn't fall under the rule's scope. Hopefully, in the future, companies like NVIDIA will merge their drivers into the kernel so it can be updated as part of the kernel to avoid this sort of problem.
* * * * *
Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
|
| Released Last Week |
Guix System 1.2.0
Guix System is a Linux-based, stateless operating system that is built around the GNU Guix package manager. The operating system provides advanced package management features such as transactional upgrades and roll-backs, reproducible build environments, unprivileged package management, and per-user profiles. The project's latest version, 1.2.0, focuses on improving the security of the software supplied to the distribution. "A major highlight in this release is the ability to authenticate channels, which probably makes Guix one of the safest ways to deliver complete operating systems today. This was the missing link in our 'software supply chain' and we're glad it's now fixed. The end result is that 'guix pull' and related commands now cryptographically authenticate channel code that they fetch; you cannot, for instance, retrieve unauthorized commits to the official Guix repository. We detailed the design and implementation back in July. The manual explains what you need to know as a user and as a channel author. There's also a new 'guix git authenticate' command to use this authentication mechanism for arbitrary Git repositories!" Additional information can be found in the project's release announcement.
AV Linux 2020.11.23
Glen MacArthur has announced the release of AV Linux 2020.11.23, the latest version of the multimedia-oriented distribution with a collection of audio and video production software. This is the project's first build based on MX Linux and it also features separate editions for x86_64 (with Xfce) and i386 (with Openbox) platforms: "After several months of behind-the-scenes work, two ISO images of the brand new 'AV Linux MX Edition' have been released. With 32-bit Xfce/Openbox and 64-bit Xfce editions, this new project is based on MX Linux 19.3. The MX development team is aware of this project and have kindly provided assistance and a warm welcome but it is important to note that this project is an unofficial respin and at the current time not under the umbrella of the antiX/MX projects. MX is the new home base of AV Linux and I'm very excited about combining the phenomenal tools and utilities of MX with the well-known content-creation focus that has defined AV Linux since 2008. Highlights of this release: Linux kernel 5.9.1, includes the Bluetooth stack security fix; greatly expanded AVL-MXE Assistant; new custom 'Diehard' and 'Earth' themes...." Here is the full release announcement with a screenshots and video overview.
AV Linux 2020.11.23 -- Exploring the AV Linux menu
(full image size: 691kB, resolution: 1920x1200 pixels)
EuroLinux 7.9
EuroLinux is an enterprise-class Linux distribution made and supported by the EuroLinux company, built mostly from code of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The project's latest release is EuroLinux 7.9 which enters a new phase of support. "Because EuroLinux 7 is in the second phase of support, there are no revolutionary changes. It is the same stable, mission-critical, proved operating system in which many packages were updated and upgraded to a higher version. It should be anticipated since Enterprise Linux 7 during its life was repeatedly subjected to a reasonably common, aggressive rebase, that is, upgrading packages to recent, nevertheless proven and reliable, versions. Among the most significant changes are: sssd upgraded to version 1.165; pacemaker and stack responsible for clustering updated to version - 1.1.23; MariaDB database updated to this year's version - 5.5.68." The release announcement goes on to mention that EuroLinux 6 raches the end of its normal life cycle on November 30, 2020. However, customes can purchase extended support after this date.
Proxmox 6.3 "Virtual Environment"
Proxmox is a commercial company offering specialised products based on Debian. The company's latest release is Proxmox 6.3 "Virtual Environment" which integrates with the distribution's Backup Server software. The release announcement reports: "We are really excited to announce the general availability of our virtualization management platform Proxmox VE 6.3. The most notable new feature is the integration of the stable version 1.0 of our new Proxmox Backup Server. We have strong encryption on the client-side and we have made creating and managing encryption keys for you very simple, providing multiple ways to store keys. VM backups are blazing fast with QEMU dirty-bitmaps. This release also brings stable integration of Ceph Octopus 15.2.6, and you can now select your preferred Ceph version during the installation process. Many new Ceph-specific management features have been added to the GUI like for example displaying the recovery progress in the Ceph status panel or setting the placement groups (PGs) auto-scaling mode for each Ceph pool in the storage cluster. In general, we have added even more functionality and usability enhancements to the GUI." Additional information can be found in the company's release notes.
* * * * *
Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
|
| 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: 2,242
- Total data uploaded: 35.0TB
|
| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
|
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
| Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
Does an entirely free operating system cover all your needs?
In this week's review of Trisquel GNU/Linux we talked about how this desktop distribution strives to provide software for most tasks in a friendly desktop environment while also being made entirely from free software. Can an entirely free software operating system cover all your computing needs? Can free drivers run all your hardware and free & open source applications perform all the tasks you want to accomplish on your computer? Let us know if there are any gaps in free software functionality you would like to see addressed in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on using Secure Boot in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
|
Free software covers...
| All of my needs: | 439 (26%) |
| All my application needs but not hardware: | 364 (22%) |
| All my hardware needs but not applications: | 222 (13%) |
| Is missing hardware and application functionality: | 532 (32%) |
| Unsure: | 109 (7%) |
|
|
| Website News |
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 7 December 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)
|
|
| Tip Jar |
If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip.
(Tips this week: 1, value: US$21.86) |
|
|
|
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch |
|
| Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
|
|
| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Does an entirely free operating system cover all your needs? (by Jeffrydada on 2020-11-30 01:49:36 GMT from United States)
I run a small Linux based recording studio and I try to buy hardware that meets the free standard but it's not always possible. Same with my applications I still like to use some Windows VSTs and my DAW of choice is Tracktion Waveform (proprietary DAW), along with Ardour. Because of these things an entirely free OS does not meet my needs. I do appreciate those distros like Trisquel that work hard at trying to make free software an all you need system.
2 • Free software (by Fred on 2020-11-30 02:02:26 GMT from Australia)
I love open source software but at the same time if I need a proprietary thing for hardware or codecs then so be it.
3 • Poll query (by Otis on 2020-11-30 02:25:08 GMT from United States)
One of the best polls I've seen about Linux. That question seems right at the core of why we're here. It is really interesting that we're still having to make those choices (some of us) as to free or not.
I have had to use bumblebee and other non-free software for this or that machine.
4 • Trisquel/the poll; netbsd (by matt on 2020-11-30 02:42:33 GMT from United States)
I answered that free software meets my software needs but not all my hardware needs.
The biggest problem is hardware, especially wireless. Besides that everything I need to do can be done with free software.
I see the article about netbsd. I would encourage everyone to try netbsd in virtualbox. It's actually really easy to install, and fairly simple to use. I'll probably be putting it on a spare machine some time soon.
5 • Trisquel/poll (by Andy Prough on 2020-11-30 03:29:03 GMT from United States)
Trisquel is an outstanding distro, what a lot of others should strive to be. I'm glad to see that it worked so well for Jesse this week.
Wireless will work, you just need a wifi adapter which works with free firmware, such as the Atheros AR9271 chipset. These are the things we used to have to think about before installing a distro - we would have to check hardware compatability and make sure our system was going to run and be online before installing the distro. These days people expect distros to "just work", which is really the lazy way to go about it. Planning ahead a bit is always the better way to go.
On the poll, I don't personally need non-free software or hardware.
6 • poll (by anon on 2020-11-30 03:32:54 GMT from United States)
I manage to get by with a free operating system. There are challenges and compromises to make, but I've been able to build a nice little workflow. I personally think that it's worth it to go through the growing pains of trying to run a free OS if your situation permits it. It's a fun adventure, and it's a nice learning experience. Also, if your wi-fi is not supported, then I highly recommend looking into thinkpenguin, which offers wi-fi dongles that are proven to work with libre distros. Trisquel and Dragora are my are my free distros of choice, though the latter may be a bit more of a challenge.
7 • trisquel poll (by PL Solda on 2020-11-30 05:49:13 GMT from Italy)
Although I have been actively using Linux for 20 years, I feel it still lacks the choice and quality of ham radio software you can find under a proprietary OS
8 • Poll (by Luca Finizio on 2020-11-30 07:58:51 GMT from Italy)
I always use free software; the only software which is not open source on my pc is Spotify. If I could replace it with an open source version I would do it.
9 • Trisquel (by David Milovanović on 2020-11-30 08:19:53 GMT from Serbia)
I have used Trisquel 7 and I loved it. Amazing, easy-to-use, free distro. I had it installed on my ancient Acer Aspire One D250 netbook (Intel Atom, integrated graphics) and it worked like a charm (including Atheros wireless card). My needs are simple (lite web browsing, lite programming, text editor, ZX and C64 emulators, pdf reader...) and they all were met. Still, I have to say that I answered "All my application needs but not hardware" because I had some problems with another ancient computer, MSI MegaBook EX610 (AMD CPU, Radeon discrete graphic card). I am not sure anymore, but I think that there was a problem with some firmware. Maybe I'll try the newest version. Anyway, as I said, it is really an amazing distro.
10 • Lacking functionality (by Arthur on 2020-11-30 09:30:29 GMT from Germany)
Free software is really good and I use it whenever I can. But during the last two years that I try to use Linux exclusively I still struggle with some important use cases: my old Epson scanner will not work any more, the Contour ShuttleXpress controller is recognized but unconfigurable, and I have not found an Audio Editor that matches the power, quality and convenience of Adobe Audition (no matter what I try, Ardours playback is always stuttering for me, and Audacity is lacking in so many little ways that I find it really unpleasant to use). So for me there is definitely a gap in hard- and software functionality.
11 • Non-free software (by Bruno on 2020-11-30 09:39:47 GMT from Italy)
The hardware is not a big concern for me since I usually pay attention to select linux-supported components.
I'd be happy to ditch all proprietary software but what about when you have to connect with a customer or an institution which only allows zoom, teams, teamviewer or similar sh*tware? You are lucky if you can find a working (non-free) linux version of them otherwise you are forced to switch the entire OS to a proprietary one (guess What...) or run it in a virtual machine. In many cases there is just no choice, go for them or ditch your business!
12 • Using Trisquel for 10+ years and counting (by Magic Banana on 2020-11-30 10:22:10 GMT from Brazil)
I have been exclusively and very happily using Trisquel GNU/Linux for more than ten years. On all the computers I administrate: at home, at work (I am a university professor), for my 60+-year-old parents, etc. It is the best for whoever wants to be in control of her computing without any headache.
@Luca Finizio: there is https://nuclear.js.org
@Bruno: Have you tried sending them a (custom) https://meet.jit.si URL?
13 • Trisquel on Libre laptop (by Uncle Slacky on 2020-11-30 13:14:45 GMT from France)
I run Trisquel Mini on an old MacBook (a black MacBook 2,1, or "BlackBook"). It's one of the easiest laptops to install Libreboot on (entirely in software) so with Trisquel installed it makes a great "libre" solution. The only thing that doesn't work (due to non-free firmware requirements) is the webcam, which is no great loss.
14 • Trisquel (by yanon on 2020-11-30 13:57:03 GMT from Spain)
I started using Trisquel at v7 and liked their mini-version. It's been a mixed bag in some respects: Trisquel is laggard when it comes to keeping current (which can be both a blessing and a curse).
While Free distros are good, repository access has been questionable as Trisquel distros age. (A deliberate choice on the part of Trisquel? If so, it's a deal-breaker for me.)
I'll dutifully download v9 (which is the usual generation behind), but only because I still have Python2 apps I need. Once that issue's addressed, odds are I'll look elsewhere.
15 • Does it work? (by Friar Tux on 2020-11-30 14:06:24 GMT from Canada)
My vote would be "Unsure". I simply ask, Does the distro work? If yes, then I use it. If no, then on to something that does work. Over the years I've experimented/tested/played with thousands over "free" apps and programs - both for Windows and for Linux. When I was using Windows, I found there was quite a lot of free/open source software to choose from. When Windows stopped working, I continued on with Linux (Mint) and found an equally abundant lot of open source software to use.
It really doesn't matter to me if a distro ships with some proprietary software/codex or not. Does it all work out together, and is it free (as in free beer)? (Yeah, I'm a cheap SOB.)
As for Trisquel, the Mate flavour worked beautifully for me, the other flavours, not so great. Triskel (KDE) had the usual KDE issues - screen flickering and lots of ‘firmware not ready’ notices, and, occasionally, it would pause for just a moment. Also tried Trisquel Mini, the LXDE version. This version also had a few ‘firmware’ errors but not as many as the KDE version, and it installed much faster, too. If Linux Mint ever goes with the Grim Reaper, Trisquel/Mate would probably be my go to distro.
"Let us know if there are any gaps in free software functionality you would like to see addressed in the comments." About the only thing lacking on the Linux side of things is an app/program that allows you to switch out your cursor'pointer, on the fly, to use your own PNG images. With Windows you could do this quite easily (provided the images were in *.cur or *.ani format). There is nothing like this in Linux.
16 • Free As In Freedom (by Semiarticulate on 2020-11-30 15:18:21 GMT from United States)
In a world where proprietary software is now scattered all over hell's half acre, and much of it spying on everything we do, I very, very much appreciate the efforts of people like the Trisquel team. I have a Thinkpad X230 that has been awaiting this release. Most exciting!
17 • Wi-Fi not working (by Ram on 2020-11-30 15:51:48 GMT from India)
+
Wi-Fi not working out-of-box is nothing special about Trisquel GNU/Linux only. It is same for all major GNU Linux distros, untill you know
1. what chip it is actually using (use `dmesg`, `lspci`, `lsusb` to detect the new devil) and
2. what driver & firmware it needs (use Google/Bing search) and
3. from where to download it and
4. how to install it if no install-able binary is available.
I got a very cheap Wi-Fi dongle whose updated driver source code is easily available (unofficially) in GitHub along with firmware blob, but I have to install it separately as it's neither included in the Linux kernel nor in the distros maybe due to unspecified license terms.
One more important info I would like to share, don't go for costlier options just to work out-of-box, because there is no guaranty that will forever be the case, GNU Linux market share being minuscule, hardware vendors show little interest in investing their resource for it.
And the last bit, Be Vocal about your real need while paying for something. You must give your hard earned money to somebody who respects it and you.
If something is not working in GNU Linux for a long time, give a harsh review about it online/offline to notify the vendors as well as possible buyers.
+
18 • @17 wifi adapter that works with github firmware blob (by Andy Prough on 2020-11-30 16:08:10 GMT from United States)
> "I got a very cheap Wi-Fi dongle whose updated driver source code is easily available (unofficially) in GitHub along with firmware blob, but I have to install it separately as it's neither included in the Linux kernel nor in the distros maybe due to unspecified license terms."
Can you give us a link to the github page? I would like to check this out.
19 • Free operating systems (by Robert on 2020-11-30 16:35:29 GMT from United States)
For hardware I'm covered in terms of drivers, but I do need binary firmware for at least my amd gpu, and who knows what else.
For software, all my non-gaming needs are covered. Typical email, web browsing, and multimedia use. But gaming is a primary use of my pc, and obviously those are not free software.
20 • Free Software accomplishes all, but still there are properietary "needs" (by Nathan on 2020-11-30 16:46:01 GMT from United States)
There isn't a single thing that I do that can't be accomplished using entirely FLOSS software. And yet I have zoom and slack installed on all of my computers! If my employer embraces a specific technology, then even if alternatives exist and are even superior in many ways, what can one do?
21 • Trisquel (by Dave Postles on 2020-11-30 17:17:09 GMT from United Kingdom)
I used Trisquel for some time. I'm not currently using it, but I do contribute to the funding as an associate member (back then they gave us all a usb stick with the distro in the shape of a key with the logo).. I intend to move back to it soon.
22 • Free software (by David on 2020-11-30 17:18:05 GMT from United Kingdom)
I don't use proprietary video or wifi drivers and my PCLinuxOS kernel has no blobs: you can check for them with the command
cat /proc/sys/kernel/tainted
But I do use a couple of legacy programs under Wine, and I would use other closed source items if I needed to: my computer is a tool, not an ideological statement!
23 • Trisquel test (by Martin on 2020-11-30 17:44:08 GMT from Spain)
Today I tried Trisquel (LXDE and later Mate) in one of my test machines: An Acer Aspire One laptop. Both Trisquel versions were unable to set the correct screen resolution. A waste of time.
It's funny, but wifi worked without problem :-|
24 • Free Software (by sananab on 2020-11-30 18:06:34 GMT from Canada)
Free software would cover all my software needs if I had a different job. But being a webdev, I have to make sure that websites look roughly the same of Safari and the newest Chrome. In other, non-webdev jobs, I've always had to use some sort of propriety software due to management decisions not under my control. For example, I spent years writing scripts for a piece of industry-specific software that the company (and its competitors) had been licensing for ~15 years and was totally tied into.
But for my personal life, yes, I could totally life on free software.
25 • Oh, I forgot (by sananab on 2020-11-30 18:09:22 GMT from Canada)
Oh, I forgot my phone. There's absolutely no chance anyone in my life would let me go without a phone, and I don't have the time or money to figure out the free software solutions. Plus I like to play Stardew Valley sometimes. So I guess I'm not as big a free software person as I thought I was :\
26 • Atheros AR9271 chipset (by Stefan on 2020-11-30 21:01:18 GMT from Brazil)
@5 (by Andy Prough):
You're right. Atheros AR9271 is the best performing (and the most feature rich) chipset for USB Wireless adaptors, such as the popular TP-Link TL-WN722N version 1.10. It employs the reliable driver 'ath9k_htc' (not to be confused with the even better 'ath9k' used by PCIe devices like TP-Link TL-WN781ND) and I doubt any "libre" Linux variant would ever have unsolvable issues with this kind of software.
But there's a problem, at least with TP-Link: In versions 2.x and 3.x of the TL-WN722N USB Wi-Fi dongle, the Atheros AR9271 was replaced by OTHER chipsets (cheaper ones, of course), neither of them made by Atheros... How many other dishonest manufacturers may now be selling "fake products" that do not meet the original specs when they were good?
In my humble opinion, this is reason enough to choose "non-libre" distros. Although I just love Mr. Stallman's philosophy. (Sorry, Mr. Torvalds! :)
27 • Needs vs Wants (by Dr. Dave on 2020-11-30 22:27:45 GMT from United States)
Needs and Wants are different matters. Simply owning and using a computer is already entering the sphere of Want; I could survive without computers. I only NEED air/water/food and protection from the elements. Beyond that, we are talking about degrees of Want, balanced against degrees of Risk (of Privacy and/or Security) If we stretch our definition to categorize 'basic' functionality as Needs, then yes, Free Software definitely meets my 'Needs', however I do knowingly cross the line in to Want territory. On my main machine, I normally use the proprietary Nvidia driver, but I could give up-- and have in the past, given up some degree of Want to avoid it. I have always used stock BIOS software-- so that is technically not 'Free' either. I have seldom touched a deblobbed Linux Kernel. Additionally, any use of the Internet is a privacy/security risk. Unless explicitly stating otherwise, I would consider just about any website to be proprietary software. I don't use WiFi, but I would imagine that if I did, this would be another point of contention in the battle of free versus proprietary.
Whether Free Software meets my Wants, varies across time, however I would estimate that I mostly use free software.
28 • Google Chrome (by Alex on 2020-11-30 22:51:51 GMT from United States)
I haven't put my finger on the cause, but Google Chrome has always worked best in my subjective opinion when using things like Microsoft Teams or Zoom or G-Suite apps in the browser. I have tried to use Chromium and noticed missing features from the apps when using the non-proprietary browser. I didn't invest any extra energy into troubleshooting. I just installed Google Chrome and was instantly happy.
29 • ATOM Cherry Trail and sound issues (by Nab on 2020-12-01 00:38:37 GMT from Canada)
I've being using linux since its frst release. I've tried every distro from Yggdrasil Slackware Redhat Debian Mandrake to PClinuxOS and everything inbetween. I 've settled on PClinuxOS.
I started with intels 8086, 286, 486, to I7 and AMDs. My desktop is i7 6700k with 16Gb of ram and 2 250Gb SSDs and 1Tb HHD. I'm presently experimenting with an Asus E200HA ATOM Cherry Trail netbook. Everything works except sound.
I'm suprised that nobody has created a module for this chipset, considering Kubuntu has the sound working.
So far this is the only BEEF i have with linux and will never go back to
30 • Trisquel and Free Software (by Ken on 2020-12-01 04:59:25 GMT from United States)
I'm glad to see Trisquel making a comeback. Mint was my first introduction to GNU/Linux, and once I became aware of the Free Software philosophy, I switched to Trisquel. I used it for a few years, but then development ground to a halt, and years went by between the release I had and the next one. It was so outdated I switched back to Mint.
I switched to Parabola when I bought a Libreboot Thinkpad x200 (all hardware works flawlessly with free software), and once I got the hang of the AUR, I never looked back at Debian/Ubuntu-based distros. Parabola is still my laptop distro, and after running Manjaro for a while I went to straight Arch on my desktop (NVIDIA GPU, so Parabola would have been a pain).
I stick to free software except when I don't have a choice. Games on my desktop will never be free software, unfortunately. In a pinch I need to be able to use my phone as a webcam, so I have a program to facilitate that. And in these pandemic times Zoom became a required piece of software, so I reluctantly had to install it on my laptop.
Free software continues to come a long way. Because I primarily work in my web browser, email client, office suite, with a sprinkle of light video and graphic editing, I have little need for proprietary software. Libre software does everything I need, sometimes better. It was even trivial to replace the non-free wireless card in my desktop with a new one that used free software. Alas, so long as companies refuse to release their drivers' source, there is nothing Trisquel and other free software distros can do about making them work--the companies, not the distros, are to blame.
31 • Free, proprietary, or a mix? (by Greg Zeng on 2020-12-01 11:41:10 GMT from Australia)
The thirty previous comments here show a very wide variety of users, equipment and user ability to be involved in the mechanics of the operating system. Every operating system tries this wide range of expectations, but often fails to match every situation. Hardware & users are so changing & complex.
On screen displays, often we might need different screen resolutions, simultaneously. Then the screen drivers can all "fail", in any ability, or lacking font clarity, display speeds, etc. My 2013 NVIDIA hardware may be able to use the Nouveau, or Bumblebee, or any of the available Nvidia proprietary drivers. Often these are not good enough, so the Intel GPU must be used instead.
Similar code conflicts happen with other needed drivers: radios, ports, mouse, webcams, printers, etc. Often drivers are included in the code of the Linux kernel. This code could be commercial, or open source. Often it could be not source code, but "binary bits", include by the commercial product.
There are some Linux operating systems that offer versions free of any or all of: commercial source code, binary bits, and also avoid systemd. It is sometimes assumed that these suspicious add-ons are used to spy, weaken or damage the end-user in some way. It is very surprising how so much attention is devoted to the evil coders that are supposed to exist in Microsoft, Apple, Linux and other brands.
32 • Poll "Free" Ambiguity (by cykodrone on 2020-12-01 15:53:35 GMT from Germany)
Free as in no money, or free as in GPL in the strictest sense?
I can run all my machines on strictly GPL OS/software, because I research my hardware's Linux compatibility before I buy. That being said, sometimes the hardware works a little better with so-called non-free kernel driver blobs. I do NOT use proprietary video driver blobs (hate them, with a passion), ever, and have no problems with video issues with just Xorg, etc. The majority of non-free blobs are for the CPU, apparently CPU bugs and shortcomings are discovered long after they're in the 'wild', and new 'firmware' gets released (temporarily applied during each boot). I've had issues with CPU scaling/power management, which were 'cured' with non-free blobs. I don't see the point in wasting electricity, and burning out CPUs prematurely. My overclocking days are in the rear-view mirror.
As for severely proprietary app software like Abloatbe (Adobe), I can live without it, I can do pretty much what a Windows user can do, without the EULA slavery. Does Firefox count as proprietary? Because the actual GPL browsers are a little short on www compatibility, features, etc, so...
33 • UBports installer (by Elcaset on 2020-12-01 16:37:52 GMT from United States)
I'm looking forward to using the UBports installer now that it can also install LineageOS. I suspect that there's less risk of bricking when using the UBports installer. Using the UBports installer to install LineageOS, is definitely easier than installing LineageOS the traditional way (manually). I hope the UBports team ports even more phones to work with their installer, like the original Pixel.
34 • Free Ambiguity Addendum (by cykodrone on 2020-12-01 16:50:19 GMT from Germany)
Does 'free' include corporate developed (specifically for the Linux/BSD/FOSS community), but released as GPL? Because some, even though there's no money involved, and/or IP legal threat(s), come with existential Faustian bargain Borg-ism caveats. Like Android, it's not "free", you literally pay with your digital life.
I know I sound like a broken record, but there seems to be a need for absolute clarification. This is reminiscent of the 'corporations are people' legislation sham, so uber huge rainy day contingency fund corporations could avoid paying out on injury/pollution/fraud/etc liability cases, and make political contributions as 'people' (dark money injections).
No money but corp EULA, no money but corp GPL, private citizen GPL, see, three classes.
35 • Does an entirely free operating system cover all your needs? (by bluefoot on 2020-12-02 03:47:57 GMT from United States)
I work as an illustrator and in theory, yes, an all 'free' software solution could cover all my needs, but in practicality? No, nowhere near, not even close.
Aside from a lack of viable software (Krita is oh-so-close) and Wacom setting support being lacking, my real problem is with the desktop environments themselves.
Lets say KDE and GNOME are coworkers you see everyday. KDE wants to get work done and is a practical person, but doesn't always finish the projects they started in the first place, and jumps from one idea to another, aimlessly at times.
Gnome on the other hand cares about efficiency when getting work done, but can get hung up on doing things their way once they've made up their mind, and while very good at some things, doesn't like to try new things.
Both of them mean well, but they need a lot of guidance to be productive day to day. They definitely wouldn't be considered for a leadership promotion anytime soon.
(In this allegory Windows 10's desktop is the coworker who shows up two hours late with a hangover and stays in the restroom most of the day then tries to do a days worth of work in the hour before they leave.)
And that's really my main issue. Windows 10 has been a clown show and made me really consider if I might move somewhere else, and I really have considered an all 'free' environment but while issues like hdpi support, alternative apps and hardware support are things I've considered, (I don't need codecs or nonfree drivers necessarily), ultimately I wonder how comfortable the experience is going to be, because while I do enjoy tinkering and fudging around with my linux installations, using it for daily work as an artist is different. There is not only a stability needed, but consistency, practicality and modernity. And sure, not everyone wants those comforts, but I very much do want them when it comes to my work.
36 • Glass too big. (by Cynic on 2020-12-02 04:04:40 GMT from Ghana)
.. as in "the glass is neither half full nor half empty, it is simply twice as large as it should be."
I think it's clear (at least in my mind) that there are two root causes for a lot of debate about software and it's capabilities (or lack thereof). To elaborate:
(Most) Users have outlandish expectations of what software is out there, what it can do, how it is made, and yet lack any understanding of both it's underlying complexity and it's cost to the developer in both time and money.
.. in addition..
(Most) Developers are presumptuous in nature and believe that they can quantify the needs of their users into a bottle best served cold. In most cases, desperate for cash as well yet getting almost no payment for their work. (Sad truth about OpenSource is that the users that benefit rarely donate).
For example:
The notion that any operating system is "OOTB"/Out Of The Box is a rather funny one. Not because it isn't possible.. but mostly because it's being used in reference to systems which are clearly not OOTB themselves! In truth, a PC with Windows or a Mac with OSX works "Off the Shelf" rather than "Out of the Box". What I mean by this is: installing either OS on hardware it isn't preconfigured for is going to land you in a world of pain/setup either way.
There are two (common) choices you have when it comes to hardware support for your large company's OS:
1. Design and build the hardware to meet the OS that you design and build (Apple)
2. Design the software and sell it so well you force hardware companies to support you (M$)
Try removing the Windows installation on a brand new PC and reinstalling it. See if that process is as smooth and painless as you expected. Windows XP/Vista/7 and prior were horrible with this, only reporting hardware without a driver as "unidentified", making it nearly impossible to find drivers for the internal components of a laptop/notebook without referring to manufacturer guides. Network, sound, wifi, chipset, and even CD/DVD drives were totally useless post-install.
Why exactly do users compare Linux to systems which are incapable of the fantastical "OOTB" experiences that they expect when it does it better than nearly anything out there...? Never forget that Linux developers have no "clout" or finances to sway hardware companies for FOSS driver support..
The problem on the other side is developers thinking they can match and define everyone's use case. This week's distro pick is a good example. While I offer my "kudos", thanks and what-not to the developers for a good OS (seemingly, I don't use it..) I also find myself at odds with their philosophy. The "purity" of it all could almost be seen as snobbish.. but in addition to that lies a bigger problem:
You're limiting your users to your perspective of the world.
OpenSource developers thinking that only OpenSource software should/could/will be needed.. what a surprise! What about the majority of the rest of the world who might love the idea of having a pure OS like this but just need that ... one.. little.. proprietary program to run for work or nostalgia or what ever other reason.. can't use it.
An operating system should come with an instruction manual and enable a person to work as they see fit.. it should not force an "ideal" or "philosophy" on it's users (.. unless it's something like M$/Apple..?). If the OS is "pure" and the addition of non-free software is labeled as a "we don't recommend this.. but" - I think it would take their project leaps and bounds. Simply because a developer of an OS doesn't use something does not mean all of the users will agree. And if they don't.. how much time did they waste downloading, installing, setting up and learning your system?
Too much presumption in development .. and greater than life expectations on the side of the users. Maybe one day, we'll learn how to merge the two sides of the same coin without melting the damn thing from the inside... (only half joking) *grins*
37 • I can do pretty much what a Windows user can do ... (by whoKnows on 2020-12-02 08:37:00 GMT from Switzerland)
For the people fallen in love, some say that they 'lost their head' or they see the world through the 'pink spectacles' ... Slowly I start understanding why the Innenministers warn of 'Fake News'.
"I can do pretty much what a Windows user can do [on strictly GPL OS/software!] [...]", as long as I don't turn on my computer - the very moment I do, it becomes an actual, useless 'paperweight'.
Autodesk AutoCAD doesn't run, Ableton Live doesn't run, Avid Pro Tools and Media Composer doesn't run, Adobe Premiere doesn't run, Magix Music & Video doesn't run, Adobe Photoshop / Illustrator / InDesign doesn't run, CorelDRAW and Paint doesn't run, Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher doesn't run, Xara Designer doesn't run, Microsoft Office doesn't run ... Netflix 4K unsupported ... Games won't run ...
Different people, different needs ... there are Pro users, Semi-Pro, Hobby, Fun and no-needs users.
P.S. Does the 'latest and greatest' Trisquel still offers that 'incredibly useful' program for converting mp3 in OGG? When one's tries to convert, it can't convert, because of missing mp3 codecs. 😉
38 • Failure to convert (by Fossilizing Dinosaur on 2020-12-02 14:34:07 GMT from United States)
@37 Trisquel has had Freed Open-Source Software for mp3 codecs for at least two decades. The Vorbis codec, commonly found in Ogg containers, is being replaced by the Opus codec - is that what you were confused over? Or were you not using Gstreamer or libavcodec-extra-54?
Once you have access to the content of a file in an encumbered wrapper, best practice would be to convert it to a fully Freed format, preferably unencumbered by patent concerns. ;-D
39 • @37 So can I! (by DaveT on 2020-12-02 19:44:04 GMT from United Kingdom)
Let's take AutoCAD. There are many alternatives that run on linux. BricsCAD cost $350 per year and is AutoCAD compatible in just about every way. Not for me so I use BRL_CD 3D modelling software when I need to.
And there are excellent alternatives to all the other Windows only software you list.
Being a 'contrarian' I do not allow anything from Microsoft into my house, and I will only work for companies that let me use linux or BSD. Suits me fine!
40 • @39 Linux Alternative Software (by Rev_Don on 2020-12-02 21:37:32 GMT from United States)
"And there are excellent alternatives to all the other Windows only software you list."
While you are correct about a couple of them, for the vast majority the only available options are sub-par, extremely clunky to use at best, or even worse do not exist at all.
41 • Expensive Bloat (by cykodrone on 2020-12-02 22:22:18 GMT from Netherlands)
"Autodesk AutoCAD doesn't run, Ableton Live doesn't run, Avid Pro Tools and Media Composer doesn't run, Adobe Premiere doesn't run, Magix Music & Video doesn't run, Adobe Photoshop / Illustrator / InDesign doesn't run, CorelDRAW and Paint doesn't run, Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher doesn't run, Xara Designer doesn't run, Microsoft Office doesn't run ... Netflix 4K unsupported ... Games won't run ... "
Oh my, somebody came in to some money. So when all the smoke clears, are we talking $10K? More?
Are we still talking about FOSS, or shilling MS compatible expensive bloatware (spyware)?
You are right, I don't need all that glossy garbage you need (which was most likely copy/pasted from some software online store).
What you are doing would be like me going to MS forums and trying to bash what they have/do. You're not making any sense.
42 • Trisquel (by mywobblybits on 2020-12-03 00:43:58 GMT from Mexico)
Useless.
I understand the philosophy but what's the bloody point if you can't use something as essential as wifi?
43 • @41 Bashing MS in Forums (by Rev_Don on 2020-12-03 01:53:47 GMT from United States)
"What you are doing would be like me going to MS forums and trying to bash what they have/do."
You mean the way that Linux FanBoys do to Windows forums umpteen times a day. Their only response to any Windows problem, even the easily fixable ones that take 10 seconds is to spout that Linux is the one and only way to solve the issue. Sounds like your calling the kettle black.
44 • 43 • @41 Bashing MS in Forums (by James on 2020-12-03 10:49:15 GMT from United States)
When I used Windows I didn't even know what Linux was, and never saw any Linux user on the Windows forum bashing Windows. Maybe that has changed, it has been a while. That is quite different from Windows users who spend loads of time on Linux forums bashing Linux. You have to know the people there like Linux, and use it because they have valid reasons for not using Windows. That is quite a different thing. Why would they even care? I have not been on a Windows forum since switching to Linux. Anyone that does that, on either Linux or Windows is a troll, just trying to get a reaction.
45 • Latest Poll (by Dan on 2020-12-03 11:50:06 GMT from United States)
My distro doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it has everything I need. I'm a Tiny Core user, and I don't need anything else.
46 • Yes, I can! (by Igor on 2020-12-03 13:33:49 GMT from Croatia)
@37: I can not comment on all of the software you enumerated because I don't use most of it, and I doubt you do.
But I am using Adobe programs daily, and sometimes also the Corel ones, and I am making my salary on it, so here is a qualified judgement:
Everything I do using these tools, I can do using Inkscape and the Gimp, in particular the former one. Often it takes some more of work and figuring out, but sometimes less as well.
It is not the inherent quality of the tools that makes the difference, but how well can I utilise it, and this is the only valid demarcation line between professional and semi-professional. The professional IT engineer specialised in system management is going to make twelve years old box sing, dance and tell jokes across the web, while house user needs the newest and shiniest (and brand name) HW to gain desirable user experience. The later is what s/he has, the former what s/he does. Professional programmer is going to do in plain C anything that semi-professional one cannot do without .net, and more.
Lecturer who taught me data structures and algorithms was debugging in command line, and looked with suspicion even at C, let alone any frameworks, preferring assembler instead. His code was clear and correct, programs rock solid, small and fast, and guys were skipping a year to be able to attend his classes. When he chose to, he made nice money programming appliances, so even this, last of all criteria of professionalism is met.
47 • OS Bashing... (by Cynic on 2020-12-03 16:30:17 GMT from Ghana)
Regardless of who did what, neither side will benefit from aggression towards a system. Naming a bunch of programs designed to operate on one OS because they don't work on an OS they weren't designed for is fruitless.
There are a lot of apps in Linux that also won't run as well or at all in Windows, so the 'problem' exists both ways.
In reality, conversion from any OS will/may require a conversion to programs which do the same thing but in a different way, on another platform. If someone does not feel the need to learn the other programs, or feel that the learning curve is too steep, it is a matter of personal preference and potential laziness, nothing more - and nothing less.
48 • @47 (by Rev_Don on 2020-12-03 18:04:34 GMT from United States)
It's not so much that they won't run on Linux. It's more that there are no viable Linux alternatives to many of them. And the ones that do are quite often less capable, are lacking features, or unable to produce the results of their Mac/Windows programs they attempt to mimic or replace.
It isn't meant as Bashing, only stating that not everyone can move to Linux on a full time basis and still be productive.
Linux is a tool, and like every other tool is only effective when used in the correct situation. You don't use a hammer to to screw in a screw, you don't use a screwdriver to drive in a nail, and you don't use a pipe wrench to tighten a small hex head nut. Sure you might be able to accomplish those tasks with the incorrect tool mentioned above, but it will take a lot longer and will quite often damage the fastener as well as the surface and the tool. You need to use the right tool for the job, and quite often there isn't a proper software program available in Linux to get the job accomplished effectively.
This is not meant as bashing, but reality. Yes I do use Linux when it is the proper tool for the job I'm doing at the moment. But when the need arises I use Windows and a native Windows program when that is the more appropriate tool.
49 • opinions (by harmless troll on 2020-12-03 18:29:24 GMT from United States)
1. Criticism is not Bashing
2. If you find a beautiful shell on a bitch, do you complain that the snail didn't make it's shell the way you wanted?
3. Opinion Poll
What you will use if:
Windows will be free of charge like Linux?
or
Linux will cost as much as Windows?
50 • @49 - opinion poll on free Windows (by Andy Prough on 2020-12-03 20:07:02 GMT from United States)
> "3. Opinion Poll
What you will use if:
Windows will be free of charge like Linux?
or
Linux will cost as much as Windows?"
Windows is free of charge - you can download a Win10 iso from the MS Windows download website and use it free for as long as you want as long as you don't mind the Windows Activation nag screens. Microsoft changed their policy on that awhile back.
Price of the OS is not why people use GNU/Linux - many/most of us have computers we bought new with Windows preloaded and moved it over or deleted it in place of a distro.
51 • Just facts (by whoKnows on 2020-12-03 20:47:13 GMT from Switzerland)
@38 • Failure to convert (by Fossilizing Dinosaur)
That might be truth, but why should I chase the codecs and convert it works OOTB on my other OS? I can play it there to and can save time in installing Trisquel.
The real freedom is when 'it just works'. ;)
@39 • @37 So can I! (by DaveT)
"There are many alternatives ..."
I hope you see where's the problem here. I need a Tool (SW) and OS that can run it - I'm not getting 'alternatives'. The original file format can be opened only by the program that created it - all the rest will produce one or the other error.
Not even the same program in older version will support every feature of the same program in newer version and no other program will be able to do it 100 %.
@41 • Expensive Bloat (by cykodrone)
Irrelevant. Nobody cares what SW costs - one is paid to do the job.
@46 • Yes, I can! (by Igor)
"Everything I do using these tools, I can do using Inkscape and the Gimp, in particular the former one."
Everything YOU do! Comparing Photoshop with THE GIMP or Inkscape with Illustrator and Xara is like comparing bicycle with 1000 cc motorbike.
"Pareto's Principle" ... they are fine for 80 %. For the rest one needs real SW.
"It is not the inherent quality of the tools that makes the difference, but how well can I utilize it ..." - please see what I wrote to @39 in this post.
@47 • OS Bashing... (by Cynic)
I am not bashing any OS - I'm using Linux too, but the point is, one is not alone and works together with others, and they use what they us - they ALL use the applications from above - the rest is 'hobby'.
"There are a lot of apps in Linux that also won't run as well or at all in Windows ..."
Some, but nothing worth using.
@49 • opinions (by harmless troll)
1. Just 'Reality'.
2. 'Beach' or 'bitch'? ;)
3. Whatever works and ... Windows is actually kinda free.
It always comes preinstalled and upgrade to Win 10 is still free.
52 • MS tax (by cykodrone on 2020-12-04 12:38:02 GMT from Germany)
@36 I have been a victim of the dreaded 'MS tax' on several occasions, even tried to haggle to have the Swiss cheese bloatware removed in exchange for a lower price. Not just saying that, it actually happened, more than once, and I wasn't happy about it, because minutes after I got the hardware home, the Swiss cheese bloatware was WIPED off, immediately, with prejudice. It took lighter fluid to completely remove MS 'key' stickers, insult to injury.
@51 This is what Windows has come to? They have to give it away now? Several reasons, their constant changing locations of items, and GUI features, EACH release, didn't help to keep their life-long customers (zombie sheep hate learning new things). They've even sunk to copying the smartphone-GUI-for-PCs nonsense from the FOSS community (I believe Gnome gave birth to that, creating more clicks and mouse movement than legacy GUIs, and eye strain dizziness from 'flying' things on the screen). They admitted to built-in OS keyloggers, and the nagware, 2nd and 3rd party, no thanks. Yeah, that does not instill a lot of confidence, aside from their abysmal track record. The biggest perpetual beta, zero corp liability sham ever perpetrated on the human race. Most laptops I see in public now, are Apple, nothing but a sea of lit white Apple laptop lid logos. Not a huge Apple fan either, but there's been a definite market shift. :)
53 • Linux Religion? (by whoKnows on 2020-12-04 15:00:00 GMT from Switzerland)
@52 • MS tax (by cykodrone)
New boss, new decisions.
Microsoft was actually always 'for free' - one simply needed to inject the license.
Microsoft knew that and never even tried to stop it - kinda 'half-legal' free.
As of the rest, you are 'militant ideologist' and that's a minority in a minority.
All what you reject, is what almost all other are asking for.
With other words, your opinion is your problem.
I just hope you're not one of those who disables the telemetry on Fedora or Ubuntu.
If so, you know whom to blame that Linux is even worse, as it could be.
54 • telemetry religion (by curious on 2020-12-04 17:23:57 GMT from Germany)
Of course, it is always the others who are "militant ideologists", never oneself ...
In fact people do exist who are able to produce good software without demanding (or secretly collecting) data from the users. Perhaps they just don't work for RedHat or Canonical?
55 • Of Trisquel... (by tom joad on 2020-12-04 18:46:14 GMT from Germany)
I tried it for a couple of days and I liked it. I did. It was fast, clean and nice. Most everything I wanted to do I could do. I like to use unetbootin. And I can likely use it, too, but I would have to do the ppa. Since I didn't install trisquel I didn't bother. I listened to the radio, watched trailers on IMDB and listened to Lacrimosa on youtube. Trisquel found my printer fine too. Trisquel ran TOR fine too. I played chess and did pretty much what I do either from time to time or everyday. It was stable too. I had no issues performance wise.
The deal breaker...
The wireless.Trisquel refused to operate the native intel network adapter on my laptop.I have two usb adapters but only one would operate, the ancient Netgear. The belkin, also ancient, refused to work. The bridge too far is me monkeying around to load a windows driver in Linux. I would rather spend some quality time at the dentist.
So Trisquel is out for my laptop. However, it runs like gang busters on my tower with Ethernet. But I prefer to use the same OS on my laptop and tower. I think most folks do and that might be a poll question Jesse might consider. If I used the Netgear adapter I *could* load Trisquel on my laptop.
*** Note to the Trisquel developers; this is a winner if you fix the wifi issues. And I mean winner. The rest of it is fine. (And don't sweat the Systemd stuff either. Like who gives a rip!) But software today MUST have stable, usable wifi to go to the next level, it is required. ***
56 • Curious religion? (by whoKnows on 2020-12-04 19:47:41 GMT from Switzerland)
@54 • telemetry religion (by curious on 2020-12-04 17:23:57 GMT from Germany)
"Of course, it is always the others who are "militant ideologists", never oneself ...
In fact people do exist who are able to produce good software without demanding (or secretly collecting) data from the users. Perhaps they just don't work for RedHat or Canonical?"
EXACTLY AND YOU ARE PROVING IT THIS VERY MOMENT AGAIN!
This here is an OS opinion thread.
What I wrote above was my opinion and the opinion of 98 % of the humanity not using 'free & open' and at least 50 more % of those who use 'free & open', but can't start much with 'radical believers OS' like Trisquel.
You're one of those 1 % or less which is left and your opinion is irrelevant.
The point is, instead of proving that anything of what you preach here is truth, you're accusing me of being a troll. That's what only trolls do.
Why don't you try to explain (for example) to the Hollywood movie industry that they are all idiots and that they should all switch to Kden Live or Open Shot instead of Avid and Adobe Premiere, After Effects and Co.?
You have no valid argument why your OS is usable for any serious work and I have enough arguments to write a library of books why it doesn't work for me and the rest of the world, and so, why exactly do you still keep commenting??
Number of Comments: 56
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
| | |
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
| 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.
|
| Random Distribution | 
How-Tux
How-Tux was a Slackware-based, desktop-oriented Linux distribution with the installer translated into Italian and most applications localised for the benefit of Italian speakers. Compared to Slackware, How-Tux was enhanced by GWARE GNOME, OpenOffice.org, and several extra multimedia and graphics applications.
Status: Discontinued
|
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| 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.
|
|
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
0x969CD4E778C7b6549A2B00e34114e0168c86A542 
