 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 911, 5 April 2021 |
Welcome to this year's 14th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Developers often try out new approaches and concepts to see what combination of designs and features will work the best. In our News section we talk about a number of new developments various projects are trying. The Linux Mint team is testing a new update notification feature in an effort to get more users to install security updates. Meanwhile the JingOS team has published a new release which brings the tablet-focused distribution to x86 machines. We also talk about AlmaLinux OS, a drop-in replacement for CentOS Linux, publishing its first stable version. First though we talk about Mageia, a distribution which has its roots in Mandrake Linux. We share initial impressions of Mageia 8 and its approach to desktop computing in our Feature Story. Then, in our Questions and Answers column, we talk about how to protect an operating system against damage from users who login remotely. Speaking of remote work, open source software is developed all around the world, however the final build of software often has a specific region from which it is deployed. Does a Linux distribution's country of origin matter to you? Let us know if it plays a factor in your choice of which distro to install in our Opinion Poll. Finally, we are pleased to share the new releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a fantastic week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: Mageia 8
- News: Mint experiments with new update notifications, JingOS adds support for x86, AlmaLinux OS publishes first stable release
- Questions and answers: Limiting commands available through secure shell
- Released last week: Linux Lite 5.4, deepin 20.2, AlmaLinux OS 8.3
- Torrent corner: AlmaLinux, Alpine, Arch Linux, CloudReady, deepin, Linux Lite, MX Linux, Nitrux, Parrot, Proxmox, Snal Linux, Star
- Upcoming releases: FreeBSD 13.0
- Opinion poll: Does a distro's country of origin matter to you?
- Reader comments
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (17MB) and MP3 (13MB) formats.
|
| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Mageia 8
Mageia 8 is the latest version of this community distribution which can trace its roots back to Mandrake Linux. Like its ancestor, Mageia mostly focuses on offering a polished desktop experience with user friendly configuration tools. The latest release has a fairly conservative list of new features. Apart from the usual collection of package upgrades, Mageia provides faster processing of package data due to a change in compression technologies and migrates almost all packages from Python 2 to Python 3. Some additional work has been done to support the ARM architectures, though install media isn't available yet for ARM platforms.
We can download install media for 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x86_64) computers. Mageia offers several download options, including a large install ISO (4.2GB), live desktop flavours for KDE Plasma (3.4GB), GNOME (3.0GB), and Xfce (2.8GB). There are also network install options available in free and non-free firmware flavours. Most of the download options are available in 32-bit and 64-bit builds, though the live media for GNOME and Plasma are both 64-bit only while Xfce builds are provided for both architectures.
I was originally heading out for a vacation when Mageia 8 was released and so another DistroWatch contributor offered to review the distribution. However, they ran into issues installing Mageia, then getting the distribution to boot. After a few days they reported the operating system would start, but there were several remaining issues, including trouble connection to USB devices and the touchpad on their laptop wouldn't function while booted into Mageia. Given they did not have any success with the distribution, they passed it back to me and I resolved to review it once I finished playing with Void, a project I had just installed.
I decided to download the live Plasma edition for 64-bit machines. Booting from the live media brings up a menu offering to boot the live distribution or install Mageia. Taking the default live option brings up a series of graphical configuration screens. These screens walk us through selecting our preferred language from a list, accepting the project's license, picking our time zone, and confirming the keyboard's layout.
The Plasma desktop then loads. It places a panel across the bottom edge of the screen. An application menu sits in the left corner while a system tray is displayed to the right. The application menu uses a classic tree-style layout combined with a search field. In the middle of the panel we find quick-launch buttons and a task switcher. On the desktop are icons for opening the filesystem's trash folder, launching the system installer, and joining the community. This last icon opens the Firefox browser and displays a community portal website with links to contributing to the distribution and joining the support forum.
Mageia 8 -- The default Plasma desktop layout and application menu
(full image size: 390kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Shortly after the desktop loads a welcome window appears. The window offers to guide us through some initial configuration steps. Since we are in live mode, some (or even all) steps can be skipped and I will come back to talking about the welcome window again later as many of its features are more useful post-install. The welcome window provides access to documentation, provides buttons for opening the software centre, and will open the distribution's control centre. There are also buttons for launching the system installer and accessing on-line resources such as the Mageia wiki. The main documentation is stored locally as a collection of web pages and is opened in the Firefox browser. The documentation is mostly useful, though some items are missing. For example, clicking on the link to get information on software updates displays an error page saying the requested file cannot be found.
Installing
Mageia uses a custom graphical installer inherited from its parent distribution. The installer begins by asking if it should take over free space on the disk or have us manually partition the drive. Manual partitioning works a little strangely compared to other system installers. We first click on a visual representation of our disk to select a partition (or free space) and then click on a filesystem label (such as ext4 or XFS) we want to assign to the partition. This opens a new window which lets us assign a mount point, filesystem type, and optional encryption settings.
After the disk has been partitioned the installer offers to remove unnecessary packages such as localization and extra hardware support. After that the Mageia packages are copied to the local drive. This takes a few minutes and then the installer offers to install a boot loader. We are given the chance to set the boot loader's location and whether to use a text menu or graphical interface. We are also given the chance to place password protection on the boot loader and set custom kernel parameters.
The installer next asks if it may enable online package repositories and it follows this up by offering to download software updates. There were about ten updates waiting when I installed Mageia and they were downloaded without issue. The installer then finishes and returns us to the desktop.
The first time I booted my new copy of Mageia the system presented a graphical screen where I was asked to make up a password for the administrator account. I was then asked to also make up a username and password for myself.
In essence the install process is divided into three parts (partitioning prior to packages being copied, configuration after packages are installed, and setting up accounts after a restart). The whole process took around an hour. Not because any one step in the process was slow, but because there were so many steps and several of them involved a pause for something to be installed or removed.
Early impressions
Mageia boots to a graphical login screen where we can type our username and password and select which desktop session we want to access. In my case the options were the KDE Plasma desktop and an IceWM session. Plasma is the default and the one I used most during my trial, though I did sign into IceWM once to confirm it worked. The IceWM session is fairly minimal with a classic desktop layout. It is missing some of the nice features Plasma offers and does not have the same bright, polished look. However, IceWM is entirely functional and can be used as a lighter, alternative session.
Logging into the Plasma session brings up the same desktop environment we enjoyed in the live session. Shortly after signing in the welcome window appears and offers to walk us through some configuration options. Mageia's welcome window and its initial steps are a bit more complex and arcane than the steps offered by other desktop distributions. For instance, the first step we are shown briefly describes the different types of software repositories and their licensing parameters. We are then invited to click a button to choose which repositories we want to enable. This repository tool lists over a dozen repositories (free, non-free, tainted, and backports) with each group having multiple options such as updates and debugging.
Mageia 8 -- The welcome window and repository configuration utility
(full image size: 182kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
The second tab of the welcome window offers to check for and fetch updates. As I had just enabled a new repository there were updates, even though I had installed all waiting updates from the default repositories during the install process.
The welcome window mentions two package managers, RPMdrake and Dnfdragora, are available. The RPMdrake software centre works and I will talk about it later. Clicking the Dnfdragora button produces an error saying the tool is not installed. Yet another tab deals with downloading software, this one listing software categories and popular applications we can install. Across from each package name is a button we can click to install the application. We can only install one package at a time and each time we are prompted for our admin password. This makes for a tedious process if we want to grab multiple new packages.
The penultimate welcome screen shows us some basic information such as which version of Mageia we are running and which kernel is being used. The final screen provides us with a list of buttons which open Firefox and connect us with on-line resources such as documentation, support forums, and the project's bug tracker.
Many of the tools we can launch and actions we can perform through the welcome screen result in a password prompt being shown. This can get tedious after a while as installing a few applications and tweaking some settings can result in a handful of prompts instead of having the welcome screen ask for the password once and remember it.
Hardware
I began testing Mageia in a VirtualBox machine. The distribution was unusually slow when running in VirtualBox. Mageia took longer than usual to boot and login. Once the Plasma desktop loaded it was sluggish. Even after disabling compositing and visual effects Plasma continued to be slower than normal in the virtual machine. Though the desktop did resize dynamically to match the size of the VirtualBox window.
Mageia 8 -- Running LibreOffice and enabling the firewall
(full image size: 279kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
When I switched over to running Mageia on my workstation the distribution performed better. The operating system could boot in both UEFI and Legacy BIOS modes. The distribution was still a little slow to boot, but desktop performance was greatly improved. The default visual effects, such as menus sliding open, introduced minor delays in desktop responsiveness, but these could be disabled, resulting in a fairly snappy desktop experience. The distribution was able to work with all of my hardware and features such as audio and networking functioned without any problems.
Mageia consumed about 500MB of memory when signed into a Plasma session. This puts the distribution firmly in the middle-weight category. However, Mageia is quite a bit larger than normal in terms of storage space, eating up 8GB of my hard drive.
Included software
Mageia's large on-disk size is a result of a huge collection of applications and utilities shipped with the distribution. Mageia offers a lot of the standard open source applications, including Firefox, LibreOffice, the GNU Image Manipulation Program, and KDE Connect. The application menu is also populated by the Konqueror browser, KMail, the Okular document viewer, digiKam, and the Dolphin file manager.
Mageia 8 -- Exploring the Mageia website and running Dolphin
(full image size: 199kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Mageia ships with the Clementine audio player, the Dragon Player media player, and the VLC multimedia player. It also includes codecs for playing popular audio and video formats. There are a number of other tools included. For instance, the K3b disc burning software, the Marble virtual globe, a text editor, and at least two address books are included. The Java software is installed for us as are manual pages. The distribution uses systemd for its init software and runs on version 5.10 of the Linux kernel.
Control Centre
The distribution ships with two control panels. The System Settings panel handles desktop settings while the Mageia Control Centre (MCC) manages lower level configuration options. The System Settings panel does a nice job of allowing us to change lock screen settings, change the theme, visual effects, and workspace behaviour. I did not encounter any problems while using it.
The Mageia Control Centre is divided into eight categories of settings: Software Management, Hardware, Security, Boot, Network & Internet, Network Sharing, Local Disks, and System. The System tab is basically a catch-all for extra items that did not fit elsewhere. It includes managing user accounts, snapshots, setting the system clock, and background service management. The other categories are fairly straight forward and the utilities included in them typically worked well.
Mageia 8 -- The two settings panels
(full image size: 209kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
While the modules of the Control Centre are sometimes slow to load, they usually provide a friendly approach to configuring the system. This allows us to manage virtually all key components of Mageia through a graphical user interface rather than from the command line.
One feature of the Control Centre I liked was that it allows us to set both the interval of software update checks and the delay prior to starting checks. This allows us to put off checking for new packages after we sign in to avoid network and disk congestion.
On the other hand, there were some less friendly issues that appeared in the Control Centre. For instance, there are two separate tools for managing IPv6 and IPv4 firewall rules. There doesn't seem to be any reason for this design choice and it flies in the face of most other distributions and operating systems which tend to use one tool and apply rules independently of IP version.
I thought it was an unfortunate choice that the service manager lists background services we can toggle on/off by their short, command line name only. There is no description or way to see what a service does. The service manager appears to work just fine, it's only the presentation which I feel is missing something.
I tried to open the Snapshots module, hoping it would help me create backups of the system. The module first asked me for permission to install some dependencies. With this done, the module closed. I re-launched it and the Snapshots module got stuck loading, locking up for several minutes. This failure to launch occurred each time I tried to open the Snapshots module.
I explored the Parental Controls module which offers to block access to domains, limit login times, and prevent execution of specific applications. The blocking of specific local applications worked and it is possible to include exceptions in case we want to only allow certain users access to some programs.
Blocking access to websites was less successful. I tried blocking two domains and then attempted to visit them in Firefox. One domain was blocked and caused Firefox to show a warning saying the site was off limits. The other domain I could visit without any hindrance. I'm not sure why one worked and the other did not, both were secure sites and I double-checked the domain names being blocked. It seems there is a hole in the method used to prevent access to domains.
Connecting to wireless networks feels dated and overly complicated. Unlike Network Manager, where we can simply click on a network's name and enter our password, Mageia's connection manager has us select the type of connection management we want, and pick the encryption type, along with entering the password.
Software management
Mageia ships with a graphical package manager which is referred to by many names. Depending on which screen or bit of documentation I was looking at the software centre was alternatively referred to as the Mageia Package Manager, Install & Remove Software, RPMdrake, Rpmdrake, and Software Management. Whichever name we choose to use, the package manager shows a list of categories in a pane to the left of the window. On the right we see a list of packages in the selected category.
Something I find interesting about this software manager is it defaults to showing us desktop applications (called Packages With GUI). However, we can select alternative views from a drop-down box. We can choose to see all packages, security fixes, all updates, backports, and meta packages. This means the software manager can act somewhat like a classic package manager (such as Synaptic) while also providing a focus on more front-line applications the way more modern software centres do.
Mageia 8 -- The software centre
(full image size: 176kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
We can check a box next to application entries to mark them for installation or removal, then click a button to process all the queued transactions. The software centre locks its interface while it is working, making us wait to queue more actions.
Something I found interesting about handling software updates on Mageia is the different types of updates and the different repositories can mean we see different updates at different times. Earlier I mentioned I installed all available updates during the install process. Then, after I had enabled additional repositories, I checked for and installed a second wave of updates. Later that first day I was using the software manager and discovered I had installed all security updates, but not all available updates. This meant I installed all available updates three times on the first day, using three different tools, and getting different packages each time.
Conclusions
This sort of curious logic, the case of getting three different waves of package updates using three different tools, mirrored my overall impression of Mageia 8. The distribution often provides tools that look good and technically work, but go about things in an odd or unexpected manner. Needing to use separate tools for IPv4 and IPv6 firewall rules was another example. Both tools are very friendly and clear to use compared to the firewall tools provided by other distributions, but why are there two? As another example, the distribution has a tool which makes it easy to block website domains, but doesn't always work successfully.
Sometimes the issues were more a case of unfortunate naming. Mageia (like other members of its family) falls into the trap of using two settings panels: System Settings for managing the desktop and the Control Panel for handing system settings, which feels backwards. Technically this is more KDE's fault than Mageia, but the distribution does nothing to mitigate the confusion. In a similar vein, the available software centre has at least four different names, depending on where we look. Plus there is another software centre mentioned in the welcome window which is not available, which just makes the distribution feel uncoordinated.
To be fair, on the whole Mageia works fairly well. The excessive password prompts, missing pages of documentation, and confusing network settings aside, most of Mageia works smoothly and well. The operating system worked with my hardware and, while it was a little sluggish in the virtual machine, it still functioned properly. There is a strong collection of software installed for us and lots more in the repositories. The system installer, while it has a lot of screens to get through, did work successfully in my trial.
My main concern with Mageia 8 is it feels like the distribution has not evolved much during its life span. Mageia is about a decade old at this point and - some core package upgrades aside to keep up with the kernel, LibreOffice, and the desktop environments - it doesn't feel as though Mageia is doing anything to improve. I don't just mean change for change's sake as that doesn't help anyone. What I mean is the parental control issues I ran into this time, I also has a year and a half ago when Mageia 7 was released. The network manager doesn't look like it's been improved or streamlined over the past several releases. The system installer basically looks and acts the same as it did ten years ago, despite some of the screens taking long pauses to manage packages and others not being useful to most people, meaning they could be tucked away behind "expert" buttons. It's telling that the headline big feature for Mageia 8 was slightly faster package information parsing rather than something more impactful for end users.
Mandrake Linux and its children have always had a well deserved reputation for looking good and for providing some great configuration utilities. Mageia continues this tradition. However, the project feels stagnant. Mageia 8 is a pretty good release, certainly at least average by desktop Linux standards. However, it's falling behind. Ten years ago I'd have recommended Mageia (or Mandriva) to Linux newcomers who needed hand holding and slick graphical tools. These days I can't recommend Mageia to Linux beginners because it requires more work, more steps, more knowledge to configure than other desktop systems like Linux Mint and Pop!_OS which have continued to evolve. It's not that Mageia is getting worse, but it's not getting better - it's not evolving or fixing bugs, and feels like it hasn't kept up over the past ten years as other distributions move to make things easier and introduce features desktop users expect these days.
* * * * *
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
Mageia has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8.5/10 from 85 review(s).
Have you used Mageia? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
|
| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Mint experiments with new update notifications, JingOS adds support for x86, AlmaLinux OS publishes first stable release
The Linux Mint team published some findings in February which showed that many Mint users were not applying available security updates, despite the distribution displaying an update icon in the system tray. The developers have gathered feedback from their community and are experimenting with ways to help keep Linux Mint machines up to date. "By default the Update Manager shows a notification if a particular update has been available for more than 7 logged-in days or if it's older than 15 calendar days. These values can be configured all the way down to 2 days (for people who want more notifications) or all the way up to 90 days (for people who want less). By default the Update Manager also only counts security and kernel updates as being relevant for notifications but you can change that." Further details on the new update notification can be found in the project's blog post.
* * * * *
The JingOS project creates an Ubuntu-based distribution for tablet computers. Early releases of JingOS were built for ARM-powered devices. However, the project has announced their latest version, JingOS 0.8, now runs on x86-powered machines. "Very exciting to announce that we are releasing JingOS v0.8 for x86 devices today, March 31st! JingOS v0.8 for x86 is a much more mature version compared to v0.6." Additional information can be found in the project's announcement.
* * * * *
The AlmaLinux OS distribution is one of a few community-based projects which have been started in an effort to replace CentOS Linux, following Red Hat's decision to phase out stable CentOS releases. AlmaLinux OS has reached its first stable release, version 8.3, which offers 1:1 compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS 8. "We are very happy to announce that today we are releasing the first AlmaLinux OS stable version. That's right, you can go right ahead and download the stable version and use it everywhere you need a stable, reliable, Linux distribution." The project also features a conversion script to aid existing CentOS users who wish to migrate to AlmaLinux OS.
* * * * *
These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
|
| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Limiting commands available through secure shell
Limiting-guests asks: Is it possible to place restrictions on remote users? I want to let people ssh into my machine, but not do anything destructive, just run stuff like ls, grep, find, cp. Is there an easy way to set this up?
DistroWatch answers: There are a few approaches you can take to allow people access to your computer while limiting the amount of damage they can do. Though no approach here will be entirely safe; granting other people access to your operating system always carries some degree of risk.
I'd recommend starting off by identifying specific goals, in particular deciding what exactly it is you want to prevent your guest from doing on your computer. For instance, you mentioned preventing remote users from doing anything destructive, but also suggested giving them access to the find and cp commands. The find command can delete files while cp can be used to overwrite any files the user has access to or fill up your hard drive with random bits, preventing you from saving anything to your disk. My point is that almost any command can be used to cause chaos and destruction given enough time and imagination.
Rather than blocking access to specific commands, I suggest identifying specific files, resources, or features of your system that you want to protect. Often times setting file permissions (using chmod) will accomplish the goal of protecting specific files. In particular, I recommend setting your home directory so you are the only one who can enter and read its contents. You can accomplish this by running:
chmod 700 ~/
If other people have accounts on your computer, consider setting the 700 permission on their home directories too in order to prevent remote users from being able to browse and read their files.
Earlier I mentioned that some useful tools, such as cp, can be used to fill up the disk and prevent other people from saving files on the system and it may even prevent other users from logging into their desktops. There are a few steps you can take to prevent people from taking over more than their fair share of disk space. One approach I recommend is making sure your /home, and other writable disk areas, are mounted on separate filesystems. Having a separate /home partition is useful for migrating data during operating system upgrades. It is also a good way to make sure users don't take over the entire disk, causing the operating system to no longer function properly. I used to have a roommate who would routinely fill /home and having it on a separate partition avoided having it interfere with the operating system.
Another good tool in the fight against using too much disk space is setting up a quota. A storage quota limits the amount of data any one user or group can write to your disk. I have written about how to enable quotas before, using the ext4 and ZFS filesystems as examples.
One more tool I recommend using to protect your system from remote users is a sandbox. A sandbox basically allows a user or program to do whatever it wants, within a limited space. At the same time it prevents the user from doing anything destructive outside of their bubble. Using a sandbox tool such as Firejail will go a long way to limiting what a guest user can do to interfere with the operating system.
In the following example, I created a user account called guest which can login over secure shell. When they sign in, I automatically run the firejail command immediately. Then tell firejail to treat the /home/guest/jail directory as the user's home, blocking access to their usual home directory. I also block access to most elements of the device directory (/dev) and temporary storage. The guest user does not see my files in those locations and virtually anything they create or destroy, outside of their /home/guest/jail directory, will be restored back to normal once they logout. The command to do this looks like this:
/usr/bin/firejail --private=/home/guest/jail --private-dev --private-tmp --private-etc /usr/bin/bash
The above options - file permissions, quotas, and a sandbox - should prevent any accidental damage caused by careless users. Perhaps more importantly, it will likely prevent most potential damage from mischievous users. There are still ways to exploit a system with these guards in place, but these precautions remove the "low hanging fruit" possibilities someone might explore or trigger by accident.
* * * * *
Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
|
| Released Last Week |
Parrot 4.11
The Parrot team have announced a new version, 4.11, of the distributions Home and Security editions. Parrot is based on Debian's "Testing" branch and features a wide range of updates, particularly to the kernel. "Linux 5.10 is the default kernel of this new Parrot version, with better hardware support for very recent hardware. We plan to release Linux 5.11 as soon as possible as a later update. We have finally purged many old, broken and unmaintained tools, and revisited many of the existing ones. Our tool metapackages were revisited as well to reflect this little revolution. Parrot 4.11 provides cleaner metapackages, updated tools and a more consistent repository. Previous Parrot versions used to have un-needed services shut down by default, but such services happened to re-enable randomly after system updates. We have enforced some systemd rules to prevent this happening." Further information on Parrot 4.11 can be found in the project's release notes.
Proxmox 6.4 "Mail Gateway"
Proxmox is a commercial company which offers specialized products based on Debian. The company has launched Proxmox Mail Gateway version 6.4 which is based on Debian 10.9 "Buster". The release announcement covers the highlights of the new version: "Full integration of the ACME protocol via the GUI: create valid and trusted certificates for domains with Let's Encrypt. General certificate management via GUI: upload custom certificates from the web interface. SpamAssassin 3.4.5 with support for external SpamAssassin update channels - Proxmox Mail Gateway will now fetch verified updates from external rule channels and the KAM ruleset channel is available. Improved management of the Spam Quarantine: display the quarantined emails of all users at once in the admin view. TLS-logging improvements: The Proxmox Message Tracking Center now shows when an outbound connection is established over TLS. Enhancements to the integration of Proxmox Backup Server: getting notification emails if you have configured a Proxmox Backup Server Remote is now possible." Further information can be found in the distribution's release notes.
AlmaLinux OS 8.3
AlmaLinux OS is a binary-compatible rebuild of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux source codes. The distribution intends to be a drop-in replacement for CentOS Linux with long-term support. The project's first stable release is AlmaLinux OS 8.3. "We are very happy to announce that today we are releasing the first AlmaLinux OS stable version. That's right, you can go right ahead and download the stable version and use it everywhere you need a stable, reliable, Linux distribution. For some time now we also have the conversion script in our GitHub repository, so you can also convert your system to AlmaLinux OS stable using it if you don't feel like reinstalling from scratch. AlmaLinux OS, the forever-free open source enterprise-grade Linux is ready. So, after about four months since the decision to steer CentOS in a different path, you now have a 1:1 binary compatible drop-in replacement, with a very long support timeframe. You can use it for any general purpose computing need, in bare-metal installations, in virtual machines, in containers, on cloud providers." Further information on the release, along with migration tips can be found in the release announcement.
JingOS 0.8
JingOS is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution for tablet computers. It can run desktop Linux applications like VS Code and LibreOffice. The distribution strives to be able to run both GNU/Linux and Android programs. The project's latest release now runs on x86_64 machines and mostly improves available settings controls and introduces an app store. "Very exciting to announce that we are releasing JingOS 0.8 for x86 devices today, March 31st. JingOS 0.8 for x86 is a much more mature version compared to version 0.6. Here are the improvements: settings app redesigned, supports WiFi-auto detect, volume, brightness and other basic setting functions; files app redesigned; app store; OTA support; supports setting password and network when installing JingOS; improves the functions and experience of Task Manager; icons on the desktop can be rearranged; app resolution auto-adjust on high-resolution displays; bug fixes; new wallpaper. Install guide: boot from USB or CD, click 'Install System'. We will start a crowdfunding campaign for JingPad A1 - the world's first consumer-level Linux tablet, you can take a look if interested." Further information and screenshots can be found in the release announcement as published on the distribution's user forum.
JingOS 0.8 -- Browsing available applications
(full image size: 514kB, 1920x1080 pixels)
deepin 20.2
The deepin team have published a new version of their desktop-oriented, Debian-based distribution. The project's latest release is deepin 20.2 which provides newer kernels, improved file search, and the ability to schedule e-mails being sent. "File Manager - the enhanced full-text search allows you to find the file or folder quickly by searching with both English letters and numbers. File Manager supports changing unmounted disk names, redefines 'Time accessed' and 'Time modified' in file vault, displays information more clearly, and optimizes file operations in different scenarios, making it more convenient to use. Disk Utility - Disk Utility has a new feature - verify or repair bad sectors, adds support for FAT32 and NTFS partitions, and fixes some issues, helping you protect disk health and manage disks easily. Mail - Mail supports these new features: send emails at the specified time, email signatures, capture screen and optimizes many rules in different scenarios such as receiving and sending emails, searching emails." Further information and screenshots can be found in the project's release announcement.
Linux Lite 5.4
Jerry Bezencon has announced the release of Linux Lite 5.4, the latest stable release of project's beginner-friendly distribution based on Ubuntu's latest long-term supported version and featuring the Xfce desktop. This version provides standard upstream security and bug-fix updates, as well as some visual improvements, such an updated icon theme and new wallpapers: "Linux Lite 5.4 final is now available for download and installation. This is a modest release which includes updates to the Help Manual - our extensive, easy to follow Linux Lite guide, an updated Papirus icon theme, new wallpapers and a host of bug fixes and enhancements for our target audience. If you're coming from Windows, you'll find this to be a solid, stable release that will help make your transition to a linux based operating system, user friendly. Changes: new 'Installing Software - From a Terminal using APT' section for the Help Manual; updated Papirus icon theme; ten new wallpapers six of which are from our resident artist; many other tweaks and changes." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details and screenshots.
Linux Lite 5.4 -- Greeted by the welcome window
(full image size: 415kB, resolution: 2560x1600 pixels)
MX Linux 19.4
The MX Linux team has announced an update to the project's 19.x series. The Debian-based project is now available in two editions: Xfce/Fluxbox and KDE Plasma. Standard Debian kernels and updated 5.10 kernels are available. "We are pleased to offer MX-19.4 for your use. MX-19.4 is the fourth refresh of our MX-19 release, consisting of bugfixes and application updates since our original release of MX-19. If you are already running MX-19, there is no need to reinstall. Packages are all available thru the regular update channel. Migration notes are here. The standard MX-19.4 releases (32-bit and 64-bit) feature the latest Debian 4.19 kernel. The AHS (Advanced Hardware Support) ISO features a Debian 5.10.24 kernel, mesa 20.3 updates, as well as a new updated firmware packages. The KDE ISO has also been updated, and being based on AHS, also has the 5.10.24 kernel and updated firmware and mesa packages." Additional information can be found in the project's release announcement.
* * * * *
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: 2,389
- Total data uploaded: 36.9TB
|
| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
|
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
| Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
Does a distro's country of origin matter to you?
While the open source software which gets bundled into a Linux distribution is developed all over the world, this software is often built and made available by a small team with a home, office, or servers in one specific country. Sometimes looking for operating systems distributed from a specific country can be helpful. There is certainly a higher chance of having good language support for your region if the distribution developers are from the same country or another country with the same official language. On the other hand, some countries place import/export restrictions on software which may prevent using a distribution from a specific region.
In this week's opinion poll we would like to hear whether a distribution's country of origin makes a difference to you. Does the developer's home country affect whether you are willing to try and run the operating system?
You can see the results of our previous poll on running distributions based on Fedora in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
|
The country of origin for a distro...
| Makes no difference to me: | 1044 (32%) |
| Is one factor of many in choosing a distro: | 1707 (53%) |
| Is a key factor in choosing a distro: | 485 (15%) |
|
|
| Website News |
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 12 April 2021. 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: 0, value: US$0.00) |
|
|
|
 bc1qtede6f7adcce4kjpgx0e5j68wwgtdxrek2qvc4  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le |
|
| Linux Foundation Training |
|
|
| MALIBAL |
MALIBAL: Linux Laptops Custom Built for YouMALIBAL is an innovative computer manufacturer that produces high-performance, custom laptops for Linux. If your MALIBAL laptop is not the best Linux laptop you have ever used, you can return it for a full 100% refund. We will even pay the return shipping fees! For more info, visit: https://www.malibal.com
|
| 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 1022 (2023-06-05): GetFreeOS 2023.05.01, Slint 15.0-3, Liya N4Si, cleaning up crowded directories, Ubuntu plans Snap-based variant, Red Hat dropping LireOffice RPM packages |
| • Issue 1021 (2023-05-29): rlxos GNU/Linux, colours in command line output, an overview of Void's unique features, how to use awk, Microsoft publishes a Linux distro |
| • Issue 1020 (2023-05-22): UBports 20.04, finding another machine's IP address, finding distros with a specific kernel, Debian prepares for Bookworm |
| • Issue 1019 (2023-05-15): Rhino Linux (Beta), checking which applications reply on a package, NethServer reborn, System76 improving application responsiveness |
| • Issue 1018 (2023-05-08): Fedora 38, finding relevant manual pages, merging audio files, Fedora plans new immutable edition, Mint works to fix Secure Boot issues |
| • Issue 1017 (2023-05-01): Xubuntu 23.04, Debian elects Project Leaders and updates media, systemd to speed up restarts, Guix System offering ground-up source builds, where package managers install files |
| • Issue 1016 (2023-04-24): Qubes OS 4.1.2, tracking bandwidth usage, Solus resuming development, FreeBSD publishes status report, KaOS offers preview of Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1015 (2023-04-17): Manjaro Linux 22.0, Trisquel GNU/Linux 11.0, Arch Linux powering PINE64 tablets, Ubuntu offering live patching on HWE kernels, gaining compression on ex4 |
| • Issue 1014 (2023-04-10): Quick looks at carbonOS, LibreELEC, and Kodi, Mint polishes themes, Fedora rolls out more encryption plans, elementary OS improves sideloading experience |
| • Issue 1013 (2023-04-03): Alpine Linux 3.17.2, printing manual pages, Ubuntu Cinnamon becomes official flavour, Endeavour OS plans for new installer, HardenedBSD plans for outage |
| • Issue 1012 (2023-03-27): siduction 22.1.1, protecting privacy from proprietary applications, GNOME team shares new features, Canonical updates Ubuntu 20.04, politics and the Linux kernel |
| • Issue 1011 (2023-03-20): Serpent OS, Security Onion 2.3, Gentoo Live, replacing the scp utility, openSUSE sees surge in downloads, Debian runs elction with one candidate |
| • Issue 1010 (2023-03-13): blendOS 2023.01.26, keeping track of which files a package installs, improved network widget coming to elementary OS, Vanilla OS changes its base distro |
| • Issue 1009 (2023-03-06): Nemo Mobile and the PinePhone, matching the performance of one distro on another, Linux Mint adds performance boosts and security, custom Ubuntu and Debian builds through Cubic |
| • Issue 1008 (2023-02-27): elementary OS 7.0, the benefits of boot environments, Purism offers lapdock for Librem 5, Ubuntu community flavours directed to drop Flatpak support for Snap |
| • Issue 1007 (2023-02-20): helloSystem 0.8.0, underrated distributions, Solus team working to repair their website, SUSE testing Micro edition, Canonical publishes real-time edition of Ubuntu 22.04 |
| • Issue 1006 (2023-02-13): Playing music with UBports on a PinePhone, quick command line and shell scripting questions, Fedora expands third-party software support, Vanilla OS adds Nix package support |
| • Issue 1005 (2023-02-06): NuTyX 22.12.0 running CDE, user identification numbers, Pop!_OS shares COSMIC progress, Mint makes keyboard and mouse options more accessible |
| • Issue 1004 (2023-01-30): OpenMandriva ROME, checking the health of a disk, Debian adopting OpenSnitch, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1003 (2023-01-23): risiOS 37, mixing package types, Fedora seeks installer feedback, Sparky offers easier persistence with USB writer |
| • Issue 1002 (2023-01-16): Vanilla OS 22.10, Nobara Project 37, verifying torrent downloads, Haiku improvements, HAMMER2 being ports to NetBSD |
| • Issue 1001 (2023-01-09): Arch Linux, Ubuntu tests new system installer, porting KDE software to OpenBSD, verifying files copied properly |
| • Issue 1000 (2023-01-02): Our favourite projects of all time, Fedora trying out unified kernel images and trying to speed up shutdowns, Slackware tests new kernel, detecting what is taking up disk space |
| • Issue 999 (2022-12-19): Favourite distributions of 2022, Fedora plans Budgie spin, UBports releasing security patches for 16.04, Haiku working on new ports |
| • Issue 998 (2022-12-12): OpenBSD 7.2, Asahi Linux enages video hardware acceleration on Apple ARM computers, Manjaro drops proprietary codecs from Mesa package |
| • Issue 997 (2022-12-05): CachyOS 221023 and AgarimOS, working with filenames which contain special characters, elementary OS team fixes delta updates, new features coming to Xfce |
| • Issue 996 (2022-11-28): Void 20221001, remotely shutting down a machine, complex aliases, Fedora tests new web-based installer, Refox OS running on real hardware |
| • Issue 995 (2022-11-21): Fedora 37, swap files vs swap partitions, Unity running on Arch, UBports seeks testers, Murena adds support for more devices |
| • Issue 994 (2022-11-14): Redcore Linux 2201, changing the terminal font size, Fedora plans Phosh spin, openSUSE publishes on-line manual pages, disabling Snap auto-updates |
| • Issue 993 (2022-11-07): Static Linux, working with just a kernel, Mint streamlines Flatpak management, updates coming to elementary OS |
| • Issue 992 (2022-10-31): Lubuntu 22.10, setting permissions on home directories, Linux may drop i486, Fedora delays next version for OpenSSL bug |
| • Issue 991 (2022-10-24): XeroLinux 2022.09, learning who ran sudo, exploring firewall tools, Rolling Rhino Remix gets a fresh start, Fedora plans to revamp live media |
| • Issue 990 (2022-10-17): ravynOS 0.4.0, Lion Linux 3.0, accessing low numbered network ports, Pop!_OS makes progress on COSMIC, Murena launches new phone |
| • Issue 989 (2022-10-10): Ubuntu Unity, kernel bug causes issues with Intel cards, Canonical offers free Ubuntu Pro subscriptions, customizing the command line prompt |
| • Issue 988 (2022-10-03): SpiralLinux 11.220628, finding distros for older equipment and other purposes, SUSE begins releasing ALP prototypes, Debian votes on non-free firmware in installer |
| • Issue 987 (2022-09-26): openSUSE's MicroOS, converting people to using Linux, pfSense updates base system and PHP, Python 2 dropped from Arch |
| • Issue 986 (2022-09-19): Porteus 5.0, remotely wiping a hard drive, a new software centre for Ubuntu, Proxmox offers offline updates |
| • Issue 985 (2022-09-12): Garuda Linux, using root versus sudo, UBports on the Fairphone 4, Slackware reverses change to grep |
| • Issue 984 (2022-09-05): deepin 23 Preview, watching for changing to directories, Mint team tests Steam Deck, Devuan posts fix for repository key expiry |
| • Issue 983 (2022-08-29): Qubes OS 4.1.1, Alchg Linux, immutable operating systems, Debian considers stance on non-free firmware, Arch-based projects suffer boot issue |
| • Issue 982 (2022-08-22): Peropesis 1.6.2, KaOS strips out Python 2 and PulseAudio, deepin becomes independent, getting security update notifications |
| • Issue 981 (2022-08-15): Linux Lite 6.0, defining desktop environments and window managers, Mint releases upgrade tool, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 980 (2022-08-08): Linux Mint 21, Pledge on Linux, SparkyLinux updates classic desktop packages, Peppermint OS experiments with Devuan base |
| • Issue 979 (2022-08-01): KaOS 2022.06 and KDE Plasma 5.25, terminating processes after a set time, GNOME plans Secure Boot check |
| • Issue 978 (2022-07-25): EndeavourOS 22.6, Slax explores a return to Slackware, Ubuntu certified with Dell's XPS 13, Linux running on Apple's M2 |
| • Issue 977 (2022-07-18): EasyOS 4.2, transferring desktop themes between distros, Tails publishes list of updates, Zevenet automates Let's Encrypt renewals |
| • Issue 976 (2022-07-11): NixOS 22.05, making a fake webcam, exploring the Linux scheduler, Debian publishes updated media |
| • Issue 975 (2022-07-04): Murena One running /e/OS, where are all the openSUSE distributions, Fedora to offer unfiltered Flathub access |
| • Issue 974 (2022-06-27): AlmaLinux 9.0, the changing data of DistroWatch's database, UBports on the Pixel 3a, Tails and GhostBSD publish hot fixes |
| • Issue 973 (2022-06-20): openSUSE 15.4, collecting distro media, FreeBSD status report, Ubuntu Core with optional real-time kernel |
| • Issue 972 (2022-06-13): Rolling Rhino Remix, SambaBox 4.1, SUSE team considers future of SUSE and openSUSE Leap, Tails improves Tor Connection Assistant |
| • Issue 971 (2022-06-06): ChimeraOS 2022.01.03, Lilidog 22.04, NixOS gains graphical installer, Mint replaces Bluetooth stack and adopts Timeshift, how to change a MAC address |
| • Issue 970 (2022-05-30): Tails 5.0, taking apart a Linux distro, Ubuntu users seeing processes terminated, Budgie team plans future of their desktop |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Free Tech Guides |
NEW! Learn Linux in 5 Days
In this FREE ebook, you will learn the most important concepts and commands and be guided step-by-step through several practical and real-world examples (a free 212-page ebook).
|
| 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.
|
| Shells.com |
Your own personal Linux computer in the cloud, available on any device. Supported operating systems include Android, Debian, Fedora, KDE neon, Kubuntu, Linux Mint, Manjaro and Ubuntu, ready in minutes.
Starting at US$4.95 per month, 7-day money-back guarantee
|
| Random Distribution | 
eZeY
eZeY (formerly Open Xange, before Xange and Vixta) was an easy-to-use, Fedora-based desktop Linux distribution featuring the KDE desktop.
Status: Discontinued
|
| Free Tech Guides |
NEW! Learn Linux in 5 Days
In this FREE ebook, you will learn the most important concepts and commands and be guided step-by-step through several practical and real-world examples (a free 212-page ebook).
|
| MALIBAL |
MALIBAL: Linux Laptops Custom Built for YouMALIBAL is an innovative computer manufacturer that produces high-performance, custom laptops for Linux. If your MALIBAL laptop is not the best Linux laptop you have ever used, you can return it for a full 100% refund. We will even pay the return shipping fees! For more info, visit: https://www.malibal.com
|
| 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.
|
| Free Tech Guides |
NEW! Learn Linux in 5 Days
In this FREE ebook, you will learn the most important concepts and commands and be guided step-by-step through several practical and real-world examples (a free 212-page ebook).
|
|
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
