 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 932, 30 August 2021 |
Welcome to this year's 34th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
There are not many commercial Linux distributions in the world. While many projects accept donations, not many commercial offerings exist outside of companies like Red Hat and SUSE. This week we look at one of the exceptions: Zorin OS. The Zorin OS distribution is available in multiple flavours, some of which are available free of charge and one flavour which is provided as a commercial offering to help support the project. We look at the Zorin OS Pro edition this week and report on its features. Then, in our News section, we talk about how Debian manages and updates so many packages while Haiku receives a number of updates both on the desktop and behind the scenes. We are also pleased to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Linux kernel being publicly announced to the world. On the subject of the kernel, this week's Questions and Answers column addresses the future of Linux development as well as how to access a command line when your desktop's virtual terminal is not available. Do you use a virtual terminal to access the Linux command line? Let us know which one you prefer to use in this week's Opinion Poll. We wrap up this issue by sharing the releases of the past week and listing the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a fantastic week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: Zorin OS 16
- News: How Debian imports new package versions, Haiku publishes progress report, Linux celebrates its 30th birthday
- Questions and answers: Continuing the Linux kernel and alternative access to the terminal
- Released last week: Ubuntu 20.04.3, Voyager Live 11, Clonezilla 2.7.3-19
- Torrent corner: Alpine, Archman, Clonezilla Live, CloudReady, KDE neon, Manjaro, OpenMediaVault, Robolinux, Ubuntu, Voyager
- Upcoming releases: Linux Lite 5.6
- Opinion poll: Which virtual terminal do you use?
- New distributions: Hanh Linux, AlpsOS, CutefishOS
- Reader comments
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (15MB) and MP3 (11MB) formats.
|
| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Zorin OS 16 Pro
Zorin OS is an Ubuntu-based distribution designed to be usable by people migrating from other operating systems. Zorin features multiple desktop layouts and themes which are designed to look like the desktops of popular commercial operating systems and some popular open source desktops.
Zorin OS is available in a few different editions. There is a free Core edition which offers a basic desktop experience for modern hardware. There is a Lite edition for older computers. Both the Core and Lite editions are available free of charge. This week I'll be reviewing the Pro edition which is similar to the Core edition, but offers commercial support, more desktop layouts, and a few bundled applications that offer additional features. The Pro edition, which replaces the project's Ultimate edition, is a 4.8GB download which costs $39 USD.
The Pro edition includes eight desktop layouts and some special features, such as a customized version of KDE Connect (called Zorin Connect) that makes it possible to share notifications, a clipboard, and files between your computer and an Android phone. There is also a tool called Barrier which allows the user to use one keyboard and mouse across multiple devices.
Some of the other new features are listed as follows:
Create with the same apps the pros use. Zorin OS Pro includes an advanced video editor, PhotoShop-compatible image editor, illustration software, audio workstation, animation software, and the same 3D graphics & effects software used by Hollywood studios, just to name a few.
Take notes or annotate images & PDF documents effortlessly with the Xournal++ app. Pick up a pen to write naturally, draw diagrams with automatic shape recognition, or simply type with your keyboard. It can even record audio from the microphone while taking notes
The Network Displays app allows you to share your desktop with other displays seamlessly and wirelessly. It connects over your local network and works with Wi-Fi Display or Miracast-compatible devices, like most modern TVs or Wireless Display Adapters.
Booting from the Pro media results in Zorin performing a self-check to confirm the media has not been corrupted. We are then shown a window asking if we want to try the distribution or launch the system installer. This initial window also gives us the chance to select our preferred language from a list.
Taking the Try option from the window brings up the GNOME desktop with its panel placed along the bottom of the screen. The thick panel holds an application menu, quick-launch buttons, a task switcher, and system tray. The application menu is presented in a two-pane style similar to Windows 7. On the desktop we find a single icon for launching the installer.
Zorin OS 16 -- The default desktop theme and layout
(full image size: 1.0MB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Installer
Zorin uses the Ubiquity graphical installer. The installer walks us through the usual questions of picking our time zone, creating a username and password, and selecting a keyboard layout. We also have the option of authenticating through Active Directory. Ubiquity asks if we would like to set up a Normal or Minimal install with the latter offering just a desktop environment, a few utilities, and a web browser. We can optionally install third-party software such as media codecs. We are also asked if we would like to participate in a hardware survey which will send some basic information about our computer to the project's developers.
The installer, I feel it worth mentioning, will only perform a Normal install if we have a root partition that is 28GB (or larger) in size. I'll come back to this point later, but unlike the arbitrary size restrictions of some other installers, this one is a hard requirement.
Disk partitioning can be done manually through a pleasant, friendly interface. Alternatively we can take a guided option which will use free space to set up a ext4, LVM, or ZFS filesystem. The guided approach sets up a swap file for us. With its questions answered, Ubiquity installs the operating system and we can then restart the computer.
Early impressions
My new copy of Zorin booted to a graphical login screen where I could sign into a light-themed GNOME Shell desktop. The desktop starts out with a distinctly Windows-like layout. A welcome window opens and offers to give us a feature tour.
Most screens of the brief feature tour include a button to launch an associated tool. For instance, one screen offers tips for changing the desktop's appearance and it includes a button to launch the Zorin configuration module that changes the desktop layout, theme and fonts. Another screen offers to set up Zorin Connect to let our desktop communicate with an Android phone and this screen also features a button to run the setup tool. The same can be said for the screen that offers to connect us with on-line accounts like Google Drive and Nextcloud as well as the screen which offers to install either LibreOffice or OnlyOffice. (LibreOffice is set up for us by default when installing a Normal install.) When run inside VirtualBox the welcome window will offer to install VirtualBox add-ons.
Once I completed the feature tour and the welcome window closed I noticed the update manager had opened and was sitting quietly in the task switcher. There was just one update available the first day I was using the distribution. The update manager shows us which new packages are available and we can select which ones we wish to download. The update manager worked for me without any problems.
Hardware
I started my trial with Zorin in a VirtualBox instance. At first the distribution was a little sluggish - usable, but slow to respond. Once I had disabled visual effects on the desktop the system became much more responsive and ran smoothly.
When running on my laptop, Zorin was able to run in both UEFI and Legacy BIOS modes. The distribution detected all of my hardware and ran quickly. Desktop performance was good, typically about average or a little better. The distribution automatically set up my network printer, something most distributions do not do. In fact, some distributions have trouble with the printer even when manually setting it up through CUPS, so to have it set up automatically was a pleasant surprise.
Memory usage varied quite a bit. Sometimes when signing into GNOME Zorin would use about 650MB of RAM. Other times, when sitting idle at the desktop, memory usage would climb as high as 960MB. Usually the system averaged out around 800MB. A fresh install with the Normal package set consumed 27GB of disk space, plus additional room for a swap file. This is about four times more disk space than what I typically see from mainstream distributions and it's a result of the amount (and type) of packages installed, which I'll touch on shortly.
Applications
Zorin ships with the GNOME 3.36 desktop environment. The Normal install also features a lot of open source applications. These include Firefox, Transmission, Feeds, the Remmina remote desktop client, LibreOffice, and Evolution. There are applications for managing contacts, and a calendar application. The Xournal++ note taking application is included along with drawing and animation programs such as Blender, FreeCAD, the GNU Image Manipulation Program, Inkscape, and Krita. The distribution is also host to OpenToonz, LibreCAD, and Scribus.
Zorin OS 16 -- Running Firefox and the GNOME Files file manager
(full image size: 172kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
For dealing with media files we find the Audacity audio editor, both the Kdenlive and PiTiVi video editors, the Brasero disc burning software, the Handbrake converter, and Cheese web cam tool. Zorin includes the Rhythmbox audio player, Totem video player, and VLC. These application are accompanied by media codecs for audio and video formats.
Deja Dup is featured for performing simple backups and the GNU Compiler Collection is installed. The systemd init software and version 5.11 of the Linux kernel can be found behind the scenes. WINE is not installed by default, but can be added through the project's repositories for people who need compatibility with Windows applications.
The distribution includes the GNOME settings panel which makes it fairly easy to browse through and adjust options. The two-pane settings panel makes navigation smooth and I found it straight forward to find most settings I wanted to adjust.
While I did not get around to using all of the software included with Zorin, I did get to play around with many of the open source applications and they worked well. I could browse the web, play media files, write documents, tweak settings, and things went smoothly.
One minor issue I ran into concerned the account manager. While it does work and can be used to set up and adjust user accounts, the password requirements it imposes were frustrating, especially when trying to set up a guest account. Ideally I'd like my guest account to have some token password that is easy to remember and type. However, the account manager rejected a dozen different suggestions I made, claiming each password was too short, not complex enough, too similar to dictionary words, too similar to my username, or used sequential numbers. Eventually I gave up, created an account without a password, then used the passwd utility to set a simple password.
Zorin OS 16 -- Creating an account in the settings panel
(full image size: 464kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Software management
Zorin uses the GNOME Software utility to manage applications. The Software application is divided into three tabs: one for browsing available items and performing searches, one tab to show and remove installed items, and one for displaying available updates. The tab for browsing software begins by showing us popular or recommended items with a list of categories we can browse at the bottom of the window. We can type simple searches to locate additional software by name or description.
While Software worked fairly well, I often found searches would either never complete (showing the "busy" symbol endlessly) or searches would be slow. Sometimes performing the same search two or three times would be required before a result would be shown.
Zorin OS 16 -- Checking which package formats are available for Inkscape
(full image size: 371kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
One aspect of Software I appreciated was that it can work with Deb packages, Flatpaks, and Snap packages. Available package formats for an application are displayed in the upper-right corner of the window when we are looking at a specific program. This means we can both choose which package format to install and we can optionally remove one type of package and replace it with another, if alternatives are available. In short, Software does a decent job of interacting with all three package formats seamlessly.
The Software application will also allow us to adjust sandboxing options if any are available for the application. Such sandbox options may include granting network access and the ability to save files in our home directory. These options are not available for all packages, or even all portable packages, but are present for some and we can toggle these permissions on/off through a simple options window within the software manager.
While both Flatpak and Snap frameworks are installed by default, there are no Snap packages installed out of the box. There are about 50 Flatpaks installed though. This, along with the massive collection of software in the application menu, helps explain why Zorin's Normal setup takes 27GB of space.
Special features
Zorin offers a number of special features which are either unique to Zorin or usually not seen enabled by default on other distributions. I'd like to spend a little time covering these.
Zorin Connect
The Zorin Connect tool is basically KDE Connect but with an interface which better fits in with GNOME, particularly the GNOME settings panel. The options are more clearly organized. Zorin Connect is a great tool for connecting to an Android phone for the purposes of sharing files, remote control options, and getting text messages on the desktop. I'm a big fan of KDE Connect and appreciated seeing this more polished version of the interface.
Zorin OS 16 -- Adjusting permissions in Zorin Connect
(full image size: 640kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Barrier
Barrier is a tool which a person sets up on one computer to be the main machine or server. Other computers, or clients, can then also install Barrier and connect to the server. The user can then sit at the "server" machine and use its keyboard and mouse to send input to other connected devices running Barrier.
Zorin OS 16 -- Setting up the Barrier service
(full image size: 492kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
The idea here is to be able to use one keyboard and mouse to manage multiple machines, much like classic server room switches. The difference is Barrier handles everything in software, side-stepping the need for an additional hardware hub. This is a useful tool to have if you often have two or three laptops on your desk or in a lab and want to manage them all without moving to another mouse or keyboard.
Changing the theme/layout
Zorin ships with a utility specifically for adjusting the desktop layout, theme, and fonts. This tool can be launched from the application menu or welcome window and is quite easy to navigate. I tried out a handful of layouts as well as the light and dark themes. I like the flexibility this tool provides in offering desktop layouts that look and act like Windows, macOS, Unity, and other popular desktops.
Zorin OS 16 -- Exploring the dark theme
(full image size: 625kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Networked displays
There is a tool for casting the local display to networked interfaces like televisions. I didn't have any compatible devices available for testing this concept, but I do have friends who like to cast shows and movies from their phones to a TV. I suspect they would find the ability to do the same from their laptop with a few clicks convenient.
Xournal++
The Xournal++ application is a note taking tool. This application allows us to add free-form notes, audio, images, drawings, and text to a document. We can also add a layer of notes to existing PDF documents. I usually don't use anything more complex than a text editor for note taking, but I see the appeal of Xournal++. It facilitates adding multiple types of input and highlights to documents in a way that feels quite natural. Combining the free hand drawing tool with a touch screen I think would be quite handy when taking notes in meetings and lectures.
Zorin OS 16 -- Doodling in Xournal++
(full image size: 719kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Conclusions
Zorin is a distribution which I feel is doing a lot of things right, both technologically and from an infrastructure point of view. The project is offering three main editions: Lite for people with less capable machines, Core for users who want basic desktop features, and Pro for people who want more options and commercial support. The project offers both full features and minimal installs and also offers to collect hardware information while making it easy to skip this step in the installer.
Once we have picked an edition the installer is easy to navigate, the welcome screen offers access to several key features without being long and tedious. The default layout will be familiar to most computer users while still being blissfully easy to adjust.
There is a lot of software included in the Normal collection of packages, most of it easy to use, beginner friendly, and fairly mainstream. There are a lot of nice features in the Pro version such as the note taking application, screen casting, Barrier tool for multi-device coordination, and Zorin Connect. The Software portal, while a touch slow to respond at times, does a good job of connecting us with classic Deb packages along with optional Snap and Flatpak packages. This gives us a huge range of up to date software.
I was pleasantly impressed with Zorin's performance, hardware detection, ease of setting up the distribution, and convenient settings. Perhaps best of all, I didn't run into any serious issues or errors. Zorin was stable, fast, and solid. The distribution does what it says in the documentation and release announcement, and does it well without any hiccups. This is probably the best distribution I have run so far this year for most Linux users, but particularly those new to Linux. Zorin OS tries to make the migration from Windows (or macOS) as painless as possible as does a good job of being both familiar and offering a better experience than the platforms it seeks to replace.
* * * * *
Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a de-branded HP laptop with the following
specifications:
- Processor: Intel i3 2.5GHz CPU
- Display: Intel integrated video
- Storage: Western Digital 700GB hard drive
- Memory: 6GB of RAM
- Wired network device: Realtek RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast
- Wireless network device: Realtek RTL8188EE Wireless network card
* * * * *
Visitor supplied rating
Zorin OS has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8.4/10 from 235 review(s).
Have you used Zorin OS? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
|
| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
How Debian imports new package versions, Haiku publishes progress report, Linux celebrates its 30th birthday
The Debian project maintains tens of thousands of packages, each of which gets updated across multiple branches of the Debian project. To help with the maintenance of all these thousands of upstream packages a number of automated tools have been put into place to help the developers. Some of this automation is discussed in Jelmer Vernooij's blog post. "Linux distributions like Debian fulfill an important function in the FOSS ecosystem - they are system integrators that take existing free and open source software projects and adapt them where necessary to work well together. They also make it possible for users to install more software in an easy and consistent way and with some degree of quality control and review. One of the consequences of this model is that the distribution package often lags behind upstream releases. This is especially true for distributions that have tighter integration and standardization (such as Debian), and often new upstream code is only imported irregularly because it is a manual process - both updating the package, but also making sure that it still works together well with the rest of the system."
* * * * *
The Haiku project has published a status report which details progress made over the past two months. The project has made advances in its hardware ports, driver support, and font rendering. There have also been small improvements to a variety of applications: "HaikuWebKit received a major update, fixing many bugs and bringing it more in line with modern web standards. There are still a lot of problems to solve, however. Zotyamester added an eject button to eject CDs and DVDs from MediaPlayer. PulkoMandy improved the size computation of People window, making sure there is no scrollbar and the whole list of attributes is visible, unless it can't fit on screen. Jessicah made the 16 base colours in Terminal customizable, so that light and dark colour schemes can automatically configure them as appropriate to have readable text in all cases." Further details can be found in the project's blog post.
* * * * *
This week, 30 years ago, Linus Torvalds announced the creation of his open source kernel which would later become known around the world as Linux. "I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since April, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things). I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work. This implies that I'll get something practical within a few months." That August 25th, 1991 post is often seen as the birth of modern day Linux and we are pleased to celebrate 30 years of Linux advancement and accomplishment. Linux currently powers most of the world's smart phones, super computers, a vast number of servers, and many million desktop computers. Happy birthday, Linux!
* * * * *
These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
|
| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Continuing the Linux kernel and alternative access to the terminal
Already-missing-him asks: What would happen to the Linux kernel if Linus Torvalds passed away? Who gets to decide what happens to the Linux kernel then?
DistroWatch answers: In the event Torvalds passes away or simply retires then the most likely person to take over the official Linux branch would be Greg Kroah-Hartman. He has stepped in to run things in the past when Torvalds has stepped away from kernel development for periods of time.
I see this question get asked a lot in various Linux-related forums and I suspect it comes from an outdated idea that Linux is worked on by Torvalds and a small band of independent programmers. This has not been true for over two decades. The kernel is currently worked on by hundreds of developers, many of them professionally employed by large technology companies like Red Hat, Microsoft, and Intel. Chances are very little would change for Linux development. The kernel's infrastructure and support base are huge and there are several multi-billion dollar companies with a strong incentive to keep things running smoothly, whoever is currently signing off on the final official releases.
* * * * *
Missing-my-shell asks: I accidentally uninstalled my desktop's terminal. Is there another way to access the terminal?
On most Linux distributions, at least all of those which still install the X.Org display software, you can run the command xterm to get a simplified terminal emulator. On most desktops you can press Alt+F2 to run any command, including xterm. It's not fancy, but it will give you shell access and allow you to re-install your usual terminal.
Alternatively you can use the Ctrl+Alt+F2 keyboard combination to switch from graphical mode to a terminal. This will give you a text console where you can sign in and perform rescue operations or install missing packages. You can return to the graphical environment by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F7 or, on some distributions, Ctrl+Alt+F1.
* * * * *
Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
|
| Released Last Week |
Voyager Live 11
Rodolphe Bachelart has announced the availability of Voyager Live 11, a major new release of the project's Debian-based desktop Linux distribution with a customised GNOME desktop. This version is derived from the recently-released Debian 11 "Bullseye" and it comes with a variety of non-free firmware pre-installed. It ships with the GNOME 3.38 desktop, Linux kernel 5.10, Firefox 78.13 and LibreOffice 7.0. This time the release preserved the internal structure of Debian 11 to avoid any security issues and all the package updates come from official Debian mirrors. It is also a more international release as all languages and translations have been preserved. Voyager has improved the "Box" with new scripts, such as the "Switch" script which allows a one-click switch between the environment of Debian 11 and Voyager 11. Other scripts provide ways to modify various Conky options, install GNOME extensions, switch to a PC Tablet mode with one-click screen rotation, Voyager wallpapers, restore options, installation of Wine Staging, among many others. Read the detailed release announcement (in French) for more information, video presentation and screenshots.
Voyager Live 11 -- Voyager's default desktop layout
(full image size: 940kB, resolution: 2560x1600 pixels)
Clonezilla Live 2.7.3-19
Clonezilla Live is a Debian-based live CD containing Clonezilla, a partition and disk cloning software. The project has published a new stable version with updated kernel, hardware support, and better judgement of whether a device is a disk or partition. "This release of Clonezilla Live includes major enhancements and bug fixes. Enhancements and changes since 2.7.2-39: the underlying GNU/Linux operating system has been upgraded - this release is based on the Debian 'Sid' repository as of 2021-08-17; Linux kernel has been updated to 5.10.46; ocs-restore-mdisks - support wildcard for device name; ocs-restore-mdisks - 'all' can be used as all non-busy local disks, it will countdown 15 seconds, not 7 seconds before the device name is assigned as 'all'; update USAGE about the option -j2 for ocs-sr; add warning messages about skipping option '-j2' (clone_hidden_data) when it's in restoreparts. the python3-crypto package has been removed since it's not used in Clonezilla Live; add short options -bm and -em for the beginner and expert modes in drbl-ocs, ocs-live-feed-img, ocs-onthefly, ocs-restore-mdisks and ocs-sr...." Further details can be found in the project's release announcement.
Ubuntu 20.04.3
The Ubuntu team has announced a new update to the distribution's install media and community editions. The new version is 20.04.3 and it includes bug fixes that have become available since 20.04 was launched along with support for additional hardware. The release announcement reads: "Like previous LTS series, 20.04.3 includes hardware enablement stacks for use on newer hardware. This support is offered on all architectures. Ubuntu Server defaults to installing the GA kernel; however you may select the HWE kernel from the installer bootloader. As usual, this point release includes many updates, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS." Additional information can be found in the release notes.
LibreELEC 10.0.0
Version 10 of LibreELEC, a specialist Linux distribution that runs the Kodi media centre on many popular minicomputers, has been released: "The final version of LibreELEC 10.0.0 has been released, bringing Kodi (Matrix) 19.1 to LibreELEC users. Users of LibreELEC 10 Beta or RC1 get an automatic update to the final version. LibreELEC 9.2 setups will not be automatically updated, you will need to manually update. We can offer stable and good working versions for Allwinner, Generic and Rockchip devices. The RPi4 is also in good shape but the codebase is rather new, so it is not polished yet (keep reading for details). Despite a long development period, there is still a major bug remaining. When you use profiles, LibreELEC's Settings Add-on can crash while switching to another profile. The issue is known, but we have currently no fix for it. So if you depend on profiles, you cannot properly use LibreELEC 10." Read the full release announcement for more details and known issues. LibreELEC 10.0.0 is available for Raspberry Pi, Allwinner, Rockchip, Amlogic, NXP and "Generic" devices.
* * * * *
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: 2,569
- Total data uploaded: 39.7TB
|
| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
|
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
| Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
Which virtual terminal do you use?
In this week's Questions and Answers column we talked about gaining access to a terminal when the desktop's virtual terminal has been removed. We would like to know, assuming you do use the Linux terminal, how do you access it? Do you use one of the popular desktop environment terminals such as Konsole or GNOME Terminal? Do you use a classic virtual terminal such as xterm or even the local text console? Let us know your preferred terminal environment in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on running Debian and its children in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
|
|
|
| Website News |
New distributions added to waiting list
- Hanh Linux. Hanh Linux is based on Artix. It features the OpenRC service manager and strives to provide a minimal, better performing operating system.
- AlpsOS. AlpsOS is a Debian-based desktop distribution.
- CutefishOS. CutefishOS is an Ubuntu-based distribution which strives to offer a friendlier desktop experience.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 6 September 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: 2, value: US$25.55) |
|
|
|
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch |
|
| Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
|
|
|
| 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 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • 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 |
| • 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 | 
Turkix
Turkix was a Turkish live CD Linux distribution based on Mandrakelinux. As it uses Mandrake's configuration tools and KDE, it was extremely easy to use, and it has a fancy look and feel. Turkix aims to introduce Linux to Turkish and Azerbaijani speakers without any prior Linux experience.
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 
