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1 • ISO or IMG images (by Leanne on 2021-09-20 00:32:57 GMT from Ireland)
Even though I've used USB drives to install linux for a good few years at this point, I've never downloaded an IMG image. It's always been iso images I've used to install my distro of choice. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
2 • Poll, Midori, Parole (by Ken on 2021-09-20 00:34:34 GMT from United States)
The poll needs a fourth option: Both. Why not provide a link both to the ISO and the IMG files?
Midori and Parole: Every time I try XFCE, I want Parole to work. I really do. And it never does. Same with Midori. It seems like the perfect low-resources browser, but it's constantly crashing, locking up, or doing something else wonky.
3 • ISO > IMG (by Jay on 2021-09-20 01:03:15 GMT from Thailand)
Barry Kauler's EasyOS recently decided to dump ISO for IMG files. (EasyOS used to offer its users *both* options.)
EasyOS was fun to play with, but I prefer to run it in a VM rather than dedicate a machine to something that's interesting but (for my current usage scenario) doesn't merit one.
Creating a bootable flash drive from an ISO is very little effort. Creating an ISO from an IMG? Not so much.
Goodnight, Barry. If your personal worldview takes precedence over your users' needs, it's time I moved on.
4 • Poll (by Terry R. on 2021-09-20 01:16:01 GMT from United States)
@2. I also agree why not option: Both. Why not provide a link for both to ISO and the IMG files? Have choice.
5 • "Persistence": only available with an IMG file? Or "also", or "automatically"? (by R. Cain on 2021-09-20 01:47:14 GMT from United States)
I KNOW that it is NOT explicitly stated, here, ...
"...An IMG file is often published if a project either wishes to not provide a single hybrid image (for both thumb drives and optical media) or when persistence is going to be used, allowing people to write files back to the thumb drive containing their distribution..."
...that one of THE reasons for using an IMG file is when persistence is one of the advantages offered by a distribution; but it could be misunderstood as saying that an IMG image *is needed* if one wants a distribution with persistence. It COULD be inferred, from the wording that an IMG file is absolutely *needed* if one wants to create a USB thumb drive with persistence.
Some distributions, as most of you no doubt know (and more than just a few have been using them), have been down-loadable as ISO files, write-able to USB thumb drives; and have been offering persistence, as a feature, for years.
6 • ISO vs IMG (by AG on 2021-09-20 01:51:21 GMT from Australia)
I concur those who say why not both? ISO and IMG files are for different use cases IMO.
If I am installing a distribution on a machine, then burning an ISO to USB is fine.
I only prefer IMG files when I'm going to be using persistence.
7 • ISO for me. (by Friar Tux on 2021-09-20 02:53:11 GMT from Canada)
@1 (Leanne) I'm with you on this one. ISO is so easy to work with, I don't see the need to use anything else.
8 • ISO files (by penguinx86 on 2021-09-20 03:17:37 GMT from United States)
I always download ISO files. It's no big deal creating a VM or bootable USB from an ISO file.
9 • ubuntu is becoming more proprietary than ever (by ohsnap on 2021-09-20 03:38:15 GMT from India)
Since the overuse of snap doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon, and since they intend to keep the snap server closed-source, what different is ubuntu to windows, except for claiming to be "some" open source? I've despised them since their search-logging fiasco, I've despised them ever since they wanted signups for SSH-key SSO, and snap is a buggy piece of junk that doesn't even do error messages properly. I'm surprised that all this is so normalized...
10 • Provide link to both where available (by Jyrki on 2021-09-20 03:41:27 GMT from Czechia)
When I try something new, I first do it in VirtualBox and hence ISO is preferred as img has to be converted to their format anyway. When I install system to a completely new machine, IMG would be preferred as typically no optical device is available there.
For upgrades I need neither iso nor img as it's performed from inside of the system (BSD) or I run rolling release distro (Artix).
11 • Isos or IMG (by David on 2021-09-20 04:02:54 GMT from United States)
Some (Crux, Slackware, to name a few) use isos processed with isohybrid. These isos are suitable for burning on a CD and putting on a USB drive.
So no IMG files are needed.
12 • Firefox without Snap (by vern on 2021-09-20 04:47:11 GMT from United States)
As a test, I purged Firefox on my Ubuntu. Then I downloaded firefox-92.0.tar.bz2 unzip it to option folder. Created a .desktop file. Bam, new Firefox. No Snap. No need for a .deb file.
With Chromium one needed to jump through hoops. No so with FF.
PS: Keep the ISO's
13 • ISO vs. IMG (by nsp0323 on 2021-09-20 04:49:34 GMT from Sweden)
Did answer no opinion but, both would be more correct.
These days I mainly use IMG files.
14 • GNOME (by SalParadise on 2021-09-20 06:12:12 GMT from United Kingdom)
Sad to hear about Gnome removing the ability to theme the Desktop. It would be bad enough if they'd chosen a decent them but Adwaita is horrible.
Yet another round of executive, anti-user, anti-freedom decisions from the GNOME Foundation.
Can they not be thrown out of the Community? Or at least threatened with such? That might bring them to their senses.
They are systematically destroying Gnome as a Desktop and bringing "open source" into disrepute in the process.
15 • @12 FF w/o Snap (by Mandatory on 2021-09-20 06:26:16 GMT from Spain)
If you want Chromium without snap, there is this option: an appimage of UngoogledChromium:
https://github.com/macchrome/linchrome/releases/tag/v93.0.4577.82-r902210-portable-ungoogled-Lin64
Works like a charm.
16 • Only ISO images (by Hugo67 on 2021-09-20 07:17:35 GMT from Poland)
ISO files can be copied as files to a USB drive. With grub2 you can choose which ISO image to boot from (https://github.com/Mexit/MultiOS-USB).
You can also burn it as an image to a USB stick. They are very useful in virtual machines for testing software.
17 • Ubuntu ans Snap: (by miguel Herrera on 2021-09-20 08:24:34 GMT from Philippines)
"Per Canonical's distribution agreement with Mozilla, we're making the Snap the default installation of Firefox"
They can do whatever they want to, I stopped using them a long time ago because of stuff like this . . .
Let them make all their packages snap, and their install media -- whether iso or img -- will be in the Terabytes. Ain't going for it.
18 • Well, don't I look silly . . . (by Miguel Herrera on 2021-09-20 08:27:05 GMT from Philippines)
@ 17 "Ubuntu and Snap"
19 • Solus/GNOME (by Operius on 2021-09-20 08:28:10 GMT from Netherlands)
Maybe I do not understand it correctly.
But isn't GNOME to do as they please with their developt software?
Al those people whining about decissions GNOME are making for their own software are just too lazy to come up with their own stuff.
This what you get if you base your desktop on another desktop that you don't have control off.
Same thing for popos, which is based on ubuntu which is based on debian and they also have a modifyed desktop based on GNOME.
I'm not being a GNOME fanboy here either, I use plasma and do not like the workflow of GNOME at all.
I'll stick to independent distro's that use software close to the default, like debian or opensuse.
And I use them without any theming other than the default, because that just works.
And GNOME is absolutely right in saying that third-party themes is breaking stuff.
Because it does. Even on KDE/Plasma most, if not all community (and also zorin and feren) themes make the desktop a lesser experience or is just not 100% working.
20 • Firefox packaged as Snap (by Basilio on 2021-09-20 09:53:21 GMT from Italy)
Snap packages are garbage. If I have to use a deb distribution, then I use Debian. The fascination of Ubuntu desktop is over.
21 • @14 Gnome (by mandog on 2021-09-20 11:12:13 GMT from United Kingdom)
They have not stopped or stopping users changing themes as far as I know.
They use a official extension for that if they stopped the extension a user would step in this is Linux not Windows Mac.
22 • ISO and IMG (by MikeOh Shark on 2021-09-20 11:16:47 GMT from United States)
I nearly always choose the ISO when I have a choice between ISO and IMG. I believe the current version of Ventoy supports both so testing distros that provide either is easy.
23 • Keeping a specific application window on top (by Alexandru on 2021-09-20 11:20:27 GMT from Austria)
Thank you, Jesse, for sharing these tips. It is always enjoying to have one more tool to automate things, especially if it is a simple shell script to do so.
24 • ISO images (by marcos pereira de sousa on 2021-09-20 11:21:07 GMT from Brazil)
ISO for me too!
@16 (Hugo67) I'm with you in this and more:
Your own sda GRUB2 can be used to loopback ISOs on any disk drive...(try search 'loopback' in github)
And is possible to use USB drives with ISOs choosing persistence in the options (AntiX, MX)...
Options? Give them all to be evaluated!
25 • iso or img doesn't matter, but keep up with the news (by releases-not-menitoned on 2021-09-20 11:55:58 GMT from Hungary)
When MakuluLinux Shift was released it wasn't even mentioned nor linked.
When MakuluLinux Droid was released it wasn't mentioned too nor linked.
Like many distros whom are listed here wasn't in the news (like best-loved ones). These unmentioend should be reported posteriorly.
To be more on topic tools (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tools_to_create_Live_USB_systems) handle well both. All are good.
26 • iso or img poll (by vm on 2021-09-20 12:09:44 GMT from Portugal)
IMG images don't work in Gnome Boxes.
While img is no good at all popular VM's the answer is a definitely NO !
27 • ISO or IMG (by Mitchell on 2021-09-20 12:22:59 GMT from United States)
We like painless transition, don't we? A seemingly natural morphing from one phase to the next within a logical scope seen from our own perceptions. But what about when it doesn't follow a perceptible pattern which flows from/through our vantage point?
Open source allows one group to take what they want/like and morph it into what they perceive it should be; and each morphing takes on a more narrower scope as the new old group eats their meat and spits out the other guy's bones.
We may not care for a certain direction we see/perceive they are taking, whomever they are... But is this reason enough to accuse, bash or minimize them over us? That is also illogical...because it violates the unwritten rule of being open source, ur...loving humanity.
Mass appeal is designed to appeal to the masses, something Ubuntu has done for years. Do I really care for "Snap", something which seems a little too proprietary-ish? What a feller does not like is the hidden nature of things presented as open source-ish by anyone using the open source of others. Open source also gives credit where credit is due - pay it forward. There is no doubt certain companies are looking to create income streams more than others; some have done masterful jobs at it...Redhat, or who ever owns them now. An income stream focus always skews the vision of someone.
These days a feller types, pay bills, is entertained, researches and computes in general without as much playing in the Linux fields as he use to - back in that day. There comes a time when he just wants to get the work done without the drama and delusional tweaking. I get it, really, I am just not living there any more.
If one cannot "create", can he not create a space of reason and acceptance for those who do? Can he not appreciate all the hard work which they have put into their vision, even if one cannot see it? Sure one can, try it. You'll like it.
If it's openly accessible and open source someone will change what they do not like about it. They will offer this to the general public; and, the wheels of mass appeal will spin again for another. Fads fade, seasons come and go, but it is open source and our love for humanity which must not be lost in the shuffle. Visions will fade and grow dim, watering holes will grow stagnant and corrupt. Seeking the needs of others brings a deep seated satisfaction of the heart because one has done the right thing, not because anyone had to notice. A simple "Thank You!" or "No, thank you." will suffice.
ISO or IMG? Laser Disk or DVD? VHS or BETA? Cassette or Reel-to Reel? Notice a pattern?
Love is the only tree which grows fruit after it's kind. Take a bite!
28 • Snap and Ubuntu (by cor on 2021-09-20 13:45:52 GMT from United States)
Snap is useless garbage. Ubuntu is getting sloppy, they don't seem to care anymore.
29 • poll (by Tad Strange on 2021-09-20 14:28:03 GMT from Canada)
Since discovering Ventoy, via this forum, I no longer write/burn ISOs, nor need special software to do so, so I prefer to download the ISO and have never used an IMG file save for the raspberry pi, where they appear necessary.
Snap...ugh. I have Opera installed on my Kubuntu system and it thrashes the CPU mercilessly for far too many seconds before it launches (and this is a current generation i5).
I'd hate to experience it on older or lesser hardware.
Restarting it is fast enough, for a saving grace. I'm guessing that Snap is something like the Linux subsystem on my chromebook - something substantial that needs to init before an app can launch?
30 • @15 FF w/o Snap by Mandatory (by vern on 2021-09-20 16:07:15 GMT from United States)
I just tried the Portable Chromium ungoogled for 64-bit Linux link you provided. It failed with "Aw, Snap!" error 159. Then I tried the Appimage version same result.
How did you overcome this error?
31 • ISO vs IMG (by Bob on 2021-09-20 16:40:26 GMT from United States)
This article might be helpful for insight:
What Are the Differences Between ISO and IMG Files?
https://www.techwalla.com/articles/what-are-the-differences-between-iso-and-img-files
"There is no difference in the structure of ISO and IMG formats if the IMG file is uncompressed. It is possible for an IMG format file to be renamed with the ISO file extension and then opened in software that only recognizes the ISO file format. This is an effective way of accessing disc information in programs that do not handle the IMG format."
32 • Forking GTK (by Shep on 2021-09-20 16:48:39 GMT from United States)
Redhat was the money behind GTK/Gnome development and since their sale to IBM changes to the traditional opensource model have occurred. I think these changes can be summarized in two ways; optimizing IBM returns and turning open source users into a Beta testing pipeline.
One solution that I have not seen mentioned would be to fork GTK. The following groups would benefit:
Budgie
Xfce
Cinnomon
Mate
Sugar
The BSD's
True Open Source projects like Arch, Debian, ?OpenSuse, AlmaLinux, Rocky and Deepin.
Perhaps these groups could disccus this and form an OpenGTK collaboration?
33 • Re "whiners" why don't you fix it yourselves (by Ted H in Minnesota on 2021-09-20 16:59:05 GMT from United States)
@19 • Operius
Re: "All those people whining about decissions GNOME are making for their own software are just too lazy to come up with their own stuff."
To you and others like you who say, "if you don't like something, FIX IT YOURSELF!"
- Without your realizing that NOT EVERYONE can PROGRAM!!! But we can mention things for programmers to pay attention to, to fix/improve!]
Ted H
34 • Why not both? Options are good you know... (by tom joad on 2021-09-20 17:30:47 GMT from Panama)
Why not both when both are presented? I for one like options and appreciate them when available but I voted for .img files.
As for persistence... I format my usb drives with several partitions. A large fat32 that will be used for the OS. Then I do a much smaller fat32 partition for 'clear' storage and another ext4 partition with LUKS for secrets. I use Gparted for most that and Disks for the ext4 and LUKS stuff. Lastly I set a flags too for booting and such.
I did one just the other day using Linux Lite. Seems to work fine for me. Nor is that the first time I have done that.
I love TOR. So I put that in the clear text partition. Why? Because most public places will not allow the download of TOR. So I stuff it in there and use it as needed. Just takes a jiffy to setup. And I stuff all the other stuff I sometime use in that partition too. Stuff like tor bridges, vpns and logs in at various places.
My way works pretty well for privacy I think. Boot up, do what you must and be gone leaving a very tiny trail, if any at all.
Sure, there might be other, better ways but that is the way I setup some of my USB drives.
Salud!
35 • Forking GTK (by john on 2021-09-20 17:35:00 GMT from Canada)
@32 - seems a lot of work, but yes, would be great if everyone gets out of the Red Hat/GNOME merry-go-round.
I have heard in the past, GTK/Gimp may be made dependent upon systemd. I do not know if that even has a grain of truth in it, but I can see that happening based upon current actions that seem to occurring on RHEL.
36 • Obarun review (by Pestokiwa (from Europe) on 2021-09-20 17:59:06 GMT from Germany)
After the last, relatively disastrous review due to the use of an out-of-date ISO, the Obarunners put up an explicit warning against that at the bottom of their download page - and DW AGAIN uses an outdated ISO for the current review?!
37 • RE: Forking GTK (by Pestokiwa (from Europe) on 2021-09-20 18:05:18 GMT from Germany)
@Shep Take note that Solus intends to boot out both GTK and qt, and seek their future salvation in an alternative toolkit named EFL ... bless them!
38 • Obarun review (by Jesse on 2021-09-20 18:32:13 GMT from Canada)
@36: "After the last, relatively disastrous review due to the use of an out-of-date ISO, the Obarunners put up an explicit warning against that at the bottom of their download page - and DW AGAIN uses an outdated ISO for the current review?!"
I'm not sure why you'd think the ISO used is out of date, it's only about a month old. Nothing of note has changed in that time. Also, there were no issues during the install process so the date of the ISO is moot.
Finally, Obarun is a rolling release. Once the initial install is completed all the packages are up to date with the latest versions in the repositories. The ISO could be a week, a month, or a year old at that point and it doesn't matter because the user ends up with the latest packages anyway.
39 • Budgie & EFL (by Beastie on 2021-09-20 19:33:06 GMT from Switzerland)
Solus moving away from GNOME is pleasing news.
I always liked the idea behind the Solus project: to build a system which is dedicated to desktop computing and easy to use for newbies, without relying on another upstream distribution. The latter point is important, because derivatives tend to inherit problems and/or limitations from their parent, which isn't developed with the same goals in mind.
However I never liked, nor understood, their choice of using GNOME as a base for their own desktop interface. GNOME since 3.0 (I just realised this was already 10 years ago) has been doing nothing else than deteriorating desktop usability, and GTK, being basically a GNOME project nowadays, just follows its evolution and becomes always more of a touch-device UI toolkit.
I'm glad to see EFL finally getting some love outside of Enlightenment. I've always been wondering why it's not more widely used. I'm looking forward to test a new Budgie desktop built on EFL. All the best to Joshua and Beatrice!
40 • solus/budgie & gnome (by dave on 2021-09-20 20:46:44 GMT from United States)
Not a Solus/Budgie user, but nice to hear that they're waking up from the long Gnome nightmare. Tbh just look at the type of people who are representing Gnome and any of the types who screech "Code of Conduct" like it's a incantation to magically dismiss all criticism.. that alone shows that they are not to be trusted and frankly, the quality of their work is not good. These people are hired and given authority specifically because they care more about image than efficiency, or reality. Gnome developers live in a fantasy world and need to be taken down several notches; to be brought back down to earth.
Years ago, when GTK3 was released, I recommended forking GTK2 and renaming it DTK (Deprecated Tool Kit) .. surpassing GTK with something like that would be the ultimate flex and is totally possible, since Gnome continues on the trend of alienating more and more people.
However, at this point, it might simply be easier to start fresh or switch to different technology. Good luck to the Solus/Budgie people and I hope to hear that they have successfully joined forces with likeminded projects. Pop_OS! is a product that I loathe but mostly because the name is stupid and because they just use Gnome. So it would be great if they got away from Gnome in the future.
41 • Firefox w/o Snap (by Don Birdsall on 2021-09-20 21:14:27 GMT from United States)
On the Raspberry Pi, both the Snap and regular versions are available. I installed the snapd daemon and tried both. Snap version boots slowly with many warnings(?). Regular version runs nicely. Snap is crap. I am removing it from my RPi 4.
Shame on Canonical.
42 • ISO or IMG or both (by AdamB on 2021-09-20 21:43:11 GMT from Australia)
Providing links to both might be unwieldy. I answered IMG, but on reflection, I test more distros in VirtualBox than I install on hardware, and ISOs are preferable for that purpose.
It is about time an alternative to GTK was developed; it will be interesting to keep an eye on Solus/Budgie developments.
43 • Poll (by anon on 2021-09-21 01:15:23 GMT from United States)
I say stick ISO.
Also you don't need to format the disk over and over, as you can use Ventoy.
I point to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K64sT0pQc-0 and to https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html
44 • Are CD;s still a thing? (by Boris Bratworst on 2021-09-21 02:46:30 GMT from Canada)
ISO so we can burn it to CD
wait, there are no more CD's ....
Well there ya go, but some people wont ever change
Thumbdrive install for everything, works flawlessly
CD's are not enviromentally stable.
45 • .ISO vs usb images (by uz64 on 2021-09-21 08:16:47 GMT from United States)
Literally almost everything out there is either served as either a hybrid ISO file, or a combination of dedicated .iso and USB image (separate images are much, much more rare--often just the BSDs). On very rare occasions, I come across distros that only have USB images, and they are absolutely useless to me... if I want to just try them out in a virtual machine, I can't; VirtualBox does not recognize them. And I can't just toy around with my system's main disk these days, booting from flash drive and installing to disk, risking my *ONLY* machine--so that's out of the question too. These distros that do not provide proper ISOs can just go to hell (Paldo, I'm looking at you...). ISOs can generally be burned to disc, and in most cases also written to a USB stick with a special tool, several of which are available across platforms. ISO files are still much more useful and universal in general... you can easily select an ISO image to mount as your virtual machine's optical disc drive and boot up with no problem, but good luck attempting to do the same with a USB image. If anyone does know a way, I'd love to know what it is...
46 • Stability? (by Newby on 2021-09-21 10:19:39 GMT from Canada)
@44 "CD's are not environmentally stable."
Not sure just which version of "stable" you mean.
Assuming by prefacing with the word environmentally, you are referring to recycling the plastic. If memory serves me correctly, that material would be polycarbonate, and it is in fact "recyclable".
If you are referring to stability of your data, when stored in the dark (away from UV) at room temperature (25 degrees C), and maintaining low humidity, the data on a good quality CD should be stable for anywhere from 60 to 100 years (manufacturer's estimate).
Compare that to a memory stick or hard drive where anything over 5 years is considered "suspect".
In the case of memory sticks, the data is stored as a capacitive charge between cells that can bleed off resulting in errors. In the case of magnetic media (spinning hard drives), data bits can "flip". Data Archivists apparently recommend "refreshing" such datat periodically by copying to other media, although that can also produce errors which things like CRC checks are supposed to catch.
This loss of data is referred to as "bit rot", and is something that ZFS and BTRFS supposedly can handle.
I am not an expert on data archiving. What information I have has come from "bits" I've read online, and talking to "experts"(?) at computer trade shows. If anyone can refer to an online resource on data archiving, it would probably be valuable to anyone concerned about protecting legal, medical, and other such data, without having to depend on the insecurity of "the cloud".
47 • .iso vs. .img (by Trihexagonal on 2021-09-21 10:20:31 GMT from United States)
When I install FreeBSD I always use a memstick.img file and dd it to a USB stick using one of my FreeBSD boxen:
dd bs=1m if=FreeBSD-10.1-RELEASE-i386-memstick.img of=/dev/da0 conv=sync
When I install Kali I dd the .iso to the same USB stick after I'm done using it with FreeBSD for the time being:
dd if=./kali-linux-1.0.9a-i386.iso of=/dev/da0 bs=512k
USB sticks can be used over and over for this purpose and dd will work every time. I copied those commands from a saved text file and have been doing it this way quite a while now.
Both work even though the syntax is a little different. That is the command I used when installing Kali 2021.2 on this box.
48 • ISO vs USB (by Jesse on 2021-09-21 13:35:56 GMT from Canada)
@45: "I come across distros that only have USB images, and they are absolutely useless to me... if I want to just try them out in a virtual machine, I can't; VirtualBox does not recognize them."
You can use IMG files with VirtualBox. I do it on a semi-regular basis when gathering information on new releases from projects which do not provide ISO files. VirtualBox will convert the IMG file to a virtual disk image (VDI) file and mount it.
49 • SysV init updates (by anticapitalista on 2021-09-21 15:45:05 GMT from Greece)
Nice to see the supposedly dead and unmaintained SysV init getting a milestone update.
50 • ISO vs IMG (by Mike on 2021-09-21 21:49:22 GMT from United Kingdom)
Nothing wrong with using an optical drive with re-writable single or double layer DVD media. I've been using the same pack of 12 DVD+RW for the past couple of decades to check out alpha, beta, rc and final ISOs.
How many USB drives have you had to replace in that time because they have failed or you've just lost them?
51 • Solus & RedGnome (by postertom on 2021-09-22 03:06:36 GMT from United States)
It is encouraging to see some of the feedback about Solus and RedGnome. SalParadise, Shep, John, Beastie, & Dave, above, have said it pretty well.
Then there are other opinions. There are those who say to accept abandonment, move along and do it yourself. "Choice" can now be a legitimate reason for developers to toss aside those users who have come to depend upon existing features and functionality. Commitment is not relevant. What we are seeing here is the degradation of one of the most powerful forces in the FOSS movement.
RedGnome, RedSystemd, RedCent. Is there a pattern?
52 • ISO vs USB (by Jyrki on 2021-09-22 04:02:24 GMT from Czechia)
@48
yes, use use VBoxManage but it's additional step and a bit of discomfort. When I know project doesn't have hybrid ISO I rather think of use case and when it's just for use in VirtualBox (most of the time because for use on real hardware I rather upgrade using freebsd-update, sysupgrade or sysinst) , I prefer ISO
53 • IMG files (by penguinarm64 on 2021-09-22 10:09:43 GMT from United States)
I have on problem using ISO files for my laptop and VMs. But it seems like IMG files might be useful in some situations with a Raspberry Pi environment using SD cards. I agree with the others who said "why not both?"
54 • @48: What, exactly, are these projects; these "...new releases..." (by R. Cain on 2021-09-22 18:10:00 GMT from United States)
"...I do it on a semi-regular basis when gathering information on new releases from projects which do not provide ISO files..."
Can you give us a list of mainstream Linux distributions which do not provide ISO files to those who want to download the distribution?
And yes, I realize that the term "mainstream" is somewhat arbitrary; not extremely definitive...but I'm certain you get the idea.
55 • ISO vs IMG (by Angel on 2021-09-23 01:56:33 GMT from Philippines)
I haven't used a CD or DVD in quite a few years. Don't even have a DVD drive. @44, yes, you can write .iso files to thumb drives as easily as .img. As a rule, I will not try or install a distro without trying it first as a VM. Thus, I much prefer .iso. Yes, I can convert .img to .iso, or I can use VBoxManage convertfromraw, but I figure if the distro devs don't want to bother, I don't want to bother either unless I have some pressing need..
I normally write to USB using Rufus running on a Windows VM. It's as simple as they come, and it gives me a choice to write in iso or dd mode. I write in iso mode if possible. I work on some Windows systems, and want to keep portable win32 apps in the same flash drive. (dd will use up the whole drive.) Persistence is available for distros that support it. I haven't used Ventoy yet, but if it works as advertised, it will allow me to keep Kali and MX on the same drive, which certainly is convenient.
56 • ISO or IMG ? (by Roger on 2021-09-23 08:37:11 GMT from Belgium)
ISO or IMG ?
I prefer both, every time Linux Mint comes with a new one like 19 to 20 I burn one DVD of the new one. The in between ones not like now 20.2.
For testing I only use thumb drives or SD cards sometimes RW-DVD's.
So when I have to choose I prefer both, but IMG can be first as long as there is a way to find the ISO files.
57 • thumb drive installs (by Otis on 2021-09-24 14:18:40 GMT from United States)
Well, I have to now. Still looking for the right distro to start with. I've been using iso files burned to CD/DVD since the beginning of my linux journey in the mid 90s.. but now I've upgraded to a machine with amazing specs but no CD/DVD drive. So... here I go on another path on that journey.
58 • GTK2 and also Initware (by B. Stack on 2021-09-24 15:05:17 GMT from United States)
Somebody has started a "successor" to gtk2: https://github.com/thesquash/stlwrt
Let me be the first to comment about the infiltration of systemd/initware to the BSDs. I have only ever dabbled with the BSDs, but why on earth would they want to bring in that whole can of worms or anything related to it? Oh, my goodness. Where shall people go in the future to avoid systemd, if the BSDs are also infected?
59 • FF Snap2 (by frc-kde on 2021-09-24 15:22:15 GMT from Brazil)
I have used Kubuntu from 2009 to 2019, and gave it up when they replaced chromium.deb package with a Snap2 one.
Still running KDE Neon, but ready to use just other distros.
60 • @58 B. Stack: (by dragonmouth on 2021-09-24 20:57:40 GMT from United States)
systemd is The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread! Dontchano.
There's something about lemmings.
Number of Comments: 60
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| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
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BlackRhino GNU/Linux
BlackRhino GNU/Linux was a free Debian-based GNU/Linux software distribution for the Sony PlayStation 2. It contains over 1,200 software packages to aid in using and creating programs for the Sony PlayStation 2 Linux kit. The programs range in functionality from simple games, to text editors, compilers, web servers, windowing systems, database systems, graphics packages, mail servers and a variety of other tools and utilities. The software distribution was created by xRhino for a commercial Sony PlayStation 2 title. It was released in the hopes that the distribution will help hobbyists create their own games and applications that utilize the advanced programmable hardware of the PS2.
Status: Discontinued
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