 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 942, 8 November 2021 |
Welcome to this year's 44th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
MX Linux is a Debian-based project which provides a mid-weight, desktop distribution with a collection of custom configuration utilities. The project has attracted attention in recent years for its unusual desktop layout and out of the box functionality. This week Jeff Siegel takes MX Linux 21 for a test drive and reports on his impressions of the distribution. In our News section we share improvements coming to the Linux Mint project along with changes to Mint's Firefox package. We also talk about changes to Haiku's driver compatibility and link to an open forum held by the Rocky Linux team. The Rocky developers talked about what makes their distribution special, how it came to be, and their relationship with other members of the Red Hat family of distributions. Then we discuss kernel efficiency and what factors to consider when trying to measure kernel performance. Plus we are pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. One of last week's releases was Fedora 35, a project which uses a predictable (if often flexible) schedule. Do you like it when distributions run on a fixed schedule or do you prefer a "wait until it's ready" approach to new versions? Let us know in this week's Opinion Poll. We wish you all a fantastic week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: MX Linux 21
- News: Mint polishes desktop tools, Rocky Linux team answers questions, Haiku makes kernel build adjustment
- Questions and answers: Comparing kernel efficiency
- Released last week: Fedora 35, Voyager Live 21.10
- Torrent corner: Arch, Archman, Fedora, FuguIta, KDE neon, LibreELEC, PrimTux, Voyager Live
- Upcoming releases: FreeBSD 12.3 RC1
- Opinion poll: Predictable release schedules
- New distributions: Itd OS, DragonOS, Potabi
- Reader comments
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (13MB) and MP3 (10MB) formats.
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| Feature Story (by Jeff Siegel) |
MX Linux 21
There is no reason why MX Linux 21, the newest version of yet another of Linux's seemingly infinite number of community-based operating systems, should be this well done. This is, after all, a mostly volunteer operation, just like all the other of Linux's seemingly infinite number of community-based operating systems.
But it is that well done.
That MX 21, codenamed Wildflower, is such a joy to use speaks volumes about Linux and its potential on the desktop, the dedication of its users, and why so many of us never want to boot a Big Tech operating system ever again. It's not so much that MX 21 just works, but that its developers have made a serious effort to identify what would make it work even better.
That means terrific documentation, a surprisingly effective installer, and the much-ballyhooed MX-Tools. In this, it tries to be self-contained; that is, you won't have to search for a Deb package file on the Internet to add something that you need because MX already has software for almost every contingency. Plus, MX is so tweakable that you'll probably get tired of tweaking it. How does 25 installed themes sound?
MX Linux 21 -- MX Tweak
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A distinguished history
MX has its roots in users of the discontinued MEPIS Linux distro, as well as antiX, a top-notch, low-end hardware distro that is similar to Puppy Linux, but can be installed on a hard drive without making your brain hurt. The two groups found common ground and released the first MX, MX-14, in 2014. It has always been based on the Debian Stable branch and has always featured the Xfce desktop. MX-21 uses Debian Bullseye, Xfce 4.16, and the 5.10 kernel, in both 32- and 64-bit versions. There are also 32- and 64-bit Fluxbox versions (which were added for the first time for this release) as well as a 64-bit KDE version. MX-21 is supported until June 2024.
I purposely used a 7-year-old laptop - a Dell Inspiron 11 3147 with a touchscreen - to test the 64-bit Xfce desktop. That's because MX describes itself as a mid-weight operating system, so it's not as frugal as antiX but should still be able to work on less modern hardware than Ubuntu or Fedora. As such, the system specs call for at least 1GB of RAM (2GB recommended), 6GB of hard drive space (20GB recommended), and a "modern" Intel i686 or AMD processor.
In this trial everything worked out of the box, including the touchscreen. Which, frankly, was surprising, given Linux's consistent inconsistency with touchscreens. The older processor slowed down boot times, as well as how long some software took to load, including Firefox. But it was still quicker with Firefox by three of four seconds than on my Windows 10 box with its Intel Core 2 Duo processor from 2008.
MX Linux 21 -- The Xfce desktop
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There also wasn't too much trouble running MX-21 in VirtualBox, save for Firefox. The system loaded quickly, I was able to resize the windows and run through a variety of tasks, including testing LibreOffice, with ease. Then I loaded the browser. The CPU monitor showed 100% and the virtual instance crashed. Similarly, the live boot works as it should - a little laggy at times, but nothing to cause you to bang the keyboard in frustration. And it remembered my Wi-Fi settings after installation.
MX Linux 21 -- Running Firefox
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MX-21 uses its own installer, so you'll need to pay more attention than if you're used to something like Ubuntu's click-and-forget Ubiquity. That means several things: First, read the instructions on the left side of the installer, which explain what to do if you need to deal with UEFI. Second, there's an option to set up a user and as well as a root password, which might confuse those who just want to set up a one-person system, and which could lead to locking themselves out of root. Finally, the installer asks how to deal with the home and root partitions; stick with the default choice and you'll be OK.
MX Linux 21 -- The MX installer
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On the desktop
The MX-21 experience is its great strength, both in its design and in its vast assortment of system utilities. It's simple and straightforward and, as noted, there seems to be a specific tool for almost anything anyone could want to do. Yes, the look and feel of most of the MX-designed apps is nothing more than basic, without any of the glitz and polish so many others deliver. But all of it works, and what more can we ask for?
MX Linux 21 -- MX Tools
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The highlight is MX Tools, which expands Xfce's system settings to include bunches of mini-apps, including boot repair, installing NVIDIA drivers, a codec installer, disk cleaner, and my favorite - a USB formatter. Would that Xubuntu had this, so I would never have to deal with GParted ever again. And there is also MX Tweaks, which offers a variety of simple changes, including disabling single click on the desktop and in the file manager.
Also terrific: Copying error information to the clipboard automatically formats to the proper style for the MX forums.
MX Linux 21 -- Copying system information
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And none of this includes the Midnight Commander file manager, the Timeshift system restore app, and luckyBackup, which seems to be the most simple and straightforward backup and sync utility I've seen. Plus, no digging in the repositories for dconf and gdebi, both of which are installed by default. You'll still have run gdebi from the command line, though. But even there MX has been able to fix the GUI problem, where gdebi will launch but won't install the Deb file.
The most obvious design difference - for Xfce, anyway - is the panel and taskbar on the left hand side. It's not quite as obtrusive as the GNOME left-hand panel; plus, it can be changed, modified, and edited without any trouble. The half dozen or so icons and indicators on top of the menu button at the bottom of the panel offer quick access to printers, the clipboard, Bluetooth, mounted volumes, and even Nextcloud and Zoom. The menu button accesses an even more complete version of the Xfce Whisker menu.
MX Linux 21 -- The application menu
(full image size: 1.5MB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Conky - the system monitor that was desktop bling a decade ago - makes a most welcome appearance. I've never really thought about using it on Xubuntu, but it fits nicely here and, thanks to MX Conky, you can conk to your heart's delight. That even means the option of adding accurate weather information, which has long been an Xfce weakness.
The software collection is most of the usual - Firefox 93, Thunderbird 78.13, LibreOffice 7.0.4.2, and VLC for music and videos. gThumb is the image viewer, Clementine is the music player, and qpdfview is the PDF reader. There is also the Foliate e-book reader and webcamiod to take pictures and videos with a webcam. If it's not as streamlined as Cheese, I didn't find it glitching or hanging up the way Cheese can.
Does it all work?
Yes, it does. My music played. The system found my Canon MX- 922 printer and scanner and it printed and scanned. The network manager did what it was supposed to do, something else that Xfce can have trouble with. I was able to add Nextcloud without any problems and access my home network files easily. Nothing crashed and nothing happened that I didn't expect to happen. That's about as good as Linux - or any OS - gets, yes?
A word here about systemd, which MX uses - sort of. Technically, it ships with systemd present but disabled by default. So you can enable it if you want to replace SysV init, which is the default init. This strikes me as a suitable compromise to the entire systemd controversy. And it's worth noting that I didn't experience any appreciable differences between the MX version of Xfce, without systemd, and the Xubuntu version, which uses it.
In other words, MX-21 can serve as a production machine without any trouble, and something I've done with earlier versions. That I don't use it today is not so much about MX (save for the less polished look of the home-grown apps) as it is about how much effort I want to put in to get my machine just the way I want it. As noted again, there is almost too much tweaking possible with MX. How's that for the biggest drawback in an operating system?
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Hardware used for this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a Dell Inspiron 11 3147 laptop with the following specifications:
- Processor: Intel Pentium N3530, 2.16GHz
- Storage: 465 GB HDD
- Memory: 8GB of RAM
- Networking: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9565 802.11 b/g/n/ Wi-Fi+Bluetooth
- Display: Intel HD Graphics
When he is not testing out new versions of Linux distributions, Jeff Siegel can be found writing about all things related to wine at Wine Curmudgeon.
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Visitor supplied rating
MX Linux has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8/10 from 617 review(s).
Have you used MX Linux? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Mint polishes desktop tools, Rocky Linux team answers questions, Haiku makes kernel build adjustment
The Linux Mint team have published an update, reporting on progress made over the past month and upcoming changes to their distribution. Improvements are being made to the distribution's custom desktop tools as well as the crash report tool. The Firefox package is also getting a modification: "Following some of the discussions we had here on this blog and your feedback in the comments section, the upcoming versions of Xed and Xreader will feature an option to hide the menubar. When it is hidden the application uses less space and fits in a smaller screen resolution. Pressing the Alt key makes the menubar visible momentarily. Xed also gained the ability to switch between opened tabs using Ctrl-Tab and Ctrl-Shift-Tab. The System Reports tool will check systems to ensure they're merged (i.e. according to usrmerge specs) and warn users when this isn't the case. In LMDE 4, Firefox 78 ESR will be upgraded to version 94. LMDE will no longer follow the ESR version. It will use the same version of Firefox as Linux Mint." Further information can be found in the project's monthly newsletter.
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Rocky Linux is one of the community editions of Enterprise Linux which came into being after Red Hat announced it would be phasing out CentOS Linux. The Rocky Linux team have taken to Reddit to engage the community in an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. "We're the team behind Rocky Linux. Rocky Linux is an Enterprise Linux distribution that is bug-for-bug compatible with RHEL, created after CentOS's change of direction in December of 2020. It's been an exciting few months since our first stable release in June. We're thrilled to be hosted by the /r/linux community for an AMA (Ask Me Anything) interview!" The resulting questions and answers can be found in the team's conversation thread.
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The Haiku team has been working on a new toolchain for building the Haiku kernel. The kernel was previously built with the GNU Compiler Collection, version 2. With an upgrade to version 8 of the compiler, backward compatibility with BeOS drivers may be lost. However, it seems no one is using old BeOS drivers with Haiku anymore. "Waddlesplash made the kernel always build with GCC 8, even on 32-bit systems. It was built with GCC 2 until now, but it was not possible to use BeOS drivers anymore since the introduction of SMAP and other features, which led to slight changes in the driver ABI. No one complained, so there is no reason to preserve BeOS driver compatibility further. This should result in performance improvements for 32-bit installations, as the new compiler is much better at optimizing code. And it will allow kernel developers to use more modern C++ features." Additional changes coming to Haiku are covered in the project's newsletter.
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These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Comparing kernel efficiency
Seeking-efficiency asks: Which kernel of these operating systems (Windows, Linux, macOS) is more efficient? How could I justify this answer?
DistroWatch answers: It's an interesting question and one where you could take a number of approaches to trying to sort out which kernel will be more efficient. I suppose before you could really answer this question you'd need to decide two things:
First, in what way do you want the kernel to be more efficient? Are you interested in application speed, networking performance, memory size, developer effort in porting, loading drivers, avoiding context switches, blocking attacks on the kernel, pushing functionality out to userspace utilities? There are a lot of different ways a piece of software can be more or less efficient and several ways in which a kernel could be optimized. Deciding what you want to measure to determine relevant efficiency would be the first step.
Second, how do you plan to measure efficiency? The three kernels mentioned are quite different in their design and approach so you'd need to figure out how you plan to measure the parameters you selected in the first step. Are you looking at size on disk, size in memory, CPU resource consumption, counting context switches, performance of specific applications, monitoring network traffic rates? Are you going to make a feature table and compare what each kernel can do on its own versus what it relies on userspace to provide?
Once you can answer those two questions you will be able to outline what you mean by "more efficient" and have a way to test the three kernels to determine which one is best for your situation. This wouldn't mean one kernel is always more efficient in every way, but it would mean you could say confidently that one kernel is more efficient in a given way and show evidence as to why that is true.
Something I suspect you will find if you dive deep into testing kernel efficiency from various angles is that the Linux kernel will vary a lot in its benchmarks depending on how it is configured. Linux has a lot of build-time options, allowing for the addition (or removal) of countless drivers, different CPU and disk schedulers, CPU security mitigations, and video drivers. Each of these will vary its disk consumption, memory usage, CPU performance, and latency. You may end up finding there is a bigger gap between two Linux kernels with different build options in some of your tests than between a Linux kernel versus commercial kernels.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
Fedora 35
The Fedora team have announced the launch of Fedora 35. The new version of Fedora ships with GNOME 41, the PipeWire audio system, and the WirePlumber session manager. "We switched the default audio system to PipeWire in Fedora Linux 34, and now we're improving this by adding the new WirePlumber session manager. WirePlumber allows for more customization of the policy and rules for audio and video. It provides a richer development experience and adds bindings for most languages. If you enable the third-party repositories that ship in Fedora Linux desktop variants, those repositories are now immediately available. Additionally, enabling third-party repositories now makes selected Flathub applications available via a filtered Flathub remote. This eases access to a curated list of applications that will not cause legal or other problems for Fedora to point to, does not overlap Fedora Flatpaks, and works reasonably well." The release announcement offers further details.
Fedora 35 -- Running the GNOME desktop
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Voyager Live 21.10
Voyager Live is an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring the GNOME desktop and with French language support. The project has released Voyager Live 21.10 which offers the GNOME 40 desktop and nine months of support. "I introduce you Voyager 21.10 GE which continues the adventure with the GNOME Shell desktop version 40 by introducing new features, support for new systems and technologies and a whole new layout with visual changes for applications and virtual desktops. Improved support for AMD GPUs. A new security module called Landlock with the promise finally realized, to have a light, fast, modern, fluid, secure and efficient GNOME system in a hybrid environment for PC and Tablet. This version is based on the Linux 5.13 kernel and the Ubuntu distribution"Impish Indri" 21.10. It is an intermediate version with 9 months of updates that prepares for the future 5 year LTS - Long-Term Support version which is coming soon. With integrated, options like Conky Control, Repair, Switch Ubuntu, WINE-staging and Steam Gaming in the Box Voyager and 39 GNOME extensions selected according to PC needs." Further information is available in the project's release announcement.
* * * * *
Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| 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:
- Peers connected: 1,289
- Total torrents seeded: 2,646
- Total data uploaded: 40.8TB
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
Predictable release schedules
Some Linux distributions stick to a fixed release schedule. Projects such as Ubuntu and Fedora try to put out regular releases on a predetermined schedule, making upgrades a predictable part of running the operating system. Other distributions don't follow a set schedule, but release new versions when the developers feel the software is mature enough to use. Slackware and Debian famously "release when ready". This makes upgrading less predictable, though hopefully results in a more stable experience for the user.
Do you prefer one method over the other? Which approach does your chosen distribution use?
You can see the results of our previous poll on favourite web browsers in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Fixed versus when-ready release schedules
| I prefer a fixed/predictable schedule: | 381 (23%) |
| I prefer a when-ready schedule: | 849 (52%) |
| No preference: | 406 (25%) |
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| Website News |
New distributions added to waiting list
- Itd OS. Itd OS is an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring the KDE Plasma desktop. The distribution ships with preload which caches commonly used files in memory for faster launch times.
- DragonOS. DragonOS is based on Lubuntu and features tools for people who wish to work with software defined radios.
- Potabi. Potabi is a fork of FreeBSD which ships with the Lumina desktop. The project intends to offer alternative designs and implementations which are not present in other UNIX-like operating systems.
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DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 15 November 2021. Past articles and reviews can be found through our Article Search page. To contact the authors please send e-mail to:
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • 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 |
| • 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.
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| Random Distribution | 
Monomaxos
Monomaxos was an Ubuntu-based distribution whose purpose was to provide a complete out-of-the-box functional Linux operating system by including browser plugins, media codecs, support for DVD playback, Java, Flash and other components. It also adds a custom desktop and menus, and a modified Wubi installer for making installation very easy. Monomaxos was compatible with Ubuntu software repositories.
Status: Discontinued
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| 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.
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| 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.
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