 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 981, 15 August 2022 |
Welcome to this year's 33rd issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Constructing a good computing experience involves balancing a lot of elements. Developers need to make choices between convenience and security, accessibility and clutter, performance and features. Finding the right balance between these aspects for a wide range of people is a challenge and one which is especially critical in desktop operating systems. This week we begin with a look at one distribution which attempts to find the right mixture of all these variables: Linux Lite. Ivan Sanders takes the latest version of Linux Lite for a test drive and reports on how this Ubuntu-based, desktop distribution performs. In our Questions and Answers column we continue to talk about performance versus features as we discuss the various components of a desktop and what the difference is between a desktop environment and a window manager. Do you run a plain window manager? Let us know about your setup in this week's Opinion Poll. In our News section we discuss Linux Mint providing an upgrade process for existing users who want to run the new Linux Mint 21 release. We also share updates and reports of ongoing work happening the FreeBSD project. Plus we are pleased to share the releases of the past week along with the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
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| Feature Story (by Ivan Sanders) |
Linux Lite 6.0
It has been two years since a DistroWatch review of Linux Lite. There are at least 93 distros on DistroWatch that support the Xfce desktop environment, but the out-of-the-box configuration of Linux Lite is pleasing, simple to use, and straightforward to most computer users. Linux Lite describes itself as, "... a 'gateway operating system'. Your first simple, fast and free stop in the world of Linux." Does it meet the muster? Can it truly be a strong first stop in the world of Linux?
Installation
Linux Lite 6.0, code name Fluorite, was released on 31 May 2022 at 16:23 (it's unclear if that was local time for me or for the server). The installation process is very simple, and it uses one of the most straightforward installation wizards. Even a completely new Linux user could likely click their way through a Linux Lite install. The live environment boots to a Lite Welcome splash screen with such options as Install Updates, Install Drivers, Set a Restore Point, etc. While some of these features may be useful, the most obvious choice is Install Now, thus beginning the installation process. WiFi worked out of the box, which is always good news. The installer then gives the user the option to download updates while installing and we can opt to install third-party software for WiFi and graphics drivers.
Linux Lite 6.0 -- Partitioning the disk from the system installer
(full image size: 164kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
For the purpose of this review, I've installed Linux Lite on my main machine and agreed to follow the simplest option of erasing my disk and allowing the installer to take over. I did, however, want this to be a fair and impartial review, so I selected advanced features. I was impressed and surprised with the option to erase the disk and use ZFS, complete with full disk encryption for security. As disk encryption is my preferred method of installing Linux (however usually LUKS with ext4 or Btrfs) I decided to try out ZFS which is an advanced and very well developed file system. During my usage of Linux Lite I had no issues with ZFS.
Daily usage
I have used Linux Lite almost daily for more than a month. It is an extremely fine distro. The branding is one of the most outstanding features of the distro. The Linux Lite feather logo, background, the website, everything is very well designed. It may prove useful to compare Linux Lite to Xubuntu. The two distros are, after all, 99% identical. Both distros use Xfce as the default desktop environment, and both are based on Ubuntu. Xubuntu is the official Xfce version of Ubuntu, but out of the box I find Xubuntu lacks any cohesive theme (which may well be the point). Linux Lite fills the void left by Xubuntu by providing a well themed Xfce version of Ubuntu out of the box.
Linux Lite 6.0 -- The welcome window
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The Linux Lite website boasts, "Just 2 clicks to update your system. An update system that will save you hours versus Windows updates." It was true, it was just two clicks to update my system (plus my password and then a reboot, technically a third click). For a while it appeared the updates were hanging, but eventually the downloads and updates went through and the system prompts offering a reboot arrived. Unlike with other operating systems, my update and reboot were not forced and I could continue working before I chose to reboot.
Included in the software is a powerful, albeit complicated, firewall, some other useful utilities such as backup tools and system restore tools, and (most importantly) LibreOffice.
Linux Lite 6.0 -- Accessing common applications
(full image size: 220kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Checking out the GUI software installer, it allows the user to install my favorite browser: Firefox. But this comes with a cost - that this will require installing Snap and using Firefox as a Snap package. I have many issues with this, but this is not an article about Canonical's Snap packages or the APT package manager. Linux Lite comes pre-installed with Google's Chrome web browser, easily the most popular browser in the world. The Linux Lite team has decided this is the best course of action because they want people to be comfortable using Linux straight away. If Chrome is not pre-installed, many brand new Linux users may become confused as to how to install their favorite browser. Unfortunately I consider Chrome to be spyware created by one of the largest companies on the planet. Ubuntu provides the user with a method to remove Snap and add the Firefox PPA, or Personal Package Archive. So I removed the ability for the operating system to install Snap packages and enabled the proper PPAs I wanted. It's not an ideal setup, and I am frustrated that Ubuntu is pushing their Snap packages so hard, but I'm glad there is still a work-around. (The Linux Lite 6.0 announcement web page actually provides the instructions for installing Firefox through a PPA!)
I am not a programmer or a fancy black hat, I use Linux because I love using it. I primarily use my computer for web browsing, e-mail, gaming, and streaming content. As a regular Linux user, I have had no trouble using Linux Lite to stream popular services such as Netflix and other streaming services.
The NVIDIA drivers installed without any issue and were useful upon rebooting. NVIDIA support was very good, as can be expected from an Ubuntu based operating system. Even on an Optimus setup (two graphics cards, one integrated and one heavy duty card usually used for gaming), I had no issues utilizing my NVIDIA video card to play games through Steam. In fact, with Linux Lite, I enjoyed the same NVIDIA support and Steam gameplay experience as through Ubuntu or any of Ubuntu's derivative operating systems. Even with my four year old graphics card, I could actually still play some very demanding games through Linux Lite.
Linux Lite 6.0 -- Gaming with the NVIDIA card
(full image size: 2.1MB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
The System Monitor application is incredible. From their announcement, "We've forked the new System Monitoring Centre to provide more specific information regarding Linux Lite... With System Monitoring Centre, you get information about your CPU, RAM, Disk, Network and GPU. You also get Performance, Processes, Startup, Services and System tools and information in one easy to use, highly configurable application. This is one of the nicest, most sensible applications I have seen in the free software world for a long time, and we are lucky to have it." I agree. It is such a breath of fresh air. It is a very useful tool.
Linux Lite 6.0 -- Monitoring resource usage
(full image size: 193kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Some small issues: I found the default mouse acceleration to be very aggressive, but this is an easy fix in the mouse / touchpad settings. When I right-clicked to remove a launcher from the panel, this action caused the entire panel to crash. After bringing back up the Xfce panel, I was able to right-click, go through panel preferences, and then to the items tab to remove and add launchers.
Conclusions
Out of the box, Linux Lite is an easy step into the world of Linux computing. It has useful features, it is not overly bloated with unnecessary software, it has great defaults that a user coming from another operating system could learn to love. With the help of Internet searching, any specific issues with Linux Lite can be easily solved. Would I recommend Linux Lite to a user coming from a different operating system? Yes, I might. If the user was coming from Windows and was very apprehensive about using unfamiliar interfaces, Linux Lite has a great theme and a very solid base.
Additional details
After unlocking the LUKS ZFS file system, it took 23 seconds to boot to the login page. This is a little long but definitely faster than other operating systems.
The system used 1,621 MB of RAM upon booting up, with NVIDIA drivers installed. Minimum recommended RAM is 768 MB, but I don't think you would get much Chrome browsing done with that small amount of RAM.
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Hardware used for this review
Laptop - Lenovo Legion Y530
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8750H CPU @ 2.20GHz x 6
- Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD Samsung and 1TB HDD
- Memory: 16GB
- Networking: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411
- Display: 1920x1080 @ 60Hz
- Graphics: Intel Corporation UHD Graphics 630, NVIDIA Corporation GP106M [GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile w/6GB VRAM]
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Visitor supplied rating
Linux Lite has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8.1/10 from 109 review(s).
Have you used Linux Lite? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Mint releases upgrade tool, FreeBSD publishes quarterly status report
Last week we shared a review of Linux Mint 21, the latest release of the popular, desktop distribution. The Mint team has since published upgrade instructions for people running older versions of the Mint distribution. The instructions make use of a tool called Mint Upgrade which automates most of the process. The team also suggests taking one's time with the upgrade: "Read all the instructions and take the time to understand them, ask for help if you're stuck. The instructions will ask you to be up to date and to prepare system snapshots. Don't rush into upgrading and do not take shortcuts."
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The FreeBSD project has published its quarterly status report in which details on work going into the project's operating system, third-party ports, and infrastructure are summarized. The newsletter talks about efforts to allow the makefs utility to create ZFS volumes, improvements to the pf firewall service, and an upgrade to OpenSSH: "OpenSSH, a suite of remote login and file transfer tools, was updated from version 8.8p1 to 9.0p1 in the FreeBSD base system. It has not yet been merged to the stable/13 and stable/12 branches. I anticipate doing so in July. Note: OpenSSH 9.0p1 switches scp(1) from using the legacy scp/rcp protocol to using the SFTP protocol by default. The -O flag is available to use the previous protocol instead." Additional information is provided in the status report.
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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) |
Defining parts of the user interface
Picking-up-the-pieces asks: What is the difference between a window manager and desktop environment?
DistroWatch answers: A window manager, as the name suggests, is a piece of software which manages application windows in a graphical environment. In particular, a window manager handles the movement, placement, and behaviour of an application window. If you're placing one window in front of another one or minimizing a window then you're making use of a window manager.
A desktop environment is less strictly defined. Typically a desktop environment includes several pieces of what we consider a graphical user interface. A desktop environment usually includes a window manager, an application menu, and either a panel or a dock. Most desktops have a small collection of applications which will adjust settings, along with a terminal, file manager, and a text editor.
You may have heard some people say that they don't run a full desktop environment, such as KDE Plasma, GNOME, Cinnamon, or Xfce. Instead they just run a window manager in an effort to use a minimal amount of system resources. This can be useful, especially on low resource machines or in situations where performance is key.
What people who take the "just running a window manager" approach often end up doing is adding more components along with the window manager. These may include a dock or panel and some convenience tools and a status monitor. Most people who are running minimal window managers basically end up creating an unofficial desktop environment from various parts.
A simple way to think about it is a window manager is what handles placing and moving applications windows. A desktop environment is a window manager plus the common tools most people use in their graphical environment to make the experience of configuring and exploring the interface more convenient.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
Rescuezilla 2.4
Rescuezilla is a specialist Ubuntu-based distribution designed for system rescue tasks, including backups and system restoration. The project's latest release updates its Ubuntu base, improves support for Btrfs, and sidesteps the Firefox Snap package by using a personal package archive (PPA). "Replaces Ubuntu 21.10 (Impish) build with build based on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy) for best support of new hardware. Builds latest version of partclone from source code v0.3.20, instead of OS package. This fixes 'unsupported feature' error for users of compressed BTRFS filesystems (such as Fedora Workstation 33 and newer). Removed old partclone v0.2.43 used to maximize legacy Redo Backup compatibility (modern partclone still provides good backwards compatibility). Fixed execution of Clonezilla EFI NVRAM script to better correctly handle reboot on EFI systems. Switched Firefox to using the Mozilla Team PPA repository, because new Snap packaging is incompatible with Rescuezilla's build scripts. Added ability to compress images using bzip2 algorithm." The project's release notes offer further details.
Rescuezilla 2.4 -- Guided backup and restore options
(full image size: 150kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Kali Linux 2022.3
Kali Linux is a Debian-based distribution with a collection of security and forensics tools. The project's latest release is Kali Linux 2022.3 which includes a number of new tools. "In light of 'Hacker Summer Camp 2022' (BlackHat USA, BSides LV and DEFCON) occurring right now, we wanted to push out Kali Linux 2022.3 as a nice surprise for everyone to enjoy. With the publishing of this blog post, we have the download links ready for immediate access, or you can update any existing installation. It would not be a Kali release if there were not any new tools added. A quick rundown of what has been added (to the network repositories): BruteShark - network analysis tool; DefectDojo - open-source application vulnerability correlation and security orchestration tool; phpsploit - stealth post-exploitation framework; shellfire - exploiting LFI/RFI and command injection vulnerabilities; SprayingToolkit - password spraying attacks against Lync/S4B, OWA and O365. There have been numerous packages updates as well." Additional information, including infrastructure changes and documentation updates, can be found in the project's release announcement.
YunoHost 11.0.9
YunoHost, a lightweight, Debian-based distribution for servers and featuring a web-based system administration tool, has been upgraded to version 11.0.9: "Following these last months of alpha and beta testing, we are glad to announce the release of YunoHost 11.0, running on Debian 11 'Bullseye'. This comes along with the latest version of the 4.4 series which includes a Buster-to-Bullseye migration tool to upgrade as simply as possible. Versions 4.x are not expected to receive any upgrades any more (except for important security fixes or migration fixes). Changelog: various tweaks for Python 3.9, PHP 7.4, PostgreSQL 13 and other changes related to Buster-to-Bullseye ecosystem; moved MySQL, PHP and Metronome from 'Depends' to 'Recommends'; apt - add sury by default; MySQL - drop super old MySQL configuration, it now relies on Debian's default; regenconf/helpers - better integration for PostgreSQL; rework repository code architecture; rework where YunoHost files are deployed; try to implement a smarter self-upgrade mechanism to prevent/limit API downtime and related UX issues...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information.
Ubuntu 22.04.1
Canonical has announced the release of an update to their Ubuntu 22.04 series along with updated official community editions. The new version, 22.04.1, include minor updates, fixes, and improved RISC-V support. "The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS (Long-Term Support) for its Desktop, Server, and Cloud products, as well as other flavours of Ubuntu with long-term support. 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 22.04 LTS. 22.04.1 also brings new RISC-V platform support, providing fresh images for the Allwinner Nezha and VisionFive StarFive boards." The release announcement and release notes offer additional information.
SparkyLinux 6.4
SparkyLinux is a lightweight, Debian-based distribution which provides a wide range of editions and development branches. The project's latest release is SparkyLinux 6.4 which is based on Debian 11 "Bullseye". "It is a quarterly updated point release of Sparky 6 'Po Tolo' of the stable line. Sparky 6 is based on and fully compatible with Debian 11 'Bullseye'. Changes: system upgraded from Debian and Sparky stable repos as of August 11, 2022; PC: Linux kernel 5.10.127 (5.19.1 and 5.15.60-ESR can be installed from Sparky unstable repos); ARM: Linux kernel 5.15.32-v7+; Firefox 91.11.0.0esr (103.0.2 and 102.1.0esr Mozilla builds can be installed from Sparky repos as the 'firefox-sparky' and 'firefox-esr-sparky' packages, but they use a new user profile, so your bookmarks, passwords, settings have to be synchronized from the Mozilla account); Thunderbird 91.10.0; VLC 3.0.17; LibreOffice 7.0.4; LXQt 0.16.0; Xfce 4.16; Openbox 3.6.1; KDE Plasma 5.20.5; small improvements." The release announcement offers further details and upgrade instructions.
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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:
- Total torrents seeded: 2,757
- Total data uploaded: 42.4TB
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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) |
Reasons to run a plain window manager
In this week's Questions and Answers column we talked about window managers. A window manager is a key component of any desktop environment, but window mangers (such as Openbox, Fluxbox, and i3) can be run on their own. Running a plain window manager, without the extra components which come with a full featured desktop environment, provides a lighter and simpler graphical environment. We would like to hear from our readers who run plain window managers what their reasons are for preferring a plain window manager over more feature rich desktop environments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on using sandboxing software in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Why do you run a plain window manager?
| Avoiding clutter: | 69 (3%) |
| Customization: | 51 (2%) |
| Educational purposes: | 15 (1%) |
| Performance/Resource usage: | 243 (11%) |
| Other: | 23 (1%) |
| All of the above: | 134 (6%) |
| A combination of the above: | 240 (11%) |
| I do not run a plain window manager: | 1439 (65%) |
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| Website News |
DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 22 August 2022. 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)
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
| • Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
| • Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
| • Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
| • Issue 1040 (2023-10-09): CROWZ 5.0, changing the location of default directories, Linux Mint updates its Edge edition, Murena crowdfunding new privacy phone, Debian publishes new install media |
| • Issue 1039 (2023-10-02): Zenwalk Current, finding the duration of media files, Peppermint OS tries out new edition, COSMIC gains new features, Canonical reports on security incident in Snap store |
| • Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years |
| • Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session |
| • Issue 1036 (2023-09-11): SDesk 2023.08.12, hiding command line passwords, openSUSE shares contributor survery results, Ubuntu plans seamless disk encryption, GNOME 45 to break extension compatibility |
| • Issue 1035 (2023-09-04): Debian GNU/Hurd 2023, PCLinuxOS 2023.07, do home users need a firewall, AlmaLinux introduces new repositories, Rocky Linux commits to RHEL compatibility, NetBSD machine runs unattended for nine years, Armbian runs wallpaper contest |
| • Issue 1034 (2023-08-28): Void 20230628, types of memory usage, FreeBSD receives port of Linux NVIDIA driver, Fedora plans improved theme handling for Qt applications, Canonical's plans for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1033 (2023-08-21): MiniOS 20230606, system user accounts, how Red Hat clones are moving forward, Haiku improves WINE performance, Debian turns 30 |
| • Issue 1032 (2023-08-14): MX Linux 23, positioning new windows on the desktop, Linux Containers adopts LXD fork, Oracle, SUSE, and CIQ form OpenELA |
| • Issue 1031 (2023-08-07): Peppermint OS 2023-07-01, preventing a file from being changed, Asahi Linux partners with Fedora, Linux Mint plans new releases |
| • Issue 1030 (2023-07-31): Solus 4.4, Linux Mint 21.2, Debian introduces RISC-V support, Ubuntu patches custom kernel bugs, FreeBSD imports OpenSSL 3 |
| • Issue 1029 (2023-07-24): Running Murena on the Fairphone 4, Flatpak vs Snap sandboxing technologies, Redox OS plans to borrow Linux drivers to expand hardware support, Debian updates Bookworm media |
| • Issue 1028 (2023-07-17): KDE Connect; Oracle, SUSE, and AlmaLinux repsond to Red Hat's source code policy change, KaOS issues media fix, Slackware turns 30; security and immutable distributions |
| • Issue 1027 (2023-07-10): Crystal Linux 2023-03-16, StartOS (embassyOS 0.3.4.2), changing options on a mounted filesystem, Murena launches Fairphone 4 in North America, Fedora debates telemetry for desktop team |
| • Issue 1026 (2023-07-03): Kumander Linux 1.0, Red Hat changing its approach to sharing source code, TrueNAS offers SMB Multichannel, Zorin OS introduces upgrade utility |
| • Issue 1025 (2023-06-26): KaOS with Plasma 6, information which can leak from desktop environments, Red Hat closes door on sharing RHEL source code, SUSE introduces new security features |
| • Issue 1024 (2023-06-19): Debian 12, a safer way to use dd, Debian releases GNU/Hurd 2023, Ubuntu 22.10 nears its end of life, FreeBSD turns 30 |
| • Issue 1023 (2023-06-12): openSUSE 15.5 Leap, the differences between independent distributions, openSUSE lengthens Leap life, Murena offers new phone for North America |
| • Issue 1022 (2023-06-05): GetFreeOS 2023.05.01, Slint 15.0-3, Liya N4Si, cleaning up crowded directories, Ubuntu plans Snap-based variant, Red Hat dropping LireOffice RPM packages |
| • Issue 1021 (2023-05-29): rlxos GNU/Linux, colours in command line output, an overview of Void's unique features, how to use awk, Microsoft publishes a Linux distro |
| • Issue 1020 (2023-05-22): UBports 20.04, finding another machine's IP address, finding distros with a specific kernel, Debian prepares for Bookworm |
| • Issue 1019 (2023-05-15): Rhino Linux (Beta), checking which applications reply on a package, NethServer reborn, System76 improving application responsiveness |
| • Issue 1018 (2023-05-08): Fedora 38, finding relevant manual pages, merging audio files, Fedora plans new immutable edition, Mint works to fix Secure Boot issues |
| • Issue 1017 (2023-05-01): Xubuntu 23.04, Debian elects Project Leaders and updates media, systemd to speed up restarts, Guix System offering ground-up source builds, where package managers install files |
| • Issue 1016 (2023-04-24): Qubes OS 4.1.2, tracking bandwidth usage, Solus resuming development, FreeBSD publishes status report, KaOS offers preview of Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1015 (2023-04-17): Manjaro Linux 22.0, Trisquel GNU/Linux 11.0, Arch Linux powering PINE64 tablets, Ubuntu offering live patching on HWE kernels, gaining compression on ex4 |
| • Issue 1014 (2023-04-10): Quick looks at carbonOS, LibreELEC, and Kodi, Mint polishes themes, Fedora rolls out more encryption plans, elementary OS improves sideloading experience |
| • Issue 1013 (2023-04-03): Alpine Linux 3.17.2, printing manual pages, Ubuntu Cinnamon becomes official flavour, Endeavour OS plans for new installer, HardenedBSD plans for outage |
| • Issue 1012 (2023-03-27): siduction 22.1.1, protecting privacy from proprietary applications, GNOME team shares new features, Canonical updates Ubuntu 20.04, politics and the Linux kernel |
| • Issue 1011 (2023-03-20): Serpent OS, Security Onion 2.3, Gentoo Live, replacing the scp utility, openSUSE sees surge in downloads, Debian runs elction with one candidate |
| • Issue 1010 (2023-03-13): blendOS 2023.01.26, keeping track of which files a package installs, improved network widget coming to elementary OS, Vanilla OS changes its base distro |
| • Issue 1009 (2023-03-06): Nemo Mobile and the PinePhone, matching the performance of one distro on another, Linux Mint adds performance boosts and security, custom Ubuntu and Debian builds through Cubic |
| • Issue 1008 (2023-02-27): elementary OS 7.0, the benefits of boot environments, Purism offers lapdock for Librem 5, Ubuntu community flavours directed to drop Flatpak support for Snap |
| • Issue 1007 (2023-02-20): helloSystem 0.8.0, underrated distributions, Solus team working to repair their website, SUSE testing Micro edition, Canonical publishes real-time edition of Ubuntu 22.04 |
| • Issue 1006 (2023-02-13): Playing music with UBports on a PinePhone, quick command line and shell scripting questions, Fedora expands third-party software support, Vanilla OS adds Nix package support |
| • Issue 1005 (2023-02-06): NuTyX 22.12.0 running CDE, user identification numbers, Pop!_OS shares COSMIC progress, Mint makes keyboard and mouse options more accessible |
| • Issue 1004 (2023-01-30): OpenMandriva ROME, checking the health of a disk, Debian adopting OpenSnitch, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1003 (2023-01-23): risiOS 37, mixing package types, Fedora seeks installer feedback, Sparky offers easier persistence with USB writer |
| • Issue 1002 (2023-01-16): Vanilla OS 22.10, Nobara Project 37, verifying torrent downloads, Haiku improvements, HAMMER2 being ports to NetBSD |
| • Issue 1001 (2023-01-09): Arch Linux, Ubuntu tests new system installer, porting KDE software to OpenBSD, verifying files copied properly |
| • Issue 1000 (2023-01-02): Our favourite projects of all time, Fedora trying out unified kernel images and trying to speed up shutdowns, Slackware tests new kernel, detecting what is taking up disk space |
| • Issue 999 (2022-12-19): Favourite distributions of 2022, Fedora plans Budgie spin, UBports releasing security patches for 16.04, Haiku working on new ports |
| • Issue 998 (2022-12-12): OpenBSD 7.2, Asahi Linux enages video hardware acceleration on Apple ARM computers, Manjaro drops proprietary codecs from Mesa package |
| • Issue 997 (2022-12-05): CachyOS 221023 and AgarimOS, working with filenames which contain special characters, elementary OS team fixes delta updates, new features coming to Xfce |
| • Issue 996 (2022-11-28): Void 20221001, remotely shutting down a machine, complex aliases, Fedora tests new web-based installer, Refox OS running on real hardware |
| • Issue 995 (2022-11-21): Fedora 37, swap files vs swap partitions, Unity running on Arch, UBports seeks testers, Murena adds support for more devices |
| • Issue 994 (2022-11-14): Redcore Linux 2201, changing the terminal font size, Fedora plans Phosh spin, openSUSE publishes on-line manual pages, disabling Snap auto-updates |
| • 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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| Shells.com |
Your own personal Linux computer in the cloud, available on any device. Supported operating systems include Android, Debian, Fedora, KDE neon, Kubuntu, Linux Mint, Manjaro and Ubuntu, ready in minutes.
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| Random Distribution | 
Aurox Linux
Aurox Linux was a Linux distribution with emphasis on support for several European languages, as well as multimedia and education. It was based on Red Hat Linux - version 9.0 of Aurox Linux was fully compatible with Red Hat 9. Aurox was a completely free distribution, released under the GPL license, and available for free download via FTP. The CDs are also published with the "Aurox Linux" magazine available in several language versions (Polish, Czech, German, French, Spanish) in 9 countries of Europe.
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.
|
| 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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