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1 • My way! (by TexasJoe on 2022-10-24 01:13:48 GMT from United States)
I like to customize a distro. XeroLinux will be a challenge. I want to completely remove Flatpack.(Hate it) Then I plan to switch to the Xfce desktop. I may completely desroy Xero. Wish me luck.
2 • Calamares installer, etc ... not too well. (by Greg Zeng on 2022-10-24 01:50:56 GMT from Australia)
As usual, another distro is using the increasing popular Calamares. The old timers continue to use it. Only a few which do use it, fail to do so, properly.
Improper use means avoiding GPARTED. This is the only Linux application that correctly allows full & easy adjustment of the partitions.
Very few Linux systems allow easy use of a grub-customizer, even with Calamares. Most demand the installer clearly naming the Boot partition. Intelligent use of Calamaris will automatically detect the Boot (when it exists) and Swap partitions. Lite, Neon and the Mint range of operating systems use Calamaris properly.
Many users do or do not like the containers of AppImage (not many applications), snapd (more apps than AppImage) or flatpak. Using GDMAP, installation of snapd and flatpak uses so much disk space. This week's review of the Arch-based distribution as usual, avoids mentioning the disadvantage of Arch: needing to compile from source code the necessary applications; a slow & skilled process.
Why the difficulties with Calamares? So many Linux creators do not use it. When they attempt to use Calamares, they fail, imho.
The three Linux "containers" are not yet winning the hearts of Application developers. My preferred internet browser (Slimjet) is on Debian-based Linux and Windows. Like most of the good applications, it is not yet available in any of the three containers. Each container has failings & faults. Out of synchronization with user's settings, latest updates, and the brest applications not yet in their repositories.
3 • XeroLinux (by Guido on 2022-10-24 01:56:31 GMT from Philippines)
I am also using KDE at this moment. The high CPU load is probably also due to Baloo, which indexes all files. When that's done, it should fall off. A lot here reminds me of Garuda Linux. Also a spin from Arch and Manjaro.
4 • ubuntu unity (by dave on 2022-10-24 02:10:46 GMT from United States)
Figures I said something a bit ago about Ubuntu Unity not being an official Ubuntu distribution and now apparently, it is. (probably already was at the time I made the comment)
I find it sort of goofy that Canonical developed Unity, then kicked it to the curb, only to turn around and recognize its use in a derivative distro, developed by someone else. Enough to make a guy's head spin!
Or how about this-- anyone remember Unity Linux?? Even though I don't like Unity (the desktop environment) I always thought the "Unity Linux" name should've been recycled for a Unity (desktop) based distribution. If Canonical had any marketing sense, they would've taken over the monicker for use as the flagship distribution, for Unity development.. especially since they were gunning for the meme of having a 'unified' experience across desktop/laptop/tablet/phone.
..but then again, it was sort of a bad idea for a name to begin with, since there was already a popular game engine called Unity.
5 • @2, Calamares, and Xeroflash (by Justme on 2022-10-24 03:14:21 GMT from United States)
@2 Greg Zeng, I'm having trouble following you, I ran Arch-based distros for some years and never required skills to compile anything. Pacman is as capable and fast as Apt. For AUR packages, a helper like yay is like magic: Type yay -S xxxx on the terminal and go on with whatever you were doing while it does its thing. Never had issues with Calamares, and I also fail to see the connection to grub-customizer.
XeroLinux: There is "niche," and there are gimmicks. This distro seems just gimmicky. As @3 posts, Garuda does the same kind of thing, only they have options other than just flash. I remember early Compiz, when it was all about spinning cubes, wobblies, exploding windows and such. I played with it for a while for kicks, then went back to simplicity. I still like a good looking desktop, but I prefer for it to sit still and behave.
6 • rule-based firewalls (by Trihexagonal on 2022-10-24 04:34:50 GMT from United States)
I've been a fan of rule-based firewalls since using ConSeal PC Firewall on Win98 and have carried over a block port 0 rule from that ruleset into the pf ruleset I'm using right now on this FreeBSD box.
### Block to and from port 0
block quick proto { tcp, udp } from any port = 0 to any
block quick proto { tcp, udp } from any to any port = 0
On Linux I use ufw and feel safe enough using it. I don't have any services running and don't allow myself remote access. If I could use pf on my Linux boxen I would, but would do a lot of things if I only could.
One thing I can do is disconnect my router and run this FreeBSD box straight from the cable modem. It's the only box I have online. That being the only factor I'll take into account leaving it set up like this and am not the least bit worried with my box facing the internet running pf.
FreeBSD is a Server so why wouldn't I? I've posted the ruleset several times and have one for people who use CUPS made from it.
7 • Xero-what?! (by Someguy on 2022-10-24 07:33:52 GMT from United Kingdom)
Don't like 'flashy', don't like KDE, don't like bloat, etc, etc. My PCs are not toys, just get tasks done fast and simply. Makes OS selection easy, more time to get back to the garden, workshop, maybe watch a bit of cricket and rugby...
8 • Ubuntu Unity (by Sven on 2022-10-24 10:03:12 GMT from Estonia)
It was 5 years ago when Ubuntu dropped Unity, with Mark Shuttleworth claiming the project was not sustainable.
5 years later, we once again have an official Ubuntu-based Unity distro, and the project is led by a 12 year old. TWELVE!
Makes me feel mr. Shuttleworth really should reconsider the quality of his workforce.
9 • firewalls (by Andy on 2022-10-24 10:49:50 GMT from Czechia)
I use ufw, because that's what the distros I use (Linux Mint, RaspiOS, Debian) ship with. I used to use Gufw as well, but it turns out it can't handle rules added from ufw, and since I have to use ufw on RaspiOS (which I run without a GUI), I use ufw on my desktop machine and laptop as well.
10 • Firewall (by James on 2022-10-24 12:35:18 GMT from United States)
I use ufw as it is default on the OS's I use.
11 • Xero (by dragonmouth on 2022-10-24 13:33:35 GMT from United States)
From the review I get the impression that XeroLinux is too cute for its own good. The developers forgot the KISS principle.
12 • Firewalls (by Robert McConnell on 2022-10-24 13:35:01 GMT from United States)
My firewall is a dual-port PC running OPNsense sitting between my computers and the Spectrum cable modem. The only problem I have ever had with it is a recent update that failed to recognize. the NIC on the LAN side. I had to revert to the previous version until I can afford to replace that NIC.
13 • @8 (by dave on 2022-10-24 15:17:59 GMT from United States)
I find it difficult to believe that the lead developer is actually 12. I suppose it's possible that it's some kid-genius, but more likely that it's a LARPing adult. Of course I could be wrong, but all we have is a claim on a web page. Anybody can publish whatever they want to the web, with no proof. I'd be more likely to believe it if there was some video evidence of this supposed 12 year old demonstrating the required abilities, but even that could be faked.
14 • kid-genius (by Proba on 2022-10-24 15:44:17 GMT from Bulgaria)
@13, you should check Aaron Swartz on YouTube, if you haven't heard about him. Maybe we have another one of those... :)
15 • @13 dave, Unity and youth (by Justme on 2022-10-24 15:46:46 GMT from United States)
"difficult to believe that the lead developer is actually 12" I'd be more amazed if the developer were in his 60s or 70s. Software is a young person's game. They have the advantage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc6gGs2kM4c
You think that's something? Try this:
http://alturl.com/44aex
16 • Firewall (by Cheker on 2022-10-24 16:33:15 GMT from Portugal)
I usually go with a mixture of Gufw and just ufw. I have some rules that can't be put in place with the GUI. Firewalld is also pretty good but I seem to remember it can't configure outbound rules? That's a hell of a downside, but I assume I'm misremembering and if that's true it's just for the GUI, just like Gufw doesn't do everything either. Admittedly the common person doesn't have to configure outbound rules at all
17 • Fedora 38 proposal (by mnrv-ovrf-year-c on 2022-10-24 18:39:22 GMT from Puerto Rico)
I support this, it would only broaden the appeal, but it would also increase the criticism for having one of the best and "boring" distros. If a "version" should support persistence, ple-ease don't make it a grand fuss like "Liveslak". I already have a "frozen" install of Fedora 37 MATE on an external USB disk, maybe live mode with persistence wouldn't be an improvement anyway. I agree completely with @7 about Plasma. Installed Manjaro KDE fresh on an internal SSD on a separate computer and getting flickering menus sometimes. No fix available in searches online, how sad.
18 • Firewalls (by Crunchy on 2022-10-24 20:01:06 GMT from United States)
I've written my own iptables firewall, although I can't say I know what I'm doing. But I'm learning. nmap and nessus tell me everything seems to be blocked, at least.
I like a really tight firewall, and I find most prepackaged firewalls too open for my taste. I like to be able to turn things on and off at a finer-grained level. I also have a blocking hosts file and an ipset full of blocked IPs, and I don't know (ie, am too lazy to research) how to add that in to prepackaged firewalls. If I did, I'd probably use shorewall.
I tend not to like prepackaged, since I end up learning the syntax of that one, and not how to use the underlying network.
19 • Firewall (by Chris on 2022-10-24 22:18:31 GMT from United States)
I used to love SuSEFirewall2 until they depreciated it. Now I use OpenBSD with PF. I wish I found PF sooner since I can accomplish the same thing as SuSEfirewall2 in far fewer rules.
20 • UFW (by rb on 2022-10-24 23:03:12 GMT from United States)
I like UFW. With about 8 rules I type in the terminal, then enable the firewall in systemd, i have a VPN kill switch. All traffic is routed through the VPN tunnel. If the VPN connection drops the firewall stops all internet traffic. Much easier than setting up Cisco router or firewall which have similar syntax and command line only interface. I tried Firewalld but does the same thing and I'd have to learn new syntax. It didn't seem to offer anything new.
@2 " the disadvantage of Arch: needing to compile from source code the necessary applications; a slow & skilled process." What are you talking about? If you said Gentoo, yes. That might be true. Arch does not require compiling the source code of the necessary applications, as one commenter pointed out. The PKGBUILD file contains all the instructions for downloading and compiling the source code for anything that needs compiled and does it for you. It is a very easy process. Most applications that this would apply to compile faster than apt can sync the sources.list and download and install the binary and config files. While you may see this as a disadvantage, it is actually a strength.
21 • My pf firewall ruleset (by Trihexagonal on 2022-10-24 23:42:38 GMT from United States)
@19 "Now I use OpenBSD with PF. I wish I found PF sooner since..."
The last time I ran OpenBSD was 6.2 but I used the same ruleset I have on my FreeBSD boxen the last 17 year with a one word syntax change to use the word "egress " on the outbound rule. Looking at the OpenBSD pf manpage now it may be alright just like it is.
You might as well have it here for reference. It's the ruleset I'm running on this machine:
### Macro name for external interface
ext_if = "em0"
netbios_tcp = "{ 22, 23, 25, 80, 110, 111, 123, 512, 513, 514, 515, 6000, 6010, 8000, 8080 }"
netbios_udp = "{ 123, 512, 513, 514, 515, 5353, 6000, 6010 }"
### Reassemble fragmented packets
scrub in on $ext_if all fragment reassemble
### Default deny everything
block log all
### Pass loopback
set skip on lo0
### Block spooks
antispoof for lo0
antispoof for $ext_if inet
block in from no-route to any
block in from urpf-failed to any
block in quick on $ext_if from any to 255.255.255.255
block in log quick on $ext_if from { 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16, 255.255.255.255/32 } to any
### Block all IPv6
block in quick inet6 all
block out quick inet6 all
### Block to and from port 0
block quick proto { tcp, udp } from any port = 0 to any
block quick proto { tcp, udp } from any to any port = 0
### Block specific ports
block in quick log on $ext_if proto tcp from any to any port $netbios_tcp
block in quick log on $ext_if proto udp from any to any port $netbios_udp
### Keep and modulate state of outbound tcp, udp and icmp traffic
pass out on $ext_if proto { tcp, udp, icmp } from any to any modulate state
22 • Xero Linux (by Andy Prough on 2022-10-25 02:04:45 GMT from United States)
I feel like I've read this exact same review several times over from a bunch of me-too Arch respins. Xero Linux seems like a fine project, and its devs and users are happy with it I'm sure, but I don't know that it rates any special mention on Distrowatch's front page.
It reminds me of 10-15 years ago, when everyone who had a new idea for a different colored wallpaper was doing an Ubuntu respin. What's funny is that a distro like openSUSE supports about a dozen different desktops and each one of them is at least as deserving of its own review as these Arch respins, but it will never get more than one review in a year from a major reviewer, sometimes only one review over a multiple year period. And then youtubers will say, "it seems like no one ever uses openSUSE, people only ever talk about Arch or Ubuntu". Well yes, because Arch's and Ubuntu's many different respins grab all the review headlines and soak up all the space on the Linux news sites.
23 • @22 (by rb on 2022-10-25 02:39:52 GMT from United States)
@22
I agree with your first paragraph. I don't think it deserves any attention or review on its own merits as a distro as it really is just an Arch Linux spin, using their repos, with desktop tweaks.
" 'it seems like no one ever uses openSUSE, people only ever talk about Arch or Ubuntu'. Well yes, because Arch's and Ubuntu's many different respins grab all the review headlines and soak up all the space on the Linux news sites. "
I think this is a very simplified rationale for why you believe people do not use openSUSE as much as other named distros. There may be a million reasons why it does not get more attention. It does have an interesting history. In its inception it was Slackware based. It was called SUSE before Novell spun it into a free version of their Enterprise version. It was then it became known as openSUSE. Then there was the Microsoft agreement and all that drama which upset a lot of people in the FOSS and Linux communities. It has been sold many times since then.
Not everyone is keen on the features touted by openSUSE. BTRFS and snapshots for one. Admins can find Yast cumbersome and limiting. Everyday users, such as myself, may not find the software they need in their repositories. I do not find their community packages have what I am looking for and therefore not a reliable resource. IMO, it is a niche distro that appeals to a subset of users.
Since early 2000's I have always tried distros based on the page rankings on DistroWatch home page. I never tried a distro based on a review anywhere. In reality, openSUSE is number 11 for now, which is high comparatively. Ubuntu is 6 and Arch is 57.
Lastly, having different community desktop versions may actually fracture Ubuntu's rankings and muddle their true usage statistics.
24 • @14 @15 (by dave on 2022-10-25 04:50:17 GMT from United States)
"Software is a young person's game. They have the advantage."
Generally speaking, that may be true, however most 12 year olds definitely do not 'have the advantage' over an 18 or 20 year old who started to learn programming when they were 12.
'Young' is relative and there are plenty of adults within the spectrum of 'relatively young' that are well under 60. Most of the 12 year olds who are interested in programming are not competent enough to lead a project as complicated as a linux distribution and certainly not a behemoth of a desktop environment like Unity. Note that I never said it was impossible, but it is improbable.
Look at all of the major developers of desktop environments. Pretty sure most of them are middle aged and I guarantee you won't find many developers of linux distributions that are under 18. I doubt you will find any, actually. Definitely not any good ones. Maybe I'm misunderstanding the story and he's not the one maintaining/developing Unity, however just the linux distribution bit alone is tough to believe.
You're certainly free to take the story at face value, but I think a fair amount of skepticism is warranted. People do lie about their age pretty often-- especially on the internet. The meme that 'programming is a young persons game' is precisely the reason I would expect a programmer to stretch the truth about their age. After all, doesn't 12 sound much more impressive than 22 or 32?
And yes I'm familiar with Aaron Schwartz' story and that is a fair anecdote, but it doesn't exactly wash away any doubt I have in this instance, especially when you look at what Schwartz was doing when he was 12. Compare the level of complication with what we're talking about.
25 • @23 (by Andy Prough on 2022-10-25 05:40:34 GMT from United States)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to make a compelling argument for using openSUSE which I haven't personally used for a few years. But I do know they put a lot of work into their different desktop integrations - probably more work than most respin developers. Another example is MX, Mint and Manjaro - each project puts a huge amount of work into their different desktop versions. But a major review site is then only likely to pick one desktop from each to discuss each year, while at the same time reviewing as many as a dozen Arch respins, each of which involves less work. You would be better off as a distro to promote numerous low-quality independent respins than to do a lot of hard desktop integration work yourselves in-house.
26 • @25 (by rb on 2022-10-25 06:16:00 GMT from United States)
@25 ". . .better off as a distro to promote numerous low-quality independent respins than to do a lot of hard desktop integration work yourselves"
If one were hoping for a higher chance that your distro would get a review, then maybe. I don't think anyone is creating and developing a distro for reviews. I think they are likely doing it to create a working desktop environment that suits their needs and hopefully others. I also don't think reviews, positive or negative have any major impact on a distro's popularity or overall usage. A review is just an opinion, nothing more nothing less. It is not a metric by which the average user decides which distro they use on a long-term basis.
27 • @26, Unity and youth (by Justme on 2022-10-25 10:51:16 GMT from United States)
"most 12 year olds definitely do not 'have the advantage' over an 18 or 20 year old who started to learn programming when they were 12." They do if they started at age 6 or before. Coding is learning new languages, and the younger you are the easier it is. It gets progressively more difficult as you age. That's nature.Then there's nurture: There are quite a few 13 and under kids out there coming up with worthwhile inventions, getting programming certifications (as young as 6) with outstanding scores, even starting tech businesses. There's a common thread, most though not all come from Asia, specifically the Indian subcontinent. In the west, it may be "let kids be kids" but in those countries children are expected to learn and excel if possible.
"I would expect a programmer to stretch the truth about their age." Then there must be a bunch of child-like midgets out there passing themselves off. Now that would be improbable. Here are two "midgets" making presentations with more poise and erudition than shown by most adults. Many more examples out there.
https://www.disruptorawards.com/2012-honoree-blog/2017/1/19/thomas-suarez-carrotcorp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxTXZYROnd8
Attaching Ubuntu to an existing DDE, including Unity, is no herculean task. I could do that. It's maintaining and updating and upgrading that requires high coding skills. The Unity dev and 5 or 6 others with him seem to be up to that task with plenty of time for other projects. Whether they are 12 or 20 is irrelevant.
28 • Preferred Firewall (by Whattteva on 2022-10-25 14:30:15 GMT from United States)
I'm quite surprised that the BSD firewall solutions (ie. pf, IPFW, IPF) are not mentioned, especially pf, which in my opinion, is the superior solution and probably one of the most widely deployed thanks to appliance-based solutions like pfSense and OPNsense.
I personally use FreeBSD's pf since that's my OS of choice. They do run a somewhat outdated syntax compared to OpenBSD, but it's fine for my needs.
29 • XeroLinuz (by Dasher on 2022-10-25 15:37:52 GMT from Spain)
This distribution could be a bash script. And that's not a bad thing. I think these distros could benefit from being installed on top of arch. I'm sure the 5 or 6 things they added to arch could be done in AN AUR package or similar so you could install it through yum.
30 • @29 (by rb on 2022-10-25 18:51:47 GMT from United States)
@29
I agree 100. I think there needs to be a distinct line drawn between what qualifies as a distro vs a desktop theme. It definitely could be an AUR package instead of being released as a separate distro ISO file. I think the only real difference is the installer. If you already have an Arch system installed but wanted the XeroLinux setup and addons for some odd reason, you could just install it as a package. At any rate, it could be easily be modified to install on any distro for that matter. Candy for newbies IMO.
31 • firewall management (by Gazz on 2022-10-25 20:45:36 GMT from United Kingdom)
pf via the cli is my favourite fw tool. Very easy syntax
32 • XeroLinux and other Arch based distros (by Tomas on 2022-10-26 20:08:57 GMT from Czechia)
There are 23 active Arch based distros on Distrowatch. It would be interesting to have a comparison of them.
My first Arch based distro was Antergos, not active anymore, but I run it after having found the way to keep it updated (removing any link to its repositories).
Before that I tried to find another distro of its qualities and came to Namib (not active any more) and finally to RebornOS.
If I remember well, the developers claimed it to substitute Antergos, and one of them came from that group.
When I see that it is only no.73 on the popularity list, while EndeavorOS is no.2, I think that something is wrong (I did not like it).
The only reason I can think of why it is so is that Distrowatch says its desktop is Gnome (only) - though the accompanying text says the live ISO boots to Gnome but the installer allows you to install almost any desktop you may wish. Who reads that?
Maybe a review could help.
33 • preferred firewalls - OpenSnitch and OPNsense (by Simon Plaistowe on 2022-10-26 23:23:19 GMT from New Zealand)
On my Linux Mint desktops I use OpenSnitch. This explanation of why is as good as any...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0RRp6N6apo
On my LAN perimeter I use OPNsense but I suppose I could've chosen pfSense or IPFire. I just like the OPNsense interface better.
34 • Me Too! (by penguinx86 on 2022-10-27 03:46:45 GMT from United States)
I had to laugh when I read @22. Yes, it seemed like everyone and their brother was making Ubuntu respins 10-15 years ago. I tried them all. Sometimes they were a flash in the pan that was unsupported a year later. My favorite was Commodore OS Linux, which emulated the look and feel and sound of a Commodore 64. They really did a good job with it. They even sold computers that looked like a Commodore 64 but with an x86 processor that could run Linux. Oh, the nostalgia! I really wanted to buy one, but the company folded before I could order one. But after trying the multitude of Ubuntu spins, I finally settled on Linux Mint for hardware driver compatibility (especially wifi drivers) and a better choice of desktop environments without Unity/Gnome3/Gnome Shell, without the Activities Overlay and without the permanent dock on the left side of the screen.
35 • firewall (by Birb Steppers on 2022-10-27 08:09:56 GMT from Australia)
OpenSnitch not strictly a firewall, but it suits me great!
36 • Firewalls (by Gary H on 2022-10-27 14:52:15 GMT from United States)
The Best Firewall is firewalld and firewall-config with firewall-applet.
It is the best because it allows the user to select what to allow and what to block.
Other firewalls fail to explain what they do, if anything.
Number of Comments: 36
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
| • Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
| • Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
GNOBSD
GNOBSD was an OpenBSD-based live DVD which boots into a GNOME desktop and which includes a graphical system installer (written in Ruby) for transferring the system to a hard disk or a USB storage device. The system includes some popular desktop applications, such as Mozilla Firefox and MPlayer.
Status: Discontinued
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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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