DistroWatch Weekly |
DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 999, 19 December 2022 |
Welcome to this year's 51st issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
As we approach the end of 2022, we'd like to take a moment to look back and reflect on this past year. There have been a lot of developments in the open source community recently, in particular the expanding adoption of up and coming technologies. Wayland and PipeWire in particular are seeing more use in cutting edge distributions. We are also seeing a rising in interest in immutable operating systems, beyond their usual deployments on mobile devices and container servers. This week we would like to begin with a look back at some favourite Linux-based operating systems of 2022. Jesse Smith walks us through his top picks for the year, covering a range of categories in our Feature Story. Which category of Linux distributions interests you the most? Let us know what types of projects you like to hear more about in this week's Opinion Poll. In our News section we talk about Fedora planning a spin featuring the Budgie desktop. We also report on UBports releasing a security update for its mobile operating system and Haiku building new ports of popular open source applications. Then, in our Questions and Answers column, we share tips on recovering from a situation where the main user account has lost sudo access and is no longer able to perform administration functions. Also in this issue we share a list of people who are sponsoring DistroWatch with their donations and share our appreciation for their support. Plus we are pleased to list the new distribution releases of the past week and share the torrents we are seeding. This will be our final DistroWatch Weekly of 2022, we will resume publication on January 2, 2023 and hope you're join us then. We wish you all a wonderful week, a safe holiday for those who celebrate, and happy reading!
Content:
|
Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Favourite distributions of 2022
Over the span of a year I end up reviewing about 50 Linux distributions here, on DistroWatch, and often try various others to get a feel for what is happening in the open source ecosystem. As I browse the open source community for new gems I make note of projects which are particularly good at delivering a great experience. A year ago I shared my top picks of 2021 and this year I'd like to repeat the experience, sharing my favourite distributions and the projects which I feel are the most polished of all the operating systems I reviewed in 2022.
Last year my cup overflowed with promising, powerful, and solid experiences. I identified seven distributions which performed very well and which I'd recommend for either beginners or, in some cases, more experienced users looking for a smooth experience. Plus, I talked about a cool meta-distribution: Bedrock Linux which, while not a Linux distribution in the usual sense, I found quite useful.
This year was less fruitful as I searched for the best and most interesting open source operating systems; I identified just three of the projects I reviewed which I felt performed well enough for me to, without reservation, recommend. While my list of favourites is short this year, it does cover a wide range of computing situations.
* * * * *
Linux Mint 21
Without a doubt, the best general purpose, desktop distribution I ran this year was Linux Mint 21. Mint has a well earned reputation for being easy to set up. It offers a consistent, traditional desktop layout across its three edition - Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce - and the project provides five years of security updates.
Linux Mint is sometimes referred to as "Ubuntu done right", meaning it takes the strong base of Ubuntu with its huge software repository and wide range of hardware support and tweaks it to better suit desktop users. I find this view to be consistently accurate. The Mint team is highly responsive to community feedback and frequently identifies and fixes problems with its Ubuntu parent distribution. This allows Mint to publish an operating system which benefits from Ubuntu's strengths while avoiding issues the community raises with Ubuntu.
As a result, Mint tends to be lighter, faster, and include more useful desktop applications than its parent. It includes utilities which its users have helped improve over the years through feedback and ships with a desktop layout most computer users (particularly those migrating from Windows) will find familiar.

Linux Mint 21 -- The welcome screen
(full image size: 710kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
One of the things I enjoy about Mint is it checks a lot of feature boxes. If we were to draw a Venn diagram with long term support, backports, user friendliness, expansive hardware support, a friendly setup experience, support for filesystem snapshots, Flatpak built-in, and useful custom utilities then Linux Mint would sit comfortable in the centre of this diagram.
What is perhaps more impressive though is I've been testing Mint releases for a dozen years and each one has fit this description. Mint is unusually consistent in its high quality. Most Linux distributions have some good releases and some less stellar ones as new technologies are introduced or new approaches are tried. Mint has, at least in my test environments, always performed well and usually offers one of my best experiences of the year whenever there is a new release. It is almost always the distribution I recommend to both new and experienced Linux users.
* * * * *
Tails 5.x
The next distribution on my list is Tails and it is in an entirely different category of distribution from Mint. The Tails project aims to provide anonymous web browsing, communication, and file sharing. There are a few characteristics which set Tails apart from other distributions. Tails tries to provide privacy by default, rather than having the user manually set up a VPN, Tor browser, or file sharing tools. Tails provides these features out of the box.
The Tails distribution is typically run from live media rather than being installed on the hard drive of a computer and disconnecting the DVD or USB drive from the computer effectively wipes the user's tracks from the machine.
While Tails deals with some complex topics (such as anonymous web browsing, file sharing between computers on the Tor network, and private communication) the distribution is unusually easy to use. The provided tools are all set up with sane defaults and are designed to be point-n-click easy, even by less experienced users. With Tails you can plug in the USB stick, boot the computer, and everything should just work.
Tails isn't foolproof, of course, and I appreciate the project is up front about this in their documentation. Some Linux distributions make bold claims about being immune to viruses, impossible to track, or anonymous when on-line. They are not, of course - at least not entirely, but their websites often over-hype the claims. The Tails project is much more responsible in their claims, explaining what the distribution's tools do, but also what they do not do and what the weak points of the experience are.

Tails 5.0 -- Tails running the GNOME desktop
(full image size: 65kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
I tried out Tails earlier this year and found the included utilities all worked as advertised, the distribution's defaults were mostly geared toward being both secure and useful, and all the included software was easy to use. In the past, I've occasionally had problems with earlier versions of Tails. Typically where secure file transfers were concerned or sometimes with unusually sluggish desktop performance. With the launch of Tails 5.x, I tried the distribution again and found all the problems I'd had in the past were cured and everything ran smoothly.
I was impressed with Tails 5.x, its documentation, its features, and its stability. This is not a general purpose desktop distribution, but it is user friendly and ideal for people who need to communicate or access information on-line while remaining anonymous.
* * * * *
Murena /e/OS 1.0
So far in my list I've covered general purpose desktop computing and secure on-line communication. I'd like to shift focus again and talk about a mobile operating system which impressed me in 2022. The Murena project published /e/OS 1.0 this year (followed by a number of point releases) and made their mobile operating system available on a range of Android phones, including OnePlus, Fairphone, and Pixel devices.
There are a lot of positive things I can say about the Murena project. Perhaps the easiest way to sum it up is that earlier I referred to Linux Mint as "Ubuntu done right". In the same vein Murena is Android done right. Murena is open source, swaps out Google apps and services for open source alternatives which do not track the user or phone home with telemetry, and provides private alternatives to Google's on-line storage, e-mail, and file sync options. In short, Murena is what Android would be like if it was a mobile operating system for users rather than a cluttered ad platform which happened to run apps.

Murena 1.0 -- Browsing widgets and privacy settings
(full image size: 372kB, resolution: 1080x2340 pixels)
At its core, Murena's /e/OS is Android, meaning it runs Android apps. It has the same settings panel, runs on most of the same devices, and can install applications from F-Droid and the Play store. However, it does away with the ads and tracking. Plus, it offers anonymous browsing options out of the box. It's a cleaner, faster, more privacy focused phone operating system.
I've tried each /e/OS release from 1.0 through 1.4 and each one has proven to be fast, stable, and efficient. Sometimes I find myself borrowing Android or Apple phones from friends, or helping troubleshoot issues on other mobile devices. The Murena experience is so much cleaner and pleasantly distraction free in comparison.
* * * * *
This was my list of favourite projects for 2022. It's a shorter list than last year's, mostly because (I feel) I had the opportunity to run fewer projects in 2022 which didn't have some odd problems or quirks. For instance, Void and Redcore Linux might have made my list had sound worked out of the box on these distributions - I feel they deserve honourable mentions for being interesting, unconventional, and pretty good despite being outside of the mainstream.
What was your favourite distribution of 2022? Let us know in the comments.
|
Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Fedora plans Budgie spin, UBports releases security patches for 16.04, Haiku builds new application ports, Debian updates install media
Fans of both Fedora and the Budgie desktop received some good news this week. The Budgie desktop was packaged for the Fedora distribution fairly recently, making it possible to install the sleek desktop environment on an existing Fedora installation. Ben Cotton has announced that Fedora may soon get an official Budgie spin, making it easier for people to get started with Budgie right out of the box. "Budgie Desktop and its respective components (Budgie Desktop View, Budgie Control Center, Budgie Screensaver) is officially maintained by Joshua Strobl, the lead of the Buddies of Budgie organization and a newly proposed Budgie SIG. Budgie Desktop was introduced in Fedora 37. A Fedora Budgie spin would be a valuable addition to Fedora's existing spins, providing Budgie Desktop users with the ability to use their favorite desktop environment with a leading operating system."
* * * * *
The UBports team is nearing the release of a major upgrade, transitioning the base operating system from Ubuntu 16.04 "Xenial" to Ubuntu 20.04 "Focal". While the focus is on moving to the newer base, the older 16.04 platform continues to receive updates, including security fixes. "OTA-25 will arrive very soon and will consist almost solely of security fixes for Xenial. Although Xenial is end of life, there are some upgrade packages which can still be applied and we will aim to import all of those to the latest versions for that distribution. It will therefore be quite a big download. After this, there will be only Focal development. Our aim is to get Focal out around the end of December or perhaps into January. There is no absolute promise, so go easy on us. At this stage, we only have certainty about a small number of devices being able to run it but we are confident that the list will grow." Additional information on changes coming to the mobile platform and the upgrade to 20.04 can be found in the project's blog post.
* * * * *
The Haiku team have been working on bringing new software and features to their lightweight, graphical operating system. The project is adding a few new applications and key software packages, including Audacity and the Epiphany web browser: "davidkaroly did a lot of work on the recipe for Audacity, which more or less works at this point and might appear in HaikuDepot before too long. 3dEyes committed recipes for the new Wayland compatibility layer written by X512, and adjusted GTK3 to build against this instead of against waddlesplash's X11 compatibility layer. He then updated or added a lot of other GTK-related recipes, culminating in the addition of gtkwebkit and Epiphany (aka. GNOME Web), which is the most capable browser seen on Haiku yet: it is much more stable than Falkon, and supports complex but common websites with YouTube without much ado (and without crashing or hanging frequently like the other browsers available before this were generally prone to.) It does require installing quite a lot of packages (as GTK is not especially lightweight), however. Other GTK-based applications have been trickling in to HaikuPorts as well." A complete overview of work going into Haiku can be found in the project's newsletter for November 2022.
* * * * *
The Debian project has published updated install media for Debian 11 "Bullseye". The new media, labelled Debian 11.6, includes security fixes, but is not a new version of the distribution. "The Debian project is pleased to announce the sixth update of its stable distribution Debian 11 (codename bullseye). This point release mainly adds corrections for security issues, along with a few adjustments for serious problems. Security advisories have already been published separately and are referenced where available."
* * * * *
These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
|
Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Recovering sudo access
Locked-out asks: I made a typo and accidentally removed my user from the sudo group when trying to add myself to another group. Now I can't boot into recovery mode and don't know how to rescue the situation. My root account is locked.
DistroWatch answers: Basically it sounds like you don't have access to the root account, your distribution's recovery mode isn't working, and you've effectively disabled sudo access for your user? That's a tough position in which to find yourself.
You probably have three options at this point. One is to reboot your computer and, at the boot menu, edit the default entry. (Usually you can edit the selected entry by pressing Tab.) At the end of the boot command, add the text:
init=/bin/sh
Then press the Enter key.
On most systems this will boot you into a limited shell as the root user. From there you can run commands to restore the system. This could involve adding your user to the /etc/sudoers file or adding your user back to the sudo group. The latter is probably the better option and can be done on most systems with the adduser command, for example this would add my user, Jesse, to the sudo group:
adduser jesse sudo
When you are finished making changes, you can run the reboot command to restart your computer and confirm the change worked.
Another approach you can take is to boot your computer from a live disc or USB thumb drive. When your live system loads, you can open your file manager and use it to mount your local hard drive. Then edit the /etc/sudoers file to add your user. This bit is trickier to walk people through the process because each live disc will use a different set of tools and your hard drive will be labelled differently depending on how you set up your distribution.
The key though is that you will have root access on the live disc and this will allow you to browse your computer's hard drive and make changes as the root user. This assumes your hard drive isn't encrypted though.
The third option I mentioned is to re-install your operating system and restore your files from a backup. This is probably the most time consuming option, but it's one that will work when every other possibility has been exhausted.
* * * * *
Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
|
Released Last Week |
Kaisen linux 2.2
Kaisen Linux is a rolling release, Debian-based desktop distribution. The project aims to be useful for IT professionals and includes a set of tools for system administration. The project's latest release is version 2.2 and it rolls back or simplifies a few features: "zsh is no longer the default terminal for Kaisen Linux! It was since the first release of Kaisen Linux the default terminal, but the majority of users asked for the return of Bash by default, which has been done on this release. Several polls on the different social network pages have been done for this. However, it is still installed as it was before (with oh-my-zsh), and it is possible to reset it to the default. The documentation is here: ZSH on Kaisen Linux. The Conky theme is no longer installed by default with the GUIs, but is a separate package named kaisen-conky, which is no longer installed by default. The reason for this is that user feedback was not unanimous about the default presence of Conky on Kaisen Linux and therefore it is now considered a 'goodie' and can be installed optionally." Additional details can be found in the project's release announcement.

Kaisen Linux 2.2 -- Running the MATE desktop
(full image size: 139kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
XeroLinux 2022.12
XeroLinux, a distribution added to DistroWatch recently, has been updated to version 2022.12. XeroLinux is based on Arch Linux and uses KDE Plasma as the preferred desktop. Some of the features of the distribution include the Calamares installer, various under-the-hood tweaks and optimisations, built-in support for community-built AUR packages as well as Flatpak packages, and the availability of various desktop and bootloader themes developed in-house. The project's files page on SourceForge lists some of the recent changes: "A new ISO image is now live. Important changes: MHWD (Manjaro's Hardware Detection) removed due to issues; Grub is now being used for booting the live ISO image, no more systemd boot; major under-the-hood performance optimizations made to KDE Plasma; XeroLinux Hello updated with more packages and drivers now using a script. System and package updates: Arch Linux kernel updated to version 6.0.12; Qt updated to 5.15.7; KDE Plasma updated to 5.26.4; KDE Frameworks updated to 5.101, including all packages; KDE Gear tools have been updated to 22.12."
TrueNAS 22.12.0
TrueNAS SCALE is a Deban-based network attached storage (NAS) operating system. The project's latest release, TrueNAS 22.12.0 "SCALE" introduces a bulk upgrade feature and improves upon rootless logins. "TrueNAS SCALE 22.12.0 has been released and includes many new features and improved functionality. SCALE 22.12.0 features include: Improvements to rootless login authentication methods that allow you to specify the username to connect to the remote NAS while automatically setting up keychain SSH connections. It makes /home/admin always exist and stores the SSH authorized keys in this directory. It adds API authentication when using Directory Services. This feature is a first step toward improving the local accounts feature and additional improvements are being planned for future SCALE updates. Adds a bulk Upgrade operation that updates installed applications that have available updates, adds new apps to the Available Applications catalog, and implements the overlayfs driver for Docker which improves performance over the Linux Kubernetes driver." Further details are available in the release notes.
AVLinux MX-21.2.1
Glen MacArthur has announced the release of AV Linux MX-21.2.1, the latest version of the project's Debian and MX Linux-based distribution for "content creators". Some of the changes in this version include: "The Openbox window manager is gone, replaced by native xfwm; Nitrogen is gone replaced by native xfdesktop; SLiM login manager is gone replaced by lightDM; the LXDE-based ISO build of MXDE is gone, the classic GTK+2 LXDE/Openbox is fading into oblivion; all 32-bit ISO builds are gone, I simply don't have the time for a use-case that has dwindled down to almost nothing; AVL-MXE Assistant has been broken into unbranded component utilities to be shared by AVL-MXE and MXDE-EFL; Liquorix kernel 6.0; full Xfce desktop with Compton compositing; Jeremy Jongepier's graphical RTCQS utility; added Auburn Sounds Lens plugin (free version); added Socalabs plugins; added Blender from blender.org at version 3.4.0...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details.
Daphile 22.12
Daphile 22.12 has been released. Daphile is a Gentoo-based Linux distribution whose primary focus is in storage and playback of a digital music library. It also enables the best possible audio quality and future-proof flexibility by providing plug-and-play support for USB connected digital-to-analog converters (DAC). The new release updates the Linux kernel and ads several new features: "2022-12-17 version 22.12 (x86_64, x86_64-rt and i486) changes: new feature - metadata editor for the CD Ripper; option to change audio device settings without restart; backup and restore for Daphile settings; Now Playing' screen - access via 'Audio Player' tab or nowplaying.html; keyboard and touch controls - arrow keys or swipe up/down for volume and left/right for rewind/forward, space or tab for play/pause; Gracenote support for CD ripping metadata removed due to license expiration; LMS update to 8.3 branch; Linux kernel update to 5.15.83 and 5.15.83-rt54; Perl upgrade to 5.34 version; Daphile built with GCC 11.3; bug fixes and component updates." Here is the complete changelog. Daphile 22.12 is available for the i486 and x86_64 architectures, with the latter one also provided with a real-time kernel option.
ExTiX 22.12
ExTiX is an Ubuntu-based distribution which is regularly released with alternative desktop environments. The latest release of ExTiX, version 22.12, features the Deepin desktop. "I've released a new version of ExTiX Deepin today (221218). This ExTiX Build is based on Deepin 20.8 released by Deepin Technology 221208. Using Refracta Snapshot (pre-installed in ExTiX) you can make your own live installable Deepin version with ExTiX 22.12 as groundwork. New functions: 1. You can run ExTiX from RAM. Use boot alternative 2 (load to RAM) or Advanced. A wonderful way to run Linux if you have enough RAM. Everything will be super fast. When ExTiX has booted up you can remove the DVD or USB stick. 2. You will have the opportunity to choose language before you enter the Deepin 20.8 Desktop. All main languages are supported. 3. I have replaced Deepin Installer with the Reborn version of Deepin Installer. Works better in every way." Additional details can be found in the release announcement.
postmarketOS 22.12
postmarketOS is an Alpine-based Linux distribution for mobile devices. The project's latest release is postmarketOS 22.12 which includes upgrades for the mobile operating system's three user interfaces: Sxmo, Phosh, and Plasma Mobile. "Sxmo 1.12.0 replaces version 1.9.0 from v22.06. This version and previous release Sxmo 1.11.0 introduced quite a few improvements for deviceprofiles and explicit support for the OnePlus 6/6T, Pocophone F1, Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9.7 (2015) and Xiamo Redmi 2. There's other cool changes too, read the original announcement posts for more information. Originally it was planned to do a Sxmo 1.10.0 release specifically for v22.06 SP3, but that version was skipped and now you're just getting all of the great improvements at once. Phosh 0.22 brings another style refresh and 10% steps for the battery info icon, as well as actions for notifications on screen. Previously we had 0.21 in v22.06 SP2. Additionally we changed the default text editor from gedit to gnome-text-editor for new installs, and ship phosh-mobile-settings. If that is too many settings apps for your taste, we hear you and have been brainstorming on how to consolidate them." These and other changes are discussed in the project's release announcement. A list of supported devices and download options can be found on the postmarketOS download page.
* * * * *
Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
|
Torrent Corner |
Weekly Torrents
The table below provides a list of torrents DistroWatch is currently seeding. If you do not have a bittorrent client capable of handling the linked files, we suggest installing either the Transmission or KTorrent bittorrent clients.
Archives of our previously seeded torrents may be found in our Torrent Archive. We also maintain a Torrents RSS feed for people who wish to have open source torrents delivered to them. To share your own open source torrents of Linux and BSD projects, please visit our Upload Torrents page.
Torrent Corner statistics:
- Total torrents seeded: 2,807
- Total data uploaded: 42.7TB
|
Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
Which category of distribution excites you the most?
In our look back at favourite distributions of 2022, we covered three different categories of Linux distributions. One focused on mobile devices, one for private on-line communication, and one for desktop computing. We'd like to hear which category of distributions interests you the most as we stride into 2023. Is there a field of Linux development, such as gaming, desktop usage, or penetration testing that particularly holds your focus? Let us know what area of Linux development excites you in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on distributions with OEM install options in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
|
Which distro category interests you?
Desktop: | 1311 (68%) |
Free Software: | 75 (4%) |
Gaming: | 67 (3%) |
Immutable: | 70 (4%) |
Mobile: | 81 (4%) |
Multimedia: | 53 (3%) |
Penetration Testing: | 16 (1%) |
Privacy: | 144 (7%) |
Rescue/Forensics: | 15 (1%) |
Server/Cloud: | 52 (3%) |
Other: | 37 (2%) |
|
|
Website News |
Donations and Sponsors
Each month we receive support and kindness from our readers in the forms of donations. These donations help us keep the web server running, pay contributors, and keep infrastructure like our torrent seed box running. We'd like to thank our generous readers and acknowledge how much their contributions mean to us.
This month we're grateful for the $123 in contributions from the following kind souls:
Donor |
Amount |
Linux Lite | $50 |
Sam C | $10 |
Steve W | $20 |
Giuseppe T | $10 |
Chung T | $5 |
DuCakedHare | $5 |
Matt | $5 |
Adiel ARD | $5 |
Joe H | $3 |
Vory | $3 |
J.D. L | $2 |
PB C | $2 |
c6WWldo9 | $1 |
Stephen M | $1 |
William E | $1 |
* * * * *
New distributions added to waiting list
- Shiny OS. Shiny OS is a desktop Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. The project ships with the GNOME desktop, a traditional Firefox package, and swaps out Snap for Flatpak support.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 2 January 2023. Past articles and reviews can be found through our Weekly Archive and Article Search pages. 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)
|
|
Tip Jar |
If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip. (Tips this week: 5, value: US$74) |
|
|
|
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch |
|
Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
|
Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Poll (by DaveW on 2022-12-19 02:19:26 GMT from United States)
This poll could use the ability to select multiple choices. I would have checked Immutable as well as Desktop.
2 • Thank you (by MrChilly0 on 2022-12-19 02:24:31 GMT from United States)
Thank you again for another great year of reviews, insights, and of course the updates on distros!
3 • Great year (by Jules Ambrosi on 2022-12-19 02:34:46 GMT from Australia)
A briilliant year of reviews and updates on distros! Thank you and keep up the great work....
4 • One stop shop (by Jerry Bezencon on 2022-12-19 02:39:38 GMT from New Zealand)
One of my most visited sites online. Love the Questions and Answers, Polls, Reviews, and checking out new releases to the free software and open source family. Thank you to Ladislav, Jesse and everyone else who contributes to this invaluable resource. Still going strong after 21 years!
5 • Linux Mint (by Heinrich on 2022-12-19 02:43:27 GMT from United States)
I ran Mint for a couple of years and still recommend it to Windows refugees. But for me, that’s just it—all of its editions are basically Windows clones, and I don’t like Windows. (I always find it ironic how many Linux users say they hate Windows but refuse to use any DE that doesn’t mimic the desktop layout Microsoft invented in 1995, with the system tray and start menu.) I also disliked not being able to upgrade to new versions without reinstallation, though iirc Mint finally made that an option.
6 • Desktop and prayer (by Antoine on 2022-12-19 02:43:46 GMT from Brazil)
In general I like the "desktop" field of distros, specially those with some focus that makes them different (so, going also to the poll categories of multimedia, privacy, or different WM or software repositories). I also need so much, if anyone feel that may pray for me, I'm so unpurposed in what to do and sadly alone; I thank and will also be praying for anyone that comments. Thanks, Jesse, for the newsletter.
7 • Distro Ratings (by sooth-sayer on 2022-12-19 02:46:07 GMT from United States)
I am a bit surprised of your choice of Mint and Tails -- I gave up on Mint years back as it had very poor default light green theme - making screens unreadable to me -- and Tails that I could never run successfully. I do run Septor and MXLinux. Thanks for all your work on reviewing these to keep us informed.
8 • Desktops (by Trihexagonal on 2022-12-19 03:52:15 GMT from United States)
I'm an end-user general purpose desktop kind of guy, I always have music playing through headphones when I'm online, do graphic manipulation with Gimp on a daily basis, download and watch music videos and post in forums to socialize now and then.
But I don't get Saturday Night distro fever or get excited about the new version release of an OS I've used close to 20 years. FreeBSD and Kali GNU/Linux all I use and according to those that can't use either, neither are suitable for or considered to be desktop oriented Operating Systems.
It doesn't matter what the general consensus is about it's designated purpose (That's not a desktop OS, that's a a server) or care what you think it's what it's not intended for. (Why, you don't even have a Certificate saying you know how to run it..It's not fair...}
A screenshot is worth a thousand words and a thousand screenshots speak louder than words. Oh, but I digress, you play sorry, I play chess. King's pawn to b3, checkmate, go get some percocets.
9 • favorite OS (by tomposter on 2022-12-19 04:54:55 GMT from United States)
My personal favorite Desktop OS is Mint MATE, which my wife has been using daily without complaint, for years. It just works. There must be some magical spy-ware hiding in there somewhere because those guys at Mint have been reading my mind.
MX is also very good.
Most interesting is EasyOS.
10 • End-of-year thoughts (by AdamB on 2022-12-19 05:22:09 GMT from Australia)
Firstly, I would like to add my thanks to Jesse and the DistroWatch team for producing and maintaining such a valuable resource.
In regard to systems of interest to me, I use both server systems (without a DE), and physical machines with a Desktop Environment - the server systems are either virtual machines or Raspberry Pi's.
As for choice of DE, I prefer MATE, though I am prepared to try out other DEs which are equally traditional. Microsoft occasionally gets something right, and the Windows 98 / Windows 2000 desktop arrangement was seriously right. Fashionable non-traditional user interfaces just get in my way, to the point of making me angry. [Dinosaur rant].
I am continuing my migration away from systemd, and in the last year I have added Artix to my team of Devuan and Void installations.
When I installed Void, a MATE spin was available, and that is what I installed. From memory, the essential facilities, including sound, worked from the beginning - perhaps the component necessary to get sound working was included in that spin.
In summary, I am on the lookout for non-systemd systems, and am interested tn the development of new toolkits for desktop environments, because I am worried about MATE's dependence on GTK.
11 • Re: @5 Linux Mint (by Heinrich on 2022-12-19 02:43:27 GMT from United States) (by Pumpino on 2022-12-19 06:21:15 GMT from Australia)
I don't know that all Mint editions are like Windows. I think Mint is very polished and focussed on appearance, but the functionaliy is no different to other distros. I'd suggest that KDE is the DE most like Windows.
I recently switched from XFCE to Cinnamon. I find Cinnamon is a more mature and polished version of Gnome or Mate. My main distro is Manjaro, but I decided to install Mint due to the Mint devs being the creators of Cinnamon. I added the Vera repo in order to receive the very latest updates to Cinnamon. Everything just works. It feels slick. I see why many people prefer it to Ubuntu.
12 • Favorite OS (by Elcaset on 2022-12-19 06:29:02 GMT from United States)
My favorite mobile OS is Murena. As for desktop, MX GNU/Linux with KDE Plasma. Thanks Distrowatch for your service. It is greatly appreciated!
13 • fave distro/poll question (by matt on 2022-12-19 06:31:29 GMT from United States)
I thought the poll question could have used an all of the above option, but that's nitpicking.
I would like to see a focus on arm/risc-v, as well as smaller projects, or linux /bsd supported hardware.
Fave:distro. For me it's debian, and it usually is. Been running it for years, it's an incredible project when you think about it
14 • Mint, but... (by MintBut on 2022-12-19 07:33:40 GMT from Spain)
Yes, Mint is my favorite linux distro aswell, but... ... the Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE), but... ... with the Xfce desktop.
Otherwise, for me the best one would be Sparky (stable ed. with Xfce, of course).
Happy Christmas, Jesse!
15 • Recovering sudo access (by Alexandru on 2022-12-19 08:11:59 GMT from Romania)
I was sure the main way to login into a system without knowing the user / root password is to chroot in it from some live media (preferable from its installation media, which ensures compatibility of tools).
16 • today's poll (by Dr.J on 2022-12-19 08:29:19 GMT from Germany)
I chose "other" because I could not check more than one box. The beauty of Linux is that it covers a very wide range. Of course, the desktop is the base, but it's already modified when it comes to media (thanks to Kodi and VLC and many other programs). If something goes wrong, a rescue system is essential (I like systemrescue). Privacy is always an issue (I like Whonix as a Tor gateway), free software the basis, etc. Really pleased and excited for me is the mobile area, because there is still too much "Android" in our house.
17 • Favorite Distro (by Ed on 2022-12-19 11:34:16 GMT from South Africa)
For me there are two favorites here: *Debian* (stable) for systems I do not use often or are used by other people in my house. My NASs are on Openmediavault which also runs on Debian - headless but with a Web Interface. I do not like some design decisions of OMV. e.g. difficulties to use the interface with just a keyboard, the way configuration is handled and the overdependence on Docker for even basic tasks. The latter has worsened with the latest version. If I were not lazy and did not like the look of the web interface I might run my own utilities (Syncthing and Baikal) on plain Armbian. I run Debian for 20 years now. My oldest machine runs it without new installation for more than eight years.
*Manjaro* (stable) for my own desktop for four years now. I like the latest software and combined with AUR I think there are as much or even more packages available than in the Debian repositories.
I mostly do office work, some media consumption, web design and occasionally programming. Desktop has been KDE since version 1.
18 • Best Distros (by kc1di on 2022-12-19 12:12:50 GMT from United States)
Am a desktop user, Just general stuff. Been doing this since 1990's
Favorite desktops in order: XFCE4 Cinnamon KDE.
Favorite distros: Mint PCLinuxOS MX Kubuntu
Nothing Earth Shattering here. But all those have pluses minuses. Each provides good solid DE experience. Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
19 • Which distro category interests you? (by James on 2022-12-19 12:31:30 GMT from United States)
I voted Desktop and I use Linux for my daily driver. Yet I keep one older laptop with Parrot OS for when I feel the need for privacy and security.
20 • Thanks (by john on 2022-12-19 13:06:02 GMT from United Kingdom)
Hi Thanks to all involved for another good year of Distrowatch. Whether you celebrate or not at this time of year enjoy and stay safe.
Do to limitations of hardware desktop is usually limited to Xfce, sometimes LXQt
Distros we use
MX for anything and sometimes everything.
Sparky for audio and video.
Pardus for documentation.
SolydX for development
21 • Desktop Voter (by TuxEgo on 2022-12-19 13:32:33 GMT from United Kingdom)
I'm using MX Plasma (Desktop) and Mint Cinnamon (Laptop) for the past year. I'm likely to go all Mint after next format/reset. I'll be keeping a USB with MX on it, naturally, for its excellent tool-set and versatility. Both distros just keep getting better.
22 • Mint, I left it (by Hank on 2022-12-19 13:58:19 GMT from France)
Some years ago I left mint taking supported users with me. Updates failed to run smoothly over some months. Moved on to manjaro which I liked but also ran in to a difficult phase. Now run and support antiX with ICEWM and for selected users MX Linux. I very rarely hear any complaints, had one recent update issue, user had not updated for more than 3 months... Fix took me less than 30 minutes. The toolset of antiX and MX is pretty much unique in the linux world. Makes for a very happy user base and admin.
23 • Murena /e/OS (by Geo. on 2022-12-19 14:31:48 GMT from Canada)
Yes. I agree, Murena /e/OS seems to be the path of least resistance for a non-Google/Apple mobile OS. It will be my next project. 😉
24 • Favorite Distro (by dkmillares on 2022-12-19 14:44:55 GMT from Brazil)
For my use and taste, the favorite distro of 2022 is Slackware 15.
25 • Favourite (by Friar Tux on 2022-12-19 15:36:57 GMT from Canada)
@22 (Hank) For me the opposite is true. I only run Mint/Cinnamon. I have discarded all the other distros as each, so far, breaks at updates/upgrades. Mint has never had a "lost-time" issue for the six years The Wife and I, each, have used it. It always runs perfect straight out-of-box every time. No adjustments or fiddling required. All updates/upgrades go without a hitch. I agree with @11 (Heinrich) that "Cinnamon is a more mature and polished version of Gnome or Mate". I also see it as a more simplified, and polished, version of KDE. (KDE used to be my favourite DE until it started having issues, and stopped working.)
26 • Favourite Distro (by t30 on 2022-12-19 15:57:54 GMT from Italy)
2022 has prompted me to focus primarily on an d.e. (KDE) and two distributions: Kubuntu and Fedora KDE spin. Kubuntu 22.10 (after the disappointing 22.04) runs flawlessly and is beginner-friendly. Fedora KDE spin has clearly surpassed the Workstation in stability and speed, even if it is a distribution suitable for users with average experience. Reputable Linux distributions decrease in number but improve in quality.
27 • Favorite ("Best") Distro (by Otis on 2022-12-19 17:32:11 GMT from United States)
MX Linux, of course. Not infected with systemd and fast and wonderfully reliable. The very best of the bunch and has been for a long time.
The poll seems interesting in that no room for overlap, as I agree with post above about Desktop but adding Multimedia as too important to not consider equal. Fine. ;o)
28 • Favorite Distro (by bittermann on 2022-12-19 18:06:49 GMT from United States)
My favorite is Mint with the cinnamon desktop environment. For Arch users Manjaro with Xfce is very polished and works well.
29 • No LM for me. (by MK on 2022-12-19 18:36:24 GMT from Israel)
I am afraid LM is not my cup of tea. Never liked the smell of its green stuff. With that out of the way, Ubuntu is Ubuntu done right.
30 • Mint - a windows clone, not for serious work? (by Will on 2022-12-19 21:15:41 GMT from United States)
Ha! Ridiculous. Pick your desktop and do what you want with it. I like Cinnamon cuz it just works with mint and it's not windows... but XFCE and Mate work too and they aren't windows either.. not in look, not in feel, and most assuredly not in functionality. I heart mint and use it as reference for other distros that I run - Ubuntu and Debian primarily, with the occasional foray into Suse and Fedora (not a fan of rpms, though). I'm a programmer, so ymmv as to whether its for your serious use or not, but mint lets me run every language and utility my heart desires. I generally set up and install:
vi :) rbenv and ruby miniconda and python and tk c, c++, etc. dotnet various ideas including vscode, rider, pycharm, rubymine, etc. mysql/mariadb/sqlite php, apache, nginx, etc. git, fossil, mercury various version of qt & gtk julia, lisp, r, and other niche languages
All work flawlessly.
I also use VLC, shotcut, OBS, audacity, and a host of media tools.
Somebody help me understand, what doesn't it do that distro X does that isn't super niche.
31 • favorite distro & cat (by Pogi Americano on 2022-12-19 21:33:30 GMT from United States)
Favorite distro is MX Linux with KDE desktop. I like it because it is easy to install, setup and update. It's also very stable with a ton of software available. The distro category that interests me the most is desktop. I do a lot of research (online & library) and writing (online & paper). Also, I normally have my tunes playing in the background while working.
32 • Category (by Cheker on 2022-12-19 23:55:30 GMT from Portugal)
I usually take interest in the libre distros. I'm not going to run them myself but I have a great respect for them and what the devs are trying to accomplish, and I like seeing them succeed.
I will now patiently await issue 1000.
33 • Which distro excites me the most? (by penguinx86 on 2022-12-20 02:36:37 GMT from United States)
I answered 'other' because there was no option for 'laptop'. I like plain boring Xfce and 100% compatibility with my laptop hardware. I want a distro that just works, with no driver hassles. But if a distro doesn't work with my Wifi first try, I get annoyed and switch to something else. That's the kind of 'excitement' that I want to avoid!
34 • My favourite (by longsearch on 2022-12-20 03:19:46 GMT from Australia)
I'm happy with AlmaLinux 9 as I'm set for the next 10 years (I think the hardware, which is about seven years old already, will die before the distro) and like the above commenter I want to avoid excitement.
With the addition of EPEL and RPM Fusion I have everything I need (which is pretty basic, browser, email, word processor, music player and video) from the repos.
I also have no issues with GNOME, but Plasma and XFCE are also easy enough to set up if that's what you prefer.
Have also enabled Flatpaks but don't generally have much luck with them and it'd only be for stuff I needed that didn't find its way into those repos.
However for someone else wanting that stuff, you could have a working base system for 10 years with the latest software (in theory, anyway).
35 • My favorite distribution.. (by Bobbie Sellers on 2022-12-20 05:47:28 GMT from United States)
PCLinuxOS is my favorite but I started on the C=64 went on to an Amiga and stayed with than until the old A2000b with the 68060 card gave up the ghost then moved on to Linux which I had been trying out in the form of Mandriva and Knoppix. I continued with Mandriva until it went under then found 2014 PCLinux, tried out Mageia and 2016-03 went back to PCLinux0S 64. It is a rolling release and I don't mind checking for updates as often as daily.
/quote [bliss@localhost PCLinuxOS_64-2022]$ uname -a Linux 6.0.14-pclos1 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Mon Dec 19 09:47:29 CST 2022 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux /unquote
Another feature is the PCLinuxOS Users Forum which is lively most of the time with problems and samples of artwork presented a Screenshots of the (particular) Month feature and they publish a Monthly Newsletter with some interesting articles in several electronic version and I always get the .pdf which is free. Several thousand registered and it is free, though donations are discretely requested.
36 • favourite(s) (by zhymm on 2022-12-20 14:52:12 GMT from United States)
I used Manjaro for several years as my main OS. Two years ago I switched to MX Linux (I wanted some debian stability). Earlier this year I switched back to Manjaro on desktop, though I still have MX Linux on my laptop.
37 • Favorite Distro (by Semiarticulate on 2022-12-20 15:11:55 GMT from United States)
I concur that Mint has very much been consistent over the years. When I need an OS that just lets me get work done with no fuss, Linux Mint is what I will install. My workstation has been running Mint for years now with zero issue. For me, Linux Mint, above all others, feels like the desktop operating system we were hoping for from the very beginning.
38 • Solus friends ! Solus (by Saul on 2022-12-20 16:06:41 GMT from United States)
Mint certainly is exceptional. I agree with all posted compliments and know that many more are deserved. It seems to have advanced even the public perceptions of linux by being so reliably good for so long. I've used it since version 4.0 and will continue to rely on it for certain things.
I think one basis for its stability and polish is that the development team also controls the desktop environments they're using. If I'm wrong about that, then at least those DEs are not developing rapidly (Xfce). So less time is spent adjusting to changes made by others upstream (Gnome, KDE), leaving more time for optimizing Mint.
Over the years though, Gnome and KDE have gotten very good, and I've become bored with the old Win95-ish design.
Primary system: Solus Gnome
Secondary systems: Fedora Gnome, Debian (Bookworm) Gnome, and MX KDE
39 • BSD (by Joshua L. on 2022-12-20 22:43:36 GMT from United States)
I know BSD doesn't get much loving these days, but I do enjoy BSD oses just as much as I enjoy Linux distros.is a thougt
That said, BSD is a little more stable, and tailored for older hardware, hmm there is a thought. Linux and BSD co project.
40 • fave? (by Will again on 2022-12-21 00:34:42 GMT from United States)
I heart mint as noted above, but it's just the one I use for reference, not the one I like the best - that goes to MX Linux and FreeBSD. Even thought Linux has zfs now, it's not as mature as it is on FreeBSD, and I've had challenges with it that I've not had with FreeBSD, otherwise. I'd be all in on Linux and MX would be my fave w/KDE, of course :). If Mint still had KDE as one of it's mainlines, it'd be all Mint!
41 • Gentoo (by Jack on 2022-12-21 02:32:47 GMT from Australia)
Gentoo doesn't make headlines much, but it's my go-to. Never fails me. So flexible. Portage is brilliant. Wouldn't run anything else and haven't for nearly 15 years.
42 • Favourite Distribution (by HS on 2022-12-21 08:01:38 GMT from Indonesia)
I was using Ubuntu, but currently I am hooked to Spiral Linux (Gnome), which feels fast yet so stable and rock solid here on my (old) laptop .... :)
43 • Mint desktop (by Jeffrey on 2022-12-21 09:00:58 GMT from Czechia)
It was enlightening to see the Linux Mint desktop photo in the article -- at first I thought it was the exact same Mint XFCE that I use, but then I checked the original article, and saw that it was Cinnamon. Leave it to Mint to create consistent desktop themes. Wow!
44 • Privacy matters... (by tom joad on 2022-12-21 16:53:34 GMT from Norway)
I voted for privacy. Before I chose privacy I was guessing which categories would get the most votes. I guessed desktop. And it did get the most votes. But privacy was a distant second with the rest trailing behind it.
In an earlier comment I harangued on about the need to be safe online or safer than most OS's offer. This weeks poll bears that out. All Linux OS's could be, and should be, hardened against online attacks and intrusions. Hint, hint, to the developers reading this.
Anyway, I wished I could have made multiple choices in this poll. There are several other categories that I like and some I never bother with using.
Lastly, tip of my hat to Jesse. Good job, man! Distrowatch has made my climb up the Linux mountain a good bit easier. Also, Jesse, you should consider a 'Jesse's Linux tips and trick's' reference manual. I think it would sell.
45 • Desktop (by Chris on 2022-12-21 17:06:12 GMT from South Africa)
Currently using Kubuntu 23.04 and watching it develop but have recently used Ubuntu MATE, AlmaLinux and MX Linux (but always keep a copy of MX on USB drive).
46 • Mint linux (by hotdiggettydog on 2022-12-21 21:24:53 GMT from Canada)
I've been using linux for over 20 years starting off with an early version of Mandrake. I abandoned windows completely in the early 2000s. I've seen some stuff.
I completely agree with Mint as first choice. You can install it and run it for years trouble free. It is one of the few OS I donate to.
The fanboys can rave/rant about this distro and that distro but nothing I've used long term has handled upgrades/updates seamlessly. Always sh*t going wrong. After all these years I don't want to fiddle around.
I have to chuckle when I hear Mint described as a beginners linux distro. It is everyone's distro and only those who have been around for a while can truly appreciate the work that goes into it.
Merry Xmas all!
47 • adduser/useradd (by Andy Figueroa on 2022-12-22 04:56:35 GMT from United States)
Jesse, adduser is not a standard Linux command. And the syntax is not correct. See "useradd --help" and "usermod --help" or "man useradd" and "man usermod"
48 • ubuntu mate (by Cris from Romania on 2022-12-22 07:55:00 GMT from Germany)
i dont get what the fuss is about systemd rage hate , it never bothered me ,
i Love Ubuntu Mate, its preetty simple and works great with my all 4 machines..
i know most of u are pros, but i like to use sometimes... ubuntu mate with openbox interface only sometimes. install lxde keyboard and add it to startup script
if debian would be that simple i would use it, ..but i tried it once and was prohibitive in its manner of opperating..allso debian at every few mouse clicks showed me a message: "you will be reported to admin"..what the **!!.. but i was the admin.. reeal ugly
i loaded lxle and wiped the whole hdd.
49 • Mint: Ubuntu done right (by Roach Boy on 2022-12-22 09:19:13 GMT from Kenya)
I totally agree: Linux Mint IS "Ubuntu done right". With very few exceptions, I have found Ubuntu releases to be buggy which makes me wonder how they manage to mess up a perfectly solid distro like Debian! I have found Neptune, a little known distro, also based on Debian, to be even less buggy than Ubuntu! Go figure!
50 • adduser (by Jesse on 2022-12-22 13:21:03 GMT from Canada)
@47: "Jesse, adduser is not a standard Linux command. And the syntax is not correct."
The adduser command is pretty common, it's not everywhere, but pretty close. The syntax I provided is not only correct, but I tested it on my own machine before posting it. The command works as shown. I think you might be confusing it with useradd?
51 • Ubuntu vs Mint (by Mike Wallace on 2022-12-22 17:43:58 GMT from United States)
It should be "Ubuntu done Bloat". Mint works the same as my Ubuntu, but with a lot of unused, unnecessary packages. Mint doesn't work better or worse, just works the same as Ubuntu. Funny how people want to take sides one way or the other. I've never experienced issues with Ubuntu except hardware issues. Some distros apart from debian/arch are just difficult to understand, or use due to the fact they have different architecture.
52 • Taking sides (by Friar Tux on 2022-12-22 19:02:05 GMT from Canada)
@51 (Mike) "Funny how people want to take sides one way or the other." Funny how people think that EVERY distro works for EVERY user on the same level. It does not. For me, Ubuntu didn't work - ever. Often, it wouldn't even install, claiming some file was missing or corrupt. When it DID install, usually the second or third update killed it. Sometimes the WIFI didn't work, and sometimes the mouse/touchpad quit working. We've NEVER, ever had that issue with Mint. Not in 6 solid years. On two laptops, used daily, all day. So, yeah, some of us are quite fond of our Linux Mint and worship the ground Mr. Clement Lefebvre walks on. It truely IS "Ubuntu done right".
53 • distros (by crayola-eater on 2022-12-23 00:44:24 GMT from United States)
My favorite distro overall was NimbleX, a long gone Slax derivative, and WolviX, likewise. As for something that is relevant today, I've always enjoyed Mepis/MXLinux a lot when it comes to just overall reliability and ease of use. My tastes now are for simplicity and lightness (leave the bling to windows and macs) - so I look for basic core/cli editions and build myself from there. My major downside, is that favorite apps for a purpose seem to fall by the wayside, and are sometimes unable to run on the current environments despite my efforts. So the winner for me now is AntiX core with xorg and openbox.
On another note, while looking at the latest from Bunsen Labs, on installing it to disk for a deeper look, it struck me (assuming my memory hasn't taken another vacation on me) - in days past, didn't distros give you the option to NOT install a boot-loader at all, as just opposed to install to the drive MBR or 'x' partition? Made life simpler for those of use that like to keep a boot/grub mini-partition for booting while distro-hopping.
54 • Desktop+Privacy+Immutable (by Sylvan on 2022-12-23 06:23:15 GMT from Taiwan)
Thanks for all the amazing work you do on DistroWatch.
I'm interested in a general pupose desktop that is reasonnably secure, stable and recent. I hate frequent updates. I'm an "if it ain't broke..." type of guy.
As far as DE, I need well implemented fractional scaling and only KDE seems to offer that at the moment. I'm surprised that this is not discussed more. I'm sure that many people use 4k TVs as monitors nowadays. It can't be just me, can it? This could be an idea for another poll...
Debian has been the most consistently reliable distro for me over the years. Despite its occasional user-unfriendliness and dated packages I always seem to come back to it.
However I'm currently in my 4th month of testing Slackware 15. I love the stability and I was happy that everything I need/like was available and surprisingly recent (from a Debian perspective at least). But I have now encountered a few problems that require more work than I'm willing to put in order to resolve them...
While looking for a security-focused replacement for Debian I encoutered ParrotOS. I am now testing it on my laptop.
That too surprised me, that this distro isn't talked about more. It's Debian based, security focused and they have a "Home" edition for general use. Though in my case I had to use the "Architect" edition in order to have KDE and setup FDE the way I wanted.
I'm also testing MX Linux KDE on my wife's laptop but I'm not convinced. So far ParrotOS looks the most promising. I will probably install it on my desktop soon.
55 • Mint (by David P on 2022-12-23 13:42:40 GMT from United Kingdom)
I have been using Mint for many years now. My wife also uses Mint (Mate). Currently I use Cinnamon. One of the reasons is that I don't have to learn a new UI every few years. I have experimented with other distros but always come back to MInt because it is reliable and does what I want. As a unix professional since 1989 now retired I can use the command line but rarely need to.
56 • Mint & Ubuntu (by Zed on 2022-12-26 16:19:09 GMT from Italy)
I used Mint when there was still the KDE version. Then I switched to Kubuntu. Someone says that Ubuntu dies every after 3 updates. It won't happen if you use the command line: "sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade && sudo apt full-upgrade".
57 • poll results (by privator on 2022-12-26 22:30:35 GMT from Netherlands)
It's disappointing that almost 70% like desktop distros. It confirms the Linux tradition of developing many DE's for desktop bling.
Meanwhile some distros continue to push the boundaries in other ways. Like a new take on immutability - provided by Vanilla Linux's on-demand immutability feature, to enhance security.
58 • mint kde, kubuntu and debian (by peer on 2022-12-28 07:39:10 GMT from Netherlands)
@zed I also used mint kde. I liked it. When it stopped I moved to Neon. At first it worked great but after a half year I got problems.It seems as if the kde version outgrowd the ubuntu base version. Then I switched to kubuntu. No problems with kubuntu. It was very stable and therefore a bit boring. So I thought let's give debian kde a try. I was surprised how easy debian kde was. Now debian kde is my main os !!
Number of Comments: 58
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
| | |
TUXEDO |

TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
Archives |
• Issue 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 |
• 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 |
• Full list of all issues |
Star Labs |

Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
Random Distribution | 
Dzongkha Linux
Dzongkha Linux was a Debian-based distribution developed in Bhutan by the Department of Information Technology at the Ministry of Information and Communications. Dzongkha Linux was created with the sole aim of providing complete Dzongkha computing capability, free of cost.
Status: Discontinued
|
TUXEDO |

TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
Star Labs |

Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
|