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| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • general thoughts (by Dave Brown on 2023-03-20 01:15:21 GMT from United States)
Looking forward to firing up my first Gentoo. Lots of new Arch based distros, and very similar to each other. And Serpent? I won't call it an OS because it is not complete. It reminds me of that distro called Solus.
2 • Serpent OS (by Marc on 2023-03-20 01:44:52 GMT from Australia)
I have been following Serpent OS since day 1 and I am loving the progress they have made lately.
I have managed to get the validation iso to boot and it is just a proof of concept / validation that it all works. But it does work.
In the last few days their build infrastructure has gone live and starting to build / update packages in the hope of a live iso :)
3 • Gentoo and a friendly derivative (by Sasi on 2023-03-20 01:57:38 GMT from India)
In my experience there can't be any better derivative of Gentoo than the Calculate Linux. It's easy to install; you enjoy the benefit of Gentoo performance and it's much simpler to maintain/upgrade.
4 • Liya Linux (by mnrv-ovrf-year-c on 2023-03-20 02:50:33 GMT from Puerto Rico)
The creators of Liya Linux need to offer the ISO on Sourceforge or another mirror. Tried downloading the 3.5GiB ISO but failed, Firefox crashed and had amnesia. This was after putting the hard disk to the near point of failure. If they expect better reception and more people to check it out and praise it, and not just rely on its being on Arch Linux, they have to get away from the place they're offering it now. Until I could download the ISO, like I could now with Debian or Slackware, which are about the same size, I don't care if it's independent and what else they do with this distro which is different from the bunch coming along lately which are "me-too".
5 • File transfer (by Trihexagonal on 2023-03-20 05:48:26 GMT from United States)
File transfers something I do often and if using FreeBSG have to work as root to do so. USB sticks and physical transfer from one machine to another is how I work, with XFE being my File Manager of choice.
Earlier today I transferred 23 single photos in a group from my smartphone to a Linux laptop using Bluetooth, which is preferable to using gmail to mail them so I can access that account from a laptop.
But I don't use any of the methods listed in the poll.
6 • Favourite transfer utility (by fenglengshun on 2023-03-20 05:59:58 GMT from Indonesia)
KDE Connect, for sure. It's just such a handy tool, it connects automatically, and sending files/url/clipboard are all instant too. My only complain is that the Send menu is a hassle requiring more clicks than I'd prefer (esp. if you have more than one devices) and without Plasma Integration some things are more annoying than they needed to be. And the GSConnect replacement, Valent, seems to still be in alpha as I had some stability issues with it.
Other than that, I use Resilio, since last I tried syncthing don't support selective file sync (unless you count manual sync rules). Works well enough to sync folders throughout my devices (including phone) and transfer files that I can't or too much of a hassle using KDE Connect.
And I guess I do use grsync from time to time, to backup files to office's shared folder network drive.
7 • File Transfer (by Any on 2023-03-20 07:30:40 GMT from Spain)
gFTP
8 • LuckyBackup (by LLL on 2023-03-20 08:52:29 GMT from Spain)
10 years using LuckyBackup (GUI for rsync). Perfect.
9 • openSUSE Leap popularity surge (by SuperOscar on 2023-03-20 09:00:11 GMT from Finland)
I wonder if the openSUSE Leap (15.4) popularity surge hasn’t something to do with the upcoming demise of the Leap platform? For the last ten years, it’s been my favourite distro; now I’m not quite sure what to use any more. More and more it seems users are forced to use rolling distros instead of stable ones. Welcome to “you have 2000+ updates” daily hell :p
10 • Data transfer (by Dr.J on 2023-03-20 10:10:40 GMT from Germany)
Almost all data transfer between all devices is done by rsync/rsyncd - mostly automated by cronjobs or scripts. For some special cases I use corresponding front-ends (grsnyc/backintime).
11 • File transfer (by James on 2023-03-20 11:27:44 GMT from United States)
Drag and drop meets my needs.
12 • File Transfer (by Marco on 2023-03-20 11:35:19 GMT from United States)
I wish more distros offered zsync for ISOs that are frequently updated.
13 • Security Onion (by Doug Burks on 2023-03-20 12:54:08 GMT from United States)
Hi Jesse,
Thanks for trying Security Onion! For first time users, we recommend following the First Time Users guide at https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/first-time-users.html. If you have further questions or problems, we'd love to help you out over at https://securityonion.net/discuss. Thanks!
14 • Security Onion (by Donnie on 2023-03-20 18:51:00 GMT from United States)
@Jesse : Actually Security Onion works very well if you follow the documentation for setting it up. You'll also want to watch the tutorial videos on either their website or their YouTube channel. Security Onion is a specialty type of Linux distro, and you can't just install it the same way that you'd install any normal Linux distro.
Also, the hardware requirements actually are accurate. Everything on Security Onion runs as a Docker container, and there are lots of Docker containers. It also collects end-point log files and stores them in an Elastic Stack database, which will eventually require lots of disk space. So, just because you only have a few gigabytes worth of software in the install image doesn't mean that the extra disk space isn't needed.
Anyway, I hope that helps.
15 • Another command line tool: voted for "syncthing". (by mircea on 2023-03-20 23:26:10 GMT from Moldova)
I voted for syncthing, cause it is encrypted and has a nice web UI.
And it works with mac & windows too.
16 • openSUSE Leap popularity surge (by Daniel on 2023-03-21 12:15:10 GMT from Czechia)
I think I read somewhere about fixing openSUSE metrics. Maybe surge is just fixed metrics bug? Because I don't see any improvements in openSUSE numbers on pages like here, gamingOnLinux statistics or reddit user increase.
17 • metrics (by Glenn Dean on 2023-03-21 15:41:47 GMT from United States)
The metrics here are just a popularity contest. You need to go to Google Trends( or others) to find real metrics.
18 • File transfers (by Robert on 2023-03-21 16:12:03 GMT from United States)
Most commonly I transfer files between my desktop and file server using an NFS mount and standard mv and cp commands.
For other situations I might use scp, KDE Connect, or a USB stick, whatever is most convenient for the task at hand.
19 • file transfer utilities (by npaladin2000 on 2023-03-21 18:24:47 GMT from United States)
I use rclone. It's the most robust and yet simplest utility I've found. It acts like regular command line file handling only your source and your target can be remotes rather than local. And it can make pretty much anything a remote. Only downside is that it doesn't seem to handle transferring deltas, so for large files with small changes I do go back to rsync. But most of what I do is small files that are new or completely changed anyway.
20 • Sharing, file transfers, Liya @4, and Gentoo-based @3 (by El Gordo on 2023-03-22 03:54:35 GMT from United States)
I share little and rarely, so I just upload to Google Drive or other cloud storage any thing I want on my other devices.
@4, Liya seems to be based in New Zealand, so they use Mega for downloading. Mega downloads the whole package before asking to save it. It bypassed my download manager, but still was quick and painless. If it makes any difference, I used Chrome rather than FF. If you're looking for something different, it isn't. It quick to boot, light on resources and easy to install and looks very good, but the same can be said for EndeavourOS, except Liya is geared for non-technical users and newbies. Uses Brave browser, and Alacrity for cli. Pamac is included. They offer a free customized ISO for those unfamiliar with Linux or Arch.
@3, Gentoo derivatives. I like Redcore, based on testing, live ISO and has a GUI package manager named Sisyphus. (Odd name, Sisyphus is about unending repetitive effort with no result.)
21 • File transfer Utility (by Mike C on 2023-03-22 06:04:57 GMT from United States)
I have used NitroShare version 0.3.1 for several years on our local network. Least complicated I have tried and has never failed me.
22 • SerpentOS (by InvisibleInk on 2023-03-22 23:15:00 GMT from United States)
Serpent is the current brainchild Ikey Doherty of Solus fame. He's wound his way back around to creating an new distribution. Look forward to what it evolves into when it is ready for prime time.
23 • SerpentOS (by whatsinaname on 2023-03-23 09:03:28 GMT from Germany)
If SerpentOS is another Project of "Ikey Doherty of Solus fame", then expect it to be abandoned and possibly even completely disappeared when it becomes successful and actually useful to its users.
Number of Comments: 23
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1168 (2026-04-13): pearOS 2026.03, EndeavourOS 2026.03.06, which distros are adopting age verification, Arch adjusts its firewall packages, Linux dropping i486 support, Red Hat extends its release cycle, Debian's APT introduces rollbacks, Redox improves its scheduler |
| • Issue 1167 (2026-04-06): Origami Linux 2026.03, answering questions for Linux newcomers, Ubuntu MATE seeking new contributors, Ubuntu software centre is expanding Deb support, FreeBSD fixes forum exploit, openSUSE 15 Leap nears its end of life |
| • Issue 1166 (2026-03-30): NetBSD jails, publishing software for Linux, Ubuntu joins Rust Foundation, Canonical plans to trim GRUB features, Peppermint works on new utilities, PINE64 shows off open hardware capabilities |
| • Issue 1165 (2026-03-23): Argent Linux 1.5.3, disk space required by Linux, Manjaro team goes on strike, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA driver support and builds RISC-V packages, systemd introduces age tracking |
| • Issue 1164 (2026-03-16): d77void, age verification laws and Linux, SUSE may be for sale, TrueNAS takes its build system private, Debian publishes updated Trixie media, MidnightBSD and System76 respond to age verification laws |
| • Issue 1163 (2026-03-09): KaOS 2026.02, TinyCore 17.0, NuTyX 26.02.2, Would one big collection of packages help?, Guix offers 64-bit Hurd options, Linux communities discuss age delcaration laws, Mint unveils new screensaver for Cinnamon, Redox ports new COSMIC features |
| • Issue 1162 (2026-03-02): AerynOS 2026.01, anti-virus and firewall tools, Manjaro fixes website certificate, Ubuntu splits firmware package, jails for NetBSD, extended support for some Linux kernel releases, Murena creating a map app |
| • Issue 1161 (2026-02-23): The Guix package manager, quick Q&As, Gentoo migrating its mirrors, Fedora considers more informative kernel panic screens, GhostBSD testing alternative X11 implementation, Asahi makes progress with Apple M3, NetBSD userland ported, FreeBSD improves web-based system management |
| • Issue 1160 (2026-02-16): Noid and AgarimOS, command line tips, KDE Linux introduces delta updates, Redox OS hits development milestone, Linux Mint develops a desktop-neutral account manager, sudo developer seeks sponsorship |
| • Issue 1159 (2026-02-09): Sharing files on a network, isolating processes on Linux, LFS to focus on systemd, openSUSE polishes atomic updates, NetBSD not likely to adopt Rust code, COSMIC roadmap |
| • Issue 1158 (2026-02-02): Manjaro 26.0, fastest filesystem, postmarketOS progress report, Xfce begins developing its own Wayland window manager, Bazzite founder interviewed |
| • Issue 1157 (2026-01-26): Setting up a home server, what happened to convergence, malicious software entering the Snap store, postmarketOS automates hardware tests, KDE's login manager works with systemd only |
| • Issue 1156 (2026-01-19): Chimera Linux's new installer, using the DistroWatch Torrent Corner, new package tools for Arch, Haiku improves EFI support, Redcore streamlines branches, Synex introduces install-time ZFS options |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • 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 |
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| Random Distribution | 
GNOME OS
GNOME OS is an experimental, immutable Linux distribution that ships the latest in-development GNOME desktop, core applications and stack. It serves as a reference for developers and testers. It is designed around the modern systemd and GNU-based userland built from the Freedesktop SDK. Initially, GNOME OS used a library and set of utilities called OSTree to deploy the root filesystem and manage updates, but later migrated to "systemd-sysupdate" which offers enhanced immutability, auto-updating, adaptability, factory reset, uniformity and other modernised security properties. GNOME OS can be loaded as a live image in Boxes, VirtualBox, QEMU and other virtualisation software, but it can also be installed on a standard x86_64 hardware. The distribution does not support traditional package management; however, additional software applications can be installed via the Flatpak utility which is supported out of the box.
Status: Active
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