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| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Why review broken stuff? (by Roger Brown on 2023-04-10 01:39:37 GMT from Australia)
I can accept that an important part of the Distrowatch function is to explore the new stuff as it appears. But is there any point in publishing reviews that simply report that the distro or software in question failed?
I suggest that detracts from the site. I'd rather see reviews of stuff that DOES work.
2 • "if a specific process is running" (by Greg Zeng on 2023-04-10 02:16:19 GMT from Australia)
In the old Linux, CLI only, this current Distrowatch gave the correct answer. For the current users, the answer is: Graphic User Interface (GUI) users: NO !!
This arrogance explains why most users of Linux based systems, avoid Linux. The best GUI based system is Gkrellm. A very crippled version exists for Windows. In Linux, the best version is available only in PCLOS, a spastic version of an unpopular RPM based system, IMHO. GKrellm however only allows the top three processes to be displayed, instead of the default top two processes.
HTOP and its versions is extremely difficult to use. It is available for most (all?) Linux systems. However clumsy it is, it uses only alpha-numerics, because GUI & graphics are not used in old Linux systems. Linux coders are too negligent and lazy to care about the potential bulk of operating system users, as the history of Linux shows, in my professional opinion.
3 • system reviews. (by Bobbie Sellers on 2023-04-10 02:30:48 GMT from United States)
Jesse kindly tries out everything in order to write the column and to tell us which distributions are not yet working as advertised. How can you tell if a distribution is not working unless you
try it. If is not yet working very well then that information is quite useful.
I used to try out distributions for SF-LUG so that I could post notes to the members about
what was not working.
4 • @1 Why review broken stuff? (by Greg Zeng on 2023-04-10 02:35:32 GMT from Australia)
Australia, New Zealand read Distrowatch first, world-wide. Distrowatch is mainly a lone, weakly resourced publication, that cannot use any multi-talented publishing team of researchers and writers, at these current times. There are other web sites trying to slowly move into the Distrowatch niche, but also lack the necessary management talent.
My fellow Australian is expecting a level of technical journalism that does not yet exist in the computer world. The wealthier technical areas (armaments & finances) do have this. The lesser talents prefer only commenting, in a "nice" way, about the small fry. Less litigation, less likely to handle any kind of hostility & backlash.
Linux has very major flaws, obvious to all Chief Information Officers. Linux cannot handle GUI, User-friendliness, advanced hardware, nor needs of real human users. Hence the extreme popularity of the alternatives to Linux: Windows, Apple and Android.
Senior technical writers know that these lesser Linux operating systems show the weaknesses and necessary cures that might bypass the major Linux brands. Some of these writers dare to allow the general public know about the serious flaws in Linux operating systems. Snap, appimage, BTRFS, NTFS, EXT 4, htop, gkrellm, RPM, X and Wayland display systems, etc. Privately we know this. Publically we are afraid to tell this to the open world.
5 • Kodi (by denflen on 2023-04-10 02:40:36 GMT from United States)
I have been using Kodi on my linux desktop (Lubuntu) for several years. I don't use the package from Lubuntu, prefering to get the PPA from the Kodi website. And, yes, it is confusing at first. But like everything else, it gets easier from usage. Adding and removing addons can be time consuming and redundant. But there are plenty of helpful websites to be found. I have never found anything that comes close to a full feature media center when finally set up and configured to my taste and need.
6 • Response to denfien's comments on Kodi (by Steve K on 2023-04-10 03:03:11 GMT from United States)
Have you tried Jellyfin? It's a totally awesome media center and runs on on Linux, Windows and MacOS. I absolutely love it and it's way better and more intuitive than Kodi which I've used in the past, with a lot of frustration!
7 • More on Jellyfin media center (by Steve K on 2023-04-10 03:11:45 GMT from United States)
P.S. Jellyfin is very adaptable and the Jellyfin client software can run on Linux, Windows, MacOS, Smart TV's, Amazon Fire Stick and Roku!
8 • Distribution (by Linuxseekers on 2023-04-10 03:29:04 GMT from Malaysia)
Lately, only Leap and Tumbleweed are the best for all old and new desktop PC and notebooks. Religiously use MATE because i can resize icon folder individually AND ESPECIALLY stretch .png or .jpeg files as big as possible to refer to tables of information swiftly, so that my customer would think that i have all the info at my fingertips.
9 • Re: Kodi KDE Connect controls (by Pat on 2023-04-10 05:15:16 GMT from United States)
You do not need to use KDE Connect to control Kodi from a mobile device - the developers maintain their own remote control application called Kore which can be found in all major app stores, including F-Droid. Kore gives you full control over playback, as well as the rest of the user interface.
10 • grep (by Any on 2023-04-10 05:21:58 GMT from Spain)
pgrep bash
3359
ps aux | grep bash
hp 3359 0.0 0.0 9860 3680 pts/1 Ss 07:20 0:00 /bin/bash
hp 3366 0.0 0.0 8748 644 pts/1 S+ 07:20 0:00 grep bash
11 • Kodi (by Dave on 2023-04-10 05:34:04 GMT from Australia)
I have, since the olsd Windows Media Cente days, tried pretty much every configuration of media PC used for watching live TV or streamed movies.
The conclusion? What I use now, a PC with a web browser. Don't worry about addons, apps with ads etc. Forget Android, LibreElec, Mac Mini, just get a generic x86_64 PC. Put your OS and your browser of choice on it with an ad blocker and everything will just work. And without ads. Use an air mouse style remote with a keyboard on it and you're sorted.
12 • LibreELEC & Kodi (by Simon Plaistowe on 2023-04-10 06:29:09 GMT from New Zealand)
Well I definitely recommend Kodi as a set-top media player. My household runs three LibreELEC boxes (two old desktop boxes & one old laptop with the screen amputated). One for the lounge & one for each bedroom TV. Our music & movies are stored on my server for common access from all 3 boxes, also we get on-demand & live TV via add-ons. Easy to install, configue, upgrade & duplicate once you know what you're doing. Never had any major issues for many years now, although Jesse has obviously proven that "mileage may vary".
13 • To Peeking Behind The Curtain (by Dan on 2023-04-10 07:56:55 GMT from United States)
There is another distro that does everything besides MX Linux (which I don't use), and that one is Salix.
14 • @4 Why review broken stuff? (by Roger Brown on 2023-04-10 09:26:53 GMT from Australia)
@4 You say "Linux cannot handle GUI, User-friendliness, advanced hardware, nor needs of real human users" however I disagree. There are many distros that do all these things and THEY are the ones we should feature with our DW reviews.
There are also distros that are not really ready for public consumption and IDEALLY they should not even be listed on the DW site, far less reviewed.
I do however recognise that fully vetting every potential new listing may not be possible for the site owners though the IDEAL situation would be that if it doesn't work, it doesn't get listed.
15 • Broken Stuff (by DachshundMan on 2023-04-10 09:32:18 GMT from United Kingdom)
@1: I am happy to have Distrowatch review broken stuff sometimes. It means that I know (1) not to try it or (2) if I have tried it and had a problem then I am not alone. Hopefully the developers of the broken distros read Jesse's reviews and say to themselves, Houston we have a problem.
As a more general point, broken distros do not help the cause of trying to convert people to using Linux.
@4: Linux distros are not always perfect but neither is Windows. However, I find it does all I need and given that it is used to run most of the internet so do many professional organisations.
16 • LibreELEC (by Peter on 2023-04-10 10:26:44 GMT from United Kingdom)
I've been using LibreELEC for years and years, without major issues (On R-Pi's). I tend to wipe and reinstall at every major release ...My rating would be 10/10 actually ... all the best, Pete
17 • Kodi (by James on 2023-04-10 11:46:52 GMT from United States)
Tried Kodi, don't use it. For myself I just didn't see a need for it.
18 • Kodi (by Dr.J on 2023-04-10 13:13:33 GMT from Germany)
I tried Kodi on a Lubuntu computer for some time years ago and was also quite enthusiastic about the look and operation at the beginning. The playback of HiRes audio files was also convincing. But in the long run, the programme had too many weaknesses at that time, if you compare it with good Windows programmes like Media-Monkey or JRiver. In particular, the administration of large collections was very weak (creating and managing playlists, checking the consistency of the MediaTags, adding artwork, etc.). In addition, the handling of all the add-ons was annoying, skins suddenly no longer existed, etc. Unfortunately, typical Linux programmes (from Amarok to Foobar to VLC) have not convinced me either, so today I have a combination of MediaMonkey (for administration via a Windows10 virtual box) and NeutronMP (for playback on an Android tablet).
19 • Kodi (by Friar Tux on 2023-04-10 13:21:31 GMT from Canada)
@11 (Dave) Good to see I'm not the only one to use the PC/browser combo. Like @17 (James), I tried Kodi - even before it was called Kodi - but found it quite overbearing and complicated for what it was supposed to be. (It did seem to do well as a separate, unique desktop environment, but would require a bit of re-learning to properly use.) LibreELEC I have not heard of till now. I'll check it out when I'm done here. For offline media, I use VLC media player (Audacious for offline music only). For online media it's Vivaldi browser on my laptop. I also have/use the Spotify app (of course), and an AppImage app that plays YouTube music videos. Finally, if I'm working on my laptop and still want music, I have an old laptop hooked up to a speaker set that can play offline, from my collection of music, or online with one of the mention apps. (It's a great little system, if I say so myself.)
20 • Linux Media Player SMPLAYER works well on Fedora (by Jeffersonian on 2023-04-10 14:40:18 GMT from Poland)
Linux Media Player SMPLAYER (mplayer frontend) from rpmfusion-free (fedora repos)
works quite well on Fedora for several years.
Once in a while it creates ffmepg dependencies issues, then the brute force solution to remove it reinstall later works.
The subtitles feature is great but does not always work, then do it manually.
Now I rarely use VLC, still a great app.
21 • RPM packages issues (by Jeffersonian on 2023-04-10 14:54:40 GMT from Poland)
1) They don't always work well across RPM based linux distros.
Why an RPM package for OpenSuse (for example) would not work on Fedora ? (Often)
It seems that dependencies and softlinks are part of the issue.
2) Is anyone aware of an RPM validator program ? If it does not exist it would be useful.
3) Many Linux related magazines and very popular commercial Linux apps now don't even support RPM packages, which is a shame, because (my opinion) RPM based Linux Distros are often the best, the easiest to to use, maintain, update etc...
Note that this relate to #2, where OpenSuse was in the past a good activist (Is it still true?)
4) It was a (long) time when creating a reliable RPM package from a tarzipped file using checkinstall worked very well. No so true anymore.
5) Would "distrowatch" care to write about this? Ideally do a bit of follow up on apps, (foss & corprate) as it does for distros etc... ?
22 • RPM packages (by David on 2023-04-10 15:53:05 GMT from United Kingdom)
@21: If APT packages generally work on different distros, it's because the dirstos that use it have based their repositories on Debian's. RPM distros are a diverse bunch that have been independent since the last century, even if they started as forks in the first place. The problem is that dependencies are naturally given not as the files needed but as the packages which contain them. Thus the Suse and Red Hat families may both contain a particular library, but it comes in differently-named packages. There's no way to solve this, other than persuading all RPM distros to co-ordinate their package names. At server level this happens, with Suse and Red Hat using the Linux Standard Base, but it's never going to happen with the vast amount of software used on PCs.
23 • Using TAB TAB autocompletion to see running processes (by K.U. on 2023-04-10 16:11:35 GMT from Finland)
Try this:
killall TAB TAB
Doing this shows the names of the running processess which can be killed in concise format.
One can use this trick just to see the running processes even in case one doesn't want to kill anything.
24 • psgrep (by Steve on 2023-04-10 16:47:04 GMT from United States)
If you have access to psgrep the suggestions above have potential.
I didn't even know the command existed as I created a simple script a while back to accomplish a somewhat similar task that fits my needs (and maybe yours as well). I suppose the key line could be simplified in some way but it does what I want the way it is so I've never bothered to tweak it further
I stick this in the /usr/local/bin/ sub-directory and fix ownership and permissions as needed, though other options work too:
#!/bin/bash
#
# ps2
#
# list filtered process status with correct column headers
#
# Author: Steve
# Date: 17 Oct 2006
#
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------
# 17 Oct 06 - v1.0 - sml - initial creation
# 20 Oct 06 - v1.1 - sml - remove grep and ps2 from output
# 01 Aug 12 - v1.2 - sml - made grep case insensitive
#-------------------------------------------------------------------------
echo ""
if [ $# = 2 ];then
ps $1 | head -1 ; ps $1 | grep -v grep | grep -v ps2 | grep -i $2
exit 0
else
echo "Usage: $0 SWITCHES STRING"
echo ""
echo " SWITCHES - i.e. -aux or -ef"
echo " STRING - string to filter ps command on, i.e. mail"
echo ""
exit 1
fi
#---eof---
25 • psgrep (continued) (by Steve on 2023-04-10 16:53:29 GMT from United States)
When I saved my comment above the indenting in my script was lost when leading spaces were deleted. Honest... the indents were there when I pasted the script in the comment field... 8^(
26 • Broken Distro's (by bittermann on 2023-04-10 17:35:34 GMT from United States)
I have to agree with some of the other comments. If a distro is truly broken just trying to install it I say don't waste the website/author's valuable and finite time. Just a sentence or two in the weekly about the fail and move on. There are plenty of others to test.
27 • distro reviews (by rolls up sleeves on 2023-04-10 22:10:06 GMT from New Zealand)
I find the reviews useful as reading about the struggles and pitfalls borders on entertainment. However, the reviews I really dig into are those where a serious distro gets a new release given a workout.
The hey-look-i-built-my-first-iso cases, fraught with comedic failures, get old after about the third laugh. And yet sometimes these crazy edge case distros have some good ideas that could advance Linux and which some mainstream ones could learn from.
I agree with @26 that a short set of notes would be useful, much like the ideal reviews - list pros, list cons... and then let us move on to feast on the good distros (in the top 50 at least).
My 2c, now 4c due to inflation..
28 • defining a Broken Distro (by Simon Plaistowe on 2023-04-10 22:29:29 GMT from New Zealand)
Stuff's been said about broken distros & wasted review time. All valid points I'm sure, but my point is this: should I bypass a distro because it's received a "broken" verdict from a reviewer?
For example, after reading Jesse's review in this issue of DW, many of you may have decided not to bother trying Kodi or LibreELEC. Yet my entire household has been using LibreELEC daily for many years, also I've on occasion used Kodi on a Linux Mint desktop. I'd rate it highly, fulfils my needs and never had any problems to speak of. No "broken" distro in sight. So... mileage may vary!
29 • ouch words (by 8-ball on 2023-04-11 02:49:28 GMT from New Zealand)
@4 : "Distrowatch is mainly a lone, weakly resourced publication, that cannot use any multi-talented publishing team of researchers and writers, at these current times."
That is very harsh Greg. Maybe you should then make some effort and go and create something better. Methinks very soon you will find out just how much hard work and long hours go into such a labour of love.
A review of a broken distro serves all of us as a warning beacon. The tests are not all that demanding, so a distro should at least meet these minimum standards. Many don't.
Jesse & team - thank you for keeping this valuable resource going all these years.
Just this month the Ferengi Monster of Acquisitions has dumped two websites that were the industry go-to in their fields: DPReview (photography) and BookDepository (books). May DW never get acquired and absorbed by some conglomerate.
30 • DW Reviews, Linux Satisfaction (by Otis on 2023-04-11 20:27:36 GMT from United States)
@4 What an arrogant crock. Listed in that post are all the successful aspects of many Linux distros. That post up there has an air of attempting ot herd users away from Linux in the direction of Windows, Mac, and Android.
Those are fine OSs in their own right, for the most part, so enjoy. But coming here to tear down the distro family that is the focus (with BSD) of this site is arrogant indeed.
As to the review(s) of some distros that are not (yet) up to snuff, good on Jesse et al for providing that to us, serving the obvious purpose of a bit of a warning, and in addition, serving the community at large one of the best aspects of DW: Showcasing the full range of what is offered out there in the Linux/BSD world. Why on Earth whittle it down to just fully polished fully functional works? Let it all be shown.
31 • Linux and DW reviews (by Albert on 2023-04-11 23:03:43 GMT from United States)
I fully agree and support the opinion expressed by @29 and @30.
Every week I look forward to reading the DW issue which I've come to like very much.
Good job, Jesse, please keep on this and thank you so much.
32 • Reviewing the good AND the Not quite ready (by artytux on 2023-04-12 10:55:44 GMT from Australia)
It's great to read Jesse's reviews about the not ready Yet distros, as many other have commented,
knowing Jesse had a storm within the distro helps all of us here,
Recently 2 weeks ago got to install MXLinux and this desktop computer finally complied,
why now and not several times in the past few years, Don't know why, just grateful.
Hardware IS a big factor in Linuxland.
Some of the above comments do read as trying to get Linux user to move away from Tux, not likely.
To all the DistroWatch team Thank You.
=- "Keep on keeping on doing what you do best !"
33 • As promised... (by Friar Tux on 2023-04-12 13:16:37 GMT from Canada)
As promised in @19, I gave LibreELEC a quick run around the block. It appears, as advertised, to be a minimal OS to just run Kodi, which appears to be used as the desktop environment. Cool. I found that out before I even knew what LibreELEC actually was. I liked playing with Kodi as a file manager and DE, but I prefer my "daily driver" DE to be of a more traditional type. I only spent a short time on LibreELEC and Kodi - I'll leave a more detailed review to Jesse and Company.
And, yes, I also think DW does a fantastic job of reviewing Linux, BSD, etc.. The good and the "not-ready-yet". I look forward to Sunday night (here in Regina, Canada), at about 7:30, when the new "DW Weekly" pops in. Keep up the great work DW, a lot of us actually DO appreciate it.
34 • @4 What? (by Kazlu on 2023-04-13 14:12:40 GMT from France)
"Linux cannot handle GUI, User-friendliness, advanced hardware, nor needs of real human users. Hence the extreme popularity of the alternatives to Linux: Windows, Apple and Android."
I *strongly* disagree. You talk about Linux as if it was still in the same state as in the early 2000s. This time is long gone. In my personal experience (IT profesional as well, using both Linux and Windows), most big Linux distributions are better than Windows on all the aspects you mention. Yes, you read that right!
- handling GUI: Windows graphical environment crashes so much more than any Linux equivalent. It cannot handle its own, unique GUI, while most big Linux distributions are stable despite the fact that they handle several desktop environments.
- user-friendliness: this is a subjective area. However I find that since Windows 7 (which was very fine), Windows' user-friendliness has decreased. Every instance of Windows since 8 seems to be the old one with new elements stacking on top of it, sometimes duplicating functionality, sometines generating conflicts. It becomes a mess to adjust settings as simple as power management.
- advanced hardware: you are right... as long as we are talking about *new* hardware. And, well, that hardware is generally designed for other operating systems, so Linux developpers need time to retro-engineer what has been done for Windows for example (except in the rare cases where Linux drivers are also provided by the manufacturer, but that is not very frequent). During that period of time, sure, Windows works better. But in my experience, for almost every piece of hardware Linux support gets better and better over time while Windows support gets dropped, up to the point where the hardware is better managed in Linux than in Windows. And then the intrinsically better resource management of Linux VS Windows enables you to do more than with Windows with the same hardware.
- needs of real human users: what do real human users need, in your opinion? I am a real human user and I find my needs are far better covered by Linux than by any other operating system.
I can see only three situations in which you would feel limited by Linux, compared to Windows:
- You absolutely need some software only available in Windows
- You absolutely need to use some very recent hardware, you cannot use a replacement that would be 2 years or so older and you are ready to see support be dropped 5 years after.
- You have decades of experience with Windows and have only used Linux for a couple of days.
Now you may have noticed I mostly spoke about Linux VS Windows. That is because Linux is generally used on hardware designed for Windows. MacOS and Android work way better than Windows but have their own application environment that makes comparrison harder. Android does a pretty good job at being a quality operating system working well on a large variety of hardware (thank you, Linux kernel!), but I feel the available software is still not enough to fully replace a Linux computer. One day, maybe. MacOS is very good quality but you have very little choice of hardware and software is all or nothing: either it's great or it does not exist for Mac. And when support for your Mac is dropped, you're in dire straits.
"Snap, appimage, BTRFS, NTFS, EXT 4, htop, gkrellm, RPM, X and Wayland display systems, etc."
I don't understand. Are you quoting every Linux item that has ever been criticized by at least one person? Oh, well, no, you are mentioning NTFS which is actually a Windows technology... So what do you mean? And what could you possibly have to hold against ext4, or even btrfs or X?
"Privately we know this. Publically we are afraid to tell this to the open world."
It is fine if you think that yourself. But again, I strongly disagree.
Number of Comments: 34
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| • 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 |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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| Random Distribution | 
Porteus Kiosk
Porteus Kiosk is a lightweight Gentoo-based Linux operating system which has been downscaled and confined to allow the use of one application only - the Firefox web browser. The browser has been locked down to prevent users from tampering with settings or downloading and installing software. When the kiosk boots, it automatically opens Firefox to the user's preferred home page. The browsing history is not kept, no passwords are saved, and many menu items have been disabled for increased security. When Firefox is restarted all caches are cleared and the browser reopens with a clean session. Note: Up to version 5.5.0 Porteus Kiosk was free to download and use. Version 6.0.0 and up require an on-line account to download and a paid subscription to activate.
Status: Active
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| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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