 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 1024, 19 June 2023 |
Welcome to this year's 25th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
About a week ago the Debian team released version 12 of the project's GNU/Linux distribution which was then followed-up by new release of the port of Debian's userland to the Hurd kernel. This week we begin with a look at the Linux branch of Debian and talk about changes to the project's firmware, the distribution's unusual installer, and the project's live media. In our News section we discuss more of the Hurd branch of the Debian project and share a reminder that Ubuntu 22.10 is nearing the end of its supported life. Meanwhile we celebrate FreeBSD reaching its 30 year milestone. Anyone who experiments with Linux distributions is probably familiar with the process of writing install media to a USB drive. This is a common and sometimes risky process which can easily lead to data loss if the user makes a typo. In our Tips and Tricks column we talk about one approach for making writing install media to USB thumb drives safer. Also on the subject of safety, there are a lot of destructive commands available through the Linux command line. In our Opinion Poll this week we ask whether our readers use any aliases or wrapper scripts to protect themselves against data loss. Let us know about any aliases you use for safety in the comments below. Plus we are pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Debian 12
The Debian project released a new version of its Linux-based distribution just over a week ago. Debian 12 (code name "Bookworm") is a fairly tame release, even by Debian's conservative standards. The project's main new feature is a shift in how the distribution handles non-free firmware, bits of code required to run many of the world's wireless networking cards and other bits of hardware.
In the past, Debian shipped without non-free firmware on its install media which made the distribution difficult to use on many computers, especially those which required wireless networking to download new packages. This was in line with Debian's dedication to shipping freely licensed software only with its install media. However, since most people need non-free firmware to run their computers properly, Debian then provided a second set of unofficial install media which included the extra firmware. This second set of unofficial media, which included non-free firmware, was harder to locate through the project's website and the situation left many users frustrated.
With Debian 12, the project is able to include non-free firmware as an exception to the project's stance on free-only software. This unifies the install media, meaning the single set of official install media should work everywhere and a second (unofficial) set is no longer required.
Otherwise, the release announcement for Debian 12 indicates small, evolutionary steps. Desktop environments and the kernel have been updated. Some new translations have been added. Hardware and CPU support has remained much the same since Debian 11 was published about two years ago.
The Installer
Debian offers two main editions of its install media. There is a set of DVD-sized ISO files for local (off-line) installs. The DVD ISO files are about 3.7GB in size. There are also net-install ISO files which grab packages from on-line repositories and these ISO files are about 740MB in size for the x86_64 build.
I decided to start with the DVD (off-line) media. I downloaded it, confirmed its checksum matched the one published in the Debian repositories, and booted from it. The media's boot menu offers to run a graphical installer or a text-based installer. There is also an option for running an installer with text-to-speech capabilities for visually impaired people.
The Debian installer, whether we use the text-based version or the graphical version, then walks us through the same steps. Each question typically occupies one screen. We're asked to select our language, our country, and our keyboard layout. We're asked to make up a hostname and optionally provide a domain name. We're asked to make up a root password, a username, proper name, and password for a regular user. We're also asked to pick our timezone.
We're asked to participate in guided or manually partitioning the local hard drive. The manual approach is a little awkward. Actually, the guided approach is too, to my mind. Debian will offer to set up a partition on available space, then ask some questions such as which disk to use and whether we need a separate /home partition. We're then asked to look over and tweak any settings for the suggested partitions. Debian sets up an ext4 partition for the operating system and a swap partition by default. No filesystem flags, such as noatime, are enabled the way many other distributions do in order to improve performance. However, we can toggle filesystem flags if desired.
The installer then spends a few minutes copying the base system over to our hard drive. We're then offered a chance to scan for other local media and the DVD version of the installer offers to connect us to network mirrors. If we take the networked option, we're asked to pick a country (this is the third time we're asked to provide our location) and a nearby mirror. We're also asked to provide any information needed to connect through a web proxy. We're also asked if we're like to participate in an automated package popularity survey.
The following screen asks us which desktops we want to install with our options being: GNOME, GNOME Flashback, KDE Plasma, Xfce, Cinnamon, MATE, LXDE, and LXQt. GNOME is the default. We're also given the chance to select a web server package and OpenSSH. The first time through I picked GNOME with LXQt as a backup desktop environment.
The installer starts copying files and, at 95% completion, reports a failure. No reason is given, we're simply told this step cannot be completed. We are given the chance to proceed (to install a boot loader) or go back to the software selection step. The next time through I tried matching GNOME and KDE Plasma. This seemed to work at first, copying a few thousands files to my hard drive, but failure was reported again. Since GNOME is the default desktop, I tried once more with just GNOME. This appeared to work, at first. But then I was asked to select a default paper size for my printer (I didn't have a printer hooked up at the time) and I was asked to pick methods for tuning fonts - an option I'd never encountered in my many years of using Debian's installer. Passing beyond the font adjustment screen caused the installer to report a fatal error again.
Debian 12 -- The system installer running into an error
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I jumped ahead this time to installing the boot loader, which seemed to work, figuring I'd install a desktop later if needed. The installer set up the GRUB boot loader and offered to reboot the computer. My system was able to boot to text mode only, but I was unable to login as the username and password I had set up during the install process were not recognized. Since several things has clearly gone wrong, rather than plow ahead, I decided to wipe the install of Debian 12 and start over.
I won't bore you with all the details of the next several trials as I tried different combinations. I made over ten attempts to install Debian 12 using the official install media. I tried installing from the DVD and the net-install media (after confirming both matched their checksums). I tried booting the installer in Legacy BIOS and UEFI modes. (The text installer could not run in UEFI mode, only in Legacy BIOS mode. The graphical installer ran in both modes.) I tried setting up Debian on my workstation, my laptop, and in a VirtualBox environment. I tried installing just the GNOME desktop, just the MATE desktop, and just the Xfce desktop at various points.
The installer usually failed while copying desktop packages to the hard drive, though not always. Sometimes it would crash while trying to install GRUB afterwards. Once it reported failure while trying to install the kernel while setting up the base system before the desktop selection screen. In each case the installer was unusually slow, often taking 20 minutes to try to set up packages for just one desktop environment, something most other distributions can do in ten minutes or less.
Debian 12 -- The text installer failing
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This slow process was made all the more frustrating because the installer requires us to babysit it. Most Linux installers collect all their information up front, then perform their long-running actions at the end. Debian's is strange in that it will collect some information from us, then work, then collect more information, then copy packages, then collect more information, then copy more files, then ask us about boot loader settings, then finish its work. It means we can't just provide a few answers and then walk away. Debian's installer also has, at minimum, about three times more prompts than most mainstream Linux distributions, making it a tedious process. In total, my first day trying to get Debian working, I probably looked at about 200 screens of the installer.
After several hours and no successful installs, I was feeling discouraged and ready to give up. I was also puzzled as I regularly run Debian and Debian-based systems on this same test equipment without any issues. The media checksums passed, the hard drive had plenty of room on it (less than a quarter of the available space was used when the installer failed), and the installer requires very little RAM (less than 1GB). Then it occurred to me to track down and try the live media. Debian doesn't seem to officially acknowledge its live media, the live ISO files are not clearly indicated on the download page and the download options are tucked away in a different corner of the mirrors than the install media. However, the live media (available in several desktop flavours) would not only boot on all my test equipment, the boot menu offered an install option.
The live media offers us the same graphical installer as the one on the official media, though the sections on software selection are skipped. I was running the GNOME live media and so the installer automatically set up GNOME 43 for me. The live media's installer not only completed successfully on every attempt, it also finished in a third of the time the DVD install image had taken, performing almost as quickly as the installers of most other mainstream distributions. Finally, I had a bootable copy of Debian on my hard drive!
Early impressions
Debian booted to a graphical login screen where I could sign into the GNOME desktop. There are actually a few different flavours of GNOME available, including Wayland, X11, and GNOME Classic options. I experimented with the Wayland and X11 GNOME Shell options and found they worked identically to each other for all practical purposes.
GNOME Shell is set up with a light theme and vanilla style. A small panel is placed at the top of the screen with the user menu and Activities button. When the Activities view is enabled we can search for software by typing its name or description, or by selecting options from a dock which appears at the bottom of the screen. Since the Activities button is in the upper-left corner and the dock is at the bottom, this makes for a lot of mouse movement.
Debian 12 -- Trying a dark theme
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Much of the style and theme can be changed, along with other aspects of desktop behaviour, through the GNOME Settings panel. I find this panel easy to navigate and made frequent trips to it during my trial.
Hardware
When I was testing Debian in a VirtualBox environment the GNOME desktop did not automatically resize to fit the virtual machine window. I was able to change the desktop resolution through the settings panel. The desktop was a bit sluggish in the virtual machine - functional, but slow enough I wouldn't want to use it on a regular basis and slower than GNOME on a few other distributions I've used in recent months.
GNOME (both the Wayland and X11 sessions) crashed a few times when running in VirtualBox. However, the desktop remained stable during my trials with it on my physical workstation.
In fact, GNOME performed quite well when running on my workstation. The desktop was fairly responsive and offered about average or maybe slightly better than average performance.
Debian 12 -- The GNOME Settings panel
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Debian, when installed from live media and running GNOME, was heavier than most other mainstream distributions. A fresh install took up 10GB of disk space, a lot considering the relatively small number of desktop applications included. When signed into GNOME Shell Debian consumed a full 1GB of RAM. This is within the normal range for other distributions running the GNOME desktop, but nearly twice the memory consumption of most Linux distributions running other desktops.
When running on my workstation, Debian was able to detect and use all of my hardware. My wireless card, usually a problem for Debian in the past, was supported. The media keys on my keyboard worked and the system ran smoothly.
Included software
Digging through GNOME's application menu I found the Firefox web browser, the Evolution and Thunderbird e-mail clients, and LibreOffice. The Totem multimedia player was included along with codecs for playing video and audio files. GNOME Files is the default file manager. There are a handful of other small GNOME utilities too, including Maps, Contacts, and Weather, plus a few small games.
While exploring the command line I discovered the distribution ships with the GNU command line tools, the GNU Compiler Collection, and manual pages. Debian runs the systemd init software and version 6.1 of the Linux kernel.
Debian 12 -- The live GNOME desktop and its application menu
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It's a fairly small, helpful collection of software. We're given a wide range of functionality without overly cluttering the application menu.
Debian, at least when install from the live media, does not grant the first regular user administrator rights. In other words, we're not able to use sudo to perform admin functions. We can change this by adding our user to the sudo group.
Software management
Debian ships with a few tools for managing software. On GNOME's dock we find a launcher for GNOME Software, a modern software centre which is divided into three tabs. In the first tab we can explore available software in the Debian repositories. The second tab shows items already on our system that we can remove. The third tab displays software we can update.
I found GNOME Software made it easy to search for applications. We can click on items to see more complete descriptions of them and new items can be installed with a click. Likewise, I was able to remove items displayed in the second tab without issues. Even programs which came pre-installed with the system could be removed.
The third tab, which displays updates, did not work properly for me. A list of available updates was indeed displayed, along with a button which invited me to "reboot and install" these packages. (Apparently rebooting is a necessary part of this process, but only when using GNOME Software.) Clicking the button immediately caused an error message to appear which complained about a missing file: /var/lib/PackageKit/prepared-update. I tried refreshing the package database and trying again and was met with the same error.
Debian 12 -- GNOME Software failing to apply updates
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Debian also ships with the classic Synaptic package manager which is capable of performing installs, removals, and upgrades of packages. We're also given the command line APT tools which I found were also completely capable of upgrading software as well as performing installs and removals.
Debian does not offer Flatpak or Snap support out of the box. We can fetch frameworks for both portable package formats from Debian's repositories if we wish. I added Flatpak support and found Debian (unlike some modern Linux distributions) does not automatically enable the Flathub repository, Flathub must be configured manually.
Debian 12 -- Browsing packages with the Synaptic package manager
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Conclusions
Debian is a project that I've used a lot over the years and it's one for which I have a lot of respect. Debian strives to be a "universal operating system", running on a wide range of architectures, on a wide range of hardware, and in a variety of roles. Debian can run on just about anything (from a phone, to a Raspberry Pi, to a server, to a laptop) and perform as a anything from a web server to a gaming machine. The fact Debian also offers both regular stable releases with five years of support and rolling branches means the distribution can be used just about anywhere. The project's famed stability and its flexible are key reasons behind Debian being the basis for over 120 actively maintained distributions.
With all of that said, while Debian is a technological and organizational achievement virtually unparalleled in the open source community, using plain Debian (as opposed to one of its many children) is not a particularly pleasant experience on a desktop computer. A big aspect of this is, as I mentioned last week in my openSUSE review, some distributions act as a unified whole, a platform that feels designed. openSUSE is a prime example of that, where all the pieces are fitted together to make something greater than the sum of their parts. Debian is toward the other end of the spectrum and the distribution feels like an uncoordinated collection of components. The pieces are all in the same room, but they don't fit together, they aren't following a shared vision. Everything feels like it's trying to follow a lowest common denominator (fitting with Debian's "universal" theme). The themes are vanilla and washed out, the desktop feels awkward to navigate and requires a lot of mouse movement, nothing is automated. Updates are checked for and applied manually, Flatpak and Flathub access need to be handled manually, and there is no central configuration panel that works across all desktop environments. We even need to grant our first user admin access manually, which brings me to the system installer.
In the past I've often pointed out that Debian's installer is awkward, slow, and unpleasant to use compared to the system installers of most other mainstream distributions. It uses about four times more screens to accomplish the same result and, as started earlier in this review, its "prompt, work, prompt, work" approach means the user is trapped interacting with it rather than entering some information and then being free to walk away. The installer also misses some popular features, such as setting the first user up as an admin, which other installers will usually provide. However, I will also acknowledge that the trade-off has been that Debian's installer has worked and worked consistently for years, largely unchanged. If you ever installed Debian 6 then you can install Debian 12 using the same steps in the same order, on either a graphical interface or a text console. The experience has been predictable and reliable.
That changed this time around. This is the first time in nearly 20 years of running Debian that I've had the installer fail, and fail consistently. I tried different test environments, different boot modes, different desktops, different package mirrors, and the installer (both the graphical version and the text version) failed repeatedly, when run from both the net-install and DVD official media. It was increasingly feeling like a farce, to be honest. However, when I switched to the semi-official live media the installer worked without any problems in the same test environments. This feels backwards and raises some questions about the testing process in my mind.
Using Debian is always a mixed experience for me because the distribution does so many things well - with a wide range of CPU support, flexible roles, long-term support, and great stability during its life span. On the other hand, Debian makes the user do more manual work to accomplish virtually everything, feels uncoordinated, and blandly vanilla. It feels awkward and the GNOME edition feels heavy compared to most other top-notch Linux distributions. I still like Debian on servers, but it feels uncomfortable on my desktop, like a suit that doesn't quite fit properly and I need to hem myself.
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Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a Lenovo desktop with the following specifications:
- Processor: Hex-core Intel i5-10400 CPU @ 2.90GHz
- Storage: Western Digital 1TB hard drive
- Memory: 8GB of RAM
- Networking: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 wired network card, Realtek RTL8822CE 802.11ac PCIe wireless adapter
- Display: Intel CometLake-S GT2
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Visitor supplied rating
Debian has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8.9/10 from 388 review(s).
Have you used Debian? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Debian's releases updated Hurd port, Ubuntu 22.10 nears end of life, FreeBSD turns 30
The Debian project maintains a few branches outside of its main, GNU/Linux distribution. Debian also maintains an operating system built with the same userland tools while running the GNU Hurd kernel. This alternative platform, running the Hurd microkernel, uses the same package manager, command line tools, and some of the same desktop software as its Linux counterpart. The developers of Debian GNU/Hurd have announced a new release on the heels of Debian 12: "It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2023. This is a snapshot of Debian 'Sid' at the time of the stable Debian 'Bookworm' release (June 2023), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." The new Hurd branch runs on i386 (and compatible) processors and reportedly runs about 65% of the software built for Debian GNU/Linux.
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Ubuntu 22.10 was released in October of last year and this interim release (along with its community editions) are quickly approaching the end of their supported lives. People running version 22.10 are advised to upgrade to continue receiving support. "Ubuntu announced its 22.10 (Kinetic Kudu) release almost 9 months ago, on October 20, 2022, and its support period is now nearing its end. Ubuntu 22.10 will reach end of life on July 20, 2023. At that time, Ubuntu Security Notices will no longer include information or updated packages for Ubuntu 22.10. The supported upgrade path from Ubuntu 22.10 is via Ubuntu 23.04." Upgrade instructions are provided in the distribution's documentation.
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The FreeBSD project reached a milestone this month, turning 30 years old this June. The operating system, which powers many of the world's servers and gaming consoles, is a decedent of the original Unix operating systems and continues to be maintained and include new, modern features such as jails, virtual machines, and native ZFS support. The FreeBSD Foundation announced: "It's June and we're celebrating FreeBSD's 30th anniversary! It was 30 years ago that the name FreeBSD was chosen for this incredible open source project that is continuing to grow, innovate and lead. The Foundation has been proudly supporting FreeBSD for over 23 years, with some of our team members participating in the FreeBSD Project in the early days."
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These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
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| Tips and Tricks (by Jesse Smith) |
A safer way to use dd
A common practise in the Linux community, as DistroWatch readers are well aware, is writing disk images (such as ISO and IMG files) to removable media, such as USB thumb drives. Almost anyone who has installed a Linux distribution (or other operating system) has found themselves transferring a disk image or ISO file to a thumb drive.
There are several tools which can help complete this transfer of data to a thumb drive. UNetbootin, Fedora Media Writer, and balena Etcher are three fine examples of utilities which will transfer ISO files to thumb drives. While these are all popular, useful tools, another commonly recommended standard - a tool that works across all Linux distributions and flavours of BSD - is the dd command line program.
The dd utility is virtually universal in the Linux and BSD communities, it has a fairly simple syntax; we just need to provide the name of the file we want to transfer and the destination. The destination is typically seen as the lone tricky part of the process. The dd command is simple-minded in its behaviour and contains no checks or verification that the destination we specify makes sense. The dd command does not care if the destination we provide is a thumb drive, our main hard drive, a file, or a floppy disk. The dd command will simply start copying bytes from one place to another, blindly overwriting any data at the destination.
This behaviour has resulted in the dd command earning its nick name: data destroyer.
When we specify the proper destination, everything will go according to plan. However, anyone who uses dd regularly will likely make a typo or mistake at some point and send a file to, for example, /dev/sdc instead of /dev/sdd and then their home directory will disappear! In short: the dd command is incredibly useful and powerful, but also a bit risky to use.
Because I use dd on a regular basis, nearly every day, I am at high risk for a data-loss accident. An accident which has not, to date, happened. A few years ago I started thinking about how to guard against making mistakes with dd and came up with a few solutions.
There are a number of ways a person can check to make sure it makes sense to write a file to a specific storage location using dd. We can check for a certain device name using the lsscsi command. We can check for a size range of the destination with the lsblk command. Verifying a device has one of a specific set of brand names or is under a certain size can certainly help us avoid overwriting the wrong drive. These are good technical checks to perform, but they do not protect us from a typo.
I took what I feel is a more flexible, more universal approach to not overwriting my important information: I wrote a wrapper for dd which checks to make sure no part of the target device is mounted.
In other words, if my main hard drive (the one containing my operating system's root filesystem) is /dev/sda and I try to write an ISO file to /dev/sda or /dev/sda1, my wrapper will abort. Likewise, if I try to write to /dev/sdb which contains my /home mount point, the process will bail out and warn me what I'm trying to do is a bad idea. However, if I try to write an ISO file to a drive with no mounted partitions, then dd will run with the assumption what it is doing is safe.
How did I set up this wrapper around dd? I created a simple shell script called safe-dd. The script looks like this:
#!/bin/bash
# This script invokes the dd command to copy a file. It first checks to make sure
# the target file (of) is not mounted.
# Warning, this may not work with device names containing a space.
if [ $# -lt 2 ]
then
echo "Please provide an input file and an output file."
exit 1
fi
start=$(echo $@ | sed 's/of=/\^/')
end=$(echo $start | cut -f 2 -d '^')
target=$(echo $end | cut -f 1 -d ' ')
echo "Checking $target"
df | grep $target
if [ $? -eq 0 ]
then
echo "Output file $target is mounted. Refusing to continue."
exit 2
fi
echo "Executing nice dd $@ status=progress"
nice /usr/bin/dd $@ status=progress
sync
echo "Finished writing and sync."
How does it work? The first few lines do a quick sanity check to make sure we have at least two parameters, presumably a file we want to use and a destination device where the file will be sent.
The echo, sed and cut commands which follow look for a parameter that specifies the destination location (also known as the output file, or of). When we find this parameter, it is saved in the variable $target.
The script then uses the df command to get a list of all mounted filesystems and uses grep to see if our destination matches any mounted locations. In other words, if we ask safe-dd to write to the location /dev/sda and /dev/sda1 is where our root filesystem is located, the line "df | grep $target" will spot the match and the script will not continue.
The last block of the script tells the user it is going to proceed and then launches the dd command, passing along the parameters we've specified. The script then forces a filesystem synchronization, meaning data intended to be written to a thumb drive should actually be written and not simply cached. The script then announces its work is finished.
The script isn't perfect, there are other checks and verification steps which could be performed. It could be made more robust. However, for most people in most circumstances, this script will act as a friendly wrapper around the dd command and prevent data loss (such as overwriting a mounted drive) in most scenarios. This means I can run a command, such as the one below, and not worry about it causing damage:
sudo safe-dd if=Fedora-38-Workstation.iso of=/dev/sdc
Something else I'd like to acknowledge is this script is quite verbose, both in its approach and its output. It prints out long-ish error messages, it has comments, it tells the user what it is going to do before it does anything, and then explicitly reports when it is finished. The script even evokes the dd command with the "status=progress" parameter which causes dd to display progress information instead of simply working quietly, which is its default behaviour. Most Linux/BSD/Unix tools are quiet when they are working properly and silent behaviour can be achieved by deleting the lines in the script which begin with the word "echo".
Again, the effort here has been to make the script friendly and verbose - good for most circumstances where we want to write to a thumb drive - rather than purely efficient or ideal for all situations. It's been a useful tool for me and it has felt nice to have a layer of protection between myself and a typo which would wipe my computer's hard drive. Especially since I typically use dd several times per week.
For added protection I have added the following line to my ~/.bashrc file. This sets up an alias which catches each time I try to run plain dd and runs my safe-dd script instead:
alias dd='safe-dd'
So far this has kept my hard drive safe and provided reliable image writing to my thumb drives.
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Additional tips can be found in our Tips and Tricks archive.
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| Released Last Week |
Voyager Live 12
Voyager Live is a project which offers Debian- and Ubuntu-based flavours of a desktop distribution. The project has announced the release of Voyager Live 12, which is based on Debian 12 "Bookworm". The new version focuses on improving the availability of firmware for fresh installs. "With numerous Themes and Wallpapers and essential software and many other new features to discover like Scrcpy to have your smartphone screen on your PC. Debian 12 'Bookworm' contains over 11,089 new packages, bringing the total to over 64,419 packages. Most of the software included with Debian has been updated, with over 6,296 packages removed because they are old or obsolete. The installer on Debian has received various enhancements which have resulted in better hardware support and exciting new features. Take, for example, improved handling of proprietary (non-free) firmware for hardware, which now makes it easier to load these firmwares from the installer. This was made possible through the inclusion of Debian APT 2.6 which allows for better handling of non-free firmware on Debian. So non-free firmware binaries will now be enabled by default when it is verified that they are needed. These changes will allow better support for different hardware running on non-free firmware, especially GPUs and Wi-Fi adapters." Additional information is provided in the project's release announcement.
risiOS 38
risiOS is a Fedora-based Linux distribution which runs the GNOME desktop environment and includes a number of graphical setup and tweak tools. the project has published risoOS 38 which seeks to improve the first-boot experience. "One of the most prominent features of risiOS 38 is the new first boot experience. With our re imagined Quick Setup tool, setting up risiOS is now quicker and more efficient, with a much simpler interface. This allows you to easily set up third-party drivers and repositories, as well as install any applications you may need. In addition, risiOS 38 features a complete redesign of risiWelcome, now with Libadwaita. risiTweaks has undergone a complete redesign. It now features a clean UI with a brand new look and feel. The previous extensions tool built into risiTweaks has been removed, and stock GNOME extensions is now shipped instead. This change has allowed for a more stable and streamlined experience for users. rTheme has been released in version 1.0. The API is now stable and there have been significant improvements to GNOME Shell support. The plugin system has also been improved, and several bugs have been fixed. This allows users to customize their desktop with ease, giving them more control over the look and feel of their system." Additional details and screenshots can be found in the project's release announcement.
risiOS 38 -- Running the GNOME desktop
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SparkyLinux 7.0
SparkyLinux is a lighweight distribution based on Debian. The project has published a new stable release, SparkyLinux 7.0, which is based on Debian 12. The new release features several key package upgrades. "Sparky 7.0 'Orion Belt' has been released. It is based on and fully compatible with Debian 12 'Bookworm'. Highlights: based on Debian stable 12 'Bookworm'; all packages updated from Debian 'Bookworm' and Sparky 'Orion Belt' repos as of June 15, 2023; Linux kernel 6.1.27 LTS as default (6.3.8 and 5.15.117 LTS in Sparky unstable repos); Firefox 102.12.0ESR (114.0.1 in Sparky repos); Thunderbird 102.12.0; VLC 3.0.18; LibreOffice 7.4.5; Calamares 3.2.61; KDE Plasma 5.27; LXQt 1.2.0; MATE 1.26; Xfce 4.18; Openbox 3.6.1; Sparky APTus AppCenter 20230530; ntp replaced by systemd-timesyncd; amd64 ISO images have been improved - they can be boot on machines with UEFI motherboards with Secure Boot on." Additional information is provided in the project's release announcement.
SysLinuxOS 12
Franco Conidi has announced the release of SysLinuxOS 12, a major new release of the project's Debian-based live distribution designed for system administrators and system integrators: "Following the release of Debian 12 'Bookworm', SysLinuxOS 12 is now available with several enhancements and new features that set it apart from Debian 12. Some of these improvements are under the hood, providing additional functionality. SysLinuxOS 12 comes with the MATE desktop environment as the primary option, while the version with GNOME will be released later. In terms of aesthetics, two Conky widgets have been integrated; they not only enhance the desktop's visual appeal but also provide useful information about PC performance, network status (including private and public IP addresses), and running processes. Additionally, the menu has been reorganized based on the utility of the programs. A new menu called Networking has been introduced, which includes tools for network analysis. These tools are primarily GUI-based, while command-line alternatives are also available. MATE offers a simple, organized and fast desktop environment." Here is the full release announcement.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Torrent Corner |
Weekly Torrents
The table below provides a list of torrents DistroWatch is currently seeding. If you do not have a bittorrent client capable of handling the linked files, we suggest installing either the Transmission or KTorrent bittorrent clients.
Archives of our previously seeded torrents may be found in our Torrent Archive. We also maintain a Torrents RSS feed for people who wish to have open source torrents delivered to them. To share your own open source torrents of Linux and BSD projects, please visit our Upload Torrents page.
Torrent Corner statistics:
- Total torrents seeded: 2,880
- Total data uploaded: 43.3TB
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
Do you use scripts or aliases to protect yourself?
In this week's Tips and Tricks column we talked about creating a safe wrapper around the dd command. A common practise a lot of courses and administrators recommend is putting wrappers or aliases in place of destructive commands. A common example is to make the file remove command (rm) an alias for "rm -i" which makes the command interactive and avoids accidentally deleting files.
While this practise is common and often recommended, the trap people can fall into is forgetting that not every system they use will intercept destructive commands using an alias or script, leading to a false sense of security.
This week we would like to hear whether your system is set up with aliases or scripts to intercept dangerous commands, such as dd and rm.
You can see the results of our previous poll on alternative editions of openSUSE in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Do you wrap destructive commands in aliases/scripts?
| Yes - I use aliases: | 71 (8%) |
| Yes - I use scripts: | 28 (3%) |
| Yes - I use both: | 89 (9%) |
| No - I do not intercept destructive commands: | 756 (80%) |
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| Website News |
New distributions added to waiting list
- Kumander Linux. Kumander Linux is a Debian-based Linux distribution featuring the Xfce desktop. The distribution is designed to look like legacy versions of Microsoft Windows in an attempt to ease the transition process for new users.
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DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 26 June 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)
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If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip.
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TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
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| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
| • Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
| • Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
| • Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
| • Issue 1040 (2023-10-09): CROWZ 5.0, changing the location of default directories, Linux Mint updates its Edge edition, Murena crowdfunding new privacy phone, Debian publishes new install media |
| • Issue 1039 (2023-10-02): Zenwalk Current, finding the duration of media files, Peppermint OS tries out new edition, COSMIC gains new features, Canonical reports on security incident in Snap store |
| • Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years |
| • Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session |
| • 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 | 
Photon OS
Photon OS is a minimal Linux container host, optimized to run on VMware platforms (though it is capable of running in other environments). Photon OS includes a small number of packages and offers users a command line interface. The default installation will often require less than 100MB of memory to run. The operating system comes with Docker pre-installed.
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.
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| 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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