 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 1040, 9 October 2023 |
Welcome to this year's 41st issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
There are hundreds of Linux distributions in the world. One thing they all have in common, whether the distribution is independent or a grandchild of another project, is they share at least some components. It might just be the Linux kernel and a few command line components, or it might be a compiler and desktop environment, but all members of the Linux family share and build on some common elements. Sharing pieces of software means less work for the developers as modules can be snapped into place, but it also means issues in one distribution are often shared across others. This week, in our News section, we talk about a flaw in the commonly used glibc software which affected most Linux distributions. We also talk about Linux Mint addressing limitations in new versions of GTK-based applications while the team publishes new install media. Plus we discuss Debian publishing updated install media while Murena begins crowdfunding a new, privacy-focused smart phone. Do you like the idea of having a phone with privacy-focused hardware switches? Let us know in the Opinion Poll below. First though, we begin with a look at CROWZ, a Devuan-based distribution which offers a minimal, efficient approach. Jeff Siegel took CROWZ for a test drive and reports on his experiences in our Feature Story. In our Questions and Answers column we discuss changing the locations of default directories. Plus we are pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a terrific week and happy reading!
This week's DistroWatch Weekly is presented by TUXEDO Computers.
Content:
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| Feature Story (By Jeff Siegel) |
CROWZ 5.0
Is CROWZ, a distro with a 1.0GB ISO and based on Devuan, one of the best minimal distros available today?
It sure seems that way, and running it for a week didn't change my mind in the least. CROWZ isn't perfect, but it leverages a selection of light-weight window managers and the PCManFM file manager to produce a user experience that isn't overly intimidating for first-timers nor too dumbed down for those who think GUIs are a waste of coding.
CROWZ isn't quite as polished as MX Linux, but it's more useful than Puppy Linux or EasyOS, two quality minimal distros with their share of eccentricities. CROWZ has those certainly, starting with a surprising lack of documentation, a sometimes troublesome installation process, and what is either a bug or design flaw surrounding Network Manager.
But none of that really gets in the way - which may be the most surprising thing about CROWZ. Most of these kinds of distros, which are put together by small groups of volunteers, seem to have difficulty getting past the hobbyist stage. But CROWZ can function as a daily driver, especially for older hardware. Believe it not, there's even a word processor (sort of) in the installation ISO.
Getting started
CROWZ comes in three 64-bit versions, featuring the Fluxbox, JWM, and Openbox windows managers. There are 32-bit versions, but they date from 2020 and there's no indication on the download site if they're still supported. There also aren't any system requirements listed, save for a line that says CROWZ is based on Devuan GNU+Linux 5.0. The latter is based on Debian 12 Bookworm, and Bookworm's documentation suggests at least a Pentium 4, 1GHz system to run a desktop, plus 2GB of RAM and a 10GB hard drive.
CROWZ 5.0 -- Running the Openbox window manager
(full image size: 45kB, resolution: 1368x768 pixels)
I worked with the 64-bit Openbox spin of the latest CROWZ release, version 5.0, which uses the 6.1.0-1 kernel and, according to the release notes, includes mostly minor changes from 4.0 (which was released about 14 months ago). The notes highlight its dark theme, its Calamares installer, and that it's systemd-free, though it doesn't say what it does use. SysV init was the answer, after a little command line hunting and pecking. There are a couple of pages of documentation covering the last few releases and a link to a forum with ten posts, none less than a year old; otherwise, we're on our own.
All of this makes CROWZ sound less than appealing. And CROWZ in VirtualBox doesn't inspire much confidence, either. The CROWZ display doesn't resize to match the VirtualBox window, and trying to change the resolution offers four screens. Trying to load the current Firefox ESR (version 102.15), the default web browser, uses all the available memory and almost two-thirds of the CPU, and never does load.
CROWZ 5.0 -- Running CROWZ in VirtualBox
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The initial impressions on my 11-year-old Asus test laptop (older hardware, yes?) weren't much better. This seems to be a combination of a design flaw and how the Calamares installer works. The installer needs an Internet connection to complete successfully (though this is never really mentioned anywhere). But the theme is so dark that it's almost impossible to see the network manager icon in the upper-right corner of the panel, next to the audio icon. Plus, WiFi is turned off by default on the live session, so if the installation tries to connect (which it sometimes did), it won't find the network and fail.
Meanwhile, setting the display resolution is an adventure in trial and error; some of the listed screen resolutions don't exist. You need to right click the desktop and go to Settings/Display to find the display manager settings, which use the ARandR Screen Layout Editor. ARandR is not only less than intuitive, but it doesn't use the saved settings in a new session. That means the saved setting needs to be applied after boot, every time.
Still, lean and quick
So, given all of this, why is CROWZ so impressive? Because once you navigate these obstacles, it's lean and quick, with nary a wasted motion. Even Firefox loads in about a second. The entire installation took up 10GB of disk space on the Asus; by comparison, a fresh install of Xubuntu 22.04 recommends we have about 20GB.
Openbox (version 3.6.1-10), which sometimes gets lost in the shuffle when it's used elsewhere, is the star here. Everything is literally a desktop right-click away, whether it's adding software with Synaptic, running the Google Docs web app, configuring Conky, or using the PCManFM file manager (version 1.3.2).
CROWZ 5.0 -- Exploring directories with the file manager
(full image size: 118kB, resolution: 1368x768 pixels)
Given that the trend in desktop design today is to become more complicated (yes, that means you, GNOME), Openbox is - despite its long tenure among Linux distros - almost a revelation. Its use here is an example how to build a quality, 21st-century Linux desktop without a bit of bloat. And it does so without sacrificing functionality. As long as I remembered to right-click instead of Ctrl+Space to launch something like Albert or Kupfer, I was as comfortable working with CROWZ as my usual Xubuntu.
CROWZ 5.0 -- The welcome window
(full image size: 50kB, resolution: 1368x768 pixels)
Among the CROWZ features
- CROWZ-welcome, a GUI/command line hybrid that pops up on after booting (or that can be run from the command line) that allows you to check updates, add LibreOffice, install Chrome or Chromium, and to add a couple of command line apps, including the Poor Man's Radio Player. Plus, there is the ability to add development tools such as version control software.
- CROWZ-welcome provides access to CUPS and printing, which doesn't come with the installation. The option adds the basic printer GUI, as well as offering access to CUPS via localhost. This is the only other annoyance; sometimes it detected the Canon MX920 on my home network, and sometimes I had to go through the entire, brain crushing, adding a printer process.
- An Applications folder within PCManFM, with sub-folders for Accessories, Games, and so forth for those who want a more traditional menu. Know that, for the live version, the installation icon is in the System Tools sub-folder under Applications (and the password to launch it is "live" (one of the few bits of necessary information in the documentation).
- Laptop support. CROWZ-welcome says the distro doesn't support laptops, though I didn't notice any particular difference. But it does offer the option of adding ACPI support, as well as the Xfce power manager.
CROWZ 5.0 -- A chance to view the release notes
(full image size: 21kB, resolution: 1368x768 pixels)
Lots of choices
The software assortment is more than thorough, which shouldn't be surprising given the distro's intentions. They include FileZilla (version 3.63), which doesn't crop up much on the distros I work with; GParted; the Mousepad text editor; the Mirage image viewer; Atri document viewer; and DeaDBeeF for music, Parole for videos, and MPV for good measure. I especially liked the addition of a LXTerminal launcher which opens the terminal as root, and (of course) there are two other terminals.
If you want an e-mail app, you'll have to add one via Synaptic, though I imagine the typical CROWZ user doesn't much care (or runs Mutt). The only other thing lacking are icons, themes, and wallpapers. The handful that are included are mostly various shades of dark, and adding anything lighter from Synaptic and then substituting for what's there messes with the screen equilibrium. It sort of looks OK, but that's about it. But again, I don't think theming is the point of what the distro's developers are trying to do.
Finally, a word about Devuan and how it works here. I'm neutral on the init controversy. Yes, systemd seems like an attempt to solve a problem that doesn't exist, but as long as it does what it's supposed to do, I'd rather worry about other Linux and FOSS issues. Having said that, I didn't notice any difference between how the Devuan base ran in the background here and the Debian-based systemd distros I normally use.
In the end, CROWZ does what so many try to accomplish but don't quite deliver - a quality effort from what seems to be just a handful of developers. Would that this happened more often.
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Hardware used for this review
My physical test equipment for this review was an Asus UX31A laptop with the following specifications:
- Processor: Intel Core i5-3317U, 1.7GHz
- Storage: 128GB SSD
- Memory: 4GB of RAM
- Networking: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless
- Display: Integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000
When he is not testing out new versions of Linux distributions, Jeff Siegel can be found writing about all things related to wine at WineCurmudgeon.com.
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Visitor supplied rating
CROWZ has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8.1/10 from 17 review(s).
Have you used CROWZ? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Linux Mint updates Edge media and addresses theme issues with some GTK apps, Murena begins crowdfunding a privacy-focused phone, Linux distributions patch glibc vulnerability
The Linux Mint team have published new "Edge" ISO files for the Linux Mint 21.2 series. The Edge media provides updated software, in particularly a newer kernel is offered for improved hardware support. "This is a quick announcement to let you know an Edge ISO image is now available for Linux Mint 21.2. This image is made for people whose hardware is too new to boot the 5.15 LTS kernel included in Linux Mint 21.x. It ships with kernel 6.2 instead. For information on Edge ISO images visit https://linuxmint-user-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/edge.html. Note: This ISO also brings back support for Secure Boot."
The Mint team also published their monthly newsletter which provides an overview of changes to the distribution. One of the items mentioned is dealing with breaking updates in a few GTK applications. "While working on LMDE 6 we came across applications written with GTK4/libAdwaita. These applications are designed for GNOME only and do not support themes. This makes them look different than all other apps and out of place within the desktop. We solved this issue in LMDE 6 by removing one of them and downgrading the other apps back to their GTK3 versions. Going forward we'll need to come up with a decision on how to handle this long-term. This is something that will need to be done in preparation for Linux Mint 22."
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Murena, an organization which develops a de-Googled branch of Android called /e/OS, has announced the development of a new device with enhanced privacy features. The new device, called the Murena 2 (or Murena Two), ships with the usual collection of privacy features other Murena phones provide. These include privacy ratings for applications, widgets to hide the user's location and IP address, and the ability to block commonly used trackers in apps.
The new device's key feature is a set of physical privacy switches - one which will turn off the camera and microphone, and another which will disable networking, audio, and GPS. "Privacy shouldn't be a complication. It needs to be accessible for everyone. The Privacy switch allows you to control your microphones and cameras directly, with only an action from your finger! Move it down and your cameras and microphones are switched off and move it up to turn them back on. Not only is this a convenient and swift way to increase your privacy, but also a solid guarantee that your life is not being snooped around anymore." The Murena Two can be pre-ordered on Kickstarter.
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The Debian team have announced the availability of new install media for Debian version 11 and version 12. The new media includes bug fixes for packages which have been discovered and patched since the original release. "The Debian project is pleased to announce the second update of its stable distribution Debian 12 (codename bookworm). This point release mainly adds corrections for security issues, along with a few adjustments for serious problems. Security advisories have already been published separately and are referenced where available. Please note that the point release does not constitute a new version of Debian 12 but only updates some of the packages included."
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This past week a number of news sites covered an overview of a severe security issue in the glibc software. This library is a common component across most Linux distributions and the discovered flaw could result in an attacker being able to run programs as the root user. Cyber Kendra reports: "The vulnerability was introduced in glibc version 2.34 released in April 2021. The Qualys researchers discovered that by overwriting a specific function pointer in memory, they could control the ld.so loader's library search path and force it to load a malicious shared library under their control. This library can then execute arbitrary code with the privileges of any setuid or setgid binary on the system." The vulnerability worked on Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu and is expected to work on most mainstream distributions. Projects such as Alpine Linux, which run alternative C libraries, like musl, are not affected. Most projects have patched glibc and recommend users update their systems with the new fix using their distribution's package manager.
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These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Changing default directory locations
Finding-a-new-place-for-everything asks: How do I go about changing the default location for where things are saved? All my applications default to opening Downloads or Documents, but I want to organize stuff in a different folder.
DistroWatch answers: Depending on whether you want to use the Documents and Downloads directories for other things or not, there are at least two fairly easy approaches you can take.
Let's say that you want to keep the Documents and Downloads directories (and their contents), but just do not want them to be the default location for opening and saving files. You can change the default locations most applications use by opening the file ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs in a text editor. Here you will see a list of variable names and corresponding locations. It looks like this:
XDG_DESKTOP_DIR="$HOME/Desktop"
XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR="$HOME/Downloads"
XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR="$HOME/Documents"
Here we see the default locations for the desktop, download directory, and documents. Changing the path name on the right side of the equals sign (=) will change the default location for files and applications. Let's say I want to store new items I downloaded through my web browser in a directory called WebStuff, I could change the above entries as follows:
XDG_DESKTOP_DIR="$HOME/Desktop"
XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR="$HOME/WebStuff"
XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR="$HOME/Documents"
Then I would save the ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs text file and, in the future, applications would treat "WebStuff" as my default place for saving downloaded files.
Earlier I mentioned another approach we can use. If you do not want to keep the default directories, we can delete them and replace them with symbolic links to new locations. For example, here I create the "WebStuff" directory and move my downloads to it. Then I delete the Downloads directory and replace it with a link to the new location. This makes applications treat Downloads and WebStuff as if they were the same location.
mkdir ~/WebStuff
mv ~/Downloads/* ~/WebStuff/
rmdir ~/Downloads
ln -s ~/WebStuff ~/Downloads
The first approach is probably the more proper, clean way to do things. However, either should work equally well from the point of view of your desktop applications and where they store files.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
SpiralLinux 12.231001
SpiralLinux is a selection of desktop spins built from Debian, with a focus on simplicity and out-of-the-box usability across all the major desktop environments. The project's latest release focuses on audio output, touchpad input, and placing reasonable limits on Btrfs snapshots. "For this release all editions of SpiralLinux are now using PipeWire with a proper out-of-the-box configuration for low-latency (5.3ms by default) JACK-compatible live audio applications, even on standard consumer hardware. The default configuration is unique to SpiralLinux and includes overrides to the default PipeWire configuration as well as a number of low-level system tweaks as recommended by rtcqs. This makes SpiralLinux an excellent base system for professional live audio production JACK workflows while simultaneously offering compatibility with normal PulseAudio consumer applications. To take full advantage of the low-latency JACK compatibility simply run 'sudo systemctl enable cpupower' to enable the optimal performance CPU governor." Additional details can be found in the release notes.
SpiralLinux 12.231001 -- Running the KDE Plasma desktop
(full image size: 1.9MB, resolution: 1920x1200 pixels)
elementary OS 7.1
elementary OS is an Ubuntu-based distribution which features the Pantheon desktop environment. The project has updated its 7.x series, code name "Horus", with a number of new features and improvements. One focus of the new 7.1 release is privacy: "Today, we're proud to announce that OS 7.1 is available to download now and shipping on several high-quality computers. This release represents the sum of our work over the last several months as a single major update to the OS 7 series and includes all of the monthly OS updates we've detailed since the OS 7 release. One of the most prevalent problems we face in our current digital lives is the violation of our privacy and the lack of consent when interacting with our devices each day. Portals seek to provide a safe and consensual way for apps to interact with the operating system and ensure that they only get access to the data and features that you want them to. One of the ways that apps may become intrusive is by automatically starting themselves or running in the background without your permission. In OS 7.1, we now provide the Background & Autostart Portal which alerts you when apps are running in the background and makes sure that apps ask your permission before they can automatically start up when you turn on your device." Additional details are provided in the project's release announcement.
Slax 15.0.3, 12.1.0
Tomáš Matějíček has released two updated builds of Slax, the project's minimalist, Slackware- and Debian-based live distributions: "I am thrilled to introduce the newest version of Slax, your only pocket operating system. This update is available for both of its bases: one that's built on Debian (version 12.1) and the other one on Slackware (version 15.0.2-current). One of the most notable enhancements of this release is the improved session handling, especially when running Slax from writable devices, like USB drives or hard disks. In the past, Slax didn't offer an easy method to manage multiple sessions. All modifications were simply stored in the /slax/changes directory, providing just one session in general. However, with this update, you can now maintain multiple sessions. Each session is neatly saved in its own subdirectory within /slax/changes/. At boot time, you are presented with options: you can either start a new session, resume a previous one, or select a session of your choice from a menu." The release announcement offers a full list of new features and enhancements.
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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: 2,911
- Total data uploaded: 43.6TB
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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 like the idea of using a smart phone with hardware privacy switches?
In our News section we talked about Murena's upcoming privacy-focused phone which features two hardware switches. These switches will block audio/video listening and electronic emissions, respectively. What do you think about using a phone with privacy switches? Let us know if you've used a phone with privacy switches in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on using the Reiser filesystem (ReiserFS) in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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When it comes to using a phone with hardware privacy switches...
| I have used one and liked it: | 66 (5%) |
| I have used one and did not like it: | 8 (1%) |
| I would like to use one: | 822 (66%) |
| I would not like to use one: | 112 (9%) |
| Undecided: | 229 (19%) |
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|
| Website News |
Wednesday's network disruption
A few people wrote to us on Wednesday of this past week indicating they were unable to access the DistroWatch website and wondering if there was a problem or if we were blocking ranges of IP addresses. What had happened was a problem occurred with some of our DNS records for DistroWatch.com (DistroWatch.org, which points to this same website, was unaffected).
This was an unusual situation in that everything on our web server was running fine, but traffic was getting directed to the wrong place for a little while and not reaching us. We quickly contacted the proper people and got our DNS records restored to working order. However, these things take time to propagate throughout the Internet and get around to all the ISPs. So, for some people, the fix was almost immediate while for the others the fix took several hours.
We'd like to thank the people who reported the issue and appreciate everyone's patience while we waited for the various service providers to update their records. Your assistance and understanding were very helpful.
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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, 16 October 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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| Archives |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
TrueBSD
TrueBSD was a general purpose live media based on FreeBSD. It includes Xfce and Ion window managers, media players and codecs, several server applications, and other useful tools.
Status: Discontinued
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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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