DistroWatch Weekly |
DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 1043, 30 October 2023 |
Welcome to this year's 44th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Most of us are familiar with the concept of updating software installed on our devices, whether they are workstations, laptops, or mobile phones. Fetching new versions of programs is a common, almost daily occurrence for some of us. However, few of us ponder what happens to the old versions of programs which are no longer needed. Are they erased, kept in archives, or overwritten? This week, in our Questions and Answers column, we talk about what happens to old versions of packages when updates are installed. A lot of desktop packages are assembled using software toolkits, libraries of code that help developers create applications more quickly. Different toolkits tend to result in slightly different styles of applications and different features. Does the toolkit used to build an application make it more or less appealing to you? Let us know what you think in the Opinion Poll.
We begin this week with a Feature Story about the new Murena Two, a smart phone which offers hardware switches for enabling privacy. The phone offers two switches to help users quickly disable phone features and we cover how these work below. We continue our discussion of mobile devices in our News section as UBports - an open source, GNU/Linux distribution for mobile platforms - is being offered as a pre-installed option on a range of Volla phones. We also talk about Peppermint OS building a new, ARM-powered edition based on Devuan while the Linux Foundation talks about versions of the Linux kernel which will receive ten years of support. The Linux Mint monthly newsletter provided some interesting updates for beta testers and we cover the highlights. Plus we are pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. Finally, we would like to thank everyone who sent in donations this month, your support is always appreciated. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
This week's DistroWatch Weekly is presented by TUXEDO Computers.
Content:
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Feature Story (By Jesse Smith) |
The Murena Two with privacy switches
Murena is an organization which develops and distributes an open source operating system which takes Android and strips away the Google components, replacing them with privacy-focused alternatives. Open source applications and Nextcloud-based services are generally offered in place of Google's proprietary defaults.
Murena not only provides operating system images which can be installed on many Android phones, the organization also sells mobile devices with its /e/OS operating system pre-installed. I've shared my experiences with two of these custom devices in the recent past, writing about the Murena One and the repairable Fairphone 4.
The latest device in the growing Murena line-up is the Murena Two. This device appears to be an overall upgrade to the Murena One phone, with one intriguing new feature: hardware privacy switches. I received an early model of the new Murena Two and was intrigued to see how the switches would work in practise.
The hardware
The box my phone arrived in contained the Murena Two device, a pin for opening the dual-bay SIM slot, a phone case, and a USB-C to USB-C cable. When I took the phone out of the box I noticed the power button and the volume controls are both on the right side of the display.
There are two small hardware switches on the sides of the phone (one on each side of the screen), near the top of the device. One switch, the one to the left of the display, toggles the camera and microphone on/off. The second switch toggles airplane mode and do-not-disturb functions. I'll come back to talk about these switches later.
The phone sports an 8-core ARM CPU running at about 2.1GHz along with 8GB of RAM. The device has 128GB of internal storage and can gain more via a microSD card. The display is approximately 6.4-inches across (1080x2400 pixels) and weighs just 182g. There are two sets of cameras, a rear-facing 64 megapixel camera and a face-facing 25 megapixel camera.
The device supports many network types, including VoLTE, 4G, 3G, and 2G networks. This allows it to function with most North American networks and, I believe, a range of European networks as well. Additional information on the phone's hardware can be found in the device specifications.
Murena Two running /e/OS 1.15 -- The privacy switch on the right side of the phone
(full image size: 4.5MB, resolution: 3575x1199 pixels)
Initial impressions
I talked about the process of setting up and using key features of Murena's /e/OS in the past on the Murena One and the Fairphone 4, so I will skip over the features common across all three devices to focus on the key component of the Murena Two: hardware privacy switches.
Hardware privacy switches
There are, as I mentioned, two hardware switches on the Murena Two to help us protect our privacy. I am not aware of any official name for them and eventually came to think of these as the Input and Output privacy switches. The first switch (the one I mentally labelled Input) toggles the microphone and camera on/off. The Output switch silences the phone (electronically and audibly). The Output privacy switch places the phone in airplane mode, enables do-not-disturb, and silences audio output.
Something I appreciate about the Input switch is that it effectively mutes the microphone and blinds the camera, but doesn't cause applications using these bits of hardware to malfunction. For instance, if I click the Input switch while making a voice memo, the app continues to record, it just records silence. When operating the camera app, hitting the Input switch will prevent a photo or video from being taken, but it doesn't crash the app. I found toggling Input back on and then switching the camera view (between front/back) or switching between camera and video modes would cause the camera app to pick up where it left off.
In other words, the Input switch works and it doesn't cause any nasty behaviour in software utilities when we use it. From the software's perspective, the microphone and camera still exist, they just aren't providing any new data.
The second switch, the one I think of as Output, works a little differently. When the Input switch is toggled it physically blocks the use of the camera and microphone, there isn't anything the phone's software can do about it until the switch is toggled again. The Output switch takes a different approach and works with the software settings rather than overriding the software.
The Output switch basically causes airplane mode and do-not-disturb mode to be enabled while the audio is muted. These settings can be toggled in the Settings panel too, individually. The hardware switch acts as another way (a shortcut) to turn airplane and do-not-disturb modes on/off, but it doesn't override the software settings. This means I can turn on airplane mode with the hardware switch and turn it off in the settings panel. Alternatively, I can turn on do-not-disturb in the settings panel and later disable it with the hardware switch.
This approach of using the hardware switch to acting as a shortcut to toggling key features on/off alongside the software options rather than overriding the software settings is unusual and not how privacy switches typically work on other devices I've tried in the past, such as the PinePhone. I asked Murena about this and founder Gaël Duval replied with a response that the team plans to make it possible to use the Output switch for a variety of purposes. This may include an option for the user to customize its function. He wrote:
The other physical switch triggers software actions. In our case we have chosen to make it disable network and sound. This can be overridden by the user in /e/OS. We are still working to improve this, so that the state of airplane mode and sound in the OS will be strictly bound to the switch position. But it's not finished yet and we don't think it's a big problem: this button is set to a software action that, in all cases, is triggered by the user (button or on screen). We're also planning to offer customization options to the user for the second button, to let him chose to trigger other software actions.
Other privacy options
Along with the new hardware switches on the Murena Two, the device also features three software privacy switches. I've talked about these in the past, but I feel they are worth mentioning again in this context. On the phone's widget screen (to the left of the home screen) there is a widget which contains three toggle switches. These are labelled: Tracking, Location, and Real IP Address.
The first toggle is enabled by default and tries to prevent trackers in apps from reporting home. For example, after I used the web browser the security module reported there had been multiple attempts by the browser to send information to Google's tracking servers which were blocked.
Murena Two running /e/OS 1.15 -- The privacy widget
(full image size: 165kB, resolution: 1080x2400 pixels)
The second switch toggles spoofing our location. This causes applications and widgets which want to discover our location to be given a false position. This plays havoc with weather and GPS apps, but might be helpful if you want to mislead an application as to where you are.
The third switch toggles whether to route traffic through a virtual private network (VPN). This hides our IP address and makes it look like we're connected to the Internet from another location.
Other observations
The Murena Two model I was testing ships with /e/OS 1.15 which is based on Android 13. Its software centre connects to both the Google Play application store and the F-Droid open source software repository.
This device doesn't charge wirelessly, but does charge quickly when plugged into a power source or my workstation using a USB-C cable.
When the phone is powered off and plugged in a battery icon appears on the screen, along with a message which says "Your device has been unlocked and can't be trusted. Your device will boot in 5 seconds." Device does not boot though, unless we press power button. When I asked about this, a spokesperson for Murena said it was due to my device being an early demo model and this message will not appear in the final product:
This evaluation unit has an unlocked boot loader. This will be updated and corrected for launch. This translates to the Mediatek screen upon startup. It is called the Orange state. This will be addressed by launch. As the phone boot loader will be locked, this screen will not be there any longer.
Conclusions
The Murena Two device takes the existing platform offered by Murena and takes it one step further. The organization already provided a de-Googled, mobile operating system which is compatible with the rest of the Android ecosystem. Murena also already provided cloud-based services based on open source technology and it offers software widgets to improve privacy on its mobile devices. People running /e/OS also benefit from having direct access to the F-Droid repository and anonymous access to Google's Play store. All of these features make Murena devices appealing from a security and privacy perspective.
The new Murena Two moves us one step forward in the evolution with hardware switches. Now we can quickly kill audio-visual input to the camera and microphone. Now we can instantly kill outgoing audio and electronic transmissions using the second switch. If I want to bring sound, tracking, or GPS signals to a suddenly stop, it's a flick of a switch away.
Something I particularly like about the new Murena Two over some other devices, such as the PinePhone, is the Murena hardware switches are on the outside of the case. When I tested the PinePhone I had to take the cover off the back of the device and use a small tool to adjust the privacy switches. With the Two the switches can be flicked using my finger or thumb without interrupting what I'm doing and while the device is still running.
This is a small, though interesting step forward. It sounds as though there are plans to add more functionality and the ability to customize the behaviour of the phone's switches in future operating system updates. I think this is good because it's making privacy more accessible to non-technical users and doing so while leveraging the existing Android software ecosystem. This makes the Two more attractive and easier to switch to for most users compared to other privacy and security oriented efforts like Manjaro's mobile operating system or UBports.
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Visitor supplied rating
Murena has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8.7/10 from 18 review(s).
Have you used Murena? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
UBports shipping on Volla devices, Peppermint releases new ARM-powered build, Linux kernels with ten years of support offered, Mint tests Wayland support for Cinnamon
It is not always easy to find mobile devices with GNU/Linux distributions pre-installed on them, as opposed to a flavour of Android. This is especially true when people are hoping to find a device which ships with a GNU/Linux community project such as UBports. The UBports team has partnered with Volla Phone in order to offer the open source distribution pre-installed on some Volla devices. The UBports newsletter mentions this partnership briefly: "Volla Phone are one of our long time sponsors and they are offering a chance to win a Volla 22. In addition they are donating €10 to UBports for every phone sold with UT pre-installed." Volla phone models which ship with UBports can be found in the company's shop.
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The Peppermint OS team have expanded their series of editions, this time publishing install media for ARM processors. The new edition is built upon the Devuan distribution and features the Xfce desktop. "Finally we have released our Devuan ARM, build for those in the in the community who wish to be systemd-free, with your ARM architecture." All Peppermint OS builds, including the new ARM-powered editions, can be found on the project's download page.
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The Linux Foundation has announced that there is now a long-term support (LTS) branch of the Linux kernel for version 6.1. The Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP) supports key versions of the Linux kernel for ten years (regular LTS versions of Linux receive two years of support). "While regular LTS kernels are moving back to 2 years maintenance, CIP kernels are set up for 10 years. In order to enable this extended lifetime, CIP kernels are scoped-down in actively supported kernel features and target architecture. At the same time, CIP kernels accept non-invasive backports from newer mainline kernels that enable new hardware."
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The Linux Mint project published its monthly newsletter for October which introduced some new features along with channels for beta testers to try. The new features include easy access to beta packages (in a repository called Romeo) and marking channels in the Hypnotix video streaming application as favourites. The developers are also testing Wayland support for Cinnamon. "The work started on Wayland. As mentioned earlier this year, this was identified as one of the major challenges our project had to tackle in the mid to long term. Priority had been given to ISO tools and Secure Boot over new features for 21.3 already, we felt it was time to invest some resources into Wayland as well. We don't expect it to replace Xorg as default any time soon, not in 21.3, not in 22.x, but we want to be ready all the same. Cinnamon 6.0, planned for Mint 21.3 this year, will feature experimental Wayland support. You'll be able to select between Cinnamon (the default session, running on Xorg) and Cinnamon on Wayland from the login screen." Progress and known issues with the Wayland session will be tracked on the Cinnamon Wayland Trello page.
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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) |
Where do files go once they have been updated?
Whither-the-files asks: How does Linux determine what file, or files, are installed during the download/update process? In other words, does Linux install files that are not in use immediately and then install those files that are in use during a reboot?
Also, what happens to the old files, are they saved in a hidden directory or removed from the system entirely? In the case of openSUSE Tumbleweed, I'm guessing that they are saved in a hidden directory for use later in the case of a rollback.
DistroWatch answers:
What you are describing - the fetching, updating, and replacement of files - is the behaviour of a package manager. The various package managers handle things slightly differently. However, what typically happens is new downloaded packages (which are archives - files which contains multiple files) are unpacked and the files inside the archives are installed on the system immediately, overwriting or replacing the old copies of the files.
Typically each package contains a manifest which tells the package manager where its files should be placed on our system. This allows the package manager to check to see if it needs to remove any old files, create new ones, or replace existing files.
Unless you're using an immutable filesystem, or Fedora Workstation, updates typically don't wait for a reboot before they are applied. The package manager usually overwrites the old copy of your software right away. This is okay because any open programs are running in your computer's memory and are not affected by their executable file being changed on the disk.
Typically, old versions of files are simply erased or overwritten during the update process. As far as I know, no package managers use hidden directories to store old copies of files or packages. So how do rollback operations happen?
openSUSE supplies rollbacks through Btr filesystem snapshots. The old versions of files are not kept in a separate directory, they're in another version of the filesystem. Put another way, the old file is still on the disk, it just isn't visible to the user without accessing the old snapshot. Old snapshots can be browsed using a special utility which knows how to explore Btrfs snapshots. On openSUSE the tool to do this is called Snapper while on Linux Mint it's typically Timeshift.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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Released Last Week |
TrueNAS 23.10.0 "SCALE"
Pee Jay Latombo has announced the availability of TrueNAS SCALE 23.10, a major new update of iXsystems's specialist, Debian-based distribution providing NAS (network-attached storage) solutions. This release delivers Linux kernel 6.1 and the brand-new OpenZFS 2.2 file system, among many other improvements: "TrueNAS SCALE 23.10 'Cobia' is here. Now available for download, it is the third major release of TrueNAS SCALE. Each major release of TrueNAS SCALE has delivered improvements in quality, functionality, security, and performance. Along the way, TrueNAS SCALE has grown from 4,000 to more than 80,000 Linux-based systems in less than two years, an astronomical 400% annual growth rate. The TrueNAS SCALE 23.10.0 release version includes another 200 bug fixes and is feature-complete. The highlights of 23.10 include: Linux kernel 6.1 and improved hardware support; NVIDIA 535.54.03 driver updates; Netdata backend stats collection; scale up to 1,200 drives and 25 PB+ on a single system; improved apps UI; improved storage pool UI; simplified feedback and bug reporting; ZFS and performance improvements; OpenZFS 2.2 with many iXsystems contributions...." See the release announcement and the release notes for further details.
GhostBSD 23.10.1
GhostBSD is a FreeBSD-based operating system with a focus on desktop computing. The project's latest release introduces a kernel update and a number of networking improvements, along with minor changes. "This version might look odd from previous releases, but it is correct. After more thought into it, the base OS is not updated as much as the software packages. So, I decided to change the release version back to a static one instead of changing it on each software package update. Software packages will be updated as often as possible, like before, and if there are significant issues, changes, or security issues before 24.01.1, a 23.10.2 release will be created. See the roadmap for future releases. In this release, the FreeBSD base system and kernel have been updated to 1302508, and it contains software updates, some improvements to Update Station, and new features to NetworkMgr. Also, os-generic-userland-devtools has been removed from the default installation to downsize the live system image." The release announcement offers additional details.
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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: 2,920
- Total data uploaded: 43.7TB
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Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Summary of expected upcoming releases
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Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
When selecting which applications to run, does the underlying toolkit matter?
Most graphical desktop applications are constructed with the help of a set of software libraries called toolkits. Typically Linux applications can constructed with either the GTK or Qt toolkits, though a handful of other options exist. The toolkit used to make an application will often affect the program's style and theme handling.
When you are selecting an application to perform a task, do you give any preference to which toolkit it was made with? Let us know why you prefer a specific toolkit in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on laptop battery life in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Do you favour applications which use a specific toolkit?
Yes - GTK: | 533 (35%) |
Yes - Qt: | 362 (24%) |
Yes - Other: | 29 (2%) |
No: | 581 (39%) |
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Website News |
Donations and Sponsors
Each month we receive support and kindness from our readers in the form of donations. These donations help us keep the web server running, pay contributors, and keep infrastructure like our torrent seed box running. We'd like to thank our generous readers and acknowledge how much their contributions mean to us.
This month we're grateful for the $266 in contributions from the following kind souls:
Donor |
Amount |
Roland B | $100 |
Alan M | $50 |
J S | $50 |
Peter R | $15 |
Jonathon B | $10 |
Sam C | $10 |
Chung T | $5 |
Darkeugene7896 | $5 |
DuCakedHare | $5 |
Skye F | $3 |
Ross M | $3 |
J.D. L | $2 |
PB C | $2 |
Peter M | $2 |
c6WWldo9 | $1 |
Stephen M | $1 |
Shasheen E | $1 |
William E | $1 |
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New distributions added to waiting list
- Tux N Mix. Tux N Mix is a Manjaro-based Linux distribution which features the Cinnamon desktop. The distribution includes tools for graphic creation, music production and video editing. PipeWire and JACK sound systems are offered.
- Advanced DHCP Server Live CD. The Advanced DHCP Server Live CD distribution provides DHCP server services for multiple networks with advanced features. It uses Puppy and Ubuntu as its base.
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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, 6 November 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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Tip Jar |
If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip. (Tips this week: 2, value: US$29.30) |
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Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
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Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Does the underlying toolkit matter? (by Guido on 2023-10-30 01:16:57 GMT from Philippines)
On a GTK desktop like Gnome, Mate, Cinnamon or Xfce I would only install GTK applications (if possible), whereas with KDE or LXQt it would be Qt applications. This makes everything look more uniform. However, the different versions of GTK and Qt are an aesthetic problem.
2 • murena ubports (by Guest1029 on 2023-10-30 01:24:53 GMT from United States)
I would like to boot several mobile operating systems without having to install, incl. murena ubports or some tiny linux family OS, to give a test run, from ventoy on sdcard inside my rooted phone or tablet, but idk if this kind of generic support exists. Anyone know? Anyone know if we are headed that way? It'd be awesome to do what I already do on my laptop
3 • GhostBSD Network Manager (by InvisibleInk on 2023-10-30 01:35:00 GMT from United States)
GhostBSD is great; I'm a fan.
In spite of adding static IP addressing and DNS servers, the Network Manager is still worlds behind in features compared to the Network Manager of any Linux desktop. So Eric really has his work cut out and could use any help here.
4 • GTK (by Friar Tux on 2023-10-30 02:13:30 GMT from Canada)
Just a question regarding GTK. When I joined Linux I always referred to GTK as the Gnome Tool Kit (due to its association with Gnome). I recently found out it is actually called the Gimp Tool Kit. Why is that?
5 • GTK (by Jesse on 2023-10-30 02:20:06 GMT from Canada)
@4: If you want to know the history of the GTK software, I recommend the History section of its Wikipedia articke: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTK#History
Basically, GTK was called the GIMP Toolkit because it was originally used in the development of the GIMP application.
6 • GhostBSD (by Albert on 2023-10-30 02:23:50 GMT from United States)
Today was the first time I could connect to the internet using a member of the BSD systems -GhostBSD 23.10.1- on an USB stick in live mode. Up until now I had to install GhostBSD on virtualbox if I wanted it to have an internet connection.
I hope this notable project can continue to exist for a long time. (I am not in a position to be able to donate to it -at least for the time being. This fact makes me feel really frustrated.)
7 • GTK (by JeffC on 2023-10-30 02:41:47 GMT from United States)
From what I have seen GTK 1 was the GIMP Tool Kit GTK 2 / 3 /4 are the GNOME Tool Kit or at least that is how the GNOME developers treat it, as their private property.
Why do I capitalize GNOME? Because it is actually an acronym for GNU Network Object Model Environment.
8 • Toolkits (by Albert on 2023-10-30 02:42:27 GMT from United States)
As for the toolkit subject, I don't care too much about this. I only want the application to work with the given DE -which is what usually happens.
9 • agree on toolkits (by Nigel on 2023-10-30 03:42:10 GMT from New Zealand)
Much like @8 I don't care what an application was built with as long as it does the job as intended. It is nice of course if it fits in with the desktop's aesthetic, apps that don't will stand out. What I do care about is that function does not get broken with updates.
10 • GTK (by Friar Tux on 2023-10-30 04:47:13 GMT from Canada)
@5 (Jesse), @7 (JeffC)... Thanx, guys, Great info. Also didn't realize that GNOME was an acronym. I figured it was just the name they picked - like Cinnamon, or Mate. Good to know - maybe I'll spell it right from now on.
11 • GIMP Toolkit(Mattis) (by Tran Older on 2023-10-30 06:38:05 GMT from Vietnam)
An interview with the authors of GIMP and GTk : https://web.archive.org/web/19990417052141/http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1999-01/lw-01-gimp.html
12 • Murena 2 unlocked bootloader (by Anamezon on 2023-10-30 09:53:29 GMT from Finland)
" a spokesperson for Murena said it was due to my device being an early demo model and this message will not appear in the final product: This evaluation unit has an unlocked boot loader. This will be updated and corrected for launch...."
on the contrary, this feature is an ASSET and should not be "corrected", considering that most, if not all, buyers of this line of phones are in the habit of tweaking their devices, which works best if the bootloader is unlocked ...
13 • toolkits (by harbl on 2023-10-30 10:24:54 GMT from Philippines)
My DE of choice is Cinnamon but I don't really pick software based on what toolkit it uses. What I'm more concerned about is the toolkits being able to maintain or coordinate a uniform look between them. Currently, GTK4 and Qt6 apps don't follow my setting to default to dark theme, even though GTK3 and Qt5 apps do. I hope this kink gets ironed out soon.
14 • Toolkits (by James on 2023-10-30 10:35:09 GMT from United States)
My desktop is Mate, so I have mostly GTK. Given a choice in the repository between GTK and Qt I will always pick GTK. But if the application only has Qt and I need it, I would then use Qt.
15 • The Murena Two with privacy switches (by Geo. on 2023-10-30 13:25:31 GMT from Canada)
Thank you, Jesse, for that thorough review. Thank you Murena for the /e/OS and for fighting the good fight. 📴
16 • Underlying Toolkit (by buckyogi on 2023-10-30 13:48:29 GMT from United States)
For individual applications I prefer Qt but use some GTK. I did choose KDE Plasma as my DE because it is Qt.
17 • Several distro's with same mistake (by Jan on 2023-10-30 14:03:26 GMT from Netherlands)
I have fiddled with different distro's, all with the same error, which made them unusable for my hardware situation. That is why I post it here in the hope that the suppliers do something to it.
I have a notebook with damaged keyboard and defect display, connected to an external monitor and an USB-keybord. I have specified in the BIOS to connect at PC-starting immediately to the external monitor.
After installing a Linux-distro, the password-screen is plopped to the notebook-display (which I found out by shining a flash-light to the notebook-screen). So on the external monitor nothing is dsipayed. Or sometimes the password-screen is displayed on the external monitor, but after giving the data, the external monitor goes blank (probably going back to the defect notebook-screen).
This problem occured at all tested distro's, except PCLinuxOS.
18 • Did I miss something???? (by tom joad on 2023-10-30 14:53:10 GMT from Netherlands)
First, I have successfully replaced both keyboards and screens in a few laptops. That is laptop specific, I know, but it can be done. When I had an extended warrantee I watched dutifully as a 'pro' did the same. Installation of replacements of keyboards and screens is doable.
No, it is not easy but it can and has been done by many I would guess.
A much bigger issue would be finding the correct parts for your laptop.
Or consider upgrading your equipment. That has some constraints I realize but it is easiest to do.
Maybe Jesse has a solution. Then again, maybe, just maybe your equipment may also be causing the problem.
Last asking that Linux OS producers to produce a solution to fix your issue with failing equipment is a bit much. I hope that doesn't chafe but it might. Sorry. Asking that would be like killing one ant with a very big sledge hammer.
19 • Toolkits (by Robert on 2023-10-30 15:23:55 GMT from United States)
I tend to favor qt applications where possible, for a few reasons.
One is just habit and familiarity. I used KDE or a long time so I know the applications better.
Second is I usually prefer the look, though that is really minor
And last is because gtk apps are usually targeted for. Gnome and therefore have screwy UIs that are hard to use, and often hide basic functionality when they include it at all.
20 • re.17&18 (by Someguy on 2023-10-30 15:26:05 GMT from United Kingdom)
Screen: sometimes only one USB socket will accept external monitor as default - try them all. Notwithstanding, the physical aspect of screen connections can be ubiquitous: open up and hard wire across the screen connections. Of course, still need substitute screen wired to power. Risky trying to replace screen with alleged 'identical' or worse 'similar' item. Keyboard: load up 'Onboard' or 'Onscreen' virtual k/b. Available for d/l if not already in menu - all machines/all distros. K/b repairs rarely ever successful, even if you have the patience, pot of glue and bottle of silver paint. Additionally, very difficult to find an identical unit - they like to make changes regularly to even alleged pin-compatible replacements! Built in obsolescence is the name of the game just like TVs, fridges, washing machines - you name it.
21 • Toolkit (by John on 2023-10-30 16:44:45 GMT from Canada)
I prefer Motif, only because it is very portable, there are a couple of others too but they date back quite awhile.
Seems these days, the only toolkits being used are GTK and QT, which have some portability issues but also, at least to me, dependency problems to. I think QT is a bit better in that regard.
22 • Several distro's with same mistake @18 @20 (by Jan on 2023-10-30 17:02:10 GMT from Netherlands)
I think it is a Linux-system mistake, PCLinuxOS seemed not to have this problem (a systemd-free Linux, but had a FF-display-problem (my monitor in portait mode)).
By the way: a few installations on my dual-core P8400 and P8600 succeeded, my experience differs from the popular messagtes on DW. Ubuntu-gnome and Fedora-workstation had no usage-irritation points, Mint had. That suprised me. At the end each distro had unfavourable software limits, because of which I stopped with them.
23 • Toolkit (by Denethor on 2023-10-30 17:02:12 GMT from Greece)
I prefer QT. Mainly because the toolkit, as does KDE, uses less ram than GTK and GNOME. That is the current status at least. It used to be the other way around... Not to mention GNOME's developers arrogance and deliberate theme meddling with each version. My only problem is Firefox, but I don't want to use another browser. I wish they had successfully gone to QT, the were some attempts earlier.
24 • Toolkits (by Alan on 2023-10-30 18:03:15 GMT from United States)
GTK because it's clean and simple, and runs in Wayland without X.
25 • GhostBSD (by Otis on 2023-10-30 19:16:13 GMT from United States)
@6 Yes I'm of similar mind as you are with regard to this project. Eric is a BSD hero in my opinion as he moves this forward (at the pace he is able to do that). I check the GhostBSD site frequently for input in the forum area and also to see updates from the mirrors occurring often enough to signal that the project is alive and well. I urge Linux users to give this BSD distro a prolonged try (and to shoot as much funding in that direction as you can).
26 • Toolkits (by s20 on 2023-10-30 21:02:13 GMT from United States)
I always gravitate to GTK apps, preferably GTK4, because I'm a Gnome user. If I were on QT based desktop like KDE, I'd probably gravitate to QT stuff; that's unlikely to happen, since I've been an obsessed Gnomie since 3 dropped, but stiil.
27 • switches (by slippery slope on 2023-10-30 21:51:56 GMT from Germany)
Murena switches, like most, seem more like software switches, if they can be overidden by the software selections. It then has the problem of knowing which switch is which - in other words, which switch is on or off - and, hence, is the device on or off ?
The review also doesn't mention bluetooth - is that covered by the network switch or not ?
Murena's privacy app is good, but what would be better is an app that lists all the software selections that affect a device's on / off state - so that the user can see status at a glance, and can more effectively set a device on or off.
The murena data leakage graph is funny, though - does the user check in every now and then to see how much of their data is leaving the computer ?
28 • ...GUI Toolkits (by RoestVrijStaal on 2023-10-31 00:00:42 GMT from Netherlands)
In the end, you will find genuine freedom when you write and use your own GUI toolkit.
In that way you're not stuck with "popular" toolkits having developers with crooked, semi-hidden agendas which are not in your advantage of you nor in your advantage of your users. Qt/KDE pushing QML, GNOME/GTK pushing Vala and "uncustomizableness".
You do not have to code yourself a GUI direct on top of OpenGL like the devs of Blender did. But you want to use libraries like SDL, SFML or the like which provide a pproper foundation.
RoyalSloth's blog article "Sad state of cross platform GUI frameworks" https://blog.royalsloth.eu/posts/sad-state-of-cross-platform-gui-frameworks/ is still relevant nowadays. Sadly.
29 • More Annoyed by Toolkit Changes Limiting Theme Options (by joncr on 2023-10-31 11:15:43 GMT from United States)
What's more annoying for me as a user than coping with 2 GUI toolkits is new versions of a toolkit making it impossible to use themes written for an older version.
The case in point, is Gnome. Example: I liked the stock theme choice on Ubuntu 20.04, preferring the dark header bar with the light theme. This cannot be replicated on later versions because Gnome removed the ability for Yaru to do that. The same is apparent on Cinnamon and other interfaces. It's either all dark or or light.
30 • Toolkits (by kc1di on 2023-10-31 11:58:55 GMT from United States)
I marked qt in the survey, but use either one mostly QT because I use plasma DE most of the time. But if I need an app written in GTK I just install and use it. Most of them are quite compatible. Looks may be off a bit. But it does not usually bother me. Cheers and have fun!
31 • Gtk apps have become an uncooperative niche (by zinsuddu on 2023-10-31 13:27:02 GMT from United States)
I once preferred gtk apps but now they often don't even fit well into my xfce desktop because of the failure of some or most of them to provide proper menus or to allow the window manager to provide its own window decorations. Hamburger Menus and Fat Header Bars! On the other hand I've been discovering Qt apps fit in nicely everywhere.
32 • Toolkits (by joe on 2023-10-31 14:56:16 GMT from Netherlands)
I, as a developer, prefer gtk for the following reasons:
- It has been open source since its inception. - It is managed by a foundation (although RedHat has a significant influence on the toolkit). - It has a single license and no headaches to create an account/login. - It has several language bindings. - It has the GtkBuilder XML description format. - It is event-driven.
However, I must acknowledge that the gtk documentation is still confusing (although it has improved significantly in recent years), so I always refer to the documentation of gtkmm (https://gnome.pages.gitlab.gnome.org/gtkmm-documentation/index.html) and python GTK (https://python-gtk-3-tutorial.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) (https://pygobject.readthedocs.io/en/latest/).
To maintain simplicity and coherence, I prefer applications that use the gtk toolkit as well.
33 • GTK4 (by why-oh-why on 2023-10-31 16:13:48 GMT from Netherlands)
@29: The new versions of GTK toolkit do not make it impossible to change the colors, but the whole point of the changes is to prevent someone from using themes written for an older version. Making the header bar dark with the light theme is one code line.
https://postimg.cc/rDhBpLms
Avoiding the old mistake where the header bar was light for all applications of the light theme is the exact point of GTK4. Dark theme is always dark, but light theme is light only when the light window is more appropriate and dark whenever it has to be dark.
@31: Well, the actual idea behind the GTK4 was to improve that old and semi-functioning GUI design because hamburger menus, unlike "classic menus", work on all sorts of devices, and your GNOME device always looks the same, be it on the desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone.
In other words, change the device, and everything is there where your muscle memory expects it, like some here used to say. There is exactly zero learning curve needed when changing from one device to another or from one application to another (not yet so far, but soon).
34 • GTK4 doesnt improve, it forces (by MyNameDoesntMatter on 2023-10-31 16:36:57 GMT from Germany)
The argument for using hamburger menus may be true. But the BAD thing about GTK4 is that it tries to force the use of them, instead of providing the option to have the GUI as the user wants.
35 • GTK4 does it the right way (by why-oh-why on 2023-10-31 17:02:18 GMT from Netherlands)
@34 (by MyNameDoesntMatter from Germany)
"But the BAD thing about GTK4 is that it tries to force the use of them, instead of providing the option to have the GUI as the user wants."
It is absolutely impossible to produce one GUI that will satisfy all the wishes of all users, and if one were to succeed, it would get the settings menu as long as the Bible and turn into a catastrophe like KDE.
There is already too much half-functioning diversity, and nobody forces you to use GTK4. Linux needs something that works well for most users.
36 • Ooey GUIs (by Simon on 2023-11-01 05:47:15 GMT from New Zealand)
Currently I use GTK as much as possible, for consistency, despite hating GTK and the whole GNOME way of doing things. This is purely because the software I use (e.g. the XFCE environment, the GIMP, and so on) is mostly GTK-based. I have a few bits and pieces that require QT, and they're a nuisance despite being themed to look like GTK, because they don't behave quite the same way as GTK applications... but, I have to say, that's starting to feel like a bonus as GTK gets worse and worse, so I may soon do things the other way around, switching to something like KDE, using QT as much as possible, and theming the occasional program like the GIMP to look like QT.
To be honest I'm tempted to switch to MacOS, I'm such a fan of GUI consistency and the time that this eventually saves because you can do everything quickly and intuitively without hunting around for controls in unfamiliar places... but, every time I've tried that, it's reminded me how great FOSS is and has wound up feeling like working in a prison, with everything locked down and unhackable. At least the Linux world has these reasonably consistent GUI toolkits that we can use for most things; it feels more consistent than Windows. Windows is hilarious: even when the overall look and feel is reasonably consistent, you can still spend more time hunting through their absurd ever-changing "ribbons" and whatnot (built on the principle that users are too stupid to learn where the controls are, so we'll flush consistency down the toilet and change the GUI all the time depending on what we think the user needs) than actually working.
37 • Toolkits (by Ice on 2023-11-02 12:59:01 GMT from United States)
Gtk is a robust, mature, and flexible toolkit, however, with each version, I get the impression that it is becoming increasingly bloated. For example, the 'hello world' in gtkmm-3-0 consumes only 39.1 MiB while the 'hello world' in gtkmm-4.0 already consumes 118.8 MiB.
version: gtkmm-3.0
memory: 39.1 MiB
code: #include int main(int argc, char *argv){ auto app = Gtk::Application::create(argc, argv,"org.gtkmm.examples.base"); Gtk::Window window; window.set_default_size(200, 200); return app->run(window); }
compile: g++ gtkmm.cpp -o myGtkmm `pkg-config --cflags --libs gtkmm-3.0` -std=c++20
version: gtkmm-4.0
memory: 118.8 MiB
code: #include class MyWindow : public Gtk::Window{ public: MyWindow(); };
MyWindow::MyWindow(){ set_title("Basic application"); set_default_size(200, 200); }
int main(int argc, char* argv) { auto app = Gtk::Application::create("org.gtkmm.examples.base"); return app->make_window_and_run(argc, argv); }
compile: g++ gtkmm.cpp -o myGtkmm `pkg-config --cflags --libs gtkmm-4.0` -std=c++20
38 • @36 (by Simon from New Zealand) (by why-oh-why on 2023-11-02 13:15:53 GMT from Netherlands)
Talking about GUI consistency in conjunction with Linux is opening Pandora's box. Everything needed to achieve this consistency is exactly what users, like most of the commenters here, are rejecting. Linux on the desktop is doomed to decline because "more diversity and all being free and open" is the exact cause of that inconsistency. Each part of the reason why Linux on the desktop can't succeed has countless other causes. I won't even attempt to further elaborate on why that's so, as the proper answer is "rat's tail," and the proper answer would literally become a book.
However, the complaints in your post aren't really justified, nor do they make much sense.
First, you can't ride a dead horse and expect it to be a winner. XFCE and GNOME2 are dead horses. Second, it just doesn't make much sense to compare the Apple, Microsoft, and Linux landscapes. Apple started with today's concept 20 or so years ago, and it developed it accordingly. Apple gave their own system applications and tools their own visual identity, and Apple is hard on anybody not complying. Apple tells you there will be no more 32-bit applications in a year, and you either ported your application or it is out of the store. However, when it comes down to visuals, not all third-party applications are consistent. Some complex applications simply need their own layouts. And also, one can't compare leading professional products with some enthusiasts' hobby projects.
All in all, if you expect GUI consistency in Linux, you are responsible for choosing the applications according to their looks. Either you take KDE and the appropriate applications, or you take GTK4 and its applications. GNOME is doing very good work on porting or rewriting all of their existing GTK3 applications to GTK4, and recently they added a new Image Viewer and Camera app. However, GNOME is not responsible for the look of third-party applications like GIMP or Inkscape. The complaint about GTK4 inconsistency isn't really justified.
Here are nine screenshots of the Fedora 39 Workstation (still a mix of GTK4 and GTK3), GIMP, and Inkscape.
https://postimg.cc/CR1YfQS6 | https://postimg.cc/fkfJc1Qw | https://postimg.cc/949frnBH | https://postimg.cc/NLDj9TRF | https://postimg.cc/cvgxbb2t | https://postimg.cc/WFnTZLFC | https://postimg.cc/XXsn7W0y | https://postimg.cc/VSKK0Ks4 | https://postimg.cc/7JkJHkvR
BTW, apropos "you can still spend more time hunting through their absurd ever-changing "ribbons" and whatnot (built on the principle that users are too stupid to learn where the controls are, so we'll flush consistency down the toilet and change the GUI all the time depending on what we think the user needs) than actually working"—the experience shows that you are as wrong as one can be.
In the past, when the ribbons just came out, people were asking me how to get rid of them. Nowadays, when they ask me for a free office alternative, they reject it because of a lack of ribbons. SoftMaker Office ribbons are just not as good; LibreOffice ribbons are even worse, and when one combines it together with compatibility issues, most people would rather pay a couple of bucks for MS Office.
In other words, users were flexible enough to learn how to use their product, and after some adoption time, the new consistency was born.
39 • Toolkits (by Peter on 2023-11-02 13:45:08 GMT from Norway)
@37: Until gtk3 version in javascript (gjs) consumes less memory, 46.1 MiB, than gtk4 version in c++.
code: imports.gi.versions.Gtk = "3.0"; const Gtk = imports.gi.Gtk; const app = new Gtk.Application({'application_id': 'org.gtk.ExampleApp'}); app.connect('activate', _ =>{const win = new Gtk.ApplicationWindow({'application': app}); win.show_all();}); app.run();
run: gjs gjs.js
40 • GTK vs QT vs the world (by Mr. Moto on 2023-11-02 15:34:36 GMT from Japan)
I run 3 distros with different DEs, KDE, Cinnamon and GNOME. I switch between them on a whim whenever I please. If I took a screenshot of each, one would be hard pressed to tell the difference. Other than wallpapers, they mostly look the same. A DE is a GUI, a graphical user interface, with "user" being central. On my PC, I am the user, and the DE adapts to me rather than I to the DE. I mostly use a desktop, and I'm not concerned with 'muscle memory" or whether it 's QT or GTK, or whatever. I sit at my desktop a certain way, and I set up the DE so that all actions require the least movement and shifts of attention. That's why all my DEs look the same. I also have a laptop, and there my DE looks somewhat different, because I sit, hold and use my laptop differently. I used Windows for many years, no major complaints. Then I bought a Mac and I liked that better, although that was too rigid and I begrudged the money spent on hardware. For the last 10 or 12 years on Linux, I get the best of both worlds as far the GUI is concerned. My computer use is not too complex, so Linux apps suffice. I like a good-looking desktop, so it's usually GTK for GNOME or Cinnamon and QT for KDE. They both work well for me. I find KDE does a better job on GTK apps than GNOME does with QT maintaining uniformity, but it's not a deal-breaker if needed. I have a couple of Java and Python apps that tend to go their own way, and the browsers never want to match either tool kit exactly. All is not perfect, but pretty good, So, do I prefer GTK or QT? It depends on where.
41 • Different devices shouldn't look the same (by BECAUSE on 2023-11-02 16:46:26 GMT from Germany)
The idea that your GNOME device should always look the same is absolutely not practical, except for theorists and the GNOME devs themselves.
Desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and phones are used for different purposes. There is no point in them looking the same, it is better that each device has a different user interface that is well suited to the purpose of the device and the wishes of its user.
And I have never seen a phone using GNOME (why?), although modern GNOME looks more like a phone UI than anything else.
42 • @41 (by BECAUSE from Germany) (by why-oh-why on 2023-11-02 19:07:00 GMT from Netherlands)
"The idea that your GNOME device should always look the same is absolutely not practical, except for theorists and the GNOME devs themselves. Desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and phones are used for different purposes. There is no point in them looking the same, it is better that each device has a different user interface that is well suited to the purpose of the device and the wishes of its user."
That's true, and then again, no.
"Interface that is well suited to the purpose of the device" might be true for you or me and for some 3-5% of power users, but that's not true for most users.
Most people need Google Chrome for Google searches and to bring them to YouTube or Netflix. Besides, they want Teams, WhatsApp, Microsoft Office, and the ability to open an existing document without compatibility issues and edit it. My doctors and professors are not starting Office and creating a new document from scratch each time, but opening a template and typing their text inside. My 2000+ children do the same at school. That's the same as what my researchers at the institute are doing, except that they will also have some scientific research-related applications to follow the numbers and the graphs. And my mom's very first computer ever was an Android smartphone, and that's what she expects her tablet, laptop, or PC to look like. The only difference is that the desktop PC will have a larger screen than the laptop, tablet, or phone.
An interface well suited to the purpose becomes relevant for those cutting videos, producing graphics, or creating templates for the users, but that's usually not what the users do by themselves.
GNOME's inspiration: https://postimg.cc/hQSgyn38
GNOME start menu: https://postimg.cc/ZC546TN4
File manager: https://postimg.cc/qzD0L9cn
KDE didn't invent anything. They copied the Windows interface. GNOME didn't invent anything. They simply cleaned up the Mac interface. That menu at the top is, namely, pretty useless. It will offer app-info or copy and paste—basically what one can reach per right click plus some stuff that hardly anybody ever uses or needs—the kind of stuff that GNOME stuffed in the hamburger menu (file sorting options, settings, etc.).
43 • Toolkit does not matter (by Ben Myers on 2023-11-02 21:07:29 GMT from United States)
When I want to run some kind of app, my first choice is the app itself, making sure it suits my needs. Second choice in a dead heat are operating system and toolkit, linked together at the hip.
Having chosen the app, well, the app may dictate the toolkit and the OS, but maybe not. If the app is insanely popular, it will run on top of various toolkits and various distros.
Number of Comments: 43
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• 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 |
• 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 |
Linux Kodachi
Linux Kodachi is a Debian-based distribution which can be run from a DVD or USB thumb drive. The distribution filters all network traffic through a VPN and the Tor network, obscuring the user's network location. The distribution attempts to clean up after itself, removing traces of its use from the computer.
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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