 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 1057, 12 February 2024 |
Welcome to this year's 7th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
There is a lot of work which goes into making an operating system, especially one with a lot of modern features, conveniences, and options. This week we take a look at a distribution called Adelie Linux which strives for a simple, standards-compliant design in an effort to untangle operating system complexity and the potential bugs which can result from such complexity. Read on to find out how Adelie performs while using this clean design. Adelie is a fairly young project and not yet tested by a large group of users. Does the age of a distribution affect your willingness to run it? Let us know in this week's Opinion Poll. In our News section we report on the Debian project preparing packages for the year 2038 bug which will cause 32-bit software to struggle to process dates. We also talk about elementary OS splitting updates, handling the base system and applications separately. The Redox OS team is making it easier to port software from Linux to their modern operating system written in Rust and we share details below. Then we talk about Fedora organizing its atomic desktop spins into one family. Plus we talk about whether rolling or fixed releases offer a smoother upgrade experience in this week's Questions and Answers column. We are then pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a fantastic week and happy reading.
This week's DistroWatch Weekly is presented by TUXEDO Computers.
Content:
|
| Feature Story (By Jesse Smith) |
Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta
Adelie Linux is a fairly young project, but one I've been hearing people talk about recently. The distribution's website describes the project as follows:
Adélie is an independent, libre operating system based on the Linux kernel and musl runtime library. We focus on reliability, security, compatibility, portability, and usability.
The project appears to place a focus on technological simplicity, striving to use software packages which follow the Unix guideline of "do one thing well" with a minimum amount of fuss and flash.
In case we are interested in seeing which packages are available for Adelie, the project maintains a web portal for searching for packaged software.
While Adelie appears to be striving for a minimal approach, it is a distribution which offers a lot of builds and editions. The distribution runs on x86_64, x86, PPC, PPC64, ARMv7L, and AARCH64 processors. Beyond this, there are four editions we can download for the supported processors: Desktop, Server, Root filesystem (full), and Root filesystem (minimal). While there is just one Server flavour, there are four desktop flavours: KDE Plasma, LXQt, MATE, and Xfce.
I initially decided to download the LXQt desktop flavour for 64-bit computers (x86_64). The ISO was fairly small, only about 660MB, which is still small enough to fit on a CD.
Before trying out Adelie Linux, I recommend visiting the distribution's on-line documentation which gives a good deal of detail on how to perform common tasks, including installing the operating system.
Getting started
Booting from the Adelie media brings up a GRUB boot menu where we can choose to launch the distribution's live desktop interface or a text-only console session. We are then shown some text related to services starting. It looks as though a default username and password are shown, but the desktop loaded before I could get a look at the information. (Later, I found the default username and password are both "live".) Then the LXQt 1.4.0 desktop was displayed with icons on the desktop and a panel across the bottom of the display. The desktop icons launch the awkwardly named PCManFM-Qt file manager. The panel holds an application menu, virtual desktop switcher, and a system tray.
The LXQt desktop uses a light theme and, later, I discovered the KDE Plasma desktop also uses a light theme by default. People who like dark themes can change the look of either Adelie flavour using the corresponding desktop's settings panel.
Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta -- Exploring the LXQt desktop
(full image size: 187kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Adelie doesn't use any welcome window or customization wizard, keeping with the project's goal of a clean, simple design.
Installing
There is no icon for the system installer on the desktop. Adelie's installer can be found in the application menu under System Tools (on the LXQt edition) and under System (on the KDE Plasma edition). Adelie ships with its own, custom system installer which is called Horizon.
The Horizon graphical installer is designed to be easy to navigate with the mouse or with the keyboard. The first page of the installer tells us we can use function keys to navigate forwards and backwards if we don't want to click buttons with the mouse. We are told we can press F1 to access helpful hints. These shortcuts all work and I appreciate the focus on making it easy to navigate the interface. This first page of the installer also assures us nothing will be changed on our computer until we get to the final step of the install process, giving us a chance to move forward and back through the steps before applying changes.
The first screen of the installer also features a drop-down menu we can use to launch external utilities. A graphical partition manager, web browser (NetSurf), a terminal, and advanced install options can be accessed from this drop-down menu.
The second page asks us to pick a keyboard layout from a long, cryptic list of options. The default is to use the US keyboard. The third page asks if we'd like to fetch and install proprietary firmware to handle devices such as wireless cards. This step is optional and requires an active Internet connection.
Guided or manual partitioning is our next choice. The manual approach opens the KDE Disk Partitioning tool to help us divide up our disk. The automated approach takes over the local disk and sets up a root partition formatted with ext4. No swap partition or swap file is created for us using the automated approach.
Networking comes next and here things can get a bit complicated. We can take an automated approach which attempts to use a local, wired network connection. The automated approach uses DHCP to get DNS, gateway, and IP address information. The manual approach asks us to type in this information. We can supply IPv4 or IPv6 information, or both, when supplying network settings manually. The tricky part here is there aren't any options for wireless networking. Adelie's installer seems to assume we will use wired networking only. Further, there do not appear to be any networking tools or widgets in the LXQt live edition to help us get connected to the network.
This lack of networking utilities on the live media seems to affect just the LXQt edition. I downloaded the KDE Plasma flavour and it does include a graphical networking widget in the system tray and in the System Settings panel. This eventually led me to switch to the KDE edition after I finished setting up the LXQt flavour, but I digress.
The installer then walks us through selecting our timezone from a list and making up a hostname. We're next asked to choose which software bundles to install. We can choose to set up Adelie as a text-only system or pick a desktop (Plasma, LXQt, MATE, or Xfce). We can then select a "profile" for our desktop. Each desktop supports three profiles: Standard (for a full desktop and tools); Mobile (which offers all the Standard software, plus utilities for mobile computing); and Compact (a minimal desktop and a few applications). There doesn't appear to be any way to install multiple desktops. As I was using a laptop, I chose the LXQt Mobile profile as I hoped it would include a battery monitor and wireless networking tools.
The installer asks us if we want to install a boot loader and then we're asked to make up a password for the root account. This password must be at least eight characters long.
The following page offers to help us create up to four user accounts and we can supply usernames and passwords for each one. Optionally, accounts can be marked as being granted administrative access. After the account creation screen, we are asked to confirm we wish to proceed with the install and Horizon gets to work. I like that it's easy to move forwards and backwards through the installer's screens and the application is quite responsive.
My first time through the install process Horizon failed immediately after the confirmation screen. The error said a failure at this point almost certainly was caused by a corrupt ISO or by hardware failure. The installer then offered to show me its log file, which I think is a great feature. Bringing up the log file showed the cause was something entirely different. I'd attempted to create two user accounts, one called "jesse" and one called "guest". The installer reported a fatal error in its log while trying to create the "guest" account as the name was reserved.
Unfortunately, it's not possible to go back through the installer's screens to fix things after it has started working, so I had to start from scratch. I took all the same settings, but this time named my user accounts "jesse" and "anyone". The installer accepted these names and completed its work successfully. The install process took around 15 minutes during which no progress information was shown. When Horizon finished it suggested I restart the computer and remove the live media.
After installing the LXQt edition on my laptop I confirmed there were no wireless networking utilities included, even with the Mobile profile selected at install time. Since my laptop is modern enough (or thin enough) to not have a wired networking option, the lack of wireless connection tools posed a barrier. I decided to switch to the KDE Plasma edition. I downloaded the KDE edition which was a 1.8GB ISO. The KDE flavour of Adelie included a networking widget in the system tray. This allowed me to get on-line before running the installer. The KDE flavour installed exactly the same way as the LXQt edition. However, once the KDE edition with its Mobile profile was installed, my local copy of Adelie did not include the networking tools that had been available on the live media.
This seems strange. On the live KDE media not only is there a networking tool in the system tray, there is also one in the System Settings panel. However, neither of these tools were available on my installed copy of Adelie, effectively cutting off access to the Internet when running the distribution on physical hardware.
Early impressions
While I started with the LXQt flavour of Adelie, almost all of my time ended up being spent with the KDE Plasma edition. This offered me a wider range of applications and a chance to test features on the live media which required a network connection.
Booting my new copy of Adelie brought up a login screen (powered by SDDM) where accounts were listed side-by-side. I was able to select my username and sign into the Plasma environment.
Plasma, like LXQt, is presented with a light theme. A panel is placed across the bottom of the screen. And, as with the LXQt flavour, there is no welcome window or customization wizard. We're simply handed control and left to explore as we would like.
Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta -- Exploring KDE Plasma's application menu
(full image size: 127kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Hardware support
I had mixed, and sometimes negative, experiences when trying to get Adelie to work in my test environments. The distribution worked passably well in VirtualBox. The system booted quickly and was responsive. Neither Plasma or LXQt automatically resized the desktop to match my VirtualBox window, but I was able to adjust the resolution of both desktops in their settings panels.
When I tried running Adelie on my laptop the distribution started out well, booting successfully in both Legacy BIOS and UEFI modes. When I booted the LXQt edition I found my trackpad didn't work. My keyboard did work though and I was able to navigate LXQt well enough to launch its control centre and check the mouse settings. This confirmed for me that LXQt was unable to detect my trackpad. This might be the first time I've ever used a distribution which couldn't work with a laptop's trackpad.
When I switched over to the KDE Plasma edition it was also able to boot in both UEFI and Legacy BIOS modes. However, when I signed into Plasma, the desktop didn't load properly. There was no wallpaper and no panel. Like the LXQt edition, Plasma was unable to detect or use my laptop's trackpad. I was able to open Plasma's application menu and its Run dialog box using the keyboard, but KDE's keyboard support is not as good as LXQt's and it proved challenging to try to navigate the menu or settings panel without a mouse pointer.
Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta -- Changing the desktop theme using System Settings
(full image size: 208kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Both editions I tested were fairly light as both of them used less than 5GB of disk space. LXQt used about 190MB of RAM while KDE Plasma started out taking up just 340MB of RAM. However, Plasma slowly took up more and more space. After a minute, Plasma required 350MB of RAM, then 360MB a minute later. After ten minutes, while not running any new applications, Plasma used 450MB of RAM, and it continued to grow.
Included software
The software included in Adelie varies a lot depending on which desktop we install. The LXQt environment includes relatively little, mostly just desktop management tools and a few small utilities. The KDE Plasma edition includes dozens and dozens of applications. These include the Calligra productivity suite, VLC, KTorrent, multiple messaging clients, the Dolphin file manager, a microblogging tool, the KDE System Settings panel, and many small games. The KDE edition features four media players, several educational tools, a few development utilities, a system monitor, and multiple text editors.
The NetSurf web browser appears to be a common application across both editions. The GNU command line utilities and manual pages are also available across both editions. Adelie uses the zsh shell by default, though other shells, such as bash, are available.
The distribution ships with the s6 init software and uses OpenRC to manage services. I'll talk a little about OpenRC later. The distribution runs on version 5.15 of the Linux kernel, which struck me as unusually conservative as the 5.15 series is over two years old at the time of writing.
While browsing the software included by default, a few things caught my attention. Earlier, I mentioned the lack of networking tools on the installed versions of the distribution. Volume controls were another unusual point. The LXQt edition included one volume control widget in the system tray while the KDE edition has two audio controls in the system tray.
The sudo utility for running tasks as another user is included on the live media, but not included on the installed copy of the distribution. In its place we can use the su utility to switch between user accounts. This got me wondering about the "admin" checkbox option on the user creation screen of the installer. Since neither sudo or doas is installed, checking a box to indicate a user is an "admin" doesn't seem to have any practical effect. Technically, there are a few differences. People marked as administrators are added to a few additional user groups - specifically the wheel, kvm, and usb groups - though this doesn't have any noticeable effect with most tasks and non-admin users can still use su to become the root user if they have the proper password.
One other curious feature (or missing feature) which seems to make Adelie unique in my 25 years of Linux experience is it doesn't include the clear command to wipe the contents of a terminal. We can use the Ctrl-L keyboard shortcut to clear a screen, but the clear command doesn't exist in the user's path.
Software management
While exploring the two desktop flavours of Adelie I did not find any graphical software centre or package manager. A trip to the project's documentation shows Adelie uses APK for package management, the same command line utility used by Alpine Linux. The APK utility is not in the regular user's executable path (it's located under the /sbin directory). In other words, the package manager is semi-hidden to users who don't know to look for it. APK is in the root user's path.
Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta -- Running the APK package manager
(full image size: 131kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
The APK package manager is unusually fast and, while it has a few syntax differences compared to other Linux package managers, it worked well for me. It's very sparing in its output, so it's not always clear what the package manager is doing, but it completes tasks in record time, pulling in new software and updates from Adelie's own repositories.
I checked and found no Flatpak support installed on Adelie or in the distribution's software repositories. Likewise, Snap is not available; it wouldn't work anyway since Snap relies on systemd and Adelie runs s6 for its init software.
Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta -- Managing system services
(full image size: 154kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
While we can use APK to install software, packages which install services do not enable those services by default. To handle services we can turn to the OpenRC utility which is talked about in the distribution's documentation. In brief, we can run the rc-update command to enable or disable services at boot time. The rc-status command shows us which services are running or enabled. Finally, the service command can be used to start or stop a service. I quite like OpenRC and appreciate its quick, straight forward approach.
Conclusions
I tend to like distributions which strive to keep their technology base simple, I like the Unix philosophy of being open, simple, having most components focused on doing one thing well. Adelie seems to take this approach to heart and I appreciate this style of design.
The project seems ambitious, supplying builds for multiple architectures with multiple desktop environments and multiple profiles of each desktop. That is a lot of ground to cover. Adelie is still in beta, nearing its first stable release, so I don't want to assume too much or expect too much. However, it does feel like the distribution's team is stretched too thin at the moment. There are a lot of good goals and designs evident in the Adelie project, but the implementation has some concerning holes, at least in the two desktop editions I tried.
Adelie Linux is one of the only distributions I've encountered to not have working trackpad support. Not including tools for wireless networking in its Mobile flavour seems like a significant oversight. Likewise, not allowing the creation of a user called "guest" at install time and crashing the install process over it, and then blaming the hardware feels like a series of problems which should have been avoided (ideally by just allowing a user called "guest" like every other distribution).
Again, these issues might simply be a result of the distribution being young and not having enough exposure yet, but I do think it shows the project is trying to take on more than its team is ready to handle.
I will say that, at least in the VirtualBox environment, both flavours of Adelie performed quickly and required few resources. The desktop editions were stable, fast, and pleasantly lacking distractions. Once some bugs are addressed, this could be a good distribution, especially for people who want to run modern software on older equipment where efficiency is desired.
At times using Adelie felt like using Alpine Linux. Both projects have a fairly minimal base, use the musl system library, provide OpenRC for managing services, and the use APK package manager. In fact, I think if I installed Adelie's Server edition I'd probably find it difficult to tell it apart from Alpine unless I looked closely at the command line tools and APK configuration.
Adelie Linux probably needs some time to mature, some time to be tested. If it survives and grows over the next few years, I suspect it will come to be seen as a desktop companion to Alpine and similar in style to some other lightweight, cleanly designed projects such as Void.
* * * * *
Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was an HP DY2048CA laptop with the following
specifications:
- Processor: 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz
- Display: Intel integrated video
- Storage: Western Digital 512GB solid state drive
- Memory: 8GB of RAM
- Wireless network device: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 + BT Wireless network card
|
| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Debian works to prepare packages against 2038 bug and updates install media, elementary OS splits application and system updates, Redox makes it easier to port Linux software, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops
Historically, Unix and Unix-like operating systems (including Linux) used a 32-bit integer to represent time, specifically the number of seconds since the start of the year 1970. While this approach has worked for years, it has an upper limit. Specifically, the number of seconds since the beginning of 1970 will be a number too high to count at some point in the year 2038. This is a well known problem and operating systems are being gradually patched to properly process dates beyond 2038 (ideally without disrupting existing 32-bit systems). The Debian project is currently working on patching 32-bit software to keep it year 2038 compatible, as Steve Langasek writes: "A number of you will have noticed already that the 64-bit time_t transition is now in progress in Debian experimental. The goal of this transition is to ensure that 32-bit architectures in Trixie (whether they are currently release architectures, or out of archive, etc) will be capable of handling current and future timestamps referring to times beyond 2038." Additional information on this transition is presented in the Debian wiki page on 64-bit time.
The Debian team have announced updated install media for Debian 12 which include security updates for the project's Stable branch. "The Debian project is pleased to announce the fifth 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."
* * * * *
The elementary team are preparing for version 8 of their distribution. The project is testing some changes, including separating base system updates from application updates: "The headlining feature this month is the brand new mechanism for operating system updates. Instead of being a part of updates in AppCenter, system updates now live in the System page of System Settings. The new updates mechanism is super fast and includes an option to download updates automatically. It will also let you know explicitly if security updates are part of the updates package." Additional details on this change and other features of the upcoming elementary OS 8 can be found in the project's blog post.
* * * * *
Redox is a Unix-like Operating System written in Rust, aiming to bring the innovations of Rust to a modern microkernel and a full set of applications. The project aims to extend its functionality by offering ported Linux applications, though the ways in which resources are accessed has sometimes made porting programs difficult. The Redox team is changing the way applications reference resources to make porting Linux applications to Redox easier. "Redox has a microkernel core, with drivers and other resource providers running as tasks and providing 'schemes'. A scheme is the name of a resource provider, and until now, resources have been accessed using URI/URL format. For example, files would be accessed as file:path/to/my_file, and a TCP connection would be accessed as tcp:127.0.0.1. This format, while forward-looking, has not been very backwards-compatible.
In order to simplify our efforts to port Linux software to Redox, we have decided to change our resource path format to the Linux-compatible /scheme/scheme_name/path/to/resource. Paths that do not begin with /scheme will be assumed to refer to the file scheme, so /path/to/my_file is treated by the system as /scheme/file/path/to/my_file, but the application will only see the /path/to/my_file portion. Using this format, normal paths now look just like Linux paths, while drivers and other resources can still be addressed without breaking software." The project's newsletter also mentions Redox can run on Raspberry Pi 3B+ computers.
* * * * *
The Fedora project includes many spins of the distribution. These spins often provide alternative desktop environments or focus on specific tasks. Some spins use atomic package management and this last category is getting its own special designation: Fedora Atomic Desktops. "We are happy to announce the creation of a new family of Fedora Linux spins: Fedora Atomic Desktops! As Silverblue has grown in popularity, we've seen more of our mainline Fedora Linux spins make the jump to offer a version that implements rpm-ostree. It's reached the point where it can be hard to talk about all of them at the same time. Therefore we've introduced a new brand that will serve to simplify how we discuss rpm-ostree and how we name future atomic spins." There are currently four atomic spins: Silverblue (GNOME), Kinoite (Plasma), Sway Atomic, and Budgie Atomic.
The Fedora Magazine article also points out that "atomic" is more accurate, in Fedora's case, than the term immutable: "This nice branding term is also a more accurate way of talking about how rpm-ostree works. Fedora Atomic spins are not actually immutable. There are ways to get around the read-only aspects of the implementation even though it is much harder. The nature of the OS, where updates are only implemented when they successfully build and you can rollback or rebase between core host systems, is better described by atomicity than immutability."
* * * * *
These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
|
| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience
Getting-started asks: In terms of ease of use, does it make more sense to go with a rolling release vs a fixed release? I hear upgrading fixed releases can be a pain and want to avoid headaches.
DistroWatch answers: Most Linux distributions follow what is called a "fixed release" approach. What this means is: once a new version of a distribution is published, the software included in the operating system remains static. Typically no new major features are introduced, no big application changes occur, and no new versions of the desktop are introduced into this version of the operating system. If you want new versions of a package or new features, you need to wait for the next major version of the distribution to be published (often six months or a year after the previous release).
Most fixed release distributions will update a few key components, such as the web browser, in order to remain current. Also, all major distributions supply security updates for their packages. This means users may be running an older version of a package, but they are kept secure with security fixes that were included in newer versions of their software.
The fixed release approach is good for stability as it means the distribution will remain virtually unchanged (apart from security fixes) for the supported lifespan of the distribution. This is usually a year for short-term releases, but may be up to five or ten years for long-term support releases. This provides an unchanging environment which is convenient for the user and the operating system likely to remain quite stable for the entire supposed lifespan of the distribution.
There are two main problems with fixed releases. One is they do not receive new features in the main repositories. This means in order to enjoy newer versions of applications we need to enable a backports repository (which may be unsupported) or we need to use a portable package format, such as Flatpak, to install newer versions of preferred applications.
The second problem with fixed releases is, once the release is no longer supported, we'll need to upgrade to a new version of the distribution. This will typically result in nearly every component on the system jumping to a new version. Everything from the desktop, to the web browser, the office suite, the e-mail client, and the development tools will be bumped up to new versions. This tends to result in incompatibilities with old file formats and settings, along with changes to the user's workflow. Engaging in a distribution's major version jump tends to be a headache that can result in days of finding new little changes or incompatibilities which need to be addressed.
In contrast, a rolling release is continuously updated. A rolling release distribution typically updates packages shortly after new versions of applications become available. This means people running a rolling release system regularly get access to the latest new features and enhancements.
With a rolling release there is no big upgrade hiccup every three/five/ten years, because the system is constantly being upgraded piece-by-piece. There is no big transition point where the user needs to pause and work out how to handle new versions of all their applications and libraries. We don't need to re-install or upgrade a rolling release distribution because it's constantly evolving.
This constant evolution brings its own challenges. A rolling release distribution isn't static, it may introduce little changes to the user interface, applications, or libraries at any time. This means, in small ways, we may run into changes in our workflow or run into incompatible components which no longer work together. Instead of one giant upgrade every few years, we're instead faced with making small upgrades each week or month. Often times these mini-updates go smoothly, but occasionally one will break packages, cause unexpected behaviour, or force a change in the way we navigate an application.
A fixed release typically runs smoothly for years, but then necessitates one big upgrade with corresponding headaches every few years when we upgrade. A rolling release will introduce small changes and issues on a regular basis. The number of components which change are roughly the same, but one is a "steady drip" while the other offers a "rare leap".
Which of these approaches is nicer, which one offers the least amount of stress for the user, will probably depend on the user's perspective. Some people like trying out new things and having the latest features as soon as possible and don't mind the occasional change or disruption to their workflow. Other people want their computer to work the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow and prefer to plan a weekend when they can perform a major upgrade to the next fixed version. It's a personal decision.
For less experienced users I tend to recommend a fixed release and planned upgrades every five-ish years. But for people who like new features and don't mind the occasional surprise, a rolling release can offer a more "gentle slope" in terms of upgrades.
* * * * *
Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
|
| Released Last Week |
Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
|
| 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: 2,958
- Total data uploaded: 44.0TB
|
| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
|
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
| Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
How established does a distribution need to be before you will try it?
Our Feature Story this week talked about Adelie Linux, a young project with a focus on being light, simple, and standards compliant. Adelie is still in early development, awaiting its first major stable release. This week we would like to hear how established a distribution becomes before you feel comfortable running it. Are you happy to try out new projects that are still in early development? Do you wait until a project has a stable release, or multiple stable releases? Let us know in the comments what your criteria are for trying out a new project.
You can see the results of our previous poll on running Damn Small Linux (DSL) in our previous edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
|
I will first try a distro when...
| It is pre-stable release (alpha/beta): | 100 (7%) |
| It reaches its first stable release: | 405 (28%) |
| It has produced multiple stable releases: | 312 (22%) |
| After a set period of time (months or years): | 92 (6%) |
| I do not have a release/time requirement for new distros: | 532 (37%) |
|
|
| Website News |
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 19 February 2024. 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)
|
|
| Tip Jar |
If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip.
(Tips this week: 0, value: US$0.00) |
|
|
|
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch |
|
| Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
|
|
| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Adele networking (by Brad on 2024-02-12 01:16:55 GMT from United States)
Like Jesse, I also have access to a laptop lacking an RJ45 connector. I worked around this potential problem by purchasing a USB-C-to RJ45 dongle,which allowed me to use wired internet until I could download networking software that would allow me to connect wirelessly.
2 • New Distro Releases (by Jerry on 2024-02-12 01:45:31 GMT from United States)
Oh, I don't know. Any deciding factor(s) I have about when in the development of a distro I'm going to try it most often become evident as I look at its review history. That starts here at Distrowatch on the distros dedicated page where reviews are listed and links to the distro's website are there along with other info.
I'm not one to try distros that reviewers, here or out in other sites, highlight issues about this or that problem etc, even if they report that they like the distro once things are straightened out via advice in forums or elsewhere.
My experiments with Linux (and BSD) are about whether or not they work well with my hardware, mostly. But also security issues turn me off, as well as ongoing struggles with the very development of the distro (Solus, Gecko, Void, and of course most BSDs).
3 • Opinion Poll... (by Tech in San Diego on 2024-02-12 03:02:20 GMT from United States)
SuSE Linux was the first Linux distribution I tried back in 2001, with version 7.2. I instantly fell in love with its user-friendly YaST installer and the rock-solid stability. While I've dabbled in Ubuntu, Mint, and even Arch Linux over the years, none offered the same combination of stability, powerful features like YaST and Zypper, and robust security that openSUSE provides. Plus, the ability to rollback my system with Btrfs snapshots has saved me countless times when experimenting with new software.
Whether I'm working on development projects, editing videos, or just browsing the web, openSUSE has always been a reliable and adaptable companion. Its vibrant community and commitment to open-source values further solidify my loyalty to this amazing distribution.
4 • @1 (by Chris on 2024-02-12 05:51:34 GMT from South Africa)
BTW would a USB-to-LAN device be supported by something like Adelie?
5 • Poll (by Adrien.D on 2024-02-12 09:34:20 GMT from France)
I try alpha or beta because I made tests in VM .
For a production use, when I use a system, it's 1 month after the release of stable version
6 • Rolling vx Fixed? (by joncr on 2024-02-12 09:57:48 GMT from United States)
I'm always curious about how long users asking about fixed vs rolling actually keep a distribution on a machine.
There are two kinds of stability: 1) Lack of crashes caused by bugs; 2) Reduction of change caused by feature updates and API changes. (Let's assume everyone wants security fixes.)
Both are important. The second is very important to enterprise users who expect to keep a distribution release in use for upwards of a decade or more AND want their in-house and 3rd-party applications to work per usual all that time.
Adoption of an enterprise distro like RHEL, Suse, or Ubuntu LTS supported by Ubuntu Pro is probably the surest way for an individual to have years of use, if they know their requirements will not change over that time.
7 • I will first try a distro when... (by James on 2024-02-12 11:34:23 GMT from United States)
I only install a LTS release and only after the first point release. I don't want to deal with multiple bugs. That said, I really appreciate the people willing to do that.
8 • I am going to try a distro when .... (by alway-curious-about-FOSS on 2024-02-12 11:47:58 GMT from Germany)
I am going to try a distro when there is a new special concept or a new interesting basic idea. If I am curios about it then will also test a beta or something else version - but certainly not as daily drver.
I am also often catched by eyecandy if there is a focus on costomizing the desktop.
9 • Adelie shell (by TennesseeJed on 2024-02-12 12:03:46 GMT from France)
Just to put you out of your misery Jesse, Adelie uses the Z shell by default. No built in commands at all!
10 • @7, @10 (by Vukota on 2024-02-12 14:34:58 GMT from Serbia)
I am totally with @7, I am willing these days only to try what is stable (mostly free of bugs and has solid support track record/schedule), but regardless what these "stable" point releases are called. Rolling is mostly not stable unless you are willing to do lot of baby sitting.
About Tax Software, nothing is safe, even regular mail can be intercepted. Online filling has no alternative (unless you are willing to go through the hassle - what just 7% proves). Easiest target for hackers are third parties (mostly tax preparers with low legal recourse) that does not handle your information in a security conscious way (sending/storing confidential information in e-mail, using outdated OS, not having up to date antivirus, belongs here). Electronic filling does provide some kind of (legal) guaranties in case of information leak.
11 • Poll & rolling vs fixed (by Ken Harbit on 2024-02-12 15:11:24 GMT from United States)
As far as when I try a distro goes, it's normally when I see a review that I like or a friend says I should try something. My favorite review sites are Distrowatch and Dedoimedo. I've used both rolling and fixed distros, it's mainly what fits my or my customer's needs at that time.
12 • Rolling vs Stable (by borea on 2024-02-12 15:14:52 GMT from Moldova)
Newer software is cooler than older software, so it would be nicer every distro to use rolling release model.
But like it or not software has bugs, so stable releases are a necesity.
What bothers me most, is that distributions don't use one another in order to minimize work, which is needed to assemble a stable release.
In an ideal world both Ubuntu and Debian should freeze at the same time from same set of .deb packages.
Imagine a world where:
1) Debian gets a release every 2 years in April (2026.4)
2) Ubuntu is based on that Debian released in April (2026.4)
3) Debian backports team work together with Ubuntu non-LTS team
4) Ubuntu ditches 6 month builds
5) Ubuntu&Debian has enough time to make a stable yearly build (2027.4)
Debian 2026.4 LTS and Ubuntu 2026.4 LTS
and yearly Ubuntu 2027.4 with newer software.
13 • Review policy (by Roger Brown on 2024-02-12 15:34:05 GMT from Australia)
Yet another review of a distro that didn't really work. Useful to tell us what to avoid but otherwise?
May I most respectfully suggest to site management that if it doesn't work, don't waste your time telling us about it. Move on to something that does work.
14 • Review policy (by Jesse on 2024-02-12 15:40:15 GMT from Canada)
@13: "Yet another review of a distro that didn't really work. Useful to tell us what to avoid but otherwise?"
All operating systems work (or don't work) in degrees. Some better than others, but it's always a spectrum. What I find more interesting that _if_ something works is _how_ it tries to work.
"May I most respectfully suggest to site management that if it doesn't work, don't waste your time telling us about it. Move on to something that does work."
If I adopted this policy and only reviewed projects that worked entirely, I'd write about two reviews per year. And then it would be the most boring pair of reviews in history: "Here is a list of new features. Everything works. The end."
15 • @13 @14 review (by Bruce on 2024-02-12 16:28:45 GMT from Japan)
I tend to read the reviews disinterestedly if it's a minor distro with issues. Unfortunately, that tends to describe most of the DW reviews. I can understand the urge to review the unknown distros, but, in my opinion, it would be better to mostly review the major distros roughly every major release. Considering that an average distro may have a major release roughly every two years, that would be mostly the top 100 distros, a set that has a lot of churn, with a small amount of time spent on distros like Adelie. On the DistroWatch popularity scale, I see that the distros I most often use are between 50 and 100, such as Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Mate, and I'm typing this on Mint. Or you could see Ubuntu and Mint as in the top 10. But it's the reviewers' choice, I guess, and you have to go where your interest leads you, so thanks anyway for keeping an eye out on the horizon.
16 • Rolling release (by David on 2024-02-12 16:44:54 GMT from United Kingdom)
Four years ago I needed something for a new computer instead of CentOS. I picked PCLinuxOS, a little uncertain as to whether I could live with a rolling release. Since then there has only been one niggle, when a couple of programs didn't like an update to Python. Both were recompiled and in the repository within 24 hours. So it is possible for a rolling-release distro to deliver a consistent experience for those of us who don't hanker after new things.
17 • @12, Shared resousces. (by Mr. Moto on 2024-02-12 20:39:19 GMT from Philippines)
"In an ideal world both Ubuntu and Debian should freeze at the same time from same set of .deb packages." And they could do a joint release and call it Debuntu.
18 • Debian & Ubuntu release schedules. (by Tuxedoar on 2024-02-12 21:07:06 GMT from Argentina)
@12: Interesting idea!. Even though Debian stable releases have ocurred (more or less, in recent years) every 2 years, Debian doesn't guarantee or make a promise on a release cadence. Given whatever circunstances, it could take several additional months to release or even it could be delayed by 1 or more years (adding to those `~2 years) for a release to happen. As they say, "they'll release whent it's ready"!.
In contrast, with few exceptions, Ubuntu has a commitment to have fixed release schedules. Having said this, however, I'm not sure how much of a problem would represent to have more or less synced releases with Debian, for Ubuntu LTS releases only. Historically, Ubuntu has always been based on the Unstable branch of Debian (I think it's still the case). I think, many years ago, that made a lot of sense due to better hardware support (updated kernel) and more recent apps and userland software stack. Nowadays, I don't know iif having recent components of the system, has an equal impact as it did years ago. I mean, may be it's still important, but for a lesser degree.
Cheers!.
19 • stability is king (by Adrian on 2024-02-13 01:48:03 GMT from New Zealand)
With choosing distros, I voted for the ability to have several good releases.
A distro must have a history / reputation of success, a low disasters count (eg: Ubuntu's blunders with desktops choices, dubious deals like with Amazon... count against it), everything works in multimedia, excellent desktop and support tools like file manager and image viewer, good selection of software with recent enough versions, many mirrors and a good update system. This rolled up into one word would be: stability.
Currently for me, the distros that pass my criteria are Manjaro and Mint. And all on Cinnamon. This is what works for me in a repeatable, predictable manner that I can take to a new machine or in upgrading an old one. I need to get work done, not sit 6 hours a day for weeks tweaking some new-fangled thing.
20 • Unified Debian & Ubuntu release schedules (by Vinfall on 2024-02-13 01:56:49 GMT from Hong Kong)
I'm afraid that is very unlikely. In fact, (in a simplistic way of thinking) Ubuntu uses packages from Debian Unstable and Ubuntu LTS uses the ones from Debian Testing. So when you are using either Ubuntu variants, it's more or less a rolling release in the sense of Debian upstream. It's just so stable compared with other rolling releases with bad reputation that you would not even think about it.
So ideally I'd prefer every distro to at least offer a similar approach like Debian: offer fast developing branches like testing, unstable or even experimental, AND have stable release (or better call it frozen snapshot, sort of) along with backports for newer packages on older snapshots.
21 • criteria move (by grindstone on 2024-02-13 03:02:34 GMT from United States)
For years, I tried everything and anything. The last maybe 7 years, it's been only LTS...until right now when the DSL alpha came out. Having big-fun again--but with the comfort of a running LTS to fall back on. Sincere gratitude to all who contribute!
22 • Rolling release vs fixed release (by vw72 on 2024-02-13 04:08:37 GMT from United States)
While it may be convenient to have a stable (as in unchanging) system for 3, 5 or 10 years, it also means any regressions or quirks are there for the same time period. Also, long term fixed releases might not fully support new hardware.
With rolling releases, the implication is that as soon as there is a new update to an application it is pushed out immediately and if it is broken, your system is now broken. That might have been done in the past, but at least with openSUSE Tumbleweed, there is extensive automated testing performed that if a component doesn't pass, then it is held back until it can be fixed and passed. Other distros may have similar testing practices, but to the best of my knowledge, they aren't as thorough as openSUSE's.
As for a downside for rolling releases, if you have low bandwidth, they probably aren't a good choice as there can be a few megabytes of data updated or a gigabyte or two. While massive updates are not common, they do occur. Recently, openSUSE updated with the new glibc which required every installed package to also be updated
One final negative for a rolling release is if you use NVidia proprietary drivers, a kernal update may break your video until the driver is updated or you manually compile it yourself. That's not the distro's fault but the proprietary nature of the closed sourced NVidia ecosystem. If you have an AMD or Intel chipset for your video you should be fine.
23 • @12 borea: (by dragonmouth on 2024-02-13 12:17:38 GMT from United States)
"distributions don't use one another in order to minimize work"
Do competing companies (Because that's what distros are) in ANY other industry "use one another in order to minimize work"? Does Ford help GM or Peugot help ZIL?
24 • Rolling vs fixed release (by dragonmouth on 2024-02-13 12:20:36 GMT from United States)
Another thumbs up for PCLinuxOS as opposed to LTS releases.
25 • new releases (by james on 2024-02-13 12:28:45 GMT from United States)
After being burned by the original Solus and also Point Linux, I am very careful to pick established distros with a large development team and a lot of financial support. Waking up to see your distro's servers shut down and the distro discontinued overnight is not a great feeling.
26 • distros as "companies" (by Jerry on 2024-02-13 13:01:19 GMT from United States)
@23 Well, some. But there are some important differences between what relationships could be between Ford and GM and what they are between Debian and MX, Fedora and Alma, etc.
27 • @19 Stability... (by Ed on 2024-02-13 16:04:42 GMT from Sweden)
I agree. Its important that a distribution is well established and have been so for a long time. Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and Mint are. IMHO Fedora are closest to being perfect considering the well executed balance between stability and new packages.
28 • @13 distros that 'work' (by Rip van Winterbottom on 2024-02-13 20:01:00 GMT from Denmark)
@13: Distros that 'work': If you want distros that just 'work' go for one of the top distros on the page ranking. I like Jesse's reviews because he tests things I wouldn't have looked at - distros that are 'different' from mainstream distros, BSDs, distros for mobile, etc.
I'd turn your argument on its head: Distros that just work are less interesting than distros that try to be unique. Adélie is more interesting than the latest *buntu clone. They're making something new and that's the key to innovation. It may not succeed but they deserve respect and applause for trying.
29 • Adélie & rolling/stable (by Rip van Winterbottom on 2024-02-13 20:14:35 GMT from Denmark)
@Adélie: My advice to Adélie's developers is to focus on fewer flavors and work on a more polished user experience. Jesse had trouble getting online, that's unacceptable: Fix it. Serious bugs like that qualify Adélie as alpha, not beta.
Apart from that you're onto something special. Keep going, we want you to succeed.
Rolling vs. stable: Rolling can be fun but don't ever use it in a production environment, professionals use stable all the way. And when support for a stable OS ends you never do an upgrade - that's asking for trouble. Rinse and repeat: You back up everything, erase the hard drive, install the updated OS, then retrieve your data from the backup. An upgraded OS is dirty.
30 • wifi (by su on 2024-02-14 21:37:40 GMT from United States)
Simple. At a minimum if wifi does not work out of the box with a modern browser available for a desktop distro, forget it. I do not have the time to work around those basics.
31 • Long-support releases for me, mostly (by RJA on 2024-02-14 21:47:40 GMT from United States)
I mostly do Ubuntu LTS, in the world-of-Linux.
I used to not dislike the non-LTS releases of Ubuntu so much, but since Raring Ringtail, the non-LTSes are effectively "throwaway" to me.
32 • PCLinuxOS Repository (by Jan on 2024-02-15 00:32:32 GMT from The Netherlands)
Off Topic
I had no joy downloading/Live-testing PCLinuxOS KDE.
Untill I choose another mirror than the standard offered.
The live-USB from this worked.
However in the started live-USB, updating did nothing, untill I choose another repository-source than the standard.
In both cases the download-location and the repository was Netherlands (nluug).
So PCLinuxOS-maintainers: I advise you to check the Netherlands-nluug mirror/repository.
At trying out PCLinuxOS KDE initially I found it working very well/fast. However after some time the mouse pointer froze and the keybord became in-active. This happened at repeated try-outs.
So when does the new/up-to-date PCLinuxOS-iso's become available (hopefully witout this nuissance).
Another KDE without systemd is MX-KDE. The live-USBtesting was also a pleasant surprise (on my old CPU), and it updated and working without any flaw.
33 • MX Linux (by Jerry on 2024-02-15 15:03:23 GMT from United States)
@32 Jan, MX Linux is so thoroughly tested as a rolling release model that I can't recall any glitch or anomaly during my years using this distro as daily driver, and on several machines over time. For a long time I did hop around, but always ended up grateful for my MX DVD. Now I do not replace MX with anything; no need at all. Experiments and testing other distros are now done on different machines.
KDE version? Too clunky to customize to my liking, so I ended up sticking with XFCE.
PCLinuxOS? For me there is something "heavy" for want of a better word about that distro. But it's very reliable and has an amazing fan base in the forums there now (there was a time when their forums was not a nice place to go, that seems to have nicely changed). That about their repos you mention is something I have not seen, but if I do test that distro again I'll follow your advice about Netherlands-nluug mirror/repository.
34 • PCLinuxOS Repository @32 @33 (by Jan on 2024-02-15 16:43:06 GMT from The Netherlands)
To prevent misundersrtanding:
The Netherlands nluug mirror/repository was the one It seemed to have a flaw.
KDE/XFCE: Strangely, my live-USB-testing experience is that KDE systemd-free (and the atest Gnome-distros) gives the smoothier experience than XFCE (tested by a browser opened on a busy news-site).
35 • @34 Jan: (by dragonmouth on 2024-02-16 12:18:34 GMT from United States)
I have been using PCLinuxOS for close to 10 years. Never had problems with any of the repositories. Since PCLOS is a running release, I run an update almost every day. The Netherlands nluug mirror/repository is my primary. Never had any problems downloading packages from them. I would suggest the problem is on your end, not with the repository. Granted I am only one user but would I be able to download while you have problems?
Number of Comments: 35
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
| | |
| 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.
|
| Archives |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
| • Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
| • Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
| • Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
| • Issue 1040 (2023-10-09): CROWZ 5.0, changing the location of default directories, Linux Mint updates its Edge edition, Murena crowdfunding new privacy phone, Debian publishes new install media |
| • Issue 1039 (2023-10-02): Zenwalk Current, finding the duration of media files, Peppermint OS tries out new edition, COSMIC gains new features, Canonical reports on security incident in Snap store |
| • Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years |
| • Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
| Random Distribution | 
Grml
Grml is a bootable CD (live CD) based on Debian GNU/Linux. It includes a collection of GNU/Linux software especially for users of text tools and system administrators. It also provides automatic hardware detection. Grml can be used as a rescue system, for analysing systems and networks, or as a working environment. Due to on-the-fly decompression, Grml includes about 2 GB of software and documentation on the CD.
Status: Active
|
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
|
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
0x969CD4E778C7b6549A2B00e34114e0168c86A542 
