DistroWatch Weekly |
DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 1067, 22 April 2024 |
Welcome to this year's 17th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Providing support for specific hardware takes time and resources. Each new device, architecture, and CPU platform requires development work, testing, and (in some cases) certification. Distributions need to pick and choose which platforms and which devices they will support. In this week's Questions and Answers column we talk about CPU architecture levels and how to look up which levels your processor can support. Our Opinion Poll then asks which architecture level your CPU supports. Let us know below! Then, in our News section, we talk about AlmaLinux OS re-adding support for devices dropped from the distribution's upstream source, Red Hat Enterprise Linux. We also report on the APT package manager getting a new visual tool while Fedora evaluates a proposal to make the distribution's packages reproducible. Fedora is not the only project looking to move forward with reproducible builds and openSUSE is nearing completion of their work to make the Factory and Tumbleweed repositories reproducible. We also cover the release of LXQt and progress being made by the lightweight desktop's developers. Before we dive into those bits of news we discuss LocalSend, a tool for sharing files between almost any two (or more) devices on the same network. LocalSend is intended to be an easy to use alternative to AirDrop and we discuss how it works on mobile and desktop devices in this week's Feature Story. Plus we are pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
This week's DistroWatch Weekly is presented by TUXEDO Computers.
Content:
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Feature Story (By Jesse Smith) |
LocalSend - sharing files on a local network
LocalSend is a free, open-source app that allows you to securely share files and messages with nearby devices over your local network without needing an Internet connection. In other words, connections are peer-to-peer over the local network. The application does not rely on any third-party server and cloud services are not required.
The LocalSend application is available for a wide range of platforms and in a variety of formats. The application supports Windows, macOS, desktop Linux, Android (there are download options for the Play store and F-Droid), and iOS. It's been packaged for Linux with tar bundles, Deb packages, an AppImage, and Flatpak download options supported. LocalSend is also available through the Arch User Repository, and Nix repository. In other words, there are a lot of ways to get LocalSend, on most desktop and mobile platforms.
The application is licensed under the MIT permissive license and has few requirements. It's a fairly small download (the Flatpak was about 17MB) and the service just requires that we allow access (both TCP and UDP) over network port 53,317.
Getting started
I decided to install LocalSend on my laptop, making use of the Flatpak bundle and installed it on my Murena phone using the F-Droid repository. Opening the desktop application presents us with a window that has three tabs or buttons down the left side of the screen. These tabs are labelled Receive, Send, and Settings. On the right side of the window we see controls for the selected screen or category. The Receive screen is the page displayed by default.
The Receive page shows a nickname that has been assigned to our computer ("Special Lemon" was my computer's name in my case). This Receive page has three buttons. One to show a history of past transfers, one which pops-up a tip telling us our computer's IP address along with the network port we are using to receive files. (53,317 is the default network port.) There is also a button to toggle Quick Save on/off. By default Quick Save is off and we must manually accept each transfer. However, with Quick Save enabled files will be saved directly to our Downloads directory.
LocalSend -- Ready to receive a file on the Murena phone
(full image size: 158kB, resolution: 1440x2960 pixels)
The Send page has three sections. At the top we select which files, directories, or text we want to send. We can also send the contents of our clipboard. Under that we can select how we're going to find another device running LocalSend which will receive our file or text. This can be done by scanning for devices, entering an IP address, picking an old contact from a list of favourites, and we can also choose to send to multiple devices at once. The last step is to select the device(s) we want to send our file, or text, to from the list of available options.
LocalSend -- Preparing to send a file from the Murena phone
(full image size: 199kB, resolution: 1440x2960 pixels)
The Settings page has four sections. The first lets us pick a theme, select our language, and enable auto-start at login. We can also enable/disable animations in the application. The second section deals with receiving behaviour. For example, here we can enable Quick Save and pick the directory where we will save received files.
Below this, we find network settings which allow us to change our device's name and restart the background LocalSend service. There is an Advanced section where we can change our device type, which network port to use, and disable encryption (encryption is enabled by default).
LocalSend -- Browsing the Settings page
(full image size: 150kB, resolution: 1440x2960 pixels)
The application's interface on phone and laptop devices are almost identical. The exception is on my phone the three tab buttons (Receive, Send, and Settings) are placed across the bottom of the window instead of down the left side. And my phone's nickname was "Fast Strawberry".
Sending and receiving files
I tested transferring files between my phone and laptop as well as between my Murena phone and another person's iPhone. I also sent text messages back and forth between the three devices. In each case the transfer completed successfully. I was prompted to accept file transfers and shown a list of received items along with the option of saving new files to an alternative location.
LocalSend -- Receiving files on my laptop
(full image size: 32kB, resolution: 900x600 pixels)
Something I appreciate about LocalSend is it integrates with Android's Share feature. Which means we can select any file, tap the Share button, and LocalSend will appear in the list of services we can use to send the file. This feature did not work on iOS.
When text was sent between devices the received text would be displayed on the LocalSend's Receive screen. The message was displayed until it was cleared. On the Receive screen, when we receive text, a button labelled Copy appears in case we wish to copy and paste the text to another application.
Other observations
When receiving a file or text message, neither Android or the desktop version displayed a notification to the user. The file transfer or received text quietly waits until we switch to LocalSend's Receive window and acknowledge the transfer. This struck me as odd at first as I thought a desktop notification would let me know when new files arrived. However, since LocalSend seems to be intended to be used as an AirDrop alternative, a tool which is used when people are in the same room together, perhaps a notification alert is unnecessary.
LocalSend is bit heavy in memory and uses around 150MB of resident RAM on my laptop when sitting idle. However, it consumes virtually no CPU resources.
A key point with LocalSend is the application needs to be open on both devices to start a transfer, there is no notice or ping letting us know someone wants to send us something. This means we need to keep LocalSend open or be notified through other means when we should open it. Usually it seems as though two people would negotiate when to use the application in face-to-face conversations.
When receiving files we can see a list of files which were saved to our Downloads directory. We cannot tap or click on the names of newly received files to open them from within LocalSend. We need to switch to another application, such as a file manager, to open the received items.
The application seems to be geared entirely toward helping people share files and messages in face-to-face environments, where they can talk and agree to open the app. (Not to mention share the quirky name of their devices.) The lack of a desktop notification, the LAN-oriented nature of LocalSend, and the semi-anonymous default naming approach the application uses doesn't lend itself to larger office environments or situations where people are not communicating in-person.
I'd say LocalSend is similar to Warpinator, though perhaps even more streamlined and more geared toward mobile devices. I wouldn't recommend this application for an office environment, for instance, where people might want to share files asynchronously. However, this is a great tool for sharing files between friends who are in the same room. LocalSend is unusually easy to use, it has sane defaults, it can work with just a few taps, and it runs on virtually all desktop and mobile platforms.
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Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
New visual design for APT, Fedora moves closer to being reproducible, openSUSE reaches new reproducible milestone, LXQt 2.0.0 released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support removed from RHEL
People who use the APT package manager a lot will be interested to know that APT 3.0 is introducing some visual changes which adjust the structure of the command's output and introduces colours. "APT developer and Canonical engineer Julian Andres Klode took to LinkedIn to present the revamped APT interface powered by the upcoming APT 3.0 package manager that looks to give users a more concise and well-laid-out command-line output when updating, installing, or removing packages via the terminal emulator." APT 3.0 will likely be present in Ubuntu 24.10 and Debian 13. It's currently available to Debian's Unstable (Sid) users.
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A build is considered "reproducible" if given the same source code, build environment and build instructions, any party can recreate bit-by-bit identical copies of all specified artifacts. Reproducible builds are considered a key element in securing software, making it possible to confirm programs are being built cleanly and without customized changes or additions. While some Linux distributions, such as Debian and Arch Linux, have made strong progress in making their packages reproducible, the Fedora project has not made reproducible builds a focus. As the Fedora documentation states, "Because of this strong control over the build process, reproducible builds haven't historically been a priority in Fedora."
Fedora is currently evaluating a change proposal which would help make Fedora packages reproducible: "Reproducible builds will allow our users to be able to independently verify that the RPMs have not been tampered with (either maliciously or via hardware/software fault): someone can do an independent rebuild of a package and confirm that they get identical binaries when building with the same versions of the compiler and other tools. This Change allows us to move forward in this direction by removing the common sources of irreproducibility. add-determinism is a Rust program which, as its name suggests, adds determinism to files that are given as input by attempting to standardize metadata contained in binary or source files to ensure consistency...."
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At the same time, openSUSE has announced the distribution's Factory and Tumbleweed branches are now almost entirely bit-for-bit reproducible. The announcement from openSUSE states a little work is remaining: "It will take some time to do this verification for all packages to see how many of our packages are reproducible to this detail. Previous verifications, while ignoring some differences that this fixed, succeeded for more than 95 percent of packages."
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The LXQt project develops a lightweight desktop based on the Qt development libraries. The project has launched LXQt 2.0.0 which migrates from Qt5 to Qt6 and paves the way for improved Wayland support. "The LXQt team announces the release of LXQt 2.0.0, the Lightweight Qt Desktop Environment. LXQt 2.0.0 is based on Qt >= 6.6. For supporting styling and LXQt File Dialog with Qt5-based apps, libqtxdg-3.12.0, lxqt-qtplugin-1.4.1 and libfm-qt-1.4.0 can be installed alongside their Qt6-based versions in LXQt 2.0.0. PCManFM-Qt's desktop module, LXQt Runner and LXQt Desktop Notifications are completely ready to be used under Wayland compositors which support the 'layer shell protocol', like LabWC, Wayfire, kwin_wayland, Hyprland, Sway... Wayland will be the main target for LXQt 2.1.0, as Qt6 was for LXQt 2.0.0. The components which are not ready for Wayland yet include ScreenGrab, LXQt Global Shortcuts, LXQt Panel's task-bar and keyboard indicator (but LXQt Panel can be used under Wayland without those plugins), some input settings, and settings of monitor, power button, and screen locker." Additional information on this new milestone release can be found in the project's announcement and images of the desktop can be found on the project's screenshots page.
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Earlier this month we talked about how the AlmaLinux project has managed to patch a security flaw ahead of its upstream distribution, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). The AlmaLinux team is continuing to offer additional benefits to its users, with the distribution adding (or re-adding) support for hardware RHEL no longer supports. FOSS Force reports, quoting Benny Vasquez, chairperson of the AlmaLinux Foundation: "'This move is made directly at the request of the AlmaLinux community,' the Foundation said in a statement. 'Everyone from industries across the world to hardware enthusiasts to the various labs and groups researching the very nature of our existence need to be able to keep their systems running updated operating systems without the added expense and hassle of being forced to migrate to new hardware. Supporting older hardware makes sense for the good of our community and the good of our planet.'
Vasquez told me that the final decision to return support for devices that had been deprecated by RHEL was made last month after some work was done in that direction at a hackathon. She says that going forward, the distro will be seeking feedback from users, and that she has gone so far as to post a thread in the AlmaLinux forums that seeks further input from users."
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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) |
Detecting supported architectures
How-modern-are-we asks: With all the talk of x86_64 package optimizations, like x86-64-v3, how can I tell what version my CPU supports? Is there a test I can run?
DistroWatch answers: There is a command you can run on virtually any Linux distribution to see which CPU architecture levels your system supports. To see which x86_64 version your CPU can handle, run the following command:
ld.so --help
This will print out a whole bunch of information, much of it about running executable programs and options the ld.so software can handle. Toward the bottom it will display a list of directories where shared libraries can be found, followed by supported CPU architecture levels.
Should you wish to narrow down the information to just the relevant data about which x86_64 processor levels your CPU supports you can filter the information using the grep command. Here is what this looks like on my laptop:
$ ld.so --help | grep x86-64-v
x86-64-v4 (supported, searched)
x86-64-v3 (supported, searched)
x86-64-v2 (supported, searched)
As we can see here, levels 2, 3, and 4 are all supported. If an architecture level is not supported, it may still show up in the list, but without the "supported" text next to it. Here is what happens when I run the same command on a computer which only supports up to level 3:
$ ld.so --help | grep x86-64-v
x86-64-v4
x86-64-v3 (supported, searched)
x86-64-v2 (supported, searched)
As we can see in the above output, the ld.so software recognizes that x86-64-v4 exists, but it is not supported on this processor.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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Released Last Week |
KANOTIX 2024
KANOTIX is a Linux distribution based on the latest stable release of Debian and available in KDE and LXDE flavours. The project's latest snapshot, KANOTIX 2024, is based on Debian 12. "For Easter 2024 there were new KANOTIX 'Slowfire' ISO images based on Debian 12 'Bookworm'. All editions are available for 32-bit and 64-bit systems and can also be found in the Downloads menu. Specifications: Linux kernel 6.6.13; LibreOffice 24.2.2 (only in the 64-bit edition); Compiz (all ISO images with LXDE, start without Compiz with cheat code 'nocompiz'); acritoxinstaller (recommended); git (default); testing Wayland (only in the 64-bit KDE edition since 7 April 2024 in, X11 default); Calamares installer; find (all 64-bit editions); you can activate refind later in the installation with command '# find-install'." The release announcement also includes links to the project's latest ISO image files.
KANOTIX 2024 -- Running the KDE Plasma desktop
(full image size: 1.8MB, resolution: 2560x1600 pixels)
Clonezilla Live 3.1.2-22
The Clonezilla Live distribution provides disk and partition cloning tools through a live DVD/USB platform. The project's latest release introduces kernel upgrades and reverts the xz package to an older, safe version. "This release of Clonezilla Live (3.1.2-22) includes major enhancements and bug fixes. Enhancements and changes from 3.1.2-9: the underlying GNU/Linux operating system has been upgraded, this release is based on the Debian Sid repository as of 2024-04-08; Linux kernel has been updated to 6.7.9; the ezio package was updated to 2.0.11; new format messages sending to ocsmgrd; a comma (,) is used to separate the messages; rotate Clonezilla-related log files and receive new format messages from clients; include powermgmt-base and pdsh in live system; xz-utils was reverted back to the 5.4.5 version; removed 'ip=' from boot parameters. Bug fixes: no message sent to ocsmgrd in BT mode; update disable_sudo_use_pty, negate it explicitly, not just comment it - this should avoid distortion of gpm with jfbterm." The release announcement for Clonezilla Live 3.1.2-22 includes additional details.
* * * * *
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: 2,985
- Total data uploaded: 44.3TB
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Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Summary of expected upcoming releases
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Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
What is the latest architecture level your computer's CPU supports?
In this week's Questions and Answers section we talked about CPU architecture levels and how to find out which ones your computer's CPU can support. These days it's fairly common for x86_64 machines to support v2 and some to support v3 and v4. We'd like to hear what the most modern extension your main computer supports.
You can see the results of our previous poll on minimal computing devices in our previous edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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My CPU supports x86 architecture levels up to version....
x86-64-v1: | 58 (4%) |
x86-64-v2: | 324 (24%) |
x86-64-v3: | 433 (32%) |
x86-64-v4: | 168 (12%) |
Unsure: | 362 (26%) |
I do not run an x86_64: | 24 (2%) |
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Website News |
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 29 April 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)
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Archives |
• Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
• Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
• Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
• Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
• Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
• Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
• Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
• Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
• Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
• Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
• Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
• Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
• Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
• Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
• Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
• Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
• Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
• Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
• Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
• Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
• Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
• Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
• Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
• Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
• Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
• Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
• Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
• Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
• Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
• Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
• Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
• Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
• Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
• Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
• Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
• Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
• Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
• Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
• Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
• Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
• Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
• Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
• Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
• Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
• Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
• Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
• Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
• Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
• Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
• Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
• Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
• Issue 1040 (2023-10-09): CROWZ 5.0, changing the location of default directories, Linux Mint updates its Edge edition, Murena crowdfunding new privacy phone, Debian publishes new install media |
• Issue 1039 (2023-10-02): Zenwalk Current, finding the duration of media files, Peppermint OS tries out new edition, COSMIC gains new features, Canonical reports on security incident in Snap store |
• Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years |
• Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session |
• Full list of all issues |
Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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Random Distribution |
LinuxBBQ
LinuxBBQ was a multi-purpose operating system based on Debian's "unstable" branch and spiced up with kernels and tools from siduction, Grml and Linux Mint. LinuxBBQ offers different flavours and desktops which are released as "editions" (with no version numbers) and which can be customised and remixed by the user. The individual editions are built to include most major desktop environments (with the exception of GNOME) and there was a special edition offering a choice of no fewer than 53 window managers - everything from aewm to xmonad.
Status: Discontinued
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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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