 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 1078, 8 July 2024 |
Welcome to this year's 28th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
One of the interesting things about open source operating systems is their capacity to be customized and adjusted into unusual configurations. Linux users have the ability to mix-and-match desktop environments with alternative window managers or import a desktop panel from another environment. On Linux we can run server admin portals on our desktop machines, swap out core system components, and so much more. This week we look at some customizations possible in the Linux community. We begin with a response to a request to talk about how to swap out one implementation of init for another. Can a user remove systemd and install SysV init on Debian? What about the reverse and replacing Slackware's SysV init for systemd? We talk about the hurdles involved in this process in our Feature Story. In our Questions and Answers column we discuss running a graphical desktop on a server machine and why this usually is not recommended. Plus we discuss the Peppermint OS project launching a new, full featured edition in our News section. We also report on new port updates in the HardenedBSD community and share highlights of an OpenSSH vulnerability which was announced this week. July 1st saw the official end of life for CentOS Linux 7, though multiple companies and open source organizations are offering solutions and alternatives for CentOS users. If you ran CentOS Linux, let us know which solution you decided to use to migrate from the discontinued version in our Opinion Poll. Plus we are pleased to share the releases of the past week and share 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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| Tips and Tricks (By Jesse Smith) |
Changing init software after a distribution has been installed
Following the article I wrote on comparing init software and a Questions & Answers column in which we talked about distributions which allow the user to select their distribution's init software, we received the following comment:
How about writing a step-by-step tutorial on taking a distro (say Debian or Slackware), and replacing its default init with another?
It's an interesting idea, swapping out one init implementation for another. In theory, it should be fairly easy to remove one init package and replace it with another. After all, most of the init implementations do approximately the same jobs. However, there are three major obstacles in the way if we want to change the init software our distribution is running.
The first issue is init is a low-level, core component of any Linux distribution. It's only a step above the kernel in terms of being at the foundation of the operating system and it is a key element in booting and shutting down the system. This means we can't just stop the init process, uninstall it, and install a replacement the same way we would change our web browser or music player. This is going to require a reboot, at least, and (if we're running systemd's init) on some distributions the software may not agree to be removed while it is running.
To attempt a car analogy: replacing init is a little like trying to change the wheels of a moving car. It's not as hard as replacing the engine (kernel), but it's going to be more complex than switching the radio station.
The second concern involved is some software these days relies on specific init functions, particularly in distributions which use systemd. For instance, if you are running some of the heavier desktop environments, they may rely on systemd functions. Removing systemd and replacing it with, for example OpenRC, could cause your desktop environment to no longer work. Likewise, if you use Snap packages, removing systemd and using another init implementation would cause Snap programs to cease working. We should make sure we are not using any applications which depend on a specific init package directly before attempting to swap one init for another.
The third challenge is going to be that many distributions do not package more than one init implementation. When we look through the official collection of Slackware packages, Arch packages, and Fedora packages you will start to notice a lack of diversity in this regard. Slackware has a SysV init package, but no entry for systemd or runit. Arch and Fedora offer systemd, but there is no sign of runit or SysV. The Debian family is one of the few parts of the Linux ecosystem where we will find multiple init implementations packaged. Debian uses systemd by default, but also provides SysV, runit, and s6 along with the OpenRC service manager.
A person might think this situation is okay, most init implementations are small, so we can just build the software from source code. Building from source will side-step the need for a distro-provided package. The problem though is the init software itself is one small component in the start-up and shutdown process. We also need a service manager and either unit files, configuration files, or shell scripts to implement service management. These usually need to be provided by the distribution and, if they are missing, init won't really be able to do anything. In other words, if your distribution doesn't provide a package for your desired init software, it also won't have the supporting configuration and script files and this will prevent us from swapping init implementations.
Debian has a wiki entry which talks about init, the various init implementations, and touches on the fact switching init software from systemd to SysV is supported. Switching to other init implementations, such as runit, may be possible, but the wiki warns us runit does not receive the same level of testing and support.
Debian's wiki lays out the steps to switch from systemd (Debian's default init software) to SysV init, the most supported alternative. I'm going to share the steps here with brief explanations.
First, we are asked to clear out the package cache:
apt clean
Cleaning the cache makes it possible to download the packages we will need to install and have only the packages we need to install in the APT cache. Next, we download the packages we need to set up SysV init and its related utilities:
apt update
apt --download-only install sysvinit-core libpam-elogind elogind
The systemd software will cause issues (according to the wiki) if we try to replace it while running in normal mode, so we need to switch to rescue mode. This should probably be done from a terminal and not when logged into a graphical environment as all unnecessary services and applications will be terminated.
systemctl rescue
We may need to enter the root user's password at this time to get a command line prompt.
Next, the wiki tells us to run the APT command to install the packages we downloaded. However, and I want to stress this before sharing the recommended command, this does not work on a fresh copy of Debian 12. It will cause a circular dependency issue and effectively break APT package management until the situation is manually resolved. This is the suggested command:
apt install /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb
While the above command fails and causes dependency issues, there is another, similar command which will work to install SysV and its related programs. The proper commands are as follows:
dpkg -i /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb
apt-get -f install
At this point we can run the init command to confirm we have SysV init installed:
/sbin/init --version
SysV init version: 3.06
Assuming the output of the above command correctly shows SysV init is installed, we can then reboot. I tested the above steps on a fresh copy of Debian 12 running the LXQt desktop and confirmed the process worked. This is, in part, due to the sysvinit-core Debian package pulling in the necessary supporting scripts and packages as dependencies. While I've only tested this process on Debian, it should work for most members of the Debian family, assuming your desktop environment and package manager do not reply on systemd. Ubuntu ships both GNOME as its desktop and Snap as its package manager and swapping out systemd will likely break both of these key components.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Peppermint OS unveils new Loaded edition, HardenedBSD updates ports, OpenSSH vulnerability patched
The Peppermint OS project has launched a new edition which is intended to offer more applications and features out of the box. The new edition, called Loaded, includes Flatpak support, Firefox, LibreOffice, Thunderbird, Timeshift, and other packages. "Many users have requested a pre-configured option, and we've listened! Peppermint Loaded is a sleek and fully-populated Xfce desktop ideal for new users or those who want a more out-of-the-box experience. Get started quickly with essential applications pre-installed, including: Firefox, GIMP, LibreOffice, Atril, Inkscape, Thunderbird, GNOME System Tools, Timeshift, and more! Peppermint Loaded is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions." Details can be found in the project's announcement and downloads are available through SourceForge.
* * * * *
The HardenedBSD project has announced some new updates to its ports collection with several changes coming from a first-time contributor. One of the key changes is an adjustment to the KeePassXC port which can now disable on-line features in the password manager. "First-time patch submitter Fabien Amelinck of the VultureOS project fixed the build of the hardenedbsd/secadm port. Fabien Amelinck fixed an ignore condition in the kmod framework (kmod.mk). Fabien Amelinck fixed the build of the OpenJDK-related ports. A new port was introduced: sysutils/vm-bhyve-hbsd. This is a soft fork of the vm-bhyve project. The aim is to import a few pull requests/patches from the community, starting with p9fs support. The security/keepassxc port was taught the concept of flavors, with the lite flavor disabling certain features: AUTOTYPE, BROWSER, FDOSECRETS, KEESHARE, NETWORKING, and SSHAGENT. Of course, the default flavor keeps the default options enabled. 0x1eef added a new port: hardenedbsd/sourcezp, which can help manage a local copy of the HardenedBSD source tree." Further details can be found in the project's June newsletter.
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A vulnerability was found in the OpenSSH service which could, under some circumstances, allow a remote attacker to run malicious code on the computer running OpenSSH. "In Portable OpenSSH versions 8.5p1 to 9.7p1 (inclusive). Race condition resulting in potential remote code execution. A race condition in sshd(8) could allow remote code execution as root on non-OpenBSD systems. This attack could be prevented by disabling the login grace timeout (LoginGraceTime=0 in sshd_config) though this makes denial-of service against sshd(8) considerably easier. For more information, please refer to the release notes and the report from the Qualys Security Advisory Team who discovered the bug."
The release notes point out the attack requires many hours of performing connections against OpenSSH and has only been shown to work successfully against 32-bit targets, though 64-bit computers are (in theory) also vulnerable. This means any firewall throttling of incoming connections or utilities such as fail2ban should prevent the attack. Most distributions have already deployed a patch for OpenSSH to fix the vulnerability.
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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) |
Server machines running desktop environments
Picking-an-interface asks: I've heard a lot that when setting up a server I shouldn't install a desktop environment because the terminal uses much less resources. But isn't that outdated advice? On a modern machine Linux can handle both running the server and a GUI, right? Why do so many people cling to the idea that a server shouldn't have a GUI?
DistroWatch answers: There are two main reasons people usually advise against installing a graphical user interface on a server machine. As the question pointed out, one of those reasons is resources. Graphical interfaces take up disk space, memory, and CPU resources which could be applied to doing other things, like responding to requests from the network.
Whether the graphical interface takes up enough resources to matter will depend a lot on the hardware involved, the tasks the server is performing, and the software being used. A person might very reasonably point out that running the lightweight LXQt desktop on a modern workstation with eight CPU cores and 32GB of RAM that is just acting as a file server at home requires a negligible amount of resources. In this situation, chances are the person using the LXQt desktop, and anyone in the home accessing the network file shares, will not negatively affect each other.
On the other hand, imagine you're running a Raspberry Pi 3 with 1GB of RAM and a 1.2GHz CPU. It's going to be nearly impossible to run a media server and the GNOME desktop at the same time on such limited hardware, even without launching any desktop applications. In another scenario, let's say you're running servers in a high-stress environment (think companies like Facebook or Amazon) where your network is hammered by millions of connections a second. Then every bit of CPU and network performance counts. A desktop environment that takes up even 1% of the available resources will cost the organization money in extra equipment and potentially lost revenue.
In short: yes, sometimes you don't need to worry about your server using resources to also run a desktop environment. But sometimes you really need to squeeze as much performance out of the hardware as possible (either because the hardware is limited or the demands are high) in which case also enabling a desktop environment is impractical.
Earlier I mentioned there were two main reasons not to run a desktop environment on a server. Usually workstation and laptop machines do not have much exposure to the Internet, unless they are making outgoing connections. Your typical computer running a desktop environment does not also run network services like a network time server, Samba shares, or web server. Since your laptop is not running a publicly accessible service it isn't getting hammered by thousands of computers from all around the Internet which are trying to break in.
A dedicated server, one which is exposed to the Internet, is subject to thousands of break-in attempts every day from all around the world. Botnets are constantly poking at open network ports, looking for vulnerabilities, weak passwords, and outdated software. The more packages which are installed on a server and the more services which are running, the more opportunities there are to attack it. This is why people recommend running as few packages on server systems as possible. If you don't need a package or service, don't install it on an Internet-exposed machine. This includes desktop environments.
Desktop environments are relatively large, relatively complex pieces of software. Having them on a server makes the operating system more vulnerable to attack. So even if your computer has more than enough resources to run network services and a desktop environment, it's also a good idea to avoid running a desktop to reduce the security risks.
* * * * *
Additional queries and answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
Finnix 126
Finnix is a small, self-contained, Linux distribution for system administrators, based on Debian. The project's latest release, Finnix 126, offers new boot time options and 32-bit support on 64-bit systems. "Today marks the release of Finnix 126, the original utility live Linux distribution. Finnix 126 includes a number of fixes, new packages and new features: Linux kernel 6.8 (Debian 6.8.12-1); new packages: libc6-i386 (finnix/finnix#35; not directly usable but allows for running certain i386 binaries in Finnix's amd64 userland); added 0 kernel command line option which does the same as the 0 (locale-config) utility, but during early boot and before shell prompts; upstream Debian package updates; many minor fixes and improvements. This is the first Finnix release to contain additional 'supply chain' assurances." Additional details may be found in the project's release announcement.
* * * * *
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: 3,031
- Total data uploaded: 44.9TB
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
Migrating away from CentOS Linux 7
With the start of July we saw the end of official support for CentOS Linux version 7. CentOS Linux 7 was a popular release, in part because of it was the final version of CentOS Linux still receiving support. (CentOS Linux 8 and 9 ceased receiving support over two years ago.)
There are a lot of migration options for people who are still running CentOS Linux 7. Some people may choose to migrate to the more development oriented CentOS Stream, others might switch to running Red Hat Enterprise Linux where official support is offered. Some people may choose to switch to another community edition, such as AlmaLinux OS or Rocky Linux. SUSE has recently offered extended support for CentOS Linux through their Liberty support program.
If you were running CentOS 7, let us know which option you decided to choose and why in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on using FreeDOS in our previous edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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With CentOS Linux 7 reaching its end of life did you...
| Switch to Red Hat Enterprise Linux: | 26 (3%) |
| Switch to another community EL (Alma/Rocky/etc): | 236 (27%) |
| Switch to CentOS Stream: | 20 (2%) |
| Switch to another community distro family (eg Debian or openSUSE): | 485 (56%) |
| Switch to another commercial distro family (eg Ubuntu or SLE): | 40 (5%) |
| Buy SUSE Liberty support: | 20 (2%) |
| Stay on CentOS 7 without support: | 39 (5%) |
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| Website News |
New distributions added to waiting list
- OmegaLinux. OmegaLinux is an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring the LXDE desktop. The project aims to provide a lightweight flavour of Ubuntu with small memory footprint.
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DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 15 July 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 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
How-Tux
How-Tux was a Slackware-based, desktop-oriented Linux distribution with the installer translated into Italian and most applications localised for the benefit of Italian speakers. Compared to Slackware, How-Tux was enhanced by GWARE GNOME, OpenOffice.org, and several extra multimedia and graphics applications.
Status: Discontinued
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