 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 1098, 25 November 2024 |
Welcome to this year's 48th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Most software grows and takes on new features, new capabilities, and new options. This makes most software packages expand to require more resources. However, some software projects seek to slow the rapid pace of growth or even reverse it, providing more efficient programs. This week we begin with a review of a distribution which strives to balance modern features with efficiency. Read on to learn more about Jeff Siegel's experiences with Linux Lite, a beginner friendly distribution in the Ubuntu family. In our News section we talk about the Arch Linux system installer getting a new, curses-based text interface which should make navigating the installer experience easier. We also report on one of Ubuntu's security tools being exploited and patches being issued to fix it. Plus we share details of a deal being offered by Murena and their Fairphone partner to try to provide sustainable and repairable mobile technologies. This week we also offer tips on backing up specific regions of a user's home directory in our Questions and Answers section. Plus we are pleased to share the recent releases from the open source community and list the torrents we are seeding. Finally, we open this week's Opinion Poll to ask if we should include desktop-specific distributions which exist only to showcase new developments in major desktop environments. Let us know what you think in the comments. 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 Jeff Siegel) |
Linux Lite 7.2
Put the word "light" - in any form, spelling, or meaning - in the name or description of a Linux distribution, and I'm ready to download the ISO (yes, even Damn Small Linux). Maybe it's because I used MS-DOS in the late 1980s, when 640KB of RAM was considered more than sufficient. Maybe it's because I'm a minimalist in much of my life, be it cars or home décor or good cheap wine. Or maybe it's because I've just never grasped the idea of desktop bling, be it intricate, character-based wallpapers or the spinning cubes of olden days.
So, not surprisingly, I was eager to review the latest release in the Linux Lite 7.0 series, 7.2. I ran it for a week, with my goal - as always, for these reviews - to see if it would work as the daily driver for my freelance writing business. Was it designed well enough to learn easily? Was it quick and snappy? Did it have the software I needed, whether installed or in its repositories, to handle writing, web research, e-mail, accounting and invoicing, music and videos, Zoom conferences, and accessing my home server? Was the package manager modern and straightforward?
And Linux Lite 7.2 delivered on almost all of that. The documentation, often a problem with independent distros, was especially impressive, on a par with Fedora and Ubuntu. There were a couple of hiccups, mostly with software and package management, but it did what I needed, as well as what it promised to do - "Linux Lite is a 'gateway operating system.' Your first simple, fast and free stop in the world of Linux."
The basics
Linux Lite 7.2 is an update from the 7.0 release in June, and it's based on Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS and will receive five years of support. The distro comes with the Xfce 4.18 desktop and the 6.8 kernel, while the ISO is 2.9GB in size. System requirements are 1.5Ghz or better processor and a 64-bit system, 1GB of RAM, and at least 20GB for the hard dive. It also needs a screen that can handle at least 1366x768 resolution. So yes, very light. By comparison, MX Linux's Xfce version and Xubuntu each recommends 2GB of RAM, and Linux Mint Xfce recommends 4GB and requires 2GB.
As such, Linux Lite seems to occupy a space between MX's Xfce and Zorin OS Lite on the one hand and Xubuntu and Linux Mint Xfce on the other. This is neither good nor bad; rather, it speaks to the goal of each distro. In this, Linux Lite is more straightforward than MX if not quite as streamlined as Zorin, if not quite as polished as the latter two (Mint and Xubuntu). For example, Linux Lite does offer a home-made software store, but with just three dozen or so apps, it's nothing like the Ubuntu or Mint software centres. But for someone looking to switch from Windows or to experiment with Linux, it's probably sufficient.
Linux Lite 7.2 -- The Xfce desktop
(full image size: 172kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
The "Do you want to switch from Windows?" approach can be seen throughout the Linux Lite ecosystem. It's especially evident in the manual and documentation, which offers a step-by-step tutorial on downloading the ISO, using Rufus in Windows to burn the ISO to a thumb drive, and then installing the distro from the thumb drive. Almost every imaginable question is covered, complete with pictures and diagrams.
Getting started
Running a VirtualBox instance offered mixed results. The live desktop was laggy, and Chrome (the default web browser) sometimes failed to open. Clicking the help icon on the desktop didn't do anything, either. Given that, I skipped the VirtualBox installation and moved to my test machine.
The same sort of thing happened when I booted the ISO to run the live version of 7.2 on my test machine - no help after clicking the icon, sluggish behavior, and Chrome failing to open (which pointed to a distro error and probably not a VirtualBox problem). However, once I installed 7.2 (eight minutes from beginning to end, with the older Ubiquity installer) all was well.
The Linux Lite welcome screen, after the desktop appears, again seems to cover every eventuality - updates, theming, drivers, setting a restore point, plus help for hardware and booting and a link to the forums. Clicking the Drivers button brings up the Additional Drivers tab on the Software & Updates screen, which looks to be the same one that's available on Ubuntu.
Default software, besides Chrome, includes Xfce utilities (Xfburn for CDs, Catfish search, Mousepad text editor), the Shotwell photo manager, GIMP, Thunderbird for e-mail, VLC for music and videos, and the entire LibreOffice suite. There is also the Linux Mint Timeshift backup app and Red Hat's firewalld.
Linux Lite 7.2 -- The settings panel with Lite modules
(full image size: 140kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
In addition to the Lite software store, there are a variety of Lite-specific apps that aim to make specific tasks, or sets of tasks, easier. Lite Theme Manager, new this release, takes the standard Xfce theme manager and fine tunes it. Lite Sounds makes it ridiculously simple to add system sounds - just open the app and click a box. Lite Tweaks is designed for system configuration, allowing easy access to cleaning browser caches, fiddling with the kernel, and fine tuning the numlock status (among many others). The Lite Updates app has been re-written in Yad for more flexibility, but may still need some work as will be noted.
Linux Lite 7.2 -- Using Lite Tweaks to perform tasks
(full image size: 155kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Along with Linux Lite 7.2 the project has added an AI chatbot feature to its website, which actually offers value and just doesn't regurgitate an Internet search. I used it check system requirements and how long the release would be supported, and the answers came back quickly, but not always correctly. Sometimes the chatbot offers good suggestions and troubleshooting tips, but other times it confidently produces inaccurate information.
Through all of this, as mentioned, the distro is firmly aimed at those curious about switching from Windows and to make the transition as comfortable as possible. It's as easy to install Microsoft's Edge browser as it is to install Firefox, which is hardly a priority for most Linux distros. Many of the apps have been renamed to describe what they do, which makes perfect sense given the emphasis on converting Windows users. It's much easier to figure out what an app called Backup does, instead of its actual name, Deja Dup. In addition, the Xfce Whisker menu is in the lower left-hand corner, and it pops up and looks just like the Windows 10 menu. And yes, there is a My Computer entry in the Whisker menu.
A few problems?
Ironically, given all of this, package management remains very Linux - and almost old-fashioned at that. The only GUI, save for the minimal Lite app store, is Synaptic, and I actually used APT on the command line to do a fair amount of installing and updating. Plus, neither Snap or Flathub is installed. Both need to be added using the same commands as in Ubuntu, and this includes the GNOME repository for Flathub.
In one respect, this probably eliminates a lot of confusion for new users, and the Lite app store offers a decent spread of software (Spotify, Kodi, Handbrake, and Steam among them) that seems to have much of what a Windows user might want. But it can't be used to install something - or remove it later - that isn't listed. So I had to install Nextcloud and Plank with Synaptic.
Linux Lite 7.2 -- Accessing the terminal
(full image size: 124kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Also, the update process isn't as smooth as it could be. If you turn on the computer and try to update before the built-in Lite updater is ready, it won't update. Use the Lite updater before then - or even APT - and it just hangs. Plus, the update manager can be slow to set itself up after booting; it once took four minutes before it showed updates.
Despite the polish elsewhere, Lite 7.2 suffers from that most annoying of bugs - the CUPS "failed to connect to server" error when trying to add a printer using the GUI. Even though this is a CUPS problem, it doesn't always show up and I was hoping it wouldn't here. But no luck, so there will lots of head-scratching when a Windows user does a web search and is told to go to the browser, type "localhost:631" and then navigate the CUPS site to add a printer - when, of course, adding printers is one of the few things Windows does well.
In the end, Linux Lite 7.2 is a terrific example of what the Linux community does best - a straightforward, works out of the box distribution that is focused on a specific use and doesn't try to do too much or to be too many things to too many people. Yes, there are some annoyances, but they aren't big enough problems to make someone start pounding the keyboard and wishing they were still using Windows. And don't all of is want to avoid that?
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Hardware used for this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a Dell Latitude E7440 laptop with the following specifications:
- Processor: Intel i7-4600U
- Storage: 256 GB SSD
- Memory: 8GB of RAM
- Networking: Qualcomm Atheros AR9485
- Display: Intel HD Graphics 4400
When he is not testing out new versions of Linux distributions, Jeff Siegel can be found writing about all things related to wine at Wine Curmudgeon.
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Visitor supplied rating
Linux Lite has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8/10 from 124 review(s).
Have you used Linux Lite? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Murena offers Fairphone perk, Arch Linux installer gets new text interface, an Ubuntu security tool patched against exploits
Murena is an organization which offers a privacy-enhanced build of Android called /e/OS. Along with /e/OS, Murena also sells phones with the operating system pre-installed. The devices Murena sell are intended to have low environmental impact and are typically either refurbished Android phones or Fairphone devices. The Fairphone series of devices are intended to be maintained for several years (offering software updates and a warranty for five years), plus the phones are both repairable and upgradable. The two organizations, Murena and Fairphone, have an unusual plan for this year's Black Friday sales event: "Rather than reducing prices, from 25th November - 2nd December the brands will be donating €40 for every Fairphone smartphone purchased through murena.com to a Fairmined-certified Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) project in Huila, Colombia." People interested in supporting Murena and Fairphone can browse the available devices in Murena's on-line store.
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The Arch Linux project has a system installer, though it rarely gets talked about and is not used often; Arch is famous for its manual install process. Still, the system installer software continues to evolve and it now offers text-based menus through the curses interface. "TUI has been reworked and now uses curses, which allows us to do more complex layouts as well as give a new but familiar look and feel." Additional details and a screenshot are available via the project's announcement.
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In an ironic twist of fate, a utility which was developed to help keep Ubuntu systems secure has been revealed to include multiple security vulnerabilities which allow local users to gain root access. The needrestart tool checks to see if the dependencies of a program have been updated, implying the program or service should be restarted. Bleeping Computer reports: "Five local privilege escalation (LPE) vulnerabilities have been discovered in the needrestart utility used by Ubuntu Linux, which was introduced over 10 years ago [and included in Ubuntu] in version 21.04. The flaws were discovered by Qualys and are tracked as CVE-2024-48990, CVE-2024-48991, CVE-2024-48992, CVE-2024-10224, and CVE-2024-11003. They were introduced in needrestart version 0.8, released in April 2014, and fixed only yesterday, in version 3.8. needrestart is a utility commonly used on Linux, including on Ubuntu Server, to identify services that require a restart after package updates, ensuring that those services run the most up-to-date versions of shared libraries." People running Ubuntu should make sure they are running the new, 3.8 version of needrestart.
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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) |
Backing up specific folders in the user's home directory
The-important-stuff asks: I'm trying to backup just important files/folders from my laptop to a workstation. I've got an rsync command which looks like this, to try and backup just key folders:
rsync -a --include='Documents/' --include='Pictures/' --include='Music/' --exclude='\*' ~/ workstation:Backups/
But when I run this it copies everything from my home to the other computer. What is the proper way to do this?
DistroWatch answers: For people who have not used the rsync command before, let's break down the process. The rsync program synchronizes or copies files and directories between two locations. The two locations can be on the same computer or on different machines.
In its simplest form, an rsync command might look like this, copying the contents of our Documents directory to a Backup directory:
rsync -a ~/Documents/ ~/Backup/
When we want to copy files to another computer over the network we can do this by specifying the name of the computer in the destination. For instance, here we copy our Documents directory to a remote computer called workstation and save our documents in the Backup directory on the remote computer. As long as the remote computer has the OpenSSH service running, this should work:
rsync -a ~/Documents/ workstation:Backup/
Individual directories can be included or added to the files rsync will work with, that's what the "--include" parameters in the original instance are doing. We can also tell rsync to skip over specific files and directories by using the "--exclude" directive. This "exclude" feature can be handy when we want to copy almost everything, but wish to skip configuration files or hidden directories.
In the above question the person is telling rsync to make sure it includes the Documents, Pictures, and Music directories while skipping anything (any file or directory) that matches "\*". When a filter matches both an "include" and an "exclude" rule, I think the "include" rule wins. So the intention here is to make sure the Documents, Pictures, and Music directories are copied to the remote machine, while excluding any other files or directories in the user's home.
In this case, the fix is fairly straight forward. In the "--exclude='\*'" section of the command, we just need to remove the backslash. The proper command ends up looking like this:
rsync -a --include='Documents/' --include='Pictures/' --include='Music/' --exclude='*' ~/ workstation:Backups/
Why is the backslash a problem? The star (or asterisk, if you prefer) is a special character that means "match with anything". In most instances, using a backslash ("\") in a shell command means "treat the next character literally, not like a special shell character". But in this case, the asterisk was already being treated literally because it was surrounded by single-quotes.
In other words, the shell saw the single-quote characters and told rsync to exclude files with the sequence "\*", a backslash followed by anything. Virtually no files or directories would have a backslash in the name, resulting in no files matching the exclude rule.
When we take the backslash out of the command, and ask rsync to just exclude the asterisk (match anything), it dutifully ignores everything that is not explicitly listed in the "include" list. In other words, the contents of Documents, Pictures, and Music are copied over to the workstation while everything else matches the "exclude" rule and is ignored.
I'd like to note that when creating rsync commands, even simple ones, it is a good idea to test them before using them in earnest. Using the "-v" flag turns on verbose output, showing us what rsync is doing. Using the "--dry-run" flag tells rsync not to actually make any changes, just to tell us what it would do. The "--dry-run" flag avoids copying or deleting any files which might be affected by the rsync command. For example, here we tell rsync to synchronize our Documents directory with the Backup directory, removing any files from Backup that are not also in the source (Documents):
rsync -av --dry-run --delete ~/Documents/ ~/Backup/
Once we have tried it and confirmed rsync is behaving properly, we can drop the "--dry-run" flag:
rsync -av --delete ~/Documents/ ~/Backup/
This is a helpful way to test scripts without risking deleting files we want to keep.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
AlmaLinux OS 9.5
The AlmaLinux OS project has published a new stable release, AlmaLinux OS 9.5. The new version focuses on security improvements and performance enhancements. The release announcement states: "The AlmaLinux OS Foundation is announcing the general availability of AlmaLinux OS 9.5, code-named 'Teal Serval'. AlmaLinux 9.5 aims to improve performance, development tooling, and security. Updated module streams offer better support for web applications. New versions of compilers provide access to the latest features and optimizations that improve performance and enable better code generation. The release also introduces improvements to system performance monitoring, visualization, and system performance data collecting. Security updates are directed at strengthening cryptography, while SELinux policies enforce stricter access controls. Additionally, crypto-policies offer stronger encryption, improving the overall security of the system. You can read the full release notes for this version on the wiki, AlmaLinux OS 9.5 release notes."
Rocky Linux 9.5
Rocky Linux is a clone of Red Hat Enterprise Linux which strives to be "bug-for-bug" compatible with upstream. The project's latest release is Rocky Linux 9.5 which features updates to administrative tools such as Podman, Cockpit, and development tools. "Notable new features and changes: Podman - Rocky Linux 9.5 ships with the latest and greatest Podman version 5.0; Podman 5.0 introduces exciting new features like fast Podman machine boot times, Podman Farm for multi-platform image building, greater compatibility for volumes in podman kube play, Quadlet enhancements and a more performant default networking stack; Cockpit, the web console for easy remote server management, now provides file management capabilities via the Cockpit Files plugin, this feature requires installing the cockpit-files package; dynamic programming languages, web and database servers - Apache HTTP Server 2.4.62, Node.js 22; system toolchain - GCC 11.5, Annobin 12.70; performance tools and debuggers - GDB 14.2, Valgrind 3.23.0, SystemTap 5.1, elfutils 0.191, libabigail 2.5...." Additional information is offered through the distribution's release announcement and release notes.
Oracle Linux 9.5
Gursewak Sokhi has announced the release of Oracle Linux 9 Update 5, the latest stable release of Oracle's Linux distribution built from the source code of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). This new version updates the OpenJDK Java platform to version 17 and the .NET development platform to version 9.0. "Oracle is pleased to announce that Oracle Linux 9 Update 5 for the 64-bit Intel and AMD (x86_64) and 64-bit Arm (aarch64) platforms is now generally available. This release is packaged with the following kernel options: Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) Release 7 Update 3, 5.15 for the x86_64 and aarch64 platforms; Red Hat Compatible Kernel (RHCK), 5.14 for the x86_64 platform. The following highlights select features, enhancements and changes introduced in this Oracle Linux 9 release: the default Oracle Linux 9 Java is changed from OpenJDK 11 to OpenJDK 17; .NET is updated to version 9.0 which enables the C#13 and F#9 programming languages; GCC Toolset 14 is available as an Application Stream in the form of a Software Collection in the AppStream repository...." See the release announcement and the release notes for further details.
Proxmox 8.3 "Virtual Environment"
The Promox Virtual Environment (VE) distribution is is a Debian-based, open source virtualisation platform for running virtual appliances and virtual machines. The project's latest release, Proxmox 8.3 Virtual Environment, improves its software-defined networking while also updating its kernel and ZFS packages. "This version is based on Debian 12.8 (Bookworm), but uses the Linux kernel 6.8.12-4 as stable default, and allows for opt-in use of kernel 6.11. The software includes updates to the latest versions of leading open-source technologies for virtual environments like QEMU 9.0.2, LXC 6.0.0 , and ZFS 2.2.6 (with compatibility patches for Kernel 6.11). Alignment of the Software-Defined Networking (SDN) stack with the firewall: The SDN technology allows users to create virtual zones and networks (VNets), enabling them to effectively manage and control complex networking configurations and multitenancy setups via the web interface of Proxmox VE. The SDN stack is now more closely integrated with the firewall, with the ability to automatically generate IP sets for VNets and virtual guests managed by the IP address management plugin. Referencing IP sets in the firewall rules simplifies their creation and maintenance. In addition, the opt-in firewall based on nftables now has the capability to filter forwarded network traffic at the host and at the virtual network (VNet) level. For example, this can be used to restrict SNAT traffic or traffic flowing from one Simple Zone to another." Additional information can be found in the project's release announcement and in the release notes.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Torrent Corner |
Weekly Torrents
The table below provides a list of torrents DistroWatch is currently seeding. If you do not have a bittorrent client capable of handling the linked files, we suggest installing either the Transmission or KTorrent bittorrent clients.
Archives of our previously seeded torrents may be found in our Torrent Archive. We also maintain a Torrents RSS feed for people who wish to have open source torrents delivered to them. To share your own open source torrents of Linux and BSD projects, please visit our Upload Torrents page.
Torrent Corner statistics:
- Total torrents seeded: 3,116
- Total data uploaded: 45.9TB
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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) |
Should we include GNOME OS and KDE Linux?
Last week we talked about KDE Linux, an upcoming distribution which will combine an Arch Linux base with the latest KDE software. This project will provide a similar experience to KDE neon, showcasing new developments from the KDE team. The GNOME project already has its own distribution, GNOME OS, which features the latest developments in GNOME desktop software. The GNOME OS project explicitly warns that it's not intended for regular use: "This is pre-release software. Bad things may happen if you use it in production." KDE Linux, with its immutable base, is likely to be more stable, but also experimental.
Should DistroWatch list these highly specific, possibly (and intentionally) unstable projects? Or should KDE Linux and GNOME OS be considered perpetual beta testing platforms for internal use by their own communities?
You can see the results of our previous poll on running AlmaLinux OS or Debian at home in our previous edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Should DistroWatch feature GNOME OS and KDE Linux?
| Yes - both: | 1141 (35%) |
| Just GNOME OS: | 37 (1%) |
| Just KDE Linux: | 218 (7%) |
| No - neither: | 1842 (57%) |
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| Website News |
DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 2 December 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 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
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| Random Distribution | 
XigmaNAS
XigmaNAS (formerly NAS4Free) is an embedded open-source NAS (Network-Attached Storage) distribution based on FreeBSD. XigmaNAS supports sharing across multiple operating systems, including Windows, Apple and UNIX-like systems. XigmaNAS is easy to set up in most home and enterprise environments and will allow to manage and share large amounts of data easily across a network. XigmaNAS also incorporates many different streaming features for sharing multimedia with other devices on the network. XigmaNAS includes ZFS v28 (RAIDZ, RAIDZ2 and RAIDZ3) Software RAID (0,1,5), Disk Encryption, S.M.A.R.T / Email Reports, and it supports the following protocols: CIFS (samba), FTP, NFS, TFTP, AFP, RSYNC, Unison, iSCSI (initiator and target), HAST, CARP, Bridge, UPnP, and BitTorrent. All are highly configurable by using a web interface.
Status: Active
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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!
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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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