DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 20, 20 October 2003 |
"Free" versus "Commercial"
The release of Mandrake Linux 9.2 last week marked an important point on the MandrakeSoft's road. It happened for the first time in the distribution's 5-year history that the final product was withheld until retail boxes are ready for shipment. While most users can understand this policy of a company which has a duty to report to its stakeholders, from a purely user point of view, it did take some fun away. The usual rush to search for fast download mirrors, the excitement of installing from the freshly burnt CDs or the thrill of waiting for the first boot to complete - for many Mandrake users, last week was nothing but a nostalgic reminiscence of the good times when Mandrake Linux releases were available immediately, free for all.
This brings up the old debate of choosing a distribution, not just based on features, but also on its status in terms of "free" (beer). In the past, this distinction was often blurred - Mandrake was a prime example of being a commercial company, yet giving the product away for free - until they learnt the hard way that the two concepts are in severe conflict. Some companies, such as Xandros, Lindows.com and even SUSE knew this from the beginning and chose not to give their work away, at the expense of surrendering market share to those who did. As with the recent release of Lycoris Desktop/LX, an increasing number of Linux companies are trying to restrict or delay the availability of their new products. In fact, of the major and established Linux distributions, the only commercial company that makes the product freely available immediately after release is Slackware.
Will this trend lead to increased migration to non-commercial distributions? While many small distributions are indeed free in both senses of the word, of the major ones there isn't that much of a choice. Enough has been said about Debian and Gentoo - wonderful as they are, they are far from being the most user-friendly products on the market. Are there any truly free distributions for those who have little interest in tinkering with their operating system? One of the more promising ones is Ark Linux. Although still in heavy development, the product has attracted some highly skilled developers with great new ideas. Don't be surprised if Ark Linux becomes one of the top Linux distributions in the not-too-distant future.
Arabic Linux
Perhaps the greatest strength of the Linux operating system and free software is the world-wide developer community, working out of sheer interest. This has been demonstrated by a massive and ongoing volunteer effort at translating popular applications and documentation into many languages, including some obscure ones or some which have a complex writing system. Arabic and Farsi (Persian) are two languages that have attracted much volunteer effort in recent months. And the results are becoming more and more visible. The Arabic Linux community has a unifying umbrella under Arabeyes.org (web site in English), with one of the projects being the Arabbix distribution. Arabbix is a modified version of Morphix and the first public release, version 0.8, was announced last weekend. Still in the Middle East, the Iran Linux User Group is currently working on another live CD project called Shabdix (web site in Farsi). While the distribution is not yet available for public download, a first review (in Farsi) with a handful of screenshots has been published by Technotux.

Screenshot: Arabbix Desktop (full image size 837kB)
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| Released Last Week |
Office optimized Linux 17.00o
antitachyon - Manalo & Willner OEG have announced a release of Office optimized Linux (OoL) 17.00o: "OoL - Office optimized Linux 17.00o, a new Linux distribution series based on Server optimized Linux was released today. OoL 17.00o is a distribution customized and optimized for office use, with the easy-to-use KDE desktop with lots of programs for document-, appointment-, e-mail-, and media-management. As a special highlight, OoL 17.00o is presented with Open Office 1.1.0. The distribution OoL - Office optimized Linux can be downloaded for free or bought at a low price in the SoL-shop." Visit the above links for the rest of the press release and further information.
Damn Small Linux 0.4.9
Damn Small Linux 0.4.9 has been released. From the changelog: "For simplifying the restoration of apt after a HD install, I wrote a small script that will do the work of restoring the dpkg database so people don't have to do it manually. To use it type 'sudo dpkg-restore'. I brought emeLFM more into the DSL system, now it should launch installed programs when items are clicked on; also, now it will open with $HOME on one side and '/ ' on the other. Also added is nfs-common (lockd, statd, showmount, and nfsstat) and protmap which should allow DSL to act as a thin client (thanks for the suggestion Robert S.)..." More in the changelog.
Mandrake Linux 9.2
The much awaited Mandrake Linux 9.2 has been released: "Mandrake 9.2 is now available (press release here)! Celebrate this five-star new release with us: discover all its features and all new Packs, including the very new "Discovery" office/multimedia desktop pack. Mandrake Club Members and all 9.2 contributors (developers, translators...) can download Mandrake 9.2 ISOs at MandrakeClub with the BitTorrent technology. Additionally, Mandrake Club Silver Members and above can even download the first three ISO images from the PowerPack! If you aren't a Club Member yet, either you can subscribe right now, or download Mandrake 9.2 from the raw tree, or wait the public release of Mandrake 9.2 ISO images, by the end of October, when all packs will be available in retail. Last but not least you can pre-order your pack or your DVD now at MandrakeStore.com to be among the first to receive it when it begins shipping." The announcement says it all.
GNU/LinEx 3.0r2
A new version of GNU/LinEx has been released. Version 3.0r2 marks an important transition in the development of GNU/LinEx - from now on only software released under GPL or GPL-compatible license will be included in the distribution. Some of the important changes in this release include: upgrade to OpenOffice 1.1; new OpenOffice QuickStart applet; new configuration tools for setting up network, users and printers; upgrade to MPlayer 1.0rc2; inclusion of some LinEx-edu files currently under development; removal of Java and NVIDIA drivers; bug fixes; updated Spanish translation. Existing installations can be upgraded via 'actualizar-linex'. See the full announcement (in Spanish) for further details.
SUSE LINUX 9.0
SUSE has updated the web page detailing features of the new SUSE LINUX 9.0: "We would like to invite you to get to know SUSE LINUX 9.0 before you decide to order it. The new SUSE LINUX 9 boasts a number of innovative technologies that greatly facilitate the system migration for Linux newcomers. Experienced Linux users benefit from additional system administration and system tuning features. Click here to read the interview with Chris Schläger, Director of Distribution Development, in which he explains the most important new features in detail. The time is ripe for SUSE LINUX on the home PC. SUSE LINUX is more than an efficient and stable operating system. SUSE LINUX comes with all applications you need for the Internet, office, images, audio, video, and network. Check out ten good reasons why you should migrate to SUSE LINUX as soon as possible." Visit the above links for all the glory details. If you are still hesitating, you can test drive the new SUSE 9.0 by downloading its new Live-Eval CD from one of the mirrors.
Arabbix 0.8
Arabbix is a new distribution in our database. Developed by Anmar Oueja and based on Morphix, Arabbix claims to be the world's first Arabic live CD. The release was announced on Arabeyes.org: "Arabeyes would like to announce the first full public release of Arabbix. Version 0.8 will be distributed (courtesy of the Saudi Computer Society) at Gitex in Dubai (Oct 19 - 23) and is, as always, available for download free of any charges. Arabbix includes most applications an Arab user might require or need. Arabbix is not only intended to attract new users and to cement the virtues of Open Source and Linux as a fully functional Arabic desktop medium, but is also hoped that it will engrave into people's hearts and minds Arabeyes' 'can be done' and 'results oriented' attitude and goals." See the Arabbix project page for more details and screenshots.
Local Area Security Linux 0.4 MAIN
A new stable version of Local Area Security Linux (L.A.S.), MAIN branch, version 0.4, has been released: "I am pleased to announce the release of Local Area Security Linux 0.4 MAIN! Many additions and bug fixes have been made since the beta version. Over 60 new packages have been added. As well as existing packages being updated to the current releases. Another addition of importance is Fabian Franz's 'toram' linuxrc routine to copy the CD image into RAM. This allows the utilization of CD burners etc. All that is required is enough physical RAM to load the image (185MB). Many additions to the website will go along with this release are slated to be added over the coming days as well. Please feel free to use our forums to report issues, make comments, or seek help." Read the complete announcement.
Development Releases
Unannounced Releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Oralux 1.00
Oralux has published a roadmap leading to its 1.00 release, with outlook towards version 2.00: "We wish to follow a humble and pragmatic approach. First with Oralux 1.00, targeting users who know GNU/Linux or who are able to learn it. Release 2.00 will more concern the persons who have no particular skill to use a computer, whereas the computer would be useful for them. The intuitive interface will help the newcomer to go towards the Emacspeak and Emacs world." See the rest of the roadmap for further details.
OpenNA Linux 1.0
After many months in development, the server oriented OpenNA Linux 1.0 is ready for release."The new Official OpenNA Linux 1.0 (VSLC) O/S is now in its stable and working stage and is listed as a new product on our e-commerce for USD $47.95 to be introduced officially on October 31, 2003. We count on our loyal customers to support OpenNA during this tough period by purchasing at a pre-official introduction price of USD $37.95 our new OpenNA Linux O/S. Remember that your participation will help us to continue to support and serve you continuously." ISO images will be available on 31 October.
Eagle Linux 3.0
Eagle Linux, a bootable CD toolkit based on Debian, will also be released on 31 October: "Eagle Linux version 3.0 will be released on October 31, 2003. As you may know, Eagle Linux is developed by a single individual (with the assistance of a handful of beta testers). A family issue has kept Eagle from furthering development until this time. My deepest apologies to those of you who have been awaiting this release, and my deepest gratitude to those who have. If you would like to subscribe to the Eagle Linux mailing list, please send an email with the word subscribe in the subject."
LinuxInstall.org now supports Fedora Core 0.95 on DVD
LinuxInstall.org has announced support for the Fedora Project: "The Fedora Project is a Red-Hat-sponsored and community-supported open source project. LinuxInstall.org now supports Fedora Project by offering Fedora Core 0.95 Test Release on DVD for only $10 including basic installation support. LinuxInstall.org still offers Fedora Core 0.95 in 3 CD-SET is for only $5."
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| Web Site News |
Many thanks to Stanislaw for translating parts of the site into Polish.
New additions
- Burapha Linux. Burapha Linux is a free Linux distribution developed from Slackware. The Burapha Linux project is developed at the Burapha Linux lab, computer science department, Burapha University, Thailand. The primary purpose of development is for the computer science students to learn the infrastructure of a UNIX system, and apply the acquired knowledge in their research and projects. The installation program was first developed by Mr. Ham, and other custom packages were further developed by computer science students at the Burapha linux lab. While Burapha Linux is a derivative of Slackware Linux, it now contains a completely different installation system, a different feature set, and some additional custom packages. For example, Thai language features, database management system packages and different network feature sets have been added to meet user requirements.
- AbulÉdu. AbulÉdu is a French Linux distribution, specifically designed for data processing in educational establishments. Originally based on Mandrake Linux, the most recent release is based on Debian/Knoppix.
- Berry Linux. Berry Linux is a bootable CD Linux with automatic hardware detection and support for many graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI and USB devices and other peripherals. Berry Linux can be used as a Linux demo, educational CD or as a rescue system. It is not necessary to install anything on a hard disk, although this option is also available (it needs 1.2GB of hard disk space). Berry Linux is based on Red Hat Linux and Knoppix.
- ThePacketMaster Linux. ThePacketMaster (TPM) Linux Security Server gives you a full toolkit of open source security software to perform vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Forensic analysis tools are also included. TPM Linux boots and runs from the CD-ROM - this allows any machine to instantly run TPM Linux, without having go through an installation. Just put the TPM Disc into the CD-ROM drive and boot from it. TPM Linux has a wide selection of open-source security auditing utilities and computer forensic toolkits. Since the programs can all be run from the CD, nothing needs to be installed on the system in order to collect evidence, helping to ensure the evidence isn't damaged in any way.
- BlackRhino GNU/Linux. BlackRhino GNU/Linux is a free Debian-based GNU/Linux software distribution for the Sony PlayStation 2. It contains over 1,200 software packages to aid in using and creating programs for the Sony PlayStation 2 Linux kit. The programs range in functionality from simple games, to text editors, compilers, web servers, windowing systems, database systems, graphics packages, mail servers and a variety of other tools and utilities. The software distribution was created by xRhino for a commercial Sony PlayStation 2 title. It is released in the hopes that the distribution will help hobbyists create their own games and applications that utilise the advanced programmable hardware of the PS2.
- Drinou Linux. Drinou Linux is an operating system of the Linux family, based on Slackware Linux distribution and on kernel 2.2.x. It can be installed both on an ext2 filesystem (on a dedicated partition) or on a DOS filesystem (as a loopback device). It can be installed from DOS, Linux, in umsdos mode or via FTP. Basic installation requires a 486 PC with 8 MB RAM and 105 MB minimum hard disk space. During the installation another 150 MB will be used.
- Arabbix. Arabbix is the world's first Arabic Live-CD (run-from-CD) distribution that showcases Arabeyes' and others' accomplishments and results - it includes most of the applications an Arab user might require or need. Arabbix is not only intended to attract new users and to cement the virtues of Open Source and Linux as a fully functional Arabic desktop medium, but is also hoped that it will engrave into people's hearts and minds Arabeyes' "can be done" and "results oriented" attitude and goals.
- Local Area Security (L.A.S.) Linux. Local Area Security Linux is a 'Live CD' distribution with a strong emphasis on security tools and small footprint. We currently have 2 different versions of L.A.S. to fit two specific needs - MAIN and SECSERV. This project is released under the terms of GPL.
New on the waiting list
- Ankur Bangla Live! CD is a Knoppix-based live CD with support for the Bangla (Bengali) language.
- BioBrew Linux is an open source Linux cluster distribution that is enhanced for life scientists. BioBrew automates cluster installation, includes all the HPC software a cluster enthusiast needs, and contains popular bioinformatics applications.
- Console Linux is a commercial Brazilian Linux distribution.
- MUMi-LinuX is a server-specific distribution made in Turkey.
- Gentooish Security Toolkit i386 LiveCD is Gentooish Linux LiveCD with many security tools, usable in any i386 and above.
Removed from the waiting list
- PlumpOS, which has not released any files during the past 6 months.
DistroWatch database summary
- Number of distributions in the database: 188
- Number of discontinued distributions: 24
- Number of distributions on the waiting list: 65
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| Reader Feedback |
On Elx Linux 3.0
- "I contacted the people at ELX and they said that 3.0 will be released very soon. While not much has been going on, it seems to be alive as well as I got a very quick response."
On old Red Hat releases
- "I'm interesting not in the newest, but in the oldest ones. Since you should know a lot about Linux distributions, I decided to ask this question to you: Do you have an idea where to get old Red Hat Linux releases (Mother's Day or 2.0/3.0?). I've looked through ftp.redhat.com and mirrors and ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/historic-linux but things I've found there can be hardly seen as a complete distro. Any help will be greatly appreciated."
Red Hat removed their earliest releases from FTP servers a long time ago and they are very hard to find. If any of the readers know where to find one, or if any of you have some old CDs (or floppy disks) lying around, please let us know.
A note of absence
Please note that I will be taking a short break away from my computer for a few days this week, during which news updates will come slower than usual - sorry about that. All should be back to normal by the end of the week.
That's all for this week, keep well and see you next Monday :-)
Ladislav Bodnar
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Archives |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Full list of all issues |
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| Random Distribution | 
ElysiaOS
ElysiaOS combines the Arch Linux distribution with the Hyprland tiling compositor and a theme based on the Elysia character of the Honkai Impact 3rd mobile game. The distribution also includes a custom settings application, a system updater with support for Pacman and YAY package managers, and a unique GRUB menu.
Status: Active
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