 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 57, 12 July 2004 |
Welcome to this year's 28th edition of DistroWatch Weekly. This issue departs from the usual format in some peculiar ways, due to a new maintainer and an almost unbelievable string of weird circumstances that have occurred in the past week. Details of this exciting tale and other (more relevant) subjects can be found below. Enjoy!
Content:
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| Holidays in Hell - Robert Storey's First Week at Distrowatch |
As was announced in last week's Distrowatch Weekly News that - after three years of non-stop slaving in front of his computer - Ladislav Bodnar (and his "significant other") have finally decided to take that long-planned badly-needed summer vacation to Europe. Obviously not wanting to see all his hard work go down the tubes during his absence, Ladislav recruited me (Robert Storey) as a substitute website maintainer. I was honored to be entrusted with this sacred task! In preparation, I spent a week camped out on the floor of Ladislav's apartment, and diligently paid attention as he carefully instructed me on all the technical details. As the date of the "handover" approached, I felt a growing sense of confidence - it was going to be a piece of cake.
Perhaps you've heard of Murphy's Law? The first indication that all might not go smoothly occurred on the eve of Ladislav's departure, when I was rushed to the hospital doubled up in pain. I got to spend the entire night on a morphine drip (much less fun than it sounds), but was released the next morning and allowed to go home with the understanding that I would follow up with a doctor's appointment and some tests. I went back to Ladislav's house and began updating Distrowatch, but within a few hours I was back at the hospital with more of the same. I'd like to point out that this is not something I usually do.
The hospital misdiagnosed my condition, and indeed almost did a (wrong) emergency surgery. I'll spare my readers all the gory details, but to make a long story short, I got on my cell phone and called "the little woman," who hopped on a plane and retrieved me from the clutches of the medical staff. We made it as far as the airport, where I collapsed again, and we were thus unable to board our flight. We took a taxi to a nearby (different) hospital, and actually this proved to be a good move. The staff at this medical institution were far more competent, and within the hour I was properly diagnosed with a (drumroll, please) kidney stone. After spending one more fun-filled evening in the emergency room, I (we) finally succeeded in getting on an airplane and flew back home.
Until a few days ago, I barely knew the difference between a kidney stone and the Rosetta Stone, but needless to say I've boned up on the subject considerably (thank you, Google). Indeed, I almost feel like an expert (again, I'll spare readers the details). Although my original plan to house-sit for Ladislav (and enjoy his broadband connections) is now in tatters, I believe I can maintain Distrowatch from home with my slow 56K modem. Fortunately, every cloud has its silver lining, and I actually was very happy to leave the BIG city (where Ladislav lives) and get back to my rural backwater to play with my desktop computer, my motorcycle, my two dogs, and "the little woman," though not necessarily in that order.
Not surprisingly, during the past week I was remiss in my duties of updating Distrowatch, which really needs to be done on a daily basis. I also neglected to answer my email, including a few really important ones. In all fairness, I must say that I had a splendid excuse. However, time waits for no one, so (assuming no more nasty surprises) I'm going to put my nose to the grindstone and see if I can clear out the backlog of news which has been piling up in my inbox.
So that's how I spent the first week of my summer vacation. I hope yours was better.
By the way, if anyone is interested, I'm running Distrowatch on Knoppix. I don't mean the Distrowatch server (which resides in a web hosting service half-a-world away), but rather my own machine on which I build the website. I chose Knoppix in large part because the server runs on Debian, and it's very convenient to have both my desktop and the server so nicely compatible (everything in the same directories). Aside from all that, I really like Knoppix.
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| Little Known Open Source Apps |
Normally every week we like post a topic that triggers some readers' discussion and debate. As you now all know, I didn't get to spend any time in front of the computer last week reading tech news, or any other news - indeed, had World War III broken out, I probably wouldn't have heard about it. However, I did get to spend a considerable amount of quality time lying in bed thinking about Distrowatch, and one interesting topic that flashed through my mind was "useful open source applications." In particular, open source applications which are not well known.
Sure, everyone has heard of Mozilla, The Gimp and OpenOffice (well, at least everyone who reads this website). But I wonder how many people here have ever heard of Gramps (a genealogy program)? Not that I personally use it (since I'd rather not know who my ancestors were), but my brother is a real genealogy buff and he says that Gramps is good. I'll take his word for it.
Since I'm a writer by profession, I'm always interested in tools that can help me write more intelligibly (even if not more intelligently). A good example of a little known open source gem is Wordinspect, a GTK-based dictionary client (this is not to be confused with a spelling dictionary). Although it can be used to look up words online, I find it even more useful to combine it with a dictionary package (like Dict-gcide) - this creates a standalone reference dictionary on my hard disk. If you're running a Debian-based distro (as I currently am), you would install it like this:
apt-get install wordinspect dict-gcide
Back in the days when I was using MS-DOS, I went out and bought the American Heritage Dictionary for about US$100. That was a fine tool, but it's not available for Linux or the BSDs. Now I run Wordinspect, which has the added advantage of being free:
Wordinspect
Wordinspect is a fairly large application. On the opposite extreme is Antiword, a tiny little applet that I use frequently. The sole function of Antiword is to turn Microsoft Word documents into ASCII text files.
How does one go about discovering these hidden gems? Aside from word-of-mouth or dumb luck, you can also browse through the massive list of packages in Debian unstable. You can download this as a text file:
http://packages.debian.org/unstable/allpackages.en.txt.gz
Do realize that it's a very long list (over 16,000 packages at this time). There is also the inconvenient little fact that the names assigned to packages by the Debian maintainers don't always coincide with the names that other (rpm-based) distros use. Nevertheless, the Debian package list is a good place to start your search.
But like I said, there is always word-of-mouth, and I would certainly like to hear the opinion of readers. What useful barely known open source apps have you discovered?
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| Released Last Week |
As already mentioned, I've got a lot of stuff piled up in my inbox. It's 3 am here (time zone +8), I've been munching on pain-killers and I'm almost ready to fall out of the chair. But before I go, here's a brief synopsis of what's sitting in the inbox (more details will be forthcoming in the next few days):
Release version '0.5.4c' of 'redWall Firewall' is available through freshmeat.net. All URLs and other useful
information can be found at:
http://freshmeat.net/projects/redwall/
Version '0.7.2' of 'Damn Small Linux' has been released and can be downloaded via freshmeat.net. All URLs and other useful information can be found at:
http://freshmeat.net/projects/damnsmalllinux/
Lormalinux 5 64-bit version beta is now available at:
http://linux.lorma.edu
Again, apologies for the hiatus. I know it was very unprofessional of me to almost drop dead on the job this week. I'll try to make sure that doesn't happen again. Until later...
Robert Storey
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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 | 
Rescuezilla
Rescuezilla is a specialist Ubuntu-based distribution designed for system rescue tasks, including backups and system restoration. It was forked from the "Redo Backup & Rescue" project which was abandoned in 2012. Like its predecessor, it allows a "bare-metal restore" after any hardware failure directly from the live image. Some of the features include: works directly from the live CD/USB image; works with Linux, macOS and Windows; automatically searches a local area network for drives to backup to or restore from; recovers lost or deleted data files; includes configuration tools for managing disk and drives. Rescuezilla uses a simplified LXDE user interface.
Status: Active
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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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