 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 95, 11 April 2005 |
Welcome to this year's 15th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! This week, Ladislav Bodnar - Distrowatch's creator and workaholic maintainer - was called away to Slovakia due to a family emergency. With no more than a few hours to pack and catch his flight, Ladislav dug up me, Robert Storey, to substitute for him during his absence (Gosh, he must have been desperate). In further news, Ladislav says he plans to be away for 10 days, so it looks like you'll be stuck with me next week too! However, I promise to do my best, and so without further ado, here is the news.
"You know, we've won awards for this crap."
-- David Letterman, TV talk show host
Content:
BitKeeper - No More Free Beer
It's probably safe to assume that the majority of Linux users have never installed BitKeeper. There are several reasons for this, the first being that your friendly local mirror isn't going to have a RPM or DEB file free for the downloading. That's because BitKeeper is a closed-source commercial product.
Even if it was open source, not everyone would want it since it's only of use to programmers (and not every programmer really needs it). BitKeeper is a revision control system (RCS). It allows a group of programmers in far-flung geographical locations to work on a single project and then merge their code. Thanks to BitKeeper, Linus Torvalds (currently residing in Portland, Oregon, USA) is able to work with literally hundreds of kernel hackers in Europe, Australia and other disparate locations.
One might ask why Linux kernel hackers would even consider using a closed-source product. The simple answer is that BitKeeper happens to be the best in its class. A good RCS can speed up development considerably - Linus reckons that BitKeeper has doubled productivity. However, using closed source tools to develop open source software makes many developers uncomfortable. Linus was persuaded to make the move to BitKeeper three years ago largely thanks to Larry McVoy of BitMover, who offered Linux kernel developers free use of the software.
Despite the enhanced productivity, many denounced the move to BitKeeper at the time, warning that it was always possible for BitMover to revoke the "free beer" any time they chose to do so. And now it seems that this has happened. The ostensible reason for BitMover's decision was that OSDL (the Open Source Development Lab) was paying a developer who was also working on reverse engineering BitKeeper.
Thus, it was with a heavy heart that Linus announced that he would phase out use of BitKeeper. The big question now is, what will replace it? In the pre-BitKeeper era, the revision control system used by almost every open source hacker was CVS Concurrent Versions System (read more about it on the CVS home page). Although CVS has a long and proud history, it's not without its shortcomings, and there have been several open source projects to come up with a more modern alternative.
Among the better-known candidates are Subversion (which Linus has rejected as inadequate) and Monotone. A list of other possibilities can be found here. It's entirely likely that the open source community will rise to the challenge and develop a totally new, wonderful RCS that will blow everything else away.
A lengthy (but very interesting) discussion on the whole BitKeeper controversy can be found on KernelTrap. We'd also be interested to hear your views. Considering the enhanced productivity, did Linus make the right decision to adopt BitKeeper in the first place? And what would be the best alternative now? Please comment below.
* * * * *
Ubuntu Reviews - The Flood Begins
 Ubuntu Linux 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog) was just released a few days ago and already the first reviews are trickling in. Expect the trickle to become a flood soon. A short but excellent review is posted on Forever Geek. One of the best tips is the author's suggestion to head over to the Ubuntu Guide web site. The review has some helpful reader's comments, and we'd also be interested to hear from our own readers about what they think of this new blockbuster release.
Spring time is traditionally when a large number of hot new releases hit the download mirrors. April is already shaping up to be an auspicious month for Linux/*BSD fans, and May promises to be even more interesting. Will this at long last be the year when Linux can match that "other operating system" on the desktop (and when the *BSDs finally bury commercial embedded systems?). Exciting times lie just ahead.
* * * * *
CUPS - Get the FAQs
The name "O'Reilly" is practically synonymous with good documentation for open source software, and one of the classic O'Reilly tomes is the Linux Cookbook by Carla Schroder. In recent years, O'Reilly has been releasing sample chapters from their books as PDF files, and some of these have become classic FAQs that users cherish. In this spirit, O'Reilly has released a CUPS PDF file. Go to this page and scroll down about 1/3 to find the link to the file.
CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) burst upon the Linux scene about five years ago and has greatly simplified printer configuration. It's a major advance over the old LPR system, largely thanks to the all the sophisticated CUPS printer drivers. Aside from offering basic point-and-click setup for a single user, with a little bit of intelligent tweaking you can make CUPS work as a printer server for an entire office. Grab the PDF and learn how it's done.
|
| Released Last Week |
KANOTIX 2005-02
KANOTIX 2005-02 (32 Bit Edition) is out now: "This is a Linux Live CD based on KNOPPIX technology using mostly pure Debian/sid... This time the complete distro is based on Debian/sid (even XFree) - optimal for HD Install! Many WLAN drivers added including NdisWrapper. New Kernel 2.6.11.7 with some patches." More details including download links for FTP/BitTorrent/rsync are available here (in English) or here (in German). Download: KANOTIX-2005-02.iso (702MB).
SLAX 5.0.1
A bugfix release of the SLAX live CD is now available. From the changelog: "X fonts are configured properly now, international characters should work OK; initrd contains codepage cp437, a module for access to vfat filesystems; udev is started even with nohotplug boot argument; MySLAX creator upgraded to 1.7 and finaly works OK; fluxbox command replaced by flux one; gui* scripts start xwindow in vesa mode, use xconf for hw autodetection; fixed slax-install, heavily tested; SLAX doesn't boot from USB when installed as a LiveCD. It will be fixed soon!" Download: slax-5.0.1.iso (190MB). BitTorrent access is also provided.
DragonFly BSD 1.2.0
The second major release of DragonFly BSD is out: "This release represents a significant milestone in our efforts to improve the kernel infrastructure. DragonFly is still running under the Big Giant Lock, but this will probably be the last release where that is the case. The greatest progress has been made in the network subsystem. The TCP stack is now almost fully threaded... It goes without saying that this release is far more stable than our 1.0A release. A huge number of bug fixes, performance improvements, and design changes have been made since the 1.0A release." Find the release sites and the full release notes on dragonflybsd.org. Download: dfly-1.2.0_REL.iso.gz (81.5MB).
KNOPPIX 3.8.1
KNOPPER.NET is announcing KNOPPIX 3.8.1: "In a few days, KNOPPIX Version 3.8.1 will be available on the mirrors. It's an update for the 3.8 Cebit 2005 Edition, featuring: kernel 2.6.11 as default; write support for all virtual directories (i.e. live-installation of software without writable media is possible) in a running live system, made possible through UNIONFS; native support for ipw2200 (Centrino2) WLAN chipsets; permanent homedirectory on harddisk (even on NTFS); KDE 3.3.2, Gimp 2.2.4, OpenOffice 1.1.4 and many updates; wallpaper and bootscreen graphics design by newthinking communications." Download from one of the mirrors: KNOPPIX_V3.8.1-2005-04-08-EN.iso (686MB) or KNOPPIX_V3.8.1-2005-04-08-DE.iso (686MB). A BitTorrent tracker is also provided here.
Ubuntu Linux 5.04
Ubuntu Linux 5.04, code name "Hoary Hedgehog", is now available. It offers the following new features: Simple and fast installation, live CD's for Intel x86, AMD64 and PPC, GNOME 2.10.1, Firefox 1.0.2, first class productivity software, and X.org 6.8.2. Read the announcement and the complete release notes. Quick download links for the i386 architecture: ubuntu-5.04-install-i386.iso (587MB) and ubuntu-5.04-live-i386.iso (625MB). Install CD and live CD images for AMD64 and PowerPC computers are also available.
Kubuntu 5.04
Kubuntu 5.04 has been released: "Kubuntu is the result of several months' effort to get KDE 3.4 into Ubuntu's main repository and create the first major derived Ubuntu distribution. It is not a fork of Ubuntu but an official project of it, sharing the same package archive and infrastructure. It is possible to convert an Ubuntu system to Kubuntu or vice versa. Features of Kubuntu 5.04: KDE 3.4, HAL support for removable devices, Ubuntu-powered out of the box hardware configuration, OpenOffice.org office suite, Gwenview image viewer, amaroK music player, K3b CD and DVD burner, Konversation IRC chat, Kaffeine video player," and it is available as a live CD. Read more in the release announcement, and please download by BitTorrent if possible: kubuntu-5.04-install-i386.iso (572MB), kubuntu-5.04-live-i386.iso (619MB). CD images for AMD64 and PowerPC computers are also available.
YES Linux 2.2.2
YES Linux Release Team would like to announce the immediate availability of YES Linux 2.2 Build 2, which features many updates: "The two most exciting new features are User Management and Autonomous Backup Applications. User Management allows the management of Users and Groups for access to YES Administration and Websites. YES Backup allows for efficient backups of all critical system data and is XML configurable." Read more in the official release announcement. A list of installed applications will be available from the support site. Download from here: yes-2.2.2.iso (458MB), or get it via BitTorrent.
Plamo Linux 4.02
Plamo Linux is a Japanese distribution based on Slackware Linux. New features in the recently released version 4.02 include the following: kernel 2.4.29 with unicon patch; glibc has been upgraded to 2.3.3 and KDE to 3.4.0; improvements in FS fonts, the default font in Plamo Linux; updated /etc/rc.d/rc startup scripts; easier X and user setup with xplamoconfig; the murasaki hot plug utility has been upgraded to version 0.8.10; reorganisation of the content of Plamo CD images; various bug fixes. See the release announcement (in Japanese) for more details. Download: plamo-4.0-050401_01.iso (629MB) and plamo-4.0-050401_02.iso (669MB).
Overclockix 3.8
Overclockix 3.8 has been released: "All new Overclockix 3.8 with Unionfs, 2.6.11 kernel, prelinking, KDE 3.4, and many new tools. Version 3.8 is the first build ever with boinc DC project, now also with apt-build and the beginnings of optimizing select packages for i686. Unionfs allows transparent overlay of a ramdisk filesystem over the CD filesystem, so you can edit anything or install/remove applications while booted live. Based on KNOPPIX 3.8 CeBIT release. Too other many new features to list here, so try it today." Read the full release announcement on the distribution's home page. The latest release of Overclockix can be downloaded via BitTorrent: Overclockix_3.8.iso.torrent (687MB).
Linuxo Live! 0.3
Linuxo Live! is a Serbian distribution and live CD based on PCLinuxOS. Version 0.3, released yesterday, comes with the following changes and features: KDE has been upgraded to 3.4.0, Linux kernel to 2.6.10 (an optional kernel 2.6.11 is also available) with much improved hardware support, including SATA drives. As for office suites, OpenOffice.org has been upgraded to version 1.1.4, while KOffice, with complete localisation into Serbian, is now also included. Many other software packages have been translated into Serbian. Other applications updated to newer versions to Linuxo 0.3 include the amaroK audio player, GQview image viewing application and K3B CD/DVD burning program. Find more details in the release announcement (in Serbian). Download: linuxo-0.3-CD.iso (695MB).
tinysofa classic server 2.0
A new version of tinysofa classic server has been released: "tinysofa classic server 2.0 (Ceara) is now generally available. This is a major release which culminates many months of development and testing, and incorporates the latest in open source technology. 'Ceara' features: the Linux 2.6.11 kernel, grsecurity support, APT for advanced package management, the next generation PHP 5 environment (5.0.3), high availability features such as DRBD (0.7.10) and UCARP (1.1), the latest development tools and languages (GCC 3.4.3, Python 2.4), and much more." Visit the project's home page to read the release announcement and to learn more about the new product. Download: Ceara.i586.iso (350MB). The ISO image is also available via BitTorrent.
Kalango Linux 3.1
Kalango Linux is a Brazilian distribution/live CD based on Kurumin Linux. The new version 3.1 is a refinement of Kalango 3.0, with the main new features being improved hardware auto-detection and boot speed-ups, as well as the inclusion of Floppy/CD/DVD drive supermount as a standard feature. Several new applications have been added to the system - Amarok, Evince, Gparted are the most interesting among them. Read the full release announcement on the distribution's home page (in Portuguese) and visit the screenshots page for some eye candy. Download from here: kalango_3.1.iso (507MB); also available via BitTorrent.
Gibraltar Firewall 2.2
Gibraltar Firewall has been updated to version 2.2. From the changelog: "This is the 'speed' release, improving the speed of the web interface significantly and also solving a previous issue with license checks on high-volume systems. Updated kernel to 2.4.30-rc4 (which has been released as 2.4.30 with no changes) with the usual patches. New features: arptables, tcp-window-tracking, tproxy, GeoIP and Unionfs modules (now for testing, they might get used in a future release). This release also adds the ndiswrapper and rt2400 modules. Replaced FreeS/WAN by Openswan. This also needs the ipsec-tools package...." Download: gibraltar-2.2.iso.bz2 (175MB).
BIG Linux 2.0
BIG Linux 2.0 has been released. This has to be one of the most interesting and fun distribution releases for a long time - mainly due to its 3D capabilities. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so head for the project's announcement page (in Portuguese) to view the newly introduced way of 3-dimensional manipulation of application windows. Both GNOME and KDE are supported. For the best 3D effect you should use the CD on a computer with a powerful processor and a 3D accelerated graphics card. By default, the BIG Linux live CD boots into a non-3D KDE desktop, so you will have to select a KDE 3D or GNOME 3D option from the initial GRUB boot menu. Warning: the distribution only supports Portuguese. Download: BIG_LINUX-2.0.iso (663MB).
Development and unannounced releases
|
| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Mandrakelinux becomes Mandriva Linux
Though some thought it was a belated April Fool's joke, the news turned out to be true: Mandrakesoft will be changing the name of the company and its products. The company will now be known as Mandriva and its Linux distribution as Mandriva Linux: "After spending weeks balancing pros and cons, Mandrakesoft has decided to change its name! The name change will apply worldwide to both the company and its products. ... Why Mandriva? This new name, simple and efficient, is the synthesis of Mandrakesoft and Conectiva. This will further a smooth transition and will build on our existing brand recognition in the IT world. Mandriva is the new name for the company. Mandriva Linux is the new name covering products. Additional derivations follow directly: Mandriva Club, Mandriva Store, Mandriva Expert and so on." Read the full press release for details.
* * * * *
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
| Mini-Review: FreeBSD 5.4-RC1 |
Sneak Preview
Here at Distrowatch we've gone gaga over FreeBSD. Well maybe not gaga, but we're happily running it on our server, dishing out web pages like this one for all of you to enjoy. Previously we were running Debian Woody, and our reason for switching to FreeBSD 5.3 was simply because we desired up-to-date goodies and didn't want to wait for Debian Sarge. It could all change tomorrow - in the fast moving world of open source software, yesterday's "unstable" could become today's rock-solid must-have server distro. But for now, Distrowatch is powered by FreeBSD.
Thus, we are more than a little interested that FreeBSD 5.4 is almost ready to roll. It might seem inappropriate to review an operating system release candidate (RC) rather than waiting for the final version to come out. However, there is nothing wrong with taking a sneak peak. The final version is anticipated for release at the end of this month - the impatient may want to peruse the release schedule and then head straight for the download mirrors. Just remember to resist the temptation to run a release candidate on a mission critical system.
I reviewed FreeBSD on Distrowatch almost one year ago here. Since then, there have been a number of significant improvements. Unfortunately, the OS has not shed all its bugs, and even has gained a few new ones.
Installation
Installation from CD (as opposed to a network install) has changed significantly in one important respect - it now requires two CDs if you want a full working system with KDE, Gnome and all the trimmings. While some may bemoan this fact, I consider it a positive move. Quite simply, you can't squeeze 3GB of software onto a 700MB CD, even with data compression. Of course, if all you want is a minimalist install, then all you need is CD No. 1, but most users will not likely be satisfied with that.
Unfortunately, the two-CD approach still has some rough edges. During the installation, I encountered messages like the following:
This is disc #1. Package apache-2.0.53_1 is on
disc #2. Would you like to switch discs now?
I dutifully replied "yes" and switched disks, only to soon be greeted with this message:
This is disc #2. Package taglib-1.3.1 is on
disc #1. Would you like to switch discs now?
I lost count how many times I had to shuffle the two CDs before I could get all the packages installed. I'll guess and say it was a dozen, but it felt like more. Needless to say, this is rather tedious, and at times I felt like throwing something at the monitor. It was fortunate that the pizza guy didn't arrive until after the installation was finished - scraping Mozzarella cheese and pepperoni off the LCD screen is probably even less fun than it sounds.
Other than this one glitch, the other problem I encountered with my desktop installation was the notorious "geometry bug". This bug, which has been mentioned many times in the annals of FreeBSD folklore, has existed since The Ark and sadly is still with us. The problem stems from the fact that FreeBSD doesn't like to share a hard disk with another OS. If you can devote the entire drive to FreeBSD, this will be a non-issue, but many people including yours truly prefer to have a dual-boot machine. Although you can force FreeBSD to install on the same drive alongside Linux or Windows, there is a risk of messing up the drive's geometry, which could possibly result in data loss. I've solved the problem by installing two drives in my desktop machine, but that wouldn't be an option on a laptop.
The geometry bug, still alive and well
Speaking of laptops, there's more bad news, or at least there was for me. I have two notebook machines: an ancient IBM ThinkPad iSeries 1200, and a ThinkPad X31 of recent vintage. The iSeries 1200 happily ran FreeBSD 5.3, but it refused to boot the 5.4-RC1 CD, and instead regurgitated the following error message:
Read Error: 0xbb
Could not find Primary Volume Descriptor
It's my understanding that others have reported similar problems, so it's possible that this issue will be resolved before the final release.
More seriously, my X31 appears to be unhappy with FreeBSD's ACPI power management - in order to turn off the machine, I have to remove the laptop's battery and unplug the AC power line. This problem existed with 5.3 as well, and 5.2 was even more disastrous (it would lock up half way through the install). Interestingly, FreeBSD 4.11 installs and runs on this laptop without a hiccup - go figure.
Post-install, I had one minor configuration issue - my mouse trackwheel wasn't automatically supported. After a little bit of Googling, I found that the solution was to add a ZAxisMapping line to the InputDevice section of file /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xorg.conf, so that it looked like this:
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse0"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
Option "Device" "/dev/sysmouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
So What's New?
As you might expect, the most noticeable new feature of 5.4-RC1 is the updated package collection. KDE 3.4, without a doubt, is a stunning achievement. Although I don't run KDE as my desktop, I do make heavy use of KDE tools such Konqueror and Kthesaurus. The new KPDF 3.4 is a vast improvement over its predecessors, eliminating any need I felt for Adobe Acroread (which is no longer included with 5.4). I was also pleased to see that Xemacs now resides on the installation CDs, eliminating the need to compile it from ports. Xemacs occupies a special place in my heart, as I use it to do just about everything (including writing this).
Speaking of ports, I was much relieved to find that 5.4-RC1 fixed the many broken ports of 5.3 (notably KDE). However, I did encounter one broken port, /usr/ports/www/mod_geoip, which we use here on Distrowatch to detect which country a web surfer is connecting from. However, everything else worked just fine.
IPFW - FreeBSD's packet-filtering firewall system - is still there, but clearly it is being pushed into retirement by PF (which was also present in 5.3). PF was originally incorporated into OpenBSD, but it has taken the rest of the *BSD world by storm and has attracted envious looks from Linux users as well.
Many of the other numerous improvements in 5.4-RC1 are below the surface, but no less significant. A lot of effort is going into removing the giant lock and replacing it with "fine-grained locking", though this is being done in bits and pieces and is not yet complete. Another work-in-progress is the ULE scheduler, which will improve performance. CARP (Common Address Redundancy Protocol) support is now included (CARP allows multiple hosts on the same local network to share a set of IP addresses). As you might guess, the above-mentioned improvements are geared towards making FreeBSD a more powerful server.
The Power to Serve
I may get flamed to ashes for saying this (it wouldn't be the first time), but FreeBSD has always felt to me more like a server OS than a desktop system. Sure, you can run it on the desktop - indeed, I'm doing so right now - but it requires more effort than the average Linux distro. With 5.4-RC1, that has not changed, but there is no doubt that FreeBSD remains a formidable competitor to Linux in the server space. And competition is, for the most part, a good thing. But both my notebook computers continue to run on Debian (actually Kanotix), and probably will continue to do so for quite some time.
|
| Tips, Tricks and Hints |
Copying a VCD
Thanks to DVDs and the upcoming Blu-Ray and/or HD-DVD disk formats, many people are convinced that video CDs (VCDs) are dead. That may eventually turn out to be the case, but it's a little premature for the funeral, especially since video enthusiasts continue to churn out their own home-grown VCDs. And in some countries at least, VCDs can still be bought, even if only in the street market and enclosed in a plain brown wrapper.
The question of how to copy a VCD in Linux gets asked periodically on the mailing lists, and is often left unanswered. In most cases, copying with nice user-friendly GUI tools like K3b and XCDRoast will fail. The usual resulting error message alludes to a problem with copying multi-session CDs.
I'm currently living in a tropical climate and I recently had the need to copy an ancient (but cherished) VCD which was turning moldy. You didn't know that mold could grow on a CD? Where I live, mold can grow on a door knob. Anyway, I needed approximately two hours of Googling to find the solution to my VCD copy problem. Actually, the info that I found applied to OpenBSD rather than Linux, but with just a little bit of tweaking and I was able to get it working on my beloved Debian desktop too. And so now I will share this recently acquired knowledge with the rest of the world.
The solution was to turn to the command line. And once I knew the proper syntax, it was quite easy to create a simple Bash script. On my Debian machine, the CDROM drive is /dev/cdrom and the CDR drive is /dev/cdrom1. Assuming that your computer is set up the same way, the following script should work for you (note: you may have to run it as root):
cdrdao read-cd --device /dev/cdrom toctoc
cdrdao write --device /dev/cdrom1 toctoc
rm toctoc
eject /dev/cdrom
eject /dev/cdrom1
Not only did the above work, but it copied the VCD much faster than Nero Burning Rom (the Windows program that came with the CD burner). Not that I have Windows installed on my computer (but my "significant other" does).
Since I do have OpenBSD, I decided to repeat the experiment, this time using OpenBSD's slightly more convoluted syntax. The following script worked for me:
cdrdao read-cd --device /dev/rcd0c --datafile disc.bin toc
cdrdao write --device /dev/rcd1c --datafile disc.bin toc
rm toc
eject /dev/cd0a
eject /dev/cd1a
All that's left to do is fire up Mplayer and enjoy.
* * * * *
And that's the news for today. See you all next week!
Robert Storey
|
|
| Tip Jar |
If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip.
(Tips this week: 0, value: US$0.00) |
|
|
|
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch |
|
| Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare |
|
|
|
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| Archives |
| • Issue 1156 (2026-01-19): Chimera Linux's new installer, using the DistroWatch Torrent Corner, new package tools for Arch, Haiku improves EFI support, Redcore streamlines branches, Synex introduces install-time ZFS options |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
|
| Random Distribution | 
ANTEMIUM Linux
ANTEMIUM Linux was a French live CD distribution designed for desktops, especially for older computers with only 64 MB of RAM. The window manager was IceWM.
Status: Discontinued
|
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| 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.
|
|
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
