 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 134, 16 January 2006 |
Welcome to this year's third issue of DistroWatch Weekly. Several interesting announcements at last week's MacWorld provided fuel for many technology web sites, but an important question remained unanswered: will Linux run on the new MacBooks? Read on for an expert opinion. A rather quiet week on the Linux distribution front, but expect things to pick up shortly as the second test of Fedora Core 5 will be officially out today (Monday), while the first beta of SUSE Linux 10.1 should appear on mirrors later this week. Also in this issue: Fedora or Yellow Dog for your Mac, Xandros seeks beta testers, Debian terminology explained, news from the development of Dapper Drake, a new SUSE-based distribution for musicians, GParted Live CD for all your disk partitioning tasks, and a good round-up of popular Linux live CDs. Happy reading!
 Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in ogg (5.46MB) or mp3 (6.52MB) format (courtesy of Shawn Milo).
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
Content:
- Hardware: Intel Inside Apple
- News: YDL vs Fedora, Xandros 4, Debian terminology, Dapper features, SUSE for musicians, Euronode custom servers, Linux live CD round-up
- First Looks: Fedora Core 5 Test2
- Released last week
- Upcoming releases
- New additions: Trinity Rescue Kit, Truva Linux
- New distributions: DIY Linux, Dreamlinux, JackLab, GParted LiveCD, Kya Linux
Intel Inside Apple
 It was an exciting week for the fans of computer hardware. Apple, one of the most influential and innovative computer company in existence has finally revealed what not so long ago many thought would never happen: a new generation of Apple computers powered by a processor from Intel. As always, any change of this magnitude is bound to cause an enormous amount of controversy followed by endless discussions on many Apple fan sites. Bold statements such as "MacBook Pro is up to four times faster than PowerBook G4" only added fuel to these debates.
But why are we discussing Apple computers on a web site dedicated to open source software? Well, one of the most intriguing aspects of the new Intel-based Macs is the fact that they have a potential to run Mac OS, Windows and Linux, the three most widely-used desktop operating systems natively, in a triple-boot setup. This is a feature that will excite a certain segment of the market, especially power users and software developers. Although these machines carry the usual high price tag for the premium Apple brand, it is likely that the attraction of the system will prove too irresistible for quite a few computer users.
Unfortunately, things are somewhat complicated by the fact that neither the current versions of Windows, nor any of the main Linux distributions will boot on these new MacBooks. With Windows being closed source and proprietary, it will probably take a while before a third-party develops a shareware tool providing a method to install Windows XP/2000 on Apple's new computers. With Linux, things are different and a solution is likely to be available very soon after these notebooks hit the streets. Any guesses which distribution will be the first with a rushed out press release claiming to be the only one that boots on MacBook Pro?
If you are wondering why none of the current Linux distributions will boot on these system, let's quote an expert. Answering the question "Is Fedora prepared for Intel-based Macs?", Red Hat's Peter Jones had this to say on the Fedora development mailing list: "No. Off the top of my head: our x86 kernels don't have CONFIG_EFI; installer doesn't do GPT partitioning on x86; we don't have a bootloader for them."
Trying to translate the above into plain English, the main problem with MacBook Pro is that it no longer uses BIOS (Basic Input/Output System); instead, it ships with the new EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface), developed by Intel, to perform all the early communication between different hardware parts. Although EFI does have BIOS emulation support, Apple has reportedly decided to remove it from their MacBooks.
The second issue is GPT (which stands for GUID Partition Table, with GUID being an acronym for Globally Unique Identifier), which is effectively a replacement for the MBR (Master Boot Record) in EFI-based systems. Among the popular boot loaders, neither LILO, nor GRUB 0.9x support GPT, although the new GRUB 2 (currently in alpha development) does include support for the new standard. Unfortunately, not a single Linux distribution has been bold enough to switch to GRUB 2, but it is possible that more effort will go into this area in the coming months, especially if EFI-based motherboards become widespread.
Of course, none of these problems are insurmountable and it is very likely that Fedora, Mandriva, SUSE and Ubuntu will all have full support for the MacBook Pro soon after these new Apple laptops start shipping.
* * * * *
Miscellaneous news: YDL vs Fedora, Xandros 4, Debian terminology, Dapper features, SUSE for musicians, Euronode custom servers, Linux live CD round-up
 The introduction of Intel-based Macs means that the popularity of computers with PowerPC chips on the consumer desktop is likely to drop sharply in the coming years. This doesn't mean, however, that Linux distributions designed for these chips will suddenly stop being developed; in fact, research suggests that Macs tend to have longer lives than most PCs, so it's safe to assume that many users will continue deploying Linux on their Apple computers. Most of today's major distributions (with the exception of Mandriva) provide PowerPC editions of their latest products, while Yellow Dog Linux from Terra Soft Solutions continues as the only specialist distribution for the PowerPC architecture. Based on Fedora Core, but enhanced to support many features of modern Macs, Yellow Dog is certainly a good choice. If you are still undecided, Low End Mac has a good article explaining the differences between Fedora Core and Yellow Dog Linux.
 Xandros Corporation has announced the start of a new beta testing period for the company's popular desktop operating system. While the release date and feature list of Xandros Desktop 4 remain a secret, based on the distribution's previous releases, we can expect a good-looking KDE 3.5 desktop enhanced by the Xandros file manager, integrated CD burning tool and the usual great support for network drives. Xandros beta testing periods normally last for around 3 - 4 months, so we can speculate that the final release will happen at some point in April or May. Testing Xandros Desktop can be a lot of fun and the company tends to reward the most valuable bug reports and feedback with free copies of the final release. If you have a spare machine and are interested in giving the new product a good scrutiny, then fill in this form and pray that you'll be one of the chosen few.
 There seems to be increasing interest in specialist distributions designed for musicians, composers and other freedom-loving artists many of whom might prefer to compose and edit their music with Free Software. Most of our readers will know about A/Demudi, Musix and Studio 64, but a new alternative, called JackLab and based on SUSE Linux, has been launched recently: "JackLab is a fast digital audio workstation with an audio realtime kernel and professional tools for music production." Besides providing kernel optimisation, audio drivers and specialist software for musicians, one of the project's stated goals is to introduce user-friendly ways to manage and setup the system through YaST, so that even non-technical users can take advantage of the product. There isn't much to download just yet, but interested users might want to follow JackLab's development on its web site, forums and also on openSUSE.org.
 If you are new to the complex world of Debian GNU/Linux and puzzled by its terminology as used on the mailing lists and referred to in many reviews, here is a good article that explains it all: Drag's Guide to Debian Variations. The article discusses the distribution's venerable package management system before delving into the topics of Debian branches, repositories, mirrors, archives, ports and architectures. Somewhat erroneously the article states that "Debian does not distribute full CDROM sets" due to the overhead associated with distributing software packaged by the largest Linux distribution project. This is incorrect; in fact this page lists no fewer than 124 mirrors around the world that host the CD and DVD ISO images for each processor architecture of the latest Debian release. Besides this small error, the article is a decent attempt to help you develop fluency in "Debian speak".
 What is new in the development of Ubuntu Linux 6.04 "Dapper Drake"? If you are tracking the project's development branch then you are probably aware of all the interesting enhancements, but if not, here is a couple of links (with screenshots) that describe some of the new features: What's New in Dapper #1 and What's New in Dapper #2. These are essentially just cosmetic changes affecting the GNOME panel and the logout menu. As always, some of the enhancements will not please all users, so if you dislike something or have a better idea about implementing a certain feature, join in the discussion and let your voice be heard!
 Euronode, a French company developing a range of Debian-based specialist servers for various tasks, has introduced an interesting concept of creating custom bootable ISO images of their products. After registering on the project's web site, users can follow a simple web-based wizard to build a pre-configured server, tailor-made for their exact needs. Once done, the web site will generate a bootable ISO image, with all configuration and server parameters already set up. The service is not free, but the ISO images generated with the help of the wizard include a 30-day trial period so that you can test it out before parting with any cash. Find more information at Euronode.org.
 Which is the best Linux live CD? As usual, there is no simple answer and many of us have a personal favourite or two to carry around, just in case we come across a computer with that other operating system. InformIT, a popular online reference site for IT specialists, has tested a number of popular live CDs, including Elive, SimplyMEPIS, SLAX, Damn Small Linux, Knoppix, Puppy Linux, Ubuntu, LG3D and INSERT. This is a good selection of live distributions for all kinds of purposes, accompanied with a brief description of each. If you are new to the world of Linux live CDs and DVDs, this is a good introductory article.
|
| First looks: Fedora Core 5 Test 2 |
First looks: Fedora Core 5 Test 2
After a fairly slow start of the year, many distributions are becoming rather busy with preparations for their next stable versions. Fedora Core 5, currently scheduled for release on 15 March, will be one of the first major distribution releases of 2006, so it's fair to assume that some two months before the final release, its development process has entered a fairly advanced and reasonably stable stage. But Fedora 5 will be an important release for another reason - if Red Hat continued with its stated goal of producing a new Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) version in roughly 18-month intervals, then it means that the upcoming RHEL 5 will be based on the code from Fedora 5. CentOS and other RHEL clones are also likely to watch this release closely.
What's new in Fedora Core 5? Following the recent logo changes, the entire visual aspect of the desktop, including the theme, wallpaper, screensaver and logo have been revamped "to demonstrate the exciting user friendly nature of Fedora". Test2 comes with kernel 2.6.14, X.Org 7.0, a recent development version of GNOME 2.13, KDE 3.5.0, Firefox 1.5, and OpenOffice.org 2.0.1, just to name a few major applications. The much publicised inclusion of the Mono development suite has turned out to be correct, with Mono 1.1.12 now present in this test release of Fedora Core for the first time. For international users, SCIM input method has replaced IIIMF. The entire set of Fedora packages is now built using the yet-to-be-released GCC 4.1, which, according to the release notes, "brings in new security and performance enhancements".
The Fedora Core 5 desktop with a new "bubbly theme".
(full image size: 302kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
The installer has also undergone significant changes. Surprisingly, the left pane providing information about each step of the installation process is gone, while the partitioning stage of the Anaconda installer has also been altered considerably. If you are used to installing Fedora and other Fedora-based distributions with your eyes closed, then you'd be wise to pay close attention during the partitioning step of FC5Test2, where the default is "Remove linux (sic) partitions on selected drives and create default layout", with all disks selected by default! One other change - the SELinux configuration has been moved to the post-install stage, so don't panic if you don't see it in its usual place.
The Anaconda installer has undergone significant modifications in Fedora 5.
(full image size: 44kB, resolution: 800x600 pixels)
Overall, I can't say I am particularly impressed with the changes in Anaconda. It still remains one of the best and most intuitive Linux installers available today, but I found some of the changes slightly discomforting - why the sudden change of what worked so well for many years? On the other hand, my first impressions of the newly installed systems were overwhelmingly positive. A more detailed look at Fedora Core 5 Test2 will follow in the Thursday edition of Linux Weekly News; in the meantime, take a look at this sneak preview of Fedora Core 5 and read this comprehensive review at Mad Penguin.
|
| Released Last Week |
STX Linux 1.0
The first stable release of STX Linux is out. Major changes since RC3: "Three packaged patches from the download page applied; installer corrected for creating an fstab that allows normal users to mount CDROM and floppy drives; the usual package updates; included Elleo's hacked eworkpanel with notification area; included recompiled pyfltk (XFT font rendering now also in STXCC); GTK 2 and EDE themes switched to STX for a more uniform appearance; included gnome-cups-manager for printer administration (more common than the CUPS web front-end); included Requiredbuilder for creating dependency files for Slackware / STX packages." Visit the project's news page to find out more about the release.
Damn Small Linux 2.1
Damn Small Linux 2.1 has been released. From the changelog: "New SATA boot time support; new Icontool GUI controls many icon features; new docked.lua - Lua dock apps - mount and dMix replace mount.app and wmix; mew mount.lua - Lua GUI disk mount tool; new dMix - Lua GUI sound mixer; mew ucitool.lua - Lua GUI lists UCI mounts & allows easy deinstall of UCIs; new Torsmo replaces asmem, wmcpuload, & wmnet to better support both window managers; new Ted replaces Flwriter; new .xpdfrc - to support direct printing from Xpdf; new links - Lua links download wrapper; new added Thai keyboard support...."
tinysofa classic server 2.0 Update 3
tinysofa classic server, a server-oriented distribution originally forked from Trustix Secure Linux, has received a new update: "tinysofa classic server 2.0 Update 3 (Ceara) is now generally available. This release focuses on bug fixes, integrates all released security fixes, and updates various packages to the more recent upstream releases. 'Ceara' features: the Linux 2.6.13 kernel, grsecurity support, APT and SmartPM for advanced package management, the next generation PHP 5 environment (5.0.4), OpenSSH 4.2, high availability features such as DRBD (0.7.14) and UCARP (1.1), the latest development tools and languages (GCC 3.4.3, Python 2.4), and much more." The full release announcement can be found on the project's home page.
Ultima Linux LiveCD
The developers of Ultima Linux have released a live CD edition of their Slackware-based distribution: "The Ultima Linux LiveCD is a complete Ultima desktop system squeezed into a 544MB CD. It contains everything that you've come to expect from Ultima Linux, including: a complete, modern KDE desktop with Mozilla Firefox web browser, Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail client, OpenOffice.org office suite, AbiWord Personal word processor, The GIMP image manipulation program, XMMS digital audio player, complete networking support, effortless to use - just stick in the CD and reboot!" Find more information of the distribution's LiveCD page.
Nonux 2.2
A new version of Nonux, a Dutch Slackware-based distribution with Dropline GNOME designed for office use, has been released. Some of the more important enhancements include: upgrade to Linux kernel 2.6.14.5; upgrade to GNOME 2.12.2; upgrade to OpenOffice.org 2.0.1; upgrade to Evolution 2.4.2.1; integration of email notification applet into task bar; improvements to hard disk installation script; updates to boot loader to detect and configure system for dual booting with Windows. More details are available in the release announcement on the project's home page (in Dutch).
* * * * *
Development and unannounced releases
|
| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
|
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
| Web Site News |
New distribution additions
- Trinity Rescue Kit. Trinity Rescue Kit (TRK) is a bootable Linux distribution aimed specifically at offline operations for Windows and Linux systems such as rescue, repair, password resets and cloning. It has custom tools to easily recover deleted files, clone Windows installations over the network, perform antivirus sweeps with two different antivirus products, reset windows passwords, read and write on NTFS partitions, edit partition layout and much much more. Trinity Rescue Kit is mostly based on Mandriva Linux and heavily adapted start-up scripts.
- Truva. Truva Linux is a new Turkish distribution based on Slackware Linux.
* * * * *
New distributions added to the waiting list
- DIY Linux. DIY Linux is a research project dedicated to those 'Do It Yourself' Linux enthusiasts who would rather build their own GNU/Linux system from source code than run a pre-compiled binary distribution. The intended audience is the more technically adept Linux user.
- Dreamlinux. Dreamlinux is a new desktop-oriented Brazilian distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux and Morphix.
- GParted LiveCD. GParted LiveCD is a Slackware-based mini distribution with the sole purpose of making it easy to partition one's hard disk. It uses XFree86's Xvesa, the lightweight Fluxbox window manager, and the latest 2.6 Linux kernel.
- JackLab. JackLab is an initiative to design a specialist SUSE-based distribution for music production.
- Kya Linux. Kya Linux is a Linux live CD based on Slackware and SLAX. It is developed at the Universidade Estadual do Ceará in Brazil.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
That's all for today. The next issue of DistroWatch Weekly will be published on Monday, 23 January 2006. See you then :-)
Ladislav Bodnar
|
|
| 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 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 |
| 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 | 
DRBL Live
DRBL (Diskless Remote Boot in Linux) was server software to boot and operate remote desktop clients. The DRBL software allows client machines to run as stateless, thin-client style computers which are managed by the DRBL server. DRBL Live was a Debian-based, live disc distribution of the DRBL server software which can be run from a USB drive or CD/DVD. It includes a desktop environment to assist users in configuring the server.
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.
|
|
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
