 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 192, 5 March 2007 |
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Welcome to this year's 10th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! This is the most enjoyable part of the year for those Linux users who enjoy testing the development releases of Linux distributions - Fedora, Mandriva, Ubuntu, SimplyMEPIS and PCLinuxOS all delivered brand new test builds last week and the first impressions of all them are highly positive. In the news section, a start-up project releases Ubuntu Muslim Edition, Sun Microsystems joins the Free Software Foundation, and Linux and open source software makes a serious impact on education. Finally, don't miss our commentary on the future of DistroWatch Weekly where you can have your say over the direction your favourite publication takes over the next few weeks. Happy reading!
Content:
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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| Commentary |
The future of DistroWatch Weekly
What you are reading at this very moment is the issue number 192 of DistroWatch Weekly. For the past 192 weeks (that's 3 years and 9 months) we have striven to deliver a weekly newsletter summarising the most interesting events in the world of Linux distributions and (later also) BSD operating systems in one compact publication, allowing everybody to keep up with what is happening in this exciting area of computer technology. Back in the days when the newsletter's first issue was published in June 2003, there weren't nearly as many Linux/BSD-oriented web sites as there are now. But with the growing number of writers who publish their experiences, reviews, opinions and news on a variety of blogs and web sites, we have to ask this question: is there still a need for a DistroWatch Weekly?
Several critical comments were expressed in a recent DistroWatch Weekly forum by readers who argued that the usefulness of this publication had been diminishing over the last few months. While not everybody agreed with that particular opinion, comments like these give an indication that perhaps we have been slacking a bit here lately and that there is room for improvement. After all, it doesn't make sense to create a half-baked publication, which few will bother to read; instead, I believe that we should deliver either a top-class newsletter that will be appreciated by the wider open source software user community -- or nothing at all.
The reason for this commentary is to ask for your input. Firstly, please tell us what you enjoy in DistroWatch Weekly and which sections you'd be happy to see dropped. Secondly, give us an indication of what you would like to see covered more often. Some readers have already suggested new sections, such as a tips and tricks corner or a feature explaining OSS terminology, but feel free to suggest anything else you'd want to read in future issues. No ideas are crazy enough to be dismissed without consideration, but bear in mind that they should be relevant to the general content of DistroWatch.com - that is open source distributions and operating systems.
Also remember that DistroWatch Weekly is a free publication that comes on a single page that carries very little advertising. When I started it, I was able to put the page together in less than one working day, but as the content increased in later years, I found myself spending more and more time writing. Nowadays it takes about 1.5 days to complete the task. This is, unfortunately, about as much as I am prepared to spend on it so unless I am able to find new volunteer writers, I don't see much scope for extending the publication with new sections - at least not without dropping some of the existing sections.
For those who are interested in numbers, DistroWatch Weekly is read by about 15,000 - 20,000 people every week.
So what are your expectations from the future issues of DistroWatch Weekly? Let's review what the current design offers and what some readers suggested as possible enhancements. When you've read through the following section, please comment below and indicate the top 3 sections or features that you (would) find most valuable as a reader. Also please state which section, if any, you'd be happy to see dropped.
- News summary. This is one section that could be removed from future issues. News happens fast on the Internet so many of the news snippets that make it to DistroWatch Weekly on Mondays are no longer hot. Also, there are several excellent Linux news sites, such as Tuxmachines.org (more community oriented) or Lxer.com (more business oriented) that cover pretty much everything interesting. On the other hand, maybe some readers appreciate the quick news summary every Monday, so if you'd like to see this section preserved, then let us know.
- Distribution reviews and overviews. This has been a fairly well-received part of DistroWatch Weekly, especially since we tend to cover less well-known distributions that don't often get reviewed elsewhere. Nowadays, however, all we can do is to write up a quick "first look", since a comprehensive review would take much longer to complete than any of us has the time for.
- Interviews with distribution developers. Again, this has been a reasonably popular feature, but unfortunately not all interviews come out well. Some developers can be too technical, while others, especially those who work on commercial projects, tend to add too much marketing drivel. But this is one area where you could help - if you have a favourite distro and would like to interview its developer(s), why not put together a series of questions and email it to us? You probably know more about that particular distribution than we do, so you are in a better position to ask the right questions.
- Tips and tricks. We ran occasional tips and tricks in the past. This section can easily be added if there is demand, but before we do, we need to know what kinds of tips and tricks you prefer. Command-line tips? Bash scripting tips? Or more like tips concerning window managers, or graphical applications? Would you welcome short tutorials about, say, GIMP? Or should we focus on less glamorous world of security and encryption?
- Terminology. Some readers suggested a section devoted to new technologies that suddenly invade our distributions. What is udev? What is a compositing window manager? Of course, these terms are well covered by Wikipedia, but if you would like to see them explained here as well, then let us know.
- Opinions and commentaries. Would you like to see more of these? If Mandriva makes a decision about their distribution, would you care to read what we think about it? These opinions are sometimes controversial and, of course, not everybody agrees with them, but they provide an excellent platform for further discussions where we can learn from each other.
- Any other suggestions?
Naturally, when I write "we", I really mean "I", since much of DistroWatch Weekly is written by myself. Some readers have asked for more articles by Robert Storey, whose quality contributions were always well received. Unfortunately, Robert has recently been very busy with other, more important things in his life and, unless he gets a new wave of writing inspiration, it isn't very likely that we'll see many more articles from him. Susan Linton has been helping out a bit recently, but she also struggles to find enough time for writing since she also maintains a popular web site. As such, it looks like most of the writing is still going to fall squarely on my shoulders :-(
So there you have it. Now it's up to you to let us (me) know what you expect from DistroWatch Weekly and what changes, if any, you would like to see implemented in the future. Please comment away.
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| Miscellaneous News |
New test builds from mainstream distributions, Ubuntu Muslim Edition, Kadischi, Linux in education
For the main Linux distribution, the beginning of March usually means one thing: an intense testing and debugging period prior to the final release of their products in the year's second quarter. The year 2007 is slightly different in that, for the first time in years, there will be no new SUSE Linux or openSUSE release. Last year it was Mandriva that skipped the second quarter rush, but the company has since returned to a 6-month release cycle and its Mandriva Linux 2007.1 testing process has reached a second beta late last week. In the meantime, Ubuntu has released its 5th alpha build, heading towards a beta scheduled for the 22nd March. The upcoming releases by both Mandriva and Ubuntu look more like stability updates, with Mandriva keeping the kernel and the base system intact from its previous version and Ubuntu dropping its much coveted 3D desktop features due to what they believe is lack of maturity of these new desktop technologies.
As such, it looks like the most interesting delivery of the upcoming release season will be coming from the Fedora project. The developers have recently extended their testing cycle by a whole month to include a fourth test release and the extent of the new features and improvements in Fedora 7 seems lengthier than those in Ubuntu or Mandriva. The merging of Core and Extras packages into one massive software repository, dramatic improvements in boot speeds as well as the yum package management system, and a new single-CD method of installing Fedora from a live CD are all excellent improvements. While some of these features have been available in other distributions, it's nice to see that the Fedora development team is willing to learn and adopt successful technologies developed elsewhere. That, combined with their own innovations, should guarantee a highly interesting Fedora 7 in May this year.
Which distribution release are you most looking forward to in the coming months? Please discuss below.
* * * * *
 You could see it coming, right? Following the high-profile release of Ubuntu Christian Edition some six months ago, a similar distribution with software for the followers of Islamic teachings has been released under the name of Ubuntu Muslim Edition. The project is an attempt to deliver a complete Linux-based operating system supplemented by Islam study software (in Arabic and English) and by an innovative system tray utility that alerts the user to prayer times and automatically plays the appropriate prayer (the prayers are in the free Ogg-Vorbis format). The project's web site is available in English and French, while volunteers are sought to help translating its content into Arabic. This is a great project for not only Muslims, but also those who are interested in learning or reading the Koran.
Ubuntu Muslim Edition delivers a complete operating system complemented with a Koran study program.
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 Had a few years ago somebody suggested that Sun Microsystems would one day join the Free Software Foundation (FSF), you would have probably laughed at the idea. Yet, it has become a reality. Last week Ars Technica reported that Sun has joined the likes of Google, Nokia, IBM, Cisco and Intel to become an official patron affiliate of the FSF: "Sun officially put an end to the flip-flopping last year, when the company finally released its Java programming language under the GPL. Sun representatives have also expressed interest in potentially dual-licensing OpenSolaris to make it available under the GPL as well as the company's own CDDL license. Now that Sun has liberated the source code of its two flagship products, it seems clear that the company is willing to practice what it preaches." Let's hope that this move will prompt other major software companies to re-evaluate their licensing and release more of their products under the General Public License.
* * * * *
 Here is something for the more technically minded Linux users. Kadischi, a software program for creating a customised Fedora live CD, has been in development for more than a year and has now reached a stage where it can be employed to build a live CD image from an existing Fedora installation. But how does one go about it? Jon Benedict has written an easy-to-follow tutorial for the latest issue of Red Hat Magazine: "This tutorial assumes that Fedora Core 6 is already installed on a system with a graphical interface. There needs to be a software repository of between 3 GB and 5 GB as well as a build directory of approximately 2 GB (or 8 GB for a DVD build). The build process follows similar steps in building a system from CD. It uses Anaconda to detect hardware, and the same dialogs are used to make selections like packages and localization." Read more in How to build a live Fedora CD using Kadischi.
* * * * *
Finally, here is an excellent article for those involved in education. Entitled How the Open Source Movement Has Changed Education: 10 Success Stories, the author argues that the availability of open source software is making a huge and positive impact on education and cites examples of educational institutions that adopted open technologies: MIT provides just one of the 10 open source educational success stories detailed below. Open source and open access resources have changed how colleges, organizations, instructors, and prospective students use software, operating systems and online documents for educational purposes. And, in most cases, each success story also has served as a springboard to create more open source projects." Read the rest of the article here.
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| Released Last Week |
Mutagenix 2.6.18.6
A new version of Mutagenix, a Slackware-based distribution and live CD, has been released: "Mutagenix 2.6.18.6-1 is released. Features: Slackware 11.0; rescue disc (142MB), KDE 3.5 (686MB); much improved module detection using libdiscover in initrd; simple Slackware-based installer; simple CD remastering; simple USB stick install; OpenOffice.org software suite; Limewire P2P; new 'nonet' boot argument to skip network configuration during boot; new 'lang=xx_XX' locale setting option to set keyboard and language at boot; new 'nomount' boot argument to skip mounting drives during boot; new ability to set init level (1,3,4) at boot; extremely clean and fast boot." Read the full changelog for more information about the new Mutagenix.
LinuxTLE 8.0
LinuxTLE 8.0, code name "Patong", has been released. LinuxTLE is a community project, developed in Thailand, with the goal of delivering a complete desktop Linux solution to the speakers of Thai. Unlike the distribution's previous versions, which were based on Fedora Core, LinuxTLE 8.0 is the project's first release that uses Ubuntu (version 6.10) as its base system. The new product comes with the Linux kernel 2.6.17.11, X.Org 7.1, GNOME 2.16, Firefox 2.0 (with Java and Flash plugins) and OpenOffice.org 2.0.4 with full support for Thai. On the localisation front it includes several Thai fonts, as well as LEXiTRON, a Thai - English dictionary (see screenshot). For more information please read the release announcement and release notes (all links in Thai only).
SystemRescueCd 0.3.3
SystemRescueCd 0.3.3 has been released. From the changelog: "Updated the kernel to Linux 2.6.19.2 with Reiser4; updated ntfs3g to 1.0, GParted to 0.3.4, TestDisk to 6.6, Memtest+ boot disk to 1.70; updated the system (glibc 2.5, udev 104, ClamAV 0.90, mdadm 2.6); updated Oscar (French tool to backup computers); added option 'forcevesa', and changed DefaultDepth for X.Org; added Foremost (program to recover files); bc (calculator); fixed hang problems at boot time."
Devil-Linux 1.2.13
Heiko Zuerker has announced a new stable release of Devil-Linux, a flexible live CD distribution for firewalls, routers and servers: "I'm pleased to announce the 1.2.13 release of Devil-Linux. The main changes include the updated time zone information for the recent DST changes, a lot of program updates, addition of missing iptables modules and much more. Check the changelog for details." Here is the brief release announcement and the complete changelog.
Parsix GNU/Linux 0.85.1
Alan Baghumian has announced the release of Parsix GNU/Linux 0.85.1: "An updated version of Parsix GNU/Linux is available now. This version merges all published updates on the Parsix and Debian repositories since December 1, 2006 to Mar 1, 2007 into a rock solid collection and fixes all reported bugs. Highlights are: GNOME 2.16.3, 2.6.18 kernel with many extra patches and updated drivers, including CK performance patches, GNU IceWeasel 2.0.0.1, OpenOffice.org 2.0.4, improved installer system, xFarDic 0.8.4, updated documentation, many fixes and clean-ups. We have also added Armenian to the dozens of supported languages. If you didn't test Parsix GNU/Linux yet, it's the time to do so." Read the release announcement and release notes for further details.
Foresight Linux 1.0.1
Ken VanDine has announced the release of Foresight Linux 1.0.1: "The Foresight Linux community is proud to release version 1.0.1 of Foresight Linux. Foresight Linux is a desktop linux system with the goal of providing a truly useful desktop system that is friendly for the novice user, as well as flexible for the power user. Many bugs were fixed, features were added, and the look and feel was improved. Many packages have been updated for this release. The more notable: GNOME 2.16.3, X.Org 7.2, Linux kernel 2.6.19.2, Firefox 2.0.0.2, OpenOffice.org 2.1.0, Mono 1.2.3.1, Tomboy 0.5.6, Beagle 0.2.16, F-spot 0.3.4, GIMP 2.13.4, Inkscape 0.45." Read the full release announcement for more information.
IPCop Firewall 1.4.14
IPCop Firewall has been updated to version 1.4.14: "IPCop v1.4.14 is released. As usual, this version can be installed as an update from previous v1.4.x versions or with a ready-to-go ISO or USB bootable images for a fresh install. Main changes are Squid 2.6.STABLE9, Snort 2.6.1.3, timezone2007c and works on VPN. There is the usual .gpg update to reach 1.4.14 level and a separate package for those not able to update to 1.4.14 before the US daylight saving time change occurring on March 11. This tz2007c package could be installed on any 1.4 version manually. It install only updated time zone files and zdump to control the effect." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details.
* * * * *
Development and unannounced releases
- Dreamlinux 2.2-beta3 (MMGL), the release announcement
- SimplyMEPIS 6.5-beta7, the press release
- Fedora 7-test2, the release announcement
- Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu 7.04-alpha5, the release announcement
- Mandriva Linux 2007.1-beta2, the release announcement
- ClarkConnect Gateway/Server 4.1-beta1, the release notes
- PCLinuxOS 2007-test3, the release announcement
- Grafpup Linux 2.0-alpha3, the release announcement
- Pioneer Linux StageCoach-beta1
- INSERT 1.3.9b
- GParted LiveCD 0.3.4-0
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2
- 64Studio 1.2.0
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
February 2007 donation: sidux receives US$350
We are pleased to announce that the recipient of the DistroWatch.com February 2007 donations is the sidux project (US$350.00).
Despite being a very young distribution (sidux split from KANOTIX just a few months ago), the overwhelming support among the DistroWatch Weekly readers last week suggests that sidux is on a right track. The project delivered its first stable release, version 2007-01, two weeks ago and it has also published a roadmap promising four stable release per year. It is clear that the idea of developing an installable live CD based on Debian's unstable branch (sid) has been well received in the Debian user community.
The first stable version of sidux was released two weeks ago.
(full image size: 227kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Shortly after making the donation, we received this email from Chris Hildebrandt: "In the name of the sidux Foundation, and all nice people involved in the sidux project I would like to very much thank you, the DistroWatch community and your sponsors for your generous donation! Thanks also for your initial trust and interest in sidux which helped us getting more public attention." The project has also published an announcement about the donation.
As always, the monthly donations programme is a joint initiative between DistroWatch and three online shops selling low-cost CDs and DVDs with Linux, BSD and other open source software - LinuxCD.org, OSDisc.com and TheLinuxShop.co.uk. The three CD/DVD vendors contributed US$50.00 each towards this month's donation to sidux.
Here is the list of projects that received a DistroWatch donation since the launch of the programme:
Since the launch of the Donations Programme in March 2004, DistroWatch has donated a total of US$12,240 to various open source software projects.
* * * * *
New distributions added to database
- ArtistX. ArtistX is a Debian-based bootable DVD containing many free multimedia software packages for audio, 2D and 3D graphics, and video production. The goal of this project is to showcase the variety of multimedia software available on the GNU/Linux platform and to enable creative individuals to accomplish their tasks with the help of Free Software. (Note: this distribution replaces OpenSourceLab's Mediainlinux, which is no longer in development and which used to be maintained by the current lead developer of ArtistX - Marco Ghirlanda.)
- Resulinux. Resulinux is a Brazilian desktop distribution and live CD based on Debian GNU/Linux. Among its unique characteristics are TexasFlood boot system, which dramatically shortens the operating system's boot time, and a software update utility called LiveUpdate.
* * * * *
New distributions added to waiting list
- Etoile Live CD. Etoile Live CD is an Ubuntu-based distribution showcasing Étoilé, a light-weight desktop environment derived from GNUstep.
- ETS LiveCD. ETS (Ethernet Test Suite) LiveCD is a collection of shell scripts built into a SLAX-based live CD that provide the means for testing Ethernet link performance.
- Ubuntu Muslim Edition. Ubuntu Muslim Edition is an unofficial variant of Ubuntu with out-of-the-box availability of a Koran study program and other Islamic software.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
And this concludes our latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 12 March 2007. Until then,
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
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| Random Distribution | 
United Linux
UnitedLinux was a standards-based, worldwide Linux solution targeted at the business user and developed by The SCO Group, Conectiva, SuSE, and Turbolinux. Designed to be an enterprise-class, industry-standard Linux operating system, UL provides a single stable, uniform platform for application development, certification, and deployment and allows Linux vendors, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), and Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) to support a single high value Linux offering rather than many different versions.
Status: Discontinued
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| 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!
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| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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