DistroWatch Weekly |
DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 204, 28 May 2007 |
Welcome to this year's 22nd issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Fedora 7, the latest and arguably most ambitious release from the increasingly community-friendly Fedora Project, will hit the download mirrors later this week. With its installable live CDs, merged package repositories and much improved artwork, the new Fedora should prove a major attraction on the 2nd quarter release calendar. But will it be able to regain some of the market share it lost in recent years to the more aggressive desktop Linux distributions? We'll have to wait and see. In other major news of the week, Dell has fulfilled its promise and started shipping the first desktop computers with Ubuntu pre-installed. Finally, don't miss our first look review of PCLinuxOS 2007 by Chris Smart and check out the list of four new Linux distributions that have been added to the DistroWatch database: BeaFanatIX, Granular Linux, Openfiler and Parted Magic. Happy reading!
Content:
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Featured Article |
First look at PCLinuxOS 2007 (by Chris Smart)
Having watched, like many others, the surge of PCLinuxOS towards the top of the DistroWatch rankings in recent months, I could not pass up the opportunity to test out their latest stable release and see what all the fuss was about. With the release of 2007, the rankings from the last 30 days show that PCLinuxOS has pipped Ubuntu from the number one spot! I downloaded the live CD and burned it to disk then proceeded to boot the operating system.
Booting from the CD presents the user with a very nice graphical boot screen, which defaults to loading the live CD after a short time-out. Knowing that my mainboard with an NVIDIA 590SLI chipset does not behave nicely with APIC, I added the 'noapic' option to the live CD kernel boot line. Instantly I was greeted with a splash screen and a booting PCLinuxOS environment that was busy loading from my DVD drive.
The live CD booted up, detecting all my hardware as it went and soon there was a GUI session up and running. I was greeted with a 'wizard' asking me to answer various questions such as the keyboard layout, time zone selection, clock settings, as well as the chance to configure my network. Annoyingly, I couldn't just cancel out of this wizard and there was no option to skip setting up my network. Once this was complete however, I was greeted with the KDE login manager and although the option to log in as 'root' was available, I chose to log on as user 'guest' (see Linux security 101). The splash screen and login manager use some black and white grill artwork that I would like to see changed as it tends to warp your brain, perhaps with something pretty and blue. Nevertheless we were in business and it was time to check out the goodies that came with the Live CD.
PCLinuxOS comes with the KDE desktop by default and it did not disappoint. The artwork for KDE was very pleasant and there was blue everywhere. As far as the eye can see, mild, soft, lovely blue. This was a nice change from the black and white grill that burned my brain previously.
PCLinuxOS 2007: the desktop (full image size: 175kB, screen resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
The first thing I noticed was the clean desktop. The background image was pleasant to view and did not take over the desktop or distract the user, for which I add another 'tick'. The desktop had a few icons for Home, My Computer, Trash as well as installation options 'Installation Help' and 'Install PCLinuxOS'. Konsole was also included on the desktop and I don't really know why. The task bar launcher would have been a better place for it in my opinion, but there you have it. Speaking of the launcher, it was well thought out and included a button to 'show the desktop', as well as shortcuts to the user's home folder, control centre, administration centre and package manager. So far the desktop appears to have been set out in a friendly, usable and welcoming way. Nice work so far, PCLinuxOS.
Clicking on the 'PC' icon to launch the applications menu I browsed through the software they include for us on the live CD. The applications were set out in various groups such as 'Internet' and 'Multimedia' with sub-menus that helped to further narrow in on the application you were seeking. Unfortunately, for a system that promotes itself as 'radically simple', I was surprised by the lack of descriptions for the applications. Although an application like 'krfb' sits under the 'Internet, Remote access' menu, knowing what it actually does is still unknown. The simple act of turning on the descriptions feature in the KDE panel informs the user this application is for 'Desktop Sharing'. I highly suggest that the PCLinuxOS developers enable this for future releases, as it makes the system all the more friendly and appealing.
I also found it somewhat cumbersome to navigate the menu system and to find what I was looking for. The beryl-manager shortcut for example was under 'System, Configuration, Other' while the desire to change fonts caused me to navigate to 'System, Configuration, Other, KDE, Appearance & Themes, Fonts'. I am sure that after using PCLinuxOS for a while it would become second nature, but perhaps for the ease of new users there is some way it can be reorganised to make it more easily accessible.
Opening the GIMP, there was a short delay of 20 seconds while it loaded from the CD. Similarly, OpenOffice.org took considerable time to load, although this is to be expected on a live CD. As for standard packages that were missing, I couldn't think of any. The every-day packages I would expect for browsing the web, checking email, chatting, creating documents, playing multimedia and even watching TV were all included.
In an age where Linux distributions seem to be bowing to pressure and including non-free and potentially license violating drivers and programs by default it was nice to see PCLinuxOS claim on their website to leave out such packages as win32codecs, libdvdcss and the 3D video drivers from NVIDIA and ATI. Indeed these drivers were not included on the system and according to apt neither was libdvdcss or win32codecs. Unfortunately I was unable to confirm the lack of DVD playback, but PCLinuxOS did play (out-of-the-box) all the files that I could throw at it, including; WMV, DIVX, XVID, MOV, ASF and MP3. If you do require the above packages do not despair, as PCLinuxOS does make it easy to install them if the end user so desires. A simple 'apt-get install libdvdcss2 win32-codecs nvidia-_97xx ati' will do the trick.
I did find a few annoyances, however, which should be fixed in future versions. The very handy tool 'sudo' was not configured to allow my every-day user to become root. Also, opening 'My Computer' from the Desktop did not show the location bar. A small annoyance certainly, but it made it hard to easily switch to other locations, execute kioslaves and to even just get a feel for where I was. There was also no power management configured out of the box, so users with laptops will need to set this up manually. Likewise both suspend and hibernate were no-where to be seen.
PCLinuxOS 2007: the control centre (full image size: 167kB, screen resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
Having browsed through the system for a while it was time to install PCLinuxOS to my hard drive. Kicking up the 'Install PCLinuxOS' shortcut left me quickly disappointed as it did not appear to support RAID or LVM. I booted PCLinuxOS on my MacBook instead and running the installer again showed it had detected my LVM system in the partitioning screen, which was great. Clicking on the empty region and making a new device did work, even if it spat up an error or two.
The installation process itself is quite painless and it asks very few questions. I simply nominated a partition to install the system to and then away it went! Radically simple. Later the installer asked me to reset the root password and create a new user. The install was also quite quick, taking only about 20 minutes on my MacBook after which time it asked me which boot loader I wanted to use and where to install it. Being a MacBook I actually didn't want to install a boot loader anywhere as I would use the one I already had installed. But there was no option to not install a boot loader so I hit 'Cancel' instead. This immediately kicked me out of the installer without so much as an 'Are you sure?' dialogue and upon inspection of 'df' I noticed my install partition was still mounted. I guess that wasn't supposed to happen. I also didn't have a populated grub.conf (obviously), so I took the configuration from the CD's isolinux configuration file and added it to the GRUB already on the system. A few minor setbacks but now it was installed and I was ready to boot into it from the hard drive and see what else I could do.
Booting the MacBook was trouble-free and although it did not detect my correct screen resolution I did get 3D support out of the box, yippee! I enabled the '3D Desktop' from within the control centre and chose to use Beryl. Logging out and back in as directed, I was playing with the very familiar Beryl running on AIGLX. Smooth, very smooth.
I have to say that overall I was quite impressed with this distribution. I was not blown away, but I was impressed by its clean feel and its simplistic approach to Linux computing. Some live CDs are fun to play with, but lose their charm when they don't follow up with a back-end system that makes the distribution usable every day. PCLinuxOS is different. It is nice to have a system that both looks and plays nice, with the added bonus of a fine package management system that won't leave you high and dry when you need that other piece of essential software.
While they are not quite there yet, PCLinuxOS are certainly on the right track to achieving their goal of being 'radically simple'. Currently the system feels like a bit of a mixed bag, but if they can start to make their own path a little more independent there will be no stopping them. The default package management is handled by Synaptic to APT to RPM, the control centre and installer both come from Mandriva, and the loading cursor reminds me of Fedora. Not that there's anything wrong with that, in fact that might be part of the reason for the success of PCLinuxOS. Perhaps they've taken proven components from various distributions, put them together and made it simple to use. Now who could argue with that?
7 out of 10 'Smarties'.
About the author: Chris Smart is the founder of Kororaa, a Gentoo-based Linux distribution, and the maintainer of Make The Move, a Linux advocacy web site. He lives in Canberra, Australia.
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Miscellaneous News |
Fedora 7 final testing, Dell PCs with Ubuntu
The final day of May will be marked by a brand new release from the Fedora Project: Fedora 7. This is the first time that the popular distribution will arrive without the word "Core" in its name; after merging what the developers used to call the "core" and "extras" package repositories, the distribution has now become simply Fedora. The merge should simplify both the package management part of the distribution (there won't be a need for two different repositories in the yum configuration file) and the ability of the project provide up-to-date, well-maintained packages from contributing developers - all in one central repository. No wonder that some have labelled Fedora 7 as the project's most ambitious release to-date!
How will these changes work out? In a surprising move, the merge between the two repositories was only completed after the final test release of Fedora 7, making the merge impossible to test on a wider scale. Perhaps the developers had underestimated the challenge; while the i386 merge was reasonably trouble-free, there were reports about problems with compiling and debugging some of the less frequently-used "extras" packages on other architectures. But despite lack of testing, the release will still go ahead as planned and this is perhaps a slight gamble on the part of the Fedora 7 developers.
For those who are interested in helping to squash any last-minute bugs, an unofficial release candidate of Fedora 7 was quietly made available on the Fedora test mailing list last Friday. Full DVD images for three architectures, as well as GNOME and KDE live CDs, can be had from torrent.fedoraproject.org; these are very close to what the final images will look like, so those Fedora users who are too impatient to wait until Thursday, might consider installing the new version from these CD/DVD sets. As always, don't be surprised by the Package Updater errors - since the Fedora 7 directories have not yet been created, the utility will keep failing at least until the official release of the new version on May 31st.
Fedora 7 is the project's most ambitious release ever (full image size: 916kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
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The story that has kept many Linux news sites on their toes for the past few weeks has been successfully concluded and the brand new Ubuntu computers from Dell are now available online. The news is presently relevant to the residents of the United States only, since Dell has yet to start offering these products in other countries. Nevertheless, the world's largest computer maker has to be praised for having moved with an astonishing speed; it was only a few weeks ago that the "Dellinux" skeptics outnumbered those who believed otherwise by a considerable margin, but a few short weeks later one can indeed buy a Linux computer from Dell. Let's hope that this ambitious experiment will turn out to be a success and that one day we will start seeing many more Linux computers available in retails stores across the world.
Has any of the DistroWatch readers ordered one of these Ubuntu-based boxes from Dell? If so, what were your experiences? Do you think the sole laptop model is a good choice for an average (i.e. fairly technical) Linux user? And has your perception of Dell changed/improved since its ambitious drive to deliver computers with an alternative operating system to end users? Please discuss below.
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Released Last Week |
BeleniX 0.6
Moinak Ghosh has announced a new version of BeleniX, a desktop live CD based on OpenSolaris: "BeleniX 0.6 released. After some gap due to a busy few months for many of the BeleniX folks, a new release is now available. Lots of changes have happened and here is a summary: based on OpenSolaris Build 60; full modular X.Org 7.2 based on the Solaris X consolidation sources; Compiz 0.5.0 3D manager integrated into Xfce and KDE; added the GNU Parted port to OpenSolaris and also added GParted (experimental) with the ability to resize NTFS, FAT, ext2 partitions; Usbdump integrated into the live CD; updates to various software packages, like Xfce 4.4.1, GTK+, Cairo, Pango, KOffice 0.6.2...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information.
MCNLive "Toronto"
A new, enhanced version of MCNLive, a Mandriva-based live CD distribution, has been released: "I am glad to announce MCNLive, code name 'Toronto'. What's the difference to 'Delft'? VirtualBox OSE, KOffice suite, GIMP, gThumb, gxine, gFTP, Bluefish, Quanta, KAudioCreator, Kopete, KDE Bluetooth, a bunch of networking tools and printer packages added. English only edition. Improved isolinux bootsplash, with keyboard navigation to select a boot option, different wallpapers, fixed (non-critical) error messages when shutting down the system in live CD persist mode." Visit the project's home page to read the release announcement.
Pioneer Linux 2.1
An updated version of Pioneer Linux Basic, now based on the latest Kubuntu 7.04, has been released: "Technalign, Inc. has released Pioneer Basic 2.1 of its base Linux operating system. Pioneer Basic 2.1 is being released on DVD. Technalign will continue to ship Pioneer Basic 2.0 for those users who do not wish to purchase a DVD drive for their systems. Pioneer Basic 2.1 is similar to Basic 2.0 with several exceptions. The biggest exception is that Pioneer 2.1 is based on Feisty and not Edgy while it continues to be based on Kubuntu. Adept is no longer incorporated as the update manager, but is now replaced with Synaptic per the business and consumer communities. Also notable are the Guarddog Firewall as well as the KlamAV anti-virus utilities that have been added and OpenOffice.org 2.2." Read the full press release for further details.
Scientific Linux 5.0 Live CD
Urs Beyerle has announced the availability of a live CD edition of Scientific Linux 5.0: "Scientific Linux Live CD 5.0 has been released for i386 and x86_64 architectures. The Scientific Linux Live CD is a bootable CD that runs Scientific Linux directly from CD without installing. New feature: Live CD can be installed to local hard disk. Major software updates compared to Scientific Linux 4 Live CD: Linux kernel 2.6.18, OpenAFS client 1.4.4, X.Org 7.1, 3D desktop with Compiz and AIGLX, GNOME 2.16.0, OpenOffice.org 2.0.4, Firefox 1.5. Additional features: can be installed on USB key; can be mounted over NFS (as diskless client)." Read the full release announcement and visit the live CD project page for further information.
VectorLinux 5.8 Live CD
Robert Lange has announced the final release of the live CD edition of VectorLinux 5.8 "Standard", as well as the first alpha of the live CD/DVD edition of VectorLinux 5.8 "SOHO": "The VectorLinux team is proud to announce the release of VectorLinux 5.8 Live CD and the first SOHO 5.8 alpha live CD and DVD. This is the final release for 5.8 standard GOLD live. The hard drive installer that has been problematic is fixed and should work well. The SOHO 5.8 alpha live comes in either CD or DVD editions. The DVD edition includes all that is in the SOHO 5.8 install release plus 62 additional language packs for KDE. The CD version has lost some functionality due to size constraints. The development tool chain and OpenOffice.org were removed." See the release announcement for full details.
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Development and unannounced releases
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Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Summary of expected upcoming releases
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DistroWatch.com News |
Translations of the Top Ten Distributions page
Many thanks to Vincent Rogister and Gilles Wallon who have translated the Top Ten Distributions page into French. The article is now available in 7 languages; besides English and French, you can also read it in Dutch, Italian, Polish, Russian and Spanish. Translations to other languages are most welcome - if you'd like to help, please email your work to distro at distrowatch dot com (preferably in plain text format using UTF-8 encoding).
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New distributions added to database
- BeaFanatIX. BeaFanatIX is an Ubuntu-based mini live CD with utilities borrowed from KNOPPIX. It is developed by a small group of developers who have forked the successful, but discontinued BeatrIX distribution and added new features and scripts. The main purpose of BeaFanatIX is to provide a small, installable live CD, with good documentation and easy-to-use applications for a variety of desktop tasks.
BeaFanatIX 2006.2 - an easy-to-use, Ubuntu-based mini live CD (full image size: 913kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
- Granular Linux. Granular Linux is an easy-to-use, desktop Linux distribution based on PCLinuxOS. Its main features are a carefully selected set of applications for common tasks, the ability to customise the distribution, and the inclusion of two popular desktop environments - the flexible KDE and the lightweight Xfce.
Granular 0.25 is a new desktop distribution made in India (full image size: 247kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
- Openfiler. Openfiler is a storage management operating system based on rPath Linux. It is powered by the Linux kernel and open source applications such as Apache, Samba, Linux Volume Management, ext3, Linux NFS and iSCSI enterprise target. Openfiler combines these ubiquitous technologies into a small, easy-to-manage solution fronted by a powerful web-based management interface. Openfiler allows building a Network Attached Storage (NAS) and/or Storage Area Network (SAN) appliance, using industry-standard hardware, in less than 10 minutes of installation time.
- Parted Magic. Parted Magic is a 30 MB live CD/USB/PXE with its elemental purpose being to partition hard drives. Although GParted and Parted are the main programs, the CD/USB also offers other applications, such as Partition Image, TestDisk, fdisk, sfdisk, dd, ddrescue, etc.
Parted Magic 1.7 uses the Xfce desktop (full image size: 199kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
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DistroWatch database summary
And this concludes the latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 4 June 2007. Until then,
Ladislav Bodnar
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Archives |
• Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
• Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20 |
• Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
• Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
• Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
• Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
• Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
• Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
• Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
• Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
• Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
• Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
• Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
• Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
• Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
• Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
• Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
• Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
• Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
• Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
• Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
• Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
• Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
• Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
• Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
• Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
• Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
• Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
• Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
• Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
• Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
• Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
• Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
• Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
• Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
• Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
• Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
• Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
• Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
• Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
• Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
• Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
• Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
• Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
• Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
• Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
• Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
• Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
• Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
• Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
• Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
• Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
• Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
• Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
• Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
• 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.
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Random Distribution |
GParted Live
GParted Live is a live distribution with a single purpose - to provide tools for partitioning hard disks in an intuitive, graphical environment. The distribution uses X.Org, the light-weight Fluxbox window manager, and the latest 4.x Linux kernel. GParted Live runs on most x86 machines with a Pentium II or better.
Status: Active
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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!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
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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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