 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 224, 15 October 2007 |
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Welcome to this year's 42nd issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Following the openSUSE 10.3 release two weeks ago and the new Mandriva Linux 2008 announced last Tuesday, the rapid succession of major Linux distribution versions continues this week with Ubuntu 7.10. Will the developers of these projects succeed in enticing more computer users to switch to Linux? Chris Smart tries to answer the question in the upcoming issues of DistroWatch Weekly by reviewing these new products - today he installs openSUSE 10.3 on his trusty MacBook to see how it fares. In the news section: Mandriva simplifies its product range, Ubuntu prepares for another download rush, and Fedora embraces artwork developed by the user community. Finally, don't miss two interesting interviews with Lucas Villa Real from GoboLinux and Gerard Beekmans from the Linux From Scratch project. Happy reading!
Content:
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| Reviews |
A look at openSUSE 10.3 (by Chris Smart)
Introduction
It has been a while since I used SUSE for any great length of time. I've been trying it on and off for a number of years, just to see what progress they've been making and how it all runs. For people who are new to Linux, the idea of a GUI configuration tool for the system is a comforting one. openSUSE comes with YaST, which is probably the most powerful and complete configuration system in any distro. I was most pleased to discover a multitude of improvements that came with this new release.
I also don't think I've ever come across a more polished looking distribution than openSUSE. Many other distros have come a long way in this regard (Fedora 7 and PCLinuxOS for example), but in my opinion openSUSE still stands out as the clear leader. The included GNOME desktop also looks amazing, although I'm sure hardcore GNOME lovers will argue it just makes it look like KDE ;). For a long time now SUSE has been the envy of many a distribution. Everything in openSUSE is well integrated, from their splash screens (which are amazingly simple, yet stunning) to the login managers, menu systems and the desktop itself. Simply gorgeous!
openSUSE 10.3 - the boot loader
(full image size: 154kB, screen resolution: 800x600 pixels)
The last number of openSUSE releases have seemed too rushed, resulting in some nasty bugs and a less than polished feel. Version 10.2 was probably what 10.1 should have been and while it didn't seem to bring many new features and enhancements, it was a welcome replacement for 10.1. This latest version, 10.3, comes off the same production line, but in my opinion is a much better release. As usual, it comes with the latest stable versions of both the GNOME and KDE desktops and also includes Xfce 4. OpenOffice.org is also the latest version available at 2.3. There are also some handy new features in this new openSUSE release, including some major changes to the way YaST works which sports a new layout and appears quicker! Maybe it's just the computer I'm running it on, but it doesn't seem quite as annoying as it used to.
Installation
I pulled out my trusty MacBook for the test install, because it is tricky to configure well and it comes with reasonably modern hardware. I booted the openSUSE KDE install CD and began the process. As usual, the quality of the graphics and GUI installer were very good. The install process has a great outline so you can see exactly what you've done and what you still have to do. The installer is like a two-edged sword. By default the interface is clear and very easy to follow, with tasks like partitioning and formatting the hard drive handled seamlessly. The other side of the installer is the ability to be extremely complex and powerful. For the experienced user there is great flexibility in the installer to create a very custom system, easily. I was using LVM, so I simply added a new logical volume called "opensuse" and I was on my way!
openSUSE 10.3 - the installer
(full image size: 42kB, screen resolution: 800x600 pixels)
While I'm confident that on a standard desktop computer the install process would be very smooth, there were a number of issues I noted with the MacBook install. The installer didn't recognise my touchpad, not even as a standard mouse, and I had to plug in a USB mouse which worked straight away. The installer has the option to add repositories during the install and update your system, which is a great idea as it gives you the latest up-to-date system. Unfortunately, my wireless card was not detected so I could not use this feature - in all fairness to openSUSE, it is Atheros based and is not free to distribute with the Linux kernel due to licensing restrictions. The YaST boot loader configurator actually wipes the MBR partition table information, which means I could not install GRUB. A simple synchronisation using Refit and it all worked. NOTE: This is only a problem on Intel-based Apple computers.
Other than the aforementioned issues, I could not fault the install process. I really like the separation of the configuration section of the installer from the main install process. Upon completion of the installation, your computer is rebooted into the fresh openSUSE system where the configuration section is loaded. This is excellent as it breaks up the install and makes it seem less daunting. Here I set the root password, added my own user, configured the network, firewall and computer hardware, and so on.
On the desktop
As we've come to expect with openSUSE, the desktop looks sensational and this new release feels fast. Load time from GRUB to the KDE login screen was only 35 seconds. It took 10 seconds to log into KDE and have Konqueror loaded. OpenOffice.org Writer took only 10 seconds to load and let me start typing, while Firefox took less than 2 seconds. All this from a cold boot and with CPU speed stepping turned on.
One problem I've always found with SUSE was the lack of ease with installing non-official packages from third party repositories. To my great and most delighted surprise, this has been made very simple in SUSE 10.3. Under the YaST system configuration panel there is an option for 'Community Repositories'. Simply open this and tick the ones you want to use, such as Pacman, VideoLan, even the ATI and NVIDIA repositories. Simple!
openSUSE 10.3 - the community repositories module in YaST
(full image size: 65kB, screen resolution: 688x397 pixels)
On the subject of installing software, 10.3 introduces an amazing new feature - one click install. This is a system when you load a special file for the package you want installed (for example, compiz-fusion-kde.ymp) into the package manager and it automatically subscribes you to the repositories you need, downloads all the required packages, and installs and configures your system - all in one go! This is awesome!
When I tried to play an mp3 file under Amarok it caused a pop-up to appear, prompting to install the required packages. This took me to a website with the option of commercial support for mp3 and other codecs, or community based. I clicked on 'community based' and once the website had loaded, I chose 'KDE' as my environment. This downloaded a one click install file and started the YaST software installation. Here I was able to subscribe to community repositories and choose which packages I wanted, including packages such as Flash, win32codecs, Java, libdvdcss, VLC, MPlayer, GStreamer plugins and others, or simply leave it set to the defaults. Now Amarok was able to play my mp3 files - that I have only for test purposes of course, all my regular music is in FLAC ;).
While it's still a little confusing for new users and not quite up to the Ubuntu level, this codec assistance is a step in the right direction. A usability improvement would be a direct link to the free one-click install file, rather than navigating through the website. It does make it easier for end users to play the restricted formats though, while keeping Novell out of trouble. Of course it would be best if everyone just used open formats!
This release also includes the Novell variant of the KDE and GNOME menus, called 'Kickoff'. Love them or hate them, they do give you fast access to commonly used components of your system, favourite applications, system settings, built-in Beagle search and more. We need more of these sorts of improvements to the Linux system. I also noticed that when I logged on for the first time, a dialogue popped up saying that "Beagle is running and performance might be a little slow" - this is a great idea as it might give people the wrong impression that openSUSE itself is slow.
While the speed of the package manager has drastically improved, I still don't like the amount of time it takes to install software under openSUSE. When you open the package management system it reads the cache which takes almost 20 seconds. This is just too long, especially if all someone wanted to install was a small application. Compare this to APT under Debian and you'll wonder how anyone using an RPM system can put up with it. Still, the package management software itself is very good under openSUSE, one of the best.
openSUSE 10.3 - the KDE desktop
(full image size: 536kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Conclusion
Overall, I'm very impressed with this release of openSUSE (so much so that I might upgrade my sister's family home computer from 10.0!). The installer is top class, the package management system (including the integration of third party repositories) is excellent, the new 'one click install' system is awesome, YaST appears to be vastly improved and much quicker, support for third party codecs is actually there now (albeit indirectly), it looks great, and it runs fast! With Linux distributions (and users) being what they are these days, it would be good if openSUSE had a tool like Ubuntu's 'Restricted Manager' which could detect and automatically install drivers for hardware not officially supported. Perhaps like they currently do with the third party codecs and one click install technology.
While not perfect, this release is the best openSUSE yet. Well done Novell and the SUSE community, I might just keep this on my MacBook!
8.5 "Smarties" out of 10.
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| Miscellaneous News |
Mandriva 2008 simplified, avoiding Ubuntu download rush, Fedora artwork, interviews with Lucas Villa Real (GoboLinux) and Gerard Beekmans (Linux From Scratch)
 After a short delay caused by a few last-minute bugs, Mandriva Linux 2008 was finally released last week. In terms of product features it is roughly in line with other major distribution updates - the usual round of package upgrades, improved hardware support, and desktop beautification work are all present in the final release. But there a couple of areas where the new Mandriva differs from its predecessors: the number of commercial editions has been reduced to just one (PowerPack) and its pricing was also revised downwards; users can now subscribe to receive two PowerPack releases per year for just €49.00 (previously €99.00). Besides the PowerPack edition, the usual Mandriva "One" installable live CDs, complete with proprietary video drivers and other desktop conveniences, and the traditional, non-live "Free" edition, are also available.
Mandriva Linux 2008 with improved hardware support and updated desktop
(full image size: 644kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
For GNOME fans among the Mandriva users, here is some more good news - the GNOME edition of Mandriva "One" 2008 was finally released and uploaded to public servers on Monday: "The GNOME version of Mandriva Linux 2008 One has been released and is now available via BitTorrent or from the mirror sites. Featuring all the same great new features as the other editions of Mandriva Linux 2008, with a fully up-to-date GNOME 2.20 desktop. Hope this makes all our GNOME-using members happy!" Download the ISO images via BitTorrent or directly from one of these FTP/HTTP servers: mandriva-linux-2008-one-GNOME-cdrom-i586.iso (659MB, MD5).
* * * * *
 Following the successful releases of openSUSE 10.3 and Mandriva Linux 2008, the attention of Linux distribution watchers can now turn to Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon", due out later this week. As has become customary, a new Ubuntu release tends to be seen as a major test of both the project's download infrastructure and its web site; those of you who were around to witness Ubuntu's previous release might remember that the distribution's web site was inaccessible for much of its release day as tens of thousands of impatient users tried to connect to its heavily overloaded servers. For those who want to avoid this desperate rush there is a simple solution - just download the release candidate from one of Ubuntu's mirrors (see the release announcement for a list of up-to-date download locations) at any time before Thursday and use Aptitude or Synaptic to upgrade any packages that need upgrading before the big Ubuntu rush begins. This is safe and fully supported - and a rather smart way to have the latest Ubuntu up and running while the rest of the Ubuntu-using population scrambles to get hold of the CD images. And if you still need the CDs, you can download them later, when the interest in the new release subsides, or you can order them from ShipIt.
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 Until relatively recently, desktop aesthetics was not something Linux distribution projects lost much sleep over. New functionality, hardware support and package updates all took precedence over the work of graphic designers who always played second fiddles to the programmers. Not any more. As Linux distributions mature, there is much more emphasis on creating a desktop which is not only functional, but which also pleases the eye of the user. The Fedora project has been on the forefront of these initiatives, which resulted in some of the most eye-catching desktop art and themes available in any distribution. How do they do it? Learn more in this interview with Fedora art team lead Máirín Duffy: "The first three milestones were focused on the main concept art for the release. Whichever artwork made it through the first three milestones was considered as the default theme. Anyone in the Fedora community was welcome to participate in the process from the start, and we let hard deadlines drive some of the decision-making for us. Milestone 1 was to simply come up with a concept, and required that you explain the meaning of your concept and provide at least a sketch or references to existing artwork that illustrated your idea. Next, milestone 2 required more polished, original artwork including at least 1 wallpaper concept and 3 supporting illustrations."
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 While October is traditionally a month of major distribution releases, many smaller projects continue their own work preparing upcoming new versions. One of them is GoboLinux, a rather unusual distribution which is attempting a complete redesign of the traditional UNIX file system layout, replacing it with something more "modern and logical". Lucas Villa Real, a GoboLinux developer, has taken time away from his work to talk to Packt Publishing about the project's reason for trying to break away from the "ancient" UNIX tradition: "The major aim was to have a simple way of creating and sharing binary packages from programs compiled and installed from their source code. Splitting the file system tree into per-program sub-trees was the most logical thinking, as packages could be created just by compressing its directory, or removed by deleting that. Another interesting advantage is that more than one version of the same program can be installed in the system at a given time, as each version lives inside its own directory. And this gives us a very unique feature: no database is needed to tell which packages are installed and what files each of them offer; that's just a matter of checking the directory contents inside /Programs."
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 Finally, completing a trio of interesting interviews published last week is this talk with Gerard Beekmans, the founder of Linux From Scratch (LFS): "Teaching has always been the primary goal of LFS. That will never change, lest LFS ceases to be what it is. But there also is no limit to teaching. As we all learn more about Linux system creation and package integration, that knowledge ought to be shared with the community. The LFS books are good places to store that information in a concise format. But I think we also cannot ignore the automated process requirements any more. As a prime example, I (of course) use LFS at work. All our Linux servers are LFS-based, but there are times, when I am forced to (temporarily) use a different system. In my mind, LFS is not merely a learning aid. Once you have learned all there is to know (if such a time ever comes in a person's life), people still keep using LFS because now you have a system you fully understand and you are no longer bound by a distribution's way of doing things that might conflict with your own methods."
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| Released Last Week |
Mandriva Linux 2008
Mandriva Linux 2008 has been released: "We are proud to announce that Mandriva Linux 2008 is now available for download. The result of six months of heavy development and testing, 2008 includes all the latest software and many enhancements over previous Mandriva Linux releases. You will find KDE 3.5.7 and the new GNOME 2.20 already integrated, a solid kernel 2.6.22.9 with fair scheduling support, OpenOffice.org 2.2.1, cutting-edge 3D-accelerated desktop courtesy of CompizFusion 0.5.2, Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.6, and everything else you've come to expect from the latest Mandriva Linux release. We have integrated a reworked hardware detection sub-system, with support for a lot of new devices." Read the release announcement and visit the release tour page for further details.
EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.17
Guardian Digital has announced the release of EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.17, a server oriented distribution with an easy-to-use web-based administration utility: "Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.17. What's new? We have included a very alpha version of Samba 4 for our users to evaluate; support for tcb, an alternative password shadowing scheme, was added; balance, a very simple and effective load balancing application, is now available for installation. Simple to set up, balance can provide round-robin TCP load balancing for just about any daemon; powernowd, a daemon to control the CPU speed and voltage of your server, is also now available; the latest stable versions of Apache (2.2.6), Asterisk (1.4.12), Dovecot (1.0.5), PHP (5.2.4), Postfix...." Read the complete release notes for further information.
RAYS 2.0
RAYS, a product of Sun Wah Hi-tech System Software, is a Chinese desktop Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux. RAYS version 2.0 "Baihong" was announced earlier today. Compared to the second release candidate, the most important changes include several package upgrades (GIMP 2.4.0rc1, udev 114, alsa-lib 1.0.14, OpenSSH 4.6p1), bug fixes in the system installer, and improved stability. On the software front, Baihong is based on Debian's testing and unstable branches with kernel 2.6.22, glibc 2.6, and GCC 4.1.2, while the desktop is powered by X.Org 7.2 and GNOME 2.20. RAYS 2.0 is a pure installation CD with the language support limited to simplified Chinese and no hard disk partitioning mechanism (the system will take over the entire hard disk). For more information please read the release announcement and release notes (both links in Chinese).
Linspire 6.0
Linspire 6.0, a user-friendly, commercial distribution based on Ubuntu, has been released: "Linspire, Inc., developer of the Linspire commercial and Freespire community desktop Linux operating systems and CNR.com, a free Linux software delivery service, today announced the immediate availability of Linspire 6.0, the latest commercial release of the desktop Linux operating system. Building on the best of open source software using Ubuntu as its base line, Linspire 6.0 adds licensed proprietary drivers, codecs, and software in its core distribution to provide a better user experience. The first commercial release from Linspire, Inc. in over two years, Linspire 6.0 continues its traditional focus on ease-of-use and bundles proprietary software where there are no viable open source alternatives, providing improved hardware, file type, and multimedia support, such as MP3, Real, Java, Flash, ATI, NVIDIA, WiFi, and many more." Read the press release and visit the product's features page for further details.
Resulinux 2.5
Resulinux is a Debian-based, Brazilian live CD featuring the TexasFlood boot system, which dramatically shortens the operating system's boot time, and a software update utility called LiveUpdate. Version 2.5 was released yesterday. Some of the new features include the following: aMSN upgraded to version 0.97R1; jSMS upgraded to version 2.6; support for multimedia files; added libdvdcss2; added Barrage (a game), aDesklets, aMule, XArchive; boot speed improvements while booting from live CD; support for wireless networking in configuration panel; icons and splash screen updates; added TexasFlood version 2.1R4; various bug fixes. Please visit the project's download page (in Portuguese) to read the detailed changelog.
Ubuntu Muslim Edition 7.04
Ubuntu Muslim Edition is an Ubuntu-based distribution whose main feature is the presence of Islamic software - prayer times, a Quran study tool and a web content filtering utility. A new stable version, 7.04, was announced earlier today: "The Ubuntu Muslim Edition team is proud to announce the final version of UbuntuME 7.04. It includes an installable live desktop CD, a second CD with additional software (OpenOffice.org, Arabic language packs, Quran recitations, etc.), an installable DVD (with more Quran recitations), and a script to convert standard Ubuntu installations to UbuntuME. Highlights: WCC (parental control tool) enabled by default (so browsing the Internet is safe); Zekr (Quran study tool) installed and configured to play Quran recitations; Islamic calendar and Minbar (prayer times tool); UbuntuME artworks." Here is the full release announcement.
Absolute Linux 12.0.7
Paul Sherman has released an updated version of Absolute Linux, a light-weight, Slackware-based distribution featuring the IceWM window manager: "Absolute 12.0.7 released. Fairly extensive changes in terms of bug removal and added features. Major fixes include mounted external volumes writable by users as well as root. The clearFstab script was tamed, GUI login no longer leads to any missing resources problems, GIMP scripts were patched to ensure that they work with new 2.4 series, ePDFView replaces xPDF as default PDF viewer, Firefox updated and now also includes all header files to compile web-apps against, installer available (as root) for folks lucky enough to legally use 'restricted' multimedia files, Audacity 1.3.3 included, CheckInstall version 1.5.3 works and has been patched to behave nicely... and lots more." Read the release announcement and changelog for further details.
rPath Linux 1.0.7
Michael K. Johnson has announced the release of rPath Linux 1.0.7, an independently developed distribution featuring the Conary package management system: "rPath Linux, the first Linux distribution built using the groundbreaking Conary software management system, has released updated images for rPath Linux 1. The new images incorporate updates to the installation process and all package updates released as of September 26, 2007. In particular, the installation images and installed system now include a 2.6.22.7 Linux kernel, enabling installation on more recent hardware not supported by previous installation media. (Linux kernels for Xen support are 2.6.16.33 in this release.) If you have already installed rPath Linux 1, you should update your current system using Conary rather than reinstall using the new images." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information.
Scientific Linux 4.5 Live CD/DVD
Urs Beyerle has announced the release of the live CD/DVD edition of Scientific Linux 4.5, a set of live media built from source RPM packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.5: "The Scientific Linux live CD/DVD is a bootable CD/DVD that runs Linux directly from CD/DVD without installing. It is based on Scientific Linux 4.5 (SL45), which is recompiled from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 sources (RHEL4 AS Update 5). The following versions of the Scientific Linux live CD are available for download: 'livecd' (fits on a CD-ROM), 'livecd64' (CD-ROM for 64-bit systems), 'livedvd' (fits on a DVD), 'livedvd64' (DVD-ROM for 64-bit systems), 'mini_livecd' (rescue system). Additional feature: live CD/DVD can be installed on local hard disk or USB key and can be mounted over NFS. Latest changes: diskless client - better detection of the network card; GParted added to live CD/DVD...." Here is the full release announcement.
Frugalware Linux 0.7
Miklós Vajna has announced the release of Frugalware Linux 0.7: "The Frugalware Developer Team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Frugalware 0.7, our seventh stable release. No new features have been added since 0.7rc2, but more than 150 changes have been made to fix minor bugs. If you didn't follow the changes during the pre/rc releases, here are the most important changes since 0.6: up-to-date base system - Linux kernel 2.6.22.9, glibc 2.6.1 and GCC 4.2.1; up-to-date desktop packages - KDE 3.5.7, GNOME 2.20, Xfce 4.4.1, OpenOffice.org 2.3.0 and Firefox 2.0.0.7; a live CD called FwLive is now available for this release; language-specific defaults (keymap, time zone, default mirror), the installation is now logged; supported new languages: Romanian, Swedish, Italian and Danish; new graphical tools: Gfpm (package manager) and Gnetconfig (network configurator)." Here is the full release announcement.
Frugalware Linux 0.7
(full image size: 231kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Puppy Linux 3.01
Barry Kauler has released Puppy Linux 3.01, a bug-fix update to the earlier Puppy 3.00: "Puppy version 3.01 released. Puppy 3.01 is a bug-fix upgrade of 3.00. If you are currently using 3.00 (or have tried to use 3.00 and have encountered a show-stopper bug), please read the blog first to find out if your particular problem has been addressed -- if not, it may be addressed in 3.02. The purpose of 3.01 is simply to fix the most urgent bugs and niggles in 3.00, not apply any major changes or package upgrades. This Puppy (3.00 and 3.01) is a massive upgrade from the previous (v2.17.1). I decided to aim for close binary compatibility with Slackware 12, with the objective of being able to install Slackware packages and have all or most of the required dependencies already in place. To that end, I used all the building block packages from Slackware 12, such as glibc 2.5, GCC 4.1.2 and GTK+ 2.10.13. Most of the libraries in Puppy are now from Slackware." Read the rest of the release notes for more details.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
New distributions added to waiting list
- MitraX. MitraX is a Slackware-based live Linux distribution. With its size of 50 MB MitraX can be stored on a business card-size CD. MitraX is mainly intended to be used by system and network administrators.
- PureOS. PureOS is a French live CD based on Debian's testing branch. It is designed primarily for French-speaking users.
- Syllable Server. The Syllable project creates a set of operating systems that interact to deploy networks. Syllable Desktop is a complete desktop operating system that is exceptionally powerful, fast, and easy to use. It has its own kernel, file system, graphical user interface, and applications. Syllable Desktop is based on AtheOS, is largely POSIX.1 compliant, and uses many of the GNU utilities. Syllable Server is a server operating system built to be similar to Syllable Desktop, but on the Linux kernel.
- Untangle Gateway Platform. Untangle Gateway Platform is a Linux-based network gateway with pluggable modules for network applications like spam blocking, web filtering, anti-virus, anti-spyware, intrusion prevention, VPN, SSL VPN, firewall, and more.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
And this concludes the latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 22 October 2007.
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
| • Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
| • Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
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TUXEDO OS
TUXEDO OS is an Ubuntu-based distribution developed in Germany by TUXEDO Computers GmbH, designed and optimised for the company's own range of Linux-friendly personal computers and notebooks. The distribution uses KDE Plasma as the preferred desktop. Some of the differences between Ubuntu and TUXEDO OS include custom boot menu, the TUXEDO Control Centre, Calamares installer, availability of the Lutris open gaming platform, preference for the PipeWire audio daemon (over PulseAudio), removal of Ubuntu's snap daemon and snap packages, and various other tweaks and enhancements.
Status: Active
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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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