 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 268, 1 September 2008 |
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Welcome to this year's 35th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! The world of Linux distribution has traditionally associated the arrival of September with the start of a grand testing period as all major projects are about to finalise their feature lists, freeze their development trees and begin fixing any remaining bugs. So what can we expect when the final products eventually hit the download mirrors? We'll take a look at the feature lists of all major distributions to see what's coming up in the next few months. In the news section, Debian announces the code name of its post-Lenny release, Novell launches SUSE Studio - a web-based tool for building custom distributions, and Linpus Technologies releases an installable Linpus Lite live CD for netbooks. Also among the interesting web links, a user reports how Xubuntu has managed to turn an OLPC into a perfect travelling companion, while the developers of FreeNAS tell us why their FreeBSD-based distribution is an excellent way of storing important files on a remote machine. All this and more in this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. Happy reading!
Content:
 Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in ogg (13MB) and mp3 (13MB) formats (many thanks to Russ Wenner)
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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| Feature Story |
The upcoming release season
As has been tradition in the distribution development circles, the arrival of September usually means one thing: a highly intensive testing period prior to a big flurry of distribution releases. These will start hitting the download mirrors in the following months, making the time between late September and Christmas the most eagerly anticipated period of the year by all DistroWatchers. Fancy a fresh distro full of updated packages? Enjoy discovering what new features and exciting enhancements the developers have integrated into their products? Eager to exchange the look and feel of your desktop for something fresher and crispier? Then you are at the right place. While we wait for those magic moments, let's take a brief tour of the distribution's feature lists to see what will become reality in just a few short weeks.
* * * * *
 We'll start with the world's biggest distribution - Debian GNU/Linux. While the expected release date of version 5.0 and code name "Lenny" is uncertain due to Debian's policy of "release when ready", the release team has targeted September 2008 as a month with a good chance of completing the current development. This means that, if everything goes as planned, the hundreds of developers who work on the distribution have no more than a few weeks to prepare the new stable version for public consumption. Will it arrive this month? With Debian, one never knows, but it does seem like a strong possibility, given the increased activity on the project's mailing lists and the urgency with which the release team calls for fixing the remaining critical bugs. So what are the most interesting features of the new Debian GNU/Linux 5.0?
- Linux kernel 2.6.26, glibc 2.7, GCC 4.3.1, X.Org 7.3 (xorg-server 1.4.2), GNOME 2.20, KDE 3.5.9, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1
- Over 25,000 binary packages available for installation
- Support for IPv6, NFS 4 and large files
- Switch /bin/sh to dash
- Minor installer improvements and a variety of live CDs as installation option
* * * * *
 Next on the release calendar is Mandriva Linux 2009, scheduled for arrival on 9 October 2008. Given that all of its four development builds released so far were on time, the likelihood of any delay of the final release is fairly small. All that's left to do now is to test the two upcoming release candidates, the first of which is expected later this week. As for the features, all eyes are on Mandriva's integration of KDE 4.1 into the distribution, but there are a few other surprises:
- Linux kernel 2.6.27, glibc 2.8, GCC 4.3.2, X.Org 7.3 (xorg-server 1.4.2), GNOME 2.24, KDE 4.1, OpenOffice.org 3.0
- Radically redesigned installer, both in terms of look & feel and functionality
- Switch to Fedora's system-config-printer as the default printer configuration tool
- Firefox 3.0 with the XULRunner runtime environment
* * * * *
 Three weeks after Mandriva 2009, it will be the turn of Ubuntu to showcase its latest and greatest in the all-new version 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex". No longer constrained by the need to consider long term supportability, this should be a more experimental version than the project's current stable one. At the same time, the Ubuntu base system is likely to be in a much healthier state, since it is based on a Debian tree that was rapidly converging towards a stable release at the time of branching. Following the already completed four alpha builds, the Ubuntu 8.10 development tree has now entered a feature-freeze period, so don't expect any major surprises, other than the usual testing builds - alpha 5 should arrive this week; this will be followed by alpha 6, a beta and a release candidate in roughly two-week intervals. The final release of Ubuntu 8.10 is scheduled for 30 October 2008. Expected major features:
- Linux kernel 2.6.27, glibc 2.8, GCC 4.3.2, X.Org 7.4 (xorg-server 1.5), GNOME 2.24, KDE 4.1, OpenOffice.org 3.0
- Complete theme overhaul (but brown still dominant)
- Compiz 0.7.7 with tons of new effects
- Official USB installation support for converting ISO CD image files into USB-live compatible files.
- Secret ~/Private folder with encryption
- System cleaner for removing unnecessary files and improved Network Manager with 3G support
* * * * *
 Next, it will be the time to focus our attention to Fedora, which has become one of the most bleeding-edge distributions on the market. The original release date of Fedora 10 was scheduled for the end of October, but following the recent compromise of the project's download servers, work on the distribution suffered a two-week delay. The upcoming beta has been rescheduled for 23 September, with the preview release coming at the end of October, and the final release on 18 November 2008. But what can we expect to find in Fedora 10?
- Linux kernel 2.6.27, glibc 2.9, GCC 4.3.2, X.Org 7.4 (xorg-server 1.5), GNOME 2.24, KDE 4.1, OpenOffice.org 3.0
- Web-based software installation interface for Fedora packages
- First Aid Kit - an automated recovery tool that brings together common recovery processes
- OpenChange for accessing Microsoft Exchange
- New security audit system and intrusion detection system
- Miscellaneous improvements to start-up speed, printing, web cam support and remote control systems
* * * * *
 The list of major distribution releases will be completed on 18 December 2008 with the début of the brand-new openSUSE 11.1. Given the prolonged development period and the amount of time still available, it is hardly surprising that the feature list has not been finalised, but a trickle of small announcements indicating new enhancements has been hitting the project's news page in regular intervals. Many expect openSUSE 11.1 to be more of a consolidation and bug-fix release, rather than a major build with thousands of experimental features, but its continued integration of KDE 4 into the distribution should be of interest to KDE fans. Keep an eye on the openSUSE 11.1 page for further updates prior to the release.
- Linux kernel 2.6.27/28, GNOME 2.24, KDE 4.1.1, OpenOffice.org 3.0, Firefox 3.0
- Support for SELinux as an alternative security framework
* * * * *
So which of these looks to be the most interesting release? Ubuntu 8.10 has some unusual features, such as the ~/Private folder or the new Compiz effects, but Fedora is also coming up with some notable improvements, especially in its web-based installation infrastructure and new security features. On the other hand, Mandriva seems to be concentrating on the integration of KDE 4.1 into the distribution and installer improvements, none of which seem like ground-breaking features. Debian is the same as ever - likely to be solid, stable and dependable, but hardly cutting-edge. And openSUSE? It's still a little unknown at this stage as work on the new version has barely started.
So here is the topic for this week's discussion: which distribution release do you most look forward to and why? Do you intend to do any serious testing and bug reporting during the next few months? Are there any features that you are missing from the features lists? Please discuss below.
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| Miscellaneous News |
SUSE Studio, Lenny + 1 = Squeeze, Xubuntu on OLPC, Linpus Linux Lite, interviews - openSUSE's Joe Brockmeier and FreeNAS's Olivier Cochard-Labbe and Volker Theile
Let's start the news section with an announcement about an interesting service launched recently by Novell. Called SUSE Studio and dabbed as a "Linux construction kit", this web-based interface is designed to provide a number of useful services, such as the ability to create a variety of custom openSUSE distributions tailored to one's individual needs: "What can you do with SUSE Studio? Create a tuned server appliance, containing your application and just enough operating system components; spin a live CD or DVD with just the packages and software you need; create a ready-to-run VMware or Xen virtual server appliance; create a live USB key and carry your Linux system with you wherever you go; build a hard disk image for pre-loading onto hardware; install from your live CD, DVD or USB key to your hard drive." SUSE Studio is currently looking for beta testers - if you are interested, you can sign up on the project's home page. A screencast illustrating its main features is also available.
Speaking about openSUSE, a web site called How Software Is Built has published an interview with Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier, the openSUSE community manager: "Q: What are the usual things that you do when you're putting together a distro? Where does the work of the upstream project stop and your work start? A: To illustrate one of the problems historically between a distribution and an upstream project, say you have Fedora and Ubuntu and openSUSE and all these other different distros working on something. You get lossiness when one project decides to innovate in one area or add a few patches or whatever, but those changes don't necessarily make it upstream, or they do make it upstream but after the main project has also started working on the same feature or problem in tandem. As much as possible, we try to work within the projects like GNOME or KDE that benefit us, rather than doing the patches in our own little area and then maybe submitting them back, or letting them come get them, or whatever."
* * * * *
As the Debian development team puts its finishing touches on the upcoming release -- version 5.0 and code name "Lenny" -- many people have been curious about the code name of Lenny's successor. So what will it be? According to a post published today on the debian-devel-announce list, Lenny + 1 = Squeeze: "We will continue to use Toy Story character names for Lenny's successor, which will be called "Squeeze" (three-eyed space alien)." If you've never watched the film or if you've forgotten what Squeeze looks like, here is a picture. Some of the other noteworthy updates mentioned in the above post include guidelines for package uploads during Lenny's freeze period, the upcoming release candidate for Debian Lenny Installer, the bug-squashing party scheduled for later this week, and a call for updates to the release notes.
* * * * *
  OLPC as a portable laptop for everyday work? Surely, nobody in their right mind could possibly consider the hardware designed for children in the developing world as a useful laptop for general computing tasks? Oh yes, claims James Turner, in an article entitled Hacking the OLPC. With a little tweaking and Xubuntu as the operating system running on it, it is entirely possible to use this highly durable piece of hardware for general computer work while on the road: "Within a week I had a pretty amazing little portable to carry around. Although the screen is smaller than a traditional laptop's, its resolution is higher. The XO is light and durable, has superb Wi-Fi reception, and is an eye-catcher wherever it goes. And nothing beats it as a portable Gmail reader at a conference. Even with its limited memory and economy-class processor, the XO runs browsers and remote desktop sessions as well as regular business-class laptops do. I can't wait to try it out on a plane -- no more laptop-in-the-belly syndrome, and the battery might even last the whole flight. You can keep your ASUS Eee PC. I love my Xubuntu-powered XO!"
* * * * *
 Still on the subject of "netbooks" (or ultra-portable laptop computers), a reader has emailed us about the availability of a new version of Linpus Linux Lite, a distribution specially tweaked to run on low-cost, low-resource computers. Unlike the first release of Linpus Lite in December last year, the new version can also be installed to a hard disk. The distribution comes with two user interface types - a "tabbed" one (a heavily customised Xfce), which is very similar to what the ASUS Eee PC ships with, and a standard Xfce for more advanced computer users. One click on an icon in the bottom panel is all it takes to switch between the two. Linpus Linux is based on Fedora, but one important difference between itself and its parent is the use of APT for RPM and Synaptic for package management, together with pre-configured repositories containing extra desktop and server packages. The CD image can be downloaded from here: Linpus_Lite-i386-DVD.iso (699MB, MD5). Apart from Linpus Lite, the distribution's FTP server also provides full installation DVD images for the recently released Linpus Linux 9.6.
Linpus Linux Lite - the "tabbed" desktop
(full image size: 536kB, screen resolution: 1280x800 pixels)
Linpus Linux Lite - the standard Xfce desktop
(full image size: 645kB, screen resolution: 1280x800 pixels)
* * * * *
 Finally, here is a brief interview with Olivier Cochard-Labbe and Volker Theile from the FreeNAS project. This free, specialist operating system based on FreeBSD is gaining momentum as a superb solution for anybody who needs a file-level data storage connected to a computer network: "Few recent trends in storage have had as much momentum as Network Attached Storage (NAS). A NAS device can make a network more efficient and secure by supplying file-based data storage services to networked devices, or it can be used for applications such as streaming media. FreeNAS is free, light-weight, open source network-attached storage server software, based on FreeBSD. You can find a good tutorial on how to set up a free NAS server with it here. We recently caught up with Olivier Cochard-Labbe, FreeNAS founder, and Volker Theile, project administrator." Thiele explains the purpose of FreeNAS: "Two years ago I had a hard disk crash and lost some of the data that had been stored on it - photos and documents. I began to search for a solution to store data more securely. I had some hardware components lying around in the cellar, and I searched the web for a free NAS solution. OpenFiler was a little bit too big for what I was looking for, so I came across FreeNAS. It was easy to install and use."
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| Released Last Week |
Ubuntu Christian Edition 4.0
Jereme Hancock has announced the release of Ubuntu Christian Edition 4.0: "We are excited to announce the release of Ubuntu Christian Edition 4.0. Ubuntu Christian Edition has been on hold for quite a while for various reasons, but we are back up and running. This is a 'back to the basics' release. We have discontinued most of the Windows program installers that we had in previous releases due to the difficulty in maintaining them and changes in some of the Windows programs that made it very difficult to install them automatically. We have added BibleTime as well as a bunch more resources for BibleTime and GnomeSword. We have replaced OpenOffice.org with GNOME Office to keep the ISO size below the 700 MB threshold. We have also updated the site with a cleaner web 2.0 feel." See the release announcement and changelog for further information.
Ubuntu Christian Edition 4.0 - the default desktop
(full image size: 936kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Beyond Linux From Scratch 6.3
Randy McMurchy has announced the release of Beyond Linux From Scratch (BLFS) 6.3, a book that provides detailed build instructions for extending a base Linux From Scratch (LFS) system with popular desktop and server packages and their libraries: "The BLFS Development team is pleased to announce the release of the 6.3 version of BLFS. Many new packages have been introduced in the 6.3 version, as well as many updates, refinements and additions to the existing packages. The BLFS book now provides build and configuration instructions for almost 500 packages. Some of the new packages introduced in this version are: Dash, ksh, D-Bus bindings, Wireshark, rxvt-unicode, Gutenprint, Pidgin, GnuTLS, Qt version 4.x, GnuPG version 2.x, and Amarok. Major updates include GNOME 2.18.3, KDE 3.5.9, Firefox 2.x, Thunderbird 2.x, and most of the mainline server packages." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information.
Turbolinux 12
Japan's Turbolinux has announced the availability of Turbolinux 12 (marketing name: Turbolinux Client 2008 Net User Package), a commercial, user-friendly desktop Linux distribution that combines the best of open source and proprietary software in one compact package. The system is based on a Linux kernel 2.6.24.7 (co-developed at Mambo-Labs in cooperation with Mandriva) and includes KDE 3.5.8 as the default desktop, ATOK X3 Japanese input method, StarSuite office suite, NVIDIA and ATI proprietary graphics drivers, a software update tool and other conveniences. The product is available from several online retailers for ¥9,800 (US$90). For more information please read the press release and visit the product pages (both links in Japanese).
Turbolinux 12 - a new desktop release by one of the world's oldest Linux companies
(full image size: 410kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Kiwi Linux 8.08
Jani Mosones has announced the release of Kiwi Linux 8.08, an Ubuntu-based distribution with support for multimedia codecs, encrypted DVDs, Flash and other desktop conveniences: "Kiwi Linux 8.08 is a desktop CD derivative based on Ubuntu 8.04.1 LTS for the x86 architecture. It contains packages necessary for playing restricted audio, video and Flash formats by default and supports the SpeedTouch 330 USB ADSL modem. Differences with respect to Ubuntu 8.04.1: packages up to date as of 28 August 2008; Thunderbird as the default mail client, Audacious as the default music player; Flash plugin and all GStreamer codecs; Compiz extra settings GUI; unrar and MS TrueType fonts; a graphical tool for restoring GRUB; Midnight Commander; the Medibuntu repositories enabled by default to allow installing w32codecs, Skype and Google Earth." Read the full release announcement for more details.
PC/OS 2008v2
PC/OS is a user-friendly distribution based on Xubuntu, with out-of-the-box support for popular multimedia formats, Flash and Java, and addition of packages for content creation and software development. An updated release, version 2008v2, was announced yesterday: "We are proud to announce the general availability of PC/OS 2008v2. This update brings to PC/OS all the bug fixes and distribution updates for Ubuntu 8.04.1, as well as separate application updates for some of the installed packages. Some of the highlights of the client release are: Linux kernel 2.6.24; Flock browser replaces Firefox; MPlayer and GNOME MPlayer replace Movie Player; Audacious and gtkpod replace Rhythmbox; Screenlets 1.4 are now included; for dial-up users GNOME PPP is included. We have also included Picasa for photo management and Google Gears for offline access to Google Applications." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information.
* * * * *
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 |
August 2008 donation: Parsix GNU/Linux receives US$300.00
 We are pleased to announce that the recipient of the August 2008 DistroWatch.com donation is Parsix GNU/Linux, a Debian-based distribution and live CD. It receives US$300.00 in cash.
Parsix GNU/Linux is a desktop distribution built around Debian's testing branch, but with a custom kernel and kernel modules for improved hardware compatibility. The project's lead developer, Alan Baghumian, is an active contributor to Debian. Besides developing Parsix, he has written a number of Linux books in Persian and has co-developed an English-to-Persian dictionary and other Persian utilities. DistroWatch interviewed Alan in January 2006.
As always, this monthly donations programme is a joint initiative between DistroWatch and two online shops selling low-cost CDs and DVDs with Linux, BSD and other open source software - LinuxCD.org and OSDisc.com. These vendors contributed US$50.00 each towards this month's donation to Parsix GNU/Linux.
Here is the list of projects that received a DistroWatch donation since the launch of the programme (figures in US dollars):
- 2004: GnuCash ($250), Quanta Plus ($200), PCLinuxOS ($300), The GIMP ($300), Vidalinux ($200), Fluxbox ($200), K3b ($350), Arch Linux ($300), Kile KDE LaTeX Editor ($100) and UNICEF - Tsunami Relief Operation ($340)
- 2005: Vim ($250), AbiWord ($220), BitTorrent ($300), NdisWrapper ($250), Audacity ($250), Debian GNU/Linux ($420), GNOME ($425), Enlightenment ($250), MPlayer ($400), Amarok ($300), KANOTIX ($250) and Cacti ($375)
- 2006: Gambas ($250), Krusader ($250), FreeBSD Foundation ($450), GParted ($360), Doxygen ($260), LilyPond ($250), Lua ($250), Gentoo Linux ($500), Blender ($500), Puppy Linux ($350), Inkscape ($350), Cape Linux Users Group ($130), Mandriva Linux ($405, a Powerpack competition), Digikam ($408) and SabayonLinux ($450)
- 2007: GQview ($250), Kaffeine ($250), sidux ($350), CentOS ($400), LyX ($350), VectorLinux ($350), KTorrent ($400), FreeNAS ($350), lighttpd ($400), Damn Small Linux ($350), NimbleX ($450), MEPIS Linux ($300), Zenwalk Linux ($300)
- 2008: VLC ($350), Frugalware Linux ($340), cURL ($300), GSPCA (Linux webcam support) ($400), FileZilla ($400), MythDora ($500), Linux Mint ($400), Parsix GNU/Linux ($300)
Since the launch of the Donations Programme in March 2004, DistroWatch has donated a total of US$18,883 to various open source software projects.
* * * * *
New distributions added to database
* * * * *
New distributions added to waiting list
- iMagicOS. iMagicOS is a commercial Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. Its main features are ease of use, 3D desktop, out-of-the box support for the CNR software installation mechanism and strong compatibility with Microsoft Windows.
- Linux Tiger. Linux Tiger is an Ubuntu-based distribution that uses a new package management technology called SFS. Web site in Italian only.
Linux Tiger 1.0 - Ubuntu with SFS, a new system for software management and usage
(full image size: 1,465kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
- Macpup. Macpup is a remastered build of Puppy Linux. It ships with the same packages as Puppy itself, but its IceWM window manager comes with a dockbar and a Mac OS X theme. This distribution is a "donationware".
- Salgix. Salgix is an Ubuntu-based GNU/Linux operating system developed by GMSI for use on its line of workstation and server computer systems. It has been developed primarily for multimedia creation and visual computing uses.
Salgix 3.5 - an Ubuntu-based distribution designed as a multimedia creation system.
(full image size: 379kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
- ScratchLinux. ScratchLinux is a French distribution inspired by Linux From Scratch. The project's main purpose is to create a 210 MB mini live CD with a graphical interface based on GNOME, some text-mode utilities and networking tools. Web site in French only.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
And this concludes the latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 8 September 2008.
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 777 (2018-08-20): YunoHost 3.0.0.1, limiting process resource usage, converting file systems on Fedora, Debian turns 25, Lubuntu migrating to Wayland |
| • Issue 776 (2018-08-13): NomadBSD 1.1, Maximum storage limits on Linux, openSUSE extends life for 42.3, updates to the Librem 5 phone interface |
| • Issue 775 (2018-08-06): Secure-K OS 18.5, Linux is about choice, Korora tests community spin, elementary OS hires developer, ReactOS boots on Btrfs |
| • Issue 774 (2018-07-30): Ubuntu MATE & Ubuntu Budgie 18.04, upgrading software from source, Lubuntu shifts focus, NetBSD changes support policy |
| • Issue 773 (2018-07-23): Peppermint OS 9, types of security used by different projects, Mint reacts to bugs in core packages, Slackware turns 25 |
| • Issue 772 (2018-07-16): Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre 0.2.4, UBports running desktop applications, OpenBSD auto-joins wi-fi networks, boot environments and zedenv |
| • Issue 771 (2018-07-09): Linux Lite 4.0, checking CPUs for bugs, configuring GRUB, Mint upgrade instructions, SUSE acquired by EQT |
| • Issue 770 (2018-07-02): Linux Mint 19, Solus polishes desktop experience, MintBox Mini 2, changes to Fedora's installer |
| • Issue 769 (2018-06-25): BunsenLabs Helium, counting Ubuntu users, UBports upgrading to 16.04, Fedora CoreOS, FreeBSD turns 25 |
| • Issue 768 (2018-06-18): Devuan 2.0.0, using pkgsrc to manage software, the NOVA filesystem, OpenBSD handles successful cron output |
| • Issue 767 (2018-06-11): Android-x86 7.1-r1, transferring files over OpenSSH with pipes, LFS with Debian package management, Haiku ports LibreOffice |
| • Issue 766 (2018-06-04): openSUSE 15, overview of file system links, Manjaro updates Pamac, ReactOS builds itself, Bodhi closes forums |
| • Issue 765 (2018-05-28): Pop!_OS 18.04, gathering system information, Haiku unifying ARM builds, Solus resumes control of Budgie |
| • Issue 764 (2018-05-21): DragonFly BSD 5.2.0, Tails works on persistent packages, Ubuntu plans new features, finding services affected by an update |
| • Issue 763 (2018-05-14): Fedora 28, Debian compatibility coming to Chrome OS, malware found in some Snaps, Debian's many flavours |
| • Issue 762 (2018-05-07): TrueOS 18.03, live upgrading Raspbian, Mint plans future releases, HardenedBSD to switch back to OpenSSL |
| • Issue 761 (2018-04-30): Ubuntu 18.04, accessing ZFS snapshots, UBports to run on Librem 5 phones, Slackware makes PulseAudio optional |
| • Issue 760 (2018-04-23): Chakra 2017.10, using systemd to hide files, Netrunner's ARM edition, Debian 10 roadmap, Microsoft develops Linux-based OS |
| • Issue 759 (2018-04-16): Neptune 5.0, building containers with Red Hat, antiX introduces Sid edition, fixing filenames on the command line |
| • Issue 758 (2018-04-09): Sortix 1.0, openSUSE's Transactional Updates, Fedora phasing out Python 2, locating portable packages |
| • Issue 757 (2018-04-02): Gatter Linux 0.8, the UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook, Red Hat turns 25, super long term support kernels |
| • Issue 756 (2018-03-26): NuTyX 10.0, Neptune supplies Debian users with Plasma 5.12, SolydXK on a Raspberry Pi, SysV init development |
| • Issue 755 (2018-03-19): Learning with ArchMerge and Linux Academy, Librem 5 runs Plasma Mobile, Cinnamon gets performance boost |
| • Issue 754 (2018-03-12): Reviewing Sabayon and Antergos, the growing Linux kernel, BSDs getting CPU bug fixes, Manjaro builds for ARM devices |
| • Issue 753 (2018-03-05): Enso OS 0.2, KDE Plasma 5.12 features, MX Linux prepares new features, interview with MidnightBSD's founder |
| • Issue 752 (2018-02-26): OviOS 2.31, performing off-line upgrades, elementary OS's new installer, UBports gets test devices, Redcore team improves security |
| • Issue 751 (2018-02-19): DietPi 6.1, testing KDE's Plasma Mobile, Nitrux packages AppImage in default install, Solus experiments with Wayland |
| • Issue 750 (2018-02-12): Solus 3, getting Deb packages upstream to Debian, NetBSD security update, elementary OS explores AppCentre changes |
| • Issue 749 (2018-02-05): Freespire 3 and Linspire 7.0, misunderstandings about Wayland, Xorg and Mir, Korora slows release schedule, Red Hat purchases CoreOS |
| • Issue 748 (2018-01-29): siduction 2018.1.0, SolydXK 32-bit editions, building an Ubuntu robot, desktop-friendly Debian options |
| • Issue 747 (2018-01-22): Ubuntu MATE 17.10, recovering open files, creating a new distribution, KDE focusing on Wayland features |
| • Issue 746 (2018-01-15): deepin 15.5, openSUSE's YaST improvements, new Ubuntu 17.10 media, details on Spectre and Meltdown bugs |
| • Issue 745 (2018-01-08): GhostBSD 11.1, Linspire and Freespire return, wide-spread CPU bugs patched, adding AppImage launchers to the application menu |
| • Issue 744 (2018-01-01): MX Linux 17, Ubuntu pulls media over BIOS bug, PureOS gets endorsed by the FSF, openSUSE plays with kernel boot splash screens |
| • Issue 743 (2017-12-18): Daphile 17.09, tools for rescuing files, Fedora Modular Server delayed, Sparky adds ARM support, Slax to better support wireless networking |
| • Issue 742 (2017-12-11): heads 0.3.1, improvements coming to Tails, Void tutorials, Ubuntu phasing out Python 2, manipulating images from the command line |
| • Issue 741 (2017-12-04): Pop!_OS 17.10, openSUSE Tumbleweed snapshots, installing Q4OS on a Windows partition, using the at command |
| • Issue 740 (2017-11-27): Artix Linux, Unity spin of Ubuntu, Nitrux swaps Snaps for AppImage, getting better battery life on Linux |
| • Issue 739 (2017-11-20): Fedora 27, cross-distro software ports, Ubuntu on Samsung phones, Red Hat supports ARM, Parabola continues 32-bit support |
| • Issue 738 (2017-11-13): SparkyLinux 5.1, rumours about spyware, Slax considers init software, Arch drops 32-bit packages, overview of LineageOS |
| • Issue 737 (2017-11-06): BeeFree OS 18.1.2, quick tips to fix common problems, Slax returning, Solus plans MATE and software management improvements |
| • Issue 736 (2017-10-30): Ubuntu 17.10, "what if" security questions, Linux Mint to support Flatpak, NetBSD kernel memory protection |
| • Issue 735 (2017-10-23): ArchLabs Minimo, building software with Ravenports, WPA security patch, Parabola creates OpenRC spin |
| • Issue 734 (2017-10-16): Star 1.0.1, running the Linux-libre kernel, Ubuntu MATE experiments with snaps, Debian releases new install media, Purism reaches funding goal |
| • Issue 733 (2017-10-09): KaOS 2017.09, 32-bit prematurely obsoleted, Qubes security features, IPFire updates Apache |
| • Issue 732 (2017-10-02): ClonOS, reducing Snap package size, Ubuntu dropping 32-bit Desktop, partitioning disks for ZFS |
| • Issue 731 (2017-09-25): BackSlash Linux Olaf, W3C adding DRM to web standards, Wayland support arrives in Mir, Debian experimenting with AppArmor |
| • Issue 730 (2017-09-18): Mageia 6, running a completely free OS, HAMMER2 file system in DragonFly BSD's installer, Manjaro to ship pre-installed on laptops |
| • Issue 729 (2017-09-11): Parabola GNU/Linux-libre, running Plex Media Server on a Raspberry Pi, Tails feature roadmap, a cross-platform ports build system |
| • Issue 728 (2017-09-04): Nitrux 1.0.2, SUSE creates new community repository, remote desktop tools for GNOME on Wayland, using Void source packages |
| • Issue 727 (2017-08-28): Cucumber Linux 1.0, using Flatpak vs Snap, GNOME previews Settings panel, SUSE reaffirms commitment to Btrfs |
| • Issue 726 (2017-08-21): Redcore Linux 1706, Solus adds Snap support, KaOS getting hardened kernel, rolling releases and BSD |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Random Distribution | 
Red Office Linux
RedOffice was a Chinese office software based on OpenOffice. The developers have released a Linux version bundled with a complete operating system - RedOffice Linux 0.98.
Status: Discontinued
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