 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 274, 13 October 2008 |
|
Welcome to this year's 41st issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Mandriva Linux, traditionally the first among the major distribution releases, boldly unveiled its latest product late last week. Shipping with KDE 4.1.2, an updated system installer, and a variety of usability enhancements, version 2009 should have been the company's best release ever. It was somewhat spoilt by a long list of known bugs that weren't fixed in time for the release - hopefully these will be corrected through post-install package updates soon, but there are those who'd argue for a postponement of a release in such situations. No similar dilemma is ever likely to face the Debian development team. If it isn't ready, it won't be released - that's the message given to the user community which has been hoping for a timely arrival of "Lenny". And while most other distributions have been quietly fixing the bugs in their own development trees, DistroWatch has compiled another package management cheatsheet - now incorporating two distro-agnostic tools, as well as source-based distributions. Happy reading!
Content:
 Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in ogg (9.8MB) and mp3 (9.6MB) formats (many thanks to Russ Wenner)
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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| Feature Story |
Linux package management cheatsheet, part 3
Today DistroWatch presents the third episode of its package management cheatsheet designed for those who enjoy testing different distributions. Originally envisaged as a simple table listing a few popular package management utilities and a handful of common tasks, the table has been expanding as many readers suggested new additions and package management tools. This is the most complete version so far, although it's still doubtful whether it will satisfy every distro hopper out there.
The first table lists package management tasks in the four most popular distribution groups - Debian (including Ubuntu, Linux Mint, KNOPPIX, sidux and other Debian derivatives), openSUSE, Fedora (including Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Scientific Linux and other Fedora-based distributions), and Mandriva Linux.
| Task |
apt (deb)
Debian, Ubuntu |
zypp (rpm)
openSUSE |
yum (rpm)
Fedora, CentOS |
urpmi (rpm)
Mandriva |
| Managing software |
|
|
|
|
| Install new software from package repository |
apt-get install pkg |
zypper install pkg |
yum install pkg |
urpmi pkg |
| Install new software from package file |
dpkg -i pkg |
zypper install pkg |
yum localinstall pkg |
urpmi pkg |
| Update existing software |
apt-get install pkg |
zypper update -t package pkg |
yum update pkg |
urpmi pkg |
| Remove unwanted software |
apt-get remove pkg |
zypper remove pkg |
yum erase pkg |
urpme pkg |
| Updating the system |
|
|
|
|
| Update package list |
apt-get update |
zypper refresh |
yum check-update |
urpmi.update -a |
| Update system |
apt-get upgrade |
zypper update |
yum update |
urpmi --auto-select |
| Searching for packages |
|
|
|
|
| Search by package name |
apt-cache search pkg |
zypper search pkg |
yum list pkg |
urpmq pkg |
| Search by pattern |
apt-cache search pattern |
zypper search -t pattern pattern |
yum search pattern |
urpmq --fuzzy pkg |
| Search by file name |
apt-file search path |
zypper wp file |
yum provides file |
urpmf file |
| List installed packages |
dpkg -l |
zypper search -is |
rpm -qa |
rpm -qa |
| Configuring access to software repositories |
|
|
|
|
| List repositories |
cat /etc/apt/sources.list |
zypper repos |
yum repolist |
urpmq --list-media |
| Add repository |
(edit /etc/apt/sources.list) |
zypper addrepo path name |
(add repo to /etc/yum.repos.d/) |
urpmi.addmedia name path |
| Remove repository |
(edit /etc/apt/sources.list) |
zypper removerepo name |
(remove repo from /etc/yum.repos.d/) |
urpmi.removemedia media |
|
The second table lists package management utilities found in Slackware Linux and other Slackware-based distributions. As stated by Patrick Volkerding on several occasions, Slackware is unlikely to ever have any advanced (i.e. dependency-resolving) package management tool, so all installation, upgrade and removal tasks continue to be performed with pkgtools, a set of very simple scripts that haven't changed much in years. Nevertheless, Slackware's unsupported extra repository (available also on the installation DVD) does include slackpkg, a third-party package management tool that can be used for a more automated way of installing software on Slackware Linux. It's worth noting that some popular Slackware derivatives, such as VectorLinux, have standardised on slapt-get, another third-party utility imitating the behaviour of Debian's APT.
| Task |
pkgtools
Slackware |
slackpkg
Slackware |
slapt-get
Vector |
| Managing software |
|
|
|
| Install new software from package repository |
-- |
slackpkg install pkg |
slapt-get --install pkg |
| Install new software from package file |
installpkg pkg |
slackpkg install pkg |
slapt-get --install pkg |
| Update existing software |
upgradepkg pkg |
slackpkg install pkg |
slapt-get --install pkg |
| Remove unwanted software |
removepkg pkg |
slackpkg remove pkg |
slapt-get --remove pkg |
| Updating the system |
|
|
|
| Update package list |
-- |
slackpkg update |
slapt-get --update |
| Update system |
-- |
slackpkg upgrade-all |
slapt-get --upgrade |
| Searching for packages |
|
|
|
| Search by package name |
-- |
slackpkg search pkg |
slapt-get --search pkg |
| Search by pattern |
-- |
slackpkg search pattern |
slapt-get --search pattern |
| Search by file name |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| List installed packages |
ls /var/log/packages/ |
ls /var/log/packages/ |
slapt-get --installed |
| Configuring access to software repositories |
|
|
|
| List repositories |
-- |
cat /etc/slackpkg/mirrors |
cat /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc |
| Add repository |
-- |
(edit /etc/slackpkg/mirrors) |
(edit /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc) |
| Remove repository |
-- |
(edit /etc/slackpkg/mirrors) |
(edit /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc) |
|
In the next group we have a few (mostly) independent distributions that have been gaining popularity in recent years. Sabayon Linux, although derived from Gentoo, has introduced its own command-line package management utility called equo. Arch Linux's Pacman has been around for a long time and it's often considered one of the fastest package management utilities around. Conary, developed by rPath and popularised by Foresight Linux, is a completely new approach to package management, created by well-known ex-Red Hat engineers with many years of package management experience. In contrast, PiSi by Pardus Linux is a relatively new utility, but the distribution itself has been growing fast in the last couple of years.
| Task |
equo
Sabayon |
pacman
Arch |
conary
rPath, Foresight |
pisi
Pardus |
| Managing software |
|
|
|
|
| Install new software from package repository |
equo install pkg |
pacman -S pkg |
conary update pkg |
pisi install pkg |
| Install new software from package file |
equo install pkg |
pacman -U pkg |
conary update pkg |
pisi install pkg |
| Update existing software |
equo install pkg |
pacman -S pkg |
conary update pkg |
pisi install pkg |
| Remove unwanted software |
equo remove pkg |
pacman -R pkg |
conary erase pkg |
pisi remove pkg |
| Updating the system |
|
|
|
|
| Update package list |
equo update |
pacman -Sy |
|
pisi update-repo |
| Update system |
equo world |
pacman -Su |
conary updateall |
pisi upgrade |
| Searching for packages |
|
|
|
|
| Search by package name |
equo match pkg |
pacman -Ss pkg |
conary query pkg |
pisi search pkg |
| Search by pattern |
equo search pattern |
pacman -Ss pattern |
conary query pkg |
pisi search pkg |
| Search by file name |
equo belongs file |
pacman -Qo file |
conary query --path path |
pisi search-file path |
| List installed packages |
equo list |
pacman -Q |
conary query |
pisi list-installed |
| Configuring access to software repositories |
|
|
|
|
| List repositories |
equo repoinfo |
cat /etc/pacman.conf |
|
pisi list-repo |
| Add repository |
|
(edit /etc/pacman.conf) |
|
pisi add-repo name path |
| Remove repository |
|
(edit /etc/pacman.conf) |
|
pisi remove-repo name |
|
Besides standard package management utilities that most distributions use as part of their systems, there are also some distro-agnostic ones that have been deployed with various levels of success in certain distributions. Smart, originally developed by Conectiva, hasn't been in the news lately, but some users seem to prefer it over Mandriva's urpmi or openSUSE's zypper (it also supports Debian and Slackware-based systems). More recently it is Fedora's PackageKit that has been gaining momentum as a way to manage packages across distributions and architectures. Now included in many other distributions, PackageKit's pkgcon command-line utility is effectively a unified front-end to the native package management tools of Fedora, Ubuntu, openSUSE, Mandriva and other distributions.
| Task |
smart
Mandriva, openSUSE |
pkgcon
Fedora, Ubuntu, openSUSE, Mandriva |
| Managing software |
|
|
|
| Install new software from package repository |
smart install pkg |
pkcon install pkg |
| Install new software from package file |
smart install pkg |
pkcon install-file pkg |
| Update existing software |
smart install pkg |
pkcon update pkg |
| Remove unwanted software |
smart remove pkg |
pkcon remove pkg |
| Updating the system |
|
|
| Update package list |
smart update |
pkcon refresh |
| Update system |
smart upgrade |
pkcon upgrade |
| Searching for packages |
|
|
| Search by package name |
smart search pkg |
pkcon search name pkg |
| Search by pattern |
smart search pattern |
pkcon search details pattern |
| Search by file name |
smart query file |
pkcon what-provides file |
| List installed packages |
smart query --installed |
-- |
| Configuring access to software repositories |
|
|
| List repositories |
smart channel --show |
pkcon repo-list |
| Add repository |
smart channel --add name path |
|
| Remove repository |
smart channel --remove name |
|
|
Finally, a table for source-based distributions. Gentoo's Portage is well-documented and widely used, but other distributions that are designed to be built from scratch don't often feature in the Linux media, so their package management systems are not particularly well-known. Sorcerer, which existed even before Gentoo Linux was conceived, uses Bash scripts to "cast spells" or download, install and compile packages. Sorcerer was later forked into Lunar Linux and Source Mage GNU/Linux, both of which are included in the table below. Unfortunately, Sorcerer doesn't offer much in terms of online documentation so it has been omitted for now.
| Task |
portage
Gentoo |
lunar
Lunar |
sorcery
Source Mage |
| Managing software |
|
|
|
| Install new software from package repository |
emerge pkg |
lin pkg |
cast pkg |
| Install new software from package file |
|
|
|
| Update existing software |
emerge pkg |
lin pkg |
cast pkg |
| Remove unwanted software |
emerge -aC pkg |
lrm pkg |
dispel pkg |
| Updating the system |
|
|
|
| Update package list |
emerge --sync |
lin moonbase |
scribe update |
| Update system |
emerge -NuDa world |
lunar update |
sorcery upgrade |
| Searching for packages |
|
|
|
| Search by package name |
emerge --search pkg |
lvu search pkg |
gaze search -name pkg |
| Search by pattern |
emerge --search pattern |
lvu search pattern |
gaze search pattern |
| Search by file name |
|
|
gaze from file |
| List installed packages |
qlist -I |
lvu installed |
gaze installed |
| Configuring access to software repositories |
|
|
|
| List repositories |
layman -L |
-- |
scribe index |
| Add repository |
layman -a repo |
-- |
scribe add repo |
| Remove repository |
layman -d repo |
-- |
scribe remove repo |
|
As always, we welcome your comments and corrections.
|
| Miscellaneous News |
Mandriva's long errata list, Lenny release delays
 The first major distribution release of the season, Mandriva Linux 2009, is out. Apart from a couple of first-look reviews, we haven't seen any comprehensive product evaluations so far, but the initial reaction seems mixed. Although the release came out on time and included a plethora of interesting improvements, some readers have questioned the logic behind declaring a distribution stable while the list of known issues is as long as the one for Mandriva 2009. But as explained by Mandriva's community manager Adam Williamson, most of the issues can be fixed with post-release updates with the same effectiveness as holding back the release and fixing them in the ISO images. In any case, the deed is done, and Mandriva Linux 2009 is now available from dozens of FTP servers around the world. If you are among the more adventurous users and don't mind a bit of post-installation work, do take it for a spin, otherwise you might consider waiting for a couple of weeks until the most pressing issues are corrected.
Mandriva Linux 2009 "Free" edition comes as a classic installation DVD with a choice of desktop environments.
(full image size: 392kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * *
 For a while it looked as if "Lenny", the upcoming release of Debian GNU/Linux, might arrive as originally planned - in September 2008. But as the month "M" past by without any update from the release team, it has become clear that the project's much awaited version 5.0 has not achieved the required levels of stability and reduction in the number of bugs to be released to the general public. However, for those readers who are new to Linux, it's worth reminding that Debian does not have a fixed release schedule and all of its stable version have followed the "released when ready" policy. Of course, the next question is: when will it be ready? Unfortunately, the answer is unlikely to please those who expect a timely release as the removal of the remaining release-critical bugs might still take months rather than weeks - according to some estimates. So is there any way to speed up the release? Yes, says Alexander Reichle-Schmehl. Anybody, even those without any programming skills, can help with making the release possible.
|
| Released Last Week |
Puppy Linux 4.1
Barry Kauler has announced the release of Puppy Linux 4.1: "Version 4.1 continues the hectic pace of development, with ground-breaking new applications and under-the-hood architectural improvements over 4.00. Ground-breaking applications include our new Psip VOIP and PPLOG personal blog. Under-the-hood includes faster boot times, much better hardware detection, and new 'pup_event' architecture (including desktop drive icons). Here is a summary of milestones: 2.6.25.16, 2.6.21.7 kernels; more drivers; SCSI kernels; LZMA-enabled kernel; improved PCMCIA support; hardware detection; new pup_event system; faster boot; Psip VoIP; PPLOG blog; Pmusic audio player; Ayttm chat client; virus checker; network wizard; huge number of updated applications...." Read the comprehensive release notes for further details.
Puppy Linux 4.1 - introducing a variety of new lightweight applications
(full image size: 1,189kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1R1 "LiveDVD"
Attila Crăciun has announced the release of Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1R1 "LiveDVD", a Slackware-based live DVD for 64-bit processors: "New revised version of Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1R1 'KDE3 LiveDVD' is available. Also, we are introducing a Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1R1 'KDE4 LiveDVD'. The 'KDE3 LiveDVD' has received important security and stability updates. These updates include new versions of the KDE, X.Org, Pidgin, ALICE, OpenSSH and OpenSSL, Mozilla Firefox, Thunderbird and SeaMonkey, BIND, Amarok and many more. New feature, BW64installer, which is a GUI installation program for installing Bluewhite64 Linux Live to a hard drive, has been added. Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1R1 'KDE4 LiveDVD' contains KDE 4.1.2 with dependencies and some extra KDE 4 packages created by the Bluewhite64 community." Here is the full release announcement.
ALT Linux 4.1 "Desktop"
Alexey Rusakov has announced the release of ALT Linux 4.1 "Desktop" edition, a general-purpose GNU/Linux distribution intended for use on desktops, laptops and netbooks: "We're happy to announce our new release, ALT Linux 4.1 'Desktop'. Changes since version 4.0: based on the new stable 4.1 repository branch; 2.6.25 kernel with better hardware support; KDE 3.5.10 (GNOME 2.22 and Xfce 4.4.2 can be installed from DVD); Firefox 3; NetworkManager allows managing any network interface without root privileges; a new look of the system management center; updated bootloader and display management modules; Kaffeine as the default player of audio and video files; updated and revised menu; new applications - QtEmu (QEMU with a GUI), VirtualBox." See the detailed release notes for further information.
ALT Linux 4.1 "Desktop" remains faithful to the stable and well-tested KDE 3.5.
(full image size: 609kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.21
Guardian Digital has announced the release of EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.21, a server distribution featuring a web-based system administration tool: "Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.21. This release includes many updated packages and bug fixes and some feature enhancements to Guardian Digital WebTool and the SELinux policy. New features include: a totally redesigned Health Center backend which should yield much more reliable and accurate results, you can help us improve this new backend by following the instructions below, immediately following this section; a new package, perl-Convert-ASN1 (0.22); the latest stable versions of MySQL (5.0.67), Asterisk (1.4.21.2), Dovecot (1.1.3), Linux kernel (2.6.26.5), OpenLDAP (2.4.11), OpenSSH (5.1p1), PostgreSQL (8.2.10), Samba (3.2.4)...." Read the rest of the release notes for more details.
Mandriva Linux 2009
Mandriva Linux 2009 has been released: "We have released Mandriva Linux 2009, the new release of our distribution. 2009 is a bold release which brings the new KDE 4.1 as the default desktop, along with a re-designed installer and Mandriva Control Center, and many other new features. Other significant updates include GNOME 2.24, OpenOffice.org 3, Mozilla Firefox 3, and kernel 2.6.27. Key features include new graphical in-line upgrade capability, netbook compatibility, class-leading hardware support, and support for working with mobile devices." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information, but also check out the errata page for a list of known issues and workarounds.
Momonga Linux 5
Masahiro Takahata has announced the release of Momonga Linux 5, a Japanese community distribution (with support for Japanese and English) loosely modelled on Fedora. Some of the main features and changes compared to the project's previous version include: reduced the size of the installation media to one DVD (additional packages can be installed via yum); Linux kernel 2.6.26 with extended hardware support, virtualisation and support for new file systems (btrfs and nilfs, reiser4fs); X.Org 7.4 and Mesa 7.1 with improved graphics card support and Compiz compatibility; replaced SysVInit with Canonical's Upstart for faster booting; switched to the GCC compiler 4.3 series; replaced Sun Java with OpenJDK 1.6; introduced support for virtualisation with OpenVZ and Xen. Read the release announcement and release notes (both links in Japanese) for a detailed introduction to the Momonga project's latest release.
Momonga Linux 5 - a new major release from the former developers of Kondara MNU/Linux
(full image size: 392kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
CDlinux 0.6.2
Ben Zhao has announced the release of CDlinux 0.6.2, a minimalist live CD combining the Xfce desktop with a careful selection of lightweight applications: "We are pleased to announce the release of CDlinux 0.6.2. This release features great enhancements over version 0.6.1: smart handling codepage (FAT/NTFS) of hotplugable media; power management support (ACPI/CPUfreq); auto guessing current time zone; multimedia keyboard support; booting from Linux RAID and ATA RAID; improved support for newer hardware (video, WLAN, Linux UVC), and several new GUI configuration tools (more details in the changelog). This release ships with Linux kernel 2.6.26.6, X.Org 7.3, Xfce 4.4.2, and a bundle of carefully selected popular applications." Visit the project's news page to read the full release announcement.
Absolute Linux 12.1.08
Paul Sherman has announced the release of Absolute Linux 12.1.08, a lightweight modification of Slackware Linux with the IceWM window manager. What's new? "OpenOffice.org upgraded to version 3.0.0 on CD2, supports latest MS Office format; rebuilt AbiWord 2.6.4 against updated Enchant, libgnomeprint and libgnomecups, also includes support for MS Word and OpenOffice.org docs; HTMLpage, the Firefox 'View Source' viewer and editor has been updated to 2.0, now uses Python's urllib to grab online pages; finished testing with updated UTF-8 settings; updated XULRunner 1.9.0.3, updated and recompiled Firefox 3.0.3, compiled Thunderbird, which now replaces Sylpheed as the default mail program; Updated to Slackware 'current' with latest HAL, dbus, udev, glibc; updated GIMP to 2.6.0...." Find more details in the changelog.
* * * * *
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 database
- iMagic OS. iMagic OS is a commercial desktop Linux distribution based on Kubuntu. Its major features are ease of use, bleeding-edge desktop, easy installation, and compatibility with Microsoft software.
* * * * *
New distributions added to waiting list
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
And this concludes the latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 20 October 2008. Until next week,
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1169 (2026-04-20): Lakka 6.1, free software and source-based distributions, FreeBSD Foundation publishes compatible laptop list, Debian holds Project Leader election, Haiku progresses ARM64 port, Mint to extend development cycle, Linux 7.0 released |
| • Issue 1168 (2026-04-13): pearOS 2026.03, EndeavourOS 2026.03.06, which distros are adopting age verification, Arch adjusts its firewall packages, Linux dropping i486 support, Red Hat extends its release cycle, Debian's APT introduces rollbacks, Redox improves its scheduler |
| • Issue 1167 (2026-04-06): Origami Linux 2026.03, answering questions for Linux newcomers, Ubuntu MATE seeking new contributors, Ubuntu software centre is expanding Deb support, FreeBSD fixes forum exploit, openSUSE 15 Leap nears its end of life |
| • Issue 1166 (2026-03-30): NetBSD jails, publishing software for Linux, Ubuntu joins Rust Foundation, Canonical plans to trim GRUB features, Peppermint works on new utilities, PINE64 shows off open hardware capabilities |
| • Issue 1165 (2026-03-23): Argent Linux 1.5.3, disk space required by Linux, Manjaro team goes on strike, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA driver support and builds RISC-V packages, systemd introduces age tracking |
| • Issue 1164 (2026-03-16): d77void, age verification laws and Linux, SUSE may be for sale, TrueNAS takes its build system private, Debian publishes updated Trixie media, MidnightBSD and System76 respond to age verification laws |
| • Issue 1163 (2026-03-09): KaOS 2026.02, TinyCore 17.0, NuTyX 26.02.2, Would one big collection of packages help?, Guix offers 64-bit Hurd options, Linux communities discuss age delcaration laws, Mint unveils new screensaver for Cinnamon, Redox ports new COSMIC features |
| • Issue 1162 (2026-03-02): AerynOS 2026.01, anti-virus and firewall tools, Manjaro fixes website certificate, Ubuntu splits firmware package, jails for NetBSD, extended support for some Linux kernel releases, Murena creating a map app |
| • Issue 1161 (2026-02-23): The Guix package manager, quick Q&As, Gentoo migrating its mirrors, Fedora considers more informative kernel panic screens, GhostBSD testing alternative X11 implementation, Asahi makes progress with Apple M3, NetBSD userland ported, FreeBSD improves web-based system management |
| • Issue 1160 (2026-02-16): Noid and AgarimOS, command line tips, KDE Linux introduces delta updates, Redox OS hits development milestone, Linux Mint develops a desktop-neutral account manager, sudo developer seeks sponsorship |
| • Issue 1159 (2026-02-09): Sharing files on a network, isolating processes on Linux, LFS to focus on systemd, openSUSE polishes atomic updates, NetBSD not likely to adopt Rust code, COSMIC roadmap |
| • Issue 1158 (2026-02-02): Manjaro 26.0, fastest filesystem, postmarketOS progress report, Xfce begins developing its own Wayland window manager, Bazzite founder interviewed |
| • Issue 1157 (2026-01-26): Setting up a home server, what happened to convergence, malicious software entering the Snap store, postmarketOS automates hardware tests, KDE's login manager works with systemd only |
| • Issue 1156 (2026-01-19): Chimera Linux's new installer, using the DistroWatch Torrent Corner, new package tools for Arch, Haiku improves EFI support, Redcore streamlines branches, Synex introduces install-time ZFS options |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Full list of all issues |
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Nova
Nova is a user-friendly, desktop-oriented Linux distribution developed by the University of Computer Sciences in Havana, Cuba. In the product's early days the operating system was based on Gentoo Linux and Sabayon Linux, but starting from version 2.1 the developers have chosen Ubuntu as the base system. The project releases three separate editions - "Escritorio" (with GNOME Shell), "Ligero" (with a Nova-developed lightweight desktop called "Guano") and "Servidor" (a variant for servers).
Status: Dormant
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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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