 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 301, 4 May 2009 |
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Welcome to this year's 18th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Last week we took a look at how two distributions based on the same environment and one a derivative of the other, can actually be very different. Xubuntu and Debian both use the same package management system and both have the same suites of software available. So what makes them so different when installed out of the box? Can Xubuntu be just as lightweight as its Debian counterpart? This week we take another look at how Xubuntu 9.04 fairs when installed in a more minimalist manner. In the news this past week, Mandriva developers make massive updates to "Cooker" following the stable 2009.1 release, four main BSD projects all announce new updates of their flagship products, the openSUSE community releases updated media for 11.1 with KDE 4.2.2, users of the Arch Linux distribution put together a free community magazine, the creator of Puppy Linux looks set for a return to the helm of the project, and Oracle's Solaris (no, the name doesn't roll off the tongue easily here either) is rumoured to be working on version 11 set for release in the middle of 2010. Finally, we are pleased to announce that the recipient of the April 2009 DistroWatch.com donation is Python, the popular programming language. Happy reading!
Content:
- Feature: Minimal Xubuntu 9.04
- News: Mandriva 2009.1 and beyond, why use NetBSD, updated openSUSE 11.1 install media, Ubuntu releases as social events, Arch Linux magazine, Barry Kauler on Puppy 5.0, Solaris 11, choosing a distribution
- Released last week: Mandriva Linux 2009.1, FreeBSD 7.2, OpenBSD 4.5, NetBSD 5.0
- Upcoming releases: Linux Mint 7 RC1, BlankOn 5.0
- Donations: Python receives US$300
- New additions: CAINE
- Reader comments
 Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (42MB) and MP3 (44MB) formats
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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| Feature Story |
Minimal Xubuntu 9.04
Last week we took a look at how two distributions can be so very different even though they are based on the same technology (and even the same distribution). What we found was that the Ubuntu variant, Xubuntu, which comes with the Xfce desktop, used more than twice the amount of memory over Debian's implementation of the same desktop. The major difference came at the time of loading the desktop, where Xubuntu used almost ten times as much memory. Yes, almost 10 times (well, actually around 9.314705882 times). So why? Where does all this extra usage come from? Essentially it is due to Xubuntu's use of numerous services from the Ubuntu desktop environment, such as their graphical package manager and updater, network manager, power manager, proprietary driver manager and more, all of which use more memory. Debian on the other, chooses to use the software which comes with Xfce by default.
So, does that mean all is lost? Not at all! The comparison was between two end products - Xubuntu 9.04 and Debian 5.0.1 Xfce. As you can see not all products are created equal, but there's no reason as to why we cannot perform a more customised Xubuntu install. This would allow us to pick and choose the packages we want, therefore making it more lightweight. DistroWatch has previously published a few other similar HOWTOs, one for minimalist Ubuntu 8.10 and another for minimalist openSUSE 11.1. If your computer is a desktop machine which sits on a local network, why does your system need a resource-hungry service like NetworkManager? If you don't have any hardware in your machine which needs proprietary drivers, then why have jockey installed? As you will see, Xubuntu can be just as lightweight as Debian!
To do this, it's best to start from a small base and work your way you up. If you'd prefer to install the full Xubuntu and then reduce it, you can do that too! The main down side is that you need to know what the major packages are in order to remove them and their dependencies. Some packages will share the same dependencies, so removing one package will not remove the dependencies of the other, which is of little benefit. It will not be as lean as starting from a small base and working your way up, but it does have the benefit of not needing to perform the more tricky ncurses based install. Remember that if you start with a basic system, you can always get the full desktop by installing the xubuntu-desktop meta package. In fact, this is a great way to work out what packages included in the full Xubuntu desktop are missing from your minimal install. Running this command will show what packages Xubuntu wants to pull in, which you can then take note of and install the ones you want manually.
Xubuntu 9.04 command-line install
(full image size: 8.5kB, screen resolution: 471x258 pixels)
Get yourself an Alternate Install CD of any Ubuntu 9.04 flavour and boot to it. At the boot prompt, press the F4 key to bring up the install mode submenu. Using your keyboard, select Install a command-line system. Once the system has booted to the text based installer you are ready to begin. Select your language, location and then configure your keyboard. If you are using DHCP to automatically assign network addresses then you should receive an address, else you will need to configure your network manually. Enter a hostname and configure the clock. Partitioning your hard drive should be the same as other installs, just take extra care if you're not using a blank new hard drive. Create a new user, enabling an encrypted private directory if you wish. Set the clock and reboot the computer. You should now have a minimal Xubuntu install which we are going to tweak further.
This basic system was just a terminal login and needed a minimal Xfce environment for comparison to the others. To achieve this, I needed the following packages; X.Org, the GNOME Desktop Manager and Xfce itself. These were easily installed with the following command:
$ sudo apt-get install xorg gdm xfce4 xfce4-goodies
After the installation was complete, rebooting the system booted to Ubuntu's GNOME Desktop Manager which allowed a log in to Xfce. Naturally at this point the system is very bare, but it represents the most basic Xfce system available. This is the system that is compared in the tables below as Xubuntu 9.04 (Minimal). The other test that I did was to install all the same packages that Debian Xfce installs to get their desktop, but under Xubuntu. These results are also in the table below as Xubuntu 9.04 (Debian package list).
Xubuntu 9.04 Minimal Xfce desktop
(full image size: 8.5kB, screen resolution: 800x600 pixels)
So how does this base install compare? Last week we saw that the major difference comes when Xubuntu loads the Xfce desktop. You can see this has been substantially reduced and is much more close to the times under Debian.
| Time Taken |
| Distribution |
Single Mode |
GDM |
Desktop |
Firefox |
Total |
| Xubuntu 9.04 |
18.60 sec |
11.45 sec |
25.48 sec |
12.09 sec |
67.62 sec |
| Debian 5.0.1 |
17.82 sec |
14.62 sec |
10.46 sec |
5.41 sec |
48.31 sec |
| Xubuntu 9.04 (Minimal) |
16.39 Sec |
15.27 Sec |
11.12 Sec |
6.56 Sec |
49.34 Sec |
| Xubuntu 9.04 (Debian package list) |
18.33 Sec |
20.44 Sec |
11.21 Sec |
6.69 Sec |
56.63 Sec |
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| Memory Usage |
| Distribution |
Single Mode |
GDM |
Desktop |
Firefox |
Total |
| Xubuntu 9.04 |
13.03 MB |
39.41 MB |
63.34 MB |
24.82 MB |
140.60 MB |
| Debian 5.0.1 |
11.58 MB |
26.96 MB |
6.8 MB |
19.61 MB |
64.95 MB |
| Xubuntu 9.04 (Minimal) |
12.20 MB |
25.06 MB |
13.65 MB |
20.90 MB |
71.81 MB |
| Xubuntu 9.04 (Debian package list) |
13.02 MB |
24.56 MB |
16.14 MB |
22.00 MB |
75.72 MB |
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So, the basic Xubuntu install with X.Org, GDM and Xfce is very similar to the default Debian Xfce system. From there, one can begin to expand the environment to make it prettier and to add functionality as required. As mentioned, I also tested Xubuntu by installing the same packages as Debian. When this happened, Xubuntu starts to once again increase its memory usage. Debian's default Xfce system installs 627 packages, while a command-line Xubuntu system with that same package list installed has 807 packages. This suggests that the binaries under Xubuntu are built against a greater number of libraries, which therefore pull in more dependencies. The benefit is broader compatibility and functionality, at the cost of efficiency.
The complete Xubuntu desktop does look stunning, so to get that look from a minimal install one simply needs to install the xubuntu-default-settings meta package. This will then pull in all the artwork and packages required and configure the system, giving that lovely looking desktop. Keep in mind that while extras are pulled in from Xubuntu, they will start to increase the amount of memory used. The base install is pretty nice and light, but what happens when I start adding some of the packages included in the default Xubuntu install? Some of the services that Xubuntu includes out of the box which contribute to its extra memory usage are: the artwork including Usplash, NetworkManager, the GNOME application installer and system updater, the proprietary driver manager, Jockey, and the power manager from GNOME. I installed each of these in order, to see how much extra memory was consumed at each step.
- The package xubuntu-default-settings, which pulls in usplash and artwork, etc, increased memory usage by around 15MB.
- The package network-manager, which pulls in avahi, bluetooth, cups, samba-common, wpa_supplicant, etc, increased memory usage by around 10MB.
- The package gnome-power-manager, which pulls in gvfs, gnome-mount, etc, increased memory usage by 3MB.
- The package update-notifier, which pulls in launchpad-integration, snaptic, update-manager, etc, increased memory usage by around 8MB.
- The package gnome-app-install, which pulls in GNOME icons, python-launchpad-integration, etc, increased memory usage by around 9MB
- The package jockey-gtk, which pulls in nvidia-common, scripts, python-inotify, etc, increased memory usage by around 11MB.
These numbers are very approximate, but you can see that the more you introduce, the more resources you need. Keep it simple by adding what you need, or removing what you don't.
Conclusion
Xubuntu is a great distribution, but its default selection of packages does not necessarily suit itself to low-memory systems. By performing a command-line install and building from there, users can achieve a much more lightweight system while still taking advantage of all that Xubuntu has to offer. This method provides an install that is much closer to the Debian system we compared Xubuntu with last week. Out of the box, these two systems are very different, but break them down to the core and they are much more evenly matched. One of the great things about Linux is that you're not stuck with what someone tells you to use. You have choice and you have the freedom to make your system whatever you want it to be!
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| Miscellaneous News |
Mandriva 2009.1 and beyond, why use NetBSD, updated openSUSE 11.1 install media, Ubuntu releases as social events, Arch Linux magazine, Barry Kauler on Puppy 5.0, Solaris 11, choosing a distribution
 The biggest news of the week was, of course, the release of Mandriva Linux 2009.1. While the event did not attract nearly as much interest as the release of Ubuntu 9.04 a week earlier, there is no doubt that the once most popular desktop Linux distribution still has many loyal followers. One of the interesting features in the commercial "Powerpack" edition (available from Mandriva Store for €49) is the "Click and Backup" feature which makes it very easy to upload up to 20 GB of data to a remote server, hosted by RackSpace. Mandriva developer Fabrice Facorat blogs about this feature (in French), while also mentioning a few interesting changes in the orientation of Mandriva. These include more emphasis on portable computers, such as netbooks and mobile Internet devices with "instant-on" capabilities, a possible entry into the free BIOS market, and a MIPS edition of Mandriva Linux for the Gdium project. However, the same developer also wonders why there is so little official communication from Mandriva about the new release and the company's future plans. Finally, to conclude the series of Mandriva-related information, here is one more from Frederik Himpe: Mandriva's development branch, better known as "Cooker", has been updated and it now includes a pre-release build of KDE 4.3 and many other package updates.
Mandriva Linux 2009.1 comes with a highly customised KDE 4.2.2 desktop.
(full image size: 960kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * *
 It doesn't happen often that all four principal BSD operating systems release new versions at the same time, but such was the constellation of stars last week that that's exactly what happened. New stable releases of FreeBSD 7.2, OpenBSD 4.5, NetBSD 5.0 and DragonFly BSD 2.2.1 were made available within days of each other, providing BSD enthusiasts with a very busy week of installing, testing and upgrading. We haven't seen any good reviews so far, but an interesting thread on Slashdot, prompted by a "Why NetBSD" question, gives a useful insight into the reasons for choosing to run the most portable operating system there is: "I believe NetBSD 5.0 is a major turn of tide. Compared to 4.0, this is definitely a new chapter. We here at $DAYJOB have made extensive evaluation of the NetBSD 5.0 pre-releases and it is looking very good indeed. Our internal benchmarks show that for our typical workload, performance of NetBSD is now comparable to that of Linux and FreeBSD. It is very likely that we will be rolling the next big-iron production line solely with NetBSD again." Disappointingly, NetBSD 5.0 still doesn't compare well with Linux when it comes to ease of use as a desktop operating system, but there is hope: "Admittedly, on the desktop, NetBSD is still more work than it should be. It's about the same as the other BSDs, and not so different from a basic Debian install, for example. There's a growing realization in the NetBSD community that 'making it easier' to get a functional modern desktop environment running is worthwhile."
* * * * *
 The next release of openSUSE is a long way away, but that hasn't stopped the community from wanting the latest and greatest. openSUSE 11.1 KDE Reloaded is a re-spun image of the current 11.1 release, complete with an updated KDE 4.2.2 and all other packages, fixes included. Community Manager Joe Brockmeirer writes: "This is an installable live CD that features the KDE 4.2.2 packages from the openSUSE Build Service repository. The live CD was created by Stephan Binner, and is useful for people who want to test out KDE 4.2 and users who are doing new installs and want the most recent openSUSE updates straight out of the box." Although not an official release, it does provide users with an easy way to install an up-to-date openSUSE system, thanks to their Online Build service. This announcement also served as a reminder for those tracking the unofficial KDE4 repositories that they must change to the newly created KDE:42 repo as the other will soon start receiving experimental builds of KDE 4.3.
* * * * *
 Across the globe last week, thousands of fans and users of Ubuntu celebrated the release of Jaunty Jackalope at over 100 release parties. Guy Thouret attended one such party in his home town in the United Kingdom and was amazed by what he found: "It wasn't just a room full of netbook wielding techies in Ubuntu T-shirts either, though there were many of those. There were a lot of, well, normal people. Ubuntu seems to have achieved what no other Linux distro has done before and has broken free of the tech community to be embraced by the masses." Due to Ubuntu's ability to handle the generally more complex issues of Linux distros, like installing proprietary drivers and codecs, it has been well received by technical and non-technical people alike. Thouret continues in his observations: "The important point to take from this is that Ubuntu has built up an increasing following and a 6-month release cycle is the key to stimulating ongoing interest. While the more tech savvy members of the community can get excited about the innovations every 6 months, everyone can get excited about each release just being new. Everybody knows that new is better, especially when you can all get together and celebrate with beer."
* * * * *
 Users of one of the popular minimalist distribution, Arch Linux, have joined forces to create a monthly community magazine. Daniel Griffiths writes: "We recently started an independent project related to Arch Linux called "Arch User Magazine". It is a free magazine designed for the Arch Linux community. Although at this time we have no official affiliation with Arch Linux, we are supported by the community and developers." The magazine will concentrate on all things related to Arch Linux, with tips, tricks and news on what has been happening in their world. The first two issues of the magazine are available, with technical discussions on Arch's init scripts, how to harden SSH, and on using grep on the command line. With the release of issue one, Griffiths calls for help: "The lack of contributors at the moment means I have to do all the work myself and I'm only so creative. Hence, submit ideas, articles, whatever! Help us out so that Arch User Magazine can grow to its full potential!" Anyone interested in contributing should contact the project.
* * * * *
 Barry Kauler has created one of the most popular distributions for low-end hardware, Puppy Linux. He gave up control of the project some six months ago to follow some other ideas he had and that's when Woof was born - a meta-distribution that lets users create a Puppy-like distro by pulling in packages from other distributions. Currently Woof supports Debian GNU/Linux, Ubuntu, Arch Linux and Slackware Linux. Recently, however, there has been growing concern about the direction and leadership of Puppy Linux, now that Kauler is no longer involved. As a result, Kauler has asked the developers whether he should come back to once again take control and steer the project in the right direction. He has offered to return in a temporary capacity to kick off the new 5.0 releases and then hand over to a council to continue the work. He writes: "Perhaps I should coordinate the very first Puppy 5.0. After that, a 'council' or whatever can work on later versions of the 5.x series. That first 5.0 could be seen as a 'template' or 'reference build', and others would be welcome to add bells and whistles." He also mentions that he has been busy working away at various Puppy technologies such as the package manager, but is not interested in leading the project long term.
* * * * *
 Although Sun Microsystems has been purchased by Oracle and many are wondering what the future of Sun's projects will be, it appears that Solaris 11 is on track for release in the middle of 2010. In an article on the subject, Timothy Morgan of The Register writes: "The number and gee-whizness of features Sun Microsystems is putting into updates to both the Solaris 10 commercial operating system and the related OpenSolaris development release of Solaris are slowing. That's the best indication that Nevada -- the code name for Solaris Next or Solaris 11 or whatever you want to call it -- is getting closer to release. Closer doesn't mean close, however. According to sources speaking to The Reg, Sun is quietly telling customers that Solaris 11 is targeted for launch sometime around the middle of 2010." The author continues: "Sun continues to kick out semi-annual updates to the current Solaris 10 commercial release, and today the 5/09 update appeared." Solaris is based on Sun's open source operating system, OpenSolaris, which is also scheduled for a new release next month.
* * * * *
The open source community is often divided as to whether the number of distributions, and the variety of choice that exists is a good thing or not. Linus Torvalds made his own opinion perfectly clear in an interview with DistroWatch earlier in the year: "I think multiple distributions aren't just a good thing, I think it's something absolutely required! We have hundreds of distros, and a lot of them are really for niche markets. And you need that - simply because different markets simply have different requirements, and no single distro will take care of them all." If you're still looking for that distro to get you started or one that better suits your needs, the experts at TuxRadar have an in-depth article to help you decide: "Choice is the best thing about Linux. Without choice, we may as well use an operating system where the developers make those choices for us," they write. "There is a flip side to all this choice, however, and that's finding the time to find the perfect distribution for you. You really need to try several before setting on the one you prefer, and downloading, installing and testing a Linux distribution takes a lot of time".
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| Released Last Week |
Calculate Linux 9.5
Alexander Tratsevskiy has announced the release of Calculate Linux Desktop 9.5, a Gentoo-based desktop Linux distribution with KDE 4: "Calculate Linux Desktop 9.5 released. Main changes: supported languages now include English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian and French; fast system boot; convert to LZMA compression; convert to OpenRC services management system, installation support on ext4 file system option added; simplified installation; language tool extension added to OpenOffice.org grammar check; added Cuneiform-Qt, a graphical interface for Cuneiform OCR systems, added Kdenlive video editing program; replaced StartDict with QStarDict." Here is the complete release announcement.
Calculate Linux 9.5 - an installable live DVD based on Gentoo Linux
(full image size: 840kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
Sabayon Linux 4.1 "KDE"
Fabio Erculiani has announced the release of Sabayon Linux 4.1 "KDE" edition: "On the behalf of the Sabayon Linux team, we are happy to announce the immediate availability of Sabayon Linux 4.1 KDE. Distribution features: based on Sabayon Linux 4 LiteMCE; custom Linux kernel 2.6.29.1; ext4 is now the default file system; complete KDE 4.2.2 environment; OpenOffice.org 3.0.1; Compiz and Compiz Fusion 0.8.2; X.Org 7.4 supporting latest AMD and NVIDIA video cards; multimedia applications (audio, video, DVD ripping, file sharing); media center mode, transforming your Sabayon into a complete multimedia platform thanks to XBMC. Major changes since Sabayon 4: improved boot speed; NetworkManager 0.7; GRUB now supports UUID; installer now detects other Linux distributions...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information.
Sabayon Linux 4.1 ships with KDE 4 as the default desktop.
(full image size: 272kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
Mandriva Linux 2009.1
Mandriva Linux 2009.1 has been released: "Mandriva announces today the launch of the final version of Mandriva Linux 2009.1. Quicker, easier and even more secure, this new version brings you a host of innovative features. Main components: KDE 4.2.2, GNOME 2.26, X.Org Server 1.6, Linux kernel 2.6.29, Xfce 4.6. Mandriva Linux 2009.1 comes with a big improvement in boot time and the Mandriva Control Center tools have been also optimized. Network center is now supporting advanced network configuration, together with additional pre-configured Internet providers, integration with new network devices and support for different wireless regulatory domains. The Mandriva security framework, msec, has been also redesigned. The ext4 file system is now supported in stable version and available during installation." Read the release announcement, product overview and release notes for further details.
NetBSD 5.0
The NetBSD project has announced the release of NetBSD 5.0: "The NetBSD project is pleased to announce that NetBSD 5.0, the thirteenth release of the NetBSD operating system, is now available. NetBSD 5.0 features greatly improved performance and scalability on modern multiprocessor (SMP) and multi-core systems. In addition to scalability and performance improvements, a significant number of major features have been added. Some highlights are: a preview of metadata journaling for FFS file systems (known as WAPBL), the jemalloc memory allocator, X.Org instead of XFree86 on a number of ports, the Power Management Framework, ACPI suspend/resume support on many laptops, write support for UDF file systems...." See the release announcement and release notes for a full list of changes and new features.
DragonFly BSD 2.2.1
Matthew Dillon has announced the release of DragonFly BSD 2.2.1, a BSD operating system originally forked from FreeBSD 4: "The new 2.2 release includes Hammer, a file system that includes instant crash recovery, multi-volume file systems, data integrity checking, fine grained history retention, and the ability to mirror data to other volumes. It has undergone extensive stress-testing and is considered production-ready!" Other changes include: "Fixes for libthread_xu: MAP_STACK and an errno leak; fixed an installworld failure due to kernel fixes and a libthread_xu issue; installer now works correctly in the console, and properly creates device files if they don't exist; updates for msdosfs, pax(1), and magic(3); allowed uid/gid/flags changes to fail if running cpdup as a user...." Read the full release notes for additional details.
OpenBSD 4.5
Theo de Raadt has announced the release of OpenBSD 4.5: "We are pleased to announce the official release of OpenBSD 4.5. This is our 25th release on CD-ROM (and 26th via FTP). As in our previous releases, 4.5 provides significant improvements, including new features, in nearly all areas of the system: Initial ports to the xscale-based gumstix platform and the ARM-based OpenMoko; improved hardware support and several new or improved drivers for sensors; new tools - ypldap, an YP server using LDAP as a backend; malloc has gained new attack mitigation measures; install now allows multiple interfaces to be configured with DHCP; OpenSSH 5.2; over 5,500 ports, minor robustness improvements in package tools; major components - Xenocara (based on X.Org 7.4), GCC 2.95.3 and 3.3.5, Perl 5.10.0; our improved and secured version of Apache 1.3, with SSL/TLS...." Read the rest of the release announcement for a detailed list of all changes and improvements.
Kiwi Linux 9.04
Jani Monoses has announced the release of Kiwi Linux 9.04, an Ubuntu-based distribution enhanced with some non-free components and optimised for Romanian and Hungarian users: "Kiwi Linux 9.04 is a desktop distribution based on Ubuntu 9.04 for the i386 architecture. Differences from Ubuntu 9.04: the supported languages on the CD are English, Hungarian and Romanian; GUI for pppoeconf and support for Speedtouch 330 USB ADSL modem firmware; a graphical tool for restoring GRUB boot menus lost after installing other operating systems; Evolution removed, no mail client at all on the CD; Flash plugin and GStreamer codecs for restricted audio and video formats; encrypted DVD playback via libdvdcss2; Compiz extra settings GUI; p7zip, unrar. The Medibuntu repositories are enabled by default to allow installing w32codecs, Skype and Google Earth, among others." Here are the brief release notes.
FreeBSD 7.2
Ken Smith has announced the release of FreeBSD 7.2: "The FreeBSD Release Engineering team is pleased to announce the availability of FreeBSD 7.2-RELEASE. This is the third release from the 7-STABLE branch which improves on the functionality of FreeBSD 7.1 and introduces some new features. Some of the highlights: support for fully transparent use of superpages for application memory; support for multiple IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for jails; csup(1) now supports CVSMode to fetch a complete CVS repository; GNOME updated to 2.26, KDE updated to 4.2.2; sparc64 now supports UltraSparc-III processors. FreeBSD 7.2-RELEASE is now available for the amd64, i386, ia64, pc98, powerpc, and sparc64 architectures." Read the release announcement and release notes for a detailed list of changes.
* * * * *
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 |
April 2009 DistroWatch.com donation: Python receives US$300.00
We are happy to announce that the recipient of the April 2009 DistroWatch.com donation is Python (or more precisely, Python Software Foundation), a powerful programming language, freely usable and distributable, even for commercial use. It receives US$300 in cash.
There can't be many open source enthusiasts who need an introduction to Python, but for those who aren't familiar with its main features, here is the list, as published on the project's about page: "Very clear, readable syntax; strong introspection capabilities; intuitive object orientation; natural expression of procedural code; full modularity, supporting hierarchical packages; exception-based error handling; very high level dynamic data types; extensive standard libraries and third party modules for virtually every task; extensions and modules easily written in C, C++ (or Java for Jython, or .NET languages for IronPython); embeddable within applications as a scripting interface."
Upon receiving the donation, Python Software Foundation sent a "thank you" email to DistroWatch: "Thank you very much for your cash contribution of $300.00 USD that the Python Software Foundation (PSF) received on 03-May-2009. We would like to express our appreciation for your willingness to support the PSF. Your contribution will be put to good use and help further the development, acceptance and awareness of the Python programming language in the IT world. Kurt B. Kaiser, Treasurer, Python Software Foundation."
As always, this monthly donations program 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 Python.
Here is the list of projects that received a DistroWatch donation since the launch of the program (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 ($400), FileZilla ($400), MythDora ($500), Linux Mint ($400), Parsix GNU/Linux ($300), Miro ($300), GoblinX ($250), Dillo ($150), LXDE ($250)
- 2009: Openbox ($250), Wolvix GNU/Linux ($200), smxi ($200), Python ($300)
Since the launch of the Donations Program in March 2004, DistroWatch has donated a total of US$20,733 to various open source software projects.
* * * * *
New distributions added to database
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
And this concludes the latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 11 May 2009.
Chris Smart
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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| Random Distribution | 
Volumio
Volumio (formerly RaspyFi) is a Debian-based Linux distribution designed and fine-tuned exclusively for music playback. It runs on a variety of devices, typically small and cheap computers like the Raspberry Pi, but also on low-power personal computers, notebooks or thin clients. It aims to fully integrate Music Player Daemon, an open-source music player server, into the current Debian releases and to optimise it for Audiophile-quality music playback. Volumio also makes it simple to play music library directly from a USB storage device or from any network-attached storage and it also enables users to listen to web-based radio stations from Spotify, Last.fm and SoundCloud.
Status: Active
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| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
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| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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