DistroWatch Weekly |
DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 335, 4 January 2010 |
Welcome to the first issue of DistroWatch Weekly in 2010! We'll start the new year with a rather unusual review - a look at MINIX 3. An operating system that helped to inspire Linus Torvalds to create Linux (and whose creator, Andrew Tanenbaum, once famously described Linux as "obsolete" due to its monolithic design), continues to evolve in small steps, but is it still just a toy for students and those interested in operating systems design? Or has it finally become practical and usable for solving real-world problems? Read on to find out. The review is followed by a brief statistical look at the past year, where we'll highlight the winners and losers among the popular distributions. Then, in a more technical topic (although explained in a layman's language) we look at the possibilities of optimising 64-bit distributions with compiler flags. Finally, we are pleased to announce that the recipient of the December 2009 DistroWatch.com donation is the Krita project. Happy new year and happy reading!
Content:
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (22MB) and MP3 (22MB) formats
Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
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Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
A Look at MINIX (version 3.1.4)
I believe it was Paul Gauguin who famously questioned: "Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?" (D'où venons nous ? Que sommes-nous ? Où allons-nous ?) While it may be impossible to say for sure, I think he was expressing the idea that we can't really know what we are or where we're headed unless we also know where we originated. Bearing that thought in mind, I decided to take a look at MINIX, the operating system which helped to inspire the creation of Linux.
MINIX has traditionally been an operating system with an eye toward education. Both versions 1 and 2 of the MINIX system were designed to be useful for students learning about operating systems. The code behind MINIX was small and clean, making it a practical study tool in this complex field. The latest offering of MINIX, version 3, attempts to keep the same principles as the previous versions, but also strives to be more practical as a modern, UNIX-like, operating system.
The MINIX web site is an example in clean, easy to read documentation. The site covers a good deal of the project's history, current development goals and benefits of the MINIX design. The most interesting point of the design, perhaps, is that the MINIX hardware drivers run as user processes. This means if a driver crashes, the kernel does not become unstable. Instead, the kernel simply restarts the failed driver and continues on as before. This makes MINIX somewhat self-healing. The web site also contains a good deal of information on how to install and use the operating system, including disk partitioning, multi-booting and setting up user accounts.
The MINIX project released their latest version, 3.1.5, in November 2009, but this review covers version 3.1.4, released in July 2009, as it was the latest stable build at the time of writing. The install image I downloaded from the project's web site fit on one CD and weighed in at about 550 MB. Once the image burned to a CD, my odyssey got under way. I placed the CD into my desktop machine, which runs a 2.5 GHz CPU and has 2 GB of RAM, and rebooted.
MINIX boots up from the live CD to a text console with a brief explanation on how to install the operating system to the local machine. This isn't a tutorial or even a walk-through. It's expected that you have some experience with UNIX-like operating systems and know what you're doing. I logged in as root (there's no password on the live CD) and ran the installer.
The system installer is text-based and is an odd mix of friendly and terse. Options are explained and things are easy enough, for a text-only installer. To demonstrate what I mean, there's no way to back up and try again, short of killing the installer and running through it all from the beginning. On the other hand, there are helpful messages such as this one I encountered, typo and all, while repartitioning: "Please confirm that you want to delete region 0, losing all data it contains. You're disk is not actually updated right away, but still. Are you sure you want to continue?"

MINIX 3 - the installer finishes successfully. (full image size: 10kB, screen resolution 698x400 pixels)
Sane defaults are offered throughout the installer and I was able to complete the process without any missteps on the first attempt. When I rebooted my computer, I was asked where my MINIX install was located. This location was remembered for future start-ups. The system booted to a command prompt and I was given instructions on how to add new packages to the system using a program called "packman".
Packman, like the system installer, is text-based, terse and fairly easy to use if the operator is familiar with a command line. There are 118 packages on the CD to choose from, most of which can be found in a modern Linux distribution. These include system utilities, a desktop environment, compilers, multimedia, emulators and games. To start, I installed the X11 package to enable a graphical desktop. The packman tool not only grabs packages from the install CD, but will also attempt to download packages, and optionally their source code, from a remote repository. My only complaint while using packman is that there's no indication of progress. The system sits and waits quietly for the package to install. For large packages, such as X11, this requires a lot patience, especially when installing over the network.

MINIX 3 - using packman to install software. (full image size: 13kB, screen resolution 719x401 pixels)
Having played with packman a while, I'm not sure if the MINIX project supplies security updates. One MINIX developer let me know that they can upgrade packages through the repository. Whether any are updated, or how often, is more open to speculation. There doesn't seem to be any way to see if new packages have been added, short of manually checking the version numbers and comparing them with previously installed packages. The packman utility does not yet have the functionality to compare version numbers.
Once the X11 package finished installing, I tried to launch a desktop and ran into an interesting quirk. The X graphical system ran, but there was no desktop environment. Those readers who used Linux during the 1990s probably know what I mean when I say there was a graphical display and no desktop. There's just a grey background and a big, black X mouse pointer. I soon realized my mistake and went back to packman to install the JWM desktop. Unfortunately after installing JWM and manually setting up the proper configuration files, I was no further ahead. In fact, X would consistently crash and I eventually moved on to exploring the power of the MINIX command line.
The standard UNIX command line is where MINIX, if not shines, at least becomes more familiar. There are minor differences between the MINIX version of commands and the equivalent commands in Linux or BSD. The basics are the same and most command names are familiar. Happily, the customary man pages are there for reference. Various items common among UNIX systems, including a secure shell server, user accounts and a C compiler, were easy to set up. These procedures are all covered by the documentation on the MINIX website for those unfamiliar with configuring a UNIX operating system from the command line.

MINIX 3 - testing the C compiler. (full image size: 4kB, screen resolution 615x398 pixels)
MINIX comes with the usual collection of command line network tools, including the lynx web browser; FTP, telnet and SSH clients. No network services are enabled by default, helping to keep MINIX secure while things are being set up. Once things are installed and one has services running, how to secure them? As far as I can tell, MINIX does not come with a firewall as most Linux or BSD users would recognize it. There's no iptables, for example, and no allow or deny files in the /etc folder. The best I could come up with was some advice given on the MINIX forum: create a file called /etc/serv.access and place rules for remote access there.
While writing this review, much of my test hardware was unusable. As far as I can tell, MINIX does not have any USB support. This effectively makes my printer a paperweight. It also excludes many modern keyboards and mouse devices. My video card was properly detected and handled for the brief period I spent using a graphical environment. I was unable to get any sound to come out of my speakers while using MINIX, though I've read others have managed to get MPlayer working. My network card was properly detected and enabled on each boot up. In an attempt to get around the lack of USB support and grab some screen shots, I installed MINIX in a virtual environment (VM). The operating system works well in VirtualBox and I was able to make use of my USB mouse in the VM.
An aspect of MINIX which took me by surprise is that the system installer does not create a swap partition for you. (Perhaps it does in expert mode, I mostly took the defaults.) Swap is something that needs to be added manually later if the administrator is worried about running out of RAM. Also, there doesn't appear to be any application to show how much memory the system is using at any given time. A forum post indicates this is a work in progress and will hopefully be included after this year's Summer of Code.
Speed, or the lack of, was sometimes a concern. When installed to the hard drive of my 2.5 GHz desktop machine, the system took about thirty seconds to reach a login prompt. Keeping in mind that the login prompt was of the command-line variety, not a graphical one, this didn't strike me as being quick. Small packages, such as the grep tool, took around two minutes to install from the CD. Larger packages, such as X11 took closer to twenty minutes. I suspect this may be caused by packman compiling software that it's installing, but there's no indication of what's going on behind the scenes.
It wasn't all bad, though. On the positive side, my network connection was fairly quick and most commands ran with about the same performance I'd expect on any other UNIX-like desktop. Disk usage was low; an install of MINIX is small (under 1 GB with compilers, multimedia and X11 packages included), allowing it to run on just about any Pentium-class computer. The operating system remained stable, if a bit sluggish, even when I was installing extra packages and starting and crashing X.
I don't think it would be fair to complete this review without mentioning the team behind MINIX. I had a chance to swap e-mails with a few developers and they have a small, but active, Google Group. All exchanges were pleasant and helpful, showing a calm respect on the part of the development team which is easy to appreciate. Any lack of user-friendliness in the MINIX operating system is made up for by these volunteers.
Whenever I test drive an operating system, especially one that is less mainstream, there's the question in my mind: "Where would this be useful?" My conclusion, after playing with MINIX for a week, is that it holds down a small niche. It's for people who want less functionality than Linux or BSD, but wish to stay within the same family. Or, perhaps, for those who want to experience running a microkernel. I think MINIX will continue to find its home in universities where students will be able to get hands on experience looking at, playing with and trying to improve upon a small, functional operating system.
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Statistics (by Ladislav Bodnar) |
DistroWatch Page Hit Ranking statistics in 2008 and 2009
With the end of 2009, here is a quick look at the movers and shakers of the past year, with the help of our Page Hit Ranking statistics. The most noticeable change among the top distribution was the rise of Fedora which has replaced openSUSE on the second spot. While some of the reasons for openSUSE's drop could be attributed to the distribution's switch to less frequent release schedule, there is no doubt that Fedora has attracted a lot of interest with its constant innovation and fearless adoption of interesting features. Among the small distributions, the previously highly rated Damn Small Linux has fallen off the radar due to its prolonged inactivity, with Puppy Linux accepting the role as the most popular mini-distribution.
However, if I had to single out one distribution that was the shining star of the past year, I would pick Arch Linux. Although designed for intermediate Linux users, many seem to be attracted to the idea of a "rolling-release" distribution which is installed once and kept up-to-date throughout its lifespan via daily package updates. This is, in a way, a Gentoo of binary distributions, minus extensive time required for compiling software and without the complexity of many under-the-hood features. This growing popularity of Arch Linux can also be observed by the number of Arch-based distributions and community projects that have appeared during the past year, including the excellent Archiso-live, Chakra, Kahel OS and the brand-new ArchServer. The first-ever Arch Linux Handbook was also published last year. Maybe it's time to replace Gentoo Linux with Arch Linux on our Top Ten Distributions page?
As always, the DistroWatch Page Hit Ranking statistics shouldn't be taken too seriously - they are a fun way of looking at what's hot among this site's visitors, but they probably do not reflect install base or distribution quality.
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Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Optimizing 64-bit distributions with compiler flags
Pushing-performance asks: My question relates to performance and optimization of 64-bit distributions. We all know that some x86 distributions compile with different processor flags, and optimizations to improve the performance of their distro. Arch Linux (which I use) is one of these. So besides the services started at boot time, some distributions are significantly faster due to using more modern, faster CPU settings, i.e. i686 instead of i386 instruction set. I've now been using Arch Linux 64-bit for a while and it has got me thinking. Is there a similar set of CPU flags and optimisations for 64-bit CPUs for distro maintainers to use when compiling their distro that will make distro X faster than distro Y? Or are all 64-bit distributions essentially of the same performance?
DistroWatch answers: In a way, we have two different topics here, both of which relate to compiler flags. The first is different architecture types, for example: i386, i686 and x86_64. Source code can be compiled to target a specific type of architecture, such as one of the three I just mentioned. When you're compiling software for your own machine, you'll want to compile for your specific processor. So if you're running an i686 processor, that's the target you'll pass to the compiler. But, since x86 architectures are backward compatible, code compiled for i386 machines will also run on i686 machines. Likewise, i386 and i686 code can be made to run on a x86_64 processor.
Sadly, the reverse isn't true, code compiled to run on a x86_64 processor will not run on an i386 system. This one-way street has led many distributions to compile their software packages to target older architectures. As a result, their software will run on a wider range of computers, but there is also a performance hit from not using the modern, more efficient methods offered by newer processors. People who compile their software can target their specific architecture and gain performance benefits by having code that best matches their processor.
At this point, you're already compiling for your processor type, so are there any other flags to optimize your code? Yes, there are. The GCC compiler provides several levels of optimization which can improve your software's performance, regardless of which architecture you're using. These options will try to make the code more efficient in a variety of ways and you can read more about the specific optimizations on this website.
Back in October last year, Chris Smart wrote a really interesting piece on optimizing code on 64-bit machines and tested how the different levels of optimization changed the performance of several applications. The article talks specifically about Gentoo Linux, but is well worth reading if you're interested in compiling your own packages. You can read the article here.
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Released During Last Two Weeks |
VortexBox 1.0
Andrew Gillis has announced the release of VortexBox 1.0, a Fedora-based server distribution that turns an unused computer into a music server or jukebox: "VortexBox 1.0 released. After several months of hard work we have released VortexBox 1.0. It has many of the features requested by the community including: FLAC to Apple Lossless (m4a) mirroring through the web GUI; MusicBrainz and CDDB used for ID3 tags; tool tips for each section in the GUI; Logitech SqueezeCenter 7.4.1 pre-installed and configured; software upgrade through the web GUI. VortexBox 1.0 also has a lot of bug fixes including better handling of existing cover art. You can update to this version from the command line." Read the release announcement and visit the project's home page to learn more about this distribution.
ClearOS 5.1
ClearFoundation has announced the availability of ClearOS 5.1, a CentOS-based server and gateway distribution for small businesses formerly known as ClarkConnect: "ClearFoundation released the ClearOS Enterprise 5.1 final version. What's new? anti-phishing, Windows 7 support, graphical console tool, improved usability and web interface, core system upgraded to CentOS 5.4. ClearOS 5.x supports upgrades from ClarkConnect 4.x and later. Upgrades from earlier versions (or systems originally installed with an earlier version) are not supported. When you run the ClearOS installer, make sure you select the upgrade option. As with any upgrade, please backup any critical data. For those of you upgrading from ClarkConnect 5.0, a live upgrade (via yum) will be made available shortly." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information.
Salix OS 13.0.2
George Vlahavas has announced the release of Salix OS 13.0.2, a Slackware-based Linux distribution with Xfce as the default desktop: "The Salix team is proud to announce the release of Salix 13.0.2. The most important change is the addition of a 64-bit port of Salix OS. As the 32-bit counterpart, Salix64 is fully backwards compatible with Slackware64 and provides a simple and fast way to install an Xfce-based system that follows the 'one application per task' philosophy. The 64-bit repositories already include a considerable number of packages, making it the largest third-party package repository for Slackware64 users available. The Salix team has also created and maintains a repository that includes dependency information for all Slackware packages, 32-bit and 64-bit." Read the rest of the release announcement for a more detailed list of changes.
Sabayon Linux 5.1 "Gaming"
Fabio Erculiani has announced the release of a special "Gaming" edition of Sabayon Linux 5.1: "This is our Christmas gift to our beloved community. A Sabayon DVD full of games to instantly play on every PC. This release comes straight from the north pole, I've found it under my Christmas tree this morning and wanted to share it with you. Santa made it for all our users. A cute Sabayon Linux 5.1 x86 full of games to not get bored during the holidays. Feature list: based on Sabayon Linux 5.1 x86 GNOME; filled with gigabytes of games, the best free and open-source games in the Linux land. Games included: Battle of Wesnoth, Foobillard, Freeciv, Frozen Bubble, GNOME Games, NeverBall, Nexuiz, OpenArena, Pingus, Pychess, Scorched 3D, Spring, Stepmania, Torcs, Tremulous, Warsow, Warzone 2100, Wormux." Visit the Sabayon Linux forum to read the release announcement.
Tuquito 3.1
Mario Colque has announced the release of Tuquito 3.1, a user-friendly, Ubuntu-based distribution for desktops developed in Argentina. New features in this release include: Linux kernel 2.6.31; GNOME 2.28.1; new functions added to Garfio, a system configuration tool; improved Tuquito RSS feed; addition of Banshee and VLC players; 100% compatible with MS Office file formats; support for reading and writing to FAT and NTFS partitions; automatic mounting of NTFS partitions; support for booting from USB storage device or DVD drives; addition of Google Chrome browser; support for netbooks; improved support for Broadcom wireless chipsets; support for Windows wireless drivers; ext4 as the default file system; out-of-the-box support for MP3 and DVD playback; support for ADSL modems; integration of VINE; addition of VirtualBox.... Read the rest of the release announcement (in Spanish) for more information and screenshots.

Tuquito 3.1 - an Ubuntu-based distribution from Argentina (full image size: 641kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
Berry Linux 1.00
Yuichiro Nakada has announced the release of Berry Linux 1.00. The project, which started in November 2002 with version 0.01 (based on Red Hat Linux 8.0) and continued with regular incremental updates, has now produced exactly 100 releases. Version 1.00 is based on Fedora 11, but includes updated Linux kernel 2.6.32.1 (with SMP, ndev/udev, bootsplash and Aufs support), KDE 4.3.2, Rasp-UI 0.14 window manager, up-to-date versions of MPlayer and xine, the latest Mozilla Firefox, (version 3.5.6, with Flash plugin updated to version 10.0.32) in English and Japanese, and WINE 1.1.32. The MadWiFi kernel modules have been removed from the live CD. See the complete changelog for further details. Berry Linux is a user-friendly live and installation CD designed primarily for Japanese-speaking users, but support for English is also available as an option in the boot menu.
Kahel OS 12-25-2009
Meric Mara has announced the release of Kahel OS 12-25-2009, an Arch Linux-based, rolling-release distribution with GNOME and GTK+ applications: "On this very day of 'gift-giving', three months after our first installer release 09-09-2009, we give you the new Kahel OS (Desktop edition) installer version 12-25-2009. Kahel OS now has Linux kernel 2.6.32, X.Org 7.5 and GNOME 2.28.2 by default." Some of the other improvements include: "simplified installation, the installer appears automatically upon boot-up; KMS (Kernel Mode Setting) is automatically detected, which means faster boot process, faster X server load, seamless graphical 3D effects, faster graphics, and an improved animated boot sequence; faster boot-up - the start-up process has been tweaked enormously to speed up the boot process." Read the rest of the release announcement for additional information.
Sabily 9.10
Mehdi Magnon has announced the release of Sabily 9.10, an Ubuntu-based distribution with Islamic software and web content filtering tools: "The Sabily team is proud to announce the release of Sabily 9.10. New in this release: Noor - new Quran browser; sample books for Thwab; Fsool - the Sira of the prophet Mohammed; Rejaal - men around the prophet Mohammed; Arabeyes Qamoos - and Arabic - English dictionary. Changes: new theme; new structure of Islamic software; Monajat is re-developed in Python. Main features: parental control tool (WebStrict); Zekr (Quran study tool), able to play Quran recitations; prayer times - Minbar and Firefox Pray Times add-on; Thwab (encyclopaedia); custom artwork; full support for Arabic; the DVD edition contains multimedia, scientific and educational software." More details in the release announcement.

Sabily 9.10 - an Ubuntu-based distribution with Islamic software (full image size: 374kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
SystemRescueCd 1.3.4
François Dupoux has released SystemRescueCd 1.3.4, a Gentoo-based live CD containing a collection of data rescue and hard disk management utilities. What's new? "Updated the standard kernels to Linux 2.6.31.9 with btrfs update from 2.6.32; updated the alternative kernels to Linux 2.6.27.41; updated X.Org Server to version 1.6.5 (graphical server and drivers); Updated NTFS-3G to 2009.11.14 (standard release); updated gDisk to 0.5.1 (gDisk is a GPT partition table manipulator); updated FSArchiver to 0.6.2 (default, stable version); added FSArchiver 0.6.3-beta10 (alternative, beta version); added scsiadd which allows to add and remove SCSI devices; added suspend-usb-device script to safely disconnect USB disks; Memtest+ 4.00 is now booted as a kernel to fix issues; replaced AIDA with HDT 0.3.6 (hardware detection tool floppy disk image)." Here is the full changelog.
Super OS 9.10
Super OS is a Linux distribution that can be described as an Ubuntu enhanced with various extra software and features for improved out-of-the-box usability. Version 9.10, announced a few hours ago, adds the following applications and features: "Better multimedia support - VLC, support for DVD-playback, support for MP3 and other media formats, like QuickTime video, Real video, Windows Media Video, Flash Video, DivX, Xvid; Internet software - aMSN, Opera, Google Chrome, Skype, Firefox with Flash and Moonlight; portable applications available (RUNZ included); programs are easier to run - App Runner is included; mount tar.gz, .zip, .rar and .iso files with file mounter; other software - Java, Ubuntu Tweak; system beep is disabled; Super OS now has its own repository, in addition to the official Ubuntu repositories; most commonly used KDE and Qt libraries included." Read the release notes for further details.
Linux Deepin 9.12
Linux Deepin 9.12 has been released. The new version of the Ubuntu-based Chinese community distribution, formerly known as Hiweed Linux, comes with the following features: a careful selection of lightweight, easy-to-use and optimised software packages; usability enhancements of desktop start menu and file manager right-click menus; inclusion of popular software for day-to-day use, including OpenOffice.org; customised system installer with only two steps that need manual intervention; streamlined post-install configuration; various enhancements in Mozilla Firefox, such as replacement of rarely-used search engines with more popular ones, addition of several pre-configured add-ons, Flash Player 10 and multimedia plugins; graphical configuration tool for ADSL (PPPoE) and other high-speed and mobile Internet providers.... Read the detailed release notes (in Chinese) for additional information.

Linux Deepin 9.12 - a beginner-friendly, Ubuntu-based distribution localised into simplified Chinese (full image size: 658kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
NuTyX 2009.2
Thierry Nuttens has announced the release of NuTyX 2009.2, a Gentoo-based French Linux distribution with binary packages for four desktop environments: GNOME, KDE, LXDE and Xfce. According to the release announcement, this version has had over 900 commits, mostly package upgrades and dependency updates, but also some bug fixes. There is a new theme that is now a common feature across all the different desktop environments. An alternative kernel, supporting more than 4 GB of RAM, is now included in the distribution. Some of the package upgrades include: ALSA 1.0.22, Amarok 2.2.1.90, Firefox 3.5.6, GNOME 2.28, KDE 4.3.4, Linux kernel 2.6.32.2, K3b 1.69.0alpha4, LXDE 0.5.0, Midori 0.2.1 and X.Org Server 1.7.3. Read the release announcement (in French) for more details and screenshots of the new theme.
sidux 2009-04
Stefan Lippers-Hollmann has announced the release of sidux 2009-04, a desktop distribution with KDE and Xfce based on Debian's unstable branch: "We now have the pleasure to announce the immediate availability of sidux 2009-04 'Moros', shipping with Linux kernel 2.6.32 and KDE 4.3.4. For 'Moros', the development concentrated on updating the bootloader infrastructure for live and installed systems, but also took into account upstream changes like kernel 2.6.32, KDE 4.3.4 and further KDE 4 applications. On the installed system, GRUB 2 now replaces the traditional GRUB bootloader, while the live system now employs isolinux and an improved gfxboot theme. Kernel 2.6.32 doesn't only improve and stabilise hardware support for newer devices, it also allows KMS for Intel graphic chipsets and supports DRI and basic 3D support for ATI Radeon graphics cards." See the detailed release notes for more information.

sidux 2009-04 - a desktop distribution based on Debian's unstable branch (full image size: 246kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
blackPanther OS 10.1
Charles Barcza has announced the release of blackPanther OS 10.1, a Hungarian desktop Linux distribution built from components and concepts borrowed from several major distribution projects. The new version is built on Linux kernel 2.6.32.2 and includes X.Org Server 1.7.3, Mozilla Firefox 3.5.6, OpenOffice.org 3.1.1, GIMP 2.7.0, KDE 4.3.1 and other popular applications. Some of the notable changes include: EasyInstall - an installation routine which ensures that even older and less powerful hardware is set up correctly; DisplayController - a program whose function is to bring up a graphical subsystem under any circumstances; DesktopSelector - an application that provides new users with an option to choose a preferred desktop environment based on visual impressions; MyInfo-Tool - a graphical hardware information program.... See the rest of the release announcement (in Hungarian) for further details and screenshots.

blackPanther OS 10.1 - a Hungarian desktop Linux distribution (full image size: 826kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
Zorin OS 2.0
The first release announcement of 2010 belongs to the Zorin OS team which has just announced the release of Zorin OS 2.0, an Ubuntu-based distribution designed primarily for Linux newcomers: "We are proud to announce that Zorin OS 2.0 has been released. Zorin OS 2.0 is available in five different flavours: Zorin OS 'Core' which is the regular desktop edition; Zorin OS 'Gaming' which includes over 40 of the best open-source games; Zorin OS 'Multimedia' which includes over 40 extra multimedia applications; Zorin OS 'Educational' which includes many educational programs; and Zorin OS 'Ultimate' which has some of the best open-source programs around. Zorin OS Core is available to download and the other releases are available for purchase from the Store page." Here is the full release announcement.

Zorin OS 2.0 - an Ubuntu-based desktop Linux distribution for Linux beginners (full image size: 397kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
Kahel OS 01-01-2010 "Light"
Meric Mara has announced the release of Kahel OS 01-01-2010 "Light" edition, an Arch Linux-based distribution featuring the Xfce desktop: "Today let us introduce to you Kahel OS 'Light' edition 01-01-2010, designed for netbooks with limited storage capacity. Just like the Kahel OS 'Desktop' edition, the 'Light' edition has 32- bit and 64-bit installers. What describes Kahel OS 'Light' edition 01-01-2010? Lightweight - the light desktop operates on Linux 2.6.32 and uses Xfce 4.6 which is suitable for PCs with low memory and resources; power-packed - the installer is compressed and the standard install is just 1.8 GB; SSD-friendly - KahelOS 'Light' includes Btrfs and NILFS file systems; bundled with lightweight applications - includes Claws email client, Midori web browser, gThumb image viewer and organizer, and Exaile music player." Read the rest of the release announcement to learn more.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Summary of expected upcoming releases
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DistroWatch.com News |
December 2009 DistroWatch.com donation: Krita receives €200.00
We are happy to announce that the recipient of the December 2009 DistroWatch.com donation is Krita, a creative application for raster images and part of the KOffice suite. It receives €200 in cash.
The project has recently launched a fund-raising drive to enable one of the developers, Lukáš Tvrdý, to work on the project full-time and to take Krita to a "next level". That was after receiving valuable feedback from an artist: "It was about that time when I got in contact with David Revoy. He's the concept artist who has been working with the Blender team on Project Durian: their latest open source movie project. I asked him for his opinions on Krita to get some feedback from a professional. I like when people use my applications, and David has plenty of experience with various tools like GIMP and MyPaint. His opinions seemed very valuable to me for making Krita ready for actual users. ... He was willing to provide us with feedback on the issues he bumped into. So that's when we decided we should put a strong focus on getting Krita ready for him. If he can work comfortably with Krita, so will many other users, both casual users and professionals." The project has since raised over €4,000 - well over the initial target.
Launched in 2004, this monthly donations programme is a DistroWatch initiative to support free and open-source software projects and operating systems with a cash contribution. Readers are welcome to nominate their favourite project for a future donation. Here is the list of the projects that have 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 Sabayon Linux ($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), SliTaz GNU/Linux ($200), LiVES ($300), Osmo ($300), LMMS ($250), KompoZer ($360), OpenSSH ($350), Parted Magic ($350) and Krita ($285).
Since the launch of the Donations Program in March 2004, DistroWatch has donated a total of US$23,128 to various open-source software projects.
* * * * *
New distributions added to database
* * * * *
New distributions added to waiting list
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 11 January 2010.
Jesse Smith and Ladislav Bodnar
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Archives |
• 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 |
• Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
• Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
• Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
• Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
• Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
• Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
• Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
• Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
• Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
• Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20 |
• Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
• Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
• Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
• Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
• Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
• Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
• Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
• Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
• Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
• Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
• Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
• Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
• Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
• Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
• Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
• Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
• Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
• Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
• Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
• Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
• Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
• Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
• Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
• Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
• Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
• Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
• Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
• Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
• Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
• Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
• Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
• Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
• Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
• Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
• Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
• Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
• Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
• Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
• Full list of all issues |
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Random Distribution | 
Oz Unity
Oz Unity was an Ubuntu-based distribution with the goal of creating an operating system which would target new users to Linux or computing in general. An easy-to-install system which was inviting and intuitive to use, enhanced with applications that the majority of users would require on a day-to-day basis and which could easily be tailored to any individuals needs. Oz Unity includes all the features of Ubuntu with enhanced usability. Many tools have been added for new and advanced users. The Ubuntu repository also includes the latest updates, as well as software that was not included in the official release.
Status: Discontinued
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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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