 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 428, 24 October 2011 |
Welcome to this year's 43rd issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
We live in an increasingly mobile world, one where we can check emails,
take pictures and edit documents with a computer that will fit in our pocket.
With a touch of a button data from these little devices can reach just about
anywhere in the world in seconds. The concept of a personal computer has spread
from servers and desktops to phones, netbooks and tablets. This week we talk
about running office software on mobile devices and software freedom. We will
hear from Dr Taher Elgamal, one of the fathers of SSL, on the topics of security
protocols and trust levels in an interconnected world. Also in this week's
edition we bring news of a FreeBSD-based project which aims to help users get
the most out of their routers and the latest developments in the Qt community.
Last week we saw the release of Ubuntu 11.10 and
its many siblings. This week Jesse Smith shares his impressions of Ubuntu and
its sister project, Kubuntu. Do these projects live up to the "new and improved"
label? Find out below. The DistroWatch team wishes you a pleasant week and, as
always, happy reading!
Content:
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (24MB) and MP3 (34MB) formats
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
|
| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
The Latest from Ubuntu and Kubuntu
As the Ubuntu release date approached this year I planned to do two reviews, one
of plain Ubuntu, the flagship of the fleet, and then follow-up later in the year
with a review of another Ubuntu family member. However, as luck or Fate or the
Great Pumpkin would have it, I ended up on release day with a copy of Ubuntu
11.10 and also with a CD edition of Kubuntu 11.10. Rather than take up two weeks
of what is promising to be an interesting release season with two separate
reviews, I decided to install both Kubuntu and Ubuntu at the same time and cover
them together.
It's strange running both of these distributions at the same time because they
have a lot in common (repositories, version numbers, focus on the end-user
desktop and virtually the same name), but so much is different too. The live CDs
come with very different selections of software, interface elements are
positioned differently and we are even presented with different package
managers. We see a good example of this same-yet-different relationship right
away with the installers. The installers both ask the same questions and have
the same steps. However, the colours, positioning of fields, and icons differ.
In short, they are different designs with the same nuts and bolts underneath.
When we boot from either of the live CDs we're presented with a window which
asks for our preferred language and whether we want to install the operating
system or try it from the CD. Assuming we choose to install, the installer then
checks our computer against a list of system requirements and gives us the
option of downloading updates and third-party packages, such as audio codecs.
(Both updates and codecs are unselected by default.) We're then asked to
partition the disk and this is one of Ubuntu's strong points. The partitioning
section is very straight forward and nicely presented.
The installer supports
many file systems, including ext4, ext3, ext2, ReiserFS, BtrFS, JFS and XFS.
Once the disk is divided the way we want the installer begins formatting
partitions and
copying files in the background while we complete the rest of the steps. We
confirm our time zone, select our keyboard layout and create a new user account.
The option to encrypt our home directory and the ability to set auto-login are
given. The only complaint I had during the entire process came when installing
Kubuntu. Since I did both installs on release day I opted to not install updates
or third-party software, not wanting to be stuck fighting for bandwidth.
However, the Kubuntu installer decided to download additional language packs
and, when I hit the cancel button, my command was ignored. This extra download
doubled my install time when setting up Kubuntu.
Once the operating systems were installed I tried booting into both and found
they brought me to simple, attractive graphical login screens. From here the
end-user experiences differ quite a bit. Let's take a look at Ubuntu first.
Version 11.10 of Ubuntu is set up in such a way that it will use the
Unity
desktop, whether 3D graphics are supported or not. While this may upset GNOME
2.x users who enjoyed using the GNOME fall-back mode when Unity was introduced,
it makes for a consistent user interface independent of hardware and drivers.
(The GNOME fall-back environment is still available in the repositories.)
While I was put off by Unity six months ago, I have to admit the developers
have been doing good work with the environment. The layout hasn't changed, we're
given a thick quick-launch bar on the left-hand side of the screen. A menu bar
and system tray sit at the top of the display. The background is a combination
of purple and bright lights which brings to mind glossy grape jelly. The
quick-launch bar contains icons for commonly used software, including
LibreOffice,
Firefox, the settings manager, Ubuntu One and the Ubuntu Software Centre.
There's also a trash bin and a Dash button. Clicking the Dash button brings up a
full screen menu where we can click on application icons or search for items
using key words. Searching supports using both names and descriptions, so
hunting for "theme" or "appearance" will bring up the Appearance
configuration app. Once an application has been opened it is added to the side
bar where it can be pinned for fast access later. At a glance there doesn't
appear to be any way to add items to the side bar without first launching them.
In Ubuntu 11.10 I found the Unity experience to be smoother than it was at its
initial release. To the developers' credit there isn't any one thing I can point
to, but the whole experience flows together nicely and I found I could quickly
and intuitively find what I wanted. Unity is an interface which is very easy to
explore and, though it took me a while to get used to left-sided window buttons
and I never really warmed up to the provided themes, I found after twenty
minutes I was enjoying the experience. There were a few rough edges, little
inconsistencies, which annoyed me. The most obvious one is probably the
quick-launch bar. First of all, there doesn't appear to be any way to move it,
say to the bottom or right side of the screen. Nor could I find any way to
rearrange the icons. The icon placement becomes a problem when I'd
add or remove an icon and it would cause a large gap to appear, moving all my
existing icons to the top or bottom of the screen. This meant I sometimes had to
scroll up or down to click on icons when they could have all fit on one page had
they stuck together.
My other complaint was with the menu bar. Unity has a menu
bar at the top of the screen, similar to OS X, and most applications place their
main menu there instead of having the menu follow the window. On small screens
this shouldn't be a problem, but on large screens or multiple-monitor systems it
means the user needs to move over to a window, give it the focus and then move
to the upper-left of the desktop to access the application's menu. I probably
could
have grown accustomed to this if the behaviour was consistent, but it's not.
Some apps use the top bar menu and others, like LibreOffice, use the classic
behaviour of keeping the main menu in the application window. Having menu
behaviour change from one program to the next was definitely an annoyance.
What comes included in the Ubuntu Dash, formally known as the application menu?
We're given Firefox 7, LibreOffice 3.4.3, the Thunderbird email client (which
has replaced Evolution as the default email program), and the Banshee music
player. There's a document viewer, the Deja Dup backup utility and the Totem
multimedia player. The Transmission bittorrent client is included, along with a
system monitor, disc burner, and a few games. The usual collection of text
editor, archive manager and desktop calculator are included too. There's a
configuration centre for handling the look and feel of the interface, the Ubuntu
One cloud services client and an On-line Accounts manager. For handling software
we're given the Ubuntu Software Centre and an update manager (more on those in a
moment). Whether we have access to multimedia extras, like Flash and mp3 codecs,
will depend on our choices at install time. If we decided not to install these
extras up front they are available in the repositories. The GNU Compiler
Collection is included for developers and, behind the scenes, we find the 3.0
version of the Linux kernel.
Ubuntu 11.10 -- Unity settings
(full image size: 223kB, resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
In the previous paragraph I mentioned something called On-line Accounts,
which has been
talked about in other places. I fired it up and found
the Accounts manager currently supports Google accounts only. I don't have any
Google service accounts, so I can't comment on how effective this tool is. As I
understand it the software is going to help people keep their local information
synchronized with web-based services, such as Google Calendar and GMail.
This version of Ubuntu tries to blur the line between installed and available
software. When we search through the Dash we see software which is locally
installed and we see packages available in the repositories. This means we can
search for the word "image" and be presented with an image viewer, which is
already installed, and then, below that, we see an area which displays icons for
the GIMP and Gwenview. Clicking on one of the icons in the bottom section will
give us the option of installing and launching that package. A similar approach
is taken with codecs. If we attempt to play an audio or video file the media
player doesn't recognize we're given the option of installing the required
codec. The process is quite smooth and, assuming you're on a fast network
connection, it's a very convenient way of accessing new software.
While on the topic of adding software, let's take a look at the Ubuntu Software
Centre. The package manager has evolved a little in 11.10. The Software Centre
gives us the option of a few different views. We can see available software,
installed items, a list of recent changes made to the system and there is a
screen showing operations in progress. The package manger is laid out in such a
way that we can see software sorted by name, by category and by user ratings. We
can also perform searches for packages using key words. When we decide to add
or remove a package that action is added to a queue and the Software Centre
goes through the queue one action at a time, freeing us up to continue using the
package manager, or even closing it. I like that when we decide to install an
application the package manager gives us the option of adding it directly to the
quick-launch bar. Some packages also have optional add-ons. For instance, when I
installed the VLC multimedia player the Software Centre let me know I could also
install a VLC Mozilla plugin and corresponding documentation. I found using the
Software Centre to be a fast, easy way to managing software and I suspect new
users will feel quite at home with the interface. Upgrading software is handled
by a separate application. The package updater is pretty simple, just showing us
which updated items are available and allowing us to select which ones we want
to install.
Ubuntu 11.10 -- Software Centre
(full image size: 399kB, resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
While running Ubuntu I didn't make much use of their Ubuntu One cloud services
other than to confirm their file backup/sync feature works. There's also a music
store and a contact sync feature, but I didn't try them. The client end of
things looks a little nicer than it did last year and the services appear to be
bundled together nicely. I found it easy to upload, publish and share documents,
but otherwise I haven't explored Ubuntu One enough to comment on it.
On the graphical login screen users will find, aside from the user account we
created at install time, a guest account. The guest account is an account which
allows users to login without a password, edit documents, create or delete
folders, browse the web, etc. When the user logs out the account is reset back
to a pristine state.
This is a useful feature, especially if you have friends over who want to use
your computer. However, there is a down side: it's not trivial to remove the
guest account. The graphical user manager does not list the guest account and it
doesn't appear in the system password file. Searching through the Ubuntu help
forum I found removing the guest account requires editing a text file and
rebooting. Additionally I found it strange that the guest account can use the
primary user's password to install and remove software and perform other
administrative actions. Of course if the guest user knows the other user's
password they could just login as them, but I think it's a bad idea to let the
guest account elevate rights to administrator status at all.
* * * * *
Now let's shift over to the Kubuntu side of things. Logging into Kubuntu brings
up a KDE 4.7 desktop with a background that brings to mind rain drops falling on
a pond's surface. At the bottom of the screen are the application menu, task
switcher and notification area. At the bottom-left corner of the screen, next to
the application menu, is a button for switching KDE activities. This activities
button allows us to change the style of the desktop and the applications and
widgets on it. An aspect of this I enjoy is we're able to quickly switch between
a modern KDE desktop with widgets, a classic desktop with icons and a mobile
style desktop with search and a dynamic menu built right into the desktop. I
found this latest version of the KDE desktop feels more responsive than previous
versions. The desktop is also aware of its responsiveness, or lack of -- when I
tried Kubuntu in a virtual environment, KDE detected that it was becoming
sluggish and disabled desktop effects, improving performance.
Kubuntu 11.10 -- Changing settings
(full image size: 286kB, resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
Kubuntu comes with a different collection of programs than Ubuntu.
We're given the Rekonq web browser, KMail and the KTorrent bittorrent client.
LibreOffice is available, as are the Amarok music player and the k3b disc
burner. For videos, Dragon Player is included. There's a document viewer, image
viewer and KPPP for dial-up networking. There's the KDE System Settings panel
for managing the look and behaviour of the desktop and a virtual on-screen
keyboard. We're also given the usual combination of text editor, calculator and
archive manager. We're given two package managers, which we'll cover later. Like
Ubuntu, Kubuntu comes with the 3.0 Linux kernel, but, unlike Ubuntu, it does not
include the GNU
Compiler Collection by default.
Package management is handled a little differently on Kubuntu. The distribution
has two package managers, the Muon Package Manager and the Muon Software Centre.
The former is a pretty bare bones graphical software manager, which bears a
resemblance to KPackageKit. It's not particularly attractive, but it does allow
us to search for software and it performs add/remove functions adequately. The
Software Centre is similar to the Ubuntu Software Centre of a year or so ago. It
arranges software into categories and packages are displayed with an icon, name,
description and rating. Though not as glitzy and smooth as the Ubuntu Software
Centre, Muon does a fairly good job. As with Ubuntu, Kubuntu has a separate
update manager which displays available upgrades and allows us to select which
items we want to download.
Kubuntu 11.10 -- Activities and updating
(full image size: 321kB, resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
Kubuntu and Ubuntu handled the hardware of both my physical machines without any
problems. My desktop box (2.5GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM, NVIDIA card) worked very
smoothly, especially with the KDE environment. The 4.7 desktop is quite a bit
more responsive than previous versions of KDE, at least that's been my
experience when running Kubuntu and Chakra. Unity worked well on physical
hardware though I found the interface was quite sluggish when run in a virtual
environment. Unity fell back on using 2D settings smoothly, but there was a
surprisingly long delay between input and visual response. My HP laptop
(dual-core 2GHz CPU, 3GB of RAM, Intel video card) also worked well with the
latest Ubuntu (and Kubuntu) and I found my touchpad and Intel wireless card were
handled flawlessly. I was happy to discover Ubuntu is the first Linux
distribution to date that's been able to handle my Canon multi-purpose 480
printer/scanner without requiring third-party drivers.
Let's talk pros and cons for a second. As far as Ubuntu is concerned, I think
version 11.10 is a move in the right direction. Ubuntu often takes a few steps
forward and a few steps back with each release, a side effect of its
experimental nature. But in this case 11.10 feels like an evolution from 11.04,
rather than a revolution. Some little improvements have been made to Unity and,
though it still has some annoying flaws and inconsistencies, it's getting
better. I wish Unity had more configuration options, but I'm guessing the
audience Unity is targeting is made up of people who want to just use their
computer, not
configure
it. The environment is very easy to explore and, though I'm still not a fan of
mobile-style interfaces, I have to admit it's quite intuitive. The way Ubuntu
blurs the line between installed software and available software, displaying
both in the Dash, is a great feature and very convenient. Hardware support is
first rate, which is fairly common for Ubuntu, and it's nice to see that
continued in 11.10. The Ubuntu team has managed to promote the One service
without pushing it in our faces and the Software Centre is more attractive and
faster than in the past. I'm not crazy about the roundabout path needed to
disable the guest account, but I do think having it is a good feature. All in
all I think this is a strong showing for Ubuntu and I hope the upcoming LTS
release smooths out the remaining issues with Unity.
Kubuntu, oddly enough, seems to have opposite strengths and weaknesses. The KDE
desktop has reached maturity and is beautifully consistent and responsive.
Though perhaps not as newcomer friendly as Unity, KDE presented itself as a
stable environment which scales well from mobile devices up to multiple desktop
screens. Where Kubuntu tripped up was with package management. I found the
software manager would sometimes lock up if I tried to queue multiple actions.
When I went to play media files the system would offer to find required codecs
for me, but most of the time the codecs wouldn't install and I'd have to hunt
them down manually or try again later. I found this annoying
and I can only imagine how frustrating and confusing it would be to a novice
user. The Ubuntu One client didn't work on my Kubuntu system
out of the box. I opened an issue report for this with the Ubuntu One support
team and they quickly got back to me and helped me find a solution.
At the end of the week my impression is Ubuntu 11.10 offers a good,
newcomer-friendly distribution. It has a few issues, most of them minor, but it
really feels like a distribution I could put in front of someone who
considered themselves both a Linux and a computer "newbie" and they would
probably do well with it. The Kubuntu edition feels to be targeting power users
who want the convenience of Ubuntu, but who want to be able to configure their
interface. It's fast, easy to customize and, aside from a few issues with
package management and the annoying
Nepomuk pop-ups that
appear at
login, it's been a solid experience. The two editions compliment each other
well. Both install quickly, come with a good base of software (with over 30,000
additional packages in the Software Centre) and are easy to use. This is
probably the best release Ubuntu has put out in the past two years and I think
Kubuntu may become a permanent resident on my main machine.
|
| Miscellaneous News |
LibreOffice looks to expand to new platforms, routers running
FreeBSD, the new Qt Project and a talk with the father of SSL.
When we think about using office suites we usually don't envision using such
applications on our phones. However, the LibreOffice project wants to enable us
to do just that. A new project has been started which would port the office software to
mobile devices, specifically devices running the Android and iOS operating
systems. An effort is also in the works to run LibreOffice in a web browser
using the GTK+ library. A video of Michael Meeks (a SUSE developer) running the
productivity software in Firefox is available here.
* * * * *
Are you interested in running a custom operating system on your router? The BSD
Router Project is "an embedded free and open source router
distribution based on FreeBSD." The project, which has just
launched their first stable release, includes Bird and Quagga and is based on FreeBSD 8.2. The BSD
Router Project allows management over secure shell connections, supports a wide
range of protocols, and offers a DHCP server, monitoring tools, quality of
service settings and traffic shaping. A full list of features can be found on the
project's website.
* * * * *
A few weeks ago we talked about vulnerabilities
in the TLS/SSL protocols. An
attack, called the BEAST, has been shown to work against these security
protocols which are used to form secure connections with on-line retailers,
banks and other websites which require users to sign in. Though the attack is
roundabout, the wide
spread use of TLS/SSL has caused concern. Dr Taher Elgamal, one of the fathers
of SSL, recently talked with Network World and he had some interesting things to say
about security. The big concern, he points out, isn't that there is a weakness
in the security protocol, but "from a practical standpoint,
the real problem is you have to have malware on the machine. Honestly, if I can
put malware on your machine, I'm not going to be bothering with your SSL because
I can see all the data before it gets encrypted." He goes on to talk
about general solutions and problems faced when updating such wide spread
technology.
* * * * *
The Qt cross-platform framework for developing applications took a big step
last week into being a truly free and community run open source project. Qt,
which is owned by Nokia and which forms the base for KDE, is getting a new
home. Lars Knoll posted on the Qt Labs
blog, "I'm happy to announce that the Qt Project
officially went live today. Starting today, development of Qt will be governed
as a true open source project." He goes on to report Qt will be open to
any and all contributors, "All development will happen in
one central location, with access for everyone at the same time. No more
separate code flow for `Nokians vs others', and no more time delays! What you
see is what we see. Discussions, decisions and roadmapping will all happen in
the community, by the community, for the community." The new Qt Project means developers outside of Nokia,
such as KDE coders, should be able to get their patches into Qt in a timely
manner.
|
| Opinion (by Jesse
Smith) |
The missing "GNU/"
Home-of-the-free-land-of-the-source asks:
Perhaps free/libre will become more important as electronic devices
become more prevalent and interconnected. I've noticed almost no one, including
DistroWatch, uses "GNU/" in their titles, headings, etc. I was thinking it may
be possible for a newcomer to never be exposed to RMS and the FSF. While
sometimes these ideas seem a little out there, I think they are increasingly
relevant. Maybe DW could change a title or heading or two and add "GNU/" to
bring attention to the libre aspects of the Linux world?
Jesse Smith answers:
We certainly agree about the importance of free and open source software in the
current
electronic landscape. Computers are becoming increasingly complex and
increasingly mobile. Computers are, as you pointed out, becoming more
interconnected. And with this interconnectedness we're seeing more focus on
small, locked-down mobile devices and remote storage. As the day-to-day market
expands beyond the desktop & laptop I think we increasingly face the risks
involved in losing control of our data and control of our devices. I consider
this the popularity paradox. Free and open source software advocates want to
put technology into the hands of as many people as possible, empowering them,
and, now that much of the public has cheap and easy access to technology, we're
finding most of them aren't interested in libre software or in being
empowered.
I think it's important we, as FOSS fans and users, stand up for what we believe
in and that we do our best to educate those around us. Not so others make the
choices we want them to make, but so they make informed decisions whether we
agree with them or not. It's important we figure out which freedoms are
important to us and which one's we're willing to trade for convenience. And I
believe those of us who are familiar with libre software should do our
best to share our knowledge and our options with people who don't know about
them. The first steps on the road to freedom are choices and education.
With that in mind, dear readers, when someone you know is looking for office
software or a new web browser or is thinking of upgrading their computer, please
let them know about libre software you think might help them. Not to win
converts and not to increase the influence of your favourite free software, but
because it might be the best option for them.
Regarding the "GNU" prefix, that's something I try to avoid using. Just to be
clear, this is not a DistroWatch policy and it doesn't apply to other article
contributors, it's my personal preference. There are three reasons for this, the
first being that "GNU/Linux" looks and sounds awkward. When I write for
DistroWatch I try to bear in mind the diverse audience -- to many of our
readers English is not a primary language -- and that many of our readers are
either new to Linux or don't use it as a primary operating system (judging from
the page
hit stats). So I try to keep my writing simple and avoid using awkward terms
and abbreviations. To see what I mean, as an experiment, tell a group of people
you're using a great piece of software called "Ubuntu". Then tell another group
you're using "Ubuntu GNU/Linux LTS", the second group will probably think you've
gone crazy or you are speaking in Latin.
The second reason I usually don't use the term "GNU/Linux" is it's not required
in the context. If I say "Fedora is my favourite Linux distribution" people in
the open source community know I mean GNU/Linux and people outside of the
community don't know what GNU means, making it redundant. Likewise I don't say
"Mandriva is my favourite KDE/Qt/RPM/GNU/Linux distribution", it's not needed
because "Linux distribution" is enough context. When I will use the GNU prefix
is if there's chance of confusion. For instance, the Debian project maintains
various branches, like GNU/kFreeBSD. When talking about those editions, I'll use
the prefix to separate GNU/kFreeBSD from FreeBSD and GNU/Linux. Likewise when
talking about smart phones I'll use the term GNU/Linux to separate
desktop/server systems from Android.
Before getting to the final reason, I'd like to share some history with you.
Back when I was in college my classmates and I would share code and scripts. It
was a very open environment and, even though many of us weren't familiar with
the concepts of free and open source software, we practiced it among ourselves.
In my first year I created a download site and posted a bunch of code I had
written which I felt could be useful to my peers and to other people learning
programming. Shortly after the site went up I received an email from a GNU
advocate suggesting I take down the site and relicense all of my code from
public domain to GPL. The reason being that anyone could take my code and do
anything they wanted with it, including using it in school projects or closed
source programs. I replied back my code didn't have a license for exactly that
reason, I was giving it away to the world to use as people wanted. It was a
gift, no strings attached. This seemed to upset the advocate, who wanted
me to provide GPLed software or none at all.
I share this story with you to illustrate the last reason why I don't
promote GNU and the Free Software Foundation more often. We have overlapping,
but
different ideals. The FSF wants people to experience freedom as defined by the
FSF. They're not only for software freedom, they are
against non-free software options. As their website says,
"The FSF advocates for free software ideals as outlined in
the Free Software Definition, works for adoption of free software and free media
formats, and organizes activist campaigns against threats to user freedom like
Windows 7, Apple's iPhone and OS X, DRM on ebooks and movies, and software
patents." I want people to be able to do anything they want with their
computers and with the source code I release to the world. The FSF wants people
to use free software exclusively and to remove all other options. For the FSF,
it's a matter of ethics. As Richard Stallman put it,
"Writing non-free software is not an ethically legitimate
activity, so if people who do this run into trouble, that's good!" I
don't see FOSS as an ethical choice, rather as a practical one and I'm in
favour of a live and let live policy. If people want to use Flash or watch
movies on their computers, who am I to tell them it's wrong? I'm not saying one
view is correct and one is not, we just have different ideals.
|
| Released Last Week |
Sabayon Linux 7 "Core"
As the tradition dictates, every new Sabayon Linux
release is followed by several "Core" editions - "SpinBase", "CoreCDX",
"ServerBase" and "OpenVZ". They are built for more advanced Linux users who wish
to create their own custom systems. Features: "Representing the Sabayon base
system from where all the Sabayon releases are built on; bootable image suitable
for a CD or USB thumb drive; shipped with Linux Kernel 3.0; ext4 file system as
default, Btrfs, encrypted file system support; installable in less than 5
minutes; completely customizable system after install, thanks to Entropy package
sets it's possible to install GNOME, KDE, Xfce, E17...." Here is the full release announcement.
blackPanther OS 11.1
Charles Barcza has announced the release of blackPanther OS 11.1, a Mandriva-based Hungarian
distribution designed for use at school, home and work: "Charles Barcza from the
blackPanther OS developer team is pleased to announce the immediate availability
of blackPanther OS 11.1 'Darkness'. Here are some of the major improvements,
fixes and updates since beta: 10 official repositories with up to 10,000
packages are available; Firefox 6.x and XULRunner with NSS, NSP and dependent
packages; the install / live disc includes GIMP again (version 2.7.3); fixed all
reported bugs." Here is the brief release announcement with some screenshots (a similar announcement in
Hungarian is available here).
Kororaa Linux 15.1
Chris Smart has announced the release of an updated build of Kororaa Linux 15, a user-friendly distribution based on
Fedora: "The second release of Kororaa 15 has been released. Version 15.1 is
available for download in 32-bit and 64-bit variants with KDE 4.6 and GNOME 3.
This release includes a number of fixes and enhancements: fixed KDE crash in
live mode (prelink wasn't properly disabled); fixed Kdenlive bug which stopped
it from running; fixed KPackageKit crash in live mode; bypass the login screen
and load straight to desktop; disable screensaver and locked screen in live
mode; renamed desktop switcher to 'Switch between Shell and Fallback desktops';
added Google Talk plugin repository for easy installation; added a wrapper
package for Skype dependencies (can't ship Skype though); added more GNOME Shell
themes...." Read the rest of the release
announcement for a full list of major changes and a couple of
screenshots.
ZevenOS 2.0 (Neptune)
Leszek Lesner has announced the release of ZevenOS 2.0
"Neptune" edition, a Debian-based Linux distribution featuring the latest KDE
and LXDE desktops: "The ZevenOS team is pleased to announce ZevenOS Neptune 2.0.
This is the first version we ship in two editions - Minimal edition (with LXDE)
and Full edition (with KDE SC). Both ship with an updated and optimized Linux
kernel 3.0.4. Minimal edition includes PCManFM 0.9.8, DeaDBeeF 0.5.1,
GNOME-MPlayer 1.0.4, AbiWord 2.8.6, Iceweasel 7 and Icedove 5. Full edition
includes KDE Plasma Workspace 4.7.1, Chromium 14, Iceweasel 5, VLC 1.1.11,
Amarok 2.4.3, LibreOffice 3.4.3. Both editions are suitable for media playback
and ship with a full set of codecs as well as the Flash Player plugin (version
11). The Full Edition includes also media creation and editing software like
Audacity and Kdenlive." Read the rest of the release
announcement for more details.
Finnix 103
Ryan Finnie has announced the release of Finnix 103, a
Debian-based live CD for system administrators, now also with a new "forensic
mode": "Finnix 103 released. Finnix 103 includes a new forensic mode. When
booted with the 'forensic' or 'forensics' boot flags, Finnix changes its
behavior to minimize the chance of loading suspect code or writing to suspect
media. These changes include cryptographic hash verification of discovered
Finnix CD media, locking block devices, and avoiding swap, LVM, RAID, crypt and
network auto-detection. Entropy generation added. Modern Linux distributions add
to their random number generator (RNG) entropy pool by saving some random data
before shutdown, and adding it back into the pool during start-up. A live CD
cannot normally do this, so Finnix includes a new feature to generate random
data to be fed into the pool...." The release
announcement.
* * * * *
Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
|
| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
|
Summary of expected upcoming releases
|
| DistroWatch.com News |
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next
instalment will be published on Monday, 31 October 2011.
Jesse Smith
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • 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 | 
SaxenOS
SaxenOS was a lightweight Slackware and Zenwalk-based distribution with the Xfce desktop. It was designed for older, low-specification computers.
Status: Discontinued
|
| Tips, Tricks, Q&As | | Tips and tricks: Basename, for loop, dirname, aliases, bash history, xsel clipboard |
| Tips and tricks: (Xfce) interface woes |
| Tips and tricks: Gftp and Sftp - Like Peanut Butter and Jelly |
| Questions and answers: Switching file systems on the fly |
| Myths and misunderstandings: Can Netflix run on a Raspberry Pi? |
| Tips and tricks: Creating, removing, modifying, and ignoring aliases |
| Questions and answers: 32-bit vs 64-bit performance |
| Questions and answers: Limiting commands available through secure shell |
| Questions and answers: Seeking security in source code |
| More Tips & Tricks and Questions & Answers |
| TUXEDO |
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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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