 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 432, 21 November 2011 |
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Welcome to this year's 47th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! This week's feature story is a first-look review of ZevenOS 2.0 "Neptune" edition, a little known Linux distribution featuring the KDE desktop with a BeOS-like theme. Is it just a modified Debian with a BeOS face or is ZevenOS a project that could find its niche among certain users? See below to find out what we think. In the news section, users give the brand-new openSUSE 12.1 a warm welcome, Linux Mint founder reassures GNOME 2 fans about the project's continued support for a more "classic" desktop even after the switch to GNOME 3, and The H Open Source looks back at the Ubuntu project and wonders whether its current drive to establish itself on touchscreen devices is a smart move. Also in the same section we have links to two interesting interviews - Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth talks about the relationship between Ubuntu and Debian, while MINIX creator Andrew Tanenbaum regrets an old decision which prevented his operating system from taking over the world. Finally, we are pleased to announce that Haiku, an independently-developed open-source operating system inspired by BeOS, has now been listed on DistroWatch. Happy reading!
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
A first look at ZevenOS 2.0 "Neptune"
 There are few subjects in operating system circles which will trigger as much nostalgia as BeOS. The operating system, perhaps best known for its responsiveness, led a relatively rocky and sheltered life. Yet it lives on in the hearts and minds of many and has spawned a number of modern projects in homage. One such project is Haiku, another is ZevenOS. Today we're going to look at ZevenOS 2.0 "Neptune" edition, a modern Linux distribution which tries to recapture some of the BeOS spirit using Debian "Testing" as a base. According to the distribution's website, the project tries to be a BeOS style of Linux with a strong focus on performance and multimedia. At the time of writing there are several editions, a full KDE 4 edition, a LXDE-based minimal edition and a MATE (GNOME 2.x) edition. There's also a plain ZevenOS (without the "Neptune" suffix) which is based on Xubuntu. For my trial I decided to focus on the KDE edition of ZevenOS.
The download for the KDE ISO is approximately 1.3 GB in size. Booting off the ZevenOS "Neptune" DVD we're brought to a KDE 4 environment which is laid out in the classic desktop style. On the desktop we find icons for launching the installer and browsing the file system. There are two help files which explain the workings of the installer, one file is in English, the other in German. It is recommended that the hard disk be partitioned before launching the installer and, for this task, we're provided with a copy of GParted. I found running through the installer to be a quick process. On the first screen we set the root user's password and create a regular user account. Then we select which partition to use for the root file system. Next we tell the installer where to install the bootloader. Assuming we got our partitions in order ahead of time the rest of the process is pretty painless.
ZevenOS 2.0 "Neptune" - system installer and documentation
(full image size: 272kB, screen resolution 1366x768 pixels)
When we first boot into ZevenOS we're brought to a graphical login screen which is themed to look like a desktop window. The layout is quite clean and the buttons to select users, power off the machine and change session settings are large and colourful. Logging in brings us back to the KDE 4 environment. On the desktop are icons for accessing the project's forum, opening the disk manager, launching the package manager and browsing the file system. The background is a subtle project logo. At the bottom of the screen we find the application menu, quick-launch buttons for the web browser and e-mail client, the task switcher and system tray. When we open applications we're presented with windows that have BeOS-style decorations.
ZevenOS comes with a large collection of software and there is a little something for everybody. The Chromium web browser is included as is Icedove (Thunderbird). The Konqueror web browser is provided, we also find the Kopete instant messenger program, KTorrent and network monitoring tools. LibreOffice is available in the menu, there are remote desktop applications, the K3b disc burner and a document viewer. We find the VLC multimedia player, a simple desktop recorder and the Eclipse developer environment. The GIMP and KolourPaint are provided. For people concerned with their privacy, the TrueCrypt device encryption application is included. We're given a full range of multimedia codecs, the Flash browser plugin, Java and GCC. Behind the scenes we find the Linux kernel, version 3.0. Being based on Debian "Testing", ZevenOS users will have access to over 30,000 software packages along with smaller collections of software provided by the distribution's own repositories.
Software packages are handled by the graphical application called Muon Software Centre. It's a fairly friendly program which bears resemblance to older versions of Ubuntu's Software Centre or the Mint software manager. On the left side of the screen we can choose viewing available software or installed packages. On the right side of the screen we're shown software categories and, as we descend into more specific categories, we're shown packages. Each package has an install/remove button next to it and a "more info" button. Clicking on the "more info" button presents to us a screen with detailed information about the selected package. Software packages are also given a rating out of five stars, helping users pick more popular (and hopefully more useful) software. When we click the install/remove button the package manager queues the action and leaves us to continue browsing the repositories. My only complaint about Muon Software Centre is the lack of progress reporting when multiple actions are queued. We can watch individual packages download and install, but there doesn't appear to be any way to watch and cancel pending events.
ZevenOS 2.0 "Neptune" - package manager
(full image size: 178kB, screen resolution 1366x768 pixels)
Besides the Muon Software Centre, there is also the Muon Package Manager. This graphical program performs similar functions and has a similar layout to the Software Centre. The big difference I found was the Muon Package Manager, along with its slightly more cluttered interface, includes the ability to upgrade packages. In fact, aside from opening a console and using the apt-get command line program, this second package manager seems to be the only option for applying security updates. I did not find any dedicated update manager or update notification applet.
I tried ZevenOS on two machines, my HP laptop (dual-core 2 GHz CPU, 3 GB of RAM, Intel video card) and a generic desktop box (2.5 GHz CPU, 2 GB of RAM, NVIDIA video card). ZevenOS worked quite smoothly on the desktop machine. The screen was set to its maximum resolution, the interface was responsive, boot times were reasonable and sound worked out of the box. On the laptop the experience was similarly trouble-free. My Intel wireless card worked without any effort on my part, sound worked out of the box, my screen was set to an appropriate resolution and my touchpad worked as expected. Desktop responsiveness was above average for a KDE distribution on both machines.
ZevenOS 2.0 "Neptune" - browsing the project's website
(full image size: 142kB, screen resolution 1366x768 pixels)
So far my experience with ZevenOS 2.0 "Neptune" has been fairly uneventful. The distribution takes Debian's "Testing" repository, adds some packages, some custom repositories and hardware support, making for a smooth end-user experience. The installer doesn't have a lot of options, but it worked well enough on my equipment. The DVD comes with a good collection of software, covering a wide range of categories and the multimedia experience out of the box is solid. I'm still not won over by the Muon software handling tools. The Software Centre, while friendly, feels limited and the package manager's interface is a bit cluttered. Both tools I found to be a little sluggish, but they worked without any errors during my trial. Performance was about what I'd expect from a modern KDE desktop: good, but not amazing. For users trying the distribution there may be some concern with the heavy flow of package updates from Debian "Testing", but during my trial it didn't cause any problems. All in all the Zeven 2.0 "Neptune" edition has worked well for me and it presents a nice KDE desktop on top of Debian "Testing".
Aside from the window decorations I don't see any connection between this project and BeOS. One could get the same effect by taking a distro like SimplyMEPIS and changing the desktop theme. It's tempting to write off ZevenOS as just another Debian derivative with a different collection of artwork, but I'm not sure that's a fair evaluation. ZevenOS 2.0 "Neptune" doesn't just have nice artwork, but a good collection of programs and easy-to-access documentation. It does a good job of being user-friendly while staying out of the way -- desktop effects, for example, were not in evidence. ZevenOS may not be in the same class as some other Debian-based distros, such as Linux Mint "Debian" edition or SimplyMEPIS, but it's not doing badly for such a young project. Hopefully the developers will expand on the installer and add a dedicated update utility for future releases. If you're already happily using a Debian-based distro I don't think there is anything here to win over hearts and minds. On the other hand, new users, especially those seeking a distribution with a German-focused forum, may find what they're looking for in ZevenOS.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Ladislav Bodnar) |
openSUSE 12.1 feedback, Linux Mint's GNOME dilemma, Ubuntu health check, interviews with Mark Shuttleworth and Andrew Tanenbaum
 The long-awaited openSUSE 12.1 was released last week. Although it will take a while before the first in-depth reviews start appearing on Linux websites, it seems that the first impressions of the new openSUSE have been largely positive. Andreas Jaeger has summarised some of them in "openSUSE 12.1 Launch Feedback": "Looking over twitter messages directed to our @openSUSE account, here are just a few comments about openSUSE 12.1: 'Really impressed (I'm not impressed easily) with all of the added configuration and customization openSUSE 12.1 brings.' 'Hats off to the openSUSE folks - 12.1 is a solid release'. 'I've just upgraded my main workstation, everything looks so polished and well done!' Reviews by journalists included praise like: 'All in all, this looks like one of the most exciting openSUSE releases in some time.'" The author also provides some interesting statistical summary, noting, for example, over 93,000 downloads during the first 24 hours after launch. It's interesting to see that 47% of them were downloads of the various 64-bit editions, while by far the most popular medium to download was the installation DVD (rather than the KDE or GNOME live CDs). For German-speaking users a traditional boxed edition with documentation will be made available shortly: "Open Source Press is producing a German openSUSE 12.1 box which will be available soon, this retail edition is a version of openSUSE with a complete printed end-user manual, installation media, lots of vouchers and more."
* * * * *
 Perhaps the most awaited upcoming distribution release is Linux Mint 12, the first release candidate of which has been out for over a week. However, the new stable Mint is likely to arrive with a much more noticeable delay than the project's previous releases, while the testing periods are also expected to last longer. The reason is, of course, the new GNOME 3 desktop which requires substantial "mintification", as well as the integration of the as-yet-little-tested GNOME 2 fork called MATE. And although the work is progressing fast, Clement Lefebvre has detected some apprehension among those Linux Mint users who do not wish to switch to GNOME 3: "I understand the fact that some GNOME 2 users are extremely concerned. Whether it's GNOME 3 or MATE, these technologies are recent and they're not as mature as GNOME 2. It's important to understand that they represent our future though, and that sticking to GNOME 2 would make the situation in terms of packages and runtime conflicts with both GNOME 3 and Ubuntu completely unmanageable. In other words, if we were to stick to GNOME 2.32, Linux Mint would no longer be compatible with Ubuntu and you would not be able to run GNOME 3 in Linux Mint. We were one of the last distributions to support GNOME 2, we're amongst the very few to support MATE and we're innovating on GNOME 3 to ease this transition and make people feel at home on this new desktop."
* * * * *
 Ubuntu's determination to establish itself as a viable operating system on touchscreen devices has left many desktop users wondering about the distribution's future on their computers. Richard Hillesley from The H Open Source has written an excellent article summarising the evolution of the project, starting with a tentative approach to improve Debian for desktop use and now reaching a state where the goal is to provide a simplified user interface that would work across multiple devices. But will this gamble pay off? From "HealthCheck Ubuntu - The search for unity": "The issue for existing users is whether the minimalistic demands of a netbook or smartphone interface, which may use a keyboard, a click or a touchscreen, are equal to the demands of a conventional desktop user with a different set of priorities. ... Shuttleworth's gamble is that users will change their minds as they gain familiarity, that Unity will gain traction as a universal interface, scalable across all devices, and that it will be as attractive to a certain class of user as Apple claims to be. Only time will tell whether Oneiric Ocelot, and the advent of Unity as the only choice for the Ubuntu desktop, marked the moment when Ubuntu began to scale the heights of universal acceptability, or fell back to earth with a bump."
* * * * *
  In the meantime Debian developer Raphaël Hertzog reminds us that Mark Shuttleworth (pictured on the right) is not just the Ubuntu founder and developer, he is a Debian developer too. Here is a brief extract from an interesting interview entitled "People Behind Debian: Mark Shuttleworth": "Many people are starting to understand this: Ubuntu is Debian's arrow, Debian is Ubuntu's bow. Neither instrument is particularly useful on its own, except in a museum of anthropology ;) So the worst and most frustrating attitude comes from those who think Debian and Ubuntu compete. If you care about Debian, and want it to compete on every level with Ubuntu, you are going to be rather miserable; you will want Debian to lose some of its best qualities and change some of its most important practices. However, if you see the Ubuntu-Debian ecosystem as a coherent whole, you will celebrate the strengths and accomplishments of both, and more importantly, work to make Debian a better Debian and Ubuntu a better Ubuntu, as opposed to wishing Ubuntu was more like Debian and vice versa."
* * * * *
  Finally, a quick link to another excellent interview. This one is with a well-known and highly respected computer science personality who doesn't often talk to media - Professor Andrew Tanenbaum, the creator of the MINIX operating system. Although MINIX has been around since 1987, its use is still largely confined to universities and computer laboratories. So why is it so and why isn't MINIX one of dominant operating systems in the world today? "The reason MINIX 3 didn't dominate the world has to do with one mistake I made about 1992. At that time I thought BSD was going to take over the world. It was a mature and stable system. I didn't see any point in competing with it, so I focused MINIX on education. Four of the BSD guys had just formed a company to sell BSD commercially. They even had a nice phone number: 1-800-ITS-UNIX. That phone number did them and me in. AT&T sued them over the phone number and the lawsuit took 3 years to settle. That was precisely the period Linux was launched and BSD was frozen due to the lawsuit. By the time it was settled, Linux had taken off. My mistake was not to realize the lawsuit would take so long and cripple BSD. If AT&T had not brought suit (or better yet, bought BSDI), Linux would never have become popular at all and BSD would dominate the world."
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
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File systems for USB flash drives
Files-to-go asks: What is the best open-source file system for a USB flash drive?
DistroWatch answers: Assuming you're running a Linux distribution you'll find all the file systems available to you are implemented using open-source software. Even technologies like NTFS, which started its life as proprietary technology, have been re-implemented under open-source licenses. So rather than concern ourselves with the specific license involved I think it's best to focus on compatibility vs capabilities.
If you're planning to access your flash drive from a variety of computers and operating systems the best file system choice is probably FAT. While not impressive in its capabilities, FAT is widely supported and most operating systems can both read and write to FAT partitions. The next option down my list would be NTFS. Linux supports reading and writing to NTFS, it's well supported in big name, closed-source operating systems and the BSDs can read (though typically not write to) NTFS.
On the other hand, if you're accessing your flash drive on Linux systems only, then you can look at file systems with better performance and capabilities. The ext3 file system is solid, well tested and supported across distributions. It also has the benefit of having a journal, providing a little protection for your mobile data.
* * * * *
This week's Q&A was short, so I would like to share something else with you. Do you ever find yourself on the command line and suddenly wondering how many files are in a directory and how much space they use in total? Do you find yourself opening a graphical file manager, browsing to the directory in question, right-clicking on the folder and looking up the properties of the folder to see the disk usage and file count? I used to do that and I quickly got tried of it and wrote a small script which would provide the information for me.
The following script will search through the current directory (and sub-directories) looking for files. It keeps a running total of the size of the files and the number of files it finds. In case you are interested in a different directory, the script will accept the name of a directory as its one argument. The script, written for the tcsh interpreter, is as follows.
#!/bin/tcsh
# usage: treesize (This prints the space used by the current dir tree.)
# usage: treesize /home/myhome (Print space used by myhome tree.)
if (${#argv} == 1) then
set target=$argv[1]
else
set target=`pwd`
endif
echo -n Space used by ${target}:
find "${target}" -name "*" -type f -printf "%s\n"| awk 'BEGIN{total=0}; {total+=$1}; END{printf(" %d\nFiles: %d\n", total, NR)}'
Saving the above script to a file in your user's path will allow you to quickly find out how many files are in a directory tree and how much space they consume.
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| Released Last Week |
openSUSE 12.1
openSUSE 12.1, a brand-new version of one of the oldest and most prominent Linux distributions on the market, has been released: "Time to present to you openSUSE 12.1. This release represents more than eight months of work by our international community and brings you the best free software has to offer. Awesome improvements include the latest GNOME 3.2 desktop as well as the newest from KDE, Xfce and LXDE; your own Cloud made easy with mirall; Snapper-shots of your file system. openSUSE 12.1 comes with the new GNOME Shell 3.2. We presented you with a taste of GNOME Shell on openSUSE 11.4; since then, many bugs have been squashed and numerous small improvements have made life on the Shell more comfortable." See the release announcement and release notes for further information.
openSUSE 12.1 - the KDE edition featuring KDE 4.7.2
(full image size: 479kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
Incognito Live System 0.9
A new version of Incognito Live System (also known as "Tails"), a Debian-based live distribution with the goal of providing complete Internet anonymity for the user, has been released: "The Amnesic Incognito Live System, version 0.9, is out. Notable user-visible changes include: Tor upgrade to 0.2.2.34, this fixes CVE-2011-2768 and CVE-2011-2769 which prompted for manual updates for users of Tails 0.8.1; suppress Tor's warning about applications doing their own DNS lookups; Linux 3.0.0-6, which fixed a great number of bugs and security issues; upgrade Iceweasel to 3.5.16-11; Torbutton upgrade to 1.4.4.1-1, including support for the in-browser 'New identity' feature; FireGPG upgrade to 0.8-1+tails2, users are notified that the FireGPG Text Editor is the only safe place for performing cryptographic operations and these operations have been disabled in other places." Read the rest of the release announcement for a complete changelog.
IPCop 2.0.2
A bug-fix update of IPCop, a specialist Linux distribution for firewalls designed primarily for home and SOHO users, was released yesterday: "IPCop 2.0.2 is released. Version 2.0.2 can be installed using the installation images or as an update from version 2.0.1. You need to reboot to use the new kernel after upgrading to 2.0.2. In addition to a few updates to software used in IPCop, version 2.0.2 fixes creating CA certificate which did not correctly work in 2.0.1. Noteworthy: the GUI uses 8443 instead of 445; SSH uses 8022 instead of 222; access to IPCop and to the Internet from internal networks (aka Green, Blue, Orange) is very much different - spend some time with the various options you will find under 'Firewall Settings' and the online admin manual; several translations are complete, other languages are work in progress; backups from 1.4 series can not be used; add-ons made for the 1.4 series will not work." Here is the full release announcement with relevant links.
Puppy Linux 5.2.2 "Wary", "Racy"
Barry Kauler has announced the release of Puppy Linux 5.2.2 "Wary" edition, a bug-fix update of the project's mini-distribution designed to run efficiently on older and low-resource hardware: "I am pleased to announce the release of Wary Puppy version 5.2.2, our build of Puppy Linux that targets older hardware. This is a minor upgrade and bug-fix release of Wary 5.2. Although if you look in the release notes you will might not think it so 'minor'. This is also the début of Racy Puppy, which we think of as 'Wary on steroids'. Racy enhances Wary to run on recent hardware, with X.Org 7.6 and 3.0.7 Linux kernel. Here are the release notes specific to the Wary and Racy builds: GTK+ 2.24.8, fixed slow drop-down lists and SM insert-key crash; new applications: Planner project manager; Wary is built with 2.6.32.45 uniprocessor kernel, Racy with 3.0.7 multiprocessor PAE kernel...." Read the release announcement and release notes for further details.
Tiny Core Linux 4.1
Robert Shingledecker has released Tiny Core Linux 4.1, a mini-distribution featuring the flwm window manager with a custom package manager and configuration utilities: "Team Tiny Core is proud to announce the release of Tiny Core and Micro Core 4.1. Change log: updated pcmciautils 018, sudo 1.7.7, FreeType 2.4.7, imlib2 1.4.5, libpng 1.2.46, BusyBox 1.19.3; updated tc-config new boot code pretce for raid and LVM support; updated tc-config dropped default TZ=UTC as such default (UTC) is embedded with no need to set TCZ; updated tc-config for better detection of /dev/rtc and handling of loadcpufreq; updated tc-config for microcore without X; updated tce-setdrive improved error handling; updated tc-terminal-server for new kernel; updated ab, fixed OnDemand bug; updated mnttool, added -g option for user defined initial position when used in .xsession...." Read the rest of the release announcement for a detailed technical changelog.
* * * * *
Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| DistroWatch.com News |
New distributions added to database
- Haiku. Haiku is an open-source operating system, currently in development, that specifically targets personal computing. Inspired by the Be Operating System (BeOS), Haiku aims to become a fast, efficient, simple to use, easy to learn and yet very powerful system for computer users of all levels. The key highlights that distinguish Haiku from other operating systems include: specific focus on personal computing, custom kernel designed for responsiveness, fully threaded design for great efficiency with multi-processor/core CPUs, rich object-oriented API for faster development, database-like file system (BFS) with support for indexed metadata, and unified, cohesive interface.
Haiku R1 Alpha 3 - an open-source operating system inspired by BeOS
(full image size: 65kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
- Liquid Lemur Linux. Liquid Lemur Linux is a desktop Linux distribution based on Debian's testing branch. It comes in two editions - the default one featuring the Xfce desktop environment, while the alternative comes with the WindowMaker window manager. Other features include a customized Cairo-Dock, the Liquorix kernel and Debian kernel options, including support for older PCs via the i486 kernels, and lots of custom scripts and artwork.
Liquid Lemur Linux RC1 - a Debian-based distribution with a customised Xfce or WindowMaker
(full image size: 331kB, screen resolution 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * *
New distributions added to waiting list
- SmartOS. SmartOS is an OpenIndiana-based operating system for servers, incorporating Zones, ZFS, DTrace and KVM into a single unit.
* * * * *
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 28 November 2011.
Jesse Smith and Ladislav Bodnar
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland |
| • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion |
| • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 |
| • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language |
| • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver |
| • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack |
| • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu |
| • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes |
| • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 |
| • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates |
| • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack |
| • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued |
| • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu |
| • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME |
| • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support |
| • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels |
| • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media |
| • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report |
| • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories |
| • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools |
| • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support |
| • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository |
| • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release |
| • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued |
| • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life |
| • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage |
| • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor |
| • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating |
| • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 |
| • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication |
| • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots |
| • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager |
| • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland |
| • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs |
| • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure |
| • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii |
| • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian |
| • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support |
| • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE |
| • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability |
| • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi |
| • Issue 1113 (2025-03-17): MocaccinoOS 1.8.1, how to contribute to open source, Murena extends on-line installer, Garuda tests COSMIC edition, Ubuntu to replace coreutils with Rust alternatives, Chimera Linux drops RISC-V builds |
| • Issue 1112 (2025-03-10): Solus 4.7, distros which work with Secure Boot, UBports publishes bug fix, postmarketOS considers a new name, Debian running on Android |
| • Issue 1111 (2025-03-03): Orbitiny 0.01, the effect of Ubuntu Core Desktop, Gentoo offers disk images, elementary OS invites feature ideas, FreeBSD starts PinePhone Pro port, Mint warns of upcoming Firefox issue |
| • Issue 1110 (2025-02-24): iodeOS 6.0, learning to program, Arch retiring old repositories, openSUSE makes progress on reproducible builds, Fedora is getting more serious about open hardware, Tails changes its install instructions to offer better privacy, Murena's de-Googled tablet goes on sale |
| • Issue 1109 (2025-02-17): Rhino Linux 2025.1, MX Linux 23.5 with Xfce 4.20, replacing X.Org tools with Wayland tools, GhostBSD moving its base to FreeBSD -RELEASE, Redox stabilizes its ABI, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi changing its leadership, OBS in dispute with Fedora |
| • Issue 1108 (2025-02-10): Serpent OS 0.24.6, Aurora, sharing swap between distros, Peppermint tries Void base, GTK removinglegacy technologies, Red Hat plans more AI tools for Fedora, TrueNAS merges its editions |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
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Bicom Systems SERVERware
Bicom Systems' SERVERware is a commercial, Gentoo-based, purpose-built virtualization platform designed specifically for telephony and cloud-based Unified Communications (UC) environments. Its goal is to deliver high performance, reliability and scalability in a modern, intuitive user interface. The distribution's main features include built-in data integrity and resilience, geo-redundancy for disaster preparedness, user-friendly management, and support for modern virtualization technologies. Bicom SERVERware can be used as a standalone server, as a mirror for enhanced redundancy via real-time mirrored storage, or as a cluster.
Status: Active
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TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
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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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