 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 940, 25 October 2021 |
Welcome to this year's 42nd issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
The Ubuntu distribution is widely used and acts as the basis for dozens of other projects. This means each Ubuntu release sends ripples of activity and change through the Linux community. This week we begin with a look at the project's latest version, Ubuntu 21.10. Joshua Allen Holm offers insights into the new version and its increased focus on Snap packages. In our News section we talk about plans for the next version of Ubuntu, 22.04, which will be a long-term support release. We also talk about ReactOS (and other open source projects) receiving donations in celebration of Linux's 30th anniversary, and talk about a new upgrade tool from AlmaLinux OS. Plus we talk about locking down third-party software such as Steam in our Questions and Answers section and explore how to block outgoing traffic using a simple firewall rule. We're also pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. Finally, we share some links to the upcoming PinePhone Pro, an open hardware, mobile device. Is the PinePhone Pro a device you are interested in getting? Let us know in this week's Opinion Poll. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: Ubuntu 21.10
- News: Ubuntu plans features for 22.04, ReactOS receives large Linux-themed donation, AlmaLinux launches ELevate
- Questions and answers: Running Steam safely and enabling a firewall
- Released last week: MX Linux 21, Porteus Kiosk 5.3.0, Redcore Linux 2102
- Torrent corner: KDE neon, MX Linux, NuTyX, Porteus Kiosk, Redcore, Regata, ROSA, Volumio
- Upcoming releases: FreeBSD 12.3-BETA2
- Opinion poll: Upcoming PinePhone Pro
- New distributions: CloudNeedle OS, XOS Workstation, Chimera Linux
- Reader comments
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (13MB) and MP3 (10MB) formats.
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| Feature Story (by Joshua Allen Holm) |
Ubuntu 21.10
Ubuntu 21.10 (code name Impish Indri) and its many variant flavors were released on October 14. This release is a non-Long Term Support release, meaning it will be supported for nine months. Like all new releases of Ubuntu, Ubuntu 21.10 comes with numerous updates and enhancements. The most notable of these changes are the customized GNOME 40 desktop and Firefox being a Snap instead of a Deb package. Both of these changes are explored in depth in this review.
Installing Ubuntu 21.10
I began by downloading the 2.9GB ISO and copying it to a flash drive. Booting the computer from the flash drive resulted in an extremely familiar experience. Unfortunately, the new installer currently being worked on did not make it into this release, so Ubuntu 21.10 still provides the same installation experience as all the recent releases of Ubuntu.
Ubuntu 21.10 -- The Ubiquity installer
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The Ubiquity installer starts by providing a choice between trying and installing Ubuntu. The try option exits the installer and brings up a live desktop environment. The install option, as one would expect, begins the installation process. I knew I was going to explore Ubuntu in depth after installing, so I skipped the live desktop experience and went right to installation.
The installation was the usual process of selecting a language and keyboard layout, picking between a minimal and standard install, deciding to install Ubuntu using the entire disk or some other partition scheme, setting time zone location, and creating a new user. The process was exactly like one would expect when installing most Linux distributions. Even if the new installer had been included, I doubt the process would have changed significantly. Basically, Ubuntu's installation process is well thought out set of steps that makes installing Ubuntu pretty straightforward.
GNOME 40
Ubuntu 21.10 comes with a customized version of GNOME 40 as its desktop environment. A small subset of the GNOME applications are from GNOME 41. This is similar to what happened with the previous Ubuntu release, which used GNOME 3.38 with some GNOME 40 applications. Some other distributions offer a full GNOME 41 experience, so hopefully Ubuntu being one GNOME release behind does not become a permanent trend. Shipping GNOME 40 instead of 41 does not impact the desktop experience too much, but it would have been nice to have all the nice new features.
Ubuntu's customized GNOME experience adopts many of GNOME 40's workflow changes, but continues to use a permanent dock on the left side of the screen. This dock has been upgraded from the previous Ubuntu release and now features a Trash icon on the dock and a line that separates the pinned favorite applications from other applications that are running. Removable media also shows up in the dock in the section below the line separator.
Ubuntu 21.10 -- The application list
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Overall, the new GNOME 40-based desktop is very nice. The three finger swipe touchpad gestures to bring up the Activities overview, applications list, and switch between virtual desktops is handy. However, there are some drawbacks that I find frustrating. The keyboard command for bringing up the Activities overview is the Super key, but the keyboard command for bring up the applications list is a quick double press of the Super key. Having a quick double press of a keyboard key as a shortcut just seems odd to me. I get the double tap timing right at least 90% of the time, but every so often my double tap is just not quick enough. Pressing Super once inside the Activities overview brings the desktop back to the original state instead of going another layer into the "desktop -> Activities overview -> application list" workflow, so getting the timing right on the double tap is crucial to get to the right place on the first try. There are other ways to get the application list, but this still strikes me as a workflow that would frustrate people. The touchpad swipe method of accessing the same screens is much clearer.
There are also a couple major frustrations with the way the applications list works. The first is fact that any application pinned to the dock does not appear in the full list of applications. My personal selection of favorites includes a subset of the LibreOffice applications, but not all of them. If I change my mind about what I want to work on (e.g., I decide I want to type an outline in LibreOffice Writer instead of making a presentation in LibreOffice Impress), the relevant icons are in two different spots. Under earlier GNOME releases, if I was using the full application list to get to the application I wanted, I would find every single one of them in alphabetical order, even if they were also in the dock. Now some of my applications are missing. Thankfully, they all show up when searching, but I do not understand how making favorite applications not appear in the full list is an improvement. This also leads me to one other issue: the applications are no longer in alphabetical order, even after using gsettings to reset the app-picker-layout. The first row of applications in the overview starts with Videos, Text Editor, Settings, the Utilities group, and Cheese, before it starts listing applications in alphabetical order. Even worse, this is not always consistent. I have seen Videos appear between Inkscape and Jupyter Notebook, Settings between LibreOffice and LibreOffice Base, and so forth. Even within the same login session, I will see both the Videos-first layout and the alternate order. Nothing I can do, short of manually dragging everything into alphabetical order, will correctly sort my applications list.
Default software selection
Nothing has really changed with the software selection in this release of Ubuntu. It features the newest versions of the standard applications that Ubuntu has shipped in all recent releases. The Linux kernel is version 5.13. The various GNOME applications and utilities are a mixture of GNOME 40 and 41 versions. LibreOffice is version 7.2. Thunderbird is version 91. Firefox is version 93, but is packaged as a Snap.
Firefox as a Snap
Switching Firefox to being a Snap is a change that attracted a lot of attention. Snaps have a reputation of being slow to start and not always playing well with other applications. Both of those problems are very real and cause for genuine concern, so how bad is Firefox as a Snap? Honestly, it is not nearly as bad as I expected. The startup time is a little slow, but most of the issues I had with Firefox were minor.
Ubuntu 21.10 -- Firefox's Snap permissions
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The negative issues with Firefox were mostly small annoyances. Ubuntu 21.10 switched to using an all dark or all light application theme, but Firefox (along with Ubuntu Software and a few other Snap applications I installed) still uses the dark header with light window theme that was used in the previous version of Ubuntu. Other annoyances include having a firefox.tmp folder in ~/Downloads that does not get deleted even when empty and the fact that the Download Files dialog box lists "System Handler" instead of the name of the actual application under the Open option. Everything opens with the correct application, but there is no way of knowing what that application will be until it launches. PDFs open in Document Viewer and LibreOffice documents open in the correct application (in read-only mode), but it would be nice to know what application would be launched before it starts up.
Ubuntu 21.10 -- Opening a link in Visual Studio Code
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Other than the issues listed above, Firefox integrated nicely with the system. I could open links from most applications and have them open in a new tab in an already running Firefox instance. If Firefox was not already running, clicking a link in an application would launch Firefox with my default profile, not a generic one. With one exception, I could open links correctly in Deb-based applications, Snaps, and Flatpaks. That one exception was the Visual Studio Code Snap, which would result in an error message that "Firefox is already running, but is not responding." I had to close Firefox entirely before clicking on any link in Visual Studio Code. This let Visual Studio Code open Firefox using my default profile, but having to constantly exit Firefox to open links was a pain. The Deb version of Visual Studio Code does not have this same problem, nor does any other Snap I tried, that includes both Snaps in Classic mode (which is what Visual Studio Code uses) and more confined Snaps.
Installing additional software
If the default selection of software is not enough, there are plenty of other applications available in Ubuntu's repositories and via Snaps. The graphical application for installing additional software is Ubuntu Software, a tweaked version of GNOME Software. Ubuntu Software favors Snaps over Deb packages and is a Snap itself. (Despite the preference for Snaps, Firefox and Ubuntu Software are the only two Snap applications installed by default.) From the command line, the apt and dpkg commands are available for installing additional Deb packages, and the snap command is there to install additional Snaps. While not pre-installed, Ubuntu 21.10 works just fine with Flatpak, so installing flatpak using apt and adding the flathub.org repository makes even more applications available.
Ubuntu 21.10 -- The Ubuntu Software application
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Final thoughts
While not perfect, Ubuntu 21.10 is another solid Ubuntu release. Users who only use the Long Term Support releases will not miss much by waiting another six months for Ubuntu 22.04, but I have been very happy with each of the short term support releases that have come out since Ubuntu 20.04. This release was no exception. There are some issues that I noted above, but Ubuntu 21.10 does everything well enough. Ubuntu remains a great distribution for users who want something straightforward and relatively easy to use. Ubuntu might not be the distribution of choice for power users who fiddle with their systems constantly because that is what they enjoy doing, but for users who just want their computer to run so they can do things, Ubuntu remains one of the best choices out there. So if the nine month support window of a short term release works for you, try out Ubuntu 21.10.
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Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was an ASUS VivoBook E406MA laptop with the following specifications:
- Processor: Intel Pentium Silver N5000 CPU
- Storage: 64GB eMMC
- Memory: 4GB of RAM
- Networking: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
- Display: Intel UHD Graphics 605
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Visitor supplied rating
Ubuntu has a visitor supplied average rating of: 7.7/10 from 298 review(s).
Have you used Ubuntu? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Ubuntu plans features for 22.04, ReactOS receives large Linux-themed donation, AlmaLinux launches ELevate
Steve Langasek has announced plans for the next version of Ubuntu. Version 22.04 will be a long-term support (LTS) release that will feature OpenSSL 3.0, and an updated version of Python 3. The project has also published a release schedule for testing and the final launch of 22.04 in April of 2022. "We have opened the archive with Python 3.10 as supported, and there are a good number of packages in jammy-proposed that need fixing for this addition. And as discussed, we will be transitioning to OpenSSL 3.0 this cycle."
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In an amusing turn of events, a donation program which celebrated the 30th anniversary of Linux has ended up making its largest donation to the ReactOS project. ReactOS is an open source operating system which strives to be binary compatible with Microsoft Windows. It notably does not run the Linux kernel. However, ReactOS did receive the lion's share of the votes for donations, resulting in the project receiving nearly 2,000 Euros. The KDE and LibreOffice projects were two other big names to make the list, along with Haiku, another open source operating system which does not feature the Linux kernel.
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The AlmaLinux OS team have unveiled a new tool for upgrading Enterprise Linux systems. The new tool, which is called ELevate, can be used to upgrade Red Hat Enterprise Linux clones in place from version 7 to version 8. The ELevate tool is designed to work on all Enterprise Linux clones, not just AlmaLinux OS. "ELevate is a project aimed to provide the ability to migrate between major versions of RHEL-based distributions from 7.x to 8.x. It combines Red Hat's Leapp framework with a community created library and service for the migration metadata set required for it."
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These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Running Steam safely and enabling a firewall
Gaming-safely asks: I want to run Steam games on my Linux system, but I'm worried about running closed source stuff. Is there some way I can run Steam contained so that it can't harm my system?
DistroWatch answers: Yes, there is. The Steam software can be run inside an environment called a sandbox. The sandbox allows the software to do whatever it wants, within a confined part of your filesystem. Adjusting the sandbox controls gives you the ability to determine whether the program (Steam in this case) can access the Internet, write files to your home directory, and from which directories it can read data.
One of the easiest sandbox tools to use is called Firejail. Once Firejail is installed you can usually sandbox Steam by simply running the command "firejail steam". I've written about using Firejail before if you'd like some tips on how to get started using this sandbox tool.
Alternatively you may wish to install Steam using its Flatpak package. Flatpak optionally allows for some sandboxing and it may be enough to suit your purposes. You can see the way the Flatpak environment is set up for Steam by reading its configuration file. While Flatpak is probably the easier of the two options to set up, it seems as though Proton (the software compatibility layer which allows Linux players to run Windows Steam games) may not work when running Steam in a Flatpak sandbox.
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Shut-it-all-down asks: Since I only use my computer for web browsing and some desktop applications I don't need to allow any remote access. How can I close all unused ports using ufw?
DistroWatch answers: A firewall blocks network traffic from entering or leaving your computer. In most cases, at least for desktop computers, firewalls are set up to allow outgoing connections (such as those initiated by your web browser or update manager). This allows you to check e-mail, browse the web, and install new packages. Firewalls typically block remote access to all local network ports, apart from those ports which are running services you wish to share. If you were setting up a web server or enabling network file sharing then you would need to leave incoming access to some ports open.
Network ports which are not in use at all do not need to be blocked by a firewall because there isn't any program waiting for a network connection to come through them. Some people worry that by not running a firewall someone might connect to their computer and hack in. However, if there isn't any network service waiting for new connections then there isn't any connection to be made; there is no running service to hack. Attempts to contact your computer's network ports when you're not running services - such as OpenSSH, a web server, or Samba file sharing - simply fail.
However, if you're concerned that you may have a network service running and not know it (or that someone who has access to your computer might set up one) then you can block all network traffic coming into your machine by running the command "ufw enable" to start the firewall and enable it whenever your computer boots in the future.
You can confirm your firewall is running and blocking all incoming ports by running "ufw status" to see which ports are open. By default the "ufw status" output should say that the firewall is active and list no open ports.
An easy way to manage your firewall is to use the Gufw utility. Gufw is a desktop application which helps manage the ufw firewall. With Gufw you can see the status of your firewall and confirm it is active with just a mouse click or two. When you run Gufw, make sure the status button is set to On. Then set the Incoming rule to Deny and the Outgoing rule to Allow. (These are the default values so you probably won't need to adjust anything.) This will protect your computer from any incoming connection attempts, even if you do end up running a network service.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
Porteus Kiosk 5.3.0
Tomasz Jokiel has announced the availability of Porteus Kiosk 5.3.0, the latest stable build of the project's Gentoo-based distribution designed for internet browsing in web kiosks: "I'm pleased to announce that Porteus Kiosk 5.3.0 is now available for download. Major software upgrades in this release include: Linux kernel 5.10.73, Google Chrome 93.0.4577.82 and Mozilla Firefox 91.2.0 ESR. Packages from the userland are upgraded to Portage snapshot tagged on 2021-10-14. Short changelog: libinput has become our default input driver as it provides native touch gestures support for the Firefox browser; touchscreens which were calibrated under Porteus Kiosk version 5.2.0 or below will continue using the 'evdev' driver in order to preserve compatibility with existing configurations; virtual keyboard extension can be enabled for Firefox and Chrome; added an option to enable experimental hardware video decoding feature for both browsers; on-screen buttons can be relocated to a different position on the kiosk screen....." Read the release announcement and the changelog for further details.
Redcore Linux 2102
Redcore Linux is a desktop-oriented distribution based on Gentoo. The project's latest snapshot, version 2102, carries the codename Polaris. "We're pleased to announce that Redcore Linux Hardened 2102 (codename Polaris) is now available for download. This cycle was a rather smooth one, without major incidents, until the nasty portage bug announced in our last blogpost. But that one was not the only bug we addressed since our previous release. In fact, this release is mostly focused on polishing and fixing bugs, so you won't find many exciting new features inside. Though, we still updated over 1300 packages since our previous release and, to top it off, we did a mass rebuild of the whole repository. Changelog: resync with Gentoo's testing tree as of 01.10.2021; Linux kernel 5.14.10 as default; LTS linux kernels 5.10.71 and 5.4.151 available in repository; KDE Plasma 5.22.5, KDE Gear 21.08.1; Xwayland is now a standalone package; Chromium replaces Firefox as the default web browser; Mailspring replaces Thunderbird as the default mail client." Additional information can be found in the project's release announcement.
MX Linux 21
The MX Linux team has announced the launch of MX Linux 21. The new release is available in three editions: Xfce, KDE Plasma, and Fluxbox. "We are pleased to offer MX-21 for your use. Things that are new in MX-21: Debian 11 'Bullseye' base. New and updated applications. New installer partition selection/management area, including some LVM support if LVM volume exists already and the ability to set existing data partitions to be mounted on install. New UEFI live system boot menus. UEFI live users can now select your live boot options (persistence, etc) from the boot menu and sub-menus rather than using the previous console menus. Xfce 4.16, Plasma 5.20, Fluxbox 1.3.7 with mx-fluxbox 3.0 configs. User password (sudo) for admin tasks by default. You can switch this in mx-tweak->Other tab. MX-Tour showing an overview of each desktop environment. Translation updates! MX-Comfort default theming, including dark variants and 'thick border' Xfwm variants. Mesa Vulkan drivers are installed by default. Better Realtek wi-fi support. A ton of customization and custom scripts in MX-Fluxbox." Additional details can be found in the project's release announcement.
MX Linux 21 -- Running the Xfce desktop
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NuTyX 21.10.0
The NuTyX distribution is a French Linux distribution (with multi-language support) built from Linux From Scratch and Beyond Linux From Scratch, with a custom package manager called "cards". The project's latest snapshot, 21.10.0, updates its desktop environments and kernel. The new version also includes support for 32-bit processors. "The NuTyX team is happy to announce the new version of NuTyX 21.10.0 and cards 2.4.138. The xorg-server graphics server version 1.20.13, the Mesa 3D library in 21.2.4, GTK4 4.4.0 and Qt 5.15.2. The Python interpreters are on 3.9.6 and 2.7.18. The Xfce desktop environment is updated to version 4.16. The MATE desktop environment is a 1.26 version. The GNOME desktop environment is also updated to version 40.4. The KDE desktop environment is available in Plasma 5.23.1, Framework 5.87.0 and applications in 21.08.2. Available browsers are: Firefox 93.0, Chromium 94.0.4606.81, Epiphany 40.3, etc. Many desktop applications have been updated as well like Thunderbird 91.2.0, Scribus 1.5.7, LibreOffice 7.1.5.2, GIMP 2.10.28, etc. Core NuTyX ships with Long Term Support (LTS) kernels: 4.9.287, 4.14.249, 4.19.212, 5.4.154 and 5.10.74 and the latest stable version 5.14.13." Further details can be found on the project's news page.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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| Torrent Corner |
Weekly Torrents
The table below provides a list of torrents DistroWatch is currently seeding. If you do not have a bittorrent client capable of handling the linked files, we suggest installing either the Transmission or KTorrent bittorrent clients.
Archives of our previously seeded torrents may be found in our Torrent Archive. We also maintain a Torrents RSS feed for people who wish to have open source torrents delivered to them. To share your own open source torrents of Linux and BSD projects, please visit our Upload Torrents page.
Torrent Corner statistics:
- Total torrents seeded: 2,638
- Total data uploaded: 40.6TB
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
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Summary of expected upcoming releases
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| Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
Upcoming PinePhone Pro
Earlier this month Pine64 announced they are planning a new open hardware phone called the PinePhone Pro. These device is currently only available through pre-order options for developers. However, given the enthusiasm for the original PinePhone, this device is likely to attract attention from people throughout the open source community. The PinePhone Pro is expected to ship with the Manjaro Linux operating system and KDE Plasma Mobile interface. Further information can be found in an ask me anything session with a member of the Pine64 team.
What do you think about the PinePhone Pro? Are you planning to get one? Let us know if you have any existing Pine64 devices in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on DistroWatch banner options in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Will you buy the PinePhone Pro?
| I have already pre-ordered: | 8 (1%) |
| I will pre-order: | 20 (2%) |
| I will order later: | 185 (14%) |
| I will not order one: | 661 (50%) |
| Undecided: | 437 (33%) |
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| Website News |
New distributions added to waiting list
- CloudNeedle OS. CloudNeedle OS is a Linux distribution built from Linux From Scratch (LFS) which focused on providing a web browser for accessing cloud services. It is intended to be an alternative to projects like Chrome OS.
- XOS Workstation. XOS Workstation is an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring the Trinity desktop environment.
- Chimera Linux. Chimera Linux is a distribution which uses the Linux kernel and FreeBSD userland. The system is built entirely with the Clang/LLVM compiler.
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DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 1 November 2021. Past articles and reviews can be found through our Article Search page. To contact the authors please send e-mail to:
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| Archives |
| • 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 |
| • 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 |
| • Full list of all issues |
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Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
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Bella OS
Bella OS was a beginner-friendly Linux distribution based on Xubuntu's latest LTS (long-term support) release and featuring a customised Xfce desktop. The project's primary goal was to provide a curated suite of high-quality web, office and entertainment applications on top of a desktop that combines some of the best features from several popular operating systems.
Status: Discontinued
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TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
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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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