 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 993, 7 November 2022 |
Welcome to this year's 45th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Some Linux distributions take an unusually minimal approach, providing the bare necessities in order to accomplish a task. One such streamlines distribution is Static Linux, a project which is not only small, but takes an unusual approach to installation. This week we begin with a look at Static Linux and how this curious project performs. In our News section we report on changes coming to Linux Mint which will simplify package management, especially when dealing with Flatpak packages. Plus, in this week's Questions and Answers column we explore what a distribution could do if it included just a kernel with no other utilities. All Linux distributions include some userland tools, software beyond the kernel, and in this week's Opinion Poll we'd like to hear from you. How many packages are included in your distribution? Plus we are pleased to share the torrents we are seeding along with the releases of the past week and details of the new versions below. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Static Linux
One unusual project that was recently added to the DistroWatch waiting list is Static Linux. The project's website doesn't offer much information or documentation, but it does share the following description of what Static Linux is:
[A] Linux distribution based on Alpine Linux, musl libc, and Busybox. It comes with JWM, Firefox, Transmission, data recovery tools ddrescue, testdisk, [and] photorec. Kernel and the root filesystem are assembled in a single file to boot on systems with UEFI (Secure Boot is not supported).
Static Linux is available in two editions, X.Org and Wayland, which are sometimes referred to by the project as simply X and W. The download images for these editions are 222MB for the X.Org edition and 66MB for the Wayland edition. The difference in sizes, I feel it worth mentioning, are not just due to the display server software. The lists of included applications in the two editions vary too, which accounts for the bulk of the size difference.
Along with the available media, the distribution provides 206 packages (at the time of writing) which have been compiled for Static Linux. These packages cover a number of utilities and development tools, most of them intended for command line use. I'll talk more about the packages and working with them later.
Installing
Static Linux doesn't use a normal install method, such as running an installer from a live desktop or unpacking an archive. The downloads we're offered are designed to be booted directly from the hard drive. To set up Static Linux, we format a disk (either a hard drive or USB thumb drive) and place a partition on the disk formatted with the FAT32 filesystem. We then copy the Static Linux archive we downloaded, saving it on the formatted partition as /efi/boot/bootx64.efi. When our computer boots, it automatically locates this file and expands it into memory. The archive contains the Linux kernel, Busybox utilities, and other basic items required to launch the operating system.
I feel it's important to note Static Linux can be booted on machines running in UEFI mode only. The distribution will not be found and launched on computers running in Legacy BIOS mode.
Early impressions
I tested both editions of the Static Linux distribution. I started with the X.Org (X) edition which boots to a text console at first and then attempts to launch X.Org and Joe's Window Manager (JWM). The graphical environment failed to load, apparently due to either a permission or a missing driver issue. (Possibly both, based on a quick glance at the error log). Since JWM didn't successfully load I was left with a command line prompt. The system logged me in as a regular user, appropriately called "user". The sudo utility isn't included, but we can switch to the root account by using su and the password "root".
The distribution has around a gigabyte of utilities packed into its single-file archive and we can use remaining free space to download files and install packages. The distribution is quite light, requiring less than 100MB of RAM.
Static Linux's X.Org edition ships with version 5.15 of the Linux kernel. Version 5.18 of the kernel is included in the Wayland edition. The Busybox utilities are included too, though not much else. There are a few rescue utilities, such as photorec and ddrescue. There are no manual pages, meaning any help we receive will need to be found on-line. Though I didn't get to use it due to the lack of graphical interface, the project's website points out the X.Org edition of Static Linux ships with the Firefox web browser.
One interesting quirk of the distribution is exiting the command line shell will halt the system and power off the computer.
Wayland edition
When I switched to the Wayland (W) edition of Static Linux, the experience started out much the same way. The distribution's image file was placed on my drive, the system booted successfully to a text console, but then the system successfully and automatically launched the Lab Wayland Compositor (labwc). The labwc environment is basically a very minimal desktop environment with a panel at the bottom of the display with a few quick launch buttons and an open desktop space where we can right-click to open a terminal or exit the session. Like the X.Org edition, the Wayland edition (even when running labwc) consumes less than 100MB of RAM.
Static Linux 2022 -- Using Static Linux to download itself
(full image size: 25kB, resolution: 1024x768 pixels)
Unlike the X.Org edition of Static Linux, the Wayland edition does not ship with the Firefox web browser or bittorrent software, which probably makes up the bulk of the difference between the sizes of the two editions. The Wayland edition offers us a virtual terminal, the testdisk, photorec, and ddrescue software along with the Busybox utilities. That is about all that is available by default. If we want more software we need to turn to the Static Linux repository.
Software management
Earlier I mentioned the Static Linux project provides 206 packages in an archive on their website. These packages are simply listed, one per line, with their name and version, but no description. We're left to figure out for ourselves what atk, bison, and pcre are and whether we need these items. Each package is an APK file which is basically a tar archive.
I had thought, since Static Linux is reportedly based on Alpine Linux, the distribution might include the Alpine Linux package manager, but this does not appear to be the case. I could not find a package manager, documentation for installing packages, or a web browser (graphical or text-based) included with the distribution.
Since the APK packages are tar archives, I was able to download an index of the available software using wget, fetch specific files, and then unpack them with the tar program. The archives, when unpacked from the root directory, will install software into the /usr directory and other appropriate locations. Some programs are set with permissions which only allow them to be run as the root user and may need to have their permissions (or ownership) changed in order for them to be executable.
The base operating system resets when it is restarted. Which just means any changes we make to the system are lost when we reboot. We can get around this by setting up another partition, either on the USB thumb drive or on a local disk drive, and mounting it. For instance, I set up a persistent partition and mounted it under my home directory. This partition could then include hand written scripts to perform some basic actions, such as installing a package. The persistent partition can also hold programs which can be installed there to survive reboots. For instance, I set up a partition called disk in my Static Linux home directory. At each boot I could mount disk and add ~/disk/usr/bin to my user's path to run any programs I'd installed in past sessions.
Conclusions
While it is possible to work with this manual approach to persistence, I feel it worth noting Static Linux does not appear to be intended to be used across reboots. It's not an operating system which we install or on which we set up users. Static Linux is specifically geared toward accessing and rescuing data from local disks. Typically without many tools or conveniences. It's super light, highly portable, and (despite a weird setup process) is pretty easy to get started using.
The distribution offers virtually no documentation, no package manager, and on the Wayland edition there is no web browser. This makes the distribution quite limited. However, its small size and performance are appealing and I'm intrigued by the idea of the entire operating system booting from a single file. This is an unusual approach, but it seems to be working. While I had a few issues with the X.Org session, the Wayland edition worked well and, if the project would add a web browser (even a text-based one) to the Wayland session I could see it being a handy rescue tool that can be dropped on any thumb drive.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Mint streamlines package management, elementary OS provides upgrades through Flatpak
The Linux Mint team has published their monthly newsletter which includes information on component updates and a streamlining of package management, especially when Flatpaks are used. "The code which lets you remove applications from the main menu was reviewed and password prompts were removed in situations where administrative permissions weren't required. Removing a Flatpak will no longer require a password to be entered. Same goes for simple shortcuts and local applications (i.e. applications which aren't installed system-wide). Synaptic and the Update Manager will now also ask pkexec to remember your password so you won't have to enter it every single time if you perform multiple operations. Flatpak support was added to the Update Manager. This allows Flatpak applications and runtimes to be updated like any other supported types of software."
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The elementary OS team has pushed their monthly newsletter which provides insights into changes coming to the distribution. Some of these changes include upgrades to Flatpak and, through Flatpak, GNOME packages. These upgrades will be available for elementary 6.1 users as well as people installing the upcoming 7.0 release. "Also to be expected soon is the latest Flatpak platform. Platform 7.1 is based on the GNOME 43 platform and brings a number of improvements for GTK 4. We're excited to get it published and available for use in your apps right away as well as updating the GNOME apps we ship to their latest releases. Thanks to the magic of Flatpak, OS 6.1 users can expect to receive this update as well."
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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) |
What can you do with a kernel on its own?
Trying-understanding-the-kernel asks: Let's imagine that a computer has only the kernel installed and nothing else. What would work on the computer and what would not? To what extent could you use this computer? Would it be possible to communicate with the kernel? Would it be possible to install other programs?
DistroWatch answers: When an operating system is booting, the kernel is typically the first program that gets loaded into memory (with a few key exceptions like the computer's boot loader). The kernel has a special status. It typically gets locked into memory and is able to act as a controller for the entire operating system. The kernel in a modern operating system typically handles memory allocation, scheduling which programs run, passing information between processes, low level networking tasks, and talking to the computer's hardware.
The kernel acts as a middle layer between the hardware and the applications we run. It handles allocating resources, passing information between components, and talking to devices such as video cards.
The kernel, at least on modern operating systems, doesn't interact directly with the user. It doesn't prompt us for input, interpret commands, display a desktop, manage windows or any of the other things you actively interact with when you're using your computer.
If you had a computer with nothing but the kernel installed (for example, the Linux kernel) the computer would likely boot and its hardware would technically be initialized. But then the system would likely "panic", or lock up. The reason being the kernel needs to launch services in order for the operating system to be able to do anything useful. The kernel expects there to be programs - such as init, likely a service manager, and a command line shell - in order to accomplish anything. When no programs are installed, in particular the init software or a suitable substitute, then the kernel will bail out and bring the system to stop.
In short, a system with just a modern kernel installed on it can start-up, but then won't do anything. You wouldn't be able to interact with it, load programs, or install new software. There would be no software you could use or run and therefore you couldn't accomplish anything with the system. To do anything you'd need to add other programs to the hard drive. At the very least you would need a command line shell that would allow you to type commands. For a really minimal system you might want to set up something like Busybox which would give you a small core set of commands that would help you actually do some basic things on your system.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
Linux Lite 6.2
Linux Lite is an Ubuntu-based distribution intended to be easy for Linux beginners to use. The latest version of the distribution, Linux Lite 6.2, features an improved upgrade manager, new Papirus icons, and Openshot has been replaced by Shotcut in the Lite Software utility. Other changes include: "Fixed dialogue lengths of many Linux Lite applications. Fixed hostname bug in Lite Tweaks. Many updates to the Help Manual. The Hardware Database now has over 75,000 submissions. 100k here we come! Fixed bug in Lite Sources not populating the codename. Purging even more logs in Lite Tweaks, freeing up space. Latest stable versions of Chrome, LibreOffice, Lite applications, etc. New wallpapers. Task Manager (System Monitoring Center) right click now works everywhere, updated icon. Microsoft Teams removed from Lite Software, no longer maintained by Microsoft, instead, they will offer a PWA version only for Linux. Fixed Kernel Removal in Lite Tweaks...." Additional information and screenshots can be found in the project's release announcement.
Linux Lite 6.2 -- The welcome screen and application menu
(full image size: 231kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Nitrux 20221101
The Nitrux developers have published a new release which features updates to KDE Plasma, the Firefox browser and includes NVIDIA's proprietary video driver. "We've updated the following components of the distribution. For other information, see Notes. KDE Plasma to version 5.26.2, KDE Frameworks to version 5.99.0, and KDE Gear to version 22.08.2. Firefox to version 106.0.2. We've decided to add the NVIDIA Proprietary driver to the default installation, currently version 520.56.06, along with NVIDIA Prime, but not our X11 configuration. We've decided to change our policy about including this particular piece of proprietary software to make this distribution more accessible to users and to avoid creating a separate ISO file. The minimal ISO does not include the NVIDIA Proprietary driver, as we want to keep the size of the ISO image small. We're aware that NVIDIA had released an open-source driver, too; however, it only supports a handful of professional graphics cards and almost none of their consumer graphics cards." Additional information is provided in the distribution's release announcement. The announcement refers to the new version of Nitrux as 2.5.0 while the provided media is labelled using the date of the release: 20221101.
TrueNAS 13.0-U3 "CORE"
Will Soteros has announced the availability of a third update of TrueNAS CORE 13, version 13.0-U3. Formerly known as FreeNAS, TrueNAS CORE is a FreeBSD-based, open-source and community-supported software designed for NAS (Network-Attached Storage) computers. It uses the self-healing OpenZFS filesystem and is extensible by a variety of free plugins: "Building on the Enterprise quality of prior versions, the third update of TrueNAS 13 was released today. In addition to greater maturity and test coverage, Globally Distributed Storage provided by iX-Storj is also now included in this release. Compared to TrueNAS 12, TrueNAS 13 includes significant new components and has improved performance, scalability, and reliability in subsequent releases. In the two months since TrueNAS 13.0-U2 was released, it has already become the 2nd most deployed version of TrueNAS. TrueNAS 13.0-U3 builds on the maturity of the prior version with 30 bug fixes and security updates. It also includes enclosure management updates for the TrueNAS R50 Gen3, which was announced two weeks ago." See the release announcement and the release notes for detailed information about the product.
GParted Live 1.4.0-6
Curtis Gedak has announced the release of GParted Live 1.4.0-6, an updated build of the project's Debian-based specialist live CD designed for disk partitioning and data rescue tasks. This release updates the Linux kernel to version 6.0.6 and expands the included software with various useful items, such as Nmap or Samba client: "The GParted team is happy to announce a new stable release of GParted Live. This release includes GParted 1.4.0, updated packages and other improvements. Items of note include: based on the Debian 'Sid' repository as of 2022-11-03; Linux kernel image updated to 6.0.6; more packages added - this includes vim, pv, htop, bmon, nmon, zutils, pigz, xz-utils, zstd, zip, unzip, colordiff, xxd, vbindiff, cifs-utils, smbclient, nmap, xrdp, rdesktop, usbutils, vlan, parallel. This release of GParted Live has been successfully tested on VirtualBox, VMware, BIOS, UEFI and physical computers with AMD/ATI, NVIDIA and Intel graphics." Visit the project's news page to read the release announcement.
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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: 2,788
- Total data uploaded: 42.5TB
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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) |
How many packages are installed on your distribution?
In this week's review of Static Linux we talked about a remarkably minimal distribution. Static includes very few packages, but there are smaller Linux distributions in the world. There are also many larger distributions, full of packages and features. This week we'd like to find out how many packages are currently installed on your distribution. Is it more than 1,000? More than 5,000? Let us know which distribution you are running and how many software packages are installed in the comments.
If you're unsure how to find out how many packages are installed on your system, please refer to our package management cheatsheet page to learn how to get a listing of packages on your distribution. Then run the result through the wc command. For example, you'll get a rough idea of how many packages are installed on Debian-based systems by running "dpkg -l | wc -l". The equivalent in the Arch Linux family is "pacman -Q | wc -l" and on RPM-based systems like Fedora you can use "rpm -qa | wc -l".
You can see the results of our previous poll on home directory permissions in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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How many packages are installed on your distro?
| 0-500: | 77 (5%) |
| 501-1000: | 134 (9%) |
| 1001-2500: | 575 (38%) |
| 2501-5000: | 300 (20%) |
| 5001-10000: | 47 (3%) |
| More than 10000: | 25 (2%) |
| I do not know: | 312 (21%) |
| I am not running a Linux distro: | 23 (2%) |
| I am not running a distro with traditional packages: | 11 (1%) |
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| Website News |
DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 14 November 2022. Past articles and reviews can be found through our Article Search page. To contact the authors please send e-mail to:
- Jesse Smith (feedback, questions and suggestions: distribution reviews/submissions, questions and answers, tips and tricks)
- Ladislav Bodnar (feedback, questions, donations, comments)
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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 |
| 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.
|
| Random Distribution | 
Devil-Linux
Devil-Linux was a CD-based Linux distribution for firewalls and routers. The goal of Devil-Linux was to have a small, customizable and secure (what was secure on the Internet?) Linux. The future of Devil-Linux will go far beyond an ordinary router, we will provide a lot of other services, but the distribution will still be easy and fast to maintain.
Status: Discontinued
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| Tips, Tricks, Q&As | | Tips and tricks: Compiling the Linux kernel |
| Questions and answers: Seeking openSUSE derivatives |
| Questions and answers: Switching file systems on the fly |
| Tips and tricks: Hiding processes from other users, get geographical location of IP address |
| Tips and tricks: Keep terminal programs running, using the at command, reverse OpenSSH connections |
| Tips and tricks: Advanced file systems, network traffic, running a script at login/logout |
| Tips and tricks: Command line weather, ionice, rename files, video preview snapshot, calednar, ls colour settings |
| Questions and answers: The LILO boot loader |
| Myths and misunderstandings: ZFS |
| Tips and tricks: Digital cameras, mobile phones and music players under Linux |
| More Tips & Tricks and Questions & Answers |
| TUXEDO |
TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!
Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.
|
| 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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