 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 823, 15 July 2019 |
Welcome to this year's 28th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
Last week the Debian project released a new version of its distribution, Debian 10 "Buster". The new version, which was accompanied by a new update of the project's GNU/Hurd port, introduces some new changes, including running GNOME on Wayland sessions by default and enabling AppArmor for increased security. We begin this week with first impressions of Debian 10 in our Feature Story. In our News section we link to an interview with Will Cooke in which he talks about Ubuntu, GNOME, Wayland and the future of Ubuntu's Desktop edition. We also talk about Fedora removing optional Snap support from GNOME Software and Red Hat's sale to IBM finalizing. Then we share tips on how to check for 32-bit packages on a Linux distribution in our Questions and Answers column. We are also pleased to share the releases of the past week and link to the torrents we are seeding. Our Opinion Poll this week asks whether our readers use do-it-yourself firewalls or routers and, if so, what type of equipment is used. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: Debian 10 "Buster"
- News: Will Cooke discusses Ubuntu's desktop plans, Fedora to remove Snap support from GNOME Software, Red Hat's sale to IBM finalized
- Questions and answers: Checking for 32-bit applications on the operating system
- Released last week: FreeBSD 11.3, Tails 3.15, Clonezilla 2.6.2-15
- Torrent corner: Alpine, ArchBang, Berry, BunsenLabs, Clonezilla, Debian Edu, Endless, Feren, FreeBSD, KDE neon, RancherOS, Raspbian, Septor, Sparky, Tails, Trident
- Upcoming releases: Q4OS 3.8
- Opinion poll: DIY routers and firewalls
- New distributions: EndeavourOS, Forensic Hard Copy
- Reader comments
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Debian 10 "Buster"
Debian is one of the world's oldest Linux distributions and, in terms of the number of developers involved, also one of the largest. Around 1,300 contributors worked on Debian 10, which was released on July 6th.
Debian 10 offers package upgrades across the entire operating system, but the main changes for this release include enabling AppArmor by default and running GNOME Shell on Wayland. (GNOME running on X.Org is available as an alternative desktop session.) The project's release announcement also mentions nftables can be used to manage the operating system's firewall and Secure Boot is enabled for some architectures. This version of Debian will receive a total of five years of support, thanks to the project's long-term support team.
The new version of Debian, codenamed "Buster", runs on over half a dozen CPU architectures and is available in net-install, full DVD install, and seven live desktop editions. This gives users many install options and avenues for trying the distribution. Though not mentioned in the distribution's release announcement Debian's media does not include non-free firmware which is often required to connect with wireless networks. People who need wireless networking have the option of downloading unofficial live images with non-free firmware.
Some more experimental users may be interested in knowing that Debian not only has a Linux flavour, but also offers builds with alternative kernels. The Debian GNU/Hurd team published new install media alongside the main Linux editions.
I ended up downloading the DVD install media, which is 3.6GB in size. I also downloaded the official live GNOME edition which is 2.3GB. My observations in this review come from installing and running Debian based on the install DVD media, unless otherwise specified.
Debian 10 -- Running GNOME Shell
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Installing
Booting from the install DVD brings up a menu which asks if we would like to launch a text-based installer or the project's graphical installer. I opted for the graphical path, though traditionally both installers walk us through the same steps. A series of screens then appeared and guided me through picking a preferred language, selecting my country from a list, picking a keyboard layout, setting a hostname, and making up a root password. There is an option, disabled by default, which allows us to see the password we are typing.
We are then asked to make up a username and password for a regular user and select our time zone from a list. Partitioning comes next and I find Debian's partition editing a bit cumbersome. There are more screens to navigate and more options we can adjust compared to other distributions. This gives the user more flexibility over simplicity. Debian supports setting up and working with ext2/3/4, Btrfs, XFS, JFS and LVM volumes. I decided to use Btrfs to see if it would work with system snapshots the way some Ubuntu-based distributions do.
The installer then copies packages it needs for the base system, which takes a few minutes. When it is done we are given the choice of installing local packages from the DVD or using a network mirror. Then we are asked whether we wish to participate in reporting which packages we use to let the developers know what is popular. The next screen gives us the chance to install optional items, including a desktop (GNOME, MATE, Plasma, Cinnamon, Xfce, LXDE, and LXQt are available). I opted to install GNOME (Debian's default desktop) and MATE since my recent experiments with GNOME have not gone well and I wanted a backup option. I was then asked if I wanted to use LightDM or GDM as the session manager. I went with LightDM and was told I could adjust this or change login screen settings by editing scripts in the /etc/init.d/ directory. We are given the choice of enabling some services, such as a print server and secure shell (OpenSSH). Then we are asked where we would like to install the GRUB boot loader. The installer finished its work successfully and rebooted the computer.
For the most part Debian's installer feels the same now as it did for Debian 9, Debian 8, Debian 7, and so on. Not much has changed on the surface, other than the previous reddish-pink progress bars and highlights that appeared over white backgrounds have been replaced by blue highlights over a grey/creamy background. It's a small change, but I find it looks nicer.
Early impressions
The first time I booted Debian 10, the AppArmor service got stuck for a while, increasing my boot time by about ten seconds. During the remainder of the week all services started and stopped quickly and the boot process was fast. The distribution boots to a graphical login screen where we can sign in with one of the following session options: GNOME, GNOME, GNOME Classic, GNOME on Xorg, and MATE. (The GNOME on Wayland session is listed twice.) Debian ships with version 3.30 of the GNOME desktop.
Debian 10 -- Running Firefox on GNOME Shell
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For the most part, I used GNOME Classic during my trial, but I did occasionally use the GNOME Shell session too. Both desktops use an unusually light theme and my screen, with a terminal open, was sometimes almost entirely white - a sharp contrast from the common trend these days of defaulting to darker themes. The theme can be adjusted, if we wish, in the Tweaks tool, which I will talk about later.
GNOME Shell presents us with a mostly empty desktop with a panel and the Activities menu at the top of the screen. The Activities menu can present us with a full screen grid of icons to launch applications. The GNOME Classic session uses a two-pane layout with the menus and system tray at the top and the task switcher at the bottom of the display. The Classic desktop uses a tree-style menu that takes up a small corner of the upper-left corner of the desktop.
Debian 10 -- Debian's default light theme
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Hardware
I ran into a few problems when running Debian on my workstation. The first was that, when booting from the live desktop disc, the distribution could not launch a graphical interface when loading in UEFI mode. I could boot to a text console, but the operating system could not display a desktop or launch an X.Org session. When booting from legacy BIOS mode, Debian's live disc booted into the GNOME desktop and ran smoothly. Another issue I ran into was that Debian's official media could not detect and use my wireless card due to missing firmware. This can be fixed by using the unofficial media or installing Debian and grabbing the necessary firmware from off-line media.
Once these problems were overcome, Debian ran well on my workstation. GNOME Shell and GNOME Classic functioned well, the operating system booted quickly and hardware (apart from my early issue the wireless card) all worked properly.
I had similar success with running Debian in a VirtualBox instance. Debian automatically integrates with VirtualBox and can dynamically resize its desktop. What surprised me the most during my trial was both GNOME desktops performed very well and were responsive. My recent trials with GNOME on Fedora and Ubuntu offered passable performance on physical hardware and awful performance when running in VirtualBox. Debian's GNOME was not only much faster, it also required less memory to run. GNOME Shell memory usage varied a lot, starting at 724MB when I first logged in and eventually settling down at 590MB. GNOME Classic used 526MB of RAM and stayed consistent. With both GNOME and MATE installed, a fresh install used 4.9GB of disk space.
Applications
Buster does not ship with a lot of applications out of the box. We are provided with some standard items, such as the Firefox web browser, the Evolution e-mail client, and LibreOffice. The GNOME Files file manager, a calendar application, an application for checking local weather, and GNOME Maps are included too. The Transmission bittorrent software is installed by default, along with a document viewer, the Shotwell photo manager and the GNU Image Manipulation Program.
Debian ships with the Totem video player, Rhythmbox and the Cheese webcam utility. Media codecs were included for playing most audio and video formats, including MP3. Debian uses Network Manager to connect to networks, systemd as its default init software and runs on version 4.19 of the Linux kernel.
Generally speaking, the software included in Debian worked well for me. I am not a big fan of Totem's interface and ended up swapping it for VLC. I noticed when I first started using Firefox, a message would be displayed warning me the browser was out of date. Buster ships with Firefox 60 ESR, which (despite being about a year old) was the latest ESR version at the time Buster was released, so it appeared Firefox's warning was incorrect. However, later in the week Mozilla published Firefox 68.0 ESR which will presumably be made available or backported for Debian users.
While not necessarily a problem where Firefox is concerned, since the browser offers extended support options, running older versions of software is something Debian users need to be comfortable doing. I tended to find applications in Debian 10 were around six months to a year old. Bug fixes are often applied to Debian packages to keep users secure, but new versions with new features are typically not available unless we enable a backports repository or install software from a third-party.
Settings
During my trial I had access to two settings panels. The GNOME Settings panel provides access to many aspects of the system, including setting up on-line accounts, adjusting power and sleep settings, setting up network connections, and customizing the Activities search results. Apart from adjusting the wallpaper, the GNOME Settings panel does not deal much with the appearance of the desktop; it handles more of the underlying mechanics and options rather than the look of things.
Debian 10 -- The GNOME Settings panel
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To adjust the visual aspects of the desktop we can use a tool called Tweaks. The Tweaks utility can adjust the theme, fonts, window button placement and other visual components of the desktop. Both settings panels worked well for me and I encountered no issues while using either of them.
Debian 10 -- Adjusting the look of GNOME Classic
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Software management
When installing Debian from the DVD where packages are provided by local media, the local disc is kept in the distribution's list of package sources. In fact, most other potential sources for packages are disabled. This means the first thing people installing from the DVD will need to do is edit APT's list of repositories and sources. The bad news is the system does not really make it clear that Debian does this and it will look like the package manager is simply unable to contact repositories. The good news is enabling on-line repositories can be done through the Synaptic package manager with a few clicks.
Luckily I've installed Debian frequently over the years and know to enable repositories right away, but new users are likely to be caught unaware as Debian is one of the only open source operating systems to short-circuit its package manager this way post-install.
Buster offers several ways to handle software. Debian's classic Synaptic package manager is included. Synaptic offers a handful of filtering options and displays packages (and search results) in a simple list of names and versions. We can click a box next to package names to mark the software for installation or removal. Synaptic also handles upgrading packages and can enable optional repositories. Synaptic may not be pretty or modern in its style, but it works and performs quickly.
GNOME Software was the other graphical software manager I found on the system. This utility provides a more modern interface where we can browse through categories of applications and click a program's icon to see a full page description with a screenshot of the program in action. While GNOME Software does have a pleasantly modern look and makes it easy to browse types of applications, I did run into some quirks while using it.
Debian 10 -- Browsing applications in GNOME Software
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For instance, sometimes there are multiple versions of a package listed. Software listed two instances of the GNU Image Manipulation Program. Both had the same version, the same source, same statistics and both were listed as being installed, but the two entries had entirely different descriptions. At first I thought one might be a Flatpak, but Flatpak support is not installed on Debian out of the box.
At one point I was installing a new package using Software and the process locked up, stuck at 0% completion. I clicked the software centre's Cancel button and the action appeared to stop. After that, I was unable to install any new packages for a while. I discovered that GNOME Software had not canceled its earlier install cleanly and there were bits of packages caught in limbo. I had to make a trip to the command line and use the low-level dpkg package manager to clean up the mess before I could install any new programs. Later on, I did use GNOME Software again to install some packages and grab updates. These processes worked, but always ran very slowly compared to using Synaptic or APT from the command line.
While Flatpak and Snap support are not installed by default, these portable package formats are available in Debian's repositories. I installed Flatpak and used it enough to confirm it works to install and run portable packages listed on Flathub.
Debian 10 -- Installing a Flatpak package
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Other observations
I made a few other observations while running Debian 10. One is that, unlike many other mainstream Linux distributions, Debian does not enable sudo by default. We can use su to gain admin access, or manually configure sudo to work with our user account.
I was happy to find that when the OpenSSH service was enabled, it blocked remote root logins. I feel this is a good default to have and I'm pleased this configuration is becoming more common. Blocking root logins used to be one of the first tasks I would perform after setting up a system and I like that it is now done for me on most distributions.
The most common complaint I keep seeing about Debian 10 in user-supplied reviews and on forums is that wireless connections do not work. This is because people are downloading the official ISO files which do not include non-free firmware, meaning most wireless cards will not work. While Debian offers unofficial media with the non-free firmware, which would enable wi-fi to work, the unofficial media is hard to find and it's not clear from the download page that it even exists or why people would need to use it. This separation of free and non-free firmware media is not even mentioned in the release announcement. Which means a lot of people are giving up on using Debian from a combination of the free firmware only policy and unclear documentation.
Earlier I mentioned installing Buster on a Btrfs volume. My hope was that I could use Btrfs along with a tool such as Timeshift to take snapshots of the operating system, offering a level of protection against broken updates or configuration mistakes. I found Timeshift does not work with Debian's default Btrfs configuration the way it automatically does on Ubuntu-based distributions. An administrator could make adjustments to get Timeshift working with Debian's Btrfs layout, but it would take manual work
Conclusions
Debian has a well earned reputation for stability and performance. The distribution starts up quickly, its GNOME implementation runs circles around GNOME on most other mainstream distributions on my system, and Debian offers a relatively small disk and memory footprint. The software which ships by default was reliable during my trial and worked as expected. Just these points on their own would make me consider Debian a solid choice as a desktop or server operating system.
There are some other strong points in Debian's favour. The project describes itself as "the universal operating system" with good reason. Debian runs on many hardware architectures, offers lots of desktop options, and ships with a massive amount of software packages. Debian can work with portable package formats, multiple kernel types, and is small enough to work in many different environments. It is amazingly flexible.
There are some negative trade-offs to balance Debian's stability and flexibility. One is that packages in Debian's Stable branch are often quite old compared to the same software in other distributions. Virtually every package will be at least six months old at release time, some are a year old, and I found at least one package that was a year and a half old on launch day. For people who want to stay on the cutting edge, Debian's Stable releases are not ideal.
To me, Debian also feels like it lacks a coordinated design. Some distributions integrate their pieces, have a shared look, or a particular focus. Debian does the opposite, providing a amazing range of options, packages, and tools, but doing so in a way which feels vanilla. It's the difference between having a model car and having a box of Lego bricks - one has a clear design, but that is all it is good for while the other leaves the design up to the owner while being more flexible. Put another way, Debian doesn't try to be great at any one thing, but provides a good starting point for many roles.
One the whole, I was happy with Debian 10. It has some rough edges, particularly with GNOME Software and the lack of non-free firmware. Or, more specifically, with how hidden the non-free firmware installation media is. However, the performance, range of software, CPU support and low resource usage make this release feel really good. I wouldn't recommend Debian to a Linux newcomer, the operating system does not do any hand holding and expects some degree of comfort with working with Linux, but for intermediate and experienced users I think Debian is an excellent choice.
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Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a desktop HP Pavilon p6 Series with the following specifications:
- Processor: Dual-core 2.8GHz AMD A4-3420 APU
- Storage: 500GB Hitachi hard drive
- Memory: 6GB of RAM
- Networking: Realtek RTL8111 wired network card, Ralink RT5390R PCIe Wireless card
- Display: AMD Radeon HD 6410D video card
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Visitor supplied rating
Debian has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8.9/10 from 388 review(s).
Have you used Debian? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Will Cooke discusses Ubuntu's desktop plans, Fedora to remove Snap support from GNOME Software, Red Hat's sale to IBM finalized
TechRepublic has published an interview with Will Cooke, the Director of Engineering for Ubuntu Desktop. Cooke was asked about Ubuntu's plans for 32-bit support, the distribution's relationship with the GNOME desktop, and the move to running GNOME on a Wayland session. When asked about when Ubuntu would switch to using Wayland as the default desktop session Cooke indicated it is still a few versions away: "I can tell you it won't be for 20.04. We're too close to the release now. We're only one cycle away from the release. The cycle before the LTS release is a final fit-and-finish. We should be going into that cycle, which starts in October this year, with these decisions already made. So we haven't got time, in six months, to debug and fully test a change to the display server. In order to try and get it in for the next LTS - Ubuntu 22.04 - we will be moving pretty quickly to get Wayland as the default again and shake the rest of the bugs out. So I think we'll see it move in 20.10, and then we'll have to see how that goes, and then we'll make a decision from there." TechRepublic's website has the rest of the interview.
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It would appear the next version of Fedora, Fedora 31, will be disabling optional Snap portable package support in GNOME Software. The move follows reports that Ubuntu will be making its own graphical Snap store application and will no longer rely on GNOME Software to display and distribute Snap packages. "In Fedora 31 I'll be disabling the snap plugin from GNOME Software. It's never been enabled in RHEL and so this change only affects Fedora. It's also not installed by default and so this change should only affect a few people. It's also not really a FutureFeature, it's a RemovalOfFeature but I'm happy to write something for the process and release notes if required. Recently Canonical decided that they are not going to be installing gnome-software in the next LTS, preferring instead to ship a 'Snap Store by Canonical' rather than GNOME Software. The new Snap store will obviously not support Flatpaks (or packages, or even firmware updates for that matter)." A more detailed overview on the proposed change is presented in Richard Hughes' mailing list post.
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Late last year we reported that Red Hat was in the process of being purchased by IBM. Red Hat has now confirmed that the sale has concluded. "IBM and Red Hat announced today that they have closed the transaction under which IBM acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Red Hat for $190.00 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately $34 billion."
Matthew Miller of the Fedora project published a post on Fedora Magazine in which he states the acquisition will have no impact on the development of Fedora. "Today marks a new day in the 26-year history of Red Hat. IBM has finalized its acquisition of Red Hat, which will operate as a distinct unit within IBM. What does this mean for Red Hat's participation in the Fedora Project? In short, nothing."
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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) |
Checking for 32-bit applications on the operating system
Looking-for-32-bit-programs asks: With all the talk about Ubuntu and other distros dropping 32-bit support, how can I tell if my system uses any 32-bit apps? I don't think I use any, but how do I make sure?
DistroWatch answers: First, I'd like to point out that while there has been some concern over exactly when and how Ubuntu plans to phase out 32-bit support, the current plan makes it sound like 32-bit package support will continue at least through to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. This means you will be able to run 32-bit applications on Ubuntu, and most of its derivative distributions, through to around 2025. In short: if you are still using 32-bit programs, don't panic, they will continue to work for at least another six years.
As to how you can tell if there are any 32-bit programs being used on your system, I feel there are two approaches to take with this. One is to check for running 32-bit applications. In other words, to see if a program you are running at this moment is 32-bit. The other, better option is to look for any and all programs on your system which use 32-bit packages.
On members of the Debian and Ubuntu families of distributions you can check to see if a 32-bit program is running by looking for open 32-bit library files. The lsof command checks for open files and lists them. The grep command then checks to see if they look like 32-bit libraries. As an example, the following command tells me if I am presently running any programs linked to 32-bit libraries:
lsof | grep i386-linux-gnu && echo "Found 32-bit library in use" || echo "No 32-bit library in use"
While this can be useful for testing a specific application, or group of applications, you have running at a given time, a better solution is to look for any 32-bit packages installed on your system. This can be done on Debian, Ubuntu or a related distribution by running:
dpkg -l | grep "^ii" | grep ":i386" && echo "Found 32-bit packages" || echo "Did not find 32-bit packages"
The above command works by examining the names of all packages installed on the system and looking for ones marked with the "i386" suffix. This suffix is used when installing 32-bit software on a 64-bit system.
For people running members of the Arch Linux family of distributions, you can perform a similar check. The following line should list any programs installed with multilib support, indicating they are probably 32-bit:
pacman -Sl multilib | grep -F '[installed]'
On distributions in the Fedora and Mageia families of projects, or any others running the RPM package manager, the following command will check for 32-bit software and display any 32-bit packages it finds:
rpm -qa --queryformat '%{NAME} %{ARCH}\n' | grep 'i[3456]86'
Typically 32-bit software is only used on otherwise 64-bit operating systems when running games, Windows applications through WINE, and emulators. There are some exceptions, but chances are you will only need 32-bit library support if you run programs in one of those three categories.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
Debian Edu/Skolelinux 10
Wolfgang Schweer has announced the release of Debian Edu/Skolelinux 10, a major new version of the project's Debian-based specialist distribution designed for educational institutions, computer labs and school networks: "The Debian Edu developer team is happy to announce Debian Edu 10 Buster, the Debian Edu / Skolelinux release based on the Debian 10 Buster release. New features: official Debian installation images are now available; site-specific modular installation is possible; additional meta-packages grouping educational packages by school level are provided; improved desktop localization for all languages Debian supports; tool available to ease setting up site specific multi-language support; GOsa-Plugin password management has been added; improved TLS/SSL support inside the internal network; the Kerberos setup supports NFS and SSH services; a tool to re-generate the LDAP database is available; X2Go server is installed on all systems with the LTSP-Server profile." Read the full release announcement for further information.
Debian Edu/Skolelinux 10 -- Running the Xfce desktop
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FreeBSD 11.3
The FreeBSD team has announced the launch of an update to the operating system's 11.x series: FreeBSD 11.3. The new version updates build and compiler tools, upgrades the package manager, improves jail logging messages, and updates the KDE Plasma and GNOME desktops. "The FreeBSD Release Engineering Team is pleased to announce the availability of FreeBSD 11.3-RELEASE. This is the fourth release of the stable/11 branch. Some of the highlights: The clang, llvm, lld, lldb, and compiler-rt utilities as well as libc++ have been updated to upstream version 8.0.0. The ELF Tool Chain has been updated to version r3614. OpenSSL has been updated to version 1.0.2s. The ZFS filesystem has been updated to implement parallel mounting. The loader(8) has been updated to extend geli(8) support to all architectures. The pkg(8) utility has been updated to version 1.10.5. The KDE desktop environment has been updated to version 5.15.3. The GNOME desktop environment has been updated to version 3.28. Further details can be found in the release announcement and in the release notes.
Tails 3.15
It's time for another update to Tails (The Amnesic Incognito Live System), a Debian-based live DVD/USB image with the goal of providing complete Internet anonymity for the user. Version 3.15 ships with updated Tor Browser and Thunderbird, and it also fixes several bugs: "Tails 3.15 is out. This release fixes many security vulnerabilities. You should upgrade as soon as possible. Changes and upgrades: update Tor Browser to 8.5.4; update Thunderbird to 60.7.2. Fixed problems: fix Tails failing to start a second time on some computers; display an error message in the Unlock VeraCrypt Volumes utility when closing a volume fails because the volume is being used; fix starting Tails through the Heads boot firmware. Known issues: none specific to this release. To upgrade your Tails USB stick and keep your persistent storage: automatic upgrades are available from 3.13, 3.13.1, 3.13.2, 3.14, 3.14.1, and 3.14.2 to 3.15; iff you cannot do an automatic upgrade or if Tails fails to start after an automatic upgrade, please try to do a manual upgrade. What's coming up? Tails 3.16 is scheduled for September 3." Here is the complete release announcement.
Clonezilla Live 2.6.2-15
Steven Shiau has announced the release of Clonezilla Live 2.6.2-15, the latest stable build of the project's specialist Debian-based live image featuring Clonezilla, a partition and disk imaging/cloning application: "This release of Clonezilla Live includes major enhancements and bug fixes: the underlying GNU/Linux operating system has been upgraded, this release is based on the Debian Sid repository as of 2019-07-07; Linux kernel has been updated to 4.19.37; live-config has been updated to 5.20190519; make sure label will have one name only in update-efi-nvram boot entry; improve the mechanism to update UEFI nvram boot entry - it's the same way as boot-local-efi.cfg; default to run ocs-update-initrd for the restored OS when running ocs-sr - this helps to make initramfs work for different hardware, especially the GNU/Linux distributions which use dracut, e.g. CentOS; language files have been updated; the boot menu has been sorted - KMS with large font (for HiDPI monitors) is now at 1st level with hotkey 'l'; two more menus were added in uEFI boot menu - uEFI firmware setup and Clonezilla Live version info." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details.
Feren OS 2019.07
Feren OS is a desktop Linux distribution based on Linux Mint's main edition. The project has published a new quarterly snapshot which introduces new themes, a new icon set, and a new splash screen at boot time. On a more technical note, this snapshot fixes an issue with repository signing keys: "Unfortunately, another smaller change had to be made to all the ISOs in this snapshot, due to a mess up on my part with deleting the original package signing keys for the Feren OS repositories by accident. The old signing keys had to be replaced with new ones, and so current users ended up getting 'NO_PUBKEY' errors on APT Package List Updates. While the ISOs for the previous snapshot were updated first to include the new signing keys out of the box, this snapshot is technically the first snapshot to do so too. If you're suffering from that issue, go here to get instructions on how to fix it." A complete list of changes can be found in the project's 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: 1,503
- Total data uploaded: 26.6TB
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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) |
DIY routers and firewalls
A do-it-yourself (DIY) router is a computer that someone has set up to act as their network's router or firewall. These homemade routers often run an open source operating system such as IPFire or OpenBSD and can use VPN clients, firewall rules, and proxy software to provide a custom experience in the home or office.
This week we are curious to know if our readers use DIY routers and, if so, how that came about.
You can see the results of our previous poll on Mageia and OpenMandriva in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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How did you come to have a DIY router/firewall?
| I bought a new workstation/laptop to use as a router: | 30 (2%) |
| I bought a new single board computer to use as a router: | 71 (6%) |
| I assembled a new DIY router from spare parts: | 36 (3%) |
| I re-purposed an old PC to be a router: | 142 (12%) |
| I do not have a DIY router and would like to try it: | 430 (35%) |
| I do not have a DIY router and do not want one: | 509 (42%) |
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| Website News (by Jesse Smith) |
Distributions added to waiting list
- EndeavourOS. EndeavourOS is an Arch Linux-based project which features a live desktop environment and off-line installer to get the distribution up and running.
- Forensic Hard Copy. Forensic Hard Copy (FHC) is a live Linux distribution used for making copies of storage media for forensic investigation or data recovery.
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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, 22 July 2019. 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)
- Bruce Patterson (podcast)
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Issue 1054 (2024-01-22): Solus 4.5, comparing dd and cp when writing ISO files, openSUSE plans new major Leap version, XeroLinux shutting down, HardenedBSD changes its build schedule |
| • Issue 1053 (2024-01-15): Linux AI voice assistants, some distributions running hotter than others, UBports talks about coming changes, Qubes certifies StarBook laptops, Asahi Linux improves energy savings |
| • Issue 1052 (2024-01-08): OpenMandriva Lx 5.0, keeping shell commands running when theterminal closes, Mint upgrades Edge kernel, Vanilla OS plans big changes, Canonical working to make Snap more cross-platform |
| • Issue 1051 (2024-01-01): Favourite distros of 2023, reloading shell settings, Asahi Linux releases Fedora remix, Gentoo offers binary packages, openSUSE provides full disk encryption |
| • Issue 1050 (2023-12-18): rlxos 2023.11, renaming files and opening terminal windows in specific directories, TrueNAS publishes ZFS fixes, Debian publishes delayed install media, Haiku polishes desktop experience |
| • Issue 1049 (2023-12-11): Lernstick 12, alternatives to WINE, openSUSE updates its branding, Mint unveils new features, Lubuntu team plans for 24.04 |
| • Issue 1048 (2023-12-04): openSUSE MicroOS, the transition from X11 to Wayland, Red Hat phasing out X11 packages, UBports making mobile development easier |
| • Issue 1047 (2023-11-27): GhostBSD 23.10.1, Why Linux uses swap when memory is free, Ubuntu Budgie may benefit from Wayland work in Xfce, early issues with FreeBSD 14.0 |
| • Issue 1046 (2023-11-20): Slackel 7.7 "Openbox", restricting CPU usage, Haiku improves font handling and software centre performance, Canonical launches MicroCloud |
| • Issue 1045 (2023-11-13): Fedora 39, how to trust software packages, ReactOS booting with UEFI, elementary OS plans to default to Wayland, Mir gaining ability to split work across video cards |
| • Issue 1044 (2023-11-06): Porteus 5.01, disabling IPv6, applications unique to a Linux distro, Linux merges bcachefs, OpenELA makes source packages available |
| • Issue 1043 (2023-10-30): Murena Two with privacy switches, where old files go when packages are updated, UBports on Volla phones, Mint testing Cinnamon on Wayland, Peppermint releases ARM build |
| • Issue 1042 (2023-10-23): Ubuntu Cinnamon compared with Linux Mint, extending battery life on Linux, Debian resumes /usr merge, Canonical publishes fixed install media |
| • Issue 1041 (2023-10-16): FydeOS 17.0, Dr.Parted 23.09, changing UIDs, Fedora partners with Slimbook, GNOME phasing out X11 sessions, Ubuntu revokes 23.10 install media |
| • Issue 1040 (2023-10-09): CROWZ 5.0, changing the location of default directories, Linux Mint updates its Edge edition, Murena crowdfunding new privacy phone, Debian publishes new install media |
| • Issue 1039 (2023-10-02): Zenwalk Current, finding the duration of media files, Peppermint OS tries out new edition, COSMIC gains new features, Canonical reports on security incident in Snap store |
| • Issue 1038 (2023-09-25): Mageia 9, trouble-shooting launchers, running desktop Linux in the cloud, New documentation for Nix, Linux phasing out ReiserFS, GNU celebrates 40 years |
| • Issue 1037 (2023-09-18): Bodhi Linux 7.0.0, finding specific distros and unified package managemnt, Zevenet replaced by two new forks, openSUSE introduces Slowroll branch, Fedora considering dropping Plasma X11 session |
| • Full list of all issues |
| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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| Random Distribution | 
iBox
iBox was a highly customised and flexible live CD based on Gentoo Linux. Thanks to glc (the Chinese branch of gentoo portage), iBox provides an all-round Chinese (simplified) desktop environment using GNOME with almost all pre-configured popular software. The main feature of iBox was the auto-detection and auto-configuration of hardware, especially with the mkxorgconf script to help create the configuration file for Xorg. Last but not least, iBox can rebuild itself through ibox-builder from a Gentoo box.
Status: Discontinued
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| 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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