 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 850, 27 January 2020 |
Welcome to this year's 4th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
There are many reasons to use a live operating system running from a USB thumb drive or DVD. It is portable, allowing the user to take their operating system with them. A live system is handy if we need to recover data from a broken operating system too. Perhaps most significantly, a live system can be used to test performance and hardware compatibility before we commit to installing an operating system permanently. This week we begin with a look at a FreeBSD-based operating system meant to be run from a DVD or thumb drive. The live system is called FuryBSD and we discuss how it performs in our Feature Story. We also discuss live operating systems and their performance compared to locally installed systems in our Questions and Answers column. In our News section we talk about Fedora's new Fedora CoreOS edition and Ubuntu dropping their Amazon launcher from the default install. Plus we link to Kubuntu's new official laptop provided by Tuxedo Computers. We would like to hear how you feel about distributions partnering with hardware retailers in our Opinion Poll. Is it helpful to you to have a distribution bundled with a new computer? Plus we are pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a fantastic week and happy reading!
Content:
- Review: FuryBSD 12.0
- News: Fedora presents Fedora CoreOS, Kubuntu unveils official laptop, Ubuntu dropping Amazon launcher
- Questions and answers: Live distro versus installed distro performance
- Released last week: GhostBSD 20.01, Solus 4.1, Lakka 2.3.2
- Torrent corner: Bluestar, EasyOS, Fatdog64, GhostBSD, GParted Live, KDE neon, Lakka, Live Raizo, Parabola, Q4OS, Qubes OS, Robolinux, Solus, Volumio
- Opinion poll: Purchasing an official distro computer
- Reader comments
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG (15MB) and MP3 (12MB) formats.
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
FuryBSD 12.0
FuryBSD is the most recent addition to the DistroWatch database and provides a live desktop operating system based on FreeBSD. FuryBSD is not entirely different in its goals from NomadBSD, which we discussed recently. I wanted to take this FreeBSD-based project for a test drive and see how it compares to NomadBSD and other desktop-oriented projects in the FreeBSD family.
FuryBSD supplies hybrid ISO/USB images which can be used to run a live desktop. There are two desktop editions currently, both for 64-bit (x86_64) machines: Xfce and KDE Plasma. The Xfce edition is 1.4GB in size and is the flavour I downloaded. The KDE Plasma edition is about 3.0GB in size.
Booting from the live media brings up the Xfce 4.14 desktop environment. Along the bottom of the screen is a panel which holds the application menu, task switcher and system tray. Icons on the desktop open the Thunar file manager, launch the system installer, and provide quick access to a Getting Started document. There are two more icons for accessing X.Org configuration options and showing system information. The Getting Started document is a quick reference text file containing command line instructions for setting up networking and installing video drivers. The System Information icon opens the Firefox web browser and displays a locally generated page which contains general information about our computer and its resource usage.
FuryBSD 12.0 -- The live Xfce desktop
(full image size: 1.2MB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Installing
Launching the system installer opens a window that displays a series of text-based menus and prompts. The first screen asks us to make up a hostname for our computer. We are then shown a series of ZFS options. We can choose which disk to take over for the filesystem, along with RAID options, whether to enabling encryption, and we can set the size of swap space. This screen is not at all beginner friendly and is likely to confuse anyone not accustomed to working with ZFS, but the options all seem to work as I would hope. The installer asks if we are sure we want to wipe and take over the disks we selected and then copies its files to the hard drive.
Once the files have copied we are asked to make up a password for the root account. We can then add a new user account. We are advised to add at least one user to the wheel group. This recommendation is not explained, but it is so our user can perform administration actions. We are then asked to pick our time zone from a menu and then the system restarts.
While the installer worked well enough, something that gave me a little trouble was the screensaver came on while the operating system was being set up and locked the desktop. I did not know what the password was and it took a little trial-and-error before I came up with "furybsd" as the password. I later found the default passwords are on the project's GitHub page for the live media.
Early impressions
My fresh install of FuryBSD booted to a graphical login screen. From there I could sign into my account, which brings up the Xfce desktop. The installed version of Xfce is the same as the live version, with a few minor changes. Most of the desktop icons have been removed with just the file manager launchers remaining. The Getting Started and System Information icons have been removed. Otherwise the experience is virtually identical to the live media.
FuryBSD uses a theme that is mostly grey and white with creamy yellow folder icons. The application menu launchers tend to have neutral icons, neither particularly bright and detailed or minimal.
FuryBSD 12.0 -- The Xfce application menu
(full image size: 924kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Hardware
I tried running FuryBSD on my laptop and in a VirtualBox machine. In both test environments, the operating system ran quickly and the Xfce desktop performed smoothly. When running in VirtualBox, at first FuryBSD could not integrate the mouse pointer or use my system's full screen resolution. Once VirtualBox guest modules had been installed from the FreeBSD package repositories mouse integration worked, but I still could not get the desktop to use a higher screen resolution.
When running on my laptop, FuryBSD was able to make use of my wired network connection, but could not detect my wireless card. I used the Getting Started tips file, but the listed tools did not help. I also found applications were unable to play sound in either test environment. I will touch on this again later, but FuryBSD was entirely silent during my trial, regardless of how I adjusted the volume controls.
The operating system is fairly lean for a desktop system and requires just 2GB of disk space. Memory usage was about average, with the operating system consuming 330MB of Active memory and 290MB of Wired memory.
Applications
FuryBSD requires a smaller than normal amount of disk space because it ships with few desktop applications. We are given Firefox, the Thunar file manager, the Xfce terminal, the Xfce settings panel, and a bulk file renaming tool. The application menu contains a launcher for an e-mail client, but no e-mail application is installed. Behind the scenes we find the FreeBSD 12.0 userland tools, manual pages, and the Clang compiler.
For anything else we will need to turn to the package manager. FuryBSD does not ship with a graphical software manager, instead we can use the pkg command line package manager to install, upgrade, and remove software. We could also use FreeBSD's collection of ports if we wish to compile source packages and add customizations.
FuryBSD 12.0 -- Information on using the package manager
(full image size: 489kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
The Firefox browser worked well for the most part. I had no trouble visiting most websites. However, I could not get YouTube videos to play. Videos would load, but refuse to start. I also had trouble with local multimedia. I installed the VLC and mpv players. Both media players would show video, but were unable to produce sound, for either video or audio files.
Both the sudo and doas privilege escalation tools are installed. I found sudo is not configured and needs to be set up manually. The doas tool is set up to grant root access (with a password) to anyone in the wheel group. Some specific commands can also be run by wheel members without a password, such as the service command for managing background services and the ifconfig utility for managing network connections.
FuryBSD 12.0 -- The settings panel
(full image size: 477kB, resolution: 1366x768 pixels)
Conclusions
I don't feel as though I have a lot to say about FuryBSD as the operating system is quite minimal for a desktop system. The project mostly does what it sets out to do - providing a way to run a live desktop version of FreeBSD and make it possible to quickly install a FreeBSD-based operating system. On the positive side of things, it mostly works well, has some quick-reference documentation, uses FreeBSD's solid core as its base, and has a pretty vanilla, yet functional, version of Xfce.
I did have a few complaints. FuryBSD is very minimal, meaning beyond testing hardware and browsing the web, there is not a lot we can do with the live environment. The installer, while functional, is likely to scare away anyone besides people already comfortable with FreeBSD and ZFS. I also found sound was not working on my test systems.
While FuryBSD basically succeeds in fulfilling its mission, I was less enthusiastic about using it than I was when I tried NomadBSD last month. NomadBSD has a more polished desktop, more included applications, sound worked out of the box, the desktop resolution could be adjusted in VirtualBox, and it used less RAM. These two projects have a lot of overlap and, while they approach some things differently, I feel NomadBSD is currently the stronger choice for most users while FuryBSD will probably mostly appeal to people who want a more minimal default collection of software.
* * * * *
Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was a de-branded HP laptop with the following
specifications:
- Processor: Intel i3 2.5GHz CPU
- Display: Intel integrated video
- Storage: Western Digital 700GB hard drive
- Memory: 6GB of RAM
- Wired network device: Realtek RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast
- Wireless network device: Realtek RTL8188EE Wireless network card
* * * * *
Visitor supplied rating
FuryBSD has a visitor supplied average rating of: N/A from 0 review(s).
Have you used FuryBSD? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Fedora presents Fedora CoreOS, Kubuntu unveils official laptop, Ubuntu dropping Amazon launcher
The Fedora team have announced that the Fedora CoreOS platform is now available for general public use. Fedora CoreOS is a minimal platform intended to run containers and is considered the successor to Fedora Atomic Host and CoreOS's Container Linux. "The Fedora CoreOS team is pleased to announce that Fedora CoreOS is now available for general use. Here are some more details about this exciting delivery. Fedora CoreOS is a new Fedora Edition built specifically for running containerized workloads securely and at scale. It's the successor to both Fedora Atomic Host and CoreOS Container Linux and is part of our effort to explore new ways of assembling and updating an OS. Fedora CoreOS combines the provisioning tools and automatic update model of Container Linux with the packaging technology, OCI support, and SELinux security of Atomic Host."
The Fedora Magazine post goes on to note that this means CoreOS's Container Linux, which was purchased by Red Hat about two years ago, will soon reach the end of its supported life. "CoreOS Container Linux will be maintained for a few more months, and then will be declared end-of-life. We'll announce the exact end-of-life date later this month."
* * * * *
The Kubuntu team has announced the availability of an official Kubuntu laptop. The laptop is a joint venture with Tuxedo Computers and the new device is being called the Kubuntu Focus Laptop. "The Kubuntu Council, MindShareManagement Inc, and Tuxedo Computers proudly announce the officially authorized Kubuntu Focus Laptop. The target audience are power users and developers who seek performance and compatibility with Linux deployment environments. It comes pre-loaded and pre-updated with the latest, professionally vetted software for web development, deep learning, Steam games, video editing, image editing, and dozens of additional supported software packages. This laptop is the result of months of focused industrial design. We took one hardware configuration meticulously tuned it to ensure everything works out of the box" A post on the Kubuntu website offers further details and specifications.
* * * * *
According to an article on FOSS Bytes, the Ubuntu distribution will no longer be shipping with a launcher for the Amazon store by default. Canonical's relationship with Amazon has often been the source of controversy over the past eight years and the distribution has gradually been pulling back from including Amazon search results and Amazon links bundled with the operating system. "Does the Amazon web app also give you a hard time on Ubuntu? If yes, then it's time to cheer for you as the much-awaited Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa has finally removed the pre-installed Amazon web launcher from the dock. The article points to a change on Launchpad which seems to indicate the removal of the Amazon launcher.
* * * * *
These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
Live distro versus installed distro performance
Buyer-beware asks: Live distros always seem to work great off of a DVD. However, I struggle to figure out why they no longer work as fast or as smooth whenever I decide to actually install an updated distro.
A perfect example is the Ubuntu family. Lubuntu and Xubuntu have the same or better response times. Kubuntu takes forever no matter what I try to do.
How do I find out what settings are used that allow a live version of a Linux distro to work great when I test it on my hardware versus when I install it? Do you know of an optimization checklist that might help?
DistroWatch answers: I find this situation interesting as, typically, I get the same desktop performance from a live distro as an installed one. If anything, running a distribution from a hard drive is usually faster than running it from a DVD due to the better drive speed. I would generally consider it strange to find a distribution that runs slower after it has been installed than when it is running from a DVD.
When there is a performance difference when running from one medium or another there are some things we can check. The first one I usually look at is the video driver. In the Ubuntu family of distributions you can go into the Software & Updates tool from the application menu and look under the Additional Drivers tab. This will give you access to third-party drivers which may offer better desktop performance. Typically the third-party drivers will only help if you are using a 3-D desktop like GNOME or Cinnamon. It is less likely to help when running Lubuntu, Xubuntu or Kubuntu as these desktops do not require 3-D driver support to functional smoothly.
Another thing to look at is whether desktop visual effects are enabled. This tends to make a big difference on distributions that run the KDE Plasma desktop (such as Kubuntu). If you go into the System Settings panel and look at the desktop effects settings, you will likely find most of them enabled. Turning off visual effects can speed up the desktop. On many modern desktops you should also check the compositor settings. I often find turning off compositing (or tuning it to prefer performance over visual polish) can make a big difference. Each desktop handles this differently, so check your desktop environment's documentation or your distribution's documentation for steps on how to do this.
A third option is to look at background services, such as file indexing. Generally file indexing should be disabled on a live disc, but will be running in the background on a freshly installed distribution. Many distributions run a service like locate which indexes all the files on the hard drive. Some desktops, including KDE Plasma, can also create an index of files and this can slow down the interface. Check your desktop's settings to see if it is setting up a search index or file index. If so, disabling this service can help. Similarly, if your computer is running a background job to index files for locate, then disabling this service or making it run at a lower priority can help. You can check if one of these index services is running using your distribution's system monitor.
Finally, one more thing you can do is wait. If you are noticing the performance difference right away and not using the distribution for very long before deciding it is too slow, then it is possible some background services are running when you first sign in and will stop later. For instance, your system may be checking for software updates when you first install the operating system and will sort itself out in a few minutes. If so, the slower performance will be temporary and only happen when you first login to your account. If slow performance continues beyond a few minutes then it is probably due to one of the above scenarios.
* * * * *
Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
GParted Live 1.1.0-1
Curtis Gedak has announced the release of GParted Live 1.1.0-1, the latest stable version of the project's Debian-based CD/USB image with a collection of disk management and data rescue utilities: "The GParted team is pleased to announce a new stable release of GParted Live. This release includes GParted 1.1.0, updated packages and other improvements. Items of note include: fix error when moving locked LUKS-encrypted partition; switch to faster minfo and mdir to read FAT16/32 usage; calculate JFS size accurately; recognise ATARAID members and detect their busy status; based on the Debian 'Sid' repository as of 2020-01-21; Linux kernel updated to 5.4.13; fix an issue about makeboot.sh which failed to run. Note that the default boot options did not display an X Desktop on old Acer Aspire laptops. The workaround is to select Other modes of GParted Live and choose GParted Live (Safe graphics setting, vga-normal). Note also that a problem on a test computer with GParted stuck displaying 'Scanning all devices...' turned out to be an mdadm command waiting forever for a floppy_read_block." Read the full release announcement for more details.
GhostBSD 20.01
GhostBSD is a user-friendly desktop operating system based on TrueOS (which is, in turn, based on FreeBSD's development branch). The project's latest release, GhostBSD 20.01, introduces some fixes to the installer and ships with version 1.22.2 of the MATE desktop environment. A community edition featuring the Xfce desktop is also available. "I am happy to announce the availability of GhostBSD 20.01 with some improvements made to the installer, mainly improvements to the way the installer UI deals with custom partitions involving GTP and UEFI. Also, some system and software has been updated. GhostBSD 20.01 ISO has some minor improvements over 19.10. It provides an up to date ISO with the latest packages and system updates for new installation with a simple installation process to get you going quickly. For current installation, no need to re-install. What has changed since 19.10: System got updated to 12.1-STABLE. MATE is now at 1.22.2. Added a warning when an incorrect password is used in Software Station. Fix the UI installer limitation with GPT and UEFI." Further information can be found in the project's release announcement.
Lakka 2.3.2
The Lakka development team has announced the release of Lakka 2.3.2, a lightweight Linux distribution (based on LibreELEC) which promises to transform a small computer into a full-blown game console. The new release comes with an updated RetroArch user interface: "The Lakka team wishes everyone a happy new year as it welcomes 2020 with a new update and a new tier-based releases system. This new Lakka update, version 2.3.2, contains RetroArch 1.8.4 (was 1.7.2), some new cores and a handful of core updates. This new version of RetroArch adds some welcome features - the most interesting is the manual content scanner. You read it right - no database is required any more to build your playlists. Whether it's because the database is missing or your platform has little memory to handle big scans, you now have the choice to do a manual scan to build playlists on your Lakka box. This new scanning method simply takes all files ending with a known extension in a folder and adds them to the playlist for that system." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details. At present, the new Lakka release is available for generic x86_64 computers and Raspberry Pi boards.
Solus 4.1
Solus is a Linux distribution built from scratch. It uses a forked version of the PiSi package manager, maintained as "eopkg" within Solus, and a custom desktop environment called "Budgie", developed in-house. The project's latest release is Solus 4.1 which offers many updates and should provide a faster install process thanks to using a different format for compression: "Solus 4.1 is the first ISO release to feature the use of Zstandard(zstd) compression for the SquashFS images. Compared to the XZ compressed ISOs from previous releases, the ztsd compressed size is a little bit larger. But as a result, the decompression times are significantly improved (3-4x), leading to a much faster installation process than ever previously achieved. In most cases, you can expect to spend more time filling out the questions in the installation wizard than it will actually take to copy everything to disk. We hope you are just as surprised as we were at just how fast this process has become." The project's release announcement offers further details.
Solus 4.1 -- Running the Budgie desktop
(full image size: 1.2MB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
* * * * *
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: 1,792
- Total data uploaded: 29.9TB
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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) |
Purchasing an official distro computer
There are a handful of Linux distributions (and some flavours of BSD) which are partnered with hardware sellers to provide customers with official desktop, laptop and NAS devices. The Linux Mint distribution promotes the MintBox series of computers, for example, and in our News section we talked about the new Kubuntu Focus Laptop. Buying a laptop that is endorsed by the distribution should, in theory at least, provide a smooth experience with hardware that has been tested with the distribution's configuration and drivers.
We would like to hear how many of our readers have purchased one of these official, distribution-endorsed computers. Was it a good experience or the same as you would expect from any off-the-shelf computer? Let us know about your experiences in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on whether init software plays a role in choosing your distribution in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Purchasing official distribution computers
| I have purchased an official distro PC and liked it: | 89 (5%) |
| I have purchased an official distro PC and disliked it: | 8 (0%) |
| I have not purchased an official distro PC and plan to later: | 360 (21%) |
| I have not and have no plans to purchase an official distro PC: | 1220 (73%) |
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| Website News (by Jesse Smith) |
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 3 February 2020. 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 | 
Hubworx
Hubworx products include Hubworx Network Manager, Hubworx Web Office, and Hubworx Thin Client Server. Hubworx Network Manager was a complete Linux Operating System (based on Mandriva Linux) designed to manage your network and protect it from intruders. It comes with simple but powerful tools to administer your system and protect against viruses, spam, and undesirable content. Hubworx Web Office was a suite of web-enabled applications securely accessible from any PC with an Internet connection. Tools include e-mail client, shared calendar, contact management, project manager. Hubworx Thin Client Server was designed to extend the useful life of any obsolete PC by converting it into a powerful thin client. Standard software includes a suite of open source office applications.
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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