 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 968, 16 May 2022 |
Welcome to this year's 20th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
One of the useful aspects of open source software is that it can be maintained and improved upon long after the original developers have discontinued work on it. New coders can come along and breathe new life into old projects. One such example of software being kept alive is the Trinity desktop, a fork of KDE 3 which has found a home in a few Linux distributions, most notably Q4OS. The Q4OS distribution is based on Debian and offers both KDE Plasma 5 and Trinity as its default desktop sessions. The Quark project aims to provide similar desktop functionality while using Ubuntu as the package base rather than Debian. This week we begin with a look at the Quark project and report on what it's like to run this Kubuntu-based distribution. Then, in our News section, we talk about improvements coming to the Haiku operating system and report on NVIDIA open sourcing parts of its video drivers. Plus we share some history behind the Linux filesystem and why parts of its layout are duplicated in different directories. Plus we talk about good mobile devices to purchase in order to test drive various Linux-based operating systems. We're also pleased to share the releases of the past week and list the torrents we are seeding. We wish you all a wonderful week and happy reading!
Content:
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
Quark 21.10.2
One of the projects which has been awaiting my attention on the DistroWatch waiting list is Quark. The Quark distribution is described as follows:
Quark is a user friendly, desktop oriented operating system based on Ubuntu Linux with [the] Plasma desktop environment and an added value thanks to unique Q4OS tools integrated. Its goal is to provide [an] Ubuntu based operating system with Q4OS amenities. Unlike Q4OS, which is Debian based, Quark is based on Ubuntu.
Another unique Quark feature is a dedicated support for running incredibly fast and efficient Trinity desktop environment alongside the default Plasma desktop. Just select Trinity in the Desktop Profiler tool and enjoy it once easily installed.
We provide Quark bootable live media in two equal variants, that are actually the same, except the default visual theme. The primary one featuring [the] Q4OS Debonaire theme, and a second variant with [a] Windows 10 like theme, as a convenient download for users, who would prefer such [a] look and feel. The Windows visual theme is compiled exclusively from free software projects, no copyrighted or licensed elements are used.
One assumes the description's last paragraph means no copyrighted or restrictively licensed components from Microsoft are used since open source components are, by their nature, copyrighted and licensed by someone.
The latest version of Quark is available as a 2.7GB download for 64-bit (x86_64) machines. Once I had downloaded the live media and launched it, the operating system quickly brought up a welcome screen. This screen informed me that I was running Kubuntu 21.10 and I could try its live Plasma desktop or install the Kubuntu distribution.
This Kubuntu branding occurs in most aspects of the distribution. I saw little to no references to the "Quark" name or logo during my trial. The included tools always referred to Kubuntu, Ubuntu, or Q4OS, but none of the components, boot screen, documentation, or settings referred to Quark by name.
When taking the Try option from the welcome screen we are presented with the KDE Plasma desktop. A thick panel sits at the bottom of the screen. This panel holds our application menu, task switcher, and system tray. The application menu is laid out in a classic, tree-style. There is a single icon on the desktop for launching the Ubiquity system installer.
Quark 21.10.2 -- Being welcomed to Quark
(full image size: 146kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Shortly after the desktop session finishes loading, both on the live media and on the installed copy of the distribution, a Q4OS welcome window appears. This welcome screen offers to launch a number of tools. These include a desktop profiler, a simple software manager, and a tool to install media codecs. There are also toggles for changing the application menu layout, enabling auto-login, and enabling desktop visual effects. I will return to these options later.
The live session runs Plasma 5.22 which is largely unmodified from its upstream distribution. Once I had confirmed the live session was working well and cooperating with my hardware, I launched the Ubiquity graphical installer from its desktop icon.
Installing
Ubiquity begins by asking us to select our preferred language. A link is displayed which offers to show us the project's release notes. Clicking this opens Firefox and displays the Ubuntu release notes for 21.10. We are then walked through screens which help us pick our keyboard layout, select a full or minimal install (I opted for the full version), and we can choose to install third-party software such as media codecs and wireless drivers. Ubiquity offers both guided and manual partitioning. The manual path is fairly easy to use. The guided option sets up a single ext4 partition for the root filesystem. A swap file is automatically created for us on the root partition. Once we make up a username and password, Ubiquity finishes copying its files to the hard drive and offers to restart the computer.
Early impressions
Quark boots to a graphical login screen. From here we can choose two session options: "Plasma on X11" and "Plasma on Wayland". There was no Trinity option available, though the project's website does say we need to install Trinity from the desktop profiler tool.
Since the Q4OS welcome window appears as soon as we login, I immediately selected the desktop profiler utility. The profiler offers one of three options: Full Desktop, Basic Desktop, and Minimal Desktop. While the project's website says this will help us install the Trinity environment, none of the descriptions specify which desktop or applications will be installed, just the general amount of software and features. According to a label in the corner of the profiler's window, we're working with Plasma, not options relating to Trinity.
Quark 21.10.2 -- Selecting a desktop profile
(full image size: 129kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Still, I went ahead and installed the Basic desktop option. This just installed a few tools and upgraded my copy of LibreOffice, but didn't seem to do anything else. Restarting the computer showed I still just had the two Plasma session options. I considered trying to install Trinity manually, but I could not find a complete copy of the Trinity desktop environment (also known as TDE) in the default repositories. Which leaves me wondering if Trinity isn't installed by default and it is not installed by the desktop profiler and it is not in the repositories, then why is it advertised as an option on the distribution's website?
Another advertised piece of software turned out not to be available. When Quark is run in a VirtualBox environment a window pops-up when we login and offers to install guest add-ons to make the experience better. Agreeing to this offer causes an error message to appear which tells us VirtualBox guest additions are not available for this distribution. Not only is this inaccurate, the VirtualBox guest packages are in the default software repositories and can easily be installed manually using the APT package manager.
Included software
Quark ships with a fairly typical collection of popular open source software. Firefox and LibreOffice are provided along with the Dolphin file manager. The VLC media player and Elisa music player are present along with codecs for playing video and audio files. We're given the Muon package manager, the Discover software centre, and the Q4OS Software Centre (more on these in a bit). Quark also ships with the Kate text editor, KTorrent, and the Thunderbird e-mail client. The KDE Connect software is available for connecting with mobile devices and the Okular document viewer is included.
Quark 21.10.2 -- Running LibreOffice and KDE Connect
(full image size: 270kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Behind the scenes Quark is Kubuntu with the same command line utilities, documentation, and systemd init software. Like its parent, the distribution runs Linux 5.13 under the hood.
Software management
There are several approaches to managing software when running Quark. The first and most obvious approach is to use the Install Applications button from the welcome window. Clicking this button opens a simple software centre with 48 open source programs and the Chrome web browser listed. Each item shows its name, icon, and a brief description. We can select one item at a time and click a button to install it. The install process is set up to mimic the Windows setup wizard where we are prompted to click Next a few times as the package downloads and installs. It's not efficient, but it should be familiar to Windows users. When the faux setup wizard is finished, we're returned to the mini software centre. This tool works and is probably the easiest way for new users to install popular applications.
Quark 21.10.2 -- Installing new applications from the welcome window
(full image size: 229kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Discover should probably be considered the default software centre. It is available in the Favourites section of the application menu and it worked fairly well for me. I've never been a huge fan of Discover and its unusual way of organizing software. However, I will happily acknowledge it is getting faster and looks more polished now than it has in the past. Discover was able to install desktop applications and fetch available package updates from the Kubuntu repositories.
Quark 21.10.2 -- The Discover software centre
(full image size: 148kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
If these two options are not to our liking, Quark also ships with the Muon package manager which takes a low-level approach to software management. Alternatively, we can use the APT command line tools. Each of these worked and there is enough variety here for experienced users to find the specific style of software management they want. Newcomers are likely to be a bit confused by the many software management tools since they each work differently.
Hardware and other observations
A fresh installation of Quark uses just under 9GB of disk space and consumes 440MB of memory when sitting at the desktop (after the welcome window has been dismissed). The system is fast and responsive. It boots quickly and I liked how fast Plasma was to respond with desktop effects disabled.
When I was using the distribution in VirtualBox, most things worked as expected. There were two exceptions to this. One was the greeting window failing to install VirtualBox guest add-ons which I later installed manually from the software repositories. The other was trying to change the desktop resolution in VirtualBox caused the display settings module to crash. This left me with a very low resolution desktop when running the distribution in a virtual environment.
The experience was a little better on my laptop. My hardware was all detected and most things worked smoothly. Again, there were just two complaints when I was running Quark on my laptop. The first was the touchpad would not recognize taps as clicks. On modern touchpads, which often don't have clearly defined buttons, this is an irritation. Taps as clicks can be enabled in the System Settings panel in Plasma. The other issue I had was Quark set my screen to be at its dimmest light setting by default. Perhaps this is a battery saving measure, but it makes it difficult to read anything on the display until I had ramped up the brightness level. Fortunately this can be done using the function keys on my laptop, saving me from navigating the settings panel on a dark screen.
The project's website mentions there is a Windows theme available and this is indeed included. The default Plasma themes like Breeze and Breeze Dark are present, but Windows XP and Windows 10 themes are also installed for us.
Conclusions
While working on this review of Quark, I ran into a rare case of writer's block. Which, as Tom Robbins would tell you, is just another way of saying the author is lazy or uninspired. This lack of inspiration is, I feel, a direct reflection of the Quark distribution. The whole experience feels unmotivated.
According to the project's website, Quark has three distinct features: Q4OS utilities running on an Ubuntu base, easy access to the Trinity desktop, and Windows-like themes. The last point is certainly accurate, the distribution does ship with two optional Windows-like themes - mission accomplished.
Quark 21.10.2 -- Changing themes
(full image size: 220kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
However, the Trinity desktop was not to be found. It's not installed by default, the desktop profiler didn't install it for me as expected, and the desktop doesn't even appear to be available in the default repositories. (There are a few Trinity packages, but I could find no sign of a complete set of desktop packages.) This appears to either be a complete oversight from the developers or a lack of clear documentation.
The third feature (Q4OS utilities on an Ubuntu base) is a mixed experience. Technically the Q4OS welcome screen and associated utilities are present on the Kubuntu base, however not all the of them work. The tool to install VirtualBox additions, the option to change desktop resolution, and the desktop profiler all seem to be ill-suited to running on Kubuntu. In short, it feels like the Q4OS software was packaged for Kubuntu and included without any testing, resulting in a few things working and some that did not.
This half-finished impression came up a lot while using Quark with the distribution often referring to itself as either Kubuntu or Q4OS, or linking to Ubuntu documentation. The developers haven't even changed the colours of the project's logo to look different from Q4OS. It looks as though the developers simply took the Kubuntu live media, added the Q4OS packages and the Windows themes, and called it a day without pausing to see if any of it worked.
At this point I'd usually be inclined to pass off the rough edges as a proof-of-concept, a first attempt that will get polished later. However, I checked our database and found the project has been around for almost two full years (it was submitted to our waiting list in 2020) so it's not new, it's just unfinished.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Haiku improves FUSE filesystem creation and imports drivers, history of the Linux filesystem, NVIDIA open sources kernel drivers
The Haiku developers have published a status report which highlights the work done to Haiku in the month of April. The report covers desktop improvements, efforts make to help with the creation of FUSE filesystems, and porting work going into RISC-V and ARM. The report also talks about importing wireless card support from FreeBSD and OpenBSD. "The largest item I worked on last month, which I mentioned investigating in my previous report but had not started on, is some experiments incorporating OpenBSD WiFi drivers in addition to FreeBSD WiFi drivers. This would, if successful, bring in support for a few new classes of devices (including Intel's most recent line) as well as 802.11ac support on idualwifi7260 and some of the new drivers that would come along." More information on the work happening in the Haiku project can be found in the activity report.
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The layout of the Linux filesystem confuses a lot of newcomers, especially since a lot of directories have similar or matching names. There are countless posts on technical forums asking why Linux has directories called /bin, /sbin, /usr/bin, and /usr/sbin. While there are a lot of modern reasons and conventions which have grown over the years to justify this as a design, the original reason was a bit more organic. Rob Landley shares this UNIX legend: "You know how Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie created Unix on a PDP-7 in 1969? Well around 1971 they upgraded to a PDP-11 with a pair of RK05 disk packs (1.5 megabytes each) for storage. When the operating system grew too big to fit on the first RK05 disk pack (their root filesystem) they let it leak into the second one, which is where all the user home directories lived (which is why the mount was called /usr). They replicated all the OS directories under there (/bin, /sbin, /lib, /tmp...) and wrote files to those new directories because their original disk was out of space." Additional information on the history of the UNIX (and Linux) filesystem layout is covered in this Busybox mailing list thread.
In other, exciting news NVIDIA have announced their latest video driver release is open source. "NVIDIA is now publishing Linux GPU kernel modules as open source with dual GPL/MIT license, starting with the R515 driver release. You can find the source code for these kernel modules in the NVIDIA Open GPU Kernel Modules repo on GitHub.
This release is a significant step toward improving the experience of using NVIDIA GPUs in Linux, for tighter integration with the OS and for developers to debug, integrate, and contribute back. For Linux distribution providers, the open source modules increase ease of use. They also improve the out-of-the-box user experience to sign and distribute the NVIDIA GPU driver. Canonical and SUSE are able to immediately package the open kernel modules with Ubuntu and SUSE Linux Enterprise distributions." At this point the newly open sourced NVIDIA video drivers are in the early stages of development and don't support all NVIDIA GPUs at the time of the release. However, this does open the door for kernel developers to improve and expand the NVIDIA modules.
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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) |
Finding a good phone for Linux-based operating systems
Seeking a new phone asks: Which is the best phone for installing Linux and custom Android ROMs?
DistroWatch answers: The challenge I find with answering this question is trying to figure out what criteria defines the "best" option. Are we looking at cost, hardware specifications, basic compatibility with the highest number of operating systems, outstanding compatibility with one operating system, ability to buy the device in the largest number of countries around the world? Without knowing what the key factors are in deciding which phone will be deemed the "best", it's difficult to give an answer.
Were I looking for an inexpensive, open hardware device which works a little bit with a wide range of operating systems I'd probably pick the PinePhone. It doesn't cost much and it works with over 20 Linux-based operating systems. However, I don't think Android is one of the supported systems and the hardware is quite low-end.
On the other hand, if you want a device which works with GNU/Linux operating systems, such as UBports, and which also runs Android, then you might try getting a used Nexus 5. It's also low end and inexpensive and is one of the supported devices recommended by UBports.
Should you wish for something with slightly higher specifications (and price tag) you might look at the Fairphone 3 which is almost entirely supported by UBports and will run custom Android flavours like LineageOS and /e/OS. At the time of writing a port of postmarketOS for the Fairphone 3 is in progress.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
Fedora 36
The Fedora team have announced the release of Fedora 36. The new release offers desktop users a chance to run GNOME 42 with most applications ported to GTK 4. Fedora 36 also ships with a new version of the Ansible management software while Cockpit can now manage network shares. "Fedora Linux 36 includes the latest release of Ansible. Ansible 5 splits the 'engine' into an ansible-core package and collections packages. This makes maintenance easier and allows you to download only the collections you need. See the Ansible 5 Porting Guide to learn how to update your playbooks. Beginning in Fedora Server 36, Cockpit provides a module for provisioning and ongoing administration of NFS and Samba shares. This allows administrators to manage network file shares through the Cockpit web interface used to configure other server attributes." The release announcement and release notes offer additional information.
Fedora 36 -- Running the GNOME desktop
(full image size: 2.7MB, 2560x1600 pixels)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6
Red Hat has announced the availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.6, the latest update of the company's commercial, enterprise-class Linux distribution with bundled customer support: "With Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6, you can: Innovate - provides developers with a simplified experience for both access and application development. Support for the following AppStreams is now available: Added Perl 5.32 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 AppStream. Added PHP 8.0 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux8 AppStream. Updated to LLVM Toolset in Red Hat Enterprise Linux8 AppStream. Updated to Rust Toolset in Red Hat Enterprise Linux8 AppStream. Updated to Go Toolset in Red Hat Enterprise Linux8 AppStream. Optimize - offers Stratis Storage support in the web console (tech preview) to allow users to utilize the Red Hat Enterprise Linux console to create, configure, and manage Stratis Storage pools and filesystems." Read the release announcement, the What's New blog post and the release notes for more information.
EuroLinux 8.6
Following close on the heels of their upstream source, the EuroLinux team have published EuroLinux 8.6 which is based on the source code for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The organization's release announcement begins: "On May 11, 2022, we released version 8.6 of the EuroLinux operating system. It is compatible with the latest upstream release. With this release we focused on the support for modern software security technologies such as OpenSSL 3.0, verification of the versions of installed SELinux policies and updated hashing algorithms. New PHP and Perl versions have been added. The system was also enhanced by a secure version of log4j. Popular C/C++, Go and Rust compiler collections have been updated. The real-time Linux kernel test suite - rteval - has received the ability to specify a threshold value in microseconds. Options' names in Samba binaries have been standardized to provide a more consistent user interface. The changes will also satisfy the people who work with deep learning and deep neural networks - the OpenCV package in EuroLinux 8.6 now ships the dnn and text modules." The release notes offer additional details.
AlmaLinux OS 8.6
AlmaLinux OS, a distribution built from Red Hat Enterprise Linux sourcecode, has launched a new stable release. Version 8.6 has been published and can run on three architectures: x86_64, ppc64le, and aarch64. The release announcement states: "Hi, Community! The AlmaLinux OS Foundation is excited to announce that AlmaLinux OS 8.6 Stable is now available. Just like a flash after the beta release. This stable release is for the x86_64, aarch64 and ppc64le architectures and is ready for production installations and to power all your computing needs and workloads. Grab it from the nearest mirror and join us on the AlmaLinux Community Chat to discuss. Our Live Images, Raspberry Pi, Cloud and Container images updates are in process too, so stay tuned to catch the updates. Don't blink, you might miss them. The AlmaLinux 8.6 contains web console enhancements and some brand new System Roles that make system administration simpler. Security updates include upstream versions for the SCAP Security Guide, OpenSCAP and other packages among other improvements. You can read more about this release by checking out the Release Notes."
ALT Linux 10.0
The developers of ALT Linux have published a new stable version. The new release, ALT Linux 10.0 ships with the 5.15 version of the Linux kernel and updates development tools. "The distribution's latest version is a development snapshot for the 10.0 release. Members of the ALT family can run on different hardware platforms. All of these versions are built on the same codebase for Platform 10. Today, users have at their disposal ALT KWorkstation operating system for x86_64 architecture. The product is based on the Linux kernel (std-def) 5.15, programming languages Perl 5.34, Python 3.9.6, GCC 10.3.1. The package versions of the p10 repository can be viewed at packages.altlinux.org." Additional information is in the project's release announcement (in Russian). The distribution is provided in Live and Install editions.
* * * * *
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: 2,722
- Total data uploaded: 41.9TB
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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) |
Recommending a phone for testing Linux-based operating systems
In this week's Questions and Answers column we talked about a number of devices which are often used to test a range of Linux-based mobile operating systems. Have you used any of these? What phone would you recommend someone use if they wanted to test alternative operating systems on their mobile device? Let us know in the comments.
You can see the results of our previous poll on using UserLAnd to run desktop Linux distributions on Android devices in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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Which phone would you recommend for testing Linux?
| Fairphone: | 53 (11%) |
| Librem 5: | 63 (13%) |
| Nexus 5: | 78 (16%) |
| PinePhone: | 179 (38%) |
| Other: | 104 (22%) |
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| Website News |
New distributions added to waiting list
- Titan Linux. Titan Linux is a Debian-based desktop distribution featuring the KDE Plasma desktop.
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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, 23 May 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)
- Bruce Patterson (podcast)
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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 | 
Voodoo Linux
Voodoo Linux employs a customized version of the Red Hat Anaconda installer with enhanced hardware support and the Ext3 Journaling file system. Our focus has been to implement our own Windows(r) API layer, to seamlessly use Windows(r) based applications. We understand that the majority of new Linux users have investments in such applications and to make the switch to Linux easier we have come up with a working way to get this done. So don't give away your Windows software just yet!
Status: Discontinued
|
| Tips, Tricks, Q&As | | Questions and answers: Sharing a home directory between distributions |
| Tips and tricks: Running Mandriva "Cooker" |
| Questions and answers: Connecting to multiple machines behind a router |
| Tips and tricks: Play nicely, drop secure shell sessions cleanly, check init's name |
| Tips and tricks: Digital cameras, mobile phones and music players under Linux |
| Tips and tricks: Gathering system information |
| Tips and tricks: Live upgrading Raspbian |
| Tips and tricks: Basename, for loop, dirname, aliases, bash history, xsel clipboard |
| Questions and answers: Learning who ran sudo and setting up a firewall |
| Tips and tricks: Creating, removing, modifying, and ignoring aliases |
| 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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