 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 1023, 12 June 2023 |
Welcome to this year's 24th issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
This past week saw the release of openSUSE's latest Leap release, a fixed distribution which shares its code with SUSE Linux Enterprise. We begin this week's edition with a look at openSUSE 15.5 Leap as Jesse Smith explores the distribution and reports on his experiences. openSUSE is one of several independently developed distributions - independent distributions are projects which do not have parent distributions which provide tools and packages. In our Questions and Answers column we discuss independent distributions, like openSUSE, and talk about what sets them apart from each other. In our News section we continue talking about openSUSE and report on the project extending the life span of the Leap branch, originally scheduled to be discontinued in 2024, by an extra year. We also report on improvements coming to the Tails project, which should especially benefit users in Latin America while Murena releases a new phone for North American users. Plus we are 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:
- Review: openSUSE 15.5 Leap
- News: openSUSE lengthens the life of Leap, Tails polishes experience for Latin America users, Murena offers new phone option for North America
- Questions and answers: The differences between independent distributions
- Released last week: openSUSE 15.5, Debian 12, postmarketOS 23.06, Ultramarine Linux 38, EasyOS 5.4
- Torrent corner: Debian, Debian Edu, GhostBSD, KDE neon
- Upcoming releases: FreeBSD 14.0-RC1
- Opinion poll: When openSUSE Leap ends, will you stick with another openSUSE edition?
- Reader comments
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| Feature Story (by Jesse Smith) |
openSUSE 15.5 Leap
openSUSE is a community-run distribution which shares a code base with SUSE Linux Enterprise. The openSUSE team offers approximately 18 months of security updates for each release, with a new point version coming out each year. The latest release of openSUSE's fixed edition (called Leap) is version 15.5.
The new 15.5 release doesn't offer much in the way of new features, instead it focuses on bug fixes, security updates, and minor updates. There is an updated version of the 5.14 Linux kernel, the distribution ships with Plasma 5.27, and there is a repository for Open H.264 codecs which is automatically enabled. Otherwise the release announcement for the new version is fairly tame.
Earlier it was thought version 15.5 might be the final release of openSUSE Leap, with support ending at the end of the 2024 calendar year. However, openSUSE announced this month there will be at least one more point release of Leap with 15.6 coming out next year and supported through to the end of 2025.
openSUSE is available for multiple architectures, including x86_64, zSystems, PowerPC, and Aarch64. Each build is offered in two editions, a full DVD flavour (4.1GB) with an off-line installer and a small edition which can fit on a CD (203MB) which installs packages over the network. I opted to use the off-line edition.
Installing
Booting from the install media brings up a menu offering us some choices. We can begin a fresh install, update an existing install of openSUSE, perform a media self-test, or boot from the local hard drive. I dived straight into the installer.
openSUSE uses a graphical installer which begins by showing us the project's license agreement. We're also given the opportunity to change our preferred language and keyboard layout on this first screen. If we have an active network connection we're given the option of enabling on-line repositories and then asked to select which openSUSE package repositories we want to access. These include the main, non-free, updates, debugging, and source packages. All but the latter two groups are enabled by default. When we don't have a network connection the installer offers to help us set up a connection using an unusually (and unnecessarily) complex networking tool.
The next screen asks us to select a role for openSUSE. Available roles include four desktop options (Plasma, GNOME, Xfce, and generic desktop) along with a Server configuration, and a Transaction Server. The last option sets up a Server role with read-only root filesystem.
The following section of the installer offers to automatically handle partitioning or allows us to manually partition the drive. The automated approach takes over the space on the disk with a Btrfs root filesystem and a swap partition. The manual approach uses a graphical, oddly flexible and complex partition manager.
The last few screens ask us to select our timezone from a map, optionally make up a username and password for ourselves, and then we are shown a summary of actions the installer will take. Next to each option is a link which can be used to toggle the option on/off or jump to a configuration screen where we can change the settings. I like this summary screen as it's fairly detailed and makes it easy to toggle the firewall, background services, and the location of the boot loader.
When the installer finishes copying packages to our hard drive it automatically reboots the computer for us and launches the new copy of openSUSE.
Early impressions
openSUSE boots to a graphical login screen where we can sign into one of three session options: Plasma on X11 (which is the default), Plasma on Wayland, or IceWM. I spent most of my time with the default option, but it's nice to have the other two to either experiment with new technologies or as backup options.
openSUSE 15.5 -- The Plasma desktop and welcome window
(full image size: 112kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
The Plasma desktop is arranged with two icons on the desktop for launching the Dolphin file manager and with a thick panel placed across the bottom of the screen. The desktop features a light theme, though there are dark theme options available in the KDE System Settings panel. Upon signing in a welcome window appears and offers to connect us with release notes and other documentation.
Hardware
I tested openSUSE 15.5 in a VirtualBox environment and on a laptop. When run in VirtualBox the system performed well, Plasma automatically integrated with the VirtualBox window, and performance was quite good. When running on my laptop the distribution performed well. All of my hardware was detected, performance was good (maybe a little better than average), and the system was stable.
I found when logged into Plasma the distribution used about 840MB of RAM (950MB with the welcome window open). A fresh install of the distribution consumed about 7.9GB of disk space, plus the swap partition. This puts openSUSE a little over the average size of most mainstream distributions running Plasma, but not by much.
Included software
Digging through the application menu, located in the bottom-left corner of the screen, I found a wide variety of software. The Firefox web browser was included along with LibreOffice. The TigerVNC remote desktop viewer was included along with the Okular document viewer, the KMail e-mail client, and a system monitor. There were a few games and a handful of common desktop utilities.
openSUSE 15.5 -- Trying Plasma with a dark theme
(full image size: 105kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Plasma ships with a very detailed control centre called System Settings which allows us to adjust the behaviour, look, and performance of the desktop in great detail. I also noted that, while on some other distributions, System Settings has been crashing frequently during my trials, on openSUSE the settings panel remained stable the entire time.
The distribution ships with some codecs and was able to play audio files out of the box. Video files were another matter and did not play with the version of VLC which openSUSE ships. We can work around this by either tracking down and installing video codecs from a community repository or removing the default version of VLC and replacing it with the Flatpak VLC bundle available via the Discover software center. (I'll share more on package management in a moment.)
openSUSE includes the GNU command line tools and manual pages. The man command has an unusual quirk in that, by default, when we ask it for a page it will present us with a list of potentially matching pages and ask us to select one. This behaviour can be changed by setting a shell environment variable (MAN_POSIXLY_CORRECT) which will allow us to jump straight to the desired page. I haven't encountered this behaviour before on a Linux distribution and feel it's an unusual, unhelpful choice. The distribution uses the systemd init software and version 5.14 of the Linux kernel.
openSUSE 15.5 -- Searching for manual pages
(full image size: 76kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Software management
Software management is primarily handled through the Discover software centre. Discover provides a modern interface for browsing categories and sub-categories of software, checking for updates, and performing searches. When we see a package we might want to install, we can click on its entry to see a full page description. On the full information page a drop-down menu appears in the upper-right corner of the window which allows us to select the source repository. This allows us to switch back and forth between RPM packages (openSUSE's native format) and Flatpak packages.
openSUSE 15.5 -- Exploring the Discover software centre
(full image size: 175kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
Discover worked well for me. I was able to hunt down and install both RPM and Flatpak packages as well as remove old packages I didn't want. The one issue I ran into was Discover was unable to launch, from within its own window, Flatpak packages I had installed. Clicking Discover's Launch button on a page describing an application provided by the RPM repositories worked to open the application.
YaST
The YaST system administration panel is the cornerstone of openSUSE and probably the main attraction of the distribution, in my opinion. YaST provides a central, point-n-click interface for managing virtually all aspects of the underlying operating system. YaST offers a lot of functionality, probably enough for its own, stand-alone review.
At a quick glance YaST provides desktop configuration modules for managing software and repositories, setting up printers and scanners, managing user accounts, and toggling background services. There are also modules for disk partitioning, handling firewall rules, and browsing filesystem snapshots.
openSUSE 15.5 -- Exploring the YaST configuration panel
(full image size: 203kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
This last feature is especially interesting. openSUSE, by default, uses the Btr filesystem which offers snapshots. Each time we open a YaST configuration tool, the system takes a snapshot. This allows us to see the modifications made to files after each configuration change and rollback any changes we don't like. In addition, openSUSE enables boot environments. This means, when the system powers on, we can select old snapshots of openSUSE to load at boot time. This makes openSUSE pretty much foolproof because any configuration change we make or any package we install which breaks the operating system can be reverted by booting into an older snapshot.
Conclusions
This release of openSUSE is relatively tame, it's a minor evolution from the previous 15.4 version from last year. Which is to be expected, this release is supposed to offer minor improvements and bug fixes, not exciting new features. In other words, this release does what it says on the label.
Of note, I think it's worth pointing out both Discover and System Settings work better on openSUSE than most other distributions I've tried recently. Both were more stable and performed faster. In fact, the entire Plasma experience feels a little more responsive on openSUSE than on most other distributions I've tried recently.
openSUSE 15.5 -- The Plasma System Settings panel
(full image size: 112kB, resolution: 1920x1080 pixels)
This distribution works more smoothly and reliably for me than most other distributions I've tried so far in 2023. Apart from the screen locking once, early in my trial, and refusing to give me the password prompt to sign back in (a problem which only happened once), my trial with openSUSE was bug-free. I would go so far as to say I was impressed with how well everything, especially YaST, worked.
I also like how openSUSE, unlike many other distributions, feels like it has a unified design, like it was created with a top-down vision in mind. Many distributions are clearly collections of separate packages which just all happen to be running on the same system. In contrast, openSUSE feels like a single, integrated product with the various tools working together and complimenting each other. Sometimes this works well for a project and sometimes it doesn't; with openSUSE the overall design feels polished and helpful. This especially shines through when YaST automatically takes filesystem snapshots which are then available through the boot loader and can be browsed in the Snapper utility.
I do have two warnings to share about using openSUSE. The first is that Leap appears to be reaching the end of its life, so if you're not already a Leap user, this probably isn't the time to start. Earlier, it looked like 15.5 would be the last version of Leap, but its life has been extended for an extra year/version with 15.6. In other words, existing Leap users will probably appreciate this new update, but it's unlikely new users will want to switch to Leap only to have it discontinued in two years.
The other concern new users might face is openSUSE is clearly targeting more experienced users. The distribution has a lot of powerful, flexible tools, and a lot of great administrative utilities. This seems to be the main draw. Browsing the configuration tools (System Settings and YaST) as well as the installer regularly reveal complex, powerful utilities. These tools are much more flexible and more complex than the equivalent tools you'd find when running Linux Mint, Zorin OS, or other beginner-friendly operating systems. openSUSE is catering to people who want power and control with a fairly friendly user interface, not people who need beginner-friendly tools and a streamlined experience.
In other words, I'd happily use openSUSE and enjoy it, I wouldn't install it for non-techie members of my family.
* * * * *
Hardware used in this review
My physical test equipment for this review was an HP DY2048CA laptop with the following
specifications:
- Processor: 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz
- Display: Intel integrated video
- Storage: Western Digital 512GB solid state drive
- Memory: 8GB of RAM
- Wireless network device: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 + BT Wireless network card
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Visitor supplied rating
openSUSE has a visitor supplied average rating of: 8.7/10 from 437 review(s).
Have you used openSUSE? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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| Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
openSUSE lengthens the life of Leap, Tails polishes experience for Latin America users, Murena offers new phone option for North America
About a year ago we reported on speculation the openSUSE project would be dropping its fixed-release Leap edition after version 15.5. The openSUSE project announced this week there are now plans to publish one more point release, openSUSE 15.6, which will be supported through to the end of the 2025 calendar year. "We'd like to announce that the openSUSE Release team plans to work on openSUSE Leap 15.6. openSUSE Leap 15.6 is expected to be released in early June 2024 and would reach its end of life by the end of the year 2025. This decision was based on recent discussions at SUSE Labs and openSUSE Conference, and it reflects recent changes, progress on individual projects, and our new distribution architect." Additional details are provided in the project's announcement.
* * * * *
The Tails developers have been focusing on improving the usability of the distribution's tools and setup documentation. Some trials over the past few years have yielded helpful feedback and focused development in key areas. "Between 2021 and 2023 Tails, Tor, and the Guardian Project partnered to organize training and usability tests in Ecuador, Mexico, and Brazil. Our goals were to: Promote our digital security tools and train human rights defenders in the Global South; learn from their experiences and needs to help us prioritize future work; improve the usability of our tools based on their feedback. We conducted four rounds of in-person moderated usability tests in Mexico, Brazil, and Ecuador to identify usability issues in the features of Tails that are most important to new users." Details on the trails and improvements are covered in the project's news post.
* * * * *
The Murena team provide an open source, de-Googled smart phone operating system based on Android. The Murena team also sells phones with their operating system pre-installed. A new phone has been added to the Murena line-up of devices, the Murena Pixel 5. "Our goal is to enable the widest amount of people to regain control over their data, wherever they are across the globe. And today, we are truly excited to let you know that US and Canadian customers can now own a great smartphone with /e/OS: the Murena Pixel 5 refurbished. The device is compact, completely de-Googled, compatible with 5G networks and the largest carriers in the USA (T-Mobile, AT&T and supported MNVOs). Not only a powerful phone, this is the most compact model available at murena.com. Boasting a 6-inch OLED display which makes it very comfortable to use." Additional information on the phone can be found in Murena's release announcement while specifications and purchasing options are presented in the Murena store.
* * * * *
These and other news stories can be found on our Headlines page.
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| Questions and Answers (by Jesse Smith) |
The differences between independent distributions
Digging-deeper asks: One thing I haven't really learned along the way is the difference between the base, independent, Linux distros. For example, how do the Debian, Arch, and Fedora base systems compare (not looking at desktop environments)? Seems like every Linux reviewer will compare Mint, Ubuntu, EndeavourOS, etc, but I want to know the strengths of their bases.
DistroWatch answers: When comparing independent, parent Linux distributions (such as Debian, Arch Linux, Fedora, openSUSE, Void, Alpine Linux, and about 40 others) it might be easier to describe what the projects have in common rather than what they do differently. Each of the operating systems runs on a build of the Linux kernel, and most of them use a similar filesystem layout, but beyond that they're mostly different.
It's a bit like doing a comparison between a car, a bicycle, and an airplane. They all have wheels, seats, and can carry people to new locations, but beyond that they are quite different. They mostly have different purposes, styles, and approaches to accomplishing tasks. For example, most Linux distributions run GNU command line utilities and libraries, but Alpine Linux does not. Instead, Alpine uses lightweight alternatives such as the musl C library and the BusyBox command line tools. If you're running Fedora then you have the SELinux mandatory access control software enabled, while if you're running openSUSE then AppArmor performs a similar function.
Even when they are running the same components, most of the distributions I've listed above use different versions of the same software which can result in different features and performance. Most of the major parent distributions use different package managers too, though they perform approximately the same functions.
While there are dozens of little differences, the three main features new users will likely notice are the system installer, the release cycle, and the overall philosophy.
The system installer will be the most visible and probably the first notable difference. Each of the major independent distributions have their own system installer. Some are graphical and some are text-focused, some pull in packages from on-line repositories while others install local packages from the install media, some are streamlined while others are more verbose. Debian is special in this case as its installer matches all six of the above descriptions while Arch Linux is special in that it is usually set up without the aid of a system installer.
Release cycles are a major factor and will likely be one of the key considerations when planning to use a distribution long-term. A lot of smaller, community distributions (such as Arch and Void) use a rolling release. In other words, they are constantly being updated with the latest versions of software. Meanwhile, commercially sponsored distributions (like Fedora and openSUSE) use fixed releases where packages mostly stay pinned at a fixed version and just receive security updates.
While rolling distributions are constantly updated, removing the concept of a life span for each version, fixed releases have quite a range in terms of how long they are supported. Fedora offers 13 months of support for each release while Debian stretches support to about five years.
While a project's philosophy is not immediately visible, and some might argue not a practical concern, it does affect all aspects of a distribution. Whether the project is experimental and likely to adopt new technologies early (the way Fedora and Arch do), or tend toward conservative changes (the way Debian and Slackware do) will have an impact over time. Similarly, projects which strive to offer a lot of features, like openSUSE, will feel a lot different in day to day usage than minimal, lightweight projects like Alpine and Void.
In the same way, there will be practical side effects to projects which ship free and open source packages exclusively (the way Debian does and the way Fedora mostly does) as opposed to projects which take a more practical approach to software packaging (as most other distributions do). You'll also notice little differences in policy over time, depending on the focus and backing of a project. Fedora and openSUSE, for instance, are sponsored by commercial companies and will be more likely to experiment with new technologies which will be useful to those companies. Community backed projects (such as Debian, Void, and Slackware) tend to take the approach of "If it's not broke, then don't fix it." Again, these philosophical views may not be immediately visible, but they will colour each aspect of the distribution.
In the end, I often find the projects I end up using the most are not the ones with a specific desktop environment or package manager. They are usually the projects with developers who share my ideals as to what an operating system should be - how it works, how it changes, and how it should solve problems.
* * * * *
Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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| Released Last Week |
postmarketOS 23.06
postmarketOS is an Alpine-based Linux distribution for mobile devices. The project offers three mobile interfaces: Phosh, Plasma Mobile, and Simple Mobile X Interface (Sxmo). The project's latest release is version 23.06 introduces the GNOME Mobile interface, a mobile version of GNOME Shell. "For the first time, this stable release includes GNOME Mobile! If you haven't followed the amazing progress that was made to bring GNOME to phones and tablets, see Towards GNOME Shell on Mobile, GNOME Shell on mobile: An update and GNOME Mobile Show & Tell (video). Lots of improvements to GNOME Software. Translations (lang) is installed by default now, and the default locale is en_US.UTF-8 instead of C.UTF-8. USB tethering is now functional. Minimum password length in installer images has been changed from 8 to 6. PineBook Pro: backlight control and audio works by default." Additional information is provided in the project's release announcement.
openSUSE 15.5
The openSUSE team has announced the release of openSUSE 15.5 Leap, a minor update to the project's 15.x series. The new version mostly offers small updates and security fixes for the 15.x branch of the distribution. "This release brings newer packages like Mesa and others, but Leap 15.5 is a non-feature release. Some of these newer packages to highlight include KDE Plasma 5.27, which is a Plasma Long Term Support version until the next one rolls out in 2024. Konqi lovers will enjoy a new welcome wizard, dynamic customization of desktop workspaces and more functionality with KRunner that includes a full desktop search, unit and currency exchange rate conversions, dictionary definitions, calculator features, and it shows graphical representations of mathematical functions. The Color Picker had a few improvements and added the possibility of displaying another preview color circle. KDE Gear 22.12.3 will be a new package in the release and complement the use of Plasma 5.27. The update fixes bugs with the Desktop Environment applications and highlights the enhancement of compression/decompression utility ark, improvements to text editor Kate and fixes some crashing of the video editor Kdenlive. Qt 5.15 LTS is available with the KDE Qt 5 patch collection." Additional information can be found in the distribution's release announcement.
Ultramarine Linux 38
Ultramarine Linux is a Fedora-based distribution featuring extra package repositories such as RPM Fusion. The project's latest release, Ultramarine Linux 38, introdces a new desktop scheduler, GNOME 44, and faster shutdown times. "We're sure you've noticed that Ultramarine takes a long time to shut down, but not anymore! We've limited how long services can take to stop, getting you powered down faster. Noto Fonts have been fixed! Our Thai and Khmer speaking users should feel more at home now. Ultramarine 38 comes with System76's Scheduler. It prioritizes certain processes to make your device snappier. All editions include it, but only GNOME Edition will automatically detect the app currently in use (for now). Ultramarine now features GNOME 44, get ready for improved quick settings and a new file picker. Ultramarine 38 comes with a familiar and powerful KDE experience." Additional details and screenshots can be found in the project's release announcement.
Ultramarine Linux 38 -- Running the KDE Plasma desktop
(full image size: 710kB, resolution: 1920x1200 pixels)
EasyOS 5.4
Barry Kauler has announced the release of EasyOS 5.4. EasyOS is an experimental Linux distribution which uses many of the technologies and package formats pioneered by Puppy Linux. "EasyOS Kirkstone-series version 5.4 has undergone many changes since 5.0. There are now four package managers: PKGget, SFSget, Flapi and Appi -- the latter two are for installing and managing Flatpaks and AppImages. Each app runs as its own user; for example, Kdenlive video editor runs as user 'kdenlive', providing isolation from other apps. The packages in EasyOS are compiled from source, now at the OpenEmbedded/Yocto Kirkstone 4.0.10 release. Greatly improved international language support for French, Spanish and Russian. The default built-in browser is Chromium; however, menu entries are provided to download Firefox and Vivaldi, and also update them. They also run as their own user!" Additional information is offered in the project's release announcement and in the release notes.
Debian 12
The Debian project has announced the release of Debian 12 "Bookworm", a new stable version which will receive five years of security updates. The new version shifts the way the project handles non-free firmware in an attempt to make Debian more compatible with a range of consumer hardware. "Bookworm will be supported for the next 5 years thanks to the combined work of the Debian Security team and the Debian Long Term Support team. Following the 2022 General Resolution about non-free firmware, we have introduced a new archive area making it possible to separate non-free firmware from the other non-free packages: non-free-firmware. Most non-free firmware packages have been moved from non-free to non-free-firmware. This separation makes it possible to build a variety of official installation images. Debian 12 Bookworm ships with several desktop environments, such as: GNOME 43, KDE Plasma 5.27, LXDE 11, LXQt 1.2.0, MATE 1.26, Xfce 4.18. This release contains over 11,089 new packages for a total count of 64,419 packages, while over 6,296 packages have been removed as obsolete." Additional information can be found in the project's release announcement.
Debian 12 -- Running the GNOME desktop
(full image size: 227kB, resolution: 1920x1200 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: 2,877
- Total data uploaded: 43.3TB
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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) |
When openSUSE Leap ends, will you stick with another openSUSE edition?
In this week's review of openSUSE we talked about how the distribution's fixed edition, Leap, will probably reach the end of its supported life at the end of 2025. openSUSE's fixed releases have been fairly popular for nearly three decades and the project has observed a surge in interest over the past year.
For our readers who currently run openSUSE Leap, what are your plans when Leap reaches the end of its life? Will you switch to another branch of the openSUSE family (such as Tumbleweed or Aeon) or will you migrate to another distribution?
You can see the results of our previous poll on openSUSE's editions in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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When openSUSE Leap ends, I will migrate to...
| Aeon: | 46 (4%) |
| Tumbleweed: | 169 (14%) |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise: | 12 (1%) |
| Another distro: | 132 (11%) |
| I do not use openSUSE Leap: | 863 (71%) |
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| Website News |
DistroWatch database summary
* * * * *
This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 19 June 2023. Past articles and reviews can be found through our Weekly Archive and Article Search pages. To contact the authors please send e-mail to:
- Jesse Smith (feedback, questions and suggestions: distribution reviews/submissions, questions and answers, tips and tricks)
- Ladislav Bodnar (feedback, questions, donations, comments)
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| Archives |
| • Issue 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 |
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Mageia
Mageia is a fork of Mandriva Linux formed in September 2010 by former employees and contributors to the popular French Linux distribution. Unlike Mandriva, which is a commercial entity, the Mageia project is a community project and a non-profit organisation whose goal is to develop a free Linux-based operating system.
Status: Active
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| Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.
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0x969CD4E778C7b6549A2B00e34114e0168c86A542 
