DistroWatch Weekly |
DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 1031, 7 August 2023 |
Welcome to this year's 32nd issue of DistroWatch Weekly!
A lot of Linux distributions grow from of the vision of one developer, one person who wants to try something different and whose approach is appealing enough to attract the attention of other developers and users. Over a long enough time line, most distributions lose their original creator - sometimes due to retirement, the siren song of another project, or death. When this happens most Linux distributions fade away into digital history while others change hands, outliving the contributions of their creator. This week we begin with a look at Peppermint OS, a distribution which lives on despite the untimely passing of its founder. Peppermint has changed under its new management and Jeff Siegel explores how the distribution is working these days. Then, in our News section, we talk about one of the most active Alpine Linux package maintainers leaving the project. We also talk about XFS, a popular filesystem, losing its current maintainer and discuss plans for the next release of Linux Mint Debian Edition. Plus we share news that Asahi Linux is partnering with Fedora to run Linux on Apple hardware. Our Questions and Answers column this week talks about protecting files from being changed or overwritten, even when they are set to be read-only. Do you do anything to protect your files from change and destruction? Let us know in the Opinion Poll. 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:
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Feature Story (By Jeff Siegel) |
Peppermint OS 2023-07-01
Peppermint OS has a long and storied history; it was one of the first low-resource distros that was innovative, looked good, and just worked, and many of us who prefer that style have fond memories of seeing its peppermint candy logo pop up on the screen.
But, as so often happens with small distros, something derailed the project. In this case, Peppermint leader Mark Greaves died, and the distro went nearly three years between releases.
It returned in 2022, with a couple of significant changes - based on Debian and not the Ubuntu family it used before; the Calamares installer; and an Xfce desktop instead of the previous Xfce-LXDE hybrid. The current release, Peppermint OS 2023-07-01, is the second under the new regime.
As such, it wants to continue Greaves' minimalist approach: "Everything you need and nothing you don't." Unfortunately, though the new release tries to do just that, it still has a long way to go after a week or so of testing. This is a buggy, flawed effort, good intentions notwithstanding. Yes, it's still focused on low-resource systems, but it's more like an advanced proof of concept for the new approach than something to use as a daily driver. For instance, why highlight the Snap store if snapd isn't installed by default?
This is not a criticism of the approach. I much prefer minimalist distros; I don't even like using Qt-based music players. But low-resource isn't an excuse for bad execution, and that's the case here. It offers a variety of features that I'd love to see other distros adopt. But if the features are flawed, what's the point?
Getting started
Peppermint offers ARM, 32- and 64-bit installations for both Debian and Devuan. I tested the Debian 64-bit instance, based on Debian 12 and which includes the 6.1 kernel and Xfce 4.18. System requirements remain minimal. Recommended is 4GB of RAM and 32GB of disk space, but minimal is just 1GB of RAM and 10GB of disk. In other words, it might even run on an old 32-bit Asus EEE. The ISO file is only 1.5GB, which compares to 3.4GB for Ubuntu 22.04 and 2.8GB for Mint 21.2 "Cinnamon".
Peppermint OS 2023-07-01 -- The welcome window
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There weren't any problems with a virtual instance on VirtualBox. It loaded and worked as expected, swiftly and nimbly, for the couple of things I tested, and the screen re-sized more or less as it should have. The problems started with installation on my Asus UX31A, which has never balked at any of the other distros I've loaded on it to review here. Installation took more than 30 minutes, when most Linux installations take a few minutes, 10 at the most. This is not only weird -- I'm no fan of Calamares, but it's never that laggy -- but hardly inviting. If it takes that long to install, what else must be wrong?
My guess is that it's a Peppermint repository problem, since I was using the same home WiFi network that I always use and nothing else in the house was having problems. In addition, I saw several other instances of slow or dropped connections during software installation and updates.
Peppermint OS 2023-07-01 -- Setting up site specific browsing with Kumo
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The install typified my testing. Again, Peppermint looked good, was usually quick and easy to use, and its innovations remain impressive. Peppermint's legendary ICE tool, which turned web sites into apps, returns as something called Kumo. Meanwhile, the Peppermint Hub - call it a one-stop shop for settings and essential software, like browsers and media players -- has been expanded and updated.
But, sadly, it's buggy, buggy, buggy.
What's included
Not much, actually, save for basic Xfce apps like Mousepad and Clipman, GNOME Disks, and (oddly) the Plank dock. All is arranged in a basic Xfce layout, with the panel on the bottom, the menu in the lower-left hand corner, and various panel icons - notify, clock, and so forth - on the right side.
So no office suite, no e-mail program, no music player, no photo or imaging app, and no browser. Which, again, is not necessarily a bad idea. If minimal is the goal, then this makes perfect sense. It's much easier to add what you want than to go through a lot of command line this and that deleting what you don't.
Peppermint OS 2023-07-01 -- Browsing suggested packages
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The catch is that it needs to be straightforward to add the necessary software, perform updates, and all the rest. That's what happens when adding "suggested software," like the Parole Media Player (though there is no suggestion for a word processor or office suite). Otherwise, that's not the case:
- Snap. Click on the Snap store in the Peppermint Hub, which seems like the logical thing to do, and an error message says snapd isn't installed. What actually has to be done is to add snapd through the Snap link on Suggested Software in the Hub. The same holds true for Flatpaks and the GNOME Web Store; click on the respective link in Suggested Software to activate the Web Store to use it in the Hub (and know that the GNOME Web Store is just as slow and fussy as always). Minimalism is one thing, but if you're going to offer these options, then include the code to make them work.
- Using AppImageHub is problematical, since some of the entries are dead, some are no longer updated, and some just don't work. So why include it then?
- The xDaily update tool borked the system. The process threw several error messages and then said it had failed with some of the updates. I double-checked using Synaptic, and all seemed to be OK. However, when I tried rebooting - just to be on the safe side - and used the GUI controls, there was another error message and rebooting failed. When I tried each of the three terminals to reboot using the command line, each hung and I had to close them using Task Manager. Finally, I did a hard shutdown, and when I restarted, all seemed to be well.
- Also disappointing was the Kumo web app manager, which seemed to be a step back from the old ICE manager or Mint's current version. It crashed once, and the couple of other times I used it, it didn't show the URL in the box that said URL. There was a blank space, though it did load the site. For some reason, one of its components managed the Nextcloud desktop app. So the first couple of times, it asked me to confirm that I wanted to launch Nextcloud. Then, it just stopped loading the app, and I had to log in to start Nextcloud each time I turned on the computer.
Peppermint OS 2023-07-01 -- The Peppermint Hub
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The rest of the distro
The good news is that Xfce 4.18 did what it was supposed to do. It's still the same sturdy, low-resource desktop that many of us appreciate, and seemed a good fit for what Peppermint was trying to do. I was also impressed with the browser feature in the Peppermint Hub, though I was surprised to see Vivaldi excluded when it had GNOME Web/Epiphany and a couple of Qt browsers. Firefox ESR (version 102.13.0) installed without a hitch and ran like the Firefox of blessed memory.
The documentation is also first-rate, both on the Peppermint website and via the Peppermint Hub. It's detailed, covers lots and lots of subjects, and offers more transparency than I'm used to. It not only explains how to do something, but why that choice was made.
Which may be a clue as to what the developers are trying to do here, and that Peppermint is not so much a daily driver as it is an adventure in distro building, the "let's put on a play in the barn" approach. We're all along for the ride, and if there are some rough spots, so be it. We'll have fun fixing them together.
The problem with this, though, is that MX Linux does many of the same things Peppermint is trying to do and also focuses on low-resource hardware. But it's a polished, daily driver effort, and well deserves its spot at the head of the DistroWatch hit parade.
Hopefully, the Peppermint developers will solve many of the problems listed here, and Peppermint can once again take its place among low-resource distros that just work.
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Hardware used for this review
My physical test equipment for this review was an Asus UX31A laptop with the following specifications:
- Processor: Intel Core i5-3317U, 1.7GHz
- Storage: 128GB SSD
- Memory: 4GB of RAM
- Networking: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless
- Display: Integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000
When he is not testing out new versions of Linux distributions, Jeff Siegel can be found writing about all things related to wine at Wine Curmudgeon.
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Visitor supplied rating
Peppermint OS has a visitor supplied average rating of: 7.6/10 from 92 review(s).
Have you used Peppermint OS? You can leave your own review of the project on our ratings page.
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Miscellaneous News (by Jesse Smith) |
Alpine Linux says good-bye to a prolific maintainer, XFS maintainer steps down, Linux Mint plans new releases, Asahi Linux partners with Fedora
The Alpine Linux community may soon face having fewer packages in its repositories or the need to find new package maintainers. Phoronix is reporting one of the more active package maintainers in the Alpine community is stepping down. "Alice 'psykose', who is easily responsible for the highest number of commits per author over the past year, has decided to step down from maintaining her packages. These Alpine aports stats put her at 13,894 commits over the past year. In comparison, the second most prolific packager saw just 2,053 commits... Or put another way, psykose has 6.7x the number of commits as the next packager. The 13.8k commits are also about half of the 26.8k commits seen in total over the past year.
Over the weekend I was alerted to the fact that psykose/nekopsykose has begun dropping maintainership of packages she maintained. All of her recent alpinelinux/aports commits two days ago were removing packages she oversaw. Curious about the situation, I reached out to Alice and she confirmed she has dropped maintenance of anything she maintained and proceeded to lock herself out of the Alpine Linux systems she had access to."
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On the heels of the Alpine Linux news, the Linux kernel currently needs a new maintainer for XFS. Darrick Wong has been maintaining the filesystem kernel code for several years now and has reported feeling burned out from performing too many roles. FOSS Force quotes Wong: "I burned out years ago trying to juggle the roles senior developer, reviewer, tester, triager (crappily), release manager, and (at times) manager liaison. There's enough work here in this one subsystem for a team of 20 FT, but instead we're squeezed to half that. I thought if I could hold on just a bit longer I could help to maintain the focus on long term development to improve the experience for users. I was wrong." Wong has suggested Chandan Babu, a kernel developer with Oracle, as his replacement. Wong has clarified that he will continue to work on XFS, just not as the official kernel maintainer for the filesystem.
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The Linux Mint team maintains two main branches, one based on Ubuntu and a second branch based on Debian. The developers are working on Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 6 which will likely be released later this year. The Mint team is also working on a new edition called EDGE which will provide more up to date hardware support via a new kernel. "Work started on LMDE 6. The upcoming version of our Debian-based distribution will be codenamed 'Faye'. It will come with all the features and changes introduced in Linux Mint 21.2. There is no ETA for its release. Once everything is ready we'll take the opportunity to work on additional features and see how much we want to further reduce the gap in functionality between Linux Mint and LMDE. In parallel to LMDE 6 we're also planning to release an EDGE ISO for Linux Mint 21.2. This ISO will feature a kernel 6.2 and make it easier to boot Mint on brand new hardware." The project's newsletter has additional information on the upcoming LMDE release.
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The Asahi Linux project has announced it is partnering with Fedora in an attempt to bring a more complete, polished Linux experience to Apple ARM-powered computers. "The new Asahi Linux flagship distribution will be Fedora Asahi Remix! We're confident that this new flagship will get us much closer to our goal of a polished Linux experience on Apple Silicon, and we hope you will enjoy using it as much as we're enjoying working on it. We're still working out the kinks and making things even better, so we are not quite ready to call this a release yet. We aim to officially release the Fedora Asahi Remix by the end of August 2023. Look forward to many new features, machine support, and more!"
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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) |
Preventing a file from being changed
Keeping-things-the-same asks: I have a configuration file that is owned by root that I don't want to be changed. I've set its permissions to be r-------- (400) with chmod, but the file keeps getting overwritten. Is there anything I can do to prevent it from being changed at all?
DistroWatch answers: When a file is set to be read-only it is still possible for the administrator (root) account to edit the file. It may also be possible for other accounts to delete a file and then create a new one with the same name, if they have write access to the directory in which the file is located. In other words, there are ways some accounts and services can get around the read-only nature of a file.
We sometimes see this sort of behaviour where a service is overwriting a read-only file when package updates occur and an old version of a resource or configuration file is overwritten by a new version of the same file. This can be frustrating because it destroys our customizations or, at least, circumvents the intended purpose of having a file set to be read-only.
When read-only permissions (as set by chmod) are not enough to protect your file there are other solutions. One of the more straightforward methods for protecting a file from being removed or changed is to set its filesystem attributes. A filesystem attribute changes key characteristics of the file behind the scenes (at the filesystem level) and can even block root-level attempts to change or delete a file.
File attributes are set with the change attribute (chattr) command. The chattr command accepts a letter representing the attribute we wish to change, followed by the name of the file we want to adjust. For example, to make a file called hello.txt immutable (impossible to edit) we can run the following command:
chattr +i hello.txt
The plus sign indicates we want to add the immutable attribute (i). This prevents us from editing, moving, or removing the file. To later make the file open to changes again we can remove the immutable flag by using the minus sign in front of the "i":
chattr -i hello.txt
Should we wish to see what attributes are currently assigned to a file we can use the list attributes (lsattr) command. For example, here we see a list of all attributes assigned to the file hello.txt:
$ lsattr hello.txt
----i---------e------- hello.txt
In the above example we can see the "i" flag is set, meaning the file is immutable and cannot be changed. The "e" flag indicates extents are used for mapping the file on the disk, a common feature of members of the ext2/3/4 filesystems.
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Additional answers can be found in our Questions and Answers archive.
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Released Last Week |
OPNsense 23.7
OPNsense is a FreeBSD-based specialist operating system designed for firewalls and routers. The project has published version 23.7 which is based on FreeBSD 13.2 and includes OpenVPN group alias support, deferred authentication for OpenVPN, and PHP 8.2. The release announcement offers some insight into changes and tips for migrating: "The Unbound ACL now defaults to accept all traffic and no longer generates automatic entries. This was done to avoid connectivity issues on dynamic address setups -- especially with VPN interfaces. If this is undesirable you can set it to default to block instead and add your manual entries to pass. Dpinger no longer triggers alarms on its own as its mechanism is too simplistic for loss and delay detection as provided by apinger a long time ago. Delay and loss triggers have been fixed and logging was improved. The rc.syshook facility 'monitor' still exists but is only provided for compatibility reasons with existing user scripts. IPsec "tunnel settings" GUI is now deprecated and manual migration to the 'connections' GUI is recommended. An appropriate EoL announcement will be made next year. The new OpenVPN instances pages and API create an independent set of instances more closely following the upstream documentation of OpenVPN."
MX Linux 23
After several beta and release candidate snapshots, the final build of MX Linux 23 has been released. MX Linux 23 is based on Debian 12, uses SysVInit as its default init system and comes with a choice of Xfce, KDE Plasma and Fluxbox desktops: "MX Linux 23 is now available for download. MX Linux 23 is built from Debian 12 'Bookworm' and MX Linux repositories. As in past releases, MX Linux will default to SysVInit but systemd remains an option for installed systems. Updates from RC and beta to final are fully supported. The live boot menus now have a more obvious 'check media' function in the top level menu. The media will be checked and boot will continue if things look good. Major desktop versions: Xfce 4.18, Fluxbox 1.3.7, KDE Plasma 5.27. All releases now include the Orca screen reader and a screen magnifier tool. Fluxbox and Xfce have Magnus screen magnifier and KDE Plasma uses KMag. At this time, due to Debian's Orca packaging, Orca does not appear in the menus, but can be launched manually. In particular, Orca is configurable in KDE's integrated accessibility settings." Continue to the release announcement for further information.
MX Linux 23 - Running the Xfce desktop
(full image size: 1.3MB, resolution: 2560x1600 pixels)
XigmaNAS 13.2.0.5
XigmaNAS, an embedded, open-source NAS (Network-Attached Storage) system based on FreeBSD, has been upgraded to version 13.2.0.5. The new release upgrades the underlying system to FreeBSD 13.2 and discontinues support for the GEOM RAID5 storage module. The major changes include "Upgrade to FreeBSD 13.2-RELEASE-P1; upgrade Netatalk to 3.1.14; upgrade mDNSResponder to 1790.80.10; upgrade devcpu-data-amd to 20230424; upgrade jQuery to 3.7.0; upgrade syncthing to 1.23.5; upgrade lighttpd to 1.4.71; upgrade devcpu-data-intel to 20230613; upgrade msmtp to 1.8.24; upgrade syncthing to 1.23.6; upgrade sudo to 1.9.14p3; upgrade VirtualBox-OSE to 6.1.46; upgrade nut to 2023.07.11; upgrade PHP to 8.2.8. General note: download your configuration file from the backup/restore page and store it in a safe location before upgrading your system. GEOM RAID5: XigmaNAS 13.x releases will no longer support GEOM RAID5, the code was removed from the code base; you will NOT have access to your DATA; migrate your data to ZFS first before upgrade. Post-upgrade tasks: you may need to clear your browser's cache to circumvent display issues; make a backup of your configuration file and store it in a safe location..." Here is the complete readme file with general notes, upgrade instructions and a brief changelog.
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Development, unannounced and minor bug-fix releases
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Torrent Corner |
Weekly Torrents
The table below provides a list of torrents DistroWatch is currently seeding. If you do not have a bittorrent client capable of handling the linked files, we suggest installing either the Transmission or KTorrent bittorrent clients.
Archives of our previously seeded torrents may be found in our Torrent Archive. We also maintain a Torrents RSS feed for people who wish to have open source torrents delivered to them. To share your own open source torrents of Linux and BSD projects, please visit our Upload Torrents page.
Torrent Corner statistics:
- Total torrents seeded: 2,894
- Total data uploaded: 43.5TB
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Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Summary of expected upcoming releases
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Opinion Poll (by Jesse Smith) |
Protecting a file from being overwritten
In this week's Questions and Answers column we talked about a few ways to protect a file. In particular two easy approaches are to use file permissions and file attributes. There are other approaches to protecting files such as access controls (AppArmor and SELinux being two common examples). What tools do you use to protect files from being changed or overwritten?
You can see the results of our previous poll on Solus removing its MATE edition in favour of Xfce in last week's edition. All previous poll results can be found in our poll archives.
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I protect files from being changed/overwritten using...
File permissions (chmod): | 299 (31%) |
File attributes (chattr): | 61 (6%) |
AppArmor/SELinux: | 31 (3%) |
Immutable filesystem: | 23 (2%) |
A combination of the above: | 85 (9%) |
All of the above: | 8 (1%) |
Other: | 31 (3%) |
None: | 414 (43%) |
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Website News |
DistroWatch database summary
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This concludes this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 14 August 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 |
Star Labs |
Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
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Random Distribution |
Polar Bear Linux
Polar Bear Linux was a source-based GNU/Linux distribution derived from Linux From Scratch. All software packages are provided in the form of source code, which are compiled during installation. This has many advantages, as well as a major drawback in the time it takes to install the system (approximately 9 hours for a base system). Polar Bear Linux uses a simple package manager called Tarball Package Manager (TBPKG).
Status: Discontinued
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TUXEDO |
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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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