 DistroWatch Weekly | | DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 168, 11 September 2006 |
Welcome to this year's 37th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! With many of the major distributions in the final stages of their development work, this is possibly the most exciting period of the year. It shouldn't be long before the new versions from Slackware and Mandriva are released, with Fedora, openSUSE and Debian following shortly. Mandriva Linux 2007 is now starting to look really good, while Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 "etch" is shaping up to be a real breakthrough for the largest Linux distribution project. Fedora Core is also getting a complete makeover - at least in the look and feel department. This issue is devoted to all the upcoming new releases, with further news covering the availability of KDE 4 packages for Kubuntu, a new major version of GParted LiveCD, and an interesting interview with the developers of PC-BSD. In our latest book review, we'll take a quick look at Ubuntu Linux For Non-Geeks by Rickfort Grant. Happy reading!
Content:
 Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in OGG format (5.9MB)
Listen to the Podcast edition of this week's DistroWatch Weekly in MP3 format (5.8MB)
(The Podcast edition is provided by Matt Taylor.)
 Join us at irc.freenode.net #distrowatch
| | Miscellaneous News | Praise for "etch", GParted LiveCD, Red Hat vs Novell, PC-BSD interview
As happen this time every year, the Linux world is starting to heat up after a brief respite during the Northern hemisphere summer season. We've had a new Gentoo Linux 2006.1 release recently, with Slackware Linux 11.0 coming out any time now. GNOME 2.16, announced last week, is likely to give a new impetus to many more distributions - the first release candidate of Mandriva Linux 2007 already includes the latest version, while both Fedora Core 6 Test3 and Ubuntu Knot CD 3, both of which are due later this week, will also ship with the latest version of the popular desktop. openSUSE 10.2 too will enter a beta stage in a few weeks and Debian GNU/Linux 4.0, with its scheduled December release, is not too far away either. In other words, the excitement of another round of major distribution releases is here. As always, we'll bring you the news in a timely fashion so don't forget to visit us regularly over the next few months as we cover all the happenings in the world of Linux distributions!
* * * * *  How good will be the upcoming release of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 "etch"? If you believe Joey Schulze, one of the most prominent Debian developers, then "etch" is not ready for release: "I'm scared by Debian etch. It'll probably become the worst Debian release ever. It's going to hurt our reputation." Luckily, the above assertion turns out to be a joke: "After plugging the cable into the USB slot, an icon appeared on the screen and after clicked caused the system to mount the first partition on the external disk. It worked. Out of the box. Without tweaking anything. That's so non-Debian..." A pre-configured scroll wheel on a USB mouse further puzzled the well-known Debian personality who concludes his weblog entry with: "Where are the hours of fiddling around how to properly add USB stuff to the system? Where are the evenings you needed to debug such stuff? Nowadays it just works? Where's the Debian we all knew?" Is Ubuntu getting some serious competition from its older brother? We should find out before the end of this year....
On a related note, the Debian Project announced last week that it had forked cdrtools, a popular command line CD/DVD burning applications written by Jörg Schilling. As noted in the announcement, parts of cdrtools are now released under a CDDL license from Sun Microsystems, which is incompatible with the General Public License (GPL) and thus illegal under the terms of GPL. As a result, a new tool, called cdrkit, will be introduced into the Debian unstable tree shortly and this is also the package that will ship with the next stable release of Debian GNU/Linux. Ubuntu and other Debian-based distributions have yet to comment on the issue, but it is likely that they will also adopt the Debian fork of cdrtools in the future.
* * * * *  Mandriva Linux 2007 is starting to look good. After several disappointing alphas and betas, the first release candidate of the upcoming new release hit the download mirrors just before the weekend and those of you who tried it probably had a positive first impression. The installer did not change much since version 2006, but the new theme and icon set give the desktop a refreshing look. As indicated in an earlier press release, Mandriva has now integrated the new 3D desktop features with AIGLX and Xgl/Compiz into its distribution and even created a module for configuring them in Mandriva Control Centre. This is the first distribution release with such a feature. Besides that, it's all about package upgrades - the product's newest release candidate ships with the Linux kernel 2.6.17, X.Org 7.1, KDE 3.5.4 and GNOME 2.16. As has now become standard, Mandriva 2007 is provided both as a traditional installation CD set or DVD and a set of installable live CDs containing either GNOME or KDE. The final version is scheduled to ship before the end of September.
Mandriva Linux 2007 RC1 has a new look and feel.
(full image size: 577kB, resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * *  This week will also bring the third and final test release of Fedora Core 6. Although the distribution's feature set will be frozen at the same time (only critical bug fixes will be provided from that point on), the visual appearance of the new release is likely to undergo substantial changes prior to the final release. Red Hat's Diana Fong gives us a preview of what the new Fedora desktop will look like on the surface. Following strong criticism from some quarters of the "bubbly" theme in Fedora Core 5, the new artwork is likely to please even the most demanding Linux desktop audience!
* * * * *  As we reported earlier, a major new version of GParted LiveCD was released last week. What we did not report (and what seems to have been missed by many other Linux news sites) was the fact that the CD is now based on GParted 0.3 and that means full support for moving partitions! Yes, it's a fact, GParted is the first partitioning utility that makes it possible to move all supported file systems, even to the beginning of a hard disk: "This release includes one of the most exiting features since the first release - we finally have full move support! Although it should be considered a bit experimental, our tests worked out perfectly and we didn't see any errors so far." Find more details in the release notes. If you haven't yet included this gem into your toolkit of essential CDs then this news surely gives a powerful reason to do so!
* * * * *  Eager to start testing the upcoming KDE 4? If so, it's now possible with the new KDE 4 Kubuntu packages, released last week: "The first development snapshot of KDE 4, codenamed Krash, has been released and packages are available for Kubuntu Edgy." It is relatively straightforward to install these packages alongside KDE 3.5.4 on a current development version of Kubuntu, although the release announcement also warns that Krash is intended for developers only (after all, it's called "Krash" for a reason). Experienced Linux users and other adventurous souls can find complete installation instructions in this release announcement.
* * * * *  Following the release of the first beta of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 last week, the competition between the two most prominent Linux solution providers, Red Hat and Novell, is likely to heat up over the next few months. But what exactly are the differences between the two? If you or your organisation is interested in enterprise Linux, you might want to check out this article by Computerworld. In it, Neil Alister argues that the two companies have very different approaches towards the market: "New Novell’s success depends on engaging the market, getting its message out to customers, winning developer support and building community -- and it knows it. It may not be the market leader today, but it wants to go where its customers lead it." Red Hat, on the other hand, is a market leader, a position it is well aware of: "Increasingly, however, Red Hat is aware of the fact that it is The One and Only Red Hat. Red Hat is holding the cards, and the customers will come to Red Hat." An interesting opinion, especially if you follow the "big boys" Linux scene.
* * * * *  KDE.News has published an interview with Kris Moore, the founder of PC-BSD. What is the most important feature of the project that has transformed the geeky and hard-to-use FreeBSD into a beginner-friendly desktop operating system? Kris Moore: "Our operating system is targeted at folks who like the stability and security that UNIX and open source have to offer, but don't wish to learn new methods of software installation or system management from their traditional OS. By developing the PBI system, which keeps software programs separate from the core OS, we have been able to fulfill this important need. Now a user no longer has to worry about dependency issues, or waste the time compiling software from source, or troubleshooting it when things go wrong." Read the rest of the interview here.
| | Book review: Ubuntu Linux For Non-Geeks | Book review: Ubuntu Linux For Non-Geeks
 Rickfort Grant is fast becoming one of the most prominent writers of books designed for novice Linux users. And for a good reason. His Linux For Non-Geeks and Linux Made Easy have turned out to be easy-to-follow, project-oriented manuals for Fedora Core and Xandros Desktop. His latest work to help potential Linux users to get started with an alternative operating system is the 334-page Ubuntu Linux For Non-Geeks, published by No Starch Press earlier this year.
As the title of the book suggests, it is devoted to the current star among the Linux distributions - the ever more popular Ubuntu. It is accompanied by a CD containing the desktop edition of the distribution's most recent version -- 6.06, code name "Dapper Drake" -- for the i386 processors. The book's 18 chapters are followed by notes for the users of AMD64 and PowerPC processors, information about checking the validity of downloaded ISO images, and a long list of online resources. All chapters are interspersed with a large number of screenshots to illustrate the topic at hand. It should be noted that the book deals with Ubuntu only and it does not cover Kubuntu or any other Ubuntu variant.
Being written with beginner Linux users in mind, it's no surprise that the book starts with extensive information about the origins of Linux, the concept of open source software and general information about Linux distributions and Ubuntu. The nice part of this chapter is the author's revelation that despite being an experienced Linux users and advocate, he wrote the book for a less technically minded member of his family who became a willing tester of the topics introduced in the book and who has since switched to Linux full-time. "I have no reasons to doubt that Linux is ready for the desktop," writes Rickfort Grant in the introductory chapter. Besides monetary savings that Linux and open source software bring to the user, the author also notes the stability, versatility and multilingual capabilities as its main advantages.
And yet, Linux is not perfect. Much has to be learnt and many prejudices need to be overcome before the alternative operating system can compete with its more established rivals. And this is where Ubuntu Linux For Non-Geeks is most valuable - it not only teaches how to accomplish tasks in the included applications, it also explains its limitations (and how to overcome them) and warns about potential problems. After all, it's not always straightforward to get that cheap USB WLAN modem going under the operating system other than the one for which it conveniently provides easy-to-install drivers!
Speaking about networking, the book covers this topic extensively in chapter 4, right after the introductory chapters on installation and first steps on the desktop. As the author rightfully notes, "having a computer that isn't hooked up to the Internet is like buying a new Maserati and then refusing to take it out of the garage." Both wireless and cable connections are covered in a variety of scenarios, although surprisingly, it does not discuss the NdisWrapper method for setting up a Windows-only wireless network cards.
After the Ubuntu-specific chapter 5 that introduces Synaptic and GNOME App Install (without mentioning apt-get or dpkg), the book goes on presenting file management tasks before launching one of the most entertaining chapters of the book - customising the look and feel of your system (available as a sample chapter here). This is one place where even old Linux hands would find something that they did not know before. Quoting the author again, "I couldn't help but get sick of looking at the same old icons, window borders, and color schemes." After all, he continues, "is it any wonder that there are so many more Linux desktop screenshots out there on the Web than for any other system?" The author considers a "GUI fatigue" such a serious disease that he devotes an entire chapter to altering the look and feel of a GNOME desktop and provides a number of little-known tricks to make a Linux working environment so much more stimulating.
Surprisingly, the very next chapter introduces the command line, albeit in a very entertaining manner. Only the most essential commands are covered before the author diverts the boredom with a handful of interesting projects to re-enforce the newly acquired knowledge. This is followed by talk about installing binary-only applications, such as the popular Skype or Java, before continuing with several useful chapters on setting up printers and scanners, adding new fonts, and altering the system to support various languages (with a special sub-chapter on adding Chinese, Japanese and Korean support to Ubuntu).
After that, it's all about applications. OpenOffice.org, AbiWord and other productivity software are covered in chapter 13, while the next four chapters deal with everything you ever wanted to know about multimedia and digital photography under Linux. Whether you want to add MP3 support to your audio applications, manage your iPod, or set up a video player for playing encrypted DVDs, it's all there. The final chapter discusses the concept of Linux firewalls and introduces two antivirus applications.
Granted, many of the topics presented in this book are available on the Internet, in various user guides and in the form of an advice on Ubuntu user forums or mailing lists. Nevertheless, this book seems like the perfect companion for a less technically inclined friend or family member who might not enjoy searching through dozens of Google listings to find an answer or who might prefer a handy reference book instead of an online manual. The open and honest revelations, refreshing writing style, and occasional humour, make the book even more adept for recommendation. And at US$35, Ubuntu Linux For Non-Geeks certainly sounds like a good investment that will pay itself back many times over during the years of productive Linux computing.
Highly recommended to all readers setting out to do the right thing - switching to Free Software.
Title: Ubuntu Linux For Non-Geeks
Author: Rickford Grant
Publisher: No Starch Press
Price: US$34.95
| | Released Last Week | Kate OS 3.0 Live
A live CD edition of Kate OS 3.0 has been released: "Kate OS 3.0 LIVE is the newest version of our distribution which boots directly from the CD. It is a great demonstration of our system's possibilities. It can also come very handy when trying to rescue another system. The CD contains 2GB of compressed data, including the XFce environment with multimedia and office applications. Also available are system and partition rescue tools, GParted (partitioning tool) and ClamAV, an antivirus scanner. All these tools are priceless during a data rescue session after a system crash." Visit the distribution's home page to read the full release announcement.
GParted LiveCD 0.3-1
An updated version of GParted LiveCD has been released. From the release notes: "This version has some minor improvements. Nothing I can say here can top full move support in GParted, so I won't bore you with too many details. The coolest things are the new artwork by Junel Mujar and it's now possible to boot from a hard drive. The hw_random crash has also been fixed." Among the included packages, the Linux kernel has been upgraded to version 2.6.17.11, GParted to 0.3, and Thunar to 0.4.0rc1.
Kurumin Linux 6.1
Carlos Morimoto has announced the release of Kurumin Linux 6.1. The latest version of the popular Brazilian distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux uses the Linux kernel 2.6.17.11 with patches from KANOTIX, new drivers and security updates. Other improvements include the following: notebooks with wide screens are now detected and set up correctly; support for Intel ipw2200 wireless networking in Centrino notebooks; improved script for configuring wireless networking with NdisWrapper; the 'powernow' feature is now activated automatically whenever hardware with power saving features is detected; many bug fixes. Read the complete release announcement (in Portuguese) for more information.
Zenwalk Linux 3.0
Zenwalk Linux 3.0 has been released: "The development team of the Zenwalk Linux operating system is pleased to announce that the latest stable major release, Zenwalk 3.0, is now available for download as a CDROM ISO, and from CD stores. This release includes numerous software and visual advancements. Key software improvements include XFce 4.3.99.1, the Linux kernel 2.6.17.11 Firefox 1.5.0.6, Thunderbird 1.5.0.5, Xarchiver 0.4, as well as many others all updated to the latest releases (around 200 packages updated or added). Visual aspects of the desktop have been improved by using a complete Tango icon set." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details.
Linux From Scratch 6.2-3 LiveCD
Alexander Patrakov has announced an updated version of the Linux From Scratch (LFS) live CD: "The LFS LiveCD Team is proud to announce the release of the x86-6.2-3 version of LFS LiveCD. This version is built using LFS 6.2 and many Beyond Linux From Scratch packages from the Subversion branch. Source packages for LFS 6.2, and the LFS book itself, are included on the live CD. The CD is also suitable as a host for building x86 and x86_64 Cross LFS systems. Other features and bugfixes: the CD supports hibernation; the CD file system can be written to; the CD contains a visually pleasing and easy-to-use window manager, XFce...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details.
SimplyMEPIS 6.0-1 DVD
A DVD edition of the recently released SimplyMEPIS 6.0 is now available for download or purchase: "MEPIS has announced the release of SimplyMEPIS 6.0-1 DVD Edition; an update of SimplyMEPIS 6.0. The SimplyMEPIS 6.0-1 bootable DVD not only includes hundreds of bug and security fixes, but the 1,900 packages of the three SimplyMEPIS Extras CDs, as well. SimplyMEPIS 6.0-1 DVD edition has been cover-mounted on the October 2006 issue of Linux Magazine from Linux New Media AG. The issue went on sale September 8 in the UK will be available at thousands of bookstores and newstands worldwide including Borders, Barnes & Noble, Fry's, Micro Center, Chapters, WHSmith and Eason." Read the complete press release for more details.
* * * * * Development and unannounced releases
| | Upcoming Releases and Announcements | | Summary of expected upcoming releases | | DistroWatch.com News | New distributions added to waiting list
- Bardinux. Bardinux is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution produced by the Secretariat of Free Software at the Universidad de La Laguna in Spain's Canary Islands. It is a desktop-oriented distribution designed specifically for the needs of the university.
- Brighton Chilli. Brighton Chilli is a specialist live CD project based on FreeBSD and FreeSBIE. Its main purpose is to offer a live CD environment capable of running a WiFi hotspot managed by ChilliSpot.
- Aris OS. Aris OS is a new, general purpose distribution based on Gentoo Linux. It was formerly known as Reaper OS.
* * * * * DistroWatch database summary
And that concludes our latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next issue will be published on Monday, 18 September 2006. Until then,
Ladislav Bodnar
| |
| Tip Jar | If you've enjoyed this week's issue of DistroWatch Weekly, please consider sending us a tip.
(Tips this week: 0, value: US$0.00) | | | |
 bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx  lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr  86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le paypal.me/distrowatchweekly • patreon.com/distrowatch | |
| Extended Lifecycle Support by TuxCare | | |
| | 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. |
| Archives | | • Issue 1165 (2026-03-23): Argent Linux 1.5.3, disk space required by Linux, Manjaro team goes on strike, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA driver support and builds RISC-V packages, systemd introduces age tracking | | • Issue 1164 (2026-03-16): d77void, age verification laws and Linux, SUSE may be for sale, TrueNAS takes its build system private, Debian publishes updated Trixie media, MidnightBSD and System76 respond to age verification laws | | • Issue 1163 (2026-03-09): KaOS 2026.02, TinyCore 17.0, NuTyX 26.02.2, Would one big collection of packages help?, Guix offers 64-bit Hurd options, Linux communities discuss age delcaration laws, Mint unveils new screensaver for Cinnamon, Redox ports new COSMIC features | | • Issue 1162 (2026-03-02): AerynOS 2026.01, anti-virus and firewall tools, Manjaro fixes website certificate, Ubuntu splits firmware package, jails for NetBSD, extended support for some Linux kernel releases, Murena creating a map app | | • Issue 1161 (2026-02-23): The Guix package manager, quick Q&As, Gentoo migrating its mirrors, Fedora considers more informative kernel panic screens, GhostBSD testing alternative X11 implementation, Asahi makes progress with Apple M3, NetBSD userland ported, FreeBSD improves web-based system management | | • Issue 1160 (2026-02-16): Noid and AgarimOS, command line tips, KDE Linux introduces delta updates, Redox OS hits development milestone, Linux Mint develops a desktop-neutral account manager, sudo developer seeks sponsorship | | • Issue 1159 (2026-02-09): Sharing files on a network, isolating processes on Linux, LFS to focus on systemd, openSUSE polishes atomic updates, NetBSD not likely to adopt Rust code, COSMIC roadmap | | • Issue 1158 (2026-02-02): Manjaro 26.0, fastest filesystem, postmarketOS progress report, Xfce begins developing its own Wayland window manager, Bazzite founder interviewed | | • Issue 1157 (2026-01-26): Setting up a home server, what happened to convergence, malicious software entering the Snap store, postmarketOS automates hardware tests, KDE's login manager works with systemd only | | • Issue 1156 (2026-01-19): Chimera Linux's new installer, using the DistroWatch Torrent Corner, new package tools for Arch, Haiku improves EFI support, Redcore streamlines branches, Synex introduces install-time ZFS options | | • Issue 1155 (2026-01-12): MenuetOS, CDE on Sparky, iDeal OS 2025.12.07, recommended flavour of BSD, Debian seeks new Data Protection Team, Ubuntu 25.04 nears its end of life, Google limits Android source code releases, Fedora plans to replace SDDM, Budgie migrates to Wayland | | • Issue 1154 (2026-01-05): postmarketOS 25.06/25.12, switching to Linux and educational resources, FreeBSD improving laptop support, Unix v4 available for download, new X11 server in development, CachyOS team plans server edtion | | • Issue 1153 (2025-12-22): Best projects of 2025, is software ever truly finished?, Firefox to adopt AI components, Asahi works on improving the install experience, Mageia presents plans for version 10 | | • Issue 1152 (2025-12-15): OpenBSD 7.8, filtering websites, Jolla working on a Linux phone, Germany saves money with Linux, Ubuntu to package AMD tools, Fedora demonstrates AI troubleshooting, Haiku packages Go language | | • Issue 1151 (2025-12-08): FreeBSD 15.0, fun command line tricks, Canonical presents plans for Ubutnu 26.04, SparkyLinux updates CDE packages, Redox OS gets modesetting driver | | • Issue 1150 (2025-12-01): Gnoppix 25_10, exploring if distributions matter, openSUSE updates tumbleweed's boot loader, Fedora plans better handling of broken packages, Plasma to become Wayland-only, FreeBSD publishes status report | | • Issue 1149 (2025-11-24): MX Linux 25, why are video drivers special, systemd experiments with musl, Debian Libre Live publishes new media, Xubuntu reviews website hack | | • Issue 1148 (2025-11-17): Zorin OS 18, deleting a file with an unusual name, NetBSD experiments with sandboxing, postmarketOS unifies its documentation, OpenBSD refines upgrades, Canonical offers 15 years of support for Ubuntu | | • Issue 1147 (2025-11-10): Fedora 43, the size and stability of the Linux kernel, Debian introducing Rust to APT, Redox ports web engine, Kubuntu website off-line, Mint creates new troubleshooting tools, FreeBSD improves reproducible builds, Flatpak development resumes | | • Issue 1146 (2025-11-03): StartOS 0.4.0, testing piped commands, Ubuntu Unity seeks help, Canonical offers Ubuntu credentials, Red Hat partners with NVIDIA, SUSE to bundle AI agent with SLE 16 | | • Issue 1145 (2025-10-27): Linux Mint 7 "LMDE", advice for new Linux users, AlmaLinux to offer Btrfs, KDE launches Plasma 6.5, Fedora accepts contributions written by AI, Ubuntu 25.10 fails to install automatic updates | | • Issue 1144 (2025-10-20): Kubuntu 25.10, creating and restoring encrypted backups, Fedora team debates AI, FSF plans free software for phones, ReactOS addresses newer drivers, Xubuntu reacts to website attack | | • Issue 1143 (2025-10-13): openSUSE 16.0 Leap, safest source for new applications, Redox introduces performance improvements, TrueNAS Connect available for testing, Flatpaks do not work on Ubuntu 25.10, Kamarada plans to switch its base, Solus enters new epoch, Frugalware discontinued | | • Issue 1142 (2025-10-06): Linux Kamarada 15.6, managing ZIP files with SQLite, F-Droid warns of impact of Android lockdown, Alpine moves ahead with merged /usr, Cinnamon gets a redesigned application menu | | • Issue 1141 (2025-09-29): KDE Linux and GNOME OS, finding mobile flavours of Linux, Murena to offer phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix drops GNOME | | • Issue 1140 (2025-09-22): NetBSD 10.1, avoiding AI services, AlmaLinux enables CRB repository, Haiku improves disk access performance, Mageia addresses service outage, GNOME 49 released, Linux introduces multikernel support | | • Issue 1139 (2025-09-15): EasyOS 7.0, Linux and central authority, FreeBSD running Plasma 6 on Wayland, GNOME restores X11 support temporarily, openSUSE dropping BCacheFS in new kernels | | • Issue 1138 (2025-09-08): Shebang 25.8, LibreELEC 12.2.0, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, the importance of software updates, AerynOS introduces package sets, postmarketOS encourages patching upstream, openSUSE extends Leap support, Debian refreshes Trixie media | | • Issue 1137 (2025-09-01): Tribblix 0m37, malware scanners flagging Linux ISO files, KDE introduces first-run setup wizard, CalyxOS plans update prior to infrastructure overhaul, FreeBSD publishes status report | | • Issue 1136 (2025-08-25): CalyxOS 6.8.20, distros for running containers, Arch Linux website under attack,illumos Cafe launched, CachyOS creates web dashboard for repositories | | • Issue 1135 (2025-08-18): Debian 13, Proton, WINE, Wayland, and Wayback, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, KDE gets advanced Liquid Glass, Haiku improves authentication tools | | • Issue 1134 (2025-08-11): Rhino Linux 2025.3, thoughts on malware in the AUR, Fedora brings hammered websites back on-line, NetBSD reveals features for version 11, Ubuntu swaps some command line tools for 25.10, AlmaLinux improves NVIDIA support | | • Issue 1133 (2025-08-04): Expirion Linux 6.0, running Plasma on Linux Mint, finding distros which support X11, Debian addresses 22 year old bug, FreeBSD discusses potential issues with pkgbase, CDE ported to OpenBSD, Btrfs corruption bug hitting Fedora users, more malware found in Arch User Repository | | • Issue 1132 (2025-07-28): deepin 25, wars in the open source community, proposal to have Fedora enable Flathub repository, FreeBSD plans desktop install option, Wayback gets its first release | | • Issue 1131 (2025-07-21): HeliumOS 10.0, settling on one distro, Mint plans new releases, Arch discovers malware in AUR, Plasma Bigscreen returns, Clear Linux discontinued | | • Issue 1130 (2025-07-14): openSUSE MicroOS and RefreshOS, sharing aliases between computers, Bazzite makes Bazaar its default Flatpak store, Alpine plans Wayback release, Wayland and X11 benchmarked, Red Hat offers additional developer licenses, openSUSE seeks feedback from ARM users, Ubuntu 24.10 reaches the end of its life | | • Issue 1129 (2025-07-07): GLF OS Omnislash, the worst Linux distro, Alpine introduces Wayback, Fedora drops plans to stop i686 support, AlmaLinux builds EPEL repository for older CPUs, Ubuntu dropping existing RISC-V device support, Rhino partners with UBports, PCLinuxOS recovering from website outage | | • Issue 1128 (2025-06-30): AxOS 25.06, AlmaLinux OS 10.0, transferring Flaptak bundles to off-line computers, Ubuntu to boost Intel graphics performance, Fedora considers dropping i686 packages, SDesk switches from SELinux to AppArmor | | • Issue 1127 (2025-06-23): LastOSLinux 2025-05-25, most unique Linux distro, Haiku stabilises, KDE publishes Plasma 6.4, Arch splits Plasma packages, Slackware infrastructure migrating | | • Issue 1126 (2025-06-16): SDesk 2025.05.06, renewed interest in Ubuntu Touch, a BASIC device running NetBSD, Ubuntu dropping X11 GNOME session, GNOME increases dependency on systemd, Google holding back Pixel source code, Nitrux changing its desktop, EFF turns 35 | | • Issue 1125 (2025-06-09): RHEL 10, distributions likely to survive a decade, Murena partners with more hardware makers, GNOME tests its own distro on real hardware, Redox ports GTK and X11, Mint provides fingerprint authentication | | • Issue 1124 (2025-06-02): Picking up a Pico, tips for protecting privacy, Rhino tests Plasma desktop, Arch installer supports snapshots, new features from UBports, Ubuntu tests monthly snapshots | | • Issue 1123 (2025-05-26): CRUX 3.8, preventing a laptop from sleeping, FreeBSD improves laptop support, Fedora confirms GNOME X11 session being dropped, HardenedBSD introduces Rust in userland build, KDE developing a virtual machine manager | | • Issue 1122 (2025-05-19): GoboLinux 017.01, RHEL 10.0 and Debian 12 updates, openSUSE retires YaST, running X11 apps on Wayland | | • Issue 1121 (2025-05-12): Bluefin 41, custom file manager actions, openSUSE joins End of 10 while dropping Deepin desktop, Fedora offers tips for building atomic distros, Ubuntu considers replacing sudo with sudo-rs | | • Issue 1120 (2025-05-05): CachyOS 250330, what it means when a distro breaks, Kali updates repository key, Trinity receives an update, UBports tests directory encryption, Gentoo faces losing key infrastructure | | • Issue 1119 (2025-04-28): Ubuntu MATE 25.04, what is missing from Linux, CachyOS ships OCCT, Debian enters soft freeze, Fedora discusses removing X11 session from GNOME, Murena plans business services, NetBSD on a Wii | | • Issue 1118 (2025-04-21): Fedora 42, strange characters in Vim, Nitrux introduces new package tools, Fedora extends reproducibility efforts, PINE64 updates multiple devices running Debian | | • Issue 1117 (2025-04-14): Shebang 25.0, EndeavourOS 2025.03.19, running applications from other distros on the desktop, Debian gets APT upgrade, Mint introduces OEM options for LMDE, postmarketOS packages GNOME 48 and COSMIC, Redox testing USB support | | • Issue 1116 (2025-04-07): The Sense HAT, Android and mobile operating systems, FreeBSD improves on laptops, openSUSE publishes many new updates, Fedora appoints new Project Leader, UBports testing VoLTE | | • Issue 1115 (2025-03-31): GrapheneOS 2025, the rise of portable package formats, MidnightBSD and openSUSE experiment with new package management features, Plank dock reborn, key infrastructure projects lose funding, postmarketOS to focus on reliability | | • Issue 1114 (2025-03-24): Bazzite 41, checking which processes are writing to disk, Rocky unveils new Hardened branch, GNOME 48 released, generating images for the Raspberry Pi | | • 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 | 
Heretix
Heretix (formerly known as Rubyx) was a young GNU/Linux distribution managed entirely by heretix, a Ruby script. Heretix boasts a clean design and a pragmatic package handling concept. It was not a "point-and-click" distribution, but it was easy to use for everyone who was not afraid of the shell. And Heretix was written in readable Ruby code, offering every user the opportunity to understand how their system works.
Status: Discontinued
|
| 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.
|
|
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
