 DistroWatch Weekly | | DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 197, 9 April 2007 | | Welcome to this year's 15th issue of DistroWatch Weekly! Debian "Etch", the long-awaited release from the largest Linux distribution project that has ever graced the Internet era, finally hit the download mirrors on Easter Sunday and provided some welcome news relief during the otherwise unexciting weekend. But the current string of important releases will not stop here; Mandriva is about to announce a new stable release of its flagship product, Ubuntu is busy preparing its first and only release candidate for "Feisty Fawn", and openSUSE is hard at work in finalising a new alpha release for delivery later this week. In other news, SimplyMEPIS announces its latest and greatest, Samuel Hocevar becomes the new Debian Project Leader, and Arch Linux changes its release policy. Finally, don't miss the third part of our overview of Top Ten Distributions. Happy reading!
Content:
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| | Overview | Overview of Top Ten Distributions (Part 3)
With the release of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 last week and the upcoming release of Mandriva Linux 2007.1 this week, there couldn't be a better time to update the Debian and Mandriva entries on our Top Ten Distributions page.
* * * * *  Debian GNU/Linux was first announced in 1993. Its founder, Ian Murdock, envisaged the creation of a completely non-commercial project developed by hundreds of volunteer developers in their spare time. With sceptics far outnumbering optimists at the time, it was destined to disintegrate and collapse, but the reality was very different. Debian not only survived, it thrived and, in less than a decade, it became the largest Linux distribution and possibly the largest collaborative software project ever created!
The success of Debian GNU/Linux can be illustrated by the following numbers. It is developed by over 1,000 volunteer developers, its software repositories contain more than 20,000 packages (compiled for 11 processor architectures), and it is responsible for inspiring over 120 Debian-based distributions and live CDs. These figures are unmatched by any other Linux-based operating system. The actual development of Debian takes place in three main branches (or four if one includes the bleeding-edge "experimental" branch) of increasing levels of stability: "unstable" (also known as "sid"), "testing" and "stable". This progressive integration and stabilisation of packages and features, together with the project's well-established quality control mechanisms, has earned Debian its reputation of being one of the best-tested and most bug-free distributions available today.
However, this lengthy and complex development style also has some drawbacks: the stable releases of Debian are not particularly up-to-date and they age rapidly, especially since new stable releases are only published once every 1 - 3 years. Those users who prefer the latest packages and technologies are forced to use the potentially buggy Debian testing or unstable branches. The highly democratic structures of Debian have led to controversial decisions and gave rise to infighting among the developers. This has contributed to stagnation and reluctance to make radical decisions that would take the project forward.
- Pros: Very stable; remarkable quality control; includes over 20,000 software packages; supports more processor architectures than any other Linux distribution
- Cons: Conservative - due to its support for many processor architectures, newest technologies are not always included; slow release cycle (one stable release every 1 - 3 years); discussions on developer mailing lists and blogs can be uncultured at times
- Software package management: Advanced Package Tool (APT) using DEB packages
- Available editions: Installation CD/DVD and live CD images for 11 processor architectures, including all 32-bit and 64-bit processors from Intel, AMD, Power and others.
- Suggested Debian-based alternatives: Ubuntu, Damn Small Linux, KNOPPIX, sidux, Dreamlinux, Elive, Xandros, 64 Studio
Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 "Etch"
(full image size: 246kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * *  Mandriva Linux was launched by Gaël Duval in July 1998 under the name of Mandrake Linux. At first, it was just a re-mastered edition of Red Hat Linux with the more user-friendly KDE desktop, but the subsequent releases also added various user-friendly touches, such as a new installer, improved hardware detection, and intuitive disk partitioning utility. As a result of these enhancements, Mandrake Linux flourished. After attracting venture capital and turning into a business, the fortunes of the newly established MandrakeSoft fluctuated widely between a near bankruptcy in early 2003 to a flurry of acquisitions in 2005. The latter, after merging with Brazil's Conectiva, saw the company change its name to Mandriva.
Mandriva Linux is primarily a desktop distribution. Its best loved features are cutting edge software, superb system administration suite (DrakConf), excellent implementation of its 64-bit edition, and extensive internationalisation support. It had an open development model long before many other popular distributions, with intensive beta testing and frequent stable releases. In recent years, it has also developed an array of installable live CDs and has launched Mandriva Flash - a complete Mandriva Linux system on a bootable USB Flash device.
Despite the technical excellence, Mandriva Linux has been losing momentum in recent years. This has partly to do with the emergence of other user-friendly distributions that have caught up with Mandriva, but also with some controversial, anti-community decisions by the company which have alienated a large sector of the distribution's user base. Mandriva's web presence is a messy conglomeration of several different web sites, while its "Mandriva Club", originally designed to provide added value to paying customers, has been getting mixed reviews. Although the company has been addressing some of the criticism, it continues to face an uphill battle in persuading new Linux users or users of other distributions to try (and buy) its products.
- Pros: Beginner-friendly, especially the commercial editions; excellent central configuration utility; very good out-of-the-box support for dozens of languages; installable live CD
- Cons: The company's customer service has developed bad reputation over the years; complex, confusing web site infrastructure; dropping popularity due to its commercial nature and unpopular corporate decisions in the past
- Software package management: URPMI with Rpmdrake (a graphical front-end for URPMI) using RPM packages. "SMART" available as an alternative method.
- Available editions: Freely downloadable Mandriva Free and One editions for 32-bit (i386) and 64-bit (x86_64) processors; commercial Mandriva Discovery, PowerPack and PowerPack Plus editions for 32-bit (i386) and 64-bit (x86_64). Also high-end "Corporate" solutions for desktops, servers and firewalls, all with long-term support options.
- Suggested Mandriva-based alternatives: PCLinuxOS, MCNLive
Mandriva Linux 2007.1
(full image size: 743kB, screen resolution: 1280x1024 pixels)
* * * * * As always, if you have any suggestions, corrections or additions to the above overviews, please post them in the forum.
| | Miscellaneous News | Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 and SimplyMEPIS 6.5, Mandriva updates, Arch Linux release changes
 The long-delayed Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 "Etch" was finally released last weekend. It isn't easy to express the feelings of Linux users on this particular day; in a world where millions of highly precise lines of computer code don't mingle well with human sentiment, describing the excitement over a new Debian release is like trying to comprehend the entire universe. But perhaps mentioning the following two facts about Debian will summarise the importance of this release. Firstly, Debian is still the largest Linux distribution by far; with 11 supported processor architectures, it comes on no fewer than 227 CD images (add 21 to it if you want source code as well). Secondly, now that "Etch" is out of the door, we know that there won't be another stable Debian release until perhaps sometimes in late 2009 or early 2010. So enjoy the excitement and join the release party to celebrate this rare event on the distro release calendar!
 What's new in Debian GNU/Linux 4.0? Quite a lot, as one would expect from a distribution that only releases once every two or three years: a new graphical installer, support for encrypted file systems, a faster and more secure Advanced Package Tool (APT), a more intelligent apt-get in the form of "aptitude", and of course thousands of updated software packages. Please take a look at the release notes for further details. And while waiting for your download to complete, another thing worth checking out is the profile of Samuel Hocevar (pictured on the right), a 29-year old Frenchman, who was elected the new Debian Project Leader over the weekend and who vows to bring some radical changes to the project - things that would make Debian more "sexy" and would turn it into the best Linux distribution.
* * * * *  The release of Debian GNU/Linux has completely overshadowed the other interesting release of the week - that of SimplyMEPIS 6.5. Originally based on Debian, the developers of this beginner-friendly distribution switched to Ubuntu as its base last year. Version 6.5, while based on the older Ubuntu 6.06, comes with a number of updated packages, support for the latest device drivers and brand new artwork. It is also the first SimplyMEPIS release with support for 64-bit processors, and given the traditional user-friendliness and attention to detail by the project's developers, SimplyMEPIS-64 is probably one of the easiest 64-bit distributions available today - complete with support for 32-bit media codecs and other binary-only software. If you are using a computer with one of the high-performance AMD64 processors, but have been reluctant to install a 64-bit Linux distribution on it for the fear of compatibility problems with 32-bit software, then give SimplyMEPIS-64 a try. You might be pleasantly surprised!
* * * * *  Despite the above-mentioned two great release of the past week, the upcoming week will bring even more excitement. The new Mandriva Linux 2007.1 is currently making its way to download mirrors around the world and should be available shortly. In the meantime, Texstar, the lead developer of PCLinuxOS, promises a new test release of version 2007 for as early as this week, with the final release coming shortly afterwards. And while on the subject of development work, both the Ubuntu and openSUSE projects are scheduled to release new builds of their respective distributions on Thursday; for Ubuntu it will be the first and only release candidate for 7.04 "Feisty Fawn", while for openSUSE it will be the third alpha release of openSUSE 10.2. However, there are still no signs of Gentoo Linux 2007.0; originally scheduled for release in February 2007; the new version was later postponed till March and beyond....
* * * * * Speaking about Mandriva Linux, it is nice to see that the developers have published an excellent Mandriva 2007.1 Tour, an Ubuntu-style Wiki page listing detailed information about the new features, further complemented by a number of screenshots. Updated packages, several new configuration tools, and support for three 3D desktop environments should make the latest Mandriva an interesting release to test. This is also a good opportunity to remind those Mandriva users who are still using version 2006 that it will reach end of life later this week, after which the product will receive no further security updates. That's the danger of year-based versioning that several Linux distributions have adopted in recent years - despite only just entering the second quarter of 2007, Mandriva Linux 2006 is already too old to be maintained. Time for an upgrade?
* * * * *  Finally, an interesting piece of news from Arch Linux. As announced last week, it looks like the project is about to dramatically speed up the frequency of its stable releases: "Sadly, Arch will never have a 1.0 release. It is, in fact, cancelled. But this is for the best. We're changing gears and switching the way we do releases. Going forward, a new ISO image will be released with each new kernel version. This will give us an easy milestone for us, and you, to follow. In addition, like many have asked for hundreds of times, we're re-numbering our releases. When the next kernel 2.6.22 is released, we will push out a new ISO image, set with the YYYYMM based time stamp of the release. That is, if 2.6.22 was released right now, you would all see a 200704 ISO sitting here."
| | Released Last Week | ArtistX 0.3
ArtistX is a Debian-based bootable DVD containing many free multimedia software packages for audio, 2D and 3D graphics, and video production. Version 0.3 was announced earlier today. What's new? "All the ArtistX infrastructure and software were updated to the new Debian Live code. Software that is not packaged for Debian or not in the official archive (especially for video and 3D production) is included. The look and feel were revamped using suggestions from media professionals. KDE and GNOME applications now look nearly the same and dark, relaxing colors are used. Main features: kernel 2.6.18, X.Org 7.1, Beryl 0.2.0; 2D graphics software: Gimp 2.3.15, Inkscape, Nip2, Krita, Cinepaint...." Visit the project's home page to read the full release announcement.
Damn Small Linux 3.3
Damn Small Linux 3.3 has been released. Some excerpts from the changelog: "New gettime.lua to set clock from a time server; restored menu item 'Enable Apt' and dpkg-restore download script; updated pen drive installation scripts to be device-independent; fixed mount tool for CD-ROM and floppy devices; added mouse configuration persistence via .mouse_configuration; ALSA sound auto-configuration improvement via conflicting audio module; added auto-start of GTK+ when GTK+ extension is in mydsl search path at boot; more install options on 'dslinstall' menu; updated bootfloppy.img to fix the 16MB memory bug; added declobber.sh to remove troublesome extraneous system directories in MyDSL extensions; fixed man script to support hard drive installations...."
SimplyMEPIS 6.5
After three months of intensive development, Warren Woodford has announced the final release of SimplyMEPIS 6.5: "SimplyMEPIS 6.5 for 32 and 64 bit Intel and AMD based PCs and MacTels has been released by MEPIS. 6.5 started as a minor update to the Ubuntu pool compatible 6.0 release of SimplyMEPIS but the project quickly expanded to add the 7.1 X window manager, newer display and wireless drivers, Mac Intel support, Amarok music player with music store and MTP support, and the experimental Beryl 3D desktop." SimplyMEPIS 6.5 ships with Linux kernel 2.6.15, X.Org 7.1, KDE 3.5.3, Firefox 2.0, the latest NVIDIA and ATI graphics drivers, and Beryl 0.2.0. See the complete press release for further information.
Puppy Linux 2.15 "Community"
Puppy Linux 2.15, built by the Puppy Linux developer community and incorporating packages and features not found in the standard Puppy Linux, has been released: "Puppy Linux 2.15CE (Community Edition) is the result of collaboration between a team of Puppy Linux enthusiasts. It is built upon version 2.14, but includes many enhancements. In particular, the guys have worked on an improved user interface and a nice out-of-the-box first impression. They have also developed some SFS files that add OpenOffice.org, web and graphics applications; SFS files are 'combo packs' of applications that can be installed and uninstalled with a few clicks." For more information please read the complete release announcement.
Debian GNU/Linux 3.1r6
Alexander Schmehl has announced the release of a new revision of Debian GNU/Linux 3.1: "The Debian project has updated the stable distribution Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 (codename 'Sarge'). This update mainly adds security updates to the stable release, along with a few corrections to serious problems. In preparation for the upcoming release of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (codename 'Etch'), Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 will be moved to the 'oldstable' part of the archive. Users who would like to continue using Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 are advised to update their sources.list network sources to refer to 'sarge' instead of 'stable'. Please note that this update does not constitute a new version of Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 but only updates some of the packages included." Read the full update announcement for more details.
Debian GNU/Linux 4.0
The long-awaited Debian "Etch" has arrived: "The Debian Project is pleased to announce the official release of Debian GNU/Linux version 4.0, code-named 'etch'. Debian GNU/Linux is a free operating system which supports a total of eleven processor architectures and includes the KDE, GNOME and Xfce desktop environments. It also features cryptographic software and compatibility with the FHS v2.3 and software developed for version 3.1 of the LSB. Using a fully integrated installation process, Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 comes with out-of-the-box support for encrypted partitions." Read the rest of the release announcement and release notes for a more detailed overview of Debian Etch.
* * * * * Development and unannounced releases
| | Upcoming Releases and Announcements | | Summary of expected upcoming releases | | DistroWatch.com News | New distributions added to database - Absolute Linux. Absolute Linux is a light-weight modification of Slackware Linux. It includes several utilities that make configuration and maintenance easier and it has many common desktop and Internet applications installed and configured with tight integration of menus, applications and MIME types. Absolute Linux uses IceWM and ROX for its window and file managers.
* * * * * New distributions added to waiting list - KcPenTrix. KcPenTrix is a Slackware-based distribution designed to be a standalone penetration testing toolkit for security analysts and system administrators.
- Webconverger. Webconverger is a live, Debian-based web kiosk. It is designed for deployments in places like offices or Internet cafés where only web applications are used.
* * * * * DistroWatch database summary
And this concludes our latest issue of DistroWatch Weekly. The next instalment will be published on Monday, 16 April 2007. Until then,
Ladislav Bodnar
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| 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 |
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Dzongkha Linux
Dzongkha Linux was a Debian-based distribution developed in Bhutan by the Department of Information Technology at the Ministry of Information and Communications. Dzongkha Linux was created with the sole aim of providing complete Dzongkha computing capability, free of cost.
Status: Discontinued
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| Tips, Tricks, Q&As | | Tips and tricks: Running Mandriva "Cooker" | | Tips and tricks: Creating, removing, modifying, and ignoring aliases | | Questions and answers: Transferring a list of installed packages | | Questions and answers: Bootstrapping a network connection | | Tips and tricks: Command line weather, ionice, rename files, video preview snapshot, calendar, ls colour settings | | Questions and answers: Desktop-friendly Debian and systemd boot times | | Tips and tricks: Ubuntu's Snappy package manager | | Questions and answers: Using the GNU Lesser General Public License | | Questions and answers: Managing many passwords easily | | Tips and tricks: Gftp and Sftp - Like Peanut Butter and Jelly | | More Tips & Tricks and Questions & Answers |
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