Links 25/01/2014: GNU/Linux Distributions Roundup
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-01-25 21:03:21 UTC
- Modified: 2014-01-25 21:04:32 UTC
Summary: Various bits of recent news about lesser-known distributions of GNU/Linux
Choices
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A lot of you may use many different versions of Linux on a regular basis. Or, maybe you don't see your choice here. Vote for the one you use the most or the one from this list that is your favorite.
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Bodhi is definitely a fine looking distro, and Xubuntu would also go at the top of my list for desktop distros. Be sure to click through and read the full article for details on why Carla picked each distribution. Then fire up VirtualBox and check out the ones that interest you. There's definitely some fun distrohopping to be had in her list.
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The Linux avalanche is rolling and gathering mass and momentum. Linux won, so what's next? Amazing growth is what's next: we're at the bare beginning of the Linux juggernaut rolling into existing markets and blazing into new ones. All this growth and progress is the result of years of hard work by tens of thousands of people and billions of dollars of investment. It has reached critical mass and there is no stopping it.
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Doesn't it seem a bit ridiculous that there are so many Linux distributions? I had recently read an article where some guy was lamenting about five Linux distributions which they believe need some TLC (Note: I did not say THC :) ). That is five extra Linux distributions, on top of the five main Linux distributions which just about everybody knows about and from which every other Linux distribution is based off of. Not only that, they all claim pretty much the same thing. Everything just works out of the box, blah, blah, blah. I would consider that a standard for today's Linux operating systems, not something to use as a selling point.
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As I wrote in my previous post, Linux is Everywhere and there are hundreds if not thousands of different distributions. Some are very famous, some boasts of their 10 million user base and then there are others who live in the shadow of famous distributions. Some distributions struggle to even gain a fraction of what big distributions enjoy and a few handful of distributions die every year. But today we are here to discuss about few distributions that being awesome still don’t get the love they deserve. It doesn’t matter if the distribution is original or forked or based on some other distribution, if it does the job, is stable enough for daily use and is not getting the love it deserves, it will be on the list.
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The key to a good netbook operating system is that it needs to fully utilise its resources. Memory usage has to be kept to a minimum when running idle. The screen is smaller so you need to have a very intuitive navigation system that doesn’t clutter the screen.
Quirky
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The Quirky Linux distro has a lightweight design with a powerful delivery system. That, plus a leading-edge test bed of new ideas, makes Quirky Linux an ideal OS for netbooks and older computers with limited storage and memory. Run Quirky on a hardware-enhanced modern machine and experience a new definition of fast and dependable. It's definitely worth a try.
CAINE
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The distribution’s name is derived from Computer Aided INvestigative Environment, and it is an Italian GNU/Linux live distribution, whose development is headed by Nanni Bassetti. The goal of this distribution is to provide an interoperable environment and user-friendly tools for digital forensics.
Netrunner
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The Netrunner Team is proud to release Netrunner 13.12 – 32bit and 64bit stable.
Black Lab
Qimo Linux
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Qimo Linux is a kid-friendly distribution designed to make computers simple for children. Parents will appreciate the cartoon theme and the fact that everything is easy to find, even for the youngest users.
Parted Magic
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A new release of the once popular Parted Magic Linux distribution is available that aims to assist in data recovery and disk/partition management, but it continues to be commercial-only.
Last year was when Parted Magic fundamentally shifted its distribution model and went from being freely available for download without charge to then being behind a pay wall but some free download links remained. Now with modern versions of the Linux distribution designed for disk/partition management, the pay wall is being enforced.
Santoku Linux
Jolicloud
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Jolicloud 2 will be the next version of Jolicloud, a Cloud service that aggregates all the popular and not-so popular Cloud services.
It started life as Joli OS, a free operating system optimized for netbooks and other low-resource computers. Since then, it has evolved into a pure online service. Jolicloud, the company behind it, is based in Paris, France.
Microlinux
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MLED 14.1 Xfce is a lightweight production desktop based on Slackware 14.1 and the Xfce desktop environment with many enhancements. It sports a complete choice of neatly integrated applications, one per task.
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MLED 14.1 MATE is another lightweight production desktop, based on Slackware 14.1 and the MATE desktop environment with many enhancements. It sports a complete choice of neatly integrated applications, one per task.
This edition uses the MATE desktop environment provided by Chess Griffin and Willy Sudiarto as a base. MLED adds some eye candy and applications galore.
Misc.
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If you have been following the news and stories on Linux distributions since over ten years like I have been, you tend to have a fairly standard view -yet an educated one- about what’s going on with them, why every year since about 2002 this could have been the year of the Linux desktop, how Mandriva almost made it but was beaten off by Ubuntu, and why Android and likely Ubuntu are triomphing not on the desktop itself but on the phones and tablets.
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At the beginning of 2013 I wrote about an ambitious Linux distribution that set out to create what its lead developer called would be the most robust, beautiful, and performant Linux operating system out there and ultimately aspired to take on Ubuntu. Well, that distribution is now a matter of the past.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Fedora is IBM and There's Hardly Any Community Left
- It's more like an onboarding mechanism for unpaid labour at (and for) IBM
- IBM to Announce 'Results' Shortly, Expect Lots of Chaff Like "Quantum" and "Hey Hi" (Nothing Material to Show)
- We're still seeing layoffs and an exodus
- Upcoming Techrights Series About the Failure of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to Stop Hired Guns Who Work for Americans That Abuse Women
- The SRA has demonstrated nothing but considerable incompetence at many levels
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- Links 29/01/2026: Neocities Is Blocked by Microsoft, “Intellectual Freedom Centers” as the New "Intelligent Design"
- Links for the day
- Microsoft XBox Dying Not Only as a Console, Reveals Microsoft
- Microsoft is trying to rebrand or repurpose the brand
- Don't be Mistaken, Microsoft Boasts About Money That Does Not Exist and Revenue (Buying From Oneself!) Is Not Income
- the company's debt grew
- IBM's Financial Performance in IBM's Own Words: Money Down, Debt Up Sharply
- IBM isn't a healthy company
- In Dominica, GNU/Linux Has Risen to All-Time High in 2026
- a lot of America is moving to Free software this year
- The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XV - EPO is on Strike Tomorrow, Lots to be Angry About (Except Money)
- We'll soon finish the series
- Gemini Links 29/01/2026: "Lady Audley's Secret" and "The Value Of Our Fear" (Carney's Speech)
- Links for the day
- Emmanuel Macron on Europe's GAFAM Addiction/Dependence: "There is No Such Thing as Happy Vassalage"
- Microsoft has long worked to prevent commodification
- It's Official, Mass Layoffs at IBM Again (2026)
- In a matter of days we'll just see how much IBM's debt has grown
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 28, 2026
- IRC logs for Wednesday, January 28, 2026
- Laos and Microsoft: About 10% Windows, 0% Bing
- There are many more nations like it
- EPO Technical Meetings Show no Breakthroughs, a Strike Goes Ahead This Friday
- Apparently there was another (fourth) meeting today [...] The industrial actions are working already
- Google News as the Sole Source of Slop About "Linux", a Feeder of Slopfarms or Serial Sloppers
- At least it's no longer hard to 'contain' the slop problem, knowing which domains are the culprits and seeing that Google is their main 'feeder'
- Links 28/01/2026: ChatGPT Has Financial Problems, White House Sharing Fakes (or Deepfakes) in Official Accounts/Sites
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 28/01/2026: FlatCube NES Port Finished and "Why I Still Write on the Small Web in 2026"
- Links for the day
- Upcoming Techrights Series About the Public Appearances of Richard M. Stallman (RMS) in the United States
- we plan to drop all pretences about "Open Source" and instead focus on Software Freedom
- Upcoming Techrights Series About the Experiences of EPO Insiders
- We'll start the new series some time next week
- Links 28/01/2026: Microsoft Ordered to Stop Spying on School Children, Apple's Brand Tarnished by Its Complicity With Human Rights Abusers
- Links for the day
- The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XIV - The EPO Vice-President Steve Rowan and the Hidden Alicante Connection is a Big Deal
- We'll soon take a closer look at Ernst
- Gemini Links 28/01/2026: Particle and AirMIDI
- Links for the day
- Amandine Jambert (EDPB/CNIL/FSFE), motive for lying, trust in blockchain and encryption
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 27, 2026
- IRC logs for Tuesday, January 27, 2026
- Expect More XBox Layoffs Shortly
- As expected
- Links 27/01/2026: Japan-China Feud Escalates Again, "Iran's Internet Blackout Persists"
- Links for the day
- Online 'Gathering' Held Today to Organise Industrial Actions in EPO, Strikes Will be Starting Shortly
- "Online Extraordinary General Meeting on Action Plan"
- It's Not About What You Know, It's About Who You Know (and Stay Quiet About the Cocaine)
- This is not an organisation that exists to ensure laws are followed
- FOSDEM 2026: democracy panel: FSFE uses women as stooges, gerrymander
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Must Use Proprietary JavaScript to Submit Feedback to the European Commission About Moving From GAFAM to Free Software
- Nevertheless, go tell them why Software Freedom would benefit Europe's defence and economy
- Distortion of the Facts About Mass Layoffs at IBM
- more layoffs are ahead
- Gemini Links 27/01/2026: "Waiting Isn't a Waste", Posting from Lynx, and Bookmarks
- Links for the day
- Links 27/01/2026: "Oracle Debt and TikTok Transition Troubles Vex the Ellison Media Empire", Richard Stallman Quoted on Copyrights
- Links for the day
- Steven Field (Red Hat) Speaks of "Recent Layoff" (RA/Wave) in Red Hat
- IBM really doesn't like it when people talk about "RAs"
- The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XIII - Is EPO Vice-President Steve Rowan in Cahoots With the "Alicante Mafia"?
- that deserves much media attention, political intervention, and condemnation
- A Week Ago We Contacted the EPO's Stephen (Steve) Rowan About Cocainegate
- Tomorrow we'll write some more about Rowan
- “Wikilaundering” Explained
- "London PR firm rewrites Wikipedia for governments and billionaires"
- IBM Reports 'Results' Tomorrow, Expect More "RAs" (Mass Layoffs)
- they use words like "efficiency", "optimisation", "AI", "pivot", "modernisation" and so on
- Earlier This Month Microsoft Lunduke Said in Public It Was Good That Renee Good Was Murdered, Now He Mocks or Demonises People for Saying the US is Unsafe
- Don't be easily conned by demagogues
- Google News and "Linux" Slop
- Why won't Google be interested in tackling this issue? Instead Google has been trying to participate in this issue.
- IBM Kills Red Hat in the Darkness
- What IBM does to Red Hat is malicious
- IBM Red Hat's Goal Is Not Real Security (It Probably Never Was)
- Spies and trolls are very malicious people and sometimes they're the same thing
- With Absurd Lies About Slop, Which Lacks Intelligence or Financial Potential, GAFAM and IBM Will Twist Mass Layoffs as 'Efficiency Drive' or 'AI Pivot'
- More layoffs are on the way
- Animal Advocacy Works
- All it takes is effort and determination
- EPO Strike This Week
- What has happened to Europe?
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Monday, January 26, 2026
- IRC logs for Monday, January 26, 2026