Distributions News: GNU/Linux Distros
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-04-14 08:34:19 UTC
- Modified: 2014-04-14 08:34:19 UTC
High End
Old Computers
The Zorin developers have always marketed their products as the perfect Windows alternatives and they’ve had some success with this strategy. Their operating systems are regarded as good replacements, with familiar interfaces that can help people running away from Windows OSes to better adjust to a Linux distribution.
Single-purpose
GParted Live, a small bootable GNU/Linux distribution for x86-based computers that can be used for creating, reorganizing, and deleting disk partitions with the help of tools that allow managing filesystems, is now at version 0.18.0-2.
"The underlying GNU/Linux operating system was upgraded. This release is based on the Debian Sid repository, as of April 7, 2014," reads the official changelog.
The Linux kernel has remained the same, 3.13.6, and this is one of the most recent ones available. It's very likely that the next development version will feature Linux kernel 3.14.
Distrohopping
Various distro spin makers have made two unwritten laws that I very much disagree with:
A) A distro spin of desktop blah should have only programs built with the same widget library that desktop blah uses
B) A distro spin should only ship / pre-install one program for each application category
I mention this because I'm a big KDE fan but KDE-only distro spins do not include my preferred browser (Firefox) nor my preferred office suite (LibreOffice, not that I use an office suite much) because they aren't QT-native applications. While LibreOffice does a better job of integrating with KDE than Firefox does, both drag with them quite a bit of GTK baggage... which is considered "bloat" by many spin makers.
CAELinux
SparkyLinux
I think it started when I installed the same Linux distribution with the same set of applications, configuration and layout as mine, to my wife's and then to my colleague's computers. Then somebody asked me why should I not try to share my point of view with more people.
The SparkyLinux 3.3 “Annagerman” system is built on Debian GNU/Linux “Jessie,” just like the previous versions. The developer usually releases versions with various desktop environments, but this is just the Base, which means that it's only for command-line fans.
AVLinux
The really interesting and important thing about the AVLinux distribution, of course, is the Multimedia capability included in it. The Audio menu is shown to the right, above. Well, at least part of it is; it has so much in this category that it doesn't even fit on one screen! Audio players, mixers, editors, synthesizers, analyzers, and pretty much anything and everything you can think of in this category are included.
Arch Family
Starting with the 32-bit ISO labeled 2014.04i (“i” as in infinite) this is our first version of a Rolling Release and based on the excellent Manjaro/(Arch).
Manjaro 0.8.9, a Linux distribution based on well-tested snapshots of the Arch Linux repositories and 100% compatible with Arch, has just received its third update pack.
Fedora
Another round of features have been approved by the Fedora Engineering and Steering Committee for this year's Fedora 21 release.
Debian Family
Hello Linux Geeksters. As you may know, APT (Advanced Package Tool) is the default command-line package manager for Debian, Ubuntu and their derivative systems. Recently, APT has reached version 1.0, after 16 years since it was recently developed. Ubuntu’s Synaptic and Ubuntu Software Center run both apt in the background, for managing deb packages.
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MakuluLinux 6 MATE, a Linux distribution based on the Debian testing branch, Jessie, that provides stability, speed, and a modern desktop, is the first in the series and it will be available for download on April 14.
Ubuntu and Derivatives
Numix Icon Packs is a small project developed by Numix project team focused to create high quality GTK themes and icons for Linux desktop. Their goal is to make a “difference” in theming and to present you a modern and stylish desktop without damaging its usability while at it, and quite frankly, up until now they seem to have done a pretty great job.
After wiring into the car's communications system, forum user "nlc" was able to find a number of ports and tap into the data flowing to the center console and navigation screens. Others soon joined in the fun and amongst the slightly esoteric bits of information the "hackers" eventually discovered was that the sub-system runs on a version of Ubuntu operating system, which is a Linux variant.
With Ubuntu 14.04 closing in to the release date, which is set for April 17th, I took Lubuntu for a spin from the daily live ISO image. Lubuntu is the most lightweight distribution in the Ubuntu family (the other one being Xubuntu which uses Xfce), using LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment), as well as a set of applications intended to be low on resources.
Okay, I have two socket 939 machines with XP collecting dust. Nevertheless they are quite stable and more than meets the requirements to run any version of Linux.
One has four gigs of RAM and the other two and both processors are AMD. I was wondering what you think of Mint and if there is another version of Linux you would recommend for the beginner.
Gentoo Family
PCLinuxOS
I will have to migrate it to a newer version of PCLOS. But I will do that during Easter. The thing is, I am not sure if I want to do it. The current install of PCLOS has everything I need to work and play (it even runs the game Braid on Desura), so... why fixing it if it is not broken?
Slackware Family
“We include Xfce4, the gimp, firefox, cups, exaile, popular multimedia plugins, and many other programs to maximize the desktop experience. Also new is an update to our very own installer, this was written from scratch and is a major improvement from previous installers. This is a RC release so final is soon to follow after initial peer testing,” notes the developer in the official announcement.
Salix MATE 14.1 Beta 1, a GNU/Linux distribution based on Slackware that is simple, fast, easy to use, and based on the MATE desktop environment, is ready for testing and download.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- "Over 1,100 Law Firms Gone in Five Years" in the United Kingdom (UK) Alone
- There are basically way too many lawyers (looking for "business", e.g. threats and lawfare) and not enough positions to fill
- Microsoft FUD From Microsoft Site Helps Distract From Actual Microsoft Back Doors
- Published on a Sunday
- IBM is Killing Red Hat's Portfolio - Including Linux - to Prop Up Ponzi Scheme ("AI")
- IBM is killing Red Hat
- Gemini Links 02/03/2026: Weird Phone Calls, Small Phones, and Exploring Racket
- Links for the day
- EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part V - Jobs at the EPO for Those Connected to Cocaine Addicts (Skills Not Required)
- EPO management is trying to shoot the messenger
- Teaser: The Next Series About the SRA, Which Would be Just as Effective as It Is Right Now If It Had Zero Employees
- the lapdog (of the "litigation industry") that is meant to be perceived as a watchdog
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- More Publishers Have Turned From Slop Boosters Into Slop Sceptics and Critics
- There's a "hidden cost" when one participates (for profit) in "pump and dump" schemes
- TeX Live Has New Release, But Planet Debian Won't Tell You That
- It 'unpersoned' the developer
- LLM Slop Does Not Know People (It Knows Nothing) and Cannot Distinguish Between People. It's a Recipe for Disaster.
- no way of knowing who's who
- Free Software Foundation Needs to Become More Active in Europe to Avoid Impersonation by Microsoft-Sponsored Groups
- So far we've hardly seen the FSF saying anything at all about the US president
- Links 02/03/2026: "Not Envious of Billionaires" and Palantir SLAPPs "Swiss Magazine For Accurately Reporting That The Swiss Government Didn't Want Palantir"
- Links for the day
- There Has Never Been a Better Time to Quit Social Control Media
- Those networks are selling something. And that something is not peace because peace does not sell "attention".
- Microsoft Users Drowning in Slop, If They Complain Microsoft Censors Them
- Like an authoritarian regime
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 01, 2026
- IRC logs for Sunday, March 01, 2026
- Speed of Sites Matters
- Being easily accessible all the time matters to us
- Dr. Andy Farnell on "Good Tech"
- in the age of "rent everything" and "own nothing"
- Gemini Links 01/03/2026: Simpler Software and Announcing OFFLFIRSOCH (OFFLine-FIRst SOftware CHallenge) 2026
- Links for the day
- Booz Allen Hamilton, the Former Employer of Edward Snowden (NSA Contractor), is Drowning in Debt
- Can Supreme Leader Cheeto bail it out like he does slop companies?
- On the Concept of "Protected Class" (or Race) at IBM
- It's self-harming as in practice it imperils the company and harms the reputation/brand
- The Mass Layoffs at Microsoft That Nobody in the "News Industry" Wants to Talk About (and TheLayoff.com Censored, Then It Censored the Evidence of the Censorship)
- They basically cover up how they censored the news about Microsoft layoffs
- Richard Stallman to Give at Least Three Talks in Switzerland, Starting This Week
- No mention (yet) of the Bern talk
- On Who 'Speaks for' Techrights
- typically a case of misrepresenting the site
- 'FSFE' an Imposter in Europe, Paid by GAFAM to Represent GAFAM Interests
- The Microsoft-sponsored 'FSFE', which violates the terms of use of its name, is causing confusion [...] formally-recognised institutions got tricked into thinking that the Microsoft-sponsored 'FSFE' is the FSF
- Lots of Lies From the Slop Industry
- The slop industry relies on fake news to give a notion or fake demand
- Links 01/03/2026: American Plutocrats Buy American Media While American Constitution Shredded
- Links for the day
- Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Inaction and Incompetence - Part I - Introduction
- The SRA is a sham. Many people know this already, but we want to document our own experiences with it.
- Live Simply, Live Better
- Life isn't about "collecting" possessions; it's about doing things that matter and accumulating knowledge so as to make better choices
- Now That XBox is Pretty Much Dead and There Are Mass Layoffs at Microsoft
- This means our predictions about Microsoft (and XBox) are "falling into place"
- Gemini Links 01/03/2026: "In the Spirit of OFFLFIRSOCH" and "Delete Patreon"
- Links for the day
- ACM Lowers Its Standards for Age of Autocracy
- IBM is more than happy to work with autocracies
- The term FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) was created to describe IBM's tactics and IBM is doing it again
- Rob Thomas or "RT"
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 28, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, February 28, 2026
- Slop is Distraction
- LibreWolf will never include any of this slop nonsense, no matter if toggled on or off
- Cult inquiry: Parliament of Victoria, last chance to have your say
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Turns 37.5
- Can IRC reach age 75?
- Gemini Links 28/02/2026: Loadbars 0.13.0, IME (Input Method Editor), and ColorColumn in Vim
- Links for the day
- Two EPO Strikes in March (Maybe More)
- As per the SUEPO diary [...] We still have an ongoing series about the EPO, with several more series to start later
- Why We Are Concerned About the SRA's Failure and What That Means to the Profession of Lawyers in the UK
- Unregulated industries will lose their credibility as there is a threat of growing perception that they operate outside the law rather than practice law
- Over 10,000 Pages/Articles Per Year?
- Probably my most productive month, ever
- Keeping Techrights Online 99.99% of the Time
- Some time later this year we'll tell a very long story about how extremists attacked our webhosts
- Richard Stallman, Founder of the Free Software Movement, Will be Giving Public Talk in Bern (Switzerland) in Less Than 12 Days
- We are still doing a series about him and his talks
- Still Lots of IBM Departures
- It's not that we lack evidence of IBM layoffs. It's just that we have ample evidence of the press not doing its job (or barely existing anymore).
- The Register MS Standards: Promote a Ponzi Scheme in Exchange of Money
- Once upon a time it was a serious publisher. Months ago it was taken over by a Microsoft person.
- Slopfarms' Demise Looks Like the Beginning of the End (Lowered Demand for Slop)
- Slop about "Linux" has gotten hard to find this past week
- Dr. Andy Farnell: Time to Pull the Plug?
- insightful, as usual
- Links 28/02/2026: "Tehran’s Two-Tiered Internet", "Internet Under Fire"
- Links for the day
- When an Entire News Site is About One Topic (and One Topic Only)
- Tomorrow we start a new series for the new month
- Links 28/02/2026: Bill Epsteingate Admits Sex With Young Girls, "Epstein Files Are the Horror That Keeps on Giving"
- Links for the day
- IBM: Where Companies Come to Perish
- thelayoff.com is censoring stories
- Tech Layoffs Are Not Because of Slop, They're an Effect of a Rotting Economy and Tech Giants Being Too Deep in Debt
- Block is rapidly sinking in debt
- The Slopfarms' Business Case (or Business Model) Never Existed and Nowadays, in 2026, They've Mostly Collapsed
- Hopefully by year's end many slop suppliers will be offline and slopfarms that rely on them throw in the towel
- March in London Today Against Slop's Harms to Society (and the Environment), Starting at 12:00 GMT at the Microsoft OpenAI Office
- Today there is a protest in London (UK)
- Microsoft Mass Layoffs Have Officially Resumed, Microsoft's Waggener Edstrom/Frank Shaw Lied
- "The former employees say this was a mass layoff"
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, February 27, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, February 27, 2026