Links: Distribution Reviews, Sabayon Linux 5.3 “Extra Spins”, Fedora Community Web Site Design
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2010-07-22 08:20:47 UTC
- Modified: 2010-07-22 08:20:47 UTC
Summary: Distributions news accumulated in recent days
One or two of the five distros I mentioned yesterday had been labeled as “lightweight” either by their designers or the community around them, and I was probably pushing that definition just a little bit when I gave them the chance to run at 150Mhz on 32Mb of memory.
-
Reviews
Unity Linux had their first release on 09/07/2010 after around 1.5 years of development. The project was created in 2009 by former developers from the PClinuxOS (hereafter abbreviated PCLOS) community. One of them was KDulcimer who at the time had his own project TinyMe based on PCLOS, which according to the website started in 2006. His distribution would in the future be based on Unity Linux. So much for how the two are intertwined.
[...]
I have to say I like this basic distribution and the philosophy behind, there is definitely a niche for it. The artwork is an inoffensive non-blinding white swirl on dark-blue background, good for my sensitive eyes, with a Mint leaf floating around giving a fresh impression, and for convenience sake you got 'halt' and 'logout' buttons on the desktop to access these functions. Mandrake/Mandriva has always been my favourite rpm based distribution and one of the first I used back in the 90's, and I'm glad to see it and its many innovations living on in so many forms. Mandriva is of course in ongoing financial troubles and after so many years of it I'm a bit pessimistic if that will change any time soon. So what will projects like Unity Linux do if Mandriva disappears?
For the moment at least they are still around, so let's enjoy this little spin-off if you don't have long term planning needs.
Unity also runs well in Virtualbox, with guest additions pre-installed. As you would imagine due to its size, it ran well with 384MB memory, but will probably be happy with less.
Unlike Microsoft Windows, Linux has a deserved reputation as a bullet-proof operating system. To teach computer security a University lecturer has deliberately produced the most damn vulnerable Linux you’ll ever see.
I didn't have many complaints when it came to Zenwalk's security. The install process sets a password for the administrator and allows the user to create additional, unprivileged accounts. I did have two concerns. While I was using the distro the repositories were populated with updates, but there didn't seem to be any notification for the user when security updates were available. I've been spoiled recently by systems which automatically check for me. My other concern is Zenwalk runs a secure shell service by default, which allows remote root logins. Preventing root from remotely logging into a machine is a policy I'd like to see more distributions adopt.
Lucid Puppy Linux 5.0 was released back in May of 2010, but as one of my favorite distros, I have been playing with it heavily since then. I have been so impressed with the new version that I wanted to take a moment and write a quick review of this release.
You can find the official release page here, along with download information.
-
New Releases
Our crew, is happy to announce the immediate availability of XFCE, LXDE and SpinBase/OpenVZ Sabayon 5.3 “Spins” built on top of Sabayon “SpinBase” ISO images.
Under the “Extra Spins” umbrella, the Sabayon developers are going to experiment new Stable Releases with different package compositions.
-
Red Hat Family
The open source remote access project will include 3D acceleration, network tunneling, and perhaps iPad, iPhone, and Android tablet support
Server maker Hewlett-Packard and commercial Linux juggernaut Red Hat have teamed up to help shops using Oracle's Sparc/Solaris platforms make the jump to Linux-based x64 iron.
While the two companies did not say so, the migrations services being offered today through HP Services are no doubt a reaction to Oracle's spiking of HP's Solaris OEM agreement last month. Under that agreement, HP was able to bundle Solaris on its ProLiant rack and blade servers and sell Solaris support contracts, much as it does for Microsoft's Windows, Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and Red Hat's Enterprise Linux.
-
Fedora
When it was launched in late 2004 it was up against a number of distributions that had been in development for years: Red Hat, Fedora, Suse Linux and Mandriva (then still called Mandrake). These were well-developed distributions with their own fans and unique features. Ubuntu, based on Debian, had a solid base but had a long way to go to be as user-friendly as it planned.
Fast forward almost six years and Ubuntu has delivered. For many users it has been the perfect starting point for their Linux adventures. For others it offers the stability that they want from an operating system. It also has a huge fan-base and is the dominant voice in Linux marketing.
-
Debian Family
-
Canonical/Ubuntu
“Does Ubuntu have a firewall, and how do I turn it on?” is a popular question among new Ubuntu users. The answer is a bit complicated, but it’s an understandable inquiry for those migrating from the Windows world. WorksWithU addresses that question below by taking a look at Ubuntu’s firewall and some of the tools available for managing it.
In This Issue
* Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase calls all artists to contribute to next version of Ubuntu
* Operation Cleansweep: We Need You!
* Ubuntu Accessibility Team Personas Survey
* ISO testers for the Hall of Fame
* Ubuntu User Days Wrap-Up
* Ubuntu Stats
* Rocking The LoCo Council
* Ubuntu: a computer operating system built around community
* Ubuntu Chicago Bike Tour
* The Early-Summer LoCo BBQ at hutchnate's house was a tasty success!
* Ubuntu Honduras LoCo Team Wakes up
* Launchpad News
* Ahmed Kamal Joins the Horsemen
* Reviewers Team and Operation Cleansweep
* Ubuntu Manual Project core philosophy
* Man Your Browser
[...]
I’m an Ubuntu and FOSS kinda guy, I’m not happy with software that isn’t FOSS and I don’t find any sense in proprietisation of code. Having said that there are times when I must be a little more considered and not simply shun an entire site because it’s not foss.
Heaven known that deviantArt is one of the most proprietary, confused and messed up places I know. Bad copyright advice, no public domain option, admins that consistently ignore open formats like png and svg. FOSS Software isn’t promoted at all in any way. So why in Slartibartfast’s fjords would I want to hang my coat over there?
Well no matter what I do there _will_ be artists over there who use Ubuntu, people who may need help with wacom tablets, upgrades or finding help. There will be people who use Windows or Mac but don’t have FOSS tools yet or perhaps wouldn’t do better with Ubuntu instead. There are artists who’d love to get involved with the wider community but for what ever reason are disconnected by social chance.
Officially, Ubuntu does not come with built-in support for the GMA 500 drivers. We gave a workaround to this problem way back in Oct 2009 when the Ubuntu had just released Ubuntu 9.10. People expected Ubuntu to include these drivers in the Ubuntu 10.04 that never happened.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The Brotherhood of São Bento
- The Palácio São Bento – or São Bento Palace – is the seat of the Portuguese National Assembly in Lisbon
- Brett Wilson LLP Reported to Police for Trying to Throw Large Parcel Into Our Home
- This morning the campaign of intimidation...
- Slop Has no ROI, an Economy Built on False Assumptions of Slop is Doomed
- we're all going to suffer from this Ponzi scheme
- The Cyber Show Has "Exciting Guests Coming" and a Gemini Capsule
- "Site development is ongoing but now settling into a more stable form"
-
- IBM's Quantum Bubble Already Deflating
- Shares down over $55 in a few days
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 101 Out of 200: Women Come to Realise They Don't Wish to Participate in Attacking Vulnerable Women
- It relates to another topic that we shall be covering in the coming weeks
- Links 08/06/2026: Proprietary Loaded With Security Holes, Armenia Defies Russia
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 08/06/2026: NetHack 5.0.0 and Slop as Cannibalism
- Links for the day
- Links 08/06/2026: "Rising Emissions, Depleting Water" Due to the Pyramid Scheme of Slop; "Canada Needs to Rebuild Public Telecoms"
- Links for the day
- GAFAM Bots Are Not "Good Bots"
- There's nothing "Good" about Google
- Links 08/06/2026: Criticism of Microsoft Trying to Criminalise Pointing Out Bug Doors, TikTok Now "Climate-Denying Social Media App"
- Links for the day
- GNU/Linux Measured at 10% in Liechtenstein This Month
- it seems like statCounter wrongly classified some GNU/Linux clients as Mac clients and is now issuing a correction
- Communicating With Freedom - Part III - Quibble Envisioned as a New and Easily Accessible Communications Platform Based on LibreJS
- the FSF really needs to become more active if not proactive in promoting those sorts of things
- Clownflare Says Majority of Web Traffic is Now Bots, But the Net is Another Story
- Bots are to Clownflare what lawsuits are to lawyers
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 07, 2026
- IRC logs for Sunday, June 07, 2026
- The Strikes at the European Patent Office Planned to Carry on for the Entire Year, Maybe Future Years as Well
- There's a cautionary tale somewhere
- Number of Patent Grants Has Plunged 23% Amid Strikes at the European Patent Office, Today There Are More Strikes (Strike Participation at Over 3,000, More Than Doubled Since Winter)
- There is a growing crisis at the European Patent Office
- E.E.E. Still Ongoing, the War on Copyleft/GPL Enables That
- It also imperils security.
- Gemini Links 07/06/2026: Lynx in the 'Modern' Web and 'Overcooked' (Plagiarised by LLM) Code
- Links for the day
- Links 07/06/2026: Java Needs Seawall, Egypt Blasted for Arbitrary Detention of Activists
- Links for the day
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 100 Out of 200: Interlude and Outline of the First Half, 3+ Months That Got Us Death Threats Connected to Brett Wilson LLP (and Cyber Attacks That Are Difficult to Attribute)
- This week we plan to have a good time
- Banning Things Versus Teaching People the Reason/s to Shun/Boycott Those Things
- Prohibition has its limits
- Links 07/06/2026: NASA's Mars Maven Declared Dead, Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Bemoans Russia's Crackdown
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 06, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, June 06, 2026
- Gemini Links 07/06/2026: How to Train Your Dragon (2010) and "Six Days of Play"
- Links for the day
- Links 06/06/2026: 'Epstein Problem' in Board of Directors of Microsoft, Surveillance Giant Google Under Legal Threats for Online Misuses
- Links for the day
- Software Freedom Takes a Lot More Than Coding
- some of the roles in the Free software community that don't receive (m)any grateful words
- Ubuntu is Losing to Other GNU/Linux Distros
- "Linux Mint"
- Old Articles Explaining That Patents - Especially Software Patents - Are Bad for Innovation
- We've omitted more than 50% of the articles we had gathered as candidates for inclusion
- European Patent Office (EPO) Crisis: Huge EPO Strikes, Profound Corruption, and Cocaine Use by Managers Tolerated
- These strikes won't be ending any time soon
- Why GNU and FSF Will Choose AV1 Over AV2 (It's More Widely Supported)
- for the foreseeable future they'll stick with AV1
- Mass Layoffs (RAs) and PIPs (Excuses to Sack) at IBM: Insiders Tell No Relation to Actual Performance
- If many thousands are impacted by this, then certainly it is newsworthy
- Links 06/06/2026: LinkedIn Infested With Spies, Ethernet WiFi Router On Pi Pico 2W
- Links for the day
- 25 Years With PalmOS
- That my Palm PDA still works in 2026 (not in mint condition but close to that) says a lot about the "build quality" of gadgets 20+ years ago
- Why We Dumped Online Shopping (Groceries)
- subsidies kept the "online" stuff artificially cheap
- Microsoft Fell to All-Time Low in Monaco Last Month
- So says statCounter anyway
- Lawsuits That Don't Work
- Not as expected anyway
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 99 Out of 200: Graveley and Garrett Seem to Have Crashed Brett Wilson LLP (Worse Than Taking Russian Oligarchs as SLAPP Clients)
- a state of disarray
- Microsoft Has Spent Months Preparing Lists of People to Cull in Massive Wave of Layoffs (Allegedly Start of July)
- There is some consensus that we're weeks away from mega-layoffs at Microsoft
- Gemini Links 06/06/2026: "Competing" With LLMs and "Automation of Any Kind"
- Links for the day
- Links 06/06/2026: 'Linux' Foundation Openwashing Slop on Microsoft's Payroll, Ukraine Wants Permanent Ceasefire With Russia
- Links for the day
- 50% of the 'Gains' Made by "Quantum" Hype Already Evaporated
- "It was all hype about quantum nonsense. Heading back to reality now. Expect sub-$220 after earnings release next month."
- Heap of Trash Online, Not Just the Fault of LLM Slop But Enabled by Slop
- Google News has just promoted a pair of prolific slopfarms
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 05, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, June 05, 2026