Summary: How distributions which were largely forgotten some years ago are making a comeback and spawning new derivatives

FOR A LONG period of time it seemed like GNU/Linux was a one-horse race led by Ubuntu and its derivatives; but Ubuntu is rapidly losing momentum [1] and the need for diversity is realised.

The Gentoo Monthly Newsletter is now back [2] and Pentoo resurfaces also [2], promising that Gentoo isn't going away [3] as some haters of 'l33t' users once hoped (as well as Miguel de Icaza, who publicly bashed Gentoo).

We also have Slackware derivatives making a comeback, with Zenwalk back on course [4], not to mention new Slackware derivatives like MLED [5,6].

OpenMandriva is anything but vapourware now [7] and PCLinuxOS has a new magazine issue [8] (whereas Mandriva hardly has presence [9]). Continuity through derivatives and forks is essential.

The way to support lesser-known distribution is merely to use them and to spread the message about them. The more, the merrier. ⬆

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Linux Journal Readers’ Choice Awards: Ubuntu Weak, Unity Shunned





2. The Return of the Gentoo Monthly Newsletter





3. Pentoo (Gentoo) Based Linux Review, Features and Screenshot Tour

   Pentoo Linux is a Linux distribution based upon Gentoo Linux. Pentoo can be used as Live CD or Live USB image and the distribution aims at penetration testing. It is nothing but Gentoo with Pentoo Overlay. The newly released distribution is available for both 32 bit as well as 64 bit architecture.





4. When the walkin' gets tough, the Zen get walkin'

   Hyperion made the official announcement of Zenwalk 7.4 beta 1...





5. The Idea Behind MLED Is Simple.





6. [New] Microlinux Enterprise Desktop

   The Microlinux Enterprise Desktop is a full-blown production desktop based on the latest stable Slackware Linux release, starting with 14.0. It is currently used by various small town halls, public libraries, schools and local radio stations in South France.





7. One Week with OpenMandriva Lx 2013

   Curiously, I did not experience the live session that installs itself, reported here. I could navigate the live session before deciding to install without any problem.





8. The December 2013 Issue of the PCLinuxOS Magazine

   The PCLinuxOS Magazine is a product of the PCLinuxOS community, published by volunteers from the community. The magazine is lead by Paul Arnote, Chief Editor, and Assistant Editor Meemaw. The PCLinuxOS Magazine is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share-Alike 3.0 Unported license, and some rights are reserved.





9. Mandriva: 2013:282: perl-HTTP-Body