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
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- The misogynists will have plenty of work to do this summer
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 142 Out of 200: GemText is Not a Webpage, Gemini Protocol is Not the Web, and Capsules Are Not Websites
- our intention to appeal (escalate to the Court of Appeal)
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- Links 08/08/2026: GAFAM Colonialism "Paved Over Protected Wetlands", Slop Companies Hoard Software Patents as Debt Soars to Trillions
- Links for the day
- Links 08/08/2026: "Palantir Paid No Federal Income Tax" and "Who's Responsible for This Mess?"
- Links for the day
- Retained: The Time IBM's Red Hat Tried to Hijack or Take Offline Site of Critics, Failed on All Grounds (Meritless Action Intended to Harass Critics)
- Replicated from adrforum.com
- IBM's 'Final Solution': Censor Sites Not Controlled by IBM, Sites Where Dissent is Expressed
- IBM has no culture of free speech
- More Mass Layoffs Coming IBM's Way (Ones IBM Cannot Hide, Cannot Convince Enough People to Leave or Unjustifiably PIP Them When They Say No)
- The company that was like a "father of modern computing" is now stingy when it comes to travel. Not a good sign.
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- "Silent" or "secret" sometimes because the media won't cover them
- Is the Future of IBM Red Hat Temporary Staff, Contractors?
- They want cheap, obedient lemmings
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- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 07, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, August 07, 2026
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- Botspam is the problem, it's not a constructive approach in any shape or form
- analytics.usa.gov: GNU/Linux Up Some More This Week
- Days ago it said 6.4%, now it's up to 6.8%
- RA-pocalypse: IBM Tells Workers "Taking a Hike" is Their "Next Step" ('Voluntary' Layoffs), Now It Prepares to Sack Lots of Contractors
- There definitely is something going on
- Kai Stephens (Barkley Walsh) & British Democrats in Clacton by-election hustings
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Daniel Pocock 'Punching' Nazis in the UK
- The so-called "cult" of so-called "Debianism" was left with nothing but massive legal bills
- Microsoft: Our August 2026 Layoffs Are Not Layoffs Because... Reasons
- That's like IBM making "spin-offs", then pretending that no layoffs are happening
- Links 07/08/2026: UMG and Anthropic in Trouble Over Copyright Infringements Sold as "Training" (Slop)
- Links for the day
- Links 07/08/2026: "BMW Is Showing Commercials On Their Car's Dash Screens And They Want You To Think It's A Treat", Software Patents on Drones
- Links for the day
- What We Said About Red Hat's Fate Under IBM Turned Out to be Right on the Money (That IBM Lacks)
- There are no layoffs at IBM
- IRC Networks Show No Signs of Going Away, IRC Enters Its 39th Year
- That IRC daemons are still actively developed and patched in summer of 2026 (over 38 years after IRC was born) says a lot about IRC's importance
- Social [Control] Media Needs to Die
- I am a bit shocked to recall that I wasted a lot of time on it
- Some Malware is Legal Because It's Made and Distributed by Politically-Connected GAFAM
- In reality, the security non-experts 'championed' (and salaried) by GAFAM are anti-security people who advocate back doors
- The GNU/Linux Anniversary is Next Month, Not This Month
- It'll turn 43
- At Clacton by-election Hustings Event Daniel Pocock Says "Social [Control] Media Has Contributed to Some of the Anti Social Behaviour."
- No doubt many problems in society are caused or at least amplified/accentuated by this horrible phenomenon
- IBM Insiders Explain Why IBM is in Very Serious Trouble
- Will IBM last long enough for any "quantum" deliverables to become a reality?
- The Register MS Took Money From Broadcom to Publish Fake 'News' With "AI" Mentioned 35 Times
- not legitimate or authentic journalism.
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- Usage of GNU/Linux was near 0%, as measured by statCounter, several years ago
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 06, 2026
- IRC logs for Thursday, August 06, 2026
- Gemini Links 07/08/2026: Radio Amateurism, Summer Updates, and Programming "Taste"
- Links for the day
- Links 06/08/2026: Billboard Chart Contaminated by Slop Plagiarists, Sheinbaum Blasts Social Control Media
- Links for the day
- A Long Break and What's Coming Next Year
- Some time next year we definitely plan to show how the EFF failed women, failed bloggers, and basically prioritised GAFAM
- Daniel Pocock on a "metre-long ballot paper"
- The Debian "cult" (as he calls them collectively) is simply jealous of him
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- Links for the day
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- IBM will self-detonate while using contractual agreements to force people to smile
- Start of September 2026 'Voluntary' Mass Layoffs at IBM, Start of October Red Hat Employees Forced Into the 'Bloodbath' (After Collapse of IBM's Shares)
- Red Hat is in trouble
- Many GNU/Linux PCs Are Not Connected to the Net or Don't Use the Web
- Saying GNU/Linux user-agents are just "bots" (Microsoft Lunduke and other Microsofters say this) is like asserting that the Twin Towers fell not because of two giant planes but because of explosives
- They Call Occupations "Professions" Because the "Pro" Means Something
- If you want to find tech news online
- New Conference Paper (Science of Cyber Security) Credits RMS With Delaying Passwords
- When it comes to passwords, RMS was "right"
- Removing Gender Barriers in Computer Science
- It is not that "women aren't good at maths"
- In Brunei, GNU/Linux Approaches International Average of 8.5%
- a sharp rise from 0% to about 7.5% happened in a few years
- 15% of IBM Staff Marked for Layoffs ("RAs"), the Workers' Objective is to Find Another Employer and Leave
- "That's not a workforce, that's a waiting room."
- Maintenance to be Completed Tonight (IPv6)
- Notice how, after 25+ years, we're still not fully adopting IPv6, we're only about 50% there
- A Data Centres Hub Puts Everyone at Risk, Especially People Who Live Near Them at Times of War/s
- Spoiler: Datacentres are military targets, they attract missiles, some with nuclear warheads
- GAFAM Mass Layoffs and Mountains (Trillions of Dollars in 'Secret' or 'Off-the-Ledger') Debt
- GAFAM is having layoffs this month
- August 2026 Microsoft Layoffs Confirmed by Staff This Week
- It's hard to assess how many are impacted but signed an NDA, preventing them from speaking about what really happened
- analytics.usa.gov Says 7% of Sessions Come From GNU/Linux and ChromeOS. If ~40% (Mobile) Get Omitted, It's More Like 11%.
- In desktops and in laptops GNU/Linux has become a big player
- IBM Cannot Survive for Much Longer, There Are Limits to RAs and Offshoring, IBM Now Asks Workers to Quit
- IBM is in very serious trouble
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 141 Out of 200: Brett Wilson LLP Failed to Learn From the Mistakes of the European Patent Office (EPO)
- my solicitor, David Allen Green, put them in their place
- Texts of the Claims From Balabhadra (Alex) Graveley and Matthew J. Garrett Almost Identical, I am Suing for Abuse of Process
- Half a decade ago Balabhadra (Alex) Graveley from Microsoft and GNOME was arrested for strangulation in Texas
- Gemini Links 06/08/2026: "Eat That Frog", Mutt Terminal Email Guide, and BASICODE
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
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- IRC logs for Wednesday, August 05, 2026