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Links 8/3/2014: Distros





  • AV Linux 6.0.3 Distro Is for Audio, Video, and Graphic Enthusiasts
    AV Linux is a very particular distribution aimed at a very specific niche of users. First of all, this is an OS geared towards the 32-bit PAE processor, which is considerably older than the current ones. In theory, the distribution is capable of turning older PCs or even Mac OS systems into an Audio / Graphics / Video workstation appliance.


  • Distros Compared, Free Ed, and Making Money
  • Different strokes for different folks when it comes to Linux desktops
    You might have noticed that I used the term "different strokes for different folks" in the headline of this article. I think it sums up well the issue of choosing a desktop environment because there simply is no one desktop that will appeal to everyone, no matter how great it is or how many people like it.

    Personally, I prefer classic desktop environments like Xfce because they simply meld well with how I like to work. I find using them to be much faster and more intuitive when I am multitasking or just moving around my desktop.


  • Simplicity Linux 14.1 - A fresh take on Puppy Linux
    Ever since I started using Linux I have always carried a copy of Puppy Linux on a pen drive. I have such a high regard for Puppy Linux that I have a page dedicated to it.

    [...]

    I have to admit that I thought I was going to have a frustrating time with Simplicity because whilst trying 13.10 I came up with a number of issues and it just didn't work for me.

    This however is 14.1 and it works very very well and in fact I haven't come across any issues of note except for the fact that the OnLive application hangs. (Probably due to my poor internet connection).

    Simplicity is a worthy replacement for those of you using LXPup which is no longer being actively developed.

    If you have a laptop with a failed hard drive sat in a corner gathering cobwebs then you can easily breathe new life into it by running Simplicity Linux on a USB drive.


  • On my new laptop: ZaReason's Strata 7440
    Getting Mageia 4 on the laptop was no big deal. In fact, I used the 64 bit version of the OS and everything worked, even the Japanese IME with iBus.

    Then I tried to get PCLinuxOS and, unfortunately, had problems with the display. I need to see if I can get to correct the problem later.

    The other OS that I installed to the Strata was OpenMandriva 2013. The only problem was the lack of Wifi connectivity... It was solved easily adding the appropriate packages.


  • BlankOn 9.0 review
    My first look at a BlankOn edition was BlankOn 8, which was back in August 2012 (see BlankOn 8 preview). So it’s been almost a year and a half between BlankOn 8 and 9. That’s plenty of time to make major improvements and fix whatever needs fixing on a desktop operating system.

    The distribution uses the GNOME 3 desktop environment with a custom desktop shell called Manokwari. It looked good the first time I took it for a spin (on BlankOn 8), but I wasn’t too impressed with some aspects of it. But that was 18 months ago, maybe things are better on BlankOn 9.0, which is code-named Suroboyo.


  • Frequently asked questions from Windows users thinking of using Linux
    Gaming on Linux has been behind Windows for a long time. Fortunately with the release of Steam for Linux that gap is beginning to close and I can foresee a time whereby Linux gaming will be on at very least a par with Windows.


  • Zorin OS 8 - More like Windows 7 than Windows 7
    It has been a while since I last wrote a review about Zorin OS. Time moves pretty fast and with other distributions making great strides, is there still a place for an operating system like Zorin which basically deploys a familiar looking desktop on top of Ubuntu.

    It has been a couple of versions since the last review so it is a bit pointless for me to just write the differences between now and then, so instead I am going for the full review as if I had never seen it before.


  • What is your most expected distribution?
    Yet another feature of Distrowatch is announcement for coming releases for Linux distributions. If you look at the list of distributions due to be released within next 3 months, which one is the most interesting for you? Which new release are you looking for most?


  • Linux – The Top 5 Lightweight Distros of 2014
    Hi there, and welcome to another edition of Gamerheadlines’ top 5. Today’s topic will be lightweight Linux distributions. So, keep in mind that, while there are several amazing distros for higher-end computers, such as Ubuntu and Mint, these distros are for those of us with, shall we say… computers full of wisdom. A wisdom that can only be attained following years (and years) of experience and, unfortunately, age.

Recent Techrights' Posts

GNU/Linux Reaches 5% in Indonesia (Population Size Near 300 Million)
You would need not envy "Microsoft Indonesia" right now
GNU/Linux Back to 5% in 2025
That's not counting ChromeOS
GNU/Linux Gained About 0.5% Last Year, According to StatCounter
2024 ended with "proper" GNU/Linux at +0.4%, ChromeOS at +0.1% (based on statCounter/StatCounter)
 
Even Worse Than Racism at the Linux Foundation
And worse than corporate colonialism
It's Not Just MElon X, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, All Social Control Media is Basically a Digital Weapon
The question is, what are you going to do about it?
Microsoft Especially Important to Phoronix (It Also Gives Gifts to Phoronix)
A whole section devoted to Microsoft, mostly with puff pieces/ads of proprietary things
For Software Freedom (and for Broader Personal Freedom), the Goalposts Are Moving
we need to open up our eyes and identify/classify other threats, such as social control media
Microsoft Plummets to New Lows in Azerbaijan
Perhaps the Azerbaijani population is looking for something other than the NSA's foremost facilitator
We Need Something More Like DMOZ, Not Search Engines and Bill-Funded Wikipedia (Censoring Unfaltering Information About Powerful People and Institutions)
era of LLMs trained on Wikipedia... Microsoft tried - and failed - to game the narrative to the same extent Google does
Tens of Billions of Dollars Down the Drain (Microsoft Lost the Search "Arms Race" or Market)
But caused injury to itself and others, just like with Nokia in mobile
Seems Like GNU/Linux Usage Doubled in Japan Last Year
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All-time highs
GNU/Linux Leaps to 6% in the United States of America (Not Even Counting ChromeOS)
Additionally, the FSF in Boston is managing well
GNU/Linux Usage in Europe Leaps Above 6% in 2025
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The world's (by far) biggest populations don't use Windows much
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IRC logs for Wednesday, January 01, 2025
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Addendum: What the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) Really Is
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Microsoft Tries to Force People Into Vista 11 by Stopping Vista 10 Patching, Herding Them Into TPMdom
It's backfiring
CyberShow Blog Upgraded, RSS Feed Added
CyberShow Blog has just had somewhat of a facelift
Sitting on a Mountain of Money (Almost 8 Million Dollars) is "Pro Bono"
Does the general public realise what SFC is?
Software Freedom Conservancy Inc (SFC) Lost Revenue and Also Got Rid of "Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion" (Sage A Sharp, Formerly Known as Sarah Sharp, Who Ran an Ill-Spirited Campaign Against Linus Torvalds, Theodore Tso, and Other Prominent Linux Developers)
Not much needs to be said; a little needs to be shown (from an authoritative source, the IRS)
In Operating Systems, Google Was the Biggest Winner in 2024
Nevertheless, 10% of the managers are to be laid off shortly (after a leak led to confirmation by the CEO)
FSF-EEE (Colonial Splinter Group Based in Germany) Promotes Microsoft
New and misleading
Did GAFAM or IBM 'Downgrade' Pensions to 'Insurance' (Which Can be Denied)?
'Insurance' does not mean what it may sound like
Gemini Protocol Continued to Grow in 2024
it's no longer hosted from home
Geoffrey Knauth, FSF President and Treasurer, Comments on the FSF Raising Over $300,000
Now almost $304,000
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Mother of OpenAI Whistleblower Says Her Son Was Murdered (He Accused OpenAI of Copyright Violations at a Massive Scale, OpenAI is Running Out of Money That It Borrowed)
"Mother of OpenAI Whistleblower Alleges He Was Murdered, Says There Were Signs of Struggle"
Housekeeping and Productivity
The less we tinker with those things (system administration tasks), the more we can write and curate links
The Engineering Side in 2024: A Look Back, Taking Stock
uptime was somewhere around 99.95%
Dr. Andy Farnell Nominates Gromit the Dog "as an Unlikely Hacker Hero."
The world needs more decent engineers
The Free Software Foundation's (FSF) Holiday Fund-Raising Campaign Reaches About $303,000
in some parts of the US it's still 2024
[Meme] The Microsoft Syndrome
Typical Microsoftism
Gemini Links 01/01/2025: Reflecting on 2024 and FSMs
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IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, December 31, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, December 31, 2024
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2025 Coming. "Lawsuits are temporary. Glory is forever. Go public."
another promising year for us
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FSF fund-raiser now at 292k US dollars. Spectacular growth, rising at a pace of about $20k per day!
Brittany Day Unleashes Microsoft Propaganda About Linux, Likely Generated by Microsoft LLM to Strategically Googlebomb a Topic
Yes, it's definitely LLM slop
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