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.
-
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
- IBM Misleads and Gaslights Investors With Slop Sold as "AI" (the Business is Waning, Mass Layoffs Continue)
- People who do this are dishonest. They should not be put in charge.
- Submit Your Suggestions for EU's Embrace of Software Freedom by Tomorrow
- Time to leave GAFAM (US) hegemony behind
- Slopless Weekend
- This is not sustainable
-
- Microsoft Lost 20% of Its Money in the Past 6 Months
- Microsoft is hiding what's really happening while mocking critics
- Great News, IBM 'Gained' Almost 10% in "Goodwill" Value After Firing Tens of Thousands in 2025
- "goodwill" will be inflated despite IBM staff getting sick of IBM
- Americans Move to GNU/Linux
- some of the biggest American populations
- I Still Like Drawing and Various Other Arts (They Help My Activism and Journalism), Slop is an Enemy of Creative People
- Recognise that slop isn't intelligence; it's a generational excuse for plagiarism and privatisation of not only the Commons but also proprietary knowledge (without authorisation)
- Carmen-Lisandrette Maris (Mission:Libre) Explains to Adolescents and Young Adults How Free Software Improves Privacy
- Based on what we've seen and read, Mission:Libre has a solid grasp of Software Freedom
- Chatbots Didn't Do Any Good for Microsoft
- Google "AI" = search + copypasta
- Links 02/02/2026: Cultural Cleansing by China and 'Living Behind Firewalls" in Iran
- Links for the day
- GNU/Linux Measured at More Than 4% in Russia
- growing adoption of GNU/Linux in Russia
- Gemini Links 02/02/2026: Stages of Age, Workflows, and Counting Capsules
- Links for the day
- Oracle's Debt Rose Over 20 Billion Dollars in Just 3 Months
- Is "hey hi" becoming a synonym for debt?
- Oligarchs' 'Speech Zones' Are Not the "Public Square"
- The apologists of social control media, including press that got "addicted" to such fake "media", are helping dictators and oligarchs grab the public attention away from the real press
- Links 02/02/2026: 'Melania' a Horror Movie "Will They Inherit Our Blogs?"
- Links for the day
- Doing More Detailed Series (Long-Form Works)
- Long readings or book-like reading binges are only possible when parts are suitably labeled (name and numbers) if not interlinked
- Mobbing at the European Patent Office (EPO) - Part II - Racism, Cocaine Use and White-Collar Corruption
- When you hire people illegally, to work for cocaine users and keep quite about the cocaine use, what will be the impact on the reputation of an institution?
- A Can of WORMS - Part II - Darkening the Name of RMS, Associating It With Crime
- Beware projection tactics
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 01, 2026
- IRC logs for Sunday, February 01, 2026
- Gemini Links 01/02/2026: Fossil Heating Installations and Some FOSDEM Coverage
- Links for the day
- The State of Memory Leaks in GNU/Linux
- The issue won't be solved by adding more memory
- Links 01/02/2026: Nvidia's Jensen Talks Down Microsoft 'Open' 'Hey Hi' and Britain's Starmer Makes Friends With China, Japan
- Links for the day
- Why Microsoft Accenture Has So Many Layoffs in Recent Years
- The debt of Accenture doubled a year ago
- Links 01/02/2026: Public TV Gutted by Cheeto, Billionaires Fund a Cheeto Propaganda Movie in 'Documentary' Clothing
- Links for the day
- The New Site ("New Techrights", SSG Since 2023) Exceeds the Old Site in Requests
- The "New Techrights" gets about twice as many requests as the "old" (WordPress) "Techrights", the site of 2006-2023
- 20 Years Ago
- Some time soon all this slop frenzy will become like yesterday's "blockchain" or "metaverse"
- Gemini Links 01/02/2026: Zdzisław Beksiński and Disconnected Git Workflow
- Links for the day
- Talks About Nadella's Microsoft Exit After Chatter About Tim Crook Leaving Apple (Years Ahead of Retirement Age)
- Mass layoffs and record debt do not represent a company's health.
- We Still Cover the Same Problems We Spoke of 20 Years Ago
- We're not easily seduced by "novelty" (new things), we try to judge them critically
- Patents Standing in the Way
- They also cause environmental harm
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, January 31, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, January 31, 2026
- IBM, a Microsoft Company
- Microsoft and IBM as a pair go a long way back
- A Lot Less GAFAM in Scandinavia
- Are they reacting to geopolitics and risks from the US?
- IBM Kills Companies It Bought (Neudesic Seems Like Latest Casualty)
- Why isn't even a single publisher investigating those things?
- Fake "Linux" Articles
- Just because some platform has "Linux" in the domain name and/or site name does not imply that it is a news/Linux site
- Gemini Links 31/01/2026: "Proof Without Content" and "Technology Connections"
- Links for the day
- Links 31/01/2026: Microsoft "OpenAI Representatives Are Going to Critics’ Houses With Threats and Demands", Its Proprietary Chaffbot Faces More Lawsuits
- Links for the day
- Links 31/01/2026: "Introducing Encrypt It Already" and "Huge Cache of Epstein"
- Links for the day
- A Can of WORMS - Part I - Trying to Throw RMS Under the Bus at MIT and Everywhere Else
- This series won't give air to online 'trolls'
- Mobbing at the European Patent Office (EPO) - Part I - An Introduction
- When the series ends, some time around the second or third EPO strike of this year, we'll contact the relevant authorities and plead for intervention
- The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Delusion - Part I - Who Regulates This Regulator? (Only Itself!)
- We won't self-censor or prematurely terminate this series
- Norway Almost Trusts Russia More Than the Bill Gates (Sleeping With Young Russian Girls) Company, Microsoft
- Microsoft represents crime
- Riddle Us This... (Jim Zemlin and Bill Gates)
- Do these people even understand the literal meaning of "safe space"?
- Is "Nobel Prize for Peace" a Sick Person's 'Code Word' for Gangbanging Now? Ask Bill Gates.
- Watch all the Gates apologists getting all silenced/silent
- BBC Gaslights Women Sexually Exploited (Many Under Legal Age) for Its Rich Sponsor, Bill Epsteingate (Gates)
- Is this a national broadcaster or a propaganda tool "For Rent"?
- Microsoft 'Open' 'AI' Reportedly About to Become Bankrupt, Seeking Emergency Cash Infusion (Loans)
- the money promised to Microsoft 'Open' 'AI' failed to arrive
- Gemini Links 31/01/2026: Deep Ice and Slide Rules
- Links for the day
- Writing About Abuse
- Never ever allow misogynists to get their way if you strive to live in a decent society
- MIT DEDP MicroMasters online learner's blog post about cover-up linked to resignation of Swiss financial regulator
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Salary Erosion Procedure (SAP) as the Primary Reason for EPO Strikes
- They focus on financials, as the corruption aspects are un-sayable or unspeakable, except in private
- IBM Bluewashing: Feels Like IBM is Scuttling Neudesic (and Some of Red Hat)
- We recently saw some Red Hat staff joining a Microsoft proxy
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 30, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, January 30, 2026
- Microsoft Stock Collapsing Due to the Slop Bubble and Microsoft is Hiding Budget 'Black Holes'
- Microsoft does not perform like it tells "the media" and "the market"