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
- Creditors beware: VMS Enterprises Ltd vs Brexit Party (Reform UK Party Ltd)
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
-
- EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part XVII - A Vote for Campinos This Month (Reappointment) Would be an Endorsement of Cocaine
- The harder they try to silence critics, the worse it'll get
- The Cyber Show on "Career Scientists" (Resellers of Establishment Brands Like GAFAM)
- "The "career scientist" - with PhD and research office by their mid-twenties - follows well oiled tracks and institutional signposts, steering away from controversial or "difficult" subjects."
- Reporting Court Matters While Preserving Dignity of Staff
- There's a high and growing probability we'll take our appeal to the Court of Appeal next year
- Broligarchs Speech-Policing, Faux 'Community' or 'Hub' in 'User-Driven' Clothing
- Until a broligarch decides to "flag" inconvenient stories
- Gemini Links 02/10/2026: Haiku, Microsoft EEE ('Linux' as a Container in Windows), and ROOPHLOCH 2026 Roundup
- Links for the day
- Microsoft Promised Them Bonuses, Instead They May Get Laid Off
- Laid off or paid off?
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 01, 2026
- IRC logs for Thursday, October 01, 2026
- Lots of People Left Red Hat This Week, No Announcement Made of Layoffs
- Companies just find ways and excuses not to announce their layoffs
- Gemini Links 01/10/2026: Gemini-to-Web Proxies Considered Harmful, ROOPHLOCH 2026 at Griffith Park Observatory
- Links for the day
- "SPONSORED FEATURE" of HPE and NVIDIA at The Register MS Has Just Mentioned "AI" 68 Times in One Page!
- Meanwhile, grown-ups ignore the hype and get work done without slop
- Microsoft's XBox Layoffs Not Finished, Won't be Finished, It's Called "Forever Layoffs"
- Microsoft will shut down (XBox) after shrinking it, there's no need to sell anything (a straw man)
- IBM's Red Hat Lost Lots of People Today, Chief People Officer (CPO) Dethroned
- Headcount falls shortly in secret.
- Microsoft is "Pushing Up Daisies" Amid Mass Layoffs (Secret Ones)
- "Longtime Microsoft research leader Peter Lee and former LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky to depart"
- Links 01/10/2026: "Lawyer Cites ChatGPT-Invented Fake Witnesses in Murder Appeal" and The 'Linux' Foundation Technical Advisory Board (TAB) Has Vacuum
- Links for the day
- Brigading Against Women - Part XIII - The Offer We Didn't Ask For (and Under Threats to a Lady at the Webhost, a Form of Extortion From America)
- Two and a half months ago Garrett made an offer to my wife
- Techrights Turning 20 Next Month
- Our image is under attack, our finances are constantly under attack and so on
- Links 01/10/2026: "Meat Proxies" and "Japan’s Far Right Is Courting Young Voters"
- Links for the day
- Red Hat Being Phased Out of Existence (Like Many Other Companies That IBM Bought)
- The "Red Hat" brand (and badge) is being dissolved some more today [...] IBM is imploding 'creatively'.
- IBM Layoffs Cover-up
- thelayoff.com is censoring threads
- "Restricted Boot" Garrett's State is Now Implementing Kill Switches (Just What We've Warned About All Along)
- The underlying concept is hardly new
- Brett Wilson LLP Has Had No Annual Report in 16 Months
- A cynic might hint that they try to hide something
- Reform UK last minute accounts filing
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Gemini Links 01/10/2026: "Babel With Better Hardware", Software Input That's Slop, and DWeb Cascadia 2026
- Links for the day
- Today is D-Day at Red Hat and People Leave in Droves
- They said there would be "bluewashing", we're mostly seeing people announcing they're leaving
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 30, 2026
- IRC logs for Wednesday, September 30, 2026
- Gemini Links 30/09/2026: Fish Leather, Slop Formation, and ROOPHLOCH
- Links for the day
- In a Lot of Europe (or EU) Android (With Linux) is Bigger Than Windows
- For example in Greece
- Slop-Posting is a New Form of S---posting
- We recently caught several more "linux" sites (with "linux" in their domain name) turning to slop
- EPO Cocainegate: Lots of Money (Over a Million Euros) for Cocaine Addicts, Not for Children With Special Needs
- Next month we'll bring out some more Campinos scandals
- High Court victory: Nigel Farage is 'the Company's own candidate'
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- It Took GNOME's Code of Conduct Committee (CoCC) Over 8 Months to Realise CoC Reports Went Into /dev/null/
- It would be ironic if the blunder's culprits were punished for it, would it not?
- Links 30/09/2026: Microsoft "OpenAI Ignored Employees’ Warnings About Safely" and "Pentagon Personnel Agency Data Breach Impacts 3 Million People"
- Links for the day
- The Register MS "Events" As Paid Spam That Promotes and Keeps Afloat Hype About Slop
- This dreary sort of media reads like a soup of words, i.e. like the thing it is advertising
- Digital Independence in the UK and in Western Europe
- We have the technical capacity and skilled personnel to achieve this
- IBM's Anderon as a Mass Layoffs Ritual With a Bailout (From US Taxpayers to IBM) and Other Perks
- Like those empty promises in the first term of the Cheeto dictator
- Gemini Links 30/09/2026: David Bowie, Web Rendering Proxy, Ink and Letters, Gemlog Nostalgia
- Links for the day
- EPO Annual General Meeting (AGM) Will Speak of Financial State of the EPO's Union
- Their work is needed because the EPO breaks the law
- Rust Causes Upgrade Issues in Ubuntu
- They could just keep GNU coreutils in place (nothing was broken about it) and avoid Microsoft's back doors and TPMs
- Losses From Slop Are "Investment", Hundreds of Billions in Debt Are "Growth Opportunity", Layoffs Are "Great to See", and Loss of Business Means "We Need a Slowdown" (for "Safety")
- Microsoft is removing staff, as investment is apparently the act of shrtinking
- Brigading Against Women - Part XII - Toxic Masculinity, Hunting Women, Will Code for Sex
- Who says things like these?
- The Microsoft Lunduke Slop Problem
- Microsoft Lunduke does not support Software Freedom; he serves to discredit many ideas championed by Free software or ideals articulated which are apolitical for the most part
- Links 30/09/2026: "Understanding the LLM Bubble" and "Florida Senate Threatened Legal Action Against Newspapers"
- Links for the day
- It Looks Like Mass Layoffs at "Nordcloud, an IBM Company" Today (a Day Ahead of Red Hat)
- Expect the same from Red Hat next
- British Prime Minister Recognises Social Control Media as National Cohesion Problem
- one has to wonder if addiction to social control media is not compatible with peace
- The Future Isn't Social Control Media (Nothing Will be Left of It, Not Even Archives)
- "Error code: 502 Bad Gateway"
- GNU/Linux Usage in China is Increasing
- China is leaving Microsoft and Windows behind
- 43 Years of GNU and GAFAM's (Especially Microsoft's) Attacks On It
- GNU is very widely used (when people say "Linux commands" they typically mean "GNU programs"), hence it's being attacked a lot
- CDMAG Covers Free Software, New Magazine From Decent People
- If enough people accessed their site, they would not rely on social control media (third parties, censorship platforms)
- Brigading Against Women - Part XI - An Abject Lack of Social Skills (and Not Knowing How to Handle Women)
- GGG enjoy - if that's the right term - very bizarre or esoteric sex life
- Gemini Links 30/09/2026: Accelerationism, "The Billionaire is Wrong", Rant About LLM-generated Support E-mails
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 29, 2026
- IRC logs for Tuesday, September 29, 2026